Relentless Potential (Original Fantasy)

A/N: Stealth mission time!

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"… I don't fully understand. Why don't we just kill this Lord Godman since we're already here?"

Admittedly, Thomas himself has considered that very same question. He doesn't really think of himself as an assassin, but there's no denying he has a particular set of skills that lend to that sort of work. Add Sevvi and her own skills to the mix and they really would make for an excellent kill team. Between the two of them, they could likely kill half of the nobility in the city before anyone mustered up the forces to try and stop them.

And while they certainly wouldn't be going that far, there was a litany of reasons for why Lord Solomon Godman needed killing at this point. So why then were they standing outside of the Godman Estate with absolutely zero intention of hunting down Lord Godman and slaying him tonight? Well, simple enough really…

"We don't want to make him a martyr, Sevvi. As satisfying as killing the bastard might be, if he dies in his own home by assassins, then all it does is galvanize his allies into action. That's why we need to find proof of House Godman's treachery. Proof that the King can use to call Lord Godman before the Royal Court to account for his crimes."

Sevvi makes a noise in the back of her throat, like she still doesn't fully understand. And maybe she doesn't. Everything she's told him has painted a picture of Dark Elf Politics that makes it clear they don't exactly have a concept of 'martyrs' or 'doing things by the book'. As far as her people's society is concerned, sending assassins is just as effective as any other political maneuver… more so in many cases, in fact.

Still, she falls in line like she always does, following his lead as Thomas moves them forward. Her maid uniform is nowhere to be found tonight, replaced instead by her old black leather armor that she'd tucked away upon them leaving Last Hope behind. Both of them are wielding nothing more than daggers, because if they had any cause for greater weapons, then something has gone terribly wrong.

Frankly, Thomas has been waiting for that last bit all week. Ever since he'd found out what sort of time crunch they were on, he'd been expecting the other shoe to drop. House Godman certainly wasn't going to let them just… get away with healing the Princess, right?

Well, to hear the King tell it, they probably had until the next treatment from House Godman's Specialist before things would start to unravel. That was in less than twenty-four hours, with multiple sessions where Sevvi had exhausted herself healing the Princess taking place over the last few days.

Finally, today, the Princess had woken up… and Thomas and Sevvi had taken their leave to prepare for this nighttime mission. Now here they were, aiming to sneak into the Godman Estate and find evidence of Solomon Godman's crimes.

Eventually, they reach a point where they can advance no further… without Sevvi's Gift at least. Pulling him in close, Sevvi grips down… and then shadow steps them both onto the roof of Godman Manor. She's immediately left a little wobbly afterwards, with Thomas holding her up even as they both duck down to make sure nobody sees them.

"Good job, Sevvi."

Even with everything shadow stepping two people takes out of her, she still finds the strength to preen at his praise. Thomas chuckles softly, even as they make their way over to a nearby hatch.

Getting the layout for the Godman Estate had fortunately been quite easy… or rather, the work had been done ages ago by the King's Spymaster, allowing Thomas and Sevvi to swoop in and benefit from it all now. Of course, the part they were doing now would also have already been done by this point if Spymaster Qyvern were capable of it.

Rather, the King hadn't been willing to risk being associated with an infiltration of House Godman's Estate while still relying on their aid for his daughter. Meanwhile, every deniable asset that Spymaster Qyvern had been able to acquire and send in had not come back out again.

This really was a Hail Mary play for the King and his Spymaster, which was why the King hadn't been willing to let Thomas and Sevvi make a go of it until after the Princess woke up. Ultimately though, Thomas wasn't worried… Sol Godman had seemingly depleted House Godman's best and brightest by bringing them all to Last Hope as far as Thomas could tell, and even House Godman's Guard Captain hadn't been worth anything in the face of Camilla.

The hatch on the roof leads him and Sevvi down into the mansion itself and from there, the two of them creep along all the way to Solomon Godman's office on the upper floor in the left wing of the property. Sticking to the shadows, they slip past both servants and guards alike, being seen by no one.

Finally reaching the office, Thomas nods to Sevvi, who slips in first through another shadowstep. By letting her go first to scout the situation, she can always slip right back out again if the office is occupied. But fortunately it's not and a moment later Sevvi unlocks and opens the office door from within, allowing Thomas to slip into the room.

The place is certainly opulent, along with being quite dark. No fire roars in the fireplace, no lanterns light the room up. That's alright though, because Thomas got very good at seeing in the dark back in Last Hope, specifically back during his time in the Darkwoods.

And Sevvi certainly doesn't have any issues, considering her origins. Together, they move over to Lord Godman's desk to begin going through it.

In the end, when it came to evidence… the King had been less than helpful on what they should look for. His answer when Thomas had asked had been 'anything and everything', making it pretty clear that the monarch didn't really know what to send them after.

Fortunately Qyvern had been able to narrow down their search a bit more. The Spymaster had been clear that they were looking for documentation above all else, even if it was in code… but also any proof that Lord Godman was actually working for foreign powers like the Dark Elves.

It was one thing to have a Dark Elf working for his House… but if they could find evidence that Lord Godman was outright subordinating himself and his House to the Dark Elves, then that would be exactly the sort of thing they needed to properly accuse him of treason. The sort of thing that would cause even his most stalwart allies to balk and turn their noses up at him.

Thomas had pretty much convinced the King and his Spymaster of his theory at this point. It all made too much sense, given what they knew. Sevvi on the other hand… she still wasn't so sure. The idea of her mother playing this sort of game without her knowing about it didn't seem to sit well with the exiled Princess.

But then, that was what tonight was about. Finding evidence. Finding proof. And as they begin pilfering through Lord Godman's desk, Thomas has high hopes… at least at first. It only takes the two of them a combined effort of about fifteen minutes to get through the entire thing and by the time they're done… they have nothing to show for it. Not even coded messages or anything like that.

That's alright though. It just means they need to expand their search. Moving away from the desk, Thomas and Sevvi begin checking the office's bookcases and walls instead. That's where they finally hit paydirt. It feels a little cliché, but maybe Thomas had just seen too much media back in his previous life… maybe he should have checked behind the massive painting of Lord Solomon Godman first, because of course there was a wall safe there.

Staring at the safe, Thomas frowns, not entirely sure how they're going to get into it without being incredibly obvious. If only he'd trained lockpicking as much as he'd trained stealth, but admittedly he hadn't had any need for such things until now…

"Allow me, Master."

Blinking, Thomas looks over just in time to see a smug smirk on Sevvi's face… and her entire arm writhed in shadows. She places her arm against the wall next to the safe and it disappears into the surface like there's nothing there. Thomas stares while Sevvi feels around for a moment, brow furrowed in concentration. Could she… always do that?

After rummaging around for a moment, she pulls her hand back out and there are a sheaf of letters held in her grasp. Looking down at them, her eyes narrow as she skims them one after the other.

"… These are written in the language of my people. They… they give instructions on how to induce Rot Lung faster… and this one very clearly explains how to produce the Rot that has created your Rotlands in the first place."

And there it was. The smoking gun, so to speak. Was it really that easy? Thomas could hardly believe it, even as he takes the letters from Sevvi. He sort of just has to though, because it's not like he can read the looping, swirling language filling the parchment.

Lord Godman had been a fool to keep these if they truly said all of the things Sevvi said they did. But then, he probably didn't think anyone would come along who could read the language and out them.

Well, this was all they really needed in the end, so it was probably time to go. Except when Thomas looks up, its to see Sevvi with her arm covered in shadow and back in the wall again.

"Sevvi? What are you doing?"

"I felt something strange before… please give me a moment Master."

Thomas makes a noise in the back of his throat at that, glancing over to the door even as he folds the letters up and tucks them away in his armor. They might not have a moment. He's about to tell Sevvi as much, but before he can…

Her eyes widen in disbelief and for a second Thomas worries something has gone truly wrong. Before he can do more than start to panic however, Sevvi pulls her arm back… and with it, she brings what she had felt the first time her arm went into the safe, clutching a large item now in her shadowy grasp.

… He'd recognize that spherical shape anywhere, even if he's only seen one once before. That singular experience back in Sevinarya's old hideout had been more than enough to make the sight of a Dark Elf Communication Orb stick with him, after all.

Sevvi looks flummoxed at the sight of the thing. Leaning in close, Thomas arches a brow.

"I assume these aren't particularly cheap back home, are they?"

"N-No… they're quite rare. Only the Royal Family and Favored Nobility have access to them."

Tearing her gaze away from the orb, Sevvi stares at Thomas.

"… You were right. Between the letters and this… my people are behind this. But if my mother has been playing this game all this time… why wouldn't she have said something? I was right there on the edge of the human lands… she would have told me even if only to give me tasks to complete that benefited her plans!"

Thomas grimaces and shrugs. He doesn't have a good answer for Sevvi… but he does know that they're done here. With Sevvi's testimony and translation of the letters as well as the communication orb on hand, the King will have all the evidence he needs to call House Godman to account for their secret alliance with the Dark Elves.

Hopefully, that will unite the rest of the nobility against Solomon Godman. After all, it's one thing to conspire against your fellow man and seek to rise above your station. It's another entirely to do it at the behest of someone else… someone who isn't even human.

They still needed to get out of here though. They needed to-

Thomas' senses scream at him to dodge… and so dodge he does, pushing Sevvi in one direction and flinging himself in the other just in time for a pair of throwing knives to fly through the space where their heads had been a moment before. The blades embed themselves in the wall even as Thomas and Sevvi land behind Lord Godman's large desk.

"Hm. Good reflexes."

The drawled words are unfamiliar to Thomas, even as he shares a quick look with Sevvi. She tucks the stolen communication orb under her arm and looks to him for orders on how to proceed. Thomas is tempted to just have her shadow step them both out of here, but he knows how tiring that is for her… if they're pursued, it might make escape harder if he was dragging her, gasping and panting for breath, along with him.

There's a tense stillness in the air for a moment… and then…

"You can come out if you want to talk. I won't try to kill you again… at least not immediately."

Brow furrowing, Thomas shares a nod with Sevvi… and then rises to his feet as she does the same, both of them coming out from behind the desk together. Only, the moment that they do so, another blade flashes through the air, aimed unerringly at Thomas' head.

This one, Thomas catches just before it can bury itself in his eye… and then, just as quickly, he whips it back the way it came.

The Dark Elf male who threw it in the first place leans out of the way almost casually, letting the throwing knife thud into the wood behind him even as he chuckles darkly.

"Well now. You are a fascinatingly quick human, aren't you?"

"Graelo?"

Sevvi's shocked voice makes the wicked smirk drop from the Dark Elf's face immediately, his red eyes flicking over to her and widening slightly before narrowing into slits.

"… Fourth Princess. What are you doing here?"

Oh? It would seem that news of Sevinarya's disownment had not yet reached this particular Dark Elf's ears. Thomas watches as the now identified 'Graelo' goes through a number of different facial expressions, seeming to struggle to come to terms with Sevvi's presence. Eventually, his eyes flick between her and Thomas and he settles for incredulity.

"… Are you the one I've heard about traipsing around in a human maid uniform? What in the world are you thinking? No… the Palace… did you heal the King's daughter? You didn't, did you?!"

Uh oh, now he's getting angry. Thomas tenses up, ready for a fight… only for Sevvi to speak up.

"Never mind any of that."

The sudden haughtiness of her tone catches him by surprise. She sounds a lot like her old self, except with even more arrogance injected into her voice. Suddenly, it's like she's looking down at Graelo as less than nothing… as a worm beneath her boots. The Dark Elf male shrinks a little bit in turn, as though it's instinctive for him.

"You are just as far from home, Graelo. But remember your place. You have no right to question me… nor do you have any right to impede my way. Step aside and speak nothing of what happened here tonight… or there will be dire consequences."

That was what Sevvi was going with? Thomas can't help but be a little perplexed. Surely Dark Elf Society wasn't that Matriarchal, was it? There was no way this guy was going to back down, not after he just tried to kill them both.

And yet, Graelo is clearly actually struggling with it. His earlier casual confidence is gone, replaced by a face contorting as though he's facing some insane pressure. His hands twitch, his body trembles, and for a brief moment, Thomas actually thinks it's going to work… that this Graelo guy is going to stand aside and just let them leave.

… But no. In the end, his eyes focus on the communication orb that Sevvi has tucked under her arm and his body goes still and calm.

"I'm afraid I must request that you hand over the communication orb first, Princess."

Sevvi sniffs haughtily, still playing up her role.

"I refuse."

"… Then we are at an impasse."

Hm. They certainly were…

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A/N: And so we're left with more questions than answers…

Please let me know what you think! Your feedback, suggestions, and ideas for this story are keeping the inspiration flowing in a big way!

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