Hilma pulled a slow hit from her pipe. With a deep inward breath, she pulled the smoke into her mouth and lungs, savoring its taste. Some of the smoke curled upward into her sinuses, and her sense of scent was stimulated along with the whole of her chest.

This has a nice upswing. Has a subtle spice to its body. I ought to get the flue-cured leaf more often.

With this, she satisfied her temporary need for pipe-weed, and exhaled. She was the only person in the room smoking, although this was not an unusual affair. She sat at a nonagonal table, each of the seats filled. With three exceptions, Hilma included, all wore a thick, deep gray robe. Two more lurked behind the man at the head, who himself was donned in crimson robes with an emblem of the Water God laid overtop. The room was lit with few candles, many of which had long since sagged in their candelabras and dripped precipitously onto the mahogany floor. This was the executive council of Eight Fingers.

The man at the head of the table stood, and in a gravelly voice opened the session.

“Let it be known that the Eight Fingers have met again, the fist clenched in shadow to advance its goals.”

In unison, the other five members in robes at the table responded in kind.

“Let it be known.”

Hilma found these rituals childish, and refused to participate. Two others at the table felt similarly; Ampetif Doll, nicknamed Cocco Doll, head of the slavery division, and Zero, head of the security division. The former had refused to do so for the same reasons as Hilma, that being they found the fashion abhorrent and the whole thing rather silly, a boy’s conception of a secret society. Zero did so on the basis that a robe would hinder his ability in unarmed combat, and he had a policy of remaining always battle-ready. Following the chant, and subsequent side-eyes, the man at the head opened with an agenda.

“We all know why we’re having this gathering. In the last month, we’ve had a total of sixteen related strikes across all divisions, the most recent of which was a strike on the whore and gambling house in Re-Alberg. From what Security Division Chief Zero has uncovered, this is likely the work of the Blue Roses. This has escalated to the point of unacceptable loss. It is almost undeniably likely that we have a mole. We need to root out and punish this turncoat. This meeting is for the soul purpose of finding and excising this cancer in our midst.”

“In other words, no one leaves till we have a head to roll.”

Zero delivered his proclamation in a low and scalding tone. He was a mountain of muscle, bone, and sinew, achieving near total physical perfection. No one wanted to see it, but everyone in the room guessed he could go head to head with the Warrior-Captain of the kingdom, and if the cards were right, best him.

“I’m already rolling heads big-man. I had my capo for the westlands kill two of his lieutenants. Further, I rid myself of a batch of recently acquired inventory that may have had a spy embedded. I’m not willing to euthanize more of my boys, nor product without some light at the end of this tunnel. Compensation from the security division perhaps, for the failures that got us here.”

Ah he’s feeling particularly catty today.

Cocco Doll, head of the slavery division provided a typically cutting retort. Still, asking for compensation was a characteristic absurdity, and in no way would be fulfilled by a now seething Zero. Noah Zweden, gambling head, decided to make his play.

“Forget lieutenants, I had one of my captains killed. That raid last night cost me a small fortune, not to mention the one a fortnight ago in E-Pespel. I’d estimate around thirty standards in coinage alone, not to mention the actual value of the property itself. If we’re talking compensation, I want recompense for that failure.”

“Noah, you can’t possibly expect to safely keep that much cash on site safely. That’s a foolish decision. This bantering is absurd.”

The man pivoted in his seat, turning to Zero. This was Nerval Unruh, banking division head, and the oldest among those gathered.

“We at the banking division expect no compensation from security. These breaches were in no way your fault. We regard this issue as one that should be kept internal to divisions, and we advocate for an increased compartmentalization of information to prevent issues like this in the future.”

“That’s absurd! I have a score of men dead as a result of this! Security should have caught the mole by now. There is a reason we cut part of our profits to funding Six Arms, it’s so they can deal with garbage like this before this comes up!”

“That’s a childish opinion Noah.”

“Don’t call me a damn boy!”

The table quickly devolved into squabbling. Hilma didn’t have the energy to engage, and simply pulled a few more puffs from her pipe. Zero, and the executive leader - who despite the efforts of his underlings, had remained frustratingly anonymous - also stayed silent, witnessing a predictable degeneration of order. Old grudges came out; accusations of maladherence or incompetence in the process of scourging the organization of its traitors. Hilma started to blow smoke rings, and slowly the table was dragged back into silence as conversations broke off, participants becoming spectators to her total indifference. Gawking, Nerval finally had the guts to speak for the rest of those present.

“Hilma, do you have something to say for yourself?”

Oh if only I could say what was on my mind, Nerval.

“Do you know why I like being the head of narcotics?”

“Aside from dipping into your own supply?”

Hilma chuckled at Cocco Doll’s remark.

“No, it's because I possess an astonishing amount of soft power. The vices you peddle take hold only on the mind, but mine take hold on the body.”

“You’re point being? Hilma, what the fuck have you done to root out this mole.”

“I strung up about a dozen of my own men, before realizing it was a foolish decision. But I see your point Nerval, you feel none of us in this room have taken adequate measures to purge our organization of this mess.”

“Yes I do, and I think its on divisional-”

“Now now, let me finish. So I started to think about the time that I had killed the eleventh such that I was going about this all wrong. That I was using my hard power when I instead should be using my soft power. I don’t find wetwork particularly pleasant. So I stepped back, and started to think. The Blue Roses, whatever we may think of them, are Adamantite ranked. They charge Adamantite rates. Whoever is paying them for this operation clearly has deep pockets. First I suspected it was a noble in our web who turned out of fear or a moral imperative, and I threatened to cut off a few at random from their supply if they couldn’t admit who was buying their protection. They would have the money, and surely the connections to do as such. But then I realized, there's another group in the Kingdom who could afford to hire them.”

Zero’s eyes began to burn, realizing what Hilma was about to say.

“Gentlemen, the mole is in this room.”

Bated whispering ensued. Crime bred paranoia, and everyone had secretly suspected as much. Still, for Hilma to come out and say it openly meant she had a good idea of who was the traitor. Everyone began to wonder what the traitor would do when exposed. Violence was now imminent.

“So I started to place pressure on the nobles you associate with. You see, part of the success in my division, and my stellar profit these last few years has been entirely yielded from the connections I made with your marks. Simply put, many of the people you all associate with are hooked on my product.”

It’s a shame to have to play my hand like that, but it’s a worthwhile expense for what is next.

“Suffice it to say, I got someone to talk. Count Garlen was so uniquely desperate for Black Dust he gave up the whole game, Nerval.”

“What!?”

Nerval sprung from his chair, knowing the accusations levied against him would mean a painful undoing. Count Garlen was one of his closest associates, and he helped to launder coinage and allow it to be used above-board.

“He said you were concerned with issues of legacy, and that you knew that as head of the banking division, you would have no chance of a quiet retirement. Granted, for you to go to the Adventurers Guild, far be it the Blue Roses, and proclaim yourself a divisional head would be absurd and dangerous. So you got Count Garlen to act as a middleman. He met with the Blue Roses below the table, and financed their activities. Any payment you gave to him to funnel to the Blue roses on this basis would simply be seen as typical bribes subject to minor inflation. It was quite clever, actually. Still, if we dig into your financial records we’ll see that you were paying platinum weights on a near weekly basis to him.”

This was mostly lies, of course. Hilma had not the faintest clue who the mole was, nor did she care much to find out. Her reasons were purely mercenary; the banking division was her main rival, the most financially lucrative division after herself. Narcotics had grown unbelievably in the last few years, and although her and Nerval had developed close relations (doing her transactions through his division and letting him take a cut), this was merely an application of the principle of keeping your foes close. She had actually hooked Garlen on drugs some time ago, and had indeed threatened to cut him off if he did not cooperate. He was not party to a conspiracy with Nerval, but Hilma had so enthralled him in the clutches of Black Dust that he would corroborate her story without fail.

“He said you handed over all the intelligence you had on the rest of the organization to the Blue Roses, as well as robbing enough of your own coffers to pay them for the next few months. So, I do suppose you’ll take one victory. You’ll continue to fuck the rest of us over long after you’re dead.”

That’ll explain why attacks continue to happen even after we eliminate the mole. Obviously, someone high in the organization, no lower than a capo is providing the info to Lakyus and company. Hopefully they’ll use this as an opportunity to lie low and get attacks off my back for a time.

Nerval was too shocked to stammer a reply. Far from the typical reactions of anger and disgust at such a betrayal, those who were showing emotions were smiling, feeling relieved at having a problem solved for them; Zero’s was the widest. He stood, and casually rounded the table. Nerval was struggling desperately to talk, but nothing aside from incomprehensible breaths were escaping his lips. Zero grabbed the back of his head, and dragged him out of the room. Between the screams, Hilma filled her lungs with smoke again.

This is pure profit. What’s not to love?

—

[40th Year of Foresai, Upper Fire Month, Day 2]

A series of raps on her snapped Renner from her mid-afternoon daydreams. Wasting no time, Renner bid the visitor in.

“Come in!”

The palace mail carrier, Elias Brendel, stepped into the room. This was - outside of Climb, Lakyus, and the Blue Roses - Renner’s favorite person. This was the summation of many things, but the largest boon for him in her mind was the fact that he brought her information, and she didn’t have to lift a finger to get it. Seeing him, she put on every facet of charm she knew.

“Ah, Elias! It bodes well to see you! How are you?”

“I am well, Your Highness.”

“Good, good. Pray tell, do you have something for me?”

His answer would be without doubt yes. Elias in no way had the ability to join nobility on unannounced social calls, far less the Third Princess herself. The only reason he would come into her sitting room would be to give her mail. This question was deliberately useless, undeniably so, one of Renner’s many small performances.

“Yes, a letter for you!”

It’s key that everyone outside of Climb, the Blue Roses, and now potentially Gazef, sees me as a dullard. A perception of stupidity is a shield. I need Elias to drop his guard around me.

“Thank you! Say, have you seen my brother today? I wanted to visit him.”

“His Highness the Crown Prince was having a meeting with some person I hadn’t seen before. He seemed agitated. I’m sure it would cheer him up if you visited.”

Thank you Elias, I can play you so well. I’m sure Barbro would hate to see me right now. After all, I’m the one who’s dismantled his schemes.

Elias would not make that mistake with anyone else. Palace Mail Carrier was a prestigious position, and Elias was thus a guarded and careful man. The information he carried was beyond valuable, and his training and armament reflected that. He carried a sword at all times, constantly switching his routes through the palace. Had most asked him that same question, he would have declined to answer. However, in his eyes, the Golden Princess was harmless. She was nothing but a pretty face with an empty head, and he clearly adored her for it. There was no harm in revealing to the Fifth Treasure of the Kingdom the doings of her eldest brother. Thus, their opinions of each other were mirrored.

“I’ll have to later! Thank you for the letter Elias.”

“Of course your highness.”

He handed her the letter, and her eyes lit up as she saw it was from Lakyus.

“Eh? I wonder what tales she has for me this time. Thank you Elias. Do you have time to stay for tea?”

“Unfortunately not your highness, I have my duties to attend too.”

“Ah, a shame. Well I bid you well!”

“I do so in kind, your highness.”

He departed the room, leaving Renner alone. Retrieving a small letter opener from a stationary set she had nearby, she sliced the envelope open and began to read.

“To the Golden Princess, Third Daughter of Ramposa III - ” She used the code-phrase form of my title.

Her and the Blue Roses had a need for covert communication. Renner had devised an ingenious system of in-text cypher that used the date as a rotating key that scrambled. Renner’s calculations indicated that it would be de-facto uncrackable, with nearly four billion billion possible scrambles of the alphabet. In addition to it being unbreakable, it had proven unusable for the Blue Roses. Renner, disappointed, went back and created a much less flexible system of code phrases, mostly centered around the arrangement of the titles in her name. This particular combination was hallmarked by the upper case “D” in daughter, indicating that the letter encoded a meeting place.

She wants to meet outside the palace. They must have acquired something which should be kept in shadow. No, they’re afraid that what they’re going to tell me will bode danger. Interesting.

Renner disregarded the rest of the letter, reading it casually but with no close notice. It was simply girls talk, although Lakyus was laughably bad at faking such conversation.

Ah, I wonder what she learned?