Phoenix Tower swarmed with guards. Down every corridor and across every balcony of the citadel, Royal Guard contingents could be seen and heard stomping across the marble flooring. Guard patrols had been redoubled in recent days, and for good reason; it was only days before that Black Scorpions had infiltrated what was - supposedly - the most heavily guarded citadel in all of Elyden. The first murder within the tower was intended as a message: not even the High Lords were safe from the ire of the Scorpions. What had summoned this upswing in guard patrols was what the assassins intended next, now that their message had been received.

Seeker Heldan tread briskly down the same corridors of the Phoenix Tower, as he had done almost-incessantly since taking his position. Despite the foreboding woolen cloak draped about him, the Royal Guards payed him little heed - choosing instead to ignore the Seeker or briefly nod to him in greeting. This new Seeker, scurrying about at all times, had become as much a fixture of the tower as its Phoenix Porticullis or Mural of Heroes. If anything, the ominous Heldan skulking about was something of a reassurance to the personnel of the citadel - that they could rest easy that he was working tirelessly to uncover any other nefarious plot.

Likewise, Heldan ignored the guards marching around him, skirting about them mindlessly as he immersed himself in thought. There were such a great many secrets to unravel and so little time for the Seeker to uncover them. Appointments and meeting with various persons had consumed much of his time of late - time he would have preferred to have spent investigating leads and the like. Such chores were entirely necessary however: installing a network of compartmentalized informants was a laborious, time-consuming process indeed, but wholly necessary for uncovering secrets and plots wherever they were to be found.

And so Heldan scurried up flight after winding flight of stairs, to the midsection of the tower, to his new study. At this point, the Seeker's new office was nothing but a drop-off point for the numerous goods he had ordered or requisitioned. The spacious study, decorated with ornate marble moulding and fine tiles more in keeping with the office of the Keeper of Coin, had been allowed to become a chaotic mess of crates and shelving. Boxes of scrolls were stacked all about a single desk placed haphazardly in the center of the room while a small library's-worth of books and ledgers made slanting stacks upward to the ceiling. A dozen porters and stevedores navigated through the disorganized maze at any given time, delivering the materials that Heldan had ordered thus far. Among the porters, Heldan found the person he intended to meet next.

"Seeker Heldan." A man clad in a leather tunic acknowledged the cloaked figure approaching him and his two associates. "A pleasure to convene with you at last. I am Ason Marstel of Amplefort, Engineer-in-Chief of the Royal Army. The First Sword personally sent for me to meet with you as well as deliver unto you the hardware requested." The engineer glanced to the two stevedores beside him, who stooped down and brought up to chest level a long, shallow wooden crate. Heldan drew open the top of the crate, set it aside, and sifted through the packing straw to uncover the contents.

"I see." Heldan said unenthusiastically. "These are satisfactory. Leave it by the desk."

The carriers tacitly replaced the top of the crate and shuffled across the room with the crate hanging in between their arms. The siege engineer's eyes followed them for a moment as they hefted the load away before turning again to the Seeker. "I understand now that I am to speak with the Regent."

"Indeed." Heldan confirmed. "Follow me."
________________________________________________________________________________________

Shamgar sat back in his chair as he digested Heldan's plan. His new office, unlike the previous one located in the Palaces Chapel, was much larger then that modest chamber. The walls were lined with books and scrolls, and at the rear of his desk was a large stained window that offered a wonderful view of the city of Skyhaven. The desk before him was fairly organized if but a bit hectic, overlayed with texts, scrolls, and documents. His eyes had been locked on his quill and inkpot as he considered his options. Finally, he sighed and looked back up to meet the man opposite his desk gaze. 

"I must confess this is a rather...unorthodox idea to say the least Master Heldan, the risk alone are great, we cannot be sure if they will rise to the...opportunity. But you say there is no other way?"

"Never said I that there was [i]no[/i] other way. By means of traditional investigation, we could capture adherents of the Black Scorpions. Such methods would take months - years perhaps. We do not have the luxury of time. There is no [i]faster[/i] way to apprehend a Black Scorpion."

Heldan paced about the bookshelves, as he often did, with hands clasped underneath the folds of the cloak's sleeves. "I will be the first to admit, it is a daring scheme - worryingly so. I will not lie to thee, Regent. There is a great element of danger at play. But this danger would be omnipresent; so long as the Black Scorpions are at large, your life is in grave danger. I should think, with my scheme in action, you will be better protected against their assassins than you would be otherwise."

"Ultimately, the decision is not mine to make. Will you help me, Regent?"

Shamgar's left hand rub at his chin in thought once more. He could not say he was a brave and noble individual, immune to fear and anxiety. No man was, unless of course, he was mad perhaps. Still his true worry laid with his dear nephew. Rightful king to the throne he might be, he was but a boy, a child really, surrounded by predators on all sides. He would be robbed of a protector if things went astray. Could he trust Helden however? What poking around in the past he did he could find little about the Seeker of Secrets. On a romantic level of such positions, one might think such secrecy was befitting of a man in his station, in the real world however such fairy tale ideals were foolish. Yet, for all that he knew that Helden had served and advised Lord Hamel Anselm along with every Anselm Lord since, faithfully and loyally. No, Helden might be many things, but a spy was not likely one of them. He was also right, something had to be done, these Black Scorpions had not only infiltrated the Palace once, but twice!

They had all but made a mockery of the Royal Guard, and the crown as well. Never mind the blood of a Paragon was already on their hands. Action had to be taken, or else they may as well bend their heads to the chopping block themselves. 

After a moment more of weighing the options, Shamgar nodded, almost more to himself as he rose up in his seat. “Very well Master Helden, while I knew tough choices awaited on in these dark days, I had not envisioned something quite like this. Never the less. I shall not shy from it now, Master Helden, make whatever preparations you may need, aside from that, I will prepare a list of our most trusted and skilled men-at-arms and Houseblades. If we will do this, we will do it right the first time, we may not get another chance I fear.” 

"Very well. Your selflessness to Elyden's people is exemplary." Heldan nodded, making his way to the Odeshi engineer he had brought along. "I will not make false promises as I cannot guarantee your safety in this scheme. But we shall make every preparation to assure your safety."

"Ason Marstel. I do not mean to question your loyalty - but we can take no chances with our Regent's safety. I am afraid that you shall not be permitted to leave the citadel until this plan has come to fruition. You know too much now to risk falling to the enemy."

"I understand." The engineer acknowledged.

Shamgar nodded warily, the bags under his eyes and shifting of his shoulders almost made it appear as if he had aged an entire cycle just from sitting there. “Regardless of what happens Helden, I want your word. You will aid our King, should the worse come.” He laid back in his chair. Realizing now that there was a letter he needed posting...his sister had been away from the capital for almost too long now after all. Woe to any assassins indeed. 

He shivered. 

"I... see." The gravity of the situation at hand had manifested itself completely. "This I shall do." The Seeker affirmed dutifully. "You have my word."

"Now, I have other appointments to commit to for the time being. Our arrangement is effective starting tonight. Ason Marstel will make the requisite preparations. See him to your sleeping chambers." The Seeker glanced out the stained windows, noting the lowering afternoon sun. Little time remained until his next appointment.

And without so much as another word, Heldan was off, scurrying away to the next secret to be uncovered."