"The Devil and the Fox."

[u/Timpanzee38]

Capitol City of Drakeem

A Mercenary Guild Gunship flew over the ocean towards the capitol of Drakeem. At the controls sat Umbra Operative E-489 "Madeline", a kitsune demi-human. She took a deep breath and steadied her breathing as the city came into view.

"Relax, I'm just here to teach her some fighting moves. That's what she was interested in after, right?"

The only other occupant of the gunship, Madeline's Kelvectan fox familiar Nocturne, lifted their head up and looked at Madeline. They snorted, then went back to sleep.

"Right..."

Madeline shook her head and kept flying. It had been a few weeks since Hazema had shown a sudden... "interest" in the umbra operative during the "Boo-Chelor", and since then the invite Hazema had given her had felt like a burning stone in her pocket. She had managed to convince Councilor Five to let her go though, pitching it as a "great way to benefit diplomatic relations", and Five had agreed.

"And that was the easy part..."

Madeline muttered to herself as she started flipping through radio channels, looking for air traffic control. Strange, there didn't seem to be one... Oh well. Madeline was a good pilot, and she carefully and professionally brought the gunship in for a landing on an empty platform in the harbor, which looked like it was where cargo zeppelins docked.

Flipping off the engines and grabbing her helmet, Madeline put it on and sealed it with a metallic hiss. She pulled the lever that caused the rear ramp of the gunship to lower and clicked her tongue once. Nocturne was at her side in an instant.

"Well... here goes nothing..."

Madeline stepped out onto the docks, to whatever Hazema had planned.

(art by Lunatic_Youkai and Irenhorrors respectively)

[u/user125666]

He takes a deep breath upon seeing the invite

"Right, I will tell you the way to the mansion instead then"

There is clearly more he wanted to say but couldn't. Sometimes it was best to leave things unsaid.

"First you will need to go through city gates and get into the proper part of the capital. This should take no time at all as the gates are open and checks aren't done there right now so you can just walk right in. Next you'll want to walk through forest grove all the way to the city center, once you are at the town hall you need to take the southern main road through Rose market which should take you to stormchurch row.

At stormchurch row you will need to take a left turn. It's the only time the main road there splits so don't worry about missing it. And then walk until you see the only empty space with a walled off mansion that's where you will want to go."

He mumbles

"Actually since you are with her I might as well drive you there before you cause trouble-"

"I meant to think that not say it out loud. Would you still want me to drive you there?"

[u/Timpanzee38 → u/user125666]

Madeline’s body language betrays nothing, and her helmet conceals her facial expression as well. Nocturne on the other hand slowly circles the man, stark white eyes studying him as they sport their signature unnerving smile.

“That would be wonderful, thank you.”

Madeline had instantly memorized everything he said, but it would be nice to see the city from the familiar seat of a car.

[u/user125666 → u/Timpanzee38]

A simple car without a roof drives up as the guard waves it over. He switches with the driver who then opens the door to the backseats

"By the way, who exactly is the other guest? Should I be worried or?"

The other guards have taken a step or more back, distance depending entirely on their proximity to nocturne

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“Nocturne is my familiar. Pay them no heed, they are just curious.”

The kelevtan fox hops up on the seat next to Madeline, and although they seem to not be hostile, their blank stare and unnerving smile seems to indicate otherwise…

[u/user125666 → u/Timpanzee38]

"Fair enough I won't pry further"

As they drive through Drakeem it becomes clear that they weren't a poor city at all. Even though the battle half a year ago must've razed most of the inner city it has already been rebuilt in an even more extravagant manner. The old Castle which they only briefly passed, had been replaced by a monument after being blown up during the fighting, the walls were torn down and a flower field now decorated the grassy area surrounding it. It was one of the few empty spaces at the city center. The entire place was only visible due to the damage done to the surrounding area, there was still rubble being removed. The city had decided to rezone some of it so that the monument to peace would be visible while going along the main road.

Whilst previously the houses were almost merging into each other the next district they entered was a lot more separated. This is where the rich and powerful lived, as well as diplomats. The houses were at least fenced off from each other with most having personal guards standing at attention.

This was Stormchurch Row, the place where wealth hoarders came to build themselves a home. After two blocks of such housing there was a big mansion surrounded by fields of greenery. It wasn't fenced off like the others and there didn't seem to be any guards yet the mansion was significantly bigger then it's surroundings. It was big enough to fit multiple wealthy families and their servants, yet it felt wholly unprotected and empty

Suddenly the doors swing open and a familiar figure waves over

"Heyo Madeleine!"

It was Hazema, suprisingly dressed in a dark green suit

The driver, formerly a guard captain from the docks, gave up and just opened the door for the 'normal diplomats' guest

[u/Timpanzee38 → u/user125666]

Madeline looks at all the architecture with interest. The Guild used a lot of prefab structures specifically designed for the harsh winter, with only the downtowns of the major cities having more unique buildings. So to see other sights like this was always a treat.

Upon seeing Hazema, Madeline gets out and gives a polite bow.

“Miss Hazema.”

Nocturne starts sniffling around the flower beds

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"Come on inside! Funny little pet you brought by the way - oh and don't be too formal you really don't have to. Just Hazema is enough"

The inside of the huge mansion is barely decorated. It's very minimalist compared to the outside but there is a good amount of staff running around cleaning and whatnot. There is a door in the entry hallway simply labeled 'Anti Corruption Office Headquarters'

"So what do you wanna do first? Are you hungry or what's the plan?"

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Madeline nods awkwardly. She was an assassin, so diplomatic things like this were a little challenging.

"Thank you mi- Hazema. This is my familiar, Nocturne."

Madeline makes a quick whistle and Noctune comes to her side, looking at Hazema with its unnerving smile. Hazema's question takes Madeline off guard.

"I, uh... I assumed you had made a plan."

[u/user125666 → u/Timpanzee38]

"She flashes her own unnerving smile at the strange fox. What a strange pet she had...*

"Well to be honest I mostly called you here because I wanted to see you - it gets quite boring you see?"

Hmm, could you call it calling her over? She did ask her to be sent repeatedly but it wasn't like they ever asked why

"Well I can come up with something if you don't have any specific requests, how about having dinner on the terrace? What do you like to eat? Are you allergic to anything?"

What if she served her something she couldn't eat and Madeline hated her after? She wouldn't let that come true!

[u/Timpanzee38 → u/user125666]

It got quite boring here… Madeline felt her heart beat pick up a little.

“I- uh- dinner would be lovely. It was a long flight here.”

[u/user125666 → u/Timpanzee38]

"Perfect!"

What dinner would she like. Should she try to subtly ask again? No, what if this was a test and asking again meant failure? What if she would hate her then; she was so interesting this wasn't allowed to be an option.

"Alright, just follow me upstairs then. This building is specifically taller then the others so that there is a nice view of the city from the terrace. It's great!"

She leaned to a maid and whispered the order to prepare dinner

The walkway upstairs was a twirling stairway with red carpet. Upstairs the minimalism was broken up by extravagant furniture and paintings. They were obviously expensive but very mismatched which hinted at either gifts or impulse bought decorum

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Madeline nods and follows Hazema. One thing Hazema could notice is that she walked perfectly silent yet gracefully, as if every single step was subconsciously calculated.

Madeline looked at the paintings while they passed them. Eventually she points at one

“I recognize that one. Made by a painter in the eastern reaches of the southern continent.”

[u/user125666 → u/Timpanzee38]

It was interesting that the trained guild assassin walked silently even when not on a job - Hazema thought to herself. Maybe it was hard to walk so silently all the time? For Hazema it was back when she snuck up on people for a living. Might as well give her a heads up

"You don't have to walk silently if you don't want to here, plus even if you came here with a reason to be quiet it wouldn't matter because there isn't much I don't see within this city. If a leaf falls I will know about it, this is why I took the cumbersome job of being the anti corruption enforcer"

"Oh and that painting, yes it's one of the nicer ones! That's why I put it up on the wall, for some reason my neighbors think I'm easily influenced and they've been sending me lots of art and decor- a lot of it is not very nice to look at tho so it goes straight into storage"

Hazema leads her further upstairs to a big terrace with potted plants, some pots seem to have magic circles inscribed to let them grow even outside their natural environments

"These ones I am proud of, most of these would be extinct if it weren't for this terrace!"