if anyone wants to dare | Glowfic Constellation

Sergeant Valeriya Oretsev - or just Val - had tracked Bo Yul-Bayur all the way to the (very frustrating) shootout between Shu and Fjerda that ended in his death and the capture of his daughter, Kuwei Kir-Bo, by Fjerdan witch-hunters.

Val isn't well suited to breaking into Shu research facilities, so if the Darkling wants to get her hands on jurda parem that way, she's going to have to send someone else.

But she is exceptionally well suited to pursuing the witch-hunters up the coast -

She isn't fast enough, though, and they get Kuwei Kir-Bo behind the unbroken walls of the Ice Court before she can do more than take down a few witch-hunters. (Assholes.) They didn't get a good look at her face, at least, which means a short run and a quick change of clothes lets her blend into the city, where she tracks down one of Ravka's spies (giving the appropriate code words, and also advice on being less embarrassingly easy to track) and then cools her heels until the Darkling can figure out a way to get a team into the fucking Ice Court. Or until she just calls Val back, but Val's got a hunch that she's not about to let Kuwei slip through her fingers.

Confirmation of that hunch comes in the form of Sturmhund, legendary pirate - unofficial Ravkan privateer, which is the extent of her identity that Val has clearance for - who's somehow swanned her way into an invitation to Hringkalla, the massive spring festival. Val's swept into her 'entourage' - not the Ravkan diplomatic team, who probably at best will be able to provide extraction backup in case of catastrophic failure to sneak away, with how closely they're being watched - and that somehow gets them all the way to White Island (Val is seriously impressed), where Val quietly scopes out the crowd while Sturmhund draws attention (apparently via vying for an 'audience' with the Crown Princess, which, good luck to her) -

And then she sees Kaz Brekker, of all people.

Well, they knew they wouldn't be the only ones after Kuwei - the Dregs' presence just means their competition is actually serious -

At which point she follows Kaz's gaze to a building ruckus at the center of the court, near the throne -

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"Kuwei Kir-Bo"

night-so-dark

Bad feeling verified. Okay, what's the play... Going loud is worse for her, they're still out to sea. Kir-Taban seems to have some disagreements with the people already here. Authority to overrule them, too. Cares about Kuwei as a person, not for her connection to parem. Sorry Kaz, but she's going to make this up as she goes.

night-so-dark

"A distraction. My name is Nina. I was with the team that broke your- friend out of the Ice Court. We anticipated trouble on the return to the city and thought to preempt. Didn't expect the khergud."

by-its-battles-told

"And I suppose Kuwei has been disguised as well."

"Where is she?"

night-so-dark

"In the city, probably at a safehouse. We split up getting in and I've, ah, been out of contact."

by-its-battles-told

"And how many grisha on parem does your team have, other than the Tailor that disguised you and Kuwei?"

night-so-dark

"None. And she's off the parem now. Didn't take it by choice. We were just doing the best with what we had."

by-its-battles-told

"She survived going off it?"

night-so-dark

"...It's an ongoing process. I hope she's still okay."

by-its-battles-told

Hum. (But she looks like she approves of the sentiment.) "What was your team's plan with Kuwei? Who hired you?"

night-so-dark

"A mercher named Van Eck. Thought he was getting the father. My boss doesn't believe in the slave trade, we took the job so no one else would get it."

"I was going to offer her passage to Ravka. She's... not in the best state of mind."

by-its-battles-told

"...I want her to be happy, not - exploited by the Darkling instead."

night-so-dark

"Ketterdam wouldn't be better. We didn't think she'd want to go back to Shu Han."

by-its-battles-told

"I'll speak to her about what she wants."

night-so-dark

"If you know her, that would help."

by-its-battles-told

"I do."

night-so-dark

Nod.

"So, care to share what brings you all this way?"

by-its-battles-told

"That's classified," she says, somewhat teasingly. "Though Kuwei is why I'm in this city specifically right now."

night-so-dark

"Aw. And here I thought we were building a rapport."

by-its-battles-told

"You're going to have to try harder than that, especially for anything not directly relevant to helping Kuwei."

night-so-dark

"Anything not classified about the city you can tell me, then? Like I said, I've been out of touch and it's making me a little anxious."

by-its-battles-told

"No one's found Kuwei, most of the gossipers barely know what's going on, just that something valuable's afoot, and half the rest don't even know her father's dead. Sturmhund's ship came in, I'm betting just about on your team's tail, followed by a Fjerdan ship. There's definitely a group of drüskelle, and rumor has it a princess is aboard. A small island with some abandoned buildings caught fire the night the Fjerdans came in. I've heard Van Eck's name in connection to the island."

night-so-dark