Redgenald watched Green from his position a couple of strides behind and to the side of him. In the inquisitor's mind, it was the perfect distance. Close enough to interfere should the man be attacked but far enough that the scout never got the idea that he was in charge. Plus, the position had the bonus of placing Redgenald out of his line of sight, so the scout might let something slip he otherwise wouldn't with the constant reminder of his presence.

The last point turned out to be more important than he would've first thought. This elf held more than one secret, some of which might be important to the Republic. Redgeanld didn't know how certain his assumption was, but he knew that Green was close to the Kin. Perhaps a little too close.

While Redgenald was tasked by Panta to protect Green, it was really more of a suggestion by the legatus. He didn't have the authority to command an inquisitor of any level, though he could make his life annoying. Meaning it was a good thing that Redgenald completely agreed with watching over Green.

Over recent months, the man had experienced quite the unlikely string of events if the reports and hearsay were to be believed. The latest such event was, of course, last night. Green and his… Blood Brother had disappeared in a matter of seconds while everyone was distracted by the other badgers' antics. If there was ever something you just had to watch out of a morbid curiosity, it was the badgers celebrating.

When Green finally popped back up after the entire night was all but gone, he stumbled back to his room and fell asleep without saying a word. Redgenald tried to start a conversation, but the scout's eyes were vacant as his mind was far away, pondering whatever he had just discovered… Or been told? Whatever it was, something had shifted within the man.

In the late morning, when the fort started to get some life back into it after the celebration, a messenger had come for both of them, requesting that they come to Legatus Panta's office at their earliest convenience. Which meant that they were to come right now and wait until Panta had the time to speak to them. The message was just phrased in a way that Redgenald couldn't complain about it or ignore.

It was understandable. Many average citizens might not like it, but people weren't equal. That held true in both the social ranks they were born into and their abilities, both mental and physical. That ignores how people move through life, which could be drastically affected by pure chance or obscene amounts of nepotistic corruption regardless of one's capabilities.

Putting all that aside, people rarely rise to the top and remain there if they are incompetent, and if they do, you could bet your life they were just a figurehead for someone else. Meaning that those in positions of power who were directly affecting the lives of thousands and the nation as a whole could call anyone they damn well wanted to their door and make them wait until the appropriate time.

It was a truth Redgenald had long accepted and could appreciate, so long as people didn't take it to the level of making a petty attempt to assert their authority. Then again, Redgenald's refusal to deal with those individuals in a way socially acceptable to the upper crust of society was the main reason he was in the Triad. Politics infected everything, and it wasn't only the legion that sent their undesirables to the Northern Line and the Triad specifically. A fact he found particularly annoying until recently.

Once they arrived, it was only a handful of minutes before Green and Redgenald were ushered through the doors, seeing a harried man… Or such would be the case if Panta was a man that could succumb to such a mundane weakness. Rather than his hair being messy, his eyes bloodshot, his skin wan, and maybe a hint of stubble, Panta only had the faintest outlines of dark circles around his eyes.

A minor effect from what looked like a night of doing a mountain of paperwork and sending out messages. Aids and messengers stood to the side of the room, ready to leave the instant they had the necessary documents in hand. Behind Panta and out of sight, his old valet was busy restocking a cart of drinks and snacks, ready for Panta the moment he decided to rest.

If anything, the sight made Redgenald's opinion of the legatus tick up a notch. On a night of revelry for the common men, their leader was preparing for the next step and straightening up anything else that needed his attention.

Redgenald and the scout spent nearly as long waiting for Panta to finish writing on his latest paper and passing it off to a runner with a few words as they waited outside before he turned to face them, leveling his full attention. "Thank you for coming so soon," Panta said, making eye contact with Redgenald as he spoke. "Time is suddenly in short supply."

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"What has happened?" Redgenaled asked.

Leaning back into his chair, Panta folded his hands over each other, only for his valet to place a cup and saucer next to him. Glancing at the tea, the legatus reached for it and said, "Thank you, Harptin." As he did so, the valet also placed a small tray of bite-sized sandwiches on his other side. "Excuse me," Panta said after setting down his cup after taking a sip. "As to your question, several possibilities have coalesced simultaneously."

Legatus Panta turned and rifled through a stack of papers. Pulling one out, he extended his arm, prompting Scout Green to step forward and take it. "This is an official request from the Kin. They have been offered and accepted a proposal by Senator Ponpti to send representatives to Olimpia under his protection. They will be leaving tomorrow, and one of the requirements of their agreement is that Scout Green is part of the group that goes with them. While I already intended to, the senator also demanded that I send a representative back with him. To top it off, the fourteenth legion is moving south within a few days, as City Lord Fridgia requested that I release them to defend the southern portion of his holdings."

Redgenald blinked at the scope of events that were happening within the span of days, and he felt a bit of pity for the legatus. Everyone within his entire legion with an ounce of influence would be sending an appeal to him to be reassigned. After being in two major battles, many people would be considering how they could get out of the next, and their achievements should be more than enough to be placed within another legion. Acting as guards for a delegation south would be a good way to achieve that.

If Panta didn't want to cause many minor headaches that could lead to an undermining of his authority, he would have to respond to all of the appeals. Nobles were nobles, after all, even if they dressed themselves up as legionaries. An annoyance, to be sure.

"There is another matter to consider, Legatus Panta," Redgenald said. When Panta raised an eyebrow while taking a bite of food, the half-human continued, "The Kin need Green to go with them. It is not a want."

Setting down his food, Panta asked, "Could you expand on that." At the prompting, Redgenald began to convey what he had learned from Green the night before. "Is what he is saying accurate, scout?" Panta asked, turning to the elf. Visibly swallowing as his eyes gained more focus than the dull void they had been the moment before, he nodded. "And why have you not said anything on the topic until now?"

"I…" Stammered the elf, "It just… didn't occur to me as important. And the experiments seemed to be entirely hypothetical. Neither of us expected anything to come of them for a while."

"But now something has," Panta stated, getting a shrug from Green.

"That has to be the case," Redgenald said, cutting in. "They wouldn't have accepted a date to leave if they didn't have a viable means to move south. It would be understandable for them, even expected, depending on who you asked, for the Kin to stall for months on who to place within their delegation. Given that fact, exploiting such a weakness could give us some advantages."

"…Yes, but nothing that we would need as we already hold most of the advantages. Also, it will inject an undercurrent of hostility into our relations, which I am not sure is necessary… No, the plan will not change, but I will leave it up to your discretion to conceal or spread the weakness of the Kin, Inquisitor."

Tilting his head, Redgenald asked, "So you are requesting my continued presence to protect Green?"

"I am. Given what you just said, it is evident that Scout Green is even more important to our relations with the Kin than was already apparent… And I fear that he will be in even more danger there than here."

Redgenald's eyes sharpened as he stared at Panta, "You think that the Letairry are in the capital?"

"Don't you?" Panta scoffed, "Given what they were able to achieve here, their abilities should be even more effective there in undermining the Republic and her responses."

"Unfortunately, yes." Redgenald agreed with a sigh. "I am willing to travel with Green, but I will need a team of my own. Preferably some who are competent and able to stand on their own."

"I will not give you any of my knights."

"I was not thinking of them," Redgenald replied with a smile. "Besides, I have a knight, and if I need more, then it means that I have already failed. No, I was thinking of taking some of your scouts." Holding up his hand to forestall the objections he saw forming on the legatus's lips, the reaper continued, "Just a squad or two, and I will be taking from the new ones, none of the seasoned personnel."

Panta didn't look particularly happy about the demand, and it was a demand. But it also wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been, as Redgenald could have requested and gotten some knights. Not to mention, scouts were practically useless for him right now.

Anything coming from the east or west would be a problem to the Kin as much as Panta, so they should inform him in time to prepare. And if anything came from the south in enough strength to threaten the Triad, the Republic had more significant problems to worry about.

All of which Panta knew, which meant it wasn't surprising that it only took him a few seconds to respond. "Agreed. Inform Scout Centurion Valasko of your choices. Green, you will report to the Western docks at sunrise tomorrow and join with the delegation." With that, Panta returned to work, and Green stiffly saluted before stalking out of the chamber, Redgenled following behind him a couple of steps, watching his reactions.

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