#Lore24 – Entry #260 – Fantasy Month III #17 – The Grand Game
As Told by Hatae Ulla, Exotic Entertainer, Dedicated of Yurisaya
“Being a Confessor, I suppose you’ve had plenty of experience navigating the ins and outs of high society. Well, that kind of thing is on a whole other level when it comes to how it’s done in my homeland, we even call it the Grand Game. Though the dark elves that managed to track us down and attacked us that night hid their house affiliations, I could still figure out some details about them that might be useful. They’re from a very influential house, for one; their equipment was of the best quality, enchanted even, and they were highly trained for stealthy kinds of actions, the kind where you kidnap people and hold them for leverage. Their use of that poison gas was a pretty clear indicator of that!
There were no women with them, at least not in that particular attack party, though the one in overall command would have to be female, probably a priestess, and in good standing with the Mantis Queen. We were hidden from normal scrying at the time, so they still managed to find us somehow…that implies either stronger magic at work, possibly from the Mantis Queen herself, OR it means they’ve got a lot more resources at their disposal and have eyes everywhere, scouts spread throughout the whole region. Could even mean both, really. So, that narrows it down even further to only the highest-ranked houses, likely one of the Grand Convocation. That could mean it’s either my family who is still upset that I’ve left, or one of their three main rivals, who wish to use me for leverage against them…or it could also be that one of the others has ideas for how they could use a rogue noble… Guess it’s good to be wanted so much?
That little attack also told us the two groups are likely not working together anymore. I would have suspected some arcane assistance from those twins if they had been, but there was none of that, no signs of any mercenaries who were associated with them. So…that meant we could potentially turn them against one another given the right situation, but it also meant that we couldn’t exactly predict when or if the other group would track us down. It’s all the paranoia and plotting that really gets me about my homeland, you know? I hate that my mind can still work like that after all these years, even though I’ve tried to forget all about it. But they keep dragging me back in, I guess…
Well, we were on alert for any further attacks after that, and they knew it. Even though we couldn’t spot them, I know they were following and watching; Kazumi knew it too, and she was getting pretty antsy about it the whole time. Another thing about dark elves, and elves in general I suppose…we can be very patient. They were waiting for a better opportunity to strike, one where they’d be assured success. Eri’s a little on the brash side for an elf, though; I think that’s one of the things I really like about her!
No, no, I never got the impression that Siduri or Teelsa were working against us. An illusion, you say? Hmm, well, that’s unexpected, but I traveled with her a while before that night in the Bronze Unicorn, and I never got the impression that she was plotting anything. Maybe she’s just not happy with her normal appearance? No, I wouldn’t think she’s spying on us, I’d trust her with my life. Siduri…well, I can’t say I know her that good, obviously, but I think she’s rather honest with her desires. Although…she does have a very mercenary attitude at times, so if there was enough coin involved…maybe she would turn against us…”