Conquest of Avalon

Play things right, and I just might come out ahead.

“Make sure to handle everything carefully,” Florette said, being massively hypocritical in the process. “We don’t have schematics yet, but these things use the same powder as their cannons and explosives. It could be volatile.”

In the gloom of the sunless sky, this far from any of Malin’s lamps, that was more difficult than it might have seemed. Even the moon hadn’t made an appearance. No one had thought to bring candles to a job taking place around noon, so they were stuck making do with the faint light flickering out of smokers’ tinderboxes to make sure everything was packed up securely.

“You heard her,” Eloise added. “If you want to blow yourself up, do it somewhere else.”

When every crate had been loaded back into the wagon, each crewmember arranged themselves in a line before them.

“Right, which of you had the flat fee?” Eloise folded her arms, surveying the people they’d managed to gather.

A little over half stepped forward, including the two Florette had managed to recruit. Jean and Paul, apparently, who had managed their role with no cause for complaint. Scant surprise they needed the immediate payoff, given what had happened to their last one.

“Make sure not to spend it all at once. Guardians are liable to break your legs if you flash too much silver, whether or not they figure out how you got it.”

Florette lifted a purse from her side, fumbling it with one hand while the other was stuck holding a wad of gauze to her ear.

Fuck’s sake.

Eloise snatched the purse out of her hands, earning herself a glare as she pulled out the prepackaged wad of paper mandala bills and handed each out. “Your part in this is done, and you’re welcome to go on your merry way. Of course, anyone who did a good job might see us come calling next time.” She tossed the empty purse into the wagon along with the crates of weaponry.

“That’s all of you, to be clear. Excellent work!” Florette called out as they began to disperse, slightly ruining the effect. “Everyone else, you have your notes of percentage for when the sale goes through. Should be higher than the flat fee, given your patience, but please keep in mind that things are volatile right now.”

“Yeah, advanced weaponry’s going to be less valuable during a cataclysm. Obviously.” Eloise hoisted herself up onto the driver’s seat of the wagon as the remaining crewmembers said their goodbyes and left.

That didn’t matter too much, honestly. There were far larger issues to deal with now.

Florette followed behind, trying to clamber up with only one hand.

“Here.” Eloise rolled her eyes as she held out her own, helping Florette up to the seat beside her. To her left, given the ear with the injury. “You’ve got to strap that to your head or something, maybe bandage it.”

“What?” Clearly her hearing was still far from its full capacity. “Something about a bandage?”

“Yeah, wear one, you idiot. I’ll grab you one once we’re done.”

Florette nodded. “We’ve got to be close, right? How many left?”

Eloise smiled as she picked up the reins. “Seven. Wanted to spread them out thoroughly, as a matter of logistics, you know.”

“Fuck…” Florette visibly sagged in her seat, head drooping. “I was hoping for, like, two.”

“Then you’re in luck, because that was the last one.” She chuckled as she got the horse to begin moving. “A pleasant surprise, no?”

“Uh… sure. Why do we have to move them again, anyway? Couldn’t we have just brought everything to your little cache from the start?”

“Oh, that’s brilliant! Why didn’t I think of that? We could have just told everyone to take it straight there, given them the exact location!”

“Don’t be an ass.”

“Impossible,” Eloise said with a smirk. “Honestly, if Captain Verrou were already here, it would probably be overkill. But with all of this…” She gestured vaguely at the sky. “It’s always better to be safe. Minimize risks.”

“Sure. I guess that makes sense.” Florette put a hand on her shoulder. “We can take it easy for a while, once we leave. I don’t have a ton of money left after paying the crew, but it should be enough to lay low for a bit. Enjoy the reprieve we’ve got from summer, you know?”

Are you patronizing me? “There’s no time for that. This is going to shake everything up. It’s an opportunity like no other.”

Florette blinked. “Sorry. I just thought, you know, after what you went through and everything…”

“It’s over now. There’s no need to discuss it.”

“No need, maybe, but it—No discussion, sure. Fine.”

Eloise spared a glance away from the road ahead to look at her partner of the moment. On the surface, she hadn’t changed much. Still twig-skinny, arms still lithely muscled. Her hair had gotten even longer, trailing elegantly behind her in the wind. The grime nested in it only diminished the effect a little, an understandable result of lying in the grass while they waited for the train.

Her eyes were still adorable, big soulful windows so dark a brown they were practically black. She always seemed so eager, so passionate it was cute, really, if wildly naïve.

Now, though, they were full of pity.

“Fuck,” Eloise muttered. I suppose I have to say something then. “It was horrible, alright? Trekking through a wasteland with nothing but fish and warm water, knowing it was all because my fucking crew betrayed me. Knowing that maybe some of it was my fault, too. But I got out. It’s done. Finished. No reason to spare it another thought.”

Florette hugged her closer. “I’m sorry. I can’t even imagine what you’re going through.”

Fuck you for that. “This helped,” she said instead, which was also true. “Nice to know I can still organize a job at least.”

“You can organize a job?”

“Help organize, then. Come on, you knew what I meant.”

“Sure.”

“Fine, you did a great job. Is that what you wanted to hear?” Eloise clapped her hard on the back. “Everything went perfectly until you shot the fucking governor for no reason. What the fuck was that?”

“Not now, please.” Florette adjusted the gauze against her head. “Later?”

“Fine.” Only fair, I suppose.

≋

What a mess. Clothing littered every surface, haphazardly scattered like the wreckage of an explosion. Against the window, stacks of paper towered feet off the desk, looking ready to collapse at any second. They nearly blocked the sunlight coming in through the window, keeping the room in a murky half-light.

Eloise snatched a paper from the top, examining the header as she continued to move through the room.

Mr. Mahoney

Advanced Algebra

14 Cinquième, 118

Over a month old. At least, presuming they weren’t using that stupid old Avalon calender with 13 months, but it had been about a hundred years since anyone had, so more likely it was just neglect. If that was one from the top, it didn’t say good things about the rest.

She lifted the covers from the bed, dipping her head down to look underneath. A familiar wooden chest sat there, so Eloise hauled it out into the room. A minute of lockpicking, and the latch released.

Inside was nothing but a single note, folded sloppily. Fuck you, Eloise, it read, in surprisingly neat script. Better than what had been written on the papers at the desk, anyway. Must have put some real effort into it.

Eloise closed the latch and shoved the box back under the bed, reluctantly impressed. She checked between the mattress and bed frame too while she was down, finding only a few hundred mandala notes wedged at the center, which she left.

The next stop was the closet, where clothes at least had the decency to be hung up properly. A few uniforms, a leather jacket dyed black, even some dresses Eloise remembered from back when she’d worn them, what felt like a lifetime ago.

Sweeping them aside revealed a board hanging on the wall behind them, papers pinned to it written in some kind of code, the words not matching Avalon’s language or her own. A substitution cipher, by the look of things, since there were so many two and three letter words sprinkled through. Shouldn’t have left the spaces, makes it even easier.

Worst of all, what was unmistakably a balance scale sat at the bottom of the closet, clumsily hidden under a few blankets, just begging for someone to come across it.

Nothing else looked suspicious, so there was nothing else for it.

Eloise ripped a paper from the board and took it to the desk. Fortunately there was a pen visible in the mound of messiness, although the ink needed refilling. I was never good at doing that without spilling it. Damn frustrating thing, that, and then if it was during class she’d have ink all over her hands to show off her clumsiness for the rest of the day. Worse if it got on her clothes, since whatever they used was practically impossible to wash out.

Fuck it.

She popped open the inkwell and simply dipped the fountain pen inside as if it were a quill, then began inscribing notes as she decrypted the cipher.

It turned out even more trivial than expected, since each letter had simply been shifted by six. Not even arbitrary substitutions. Eloise clicked her tongue as she wrote out the original message, trying to drip as little ink as she could manage.

Jasmine owes forty-three, but her grandfather just died. Give her some time.

Michael paid 500 to Anne last time. Make sure he doesn’t find out how much he overpaid. Could be trouble otherwise. Be ready to make Anne apologize and give the difference back, if necessary.

Ms. Foster is suspicious, tell everyone in her class that you have to cool off for a couple months to be safe. Might have to figure out something else for Eustace, since he’s not going to want to stop.

Celeste seemed interested in micro-dosing, let her try it out for free. If it’s not for her, no harm, no foul. Same story for James.

A faint noise sounded through the door, approaching footsteps. “Is your roommate going to mind?”

“No roommate! My sister got me a single. It’s fucking amazing! No need to deal with some mouth-breathing idiot getting into my space.”

Eloise took the opportunity to pin the sheet back up against the board, covering it with clothes once more.

“What?”

“It’s already unlocked… I definitely locked it when I left.”

“Floor supervisor?”

“She knows not to mess with my stuff. What—” The door swung open, revealing Margot and some other boy with her around the same age, or perhaps a bit older. It was hard to tell, for kids that age.

Margot had gotten a lot taller since last time, her hair cut shorter than shoulder length, but she had the same defiant cast to her face as before. She was wearing the school’s uniform, at least, that stupid frilly-looking white shirt and long blue skirt, but she’d torn off the sleeves and hemmed up the skirt, by the looks of it. At least that much is fairly benign.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

Why is it always like this when I come back?

Eloise smiled, leaning back against the wall. “It’s nice to see you too.”

The boy bumped his elbow against her. “Hey, do you know this lady?”

Margot sighed. “Yeah. She’s my sister.”

“You’ll have to excuse us,” Eloise added, waving her hand to shoo him out the door. “Goodbye.”

The kid looked incredulously at Margot, who didn’t seem to have any answers for him. He sighed, then retreated back down the hall.

“What do you want?” Margot set her bag down on the bed. “I was kind of in the middle of something.”

“My last trip was excellent, thank you for asking. Everything went brilliantly. I even brought another present for you.” She wasn’t entirely sure why she always brought souvenirs from her trips, but it seemed to help.

“Oh. Thank you.”

Eloise reached into her pocket, pulling out the piece of bleached wood she’d managed to carry all the way from Refuge.

“It’s a remnant of a spirit-touched tree in Refuge, petrified by blight. It might even still have some slight traces of Cya’s power locked within.”

“You were in Refuge? That’s so cool! Did you see the ruins?”

“I did. I had to fight off some of the spirit-touched to get inside, then scavenge them for supplies. I even met Cya.”

“Shit, really? Wow!” Margot grasped for it, but Eloise pulled it back out of her reach.

“Not yet. I have some things I need to discuss with you, first.”

“Great.” Margot frowned, all traces of excitement disappearing from her face. “Go ahead. What?”

I wonder where she gets that charm from. “You got the money, right? Should have been a few months ago?” Florette said she dropped it off, but…

She blinked. “Uh…”

Wonderful. “I had someone leave it at the place I got for Dad, just like always. Are you telling me you haven’t visited him once since then?”

“I was going to, ok? I’ve just… I’ve had a lot going on. And it’s… I mean, you know what it’s like to go see him.” Depressing, though she was at least being polite enough not to say it. “I haven’t run low enough for it to be an issue, and my tuition’s paid up through the year.”

“Really? I’m impressed how well you managed to make your savings last.”

“Heh… Yeah, that’s me. I’m… thrifty, you know.”

Why even bother with such an obvious lie? Even as a child, she’d always blown whatever Eloise could give her on sweets within hours of receiving it. And these days, she seemed to burn through whatever Eloise gave her directly almost as fast as she could send it. I’ve probably spoiled her, giving her too much. Eloise took care of the essentials herself, like room, board, and tuition, so there wasn’t any risk of Margot spending her way onto the street, but still… She doesn’t remember how it was. Too young.

Margot rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, thanks for letting me know about the money! It was great seeing you, can’t wait to do it again. Hope your next trip goes well, etcetera etcetera.”

Eloise laughed. “Oh, I’m not done with you yet.” She ripped the blankets off of the scale in the closet, leaving it indisputable. “Doing some measurements?”

Let’s hope she can do better this time.

Margot's fists clenched tightly, her eyes searching the room for an explanation. “It’s for my physics class. We’re comparing mass and displacement, you know.”

“Then why is it under a pile of blankets?”

“Uh… the assignment was a long time ago. Haven’t needed it in a while.”

“Sure.” Eloise picked up the scale, wedging the base in her lap as she put her hands around the thin metal arms supporting each vessel. “Who was the kid with you?”

“Who, James?” Margot blinked. “Nobody. Just a friend. An acquaintance, really.”

“A friend who wants to try microdosing.” Eloise pulled on the thin supports of the scale until they snapped, ruining the scale. “How kind of you, to help him try it out for free.”

“Wait, how did you know that?”

“You’re not as smooth as you think you are.” She tossed the mangled wreck of a balance to the floor. “Really, Margot, a substitution cipher with a six letter shift? Were you trying to hide your secrets from a seven year old?”

She gulped, eyes turning to the decoded message Eloise had written on the desk. “I can explain.”

“I told you to stay out of trouble. You could ruin everything you have with this.” Eloise tore the paper into the shreds, letting them drift down to the floor. “You may not remember how things were right after Mom died, but it was bad. These people here? Your school chums? They might value the service you’re providing, but if you get caught, they won’t stand by you for a second. The Guardians’ won’t care that you’re fourteen, they’ll lock you up just the same. That’s if the Governor doesn’t decide to fucking kill you.”

“I think you’re exaggerating. There was an older kid, Mark, he got caught with eight pounds of naca extract and a knife. Do you know what they did to him? Suspension. For three days. He graduated fine, and no one cared.”

Eloise folded her arms. “And what was this Mark’s last name? Where are his parents from?”

“Uh… Esterton. His parents live here, but his uncle’s some official in Cambria.” Margot seemed to realize the implication as she finished speaking. “But still, they treated it like it was no big deal. They wouldn’t treat me that differently.”

“Yes, frankly, they will. It’s a certainty.” Eloise sighed. “Malin may be your home, but as far as these people are concerned, you’re still a foreigner. They’re the ones running shit, and they’re never going to forget that you don’t have some cousin in the Great Council. You don’t even have a surname, Margot. They’ll toss you aside the moment it suits them, or for no reason at all. Even James, I’m sure.”

She gulped. “But you took that risk. You take it every day when you’re out on that ship with Robin Verrou. Probably more that you don’t tell me, right?”

That hit her like a slap to the face, but she maintained her composure. “What do you know about risks? I had to do what I did. Have to do what I do. You don’t.” Eloise grabbed her hand, forcefully pulling her up. “Now take me to your stash so we can get rid of it.”

Margot snarled, but she did lead the way.

≋

Jacques’ shop had hardly changed since last time, save the displays being rotated around a bit. More of the lit candles had been clustered towards the front, casting their light far into the street. Most likely they were the cheapest inventory, but lighting them for marketing at a time like this still seemed wastefully extravagant.

Then again, it did seem to be working. A line stretched down the street, pressed against each other and the walls where they could for warmth. Periodically, someone would step out through the door with a few candles under their arms, and the next would be allowed through. Limits per customer, then.

Smart.

There were only so many candles, after all, only so many lights available. The Governor’s people had already come through to extinguish more than half of the street lamps for similar reasons, which meant that lamp oil, too, was probably in limited supply. A potential opportunity. This crisis seemed to be presenting so many, but better first to focus on the task at hand.

Eloise slipped an eyepatch out of her pocket and fixed it on her face, keeping one eye adjusted to the dark just in case there was any need to leave quickly, or through the tunnels.

Eyes clung to her, full of rage, as she shouldered past the front of the line and into the store. Nothing compared to the glares I’ll get inside, though.

A wall of light assaulted her eyes deeper within the store, but it was nothing that couldn’t be adjusted to. It helped that it was warmer inside, too, allowing her to shrug off her heavy coat and leave it on the rack at the back. Elsewhere, she might have kept it with her to ensure it was kept safe.

Here, no one would dare.

Eloise opened the door to the back room, slipping in quickly and closing it behind her before any customers had a chance to see.

Jacques was talking to a few of his lieutenants, placeholders to help spread his influence more easily across the city without needing any thoughts of their own. Mince was among them, notably, the tall woman with a scarred face to whom Jacques had delegated operations at the north end of the city.

What he offered me, before I left.

Scant surprise that she didn’t look pleased to see her, really. Not that that was particularly unusual, anyway.

“Hello, Jacques.” Eloise nodded to him, then turned her head to each of the others. “Mince, Marco, Aneoeuf, Ms. Sunderland. A pleasure as always, especially under such bright circumstances.” She folded her arms. “I need to have a discussion with Jacques.”

“We’re in the middle of something,” Mince growled. “Wait outside.”

Eloise smiled. “Privately,” she added.

Jacques nodded, waving his hand towards the hatch on the floor. One by one, the lieutenants exited the room, descending down into the tunnels beneath. Mince shot her an extra special glare on her way down, too, which was nice.

“Ysengrin tells me that you took care of our little issue,” Jacques said once they were alone. He was thinner than the last time she’d been in town, his hair greyer, but otherwise much the same. Same fancy coat, same collection of rings, same frown perpetually plastered to his face. “It’s done?”

“No, I just figured I’d say that to fuck with you, see what happens. Claude’s talking to those detectives right now, telling them all about you.” The corner of her mouth curled up as she leaned back against the wall. Claude wouldn’t have said a word, you paranoid old prick. Eloise completely understood the logic, minimizing risk above all else, but when the risk was negligible and the actions you took to eliminate it unnecessarily bloody…

After the disaster on her ship, it was all the clearer how important it was to keep underlings happy, even idiotic ones. The more of them you killed, the harder that would be, even if fear could keep them in line for a while.

“Thank you.” Jacques sighed. “Sometimes I fear that you took what I said about the benefits of speaking indirectly rather too literally.”

“At least it’d mean I was following your advice.”

He smiled. “True enough. Perhaps I should be grateful.

“I wouldn’t say no to that.”

Jacques cleared his throat. “Have you given any more thought to that job offer?”

Not really. In practice, saying yes meant committing to staying; saying no meant committing to Florette. “I’m still mulling it over. It’s been a long time, Jacques. And not everyone’s so happy at the thought of having me back.”

“Eh!” He waved his hand. “They’re irritated at you for leaving. That’s a slight that your presence can mend. I’ll make sure that it does.”

“That’s kind of you to offer, but—”

He held up a finger. “Just think about it. This business with the sun, it’s an opportunity like nothing I’ve seen since the Foxtrap. A logistics problem without peer, with potential rewards untold. I’d like to have you at my side again for that.”

“I’ll think about it. Just give me a bit more time.”

Florette should be done seeing that Leclaire girl by now. Just a few hours left until her ship leaves.

Or is it our ship?

Eloise put her coat back on and left the store through the front, grabbing a few candles on her way out. Why not?

It never hurt to have a little extra light.