Months ago.

Two kappa tourists sat on a train across from a hooded, brooding young woman. Their journey took them through the harsh Sunwell winter, and by the sounds of their bickering, neither one of them enjoyed it a single bit.

They yelled about where to stay once they got back to Fleettwixt, about how to spend the rest of their savings, and both lamented the ruinous vacation they foolishly took at exactly the wrong kind of year.

Coming to Sunwell in winter, aside from in Fleettwixt itself, was a famously poor idea for almost any tourist. The snow was harsh, food ran scarce, and mana harvesting ramped up to feed more power to the heaters in the capital.

If anyone on the train were to truly stop and think about these two kappas and their vacation, perhaps suspicions may have been aroused. Why were two members of one of the “lizardkin” races, typically averse to cold climates, traveling to a tourist-unfriendly land at the height of winter? But, because everyone here had their own stories about them, none truly thought to ask—and perhaps their loud bickering helped dissuade anyone curious enough to wonder.

The husband, Newazashi, chuckled quietly to himself as he looked out the window and stared at the blistering winds. All they had to do was play up their arguments, and the whole world left them alone.

The wife, Kakudaiji, blasted her loud mana heater at her face to combat the cold, which served to further cover the train with volume.

Eventually their arguments died down, and the attention towards them died even further. Underneath the volume of the mana heater, they could speak freely. Could steal a kiss or two in public, just to show each other why they still did this.

The train glided to a smooth stop at Highden Station, inside the capital city of Fleettwixt, and they stepped out with their oversized luggage, bickering again about buying too many souvenirs, and about all those rude lodge maids who refused to speak to them in Common.

The girl with the hood and the frown looked back at them, flashing her scarred-up face. For a second, it seemed like she was going to come over to them and help them with their luggage, but then turned away and reconsidered once their arguments reached a high enough volume.

That was good. They did not need any meddling, especially from poor young girls like her.

They went through customs inspection—routine for tourists with no ID card—and passed with flying colors. It was not goods they were smuggling in, after all; it was information.

Once they were clear, once they entered the jam-packed crowds of the Highden Station lobby, they were finally free to go wherever they wanted, with enough coins to stay for as long as they wanted.

But first, they had a special visit to make.

“Are you ready?” Newazashi asked his wife. “No need for food or anything?”

“I’ve got snacks in my purse,” Kakudaiji answered.

With that, they set off.

Kappas were a rarity in Sunwell, but less so in Fleettwixt itself. No community, but lots of travelers. Kappa tourists came in and out with enough regularity that two overdressed, suitcase-wheeling shorties attracted exactly zero attention on the sidewalk, so long as they stayed on the main streets where police and guard golems kept watch for thieves. Luckily, their destination was right here in Highden, in the fifteenth floor of some fairly nice apartment tower—a penthouse.

A few knocks. A minute’s wait. A greeting with a half-cracked door and the brutish glare of a grizzled faun. Then they were in.

The penthouse had no furniture but chairs and some sort of specialized mana equipment that neither kappa had the capacity to understand. Everything else had been removed, with even the kitchen stripped completely bare. And in this room were no friendly faces, just the pacing of those impatient for action to begin.

And then, in the center of the room, one of those pacing men sat down on a chair and gathered an inviting expression. One man with a slicked-back ponytail, tusks, and pale green skin. Handsome as all get out. Half-orc, half-human, perhaps. Or maybe a mix of several races. The kappas did not know, and they made no effort to inquire further. For their only place here was to sit down across from this man and do their duty for Fleet’s Pride.

“Master Borguk,” Kakudaiji said, “we bring you great news.” She handed her hand-written report and prepared to answer any questions.

“Oh really?” He put a hand to his chin. “I’d love to hear what’s so great. I didn’t expect your report so soon, honestly. Thought you’d be out there ‘till spring.”

Outside the window, the magical barrier at the top of the city shimmered lightly as a snow cloud pelted it and evaporated instantly.

She shook her head. “We had no need. Everything in Berryward is already in place. The pirates were cleared out by some necromancer and an accomplice, at least according to the locals. Fleet’s Pride was able to insert its forces into the pirate cove with minimal effort. The province is good as taken as soon as you launch an effort.”

“Berryward, huh? We already have encampments next door in North Keyway, and the merfolk are sympathetic to the cause. But those are both very far away from Fleettwixt. If they blockade the city once we take it, we will need closer control than that.”

“Well, then, that’s where we came in,” Kakudaiji said, crossing one of her legs over the other. “We visited almost every province we could, just looking for signs of resistance. A prison camp outbreak last year in East Headstow lead to significant violence by the local garrison, and resentment has been high ever since. Rockmund is isolated with mountains and thick forests, but it has an easy route to Newpool where we have another access point to the coast. The farmers aren’t exactly battle-ready out there, but they are certainly willing to harbor any forces that go against the North Sunwell Company.”

“Is there anywhere you traveled that DIDN’T have people wishing to fight back?” he asked.

Newazashi chuckled as if the entire conversation was a joke. “Not even close. We stayed in one resort town in Yeetstead that looked like it was a loyalist pit, but that was just the rich homeowners that overwinter there. The local staff seemed just one bad crop season away from revolt.”

“And, of course, we slipped them your manifesto,” Kakudaiji added. “Must be a thousand copies out in the provinces now.”

Borguk smiled. “Great. With Berryward ours and East Headstow in the future, we might finally get that radio network set up. Just as long as my boys out there are doing their work, we can take the city by the summer. The continent by next winter.”

“We are glad we could be of service,” Kakudaiji said. “Our path is treacherous, but we hope it will free your continent from the Saxonian Royal Family’s grip, once and for all.”

“Of course,” Borguk said. “But you know there is one more task required of you.”

“There is?”

“Report back to your superiors in Saxonia and ask them to send whatever naval forces they can muster,” Borguk said. “Whoever they are. I know you can’t tell me, but you can tell them.”

“Naval forces? What will you need those for?”

“I can’t quite tell you the specifics, obviously, but the short of it is that once we take Fleettwixt, Saxonia will blockade the entire island. They’ll probably try to land forces in the north and raze the farms until we’re completely starved out. So we need a fleet to break the blockade and chase their landers. Only has to happen once, and they’ll be caught completely off-guard.”

“Our... superiors may not be willing to ally themselves with you so openly,” Kakudaiji said, voice uncertain.

“They will once they see what Fleet’s Pride can do,” Borguk said. “Now, no more talk of this. Take your reward, relax for a while, and enjoy the city while it’s still cheap and corrupt. It’ll be the last time you see it that way. Then bring your superiors over to my side, and you’ll never have to work again.”

The kappa couple made pleasantries with Borguk and took the very large sum of money they were promised. With one more payment to come once they convinced their superiors back on Saxonia to assist in the revolution.

They both knew Fleet’s Pride would never survive without outside help. No matter how many peasants they had on their side, no matter how crafty their plans, Sunwell was one island against the entire Saxonia Dominion, the largest empire in the Northern Reaches. Fleettwixt was well-defended, but no defenses could last for a year against an entire imperial army. And unfortunately, Fleettwixt had also grown far too prominent to let loose anymore.

So, unless their superiors decided to involve themselves and take a stand against the Royal Family’s hegemony, there was little chance Borguk’s plans would ever succeed.

But that was not of the kappas’ concerns. They were spies, not revolutionaries. They worked only jobs they believed in, for sure, but they did not involve themselves beyond that. Fleettwixt, now, was merely a vacation until they could make it back to Saxonia.

Like Borguk suggested, they spent a few more weeks in the city, enjoying the sights and sounds and shopping a bit too much. They saw a musical, did a dungeon dive to Floor 2, and enjoyed the hot springs in cozy Beechhurst. It was a wonderful rest from all the frigid work they had done in the provinces.

And then it was finally time to go back to Saxonia, with no one the wiser about these tourists’ true intentions.

They boarded a ship and sat at the deck outside their room, watching as the waves crashed below them and the grey clouds hovered over them. The perfect weather to bid goodbye to such a deceptively nice town.

An uprising would begin very soon, and it would likely destroy the city of Fleettwixt in the process, but they would be far, far away by the time that happened.

And then, suddenly, the ship turned.

It had left the harbor, but it was not headed for open sea, on the route all ships in and out took. Instead, the nearby Prison Island grew ever closer.

The kappas traded a single glance before registering what was going on here. A brief stop by just for some routine inspections, and some inspectors that would plant contraband synth in their bags just before hauling them off for questioning.

“Gods,” Kakudaiji said. “We were so close. What in the world got us? We were so careful.”

Instead of responding, Newazashi darted into the room and brought back a knife hidden in an overstuffed suitcase. He presented it to her.

Her heart froze. “Dear...”

“My wife, you know what to do. Our promise.”

“I understand, just...”

“Against the throat. Then yours too. Won’t take more than fifteen seconds.”

Kakudaiji stammered out a non-response, then looked out to see Prison Island getting closer and closer. She steeled herself. Then she picked up the steel and watched as her husband fell to the ground with the blood draining out of him.

She held up the knife to her own throat—

And then felt nothing.

Her arms were immobile, having been grabbed by crew members of the ship. The knife on the floor next to Newazashi. Kicking and screaming. Useless.

Kakudaiji tried to help Fleet’s Pride survive. Unfortunately, she survived instead.