66 Vol 2. pt. 3 Patch 1.0: Encounter at the Festival (1/2)

The designated rendezvous location is none other than The Shoebill. After all, it's the only place in the city where they can really expect any privacy. People don't just walk onto ships that aren't theirs unless they're drunk or breaking the rules which results in getting kicked out of the city.

”About time!” Oleander shouts out when he sees Fenrir and the girls approaching. He's sitting atop one of the crates on the deck and kicking his legs out of boredom. ”Hey, Fenny, you okay?”

Fenrir realizes that his concern his showing on his face. ”Yeah, I'm fine. It's just… that Ull guy. I saw him, and we weren't talking loudly enough for him to hear us, but he looked directly at me like he heard everything I was saying,” he explains.

”Are you sure it wasn't just chance that he looked at you? I mean, sometimes eyes just meet.”

”I'm sure, Olly. I can't really describe it. It was like… he was looking into me, not just at me. And the way he smiled – it was weird. He honestly doesn't seem like that bad of a guy just listening to him talk, but there's something off about him. It's messing with me.” Serra leans into Fenrir's side once he's done explaining what happened.

”What makes you say he didn't seem like a bad guy?” Oleander asks, tilting his head.

”I don't know. He just seemed pretty… chill. I was expecting him to be some haughty, stuck-up prick, but he seemed pretty normal,” Fenrir explains. ”Were you able to find anything out about those girls?”

Oleander smiles and hops off of the crate. ”Who do you think I am? You think I can't find out anything you want to know? Come on, Fenny! You know me better than that.” Oleander walks up to Fenrir with both of his hands behind his back, offering his head to Fenrir.

Fenrir places his hand right between Oleander's antlers and pets his head. ”I'm guessing the tradition of petting you before you give your reports is never going to change?”

”Of course not! I'm too much of a slut for head-patting to stop it,” Oleander says, pressing his head up against Fenrir's hand.

Rock, meanwhile, stands up on her back two legs to paw at Fenrir and whine.

Fenrir's other hand reaches down to pet Rock while still petting Oleander.

Now, Serra and Cassiel are the ones looking jealous.

”Don't you have Corwin for this now?” Fenrir asks Oleander.

”I doooo, but he's not here right now, and getting head pats isn't cheating!” Oleander explains.

”Alright, so what's the report?”

Oleander skips back over to his crate and hops up onto it. ”The king's harem is being kept in a mansion designated for important visitors of Blackstache. From what the guard told me, Blackstache himself doesn't really care much about the king, but he needs the alliance for military reasons. The guard didn't know anything about that special girl, but he said she's probably with the rest of the king's harem. Oh, and the mansion is over there,” Oleander points at a large, elaborate manor on the opposite end of the city. Even though it's behind several streets and buildings, it is tall enough to reach above them all and catch the attention of anybody who looks in that direction.

”We're back!” Tabitha declares, stepping onto The Shoebill with Corwin and Bonekraka.

Fenrir turns his attention to them. ”How'd it go?” he asks.

Tabitha gives him an energetic thumbs-up while Corwin and Bonekraka both look exhausted. ”Got everythin' ready! A bit of magic and a bit of tech, and that baby will be all ours when we need it!”

”What else is in that giant backpack of yours? Oh, and how'd it look up there? Any patrols or anything?”

”Not much other than scrap now. I've got the remote to control my toy up there when it's time, but other than that, nothin' much.”

Corwin chimes in. ”There were no patrols, captain. It was rather surprising. I know there is little use for the cannons when there are no clear threats approaching, but I would have thought they would at least keep a guard or two patrolling the cliffs.”

”Well, as long as nobody saw anything, there's nothing to worry about. Was the cannon already loaded?” Fenrir asks.

Tabitha nods. ”Checked a few of 'em. They were all loaded up and ready to fire, so all we need to do is let my toy aim the cannon and fire it.”

”You're awfully confident in it. You sure that it'll work? Wait… you never did explain how exactly it works.”

”It's a golem I made! It's not a smart one, but it gets the job done!”

”That giant cube was a golem?”

”It doesn't stay a giant cube. When I activate it from the controller, it unfolds and takes the shape of a small person, and it'll follow any orders I give it from the controller. All I've got to do is activate it and then order it to aim the cannon and fire! It should have just enough mana stored in it to do that before shutting down.”

”How are we going to recover it?”

”We don't. I made this one so that it explodes as soon as it runs out of mana.”