Daevyl fell silent, realizing that his efforts this time had been a complete failure. Yagra gently tugged on his sleeve, suggesting he drop all pretense and just get to the point.
With a sigh, the Sun elf abandoned the thought of continuing his verbal sparring with Charles: "He is a member of the elite squad organized by the gold dragonborn to hunt down Montport. However, he came back gravely wounded and defeated, which means that the situation deep in the mountains is even worse than we thought."
"The gold dragonborn may conceal this news for their own interests, but the shadowy intelligence networks have an obligation to bring the truth to the public. Admittedly, some of our methods may skirt the law, but Mr. Charles, surely you don't wish to see so many lives lost for lack of timely intel, do you?"
He was attempting to leverage his ideals as a threat, but unfortunately Charles wasn't buying it. Fixing Daevyl with a hard stare, Charles weighed his options for a moment, then decided to squeeze a little more out of him.
So, a sly smile curved the corners of his lips: "I trust the just gold dragonborn will make this news public at the first possible moment – but I'm afraid, Mr. Daevyl, that you'll take your nephew's intel just to threaten and blackmail others."
He paused, then added, "Much as you did last night."
Daevyl's brows shot up instantly and his blood pressure spiked. Looking at the smile on Charles's lips, he was certain this man did not trust the gold dragonborn at all; he just wanted to wring more benefit out of the whole thing.
Just like Daevyl wanted to see Adelan, not for the city's safety but for his own interests and perhaps also to spite the gold dragonborn.
But in the end, Daevyl suppressed his anger. "Fine. Then let me give you one bit of intel for free. Will that do?"
"About what?"
"The Alliance of the Mountain Purifiers."
"Oh?" Charles shook his head, ready to say he wasn't interested and to ask for something more useful, when Daevyl continued: "They have a very important traitor in their midst – many decisions of the higher-ups have had this person's influence behind them."
"Once you have this information, with the slightest bit of maneuvering, you could bring the Highmountain tribes – by which I mean their minotaur..."
As he spoke, the Sun elf's eyes narrowed, a hint of cold light flashing: "Extermination."
At last, the intel he possessed had some use again, and his veiled words hit Charles's weak point, right on target.
Charles's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"Anything Adelan says about the demons, you must share with me," Charles said. "I don't care about anything else."
"No problem," said Daevyl. "As long as you keep it confidential from the public."
Charles was quietly amused. Just now Daevyl claimed he wanted to spread the truth about the mountains to the world as soon as possible to protect Liberl Port from further disaster, and now he wanted secrecy instead.
Still, he didn't refuse, simply nodding. "Deal."
With that, he led the way, saying, "Follow me—he should be awake at this hour."
...
Adelan was indeed already awake. After several days under the healing effects of divine magic, his wounds were more than seventy percent healed. His body was still weak, but at least all his fractures and internal injuries had completely recovered; a day or two of rest would see him restored to full health.
But compared to the pain in his body, what tormented him more was the agony within his heart. The bitter memory of defeat, and the guilt toward Anno, Charles, and the others who had helped him, gnawed at him relentlessly.
He wanted nothing more now than to hurry home to the Golden Dragon Bank, deliver his report to his superiors, and then take a long vacation to recover.
Yet unexpectedly, just as he was preparing a simple breakfast less than half a day's trip from headquarters in the Rubble District, another change of fate awaited him.
As he finished washing up and was about to eat, Charles's call rang out from afar: "Mr. Adelan, your relatives have come to see you!"
A look of confusion crossed Adelan's face; he turned and saw Charles, a strange half-orc woman, and a familiar tall silhouette approaching.
As soon as he recognized that figure, his face changed dramatically: "Uncle Daevyl!"
His feelings in that instant were complicated – on one hand, he really needed something from his uncle; on the other, he didn't want his own intel to be taken by him...
Meanwhile, facing his nephew, the usual self-assured smile returned to Daevyl's face.
At Adelan's cry, the Sun elf nodded slightly, "It's me, Adelan. So, where's your tent? Let's have a proper talk."
Adelan glanced at Charles uncertainly, then bowed his head in resignation and led the group back to his tent.
Once inside, Daevyl got straight to the point: "I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"
Adelan gritted his teeth. "The good news first."
"The good news is that the matter you asked me to look into is showing results," Daevyl said, "but the bad news is that it's even more complicated than you imagined – the price may be too high for you to pay."
Adelan opened his mouth, then dropped his head in resignation. "Alright, Uncle, what do I owe you?"
Daevyl kept up his mild smile: "After all, in our line, firsthand intel is sometimes more precious than gold."
"I remember that your martial skills and spells are outstanding. This time you even set out with a team of top elites, yet this is how it ended."
"I want to know: what actually happened deep in the mountains? And how are the others now?"
Adelan cast another glance at Charles, hesitating, but Daevyl prompted him right away: "Mr. Charles worked hard in all this, so I'm obliged to share whatever intel I get with him."
Yagra lifted her chin, fixing a look on the half-elven's face.
Adelan was silent for a long time, visibly struggling, but at last he spoke: "Actually, there were no new changes or dangers deep in the mountains. We lost only because we underestimated Montport and fell right into his traps."
He sighed. "But if this truth is made public, it will seriously damage the company's reputation – that's why I didn't want to tell Priest Charles, and decided to inform the gold dragonborn first so they can handle public opinion."
Charles frowned slightly; what Adelan said was true. The same set of facts, if presented with different framing, can produce drastically different effects.
The classic examples: 'always beaten and always fighting' and 'always fighting and always beaten.'
With the right spin, the gold dragonborn could turn this into a story of heroic tragedy; in their enemies' hands, it would just become a tale of incompetence.
Still, Adelan's habit of putting company reputation ahead of public safety left Charles unhappy—after all, if Montport caused more trouble, he and Anno might well be the first casualties.
Daevyl's expression turned grave. "Enough chatter—give me a detailed account of everything: every detail, and above all, tell me what powers Montport has!"
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