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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cerebral Paladin" data-source="post: 3709804" data-attributes="member: 3448">“I have another matter I want to discuss with you.  Do you know anything about this fan?  It’s linked to a group of agents-- are they the main part of our network?”“Ah.  I had not realized you had taken that directly.  The fan belonged to one of the people who ran a subpart of your predecessor’s operation.  It has been generations since the Mouth used it directly.  Dame Esmerelda put it in the hands of one of her most trusted agents, who was also something of a friend to the Archduchess.  So she is the one who built the network of agents on the fan.  Have any of the other prime agents checked in?”“No, I don’t think so.  Who are they?”“There were four all told; we know what happened to this one, so three remain unaccounted for and presumably still active.  They’re all somewhat independent, of course.  One was sent to Khamista to infiltrate the temple of Paranswarm.  Dame Esmerelda was most worried when the Inquisition swept the continent.  He reported about once every sixth months, so it is unsurprising that you have not yet heard from him.  When last I heard, he remained embedded in the hierarchy of the Inquisition and the Inquisitor General.  Second:  a close friend traveled north in the guise of a merchant, who set up a network in Hanal.  Over time, she was able to set up as both a merchant and a strommess.”  Kit raised an eyebrow at that.  “She married into the title, and her husband was suddenly and fatally ill shortly after the marriage.  The third remaining prime agent is in Brightspan, but she has been singularly unsuccessful in creating a network thus far, making the reports of minimal worth.”“The Brightspan prime agent is also a woman?” asked Kit.  When her secretary nodded, a little hesitantly, Kit asked, “What was her cover?”“Ah… you see…  well, m’lady, it was hoped she could get close to the Duke… She… umm…  She was a very beautiful woman!”Kit did her best to cover a smile at her secretary’s prudishness.  “I take it she might be a good leader for the Naughty Bits, then?”  She also reflected that the psionic effect on the Duke of Brightspan would have made the plan of infiltrating a mistress all but impossible--his paranoia would cause him to suspect the truth even without any evidence.“Yes, m’lady.  I suppose we will need someone coordinating that effort,” he said with distaste.  “But in any event, those are the prime agents.”“Did the fan-bearer put the other prime agents on the crystals?” “Perhaps.  The uses of the fan’s crystals was left to her discretion-- you will have to check the crystals directly to be sure.”Kit nodded.  “I’ll make that a priority.  With the Brightspan agent-- what was her supposed reason for being there?”“Ah.  She was ostensibly in flight from her family, the Overfifers.  The story was that she was ‘dishonoring the family name.’  There was nothing to it, of course; her branch of the family has been merchants for year, solid grain merchants.  Lady Mayor Overfifer probably doesn’t even know they exist, and there is no actual rift within the family even if she does.  But it provided a convenient excuse for her to be traveling lightly and quietly, while still letting her use her rank to gain entrée.”Kit drummed her fingers.  She would have to consider whether to recall the agent.  She could serve as a very useful leader for the Naughty Bits.  At the same time, once the psionic effect on the Duke of Brightspan dissolved, she might be able to accomplish her original mission.  Kit didn’t trust the Duke enough to want to reduce the Archduchy’s surveillance of him.</blockquote>

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