if anyone wants to dare | Glowfic Constellation

the-truth-is-never-straight

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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or-near-enough

Good ol' Fjerdan paranoia, gotta love it.

At least she can ensure their security on her own ship.

Fjerda

sun-and-shadow

After the druskelle and guards escorting her search it, of course. (They seem mostly interested in potential stowaways, so probably minor contraband will fly under the radar.)

or-near-enough

~~Yeah, no, she knew they were docking in Fjerda. Everything incriminating was safely offloaded beforehand.~~

Fjerda

sun-and-shadow

She'll get a pass (reluctantly), and instructions to stay anchored where she is until instructed otherwise by the harbor master.

or-near-enough

Great.

So, what did Val find?

the-truth-is-never-straight

"Well, it's not great news, but it's also not the worst - I saw a woman named Kaz Brekker right before the... Drama with the princesses. When I looked back, she was gone. Her trail overlapped with Kuwei's - and I lost them both."

"We knew we weren't going to be the only ones making an attempt; I'm very sure her team was the one that succeeded, setting off the alarm that trapped us on White Island in the first place. I've had... Dealings with her crew, the Dregs, once before - they're from Ketterdam. They were hired to kidnap the Sun Summoner a year ago. They decided to flip on that, sold out to us instead, even brought a stolen warhorse they'd tracked down with them as a gesture of good will - and as a foot in the door. ...And then one of her girls, Inej, set a record for number of bounties collected on security flaws. Which she still holds by a large margin. The Darkling was, by the way, very unhappy, since Inej repeatedly snuck past every single security system to deliver said flaw analyses in person."

"They're competent - but they're also reasonable, and if we can catch up with them before they reach whoever hired them, they might sell out again. ...Also I'm not sure stealing from them would be a good idea."

or-near-enough

"They sound interesting."

the-truth-is-never-straight

"They said they were using the reward money to open a brothel. I've got a standing invitation."

or-near-enough

"An interesting operation, for a gang of thieves. But I guess that's what you get in Ketterdam, the real entrepreneurial sorts."

the-truth-is-never-straight

"Spreading their business portfolio or something."

or-near-enough

"Spreading something all right," she snickers.

the-truth-is-never-straight

"It gives Sturmhund a pretty good excuse to be in Ketterdam."

or-near-enough

"I go where the winds take me, everyone knows that."

the-truth-is-never-straight

"And they're blowing to Ketterdam now?" (They'll need to move fast to make up the head start that the Dregs got, at least once the harbor is unlocked - Val for some reason doubts the Dregs actually were caught out by this.)

or-near-enough