Chapter 119

“A Sidhe guild of assassins potentially living on the Finnish northern border?” Roxanne asked incredulously.

“Yes, Roxanne. Though as far as we know they don’t hunt people or other sentient beings,” Morgana replied.

“That we know of,” Roxanne said bluntly. “Plus, how the hell were they getting into and out of Tír na nÓg without the Seers noticing?”

“Something to ask them if we find they have been operating out of here,” Tara chuckled.

“True,” Morgana added with a grin. “But for now we’re going back to the plan we used for taking out the Coalition and hoping it will be enough when supplemented by my Office.”

“Surround them, prevent them teleporting out and squeezing until they are dead or surrendered?” Helen asked.

“Yes, basically. First we need to find Myrkálfar, if it exists, and then come up with a plan to surround them,” Morgana stated.

“Any idea on numbers?” Adelaide asked.

“No, but over a thousand Dvergar auxiliaries ... possibly, plus the Daoine Sidhe who were with Oonagh ... assuming Oonagh was with them,” Morgana replied.

“Damn, but a lot of suppositions too,” Dlamini muttered.

“Dvergar are unlikely to be a problem, your average Mage could squash one flat easily, Daoine Sidhe though...” Roxanne shrugged.

“That and if we’re dealing with potential assassins we’ll be armoured to the max, we’d be stupid not to,” Adelaide stated.

“Seer team one will be there to assist,” Morgana added.

“Simone’s heavies,” grinned Tara.

“Don’t let her hear you call them that!” chuckled Roxanne.

‘Too late, ‘ came a mental chortle.

“Oops,” Tara said, her grin even wider.

“The entire mission is liable to be very dangerous as I doubt they’ll go quietly into the night or disband,” Morgana stated, trying not to smile at the banter.

“Aye, well, no doubt we’ll give them the option though,” Roxanne sighed.

“Sadly yes, assuming they’ll allow us to,” Morgana nodded.

“Good way to get a Mage killed,” Tara added.

“I know, but unless you all fancy a stay in Kurukshetra that’s the way the Council wants it,” Morgana replied.

“I’m told the company there is far more urbane now Merlin is there,” Maria chuckled.

“I can think of better company,” Roxanne smirked, glancing at me and making me blush.

“Ooh, Róisín came through then?” Helen asked.

“Think it was a team effort,” Roxanne stated in an outright laugh.

“Ladies, please!” I begged.

“Lighten up, John. You’re amongst friends,” Dlamini chuckled.

“Yes, but...”

“You’re way too easy, John,” chuckled Morgana.

“I know, my Mage. It’s the way I was brought up,” I sighed, getting a few ‘aws’ from the Bureau heads and their mostly silent deputies.

“Anyway, back to the subject at hand,” Morgana went on. “Once we’ve checked over the known Sidhe strongholds and cleared them of any current use, I’ll be sending the Office teams into Caitiff territory to have a damned good look around.”

“Speaking to the Caitiff?” Roxanne asked.

“No, because I can’t figure an easier way of letting our enemy know we are looking for them,” Morgana replied.

“Never had any bother from the Caitiff, save the usual attempts to diss us, unlike the idiocy the other Dvergar clans got up too, which ... come to think of it, is odd in and of itself,” Roxanne mused.

“They were one of the clans I couldn’t use for the original Null amulet parts. Wanted to know way too much about what the other clans were making. Got the feeling they weren’t any too popular amongst the other clans either,” I added.

“They were part of the hard core Sidhe believers and refused point blank to move to the Dvergar world,” Morgana nodded.

“How are they doing?” Tara asked.

“Last report to come by the Council was very positive. They seem to be thriving,” Morgana replied.

“Well, at least we sorted the sheep from the goats,” Adelaide noted.

“Yes, the Caitiff apparently took in a lot of the remainers, hence their suspected numbers,” Morgana agreed.

“Suspected?” Helen asked with a frown.

“They never gave us cause to visit,” Roxanne replied. “The few times we did we were given the usual run around, but not enough to cause us to investigate or permit a punitive response; hence any numbers are just that, guesswork.”

“Do we know anything of their tactics?” Maria asked.

“Normal Dvergar used glamour to close in on a village and stab the villagers in the back ... as it were. The Caitiff though, who knows? Normal Dvergar were more often than not traced back to their villages by the outraged survivors and massacred in return,” Morgana replied. “There are no reports of the Caitiff being involved as these have always been their ancestral homes.”

“In other words, they have had centuries to prepare?” Roxanne chuckled.

“Who knows?” Morgana repeated.

“We’ll prepare our teams in readiness,” Mage Adelaide spoke for all.

“That’s all I can ask,” Morgana nodded.

“Allies?” Dlamini asked.

“Until we know what we’re up against, not yet,” Morgana replied.

Other than going over a few more details, there wasn’t much else discussed and Morgana and I returned to her office where reports were filtering in from the various teams showing that the Sidhe forts were little more than sanctuaries for magical creatures as the aversion wards kept humans away.

“Summon your team for a scouting mission, save Róisín, naturally,” Morgana requested.

“Yes, my Mage. They are getting into armour now and will be ready in ten minutes,” I replied.

“Quick,” she murmured.

“Had them on standby just in case this happened,” I chuckled.

“Time to go have a look,” Morgana replied. “Adsila can get us in.”

It was bitterly cold, though, having expected it, we were well adapted to it Adsila had brought us in right at the edge of known Caitiff territory and the area seemed benign enough and well suited to reindeer farming which was the Caitiff’s main form of existence. Our armour blended in perfectly to the surrounding area and you’d literally have to walk right in on top of us to even know we were there.

“I can detect their main settlement as well as a few outlying villages and several ranches,” Adsila announced after a few minutes.

“No mega huge Sidhe fortress lurking in the mountains?” I asked with a grin.

“Oops, nearly missed that ... no,” she chuckled.

“I rather doubt a hidden fortress would be out in the open where anyone could find it,” Morgana added with a smile.

“We could always hope,” Mage Xi chuckled.

“Right. In pairs. Observe the villages, passively scan the inhabitants, see where they go and where they avoid. If there are Sidhe here they’ll need to eat, also look for anomalies suggesting outside contact, fresh fruit and vegetables and the like,” Morgana ordered. “Adsila, you’re with me.”

“Yes, Mage Morgana,” we all murmured before pairing up and setting off.

“Not much of a life,” Kate murmured to me as we observed the Dvergar going about their lives.

“It’s their choice. The Dvergar world is much more hospitable, they all live in the temperate zones,” I replied.

“No attempts to use magic to talk to the Sidhe?” Kate asked.

“They aren’t that strong. Though Verenestra has indicated they might get in touch, their jewellery is still much sought after by the Sidhe,” I replied.

“Told it’s time consuming,” she noted.

“It is, one molecule at a time,” I chuckled. “But they are damned good at it.”

“Kids,” she pointed out.

“They look as if they are up to mischief, let’s follow and see what, if anything, they are up to,” I replied.

The Dvergar children were picking a path through the woods as if they were hunting someone whilst avoiding (as we were) the main trail which was curving away from them. Finally they scrambled up a rise leading to a fairly high crag and peeped over the top.

“Nothing,” giggled a female.

“They’re there, but be quiet,” One of the boys whispered. “If they hear us and come for us, we’ll regret it.”

“Never seen one, what do they look like?” a young boy asked.

“The gods themselves, my mother said,” one of the girls replied.

“Tall, pitch black skin, white hair, red eyes,” the first boy spoke. “My dad makes things for them occasionally; they gave him that hunting rifle he’s so proud of.”

“I’ve never seen them,” the original girl speaker said indignantly.

“Why would they go to the home of a deer rancher?” the boy sneered.

“My dad makes a good life!” she hit back.

“But doesn’t meet the dark ones, so be quiet! Besides, there’s one at the base of the trees over there and you don’t want him to hear us,” the boy replied as they all went silent.

I’d already fished my binoculars out and was scanning the far tree line though could see nothing and wondered if the boy was simply boasting.

“We got to go!” the boy suddenly said. “They’ve spotted us!”

The kids scrambled away leaving an obvious trail though Kate and I could see nothing until the air shimmered slightly and a dark Sidhe flickered into view.

“Brats,” he said harshly as another Sidhe appeared, female this time.

“Yes, but we simply chase. The Slayer forbids a true hunt of them, unless of course they approach a door,” she said in the same tones.

“Pah, they are not worth a true hunt!” he stated.

“No, but perhaps soon we will have one if this petty Queen hires our services.”

“It will make a change. Though frankly I see no reason to involve ourselves with the lesser races.”