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Zell had left his Sergeants under strict instruction to maintain a punishing endurance training regiment for the remainder of the day, telling the trainers that; the more Lions they could make vomit from exhaustion, the better.  Then, in the last hour, they would all fight spar hard whilst drained, dizzy and weak from fatigue.

"Brothers.  This afternoon will test your mettle.  It's easy to be brave when you have energy.  It's easy to be clever and quick.  The true test of a soldier comes when he's dead on his feet.  That is when lesser men lose heart.  That is when lesser men break and beg for the end. Exhaustion is worse than pain.  Pain can spur you onward.  Exhaustion will do nothing but hold you back.

Remember this, at the end of today - familiarise yourself with what it feels like so you are ready for it, if it hits you in battle. Prepare your hearts and minds to carry your body through the heaviest weight a soldier can feel."

Zell would try to be back before the afternoon was over, but he didn't know how long his business at the summit of Citadel Mountain would take.

He made his way through the city and eventually started the climb up the mountain road.  As he ascended, he looked out first at the beseiging enemy in the distance, then down to the city below.  The top brass sure were cutting it close with how long they were taking to move the population up the mountain, he'd said as much to James and Adam one morning at breakfast.  Zell thought it to be a bold risk - not necessarily incorrect, (it was more efficient this way,) but certainly an easier risk to take when one was already comfortable in the relative safety of the Citadel.  He was pretty certain that the wealthier families of the Mayor and other City and Academy officials would already be up here.

"Captain Brooks.  I'm looking for Ambassador Crane.  We have a meeting at his accomadations, but I've forgotten where he's staying.............. Thanks."

Ambassador Crane.  Zell had marked him as a target from the moment the man had opened his mouth at the midnight strategy meeting, the night when Second Chance first arrived back in Valhiem.  He'd managed to get a little info about the man's job in the days since and confirmed to himself that Malcom Crane being a man of interest was justified.  What the Englishman hadn't counted on was the bombshell that Devon had dropped on him, last night at the Brass Monkey.  Zell wondered if Devon's intel and the Ambassador might be connected, and if so, to what end could Zell use this.

He found himself outside the Mayor's second home, in the small residential area on the edge of the Citadel.  Apparently the Ambassador had a guest-floor of the place as his own living quarters, for the duration of his stay in Valhiem.  With the Mayor often not there, this accomadation would be a pretty spacious and cozy arrangement.  Probably not so much, right now, with the Mayor and his wife forced to live there too.

A guard was on the front entrance, which made sense, seeing as the Citadel would soon become extremely overcrowded the scared and desperate citizens.  Zell was told that both the Mayor and the Ambassador were at the Central Bureau, so Zell nodded a goodbye to the guard and went on his way.

Or at least, he appeared to.

As soon as the guard was looking the other way, Zell was making a right turn into the narrow passage between two buildings and making his way back towards the Mayor's home.  He found himself officially breaking the law at the point where he was climbing up the gutter of the house next door.  This was not the brightest idea, Zell was not the stealthiest individual, nor was he high enough up to avoid being sighted by literally anyone who cared to look.  Fortunately, there was nobody in the street.

Once level with the second floor windows of the Mayor's home, Zell looked through those windows, saw inside, then braced himself to jump.

Twelve yards.

Diving across the gap, Zell managed to get close enough to the window before teleporting to his sighted location inside, stumbling as he materialised in the house, and almost barreling into some furniture that would've made enough noise to alert the guard downstairs outside the door.

Zell didn't waste any time, quietly making his way to the top floor of the home.  He searched through the Ambassador's accomadation, looking particularly for a connection to the Thieves' Guild, but also any documents or letters that might reveal secrets that were being kept from Second Chance or even Valhiem altogether.

[@xenon]