Madris found it a little amusing that they had chosen another underground tunnel to meet in. Of course, given that the Hive was involved, it was probably natural, and she hardly minded, either. Especially since these particular tunnels had been dug by dark elves, so she had been able to acquire a detailed map of them.

She walked silently through the tunnel, watching the people huddling around a single candle in the middle of the cavern, where the tunnel widened a little to allow for people to rest or gather. They were close enough to the surface that any more light or loud noises would be risky. The male dark elf beside her was just as silent as her, and she wondered what the eclectic gathering looked like to him for a moment.

Galatea wasn't currently here, so the single highest-leveled person in that group was Zephyr. Madris would not trust him completely, but the mage was powerful enough that leaving him behind would be unwise, and she struggled to see any possible motive he might have for betraying them on this mission, anyway. Currently talking to him were two of her psychic students. They were weaker and greener than she'd have liked, but with Helen's betrayal and Edmund trapped with June, they were the only ones she felt were ready to help. The other human present was Mars, in case they needed a frontline fighter and because he had experience working with psychics. Specifically, with her. They'd tried to keep this group as small as possible, so anyone else was considered too weak or untrained.

The drones were also weaker, of course, but they were also present to establish communications in case they had to split up. And because Regina probably wouldn't have let them go without at least a few people from the Hive contributing. At least they'd been smart about who they sent. She knew that Jem in particular was pretty vital in the Hive, for the psychic link, but he was also the most experienced and highest-leveled Keeper, and him being a Keeper should help in playing well with her and the other psychics and supporting the operation in general. Then there was Ace, one of the oldest drones and their best scout along with his sister Ada, who Madris knew a bit better but who was needed on the northwestern border.

Instead of the psychics or mages, it was Ace who noticed their coming first, raising his head and turning to face them. The others clearly took note of it and the group turned to welcome them.

"Welcome back, Lady Madris," Zephyr greeted. "I assume this means the dark elves are willing to support us?"

The dark elf who'd accompanied her, Tekme as Inaven, stepped forward and half-bowed. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Master Zephyr," he said. "Not all of our people are willing, of course. But my house, Inaven, following Houses Oliren and Iriesen, as well as a few others, have agreed to support Eminent Mistress Ulaven and your own efforts."

"They decided it this quickly?" Ace asked.

"Local representatives have had to take some responsibility and make decisions," Madris conceded. "Their support is also limited. Tekme here has been sent to act as a guide, and they will let us use their own tunnel network and cover our escape if necessary, but they're reluctant to commit soldiers to open fighting. Not that I would demand something like that."

Luckily, the local authorities and the actual control of this part of the Eternal Dark's auxiliary territories lay firmly in the hand of houses allied to her, or rather to Icnes. What they did wasn't actually illegal, even if some other matriarchs wouldn't exactly be happy with the decision. It wasn't like they never conducted operations of their own, though, so she didn't worry about any eventual complaints. If anything, it might actually be a good thing to create a bit of a 'fait accompli', as Galatea might say, in terms of the dark elves' relationship with the Empire.

Before she could continue the conversation, another presence moved into the light from the opposite tunnel. Madris had been aware of that person's approach, and turned to look at her now. "Good, you're here," Iseis Alturiel greeted.

"We are," Madris replied to the old elf. "Is everything ready? Any unexpected complications?"

"Not that I could tell so far," she said. "We should get a move on, though."

Madris glanced at the others and nodded. "Yes, we should. Remember the plan. Be willing to adapt and improvise, but talk to me and to each other. Communication is key. Don't fight the mental touch of your companions, relax into the link. Let's go."

Tekme looked curious, but didn't ask any questions as he took the lead to guide them toward the tunnel exit they had already discussed on the way here. Madris probably wouldn't have needed his help, but it was better to have and not need and all that. And he could be helpful if they needed to flee and shake off any pursuers.

She put herself at the front of the group, and Iseis took the place by her side. Madris glanced at her. She wasn't ashamed to admit that the old priestess demanded respect even from her. She wasn't much of a psychic herself, at least not when it came to reaching out to other minds, but her specialty in teleportation would come in useful, as would whatever she might know when it came to those chosen by the gods. And she apparently also had some — 'minor', but who would have more than that? — knowledge or skill in soul magic.

As they neared the exit of the tunnel, Madris prepared to use her own abilities. From experience, she knew that every drop of energy she could wring out counted and she had to husband her strength and focus carefully. She reached out, lightly touching the minds around her, then focused on a familiar mind further away. Tia received her mental connection as well, and as discussed, called for Regina's attention and pulled her in. Madris felt her student's attention settle over them, lightly amplified by the drones present. They were still within her range right now, if rather far at the edge of it, but it was enough for Regina to use her Class Skill and forge a link between them — or at least to start the process. Madris carefully took hold of it and quietly, ever so gently, wrenched it from her control, feeling Regina let go of it. The full link snapped into place, some unholy hybrid of what would be granted by the Ability and Madris' own abilities, connecting her group, minus Tekme, together.

Focus on supporting the link primarily, and help with concealment as a secondary priority, she reminded her students.

By the time they emerged into open air, her party was as good as invisible, the attention of any humans around directed away from them. Still walking quickly, they made their way out and towards their goal.

This exit was recklessly close to the castle, but outside the city proper, hidden by a ditch and a few bushes. Tekme stayed behind to help conceal it; she vaguely sensed him moving the hidden door. Madris focused on her students' minds in the castle up ahead. June and Edmund were tensely waiting, ready to link up with her group and provide them any information, or to start fighting or use their own abilities to escape. With a light mental touch, Madris reassured them and told them to keep waiting for now.

They moved to the city wall closest to the castle and passed through the still open gate. It had been one of the reasons they'd decided to move before nightfall. The gate guards' eyes slid right past the group, and in the press of people, it would be hard to single them out. All of the citizens of the city walking around them were seemingly ignoring their presence, never once looking at them or jostling them. If someone was immune to their manipulation, it would probably be rather apparent to that person.

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Which was, in fact, one of her major concerns. She knew the Empire's enemies had capable psychics, and Prekan had clearly thrown its lot in with them. It would make their task much harder. Madris reached out with her senses, trusting in the others to keep their current link going and keep their concealment up while she supported it. This link was a little different than what she'd felt before; it was tight, everyone was aware of each other almost intuitively, even though it didn't share everyone's thoughts with the group. But she was still aware of their intentions and where their focus lay. As Madris shifted to concentrate on detection, Jem stepped in to coordinate everyone's input, what they saw and where they were going, and plan the next leg of their route.

The city and the castle were clearly on edge, but not too anxious; evidently, the true implications of all that had happened weren't clear to everyone yet. There were a lot of soldiers around. Madris couldn't sense another psychic yet, not on a broad sweep from this distance, anyway, but she could tell there were more men than there should have been in and around the castle. Some felt a bit different. She dove a bit deeper, checking it out, then refocused on her companions.

As expected, she reported. There are fighters from Esemen, and probably a few from the Western Confederation. In particular, order fighters.

Edmund had seen signs of it and June had suspected this based on what she'd sensed, but it had been too difficult for them to get full confirmation.

It was easier for Madris. They appeared to have all had some training in resisting psychic invasion, but it was of highly varying quality. She suspected this particular order had instituted that as a general policy, but weren't always able to provide such training with good 'quality control'. It still indicated they had psychcis in their ranks, though, and it confirmed the impression she'd gotten of their identity. The Order of the Sun Temple. Perhaps the most dangerous of them, exclusive enough to only field good fighters but still numerous enough to do things like this.

We should avoid them, Iseis said. Over the wall at the back?

As discussed, yes, Madris confirmed. She was glad they'd been able to do some extensive scouting by using scrying, and made detailed plans. By now that scrying was much harder, an attempt only sporadically went through, showing that they must have put up defenses. Maybe the Sun Temple's work?

They were likely here to 'escort' June and possibly her companions back to their core territory. She would make sure they went empty-handed.

The wall was high and under guard. They could deal with the guards, but it was too high to just jump over without help for some of them, probably including herself. Climbing up a sheer surface was difficult, at least while focusing on other things. So instead, Zephyr and Iseis called up their magic for an air Spell, and Madris intensified her focus to try and hide their mana from any mages that might be looking.

They reached the top of the wall without incident. Madris mentally called a pause and stopped, looking around and scanning the minds of the people around her. There was an uncovered walkway around the wall, with arrow slits and the like, and several staircases leading down or up. It overlooked the outer courtyard, which was bustling with activity. They used the moment to reorient themselves, before they would descend into the castle and make their way further in.

Getting in was, of course, the easy part.

Madris reached out to Edmund, quietly asking for an update. He reported that everything seemed quiet so far. Then she asked him to confirm everyone's locations and mentally went along with him.

Most of their people were shut up with June in her assigned rooms, but some were still held further out. Mostly the lower-ranking members, various servants. They were clearly put to work, too, in anything that wasn't sensitive, and watched closely. She already knew they hadn't had much contact with the other group. There were still a few sapient drones remaining, too, with June, though Regina had already summoned some of them back to her. She hadn't had time to rescue everyone, though.

Madris nodded and gestured for the others to descend. She waited for them to precede her before she followed them down the closest staircase, still making sure to keep everyone's attention off her group. A soldier who was about to go up the stairs spontaneously realized that he had forgotten something and turned to ask another man about the watch rotation.

They didn't get any new information, but at least it allowed her party to smoothly slip down the stairs into the courtyard. Her own attention was already focused on the minds further in, and she slowed down as she noticed something she had missed before, in the crush of foreign minds.

There's another psychic, she informed her companions. Take cover. Then, Lily, Fred, take over shielding, I will try to deal with him.

It would be tricky. She could easily defeat him in a straight-out psychic duel, but they wanted to be stealthy, if possible. Not only did she have to conserve her strength, she had to at least try to deal with this man without alerting anyone. As the group moved into the shadow of an outbuilding, pressing into the space between it and the back wall of a larger stable, Madris focused on her unwary adversary, who was currently sitting down in the keep.

It was not anyone she recognized. That didn't alarm her. He must be new. She could tell from his mental defenses alone — he had some strength, but little experience. Perhaps someone offered a transition to a fully psychic Class when he had just been a mage or something else before. If he'd had minor talent and dabbled on a few occasions, that was possible. Regardless, it made dealing with him easier.

Madris contacted June again, keeping her tight focus on her quarry. Distract him, subtly, she instructed.

The young princess didn't ask questions, but started mentally knocking on the human's shields. Madris watched closely. He stirred; it took a few long seconds before he even seemed to realize his psychic senses were the reason for his sudden unrest. She felt his focus sharpen, but not in a way that indicated danger, and held for a minute.

When she sensed his mental walls waver as he tried to reach out with his own mind, Madris struck. She exploited his preoccupation, reaching out mentally and catching his mental probe at the same time. It slid off the invisible wall she'd just erected, and he reeled back slightly. Madris continued bearing down on his mental defenses. At the right moment, she struck and shattered them. He was inexperienced; it might have been the first time this happened to him at all. He didn't have the experience or skill to keep focusing through the backlash, which allowed her to push further inside. She ignored his scramble to collect his shields and instead pushed a powerful command on him. You must sleep to repair your defenses.

Distractedly, he uttered a few words to another person in the room; a servant, she realized, still listening in through his mind. Then the man stumbled to his bed and tried to unfasten his shoes for a few moments before he fell down and was out like a fire in a closed-off tunnel. She made sure he was sleeping deeply with another gentle push.

Done, she told the others, refocusing. He's sleeping for now. It should be fine for a while, but he will wake up, and his behavior might raise suspicion. Let's keep going; remember your assigned targets.

It was unlikely they would be able to get everyone out with only deception and stealth. The presence of a psychic increased the risk further. Madris set off again, letting herself be subtly guided by Ace as they walked, while she focused on the mental landscape around her and reconnected with June and Edmund to check in. It's time, she told them.

In the same vein as before, they continued through a smaller gate into the inner courtyard of the castle. Then Madris sent a few guards on the main keep nodding off for a moment, and they slipped inside.

It was not until they had entered the main building that Madris realized it would not be that easy after all. A familiar mind made its way quickly up the main street of the city toward the castle. She had almost missed it, given the perfected mental defenses that made the person seem quite different than when she had known them. They were probably working and sleeping in shifts, she realized. The first psychic going to sleep alerted her.

Helen was stronger than before, clearly having profited from Honor's intensive tutelage, and perhaps a few risky training strategies. Her mind shone with determination, their characteristic walls firmly in place.

Madris almost sighed. Minor change in plans, she informed the others, calmly. Helen is here.

We need to capture her, June spoke up right away, noticeably getting more excited even as Madris felt her tension ratchet higher.

You need to focus on escaping, Madris corrected her. She glanced at the others. We'll split up. Go on and free everyone up here. Keep the link up to coordinate the timing. I'll make sure you're not disturbed.

Getting June out was still the priority, Madris assessed. Getting information from Helen would be a good bonus. Although Regina would certainly want the girl dead for being a traitor.

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