The Elvish Carnival was one of the high-cla.s.s pubs located in the capital city of Eldinor. Catering to the richest of clientele, although this establishment was called a "pub", it"s appearance would baffle anyone who lay their eyes on it.
From the outside, it was just a drab door with the symbol of an elf dressed as a joker hanging above it.
Yet, if a common person tried to enter, they would be thrown out promptly unless they could prove that they had been invited to this establishment.
Indeed, it was an exclusive members-only pub which was rumored to be owned by an individual who was simply called the "masked man".
4 buildings away, Olfax was keeping watch on the Elvish Carnival using a special trinket given to all sleeper agents. To the outside, it looked like a simple cylinder of metal. Yet, when placed at a location, it would be able to transmit all sounds around it to the one holding its other part.
Right now, Olfax had a small piece of parchment in his hand in which were scribbled unintelligible lines. Yet, to the trained eyes of the spies of Lanthanor, it would be clear that he was marking the movements and actions of all those present inside the pub.
It was the day before the meeting which had been communicated through the parchment he had snuck into her robes, and he had been lying down unmoving for more than 6 hours in fear that he might attract the attention of the people pa.s.sing by on the road. The building he was in was currently under construction, and he had been using a hidden hollow that wasn"t visible unless there was movement from inside.
As he got up, a cracking sound could be heard as he stretched his muscles and felt the numbness go away.
After carefully looking around to ensure that no one was observing him, Olfax quietly left the building and approached the inn where he had been lodging since he came to Eldinor.
After greeting the inn owner who was now happy that he had paid his debt in full, he made his way up the stairs to the room adjacent to his.
Knocking the door first, he waited until it was opened by a man with a long white beard and mustache.
Nodding to him respectfully, he entered the door before immediately kneeling on the ground with one knee seeing the man sitting in the chair facing the door.
This man had short, black hair and a short goatee which accentuated his sharp chin. Looking to be around 25 years old, he was heavily built as if he had trained as a fighter all his life.
"My King, I sense no special movements. All the soldiers who were present watching two days back have left the premises, except for a few who were left behind. I have marked their locations and they will not be a problem."
Hearing the information, the man frowned deeply before nodding and gesturing at Olfax to relax.
Indeed, these two individuals were Daneel and Kellor who had used disguises to enter the Kingdom of the Elves. Of course, Kellor was using the Exalted Human Level spell "Disguise" whereas Daneel was using the tool by the system.
Although Daneel had full confidence in escaping danger using his clone, he still did not wish to take any unexpected risks that he might be able to avoid.
2 days back, on the day of the original meeting reported by Olfax when he had gone to the palace, numerous soldiers had secretly infiltrated the Elvish Carnival. In fact, even the guards had been replaced by mages using disguise spells.
This last important piece of information had been caught by Olfax only because he had been scouting the location since a week. Thus, he was quite familiar with the behaviors of the servants and the bouncers.
Thus, it was quite clear to identify that they had been switched out by mages using disguise spells as no matter how closely the physical appearances might match, the small nuances of an individual could not be copied convincingly unless someone took the time to study that person extensively.
Thus, the news about Olfax coming to the Palace and giving the information was known by the Queen. Of course, this was a given as all such meetings were recorded and sent to the Queen, and there was no way for Eldra to hide it.
Thus, it was only natural that the pub would be crawling with counter-intelligence forces intent on catching the rebels who wanted a change in leaders.h.i.+p.
Right now, what was most puzzling was that the guards had been removed, and for all intents, it looked like Eldra had hidden the information about the second meeting from her mother.
Yet, what was fishy about the whole situation was that Olfax had gone to clean the sewers and eavesdrop on Eldra the day after he had snuck the piece of parchment into her robes.
On that day, he hadn"t been able to hear anything except for a silent sobbing which signified that even though Eldra had been in her room, she had just been crying almost all day.
It was this piece of information which threw everything off. Why was she crying? Was it because she had made the decision to betray her mother? Or was it because she had reported it and had lost perhaps the last chance to go against her mother?
Daneel hated not knowing. Alas, this itself had been obtained due to the hard work of this man who was ready to do anything for his Kingdom.
"My Lord, what do we do? It still might be a trap. Should we err on the side of the caution?"
Hearing this, only a chuckle escaped Daneel"s lips.
....
The next day, it was business as usual in the Elvish Carnival. Couples and families made their way over to enjoy the renown delicacies that were exclusive to the pub, along with its long list of wines imported from various locations all around Angaria.
At exactly noon, an elf walked into the pub. Although she was initially stopped by the bouncers, she flashed some kind of identification which made them shrink back and allow her to go inside. Before doing so, she also left instructions to allow anyone who came looking for her.
Because there had only been limited means of communication, the two parties ion this meeting had no choice but to resort to such crude means.
A few moments later, a short pot-bellied man made his way over to the pub. Seeing that he was a regular who often frequented the pub during the night, the bouncers let him in although they were puzzled at the reason behind his change in schedule.
Walking inside, the man looked around before heading in a direction and taking a booth which was empty.
After he did so, he first looked around the room for a few minutes before taking out a small blade from his pocket.
As he held the blade to the wall, a red light emanated from it after which a hole was quickly drilled.
BOOM
Just as he was about to push a small trinket through the hole to communicate with Eldra who was on the other side, the doors were kicked open by an Elf wearing yellow robes.
The Elf simply raised his hand, and the pot-bellied man found himself being lifted into the air, immobile. s.p.a.ce had already been locked in the area, and it looked like he was caught red-handed.
Hearing the commotion, Eldra who had been sitting in the adjacent booth ran out to see the man being held in the air with his arms stretched out.
Seeing her come out, the Elf who had his hand raised said, "Miss, I have everything under control."
Yet, Eldra seemed to have gone deaf as she did not respond even the tiniest bit to the words of the Elf. Instead, her face was turned towards the man held in the air and her expression was hidden from the Elf due to her hair.
Thinking that she was just shocked, the Elf shrugged before saying, "You are under arrest for crimes against Eldinor. All your rights to be tried in a court of law have been waived due to Act 143 pa.s.sed by Queen Eldara where those suspected to be conspiring against the foundation of the Kingdom will be sent directly to interrogation. Come quiet-"
Before he could finish his sentence, the pot-bellied man smiled before saying, "Bye."
With confounded expressions, both Eldra and the Elf watched on while the person who they thought was in their grasp disappeared into the air as if he were made of nothing but smoke and dust.
Back in the room inside the inn rented by Olfax, Daneel opened his eyes and smiled wide after regaining control of his original body.