"What a cunt!" Angin sneered.
They all nodded in agreement.
After Liron and Emma had gotten what they wanted, they had met up with Angin and the rest. They used Ragner's room, as the Janloons had given him the biggest one. Though with everybody in there, it was still cramped. Angin had dragged his working table into the room that he had repaired his gear on. Maps of Sannara lay spread out, marked in countless different routes they could take once they had landed.
Before Liron and Emma had gone to execute their plan, they had shared it with Angin, and the Alchemist had devised a better one. Adenius was a mad beast, but now they had shackled him, ensuring them some peace until Sannara. It had taken them hours to meld the flaws in their plan and longer for Emma to memorize all the knowledge Liron had.
But breaking the Inquisitor's kneecap was only one of their goals. Emma transformed herself into Adenius, mimicking him to a frightening extent. She had nailed his appearance and the sound of his mask. Harmed and fixed. But his mannerisms still escaped her grasp. Zonis congratulated her on her acting skills. Even Jean gave a single nod. Thousands of words spoken in this one gesture. The Homunculus liked seeing someone with a similar Conduit and Gate flourish. Or perhaps it was something else. Liron failed to read Jean.
Angin and Ragner lacked the same enthusiasm as Zonis. "That's a nice trick, Emma, but it won't do much," Angin said.
"It's more than just a trick," she said, looking at the ground. Emma was the heart of every party, but she had only experienced the ones in Eisenrahm. She had no respect for any of the folk there. Their group was all hardened rebels or had proven their worth. With such company, even her confidence cracked. Liron patted her back.
"Don't get me wrong, Emma," Angin continued. "Your Magic can be very useful but not in the way you think."
"Shouldn't that be fuckin' useful?" Liron asked. "I mean, we should be able to use this for so many different things."
"Oh yes. It's perfect for fucking with the enemy, but it will only work to deceive the enemy right in the moment. You are not the first with illusion Magic, Emma. The Resistance has tried dozens of times to use such a Wizard to infiltrate the Empire by taking out a high-ranking member and replacing them. But the Empire is aware of such methods. No matter how good you are at it, the amount of little tests you would have to pass is too much. You would have to take all the memories of the person you want to replace to stand a chance.
"No, it's more effective to let an agent infiltrate the Empire from the ground up by letting them start at the very bottom and work their way up. As you can imagine, that's rather difficult, and most die trying. But heads up, Emma. We will find a usage for your spell."
Emma smiled at that, her timidness receding.
"So," Angin said, pointing towards the maps, attracting the attention of everybody back onto the table. "We are fucked."
They all blinked, exchanging looks. "What do you mean?" Jean asked. "Liron's and Emma's deception has worked."
Gabriella licked her lips. She had refused Angin's help, still using her Conduit as her new limbs. "My, my. Are we?"
Zonis sighed. "Unfortunately, I agree."
"The… thing," Liron said. "Adenius still has that thing."
"Yes, Liron. Adenius has turned Kupferrang into a Fides."
Liron and Emma stared at the Alchemist. "A Fides is a human turned into a creature through their faith," Zonis explained. "A Sinner would be one, as are Faithfuls or Graces. Only men and women who wield faith like a weapon can initiate the transformation like Inquisitors, Warpriests, or members of the House Michon. The shape a Fides takes relies on the person controlling the shift and the person who is changed. But what Adenius did…"
"Normally, this would be impossible," Angin said. "No one, not even Gregor Michon himself, can just turn an entire city into one Fides. No, Adenius first took advantage of the fear and uncertainty the visions caused. Then he worsened them by letting his speakers spread doom and gloom around Kupferrang. Once the population was in a frenzy, he activated the Raven Hunt, turning them all into maniacs. Two days of constant hunting erased whatever personality they had left, turning them into empty husks barely different from a Sinner. Then he initiated the transformation process, but he didn't give it an intent, letting their bodies just expand thanks through their manic faith."
"I… I don't really get it," Liron admitted.
"Neither do I," Angin said. "We barely know anything about how to turn anyone into a normal Fides, let alone into this monstrosity. What I'm trying to say is that the thing he has birthed is just a mass of destruction and blind faith. It's like a gigantic attack dog. I have no idea what this Fides can do or not. But one thing I know is we can't defeat it even if we throw everything we have at it."
Silence. It hung heavy. Liron had known that the thing would be the final obstacle they needed to overcome to kill Adenius. But he had hoped that Angin would come up with a strategy to solve it. For a moment he thought his master had no scheme left, but as he watched his expression shift, he let out a sigh of relief.
Though there was no relief on Angin's face. He and all that have served the Resistance for years grimaced. Except for Jean. He smiled.
"Wran," Angin said. "We need Wran."
Ragner and Zonis nodded. "Aye, we need that cunt," the Kin said.
"Bloody Wran?" Liron asked. "We can get him? Harras, that would solve all our problems."
"It's not that easy, Liron," Zonis said.
Angin snorted. "That's one way to put it." The Alchemist moved his finger around the map, highlighting all he said. "We will land around here, the edge of Sannara. This is our best chance. There aren't any strong armies here. Only smaller Qilesh and a few Empire forces. Wran should be around here." Angin's finger moved deeper into Sannara. A good bit away.
"It won't be impossible to get him, but based on the latest report, he waits for any larger Qilesh army that tries to move too deep into Empire territory. He has no greater Machina with him to move to us, so one of us would need to go to him and bring him to the rest. This will take Solia knows how long.
"Adenius doesn't know where Wran is, but he will guess that we will try to get him. He's the only one in the Resistance with enough strength to bring down his Fides. This means two things. First, you, Liron, will have to stay put and wait until Wran arrives, and second, Adenius will try everything in his power to kill you before this happens."
"What ye tryin' to say, brother?" Ragner asked, crossing his massive arms in front of his chest.
"We need to split up," Angin said, putting three figures onto the map. "First group. Ragner, Jean, and Gabriella. You will leave Janloo at the outer rim of Sannara. Cause havoc. Piss the Empire in the soup. Just make sure they can't intervene but keep a cool head. Don't get caught.
"Second group. Just me. I will go and get Wran. With all the Nanium I rescued from Kupferrang and the rest I can get from Janloons that owe me, I will build a new bike. I will have to adjust it for Sannara. Won't be an easy ride, as the wildlife here is a bastard.
"Third group. Liron, Emma, and Zonis. You will have the most important role. You, especially you Liron, will have to play bait for Adenius, luring him to a spot where Wran can take out Adenius' Fides."
"How are we supposed to do that?" Liron asked. "Adenius will be on our asses? We will have to survive for days, right?"
"Don't worry. You won't be alone. As soon as you have landed, you will meet up with Shae and a few agents. They will aid you in the time it takes me to get Wran. And Zonis is the best Whisperer the Resistance has. He will keep the wildlife off your asses and make them help you."
"I will ask them for help," Zonis corrected Angin.
Angin rolled his eyes. "Well, whatever. Everyone will get a Nexus. We will communicate every single fart we hear. Do you understand me? We are so close to finishing this stupid mission. We cannot allow one single mistake to fuck us over. But Liron and Emma, there are two things you need to know. First, only you can use them. Zonis can't."
"Why?" Emma asked.
"Only humans can," Zonis said. "We Qilesh are unable to use a Nexus. We have to rely on more primitive tools to communicate, like messengers."
"One of the reasons the Qyroal is yet to win," Jean said, his voice matter-of-fact.
Angin eyes the Homunculus, clearing his throat. "Yeah, so the second thing is…"
Liron raised his arm. Angin sighed, allowing him to ask. "Does it have something to do with Harras?" Liron asked. "Like… the same way faith allows Adenius to create a Fides?"
"Perhaps, but neither of us here is the biggest believer in Harras, right? So, unlikely. Well, as I have said, the second thing you have to be aware of is that Nexuses don't work when you're in the middle of some chaotic situation. When you're surrounded by dozens of people, and they all lose their shit or are in the middle of some emotional episode, you can't create a connection to another person. Do you understand?"
Liron and Emma gave a thumbs-up.
"Wonderful," Angin said. He hadn't prepared a speech, but he wanted to give one. "Listen, I think we are fucked. But I also thought so when we had to stop the execution, and we did that… rather… decently. Even now that Liron's and Emma's stunt worked, we can't predict what Adenius will do.
"The Resistance is absolutely spent, and they won't offer us any larger reinforcement beyond what we will get. Wran is our only hope. Like Kupferrang, we will have to think on our feet again. But this time, fleeing isn't good enough; Adenius needs to die. The Resistance needs a big victory. And if we can believe his word, then On will be another massive issue for us. Another reason we need Wran because otherwise we can't scare her off. She could kill us all with ease.
Letting the doom of their situation linger, breathing it in, Angin snorted. "But who cares? I say we can make it. We will pull off another miracle. And not just that, we will pull this rat Adenius to justice. We will deliver him the death he deserves and escape the Empire's grasp once and for all. And with that, we will have shown the entirety of Ekon that the Empire is not as absolute as it would like us to believe. It can be fooled, and it can be defeated."
Not the worst speech Liron had heard from him. But also not the best. His master was no master of words. But he found the right words nonetheless.
As the group discussed the minute details of their plan, Angin's eye fell onto Liron, telling him what he had left out. It wasn't them who needed to kill Adenius but him. To prove his worth, Liron needed to become the avenger of Kupferrang.
Or his future would be grim.