"Then we're not luring them out. We're proving Guk is lying and that Jhoqo is correct. And, if Jhoqo is right, then what harm does it do? We can't do anything about a dead wizard who broke under torture, but we can do something if there is a traitor," Adeenya said.
Loraica rolled her eyes and turned away, saying, "This is pointless. There is no traitor."
Adeenya reached out to stop the Maquar woman and placed a hand on her shoulder. "There's something else," she said.
"What?" Loraica said, eyeing Adeenya's grip on her. "Something was stolen from me during the fight. Something no one should have known about," Adeenya said. "What was it, Orir?" Loraica said. "A pendant."
"Well, I'm sure it was valuable or held meaning for you, but-" Loraica began.
"No, no. It was magical. I used it to communicate to my commanders back in Durpar," Adeenya said.
Loraica looked at her for a long moment and said, "Go on.
"It was hidden away in my pocket, but they knew exactly where to look. They restrained me specifically to look for it," Adeenya said.
Loraica nodded and said, "I've always been told that items like that give off some sort of aura if you know how to see them. They probably just saw that aura when they looked and decided to take it."
"No," Adeenya said, shaking her head. "They specifically came after me. They knew what they were looking for, I'm telling you."
"Who else knew about this pendant?" Loraica asked, leaning in closer.
"Only a handful of my own soldiers and your wizard," Adeenya said.
Loraica jerked back at the mention of her comrade. "Khatib? How?" the large woman said.
Adeenya shook her head. "I'm not really sure. He approached me shortly after I used it to contact Durpar. He made it clear he knew about it, but said nothing else."
"This doesn't make any sense," Loraica said, easing herself against the wall.
"I agree, Terir. That's why I need your help. I don't believe any of my soldiers would have given out that information. Nor am I suggesting that Khatib betrayed us," Adeenya added, cutting short Loraica's objections. "But he knew about it and now he's dead. Perhaps whoever killed him didn't want him able to talk anymore."
Loraica drew herself to her full height again and spoke. "If the formian is telling the truth, then who would be fool enough to show themselves as Khatib's killer, regardless of what lure you use?" Loraica said.
Adeenya said, "I find foolishness is never in short supply." Before Loraica could respond, Adeenya continued. "They'll reveal themselves if they think we already know who they are. If we spread the word that the formian knows who did it, then Khatib's killer either takes the chance that he or she won't be discovered… or eliminates the threat the formians knowledge represents," Adeenya said.
Loraica shook her head. "No. Jhoqo would never allow it. We're responsible for the prisoners and their safety."
Adeenya agreed and said, "There's no doubt that it's risky, but if there is a traitor among us, isn't it worth risking the life of a prisoner?"
Loraica continued shaking her head. "As a Maquar, a true soldier, we understand that the way we treat our prisoners indicates our own worth," the large woman said, folding her arms across her chest.
Adeenya took a deep breath and released it, holding back her barbed retort, before saying, "We do not kill our prisoners, and many Durpari have died protecting their prisoners in the past, as I'm sure have many Maquar. But we're talking about risking the formian for the safety of everyone in this citadel."
"This plan is the same as murdering the formian. He would become a target for Khatib's killer," Loraica said.
"For the traitor," Adeenya said. "Remember that. If there is a traitor among us, we need to lure him or her out before this goes any further. Before anyone else dies." She paused, letting her words sit on Loraica's mind. She wished she could make Loraica see what she saw, but knew it just wasn't possible. Adeenya cherished freedom and righteousness but knew that sometimes, the rules needed to be bent to achieve them. That was something a Maquar could never see.
Adeenya continued. "We will do everything we can to protect the formian until the traitor reveals himself. What's the other alternative? You agree we must reveal the traitor if there is one, yes?"
"Of course," Loraica said, pushing herself away from the wall to stand upright.
"And it seems quite possible that there is one, given Khatib's death, the attack, and my pendant, right?" Adeenya asked.
Loraica rolled her head from one shoulder to the other and ran a hand through her dark hair. Her lips curled and she asked, "And if we cannot protect the formian? If it dies?"
"Then we will have failed," Adeenya said, pausing for a moment. "But we'll have our traitor. It doesn't matter anyway, does it? There is no traitor." Adeenya grinned. "Right?"
Loraica's face showed her struggle with the idea. Adeenya wanted no one to die, but she was willing to let the formian die if it meant revealing the traitor.
"What would I need to do?" Loraica asked at last.
"Just tell a few of your soldiers that one of the formians knows who killed Khatib. Word should spread easily enough from there. And, before you ask, I'm not suggesting that it was one of the Maquar," Adeenya said.
"If the prisoner dies it will be on your head," Loraica said before turning to leave.
Adeenya watched her go, wondering if she had made the right choice in sharing her plan with Loraica. Adeenya did not doubt that Taennen would also have disliked her plan, so her odds of succeeding were about the same either way. Adeenya sighed and walked the opposite direction along the wall, headed toward the stairs that would lead to her quarters. It had been a long day, and she looked forward to some dinner and a chance to set aside her troubles.
Adeenya exchanged pleasantries with the guard at the northwest corner before descending the stairs. The fading light of the setting sun and the soft glow of Lucha gleamed on the polished stones of the citadel walls. She emerged into the courtyard. A Durpari soldier named Obeidat passed her, offering a salute, which she returned. Her movement was interrupted when she heard a dull thud behind her and spun on her heel to find Obeidat lying on the ground, an arrow shaft erupting from an eye socket. She sucked in a breath to shout an alarm, but was cut off by another arrow passing within inches of her face. She threw herself to the ground and shouted an alert. Her eyes cast about, looking for the source of the attack. When she found it, any doubts about her plan to ferret out the traitor flew far from her mind, and her resolve firmed.
Taennen sprinted forward, dirt flying into the air under his swift feet. Bringing his left arm up to cover his face with his shield, he reached out to grab Adeenya's belt. One arm would not carry her, but his momentum dragged her from her place out in the open courtyard just as an arrow struck the space. She continued to shout an alarm to the rest of the citadel.
Taennen dragged her several paces, stopped, and yelled for her to regain her feet. He looked over his shoulder to see the attackers, perhaps a dozen of the same masked invaders as before, in the middle of the courtyard. They carried long bows and loosed their arrows in every direction, showering the interior of the fortress with deadly shafts. They stood back to back in small groups, covering every direction, protecting one another from unseen reprisals. The invaders looked like statues in the garden of a wealthy merchant.
"Get down!" Adeenya knocked Taennen's leg from underneath him, toppling him to the ground. An arrow struck the building nearby. The archers had spotted them.
"Move!" she shouted. He rolled to his feet, and they ducked into the cover of the nearest building.
Taennen peered through to the other side to find two of the enemy archers had fallen to bowshots from the defenders, but sprawled about the courtyard at least three times that many Maquar and Durpari were dead or injured. Taennen stood flat against the wall again and forced a deep breath. His eyes came to rest at the top of the northern wall where he saw Loraica positioning Maquar archers. He made hand signs indicating that he would try to make it to the western wall to muster more fire power from there. Loraica nodded at this communication and turned her attention back to the men with her.