Midnight silence cloaks the Isle of Celest. Together, the darkness and silence
of the night seems to hang over the city, a leaden presence. But here, if
nowhere else, the powers of night hold no malice, for here rests the capital
city of the Holy Celestine Empire, the throne of the Light. The empire sleeps
easy, and none more so than here.
However, there is something that takes advantage of the stillness of the
night. A lone figure, cloaked in black silk, climbs among the rooftops. It, or
rather, she, is noticeable only because she is all that moves, but there are
none to witness her this late, or at this height. Her lithe figure moves with
practiced ease, ascending gables, vaulting over gaps in the rooftops, climbing
ever higher and higher. She keeps her attention fixed on what she is doing, for
one misstep at this height leads to the ultimate failure. However, even now her
mind strays to her goal, a window set high in the Palace itself.

* * *

She faces him from across the room, her exotic stripes and well-groomed,
luxurious fur seeming to set his own dull, slate grey skin, and deadpan
expression in harsh relief. That is all most would see were they to be seen
together, a foreign aslaran, interesting because of her startling differences,
accompanied by a commonplace and utterly uninteresting orclach. The back room
of the inn was required to perpetuate this assumption and to keep their
"transaction" private.
"What's the target?" Her voice, a low purr, held an unmistakable authority to
it, which was easy to hear even over the noisy revelry coming from the main
room of the inn.
"Dipterus Natharian, the foremost planar expert in the Empire. A notable
advisor of the Emperor." Most of that was unnecessary, she didn't care what her
target did, she only needed the name. "Also, you are to deposit some…information
for us." He handed her a sheaf of papers, which she did not bother to look
through.
"How much are you willing to pay?" He named a price. "It's a public figure,
more risky, better double that. Also, where am I supposed to deposit this?"
When he named the location, her eyes narrowed, the first sign of emotion.
"Better triple that."

* * *

She slid the window open silently, there being no need to pick any locks or
undo any safeguards. After all, who would be foolish enough to break into the
Celestine Palace, and at this height? The learned merian slept easily, resting
in order to be ready to continue his quest to unravel the mysteries of the
universe the following morning. Or something like that, she honestly didn't
know.
She barely even looked at the slumbering figure, confident her light tread
would not awaken him. She instead concerned herself in picking out the right
poison to end his life, for she did not think it would do to make it obvious an
advisor of the emperor had been slaughtered in cold blood by less subtle
implements. Finally selecting the appropriate dealer of death, she carefully
coated a claw with the stuff. Moving ever more carefully and quietly, she
leaned down to prick Dipterus in a vein. Not enough to wake him, not enough to
be noticed later, but enough to finish the job. She turned to leave, already
dismissing him as dead.
The room where the files had to be planted was a bit more difficult to get
into; having certain magical protections to prevent theft, but it was nothing
she hadn't dealt with before. It was only a few minutes more to conceal the
files enough so as to not be conspicuous, but still easy to find. Retracing her
steps took a few more minutes, and soon enough she was making her way back
across the rooftops.

* * *

Four figures sat in shadow, a darkness that seemed to enclose around them,
embracing and defining them as much as concealing. One spoke in a voice
distorted by magic, seeming to address the figure across from him. "I am glad
we have called this meeting. We have quite a few misgivings about your plan.
Not least of which is whether you are sure Ladantine will even find our bait,
let alone understand it for what it truly is." Another figure spoke up. "And if
he will connect the death of Dipterus with this sudden finding" The third spoke
next. "Not to mention that even if all of this works, we do not know the Master
will take advantage of the circumstances."
Finally, the last man spoke, the voice calm, condescending. "You are all
worrying yourselves unnecessarily. Ladantine is utterly predictable, for he is
both an intellectual and a leader. He will know what the papers suggest, and he
will seize on an opportunity to explore the vastness of an entire new plane, and
thus win a great victory for his precious Light. Furthermore, he is not smart
enough to discover the truth of Dipterus' demise, no one in the Palace is. And
lastly, you are utterly foolish if you do not think Almighty Kethuru will not
take any chance that is laid before Him. He has been working on weakening the
Nine Seals for centuries. You all have no need to be nervous. Now, we need to
make sure everything is ready in Magnagora. Our time is coming soon, but we
must be careful not to stumble on these last few steps."