Chloe Magnolia Chevalier stood in the shadow of an alleyway, the dim light partially hiding her from view as she eyed the passing crowds with growing apprehension. The bag on her back shuddered slightly in response to her growing disquiet. Chloe was not in a good position and she knew it. Her father, the retired knight commander Callahan Chevalier had just recently survived an assassination attempt by an unknown political faction. Well, that was what the letter that she had received had said anyway.

However she had her doubts as to how 'unknown' that faction truly was. If you knew who to ask there was always someone who could enlighten you, often for a price. It was no secret that her father, a fervent royalist was a staunch supporter of the king. He followed the code of chivalry almost to the letter and would lay down his life for his liege. And retired or not he had influence at court. And the loyalty of his men. That might have had something to do with it. But Chloe had been away for a long, long time. The political game had become a distant memory to her. It was a game she despised. And then there were the rumors.

The rumours were unsettling to say the least. The king was dying it was said and prime minister Donat had taken the reigns of state in his absence. Chloe didn't care about that. The power plays of nobility were of no interest to her. But if anyone of them had hurt her dad there would be hell to pay. They would find out how lethal a paper cut could be. Chloe stilled her breath for a few heartbeats to regain her composure and reasserted dominance over the contents of her bag. Her bag grew still and silent. She looked at the note in her hand one more time.

She didn't care too much about the message itself, only the name attached to it. Lieutenant Knight Commander Hazeal. Chloe had never met her but she vaguely recalled the name. Whoever she was Hazeal would provide her with answers. They might not be the answers that she wanted to hear but that was beside the point. But there was something else that she needed to do first. Chloe stepped out of the alley and strode over to the smithy across the way, its door was closed and a note announced lamely that the owner was out for lunch. Chloe knew that that was not true, she had watched the man enter only moments before. He had looked distracted. Or thoughtful. It hard to tell. She supposed he did not want to be disturbed. This had no bearing on her thought process however as she knocked loudly on the door. 

“I need you to make me something and I'm willing to pay double,” Chloe announced to the closed door as a single sheet of paper obediently found its way into her hand. It was a simple diagram with simple instructions. It showed a picture of rods made of reinforced steel. She had a thought. “I could read the poster for you if you want?”