"'Oh no?'" Theanim Mane whispered, squinting at the decrepit stallion standing before Timplan. "Is that a bad 'oh no' or an even worse 'oh no?'"
"It's Skagra," Keris murmured back. He frowned beneath his beak. "Former top dredger of Red Barge. The wretch had countless families whimpering for mercy under his filthy fetlocks. Rainbow Dash effectively drove him out, along with several of his cretins. Seems as though they've inexplicably fought their way inland."
Theanim gulped. "'Oh no,' indeed..."
"Seriously, though, I just can't stop feeling up this nice silk!" Skagra wheezed in Timplan's face as he continued ruffling the elder magistrate's collar. "Say this much about Chandler: the bastard keeps up with some fabulous company."
"You... you want the robes?" Timplan gulped, shivering. "You can have them! Along with all of the riches I've brought here!"
"Hahahahahaha!" Skagra laughed in Timplan's face. The stallion's booming voice echoed off the surrounding trees.
The thugs standing behind Skagra gripped their weapons, exchanged nervous glances, then laughed as well. "Heh heh heh heh—"
Skagra spun around, his green eyes flaring. "SHUT UP!"
The stallions jolted, standing dead still.
Skagra swiveled to face Timplan again. A crooked grin blossomed between them. "Riches? Riches? I had a brief, beatiful glimpse at power back in the muck, you bit-gargling fart nugget. But everypony's favorite bejeweled bastard blind-sided me. And before I had a chance to recover, a brightly colored windsock and her pet stork pushed my shit in." He shoved Timplan hard.
"Unff!" Timplan fell to the forest floor, wincing.
Skagra leered above him. "If I had only backstabbed Chandler and his wind-up Monket toy when I had the chance, I wouldn't have lost my hoofing! But... hey! Live and let leak, am I right?" He strolled past a few of the corpses lying on the ground and yanked loose a crossbolt that had been skewered in the dead flesh. He held the bloody barb up to his squinty eyes and watched the crimson juices dribble down the stalk of the projectile. "All that's left to do is burn everything out from under him. Then, once the fat cat understands what it means to have his house of cards fall flat, I'll expose him before the rest of the so-called 'virtuous' Council. I can't imagine there's very many left who aren't crooked. But... hey! A crucifixion is a crucifixion, right?" Skagra licked at the barbed tip. He collected the blood in his mouth, snorted, then spat a wad of red phlegm onto the forest floor. "Chandler's going to suffer for what he took from me, even if I have to burn half the Prefectures in this crud-sucking continent to make it happen."
"It... it d-doesn't have to come to that!" Timplan raised a shivering hoof. "You want revenge on Chandler? Let us work t-together!"
"Hrrmmmfff..." Half of Skagra's face formed a slimy grin. "How quick the seagulls turn on each other."
"I'm serious!" Timplan frowned. "Chandler is losing his cool! He hasn't been present in Frostknife for weeks! The militants he's been paying? They're starting to rear their ugly head! You saw them just now! Everything is bursting at the seams, and there's little hope left of putting a c-cork in it all! But... but if we expose Chandler together... all of us... then there's still time to shift all the blame on him and come away from this unscathed—"
"Grkkk!" Skagra spun, flinging the crossbolt.
Timplan gasped, his whole body flinching. Chtunk! The projectile embedded into the ground just a few inches away from where his legs met.
Theanim winced from afar.
Skagra crossed the distance between them and held Timplan up by his collar. "I will not tear Chandler apart through pens, parchment, and pissant politics!" He spat. "I want the bastard alive to smell his own bowels being torn from his belly at the hooves of his very own mistresses! I'm talking about a revenge so bloody... so sweet... that they'll start a whole mucking religion about it! Now... stop being pedanting and start being useful, ya talking bottle of testicle extract! Where is the fat cat?!"
"You think I know where he is?!" Timplan sputtered. "I'd have wrung his neck myself if I had a clue! That includes me and every other magistrate he's made his hollow promises to! Now stop strangling me and let's establish a plan to work together!"
"The only thing I'm planning is what to say when I feed your raw butt-flesh down Chandler's throat!" Skagra's nostrils flared. "Now give me a list of every Consortium base of operations or I start slicing, wrinkle-cheeks!"
"I... I-I have no clue! I don't possess Chandler's records!"
"Oh yeah?" Skagra unsheathed a dagger. Schiiing! "We'll see about that—"
"Uhm... boss?" a thug wheezed.
Skagra sighed. While Timplan dangled limply in his grasp, he turned to look over his shoulder. "What is it? Can't you see I'm about to prepare a barbecue here?"
"Er... I was just wondering." The thug rubbed his head with his hoof as he glanced over. "The goggled stallion and the griffon over in the bushes... did they come with us? Or did you send for them ahead of time?"
Theanim gasped sharply.
Skagra blinked. "... ... ...I beg your pardon?"
Keris' beak clattered. His feline legs sprang into action, launching his body forward. With an avian shriek, the guardian launched himself at the thug—plowing his body hard into the ground with the full weight of his armored figure. THWUMP! He swept his leg out, tripping another guard.
"Holy shit!" Two other thugs aimed their crossbows at the Lieutenant. "Hit 'em where it hurts—"
Sw-Swissssssh! A pair of daggers flew in from the foliage, severing the drawstrings of the crossbows. Pt-Pting! The crossbolts sprung back, ricocheting off the stallions' foreheads.
"Guh!"
Fwoosh! Starstorm leapt out of the forest. She spread her wings and slammed both thugs to the ground. WH-WHUD!
"Lieutenant!" Theanim hollered as a stallion with a machete came charging through the clearing.
"Yaaaaaaugh!" The thug swung at Keris' exposed neck.
The Lieutenant blindly raised his good talon back, expertly clamping his claws around the stallion's snout. As he held the thug at bay, Starstorm flung a fan of knives across the clearing, skewering the stallion's flank.
"Aaaaaaaaugh—!" The thug shrieked—only to have his bleeding figure body-slammed by Keris into one of the two recovering thugs, knocking both of them out.
Within seconds, Keris and Starstorm leapt past each other, criss-crossing as they plowed and pummeled the remaining goons.
Skagra's head jerked left and right, his green eyes tracing the expert Talon as they laid waste to the entire contingent of criminals. In slow motion, a stupid grin spread across his face. His teeth grinted, and he hoisted Timplan up from behind.
"Aaah!" the elder stallion yelped.
"Rrrnnngh!" WHAM! Keris punched the last waking thug to the ground. He stood back to back with Starstorm, panting. "Shining punctuality."
Starstorm gulped "There's still one remaining—"
"Look!" Theanim Mane shouted, rushing up to the two guardians' side.
Schiiiing! At the sound of a pair of daggers kissing the air, the three spun to glance across the clearing.
"Hah!" Skagra bellowed through a grin. He held Timplan from behind, raising two serrated blades to the trembling magistrate's neck. "Hah hah hah hah hah! Ohhhhhhhhhh buck me... if it isn't my favorite pelican!" Skagra's left eye twitched as he tilted his head to the side, bangs dangling. "How's the arm, Lieutenant? Did that fuzzy blue beast do wonders for your love life or what?"
Fuming, Keris squared off with the former dredger. "Relinquish the Magistrate of Sunset Prefecture, Skagra."
"Oh, is that who this insepid puke pile is?" Skagra nuzzled the stallion's mane from behind, sniffing and blowing at the gray bangs. "Thanks for hammering that down, chuckle-cluck. Now I'll know how valuable his coat is after I skin it."
"Please... Talon..." Timplan wheezed. "If there's any ounce of Verlaxion-blessed respect in you left—"
"Shhhhhh—shh—shh—shh..." Skagra hissed in the stallion's ear, digging the blade-tips deeper into his neck muscles. "...don't ruin the reunion."
Theanim trembled, grasping his camera. He watched with a grimacing expression as Keris addressed the psychopath.
"You lost back in Red Barge, Skagra," the Lieutenant said. "You lost your platform... you lost your minions... and you lost your mind—whatever threadbare piece of it was remaining to begin with."
"Hmmmm... you so certain about that, birdo?" Skagra twisted his neck so that he was peering out from behind Timplan's other shoulder. "Or maybe..." He licked his lips, eyes twitching. "...we just got a ticket to the winning team."
Starstorm glanced aside, holding her knives at the ready. "Are we really going to entertain this half-witted nutjob, Lieutenant?"
"This ain't no circus, toots," Skagra spat. "Think about it. Think hard." He grinned. "What exactly have you been doing these last few weeks? Hmmm? Don't tell me those flights through the central prefectures have been a wonderful wintry vacation!" He cracked his neck muscles, re-gripping the hilts of his daggers. "No... no no no no you've been after the Rainbow Rogue. Why? Because he's been spinning you. Chandler's been spinning you hard. And you know what? I'm willing to bet he's not the only one!"
Keris sighed. "We're going to give you the count of ten to let the magistrate go—"
"And I'll give you the count of five to wake the buck up!" Skagra barked. He took a step back, yanking the whimpering stallion along with him. "If you're here, then that means you know a sliver of truth! Chandler's been playing all of the magistrates for fools! He's got them all in a dirty blood pact to betray their own kin! First, the bits roll in... then the arsonists... then everything goes up in smoke and Chandler sweeps in for the rescue!" Skagra's green eyes narrowed. "The bastard's turning this continent inside out for his own benefit, and he's got a bunch of highly-paid pussies like sunshine here..." He gave Timplan a shake. "...supporting his grand galloping gut-punch to your all-precious Court!"
"Yes, that may indeed be so," Keris said. "But the solution to chaos is not more chaos. Relinquish your weapons, and we'll—"
"You'll what?!" Skagra wheezed. "Give me a nice, shiny bunk in the Frozen Shelves? Buck that... and buck yourselves up the egghole! The only way the Talon knows how to clean shop is with a claw to the jugular! But I'm not going to give you the opportunity to waste everything! I know how this filthy world works, Lieutenant. And unless you want your precious jewel of Verlaxion to get even filthier, the only recourse is to set fire to Chandler's careless trail of burning fart gas!" Skagra lifted his chin, nostrils flaring. "So... how about it?"
Keris' beak clenched. "If you think for even one deluded second that I'm actually going to humor the thought of joining ranks with you..."
"Say it!" Skagra pointed a dagger. "Say it out loud and know that you mean it, birdo." He hissed. "Know that it is the only thing that can save your stupid Rohbredden from full on civil war between the Tribes! You really want to turn down an opportunity to clean house? Take it from a shithead born from the muck: this continent is as gross as it gets, and you're wasting your time chasing rainbows and rapscallions!"
"Lieutenant..." Theanim leaned in, speaking past Starstorm. "...as unsavory as this character may be, he obviously retains a great deal of inside information regarding Chandler and his operations."
"I appreciate the observation, Professor," Keris replied without looking. "But as noble as truth may be, some prices are simply too high to be paid, even in the pursuit of it." His right wingtips fluttered with subtle motions in the stallion's direction. "Never underestimate your ability to illuminate the situation on your lonesome."
Theanim blinked at the griffon's motioning wings. He cleared his throat. "Right..." Stealthily, he flipped a notch on his dangling camera. "...wise advice as always, good sir."
Starstorm's eyes darted between them, and she resumed glaring at her target.
"So what will it be, Captain Turkey?" Skagra drew a thin red line across Timplan's wincing cheek. "Dead... or deader?"
Keris sighed. "You know, Skagra. You went into the wrong business, dredging coal. With an infallible wit like yours, you could very easily have made it up to the highest seats of the Court with very little effort."
Skagra craned his neck, blinking. "Really?"
Keris snorted. "No." He coiled his muscles. "Now, Professor!"
Theanim struck a switch on his camera and—
FLASH! The entire clearing lit up like a shooting star.
"Gaaah!" Skagra flinched for one second too long.
"Htttt!" Starstorm spun, flinging a knife with murderous speed.
Swissssssssh! The sharp blade flew and—SCHLUNK!—embedded hilt-deep into Skagra's left eye.
Timplan gasped as the criminal's neck savagely jerked back.
Theanim and Keris watched from a distance.
Skagra teetered... tottered... then lowered his chin. Blood ran down the former dredger's face in thick rivulets as his one remaining eye blinked. "... ... ... Ow." And he fell hard to the ground with a dull thud.
Timplan collapsed on the grass in a panicked puddled, hyperventilating and spitting up bile.
Theanim shuddered, clutching the weight of his whirring camera. "Now there's one for the collection," he said, gulping.
Starstorm rushed over to Skagra's limp body. She felt his neck with a bare talon.
Keris craned his neck. "Sergeant?"
Starstorm cleared her throat. "I'm surprised his brain even had the energy for that last breath, sir."
Keris nodded. "He died as he lived: a stain."
"Lieutenant, I'm... I-I'm terribly sorry." Starstorm retrieved her bloody knife and stood with a sigh. "Things were tense, and I simply didn't know another way to free the magistrate with his skin in tact."
"You will get no complaint from me, Sergeant." Keris walked over and gave Skagra's body a shove with a paw. The dredger's corpse rolled over, the bangs still refusing to slope sideways, even beyond the grave. "Rainbow Dash spared his life as a message of peace and good will. A shame he didn't pay heed like his subordinates did back in Red Barge, or else he may have found a way to truly prove useful in the end."
"Then... how far have we been set back?" Theanim remarked. He turned about, grimacing at the veritable sea of corpses and knocked-out criminals. "This Skagra knew an awful lot about Chandler's true nature."
Keris calmly turned around. "He wasn't the only one..." He slowly marched towards Timplan.
The Magistrate was hunched over, coughing and dry heaving.
"There's an old griffon proverb: 'honesty starts with puking.'" Keris knelt beside the elder stallion's figure. "Would you like to share the truth with us, Magistrate? You've already covered the first step."
"Grnnnkk... mmmfff..." Timplan looked up, eyes tearing as he wiped froth from his wrinkled chin. "So... so much blood and death..."
"And even more misery can be prevented... if you own up to your misdeeds and assist us in exposing the cretin who's empowered you with this blatant treason." Keris stared the trembling politician down. "Trust me. You do not wish for my commanding officer to learn of this before I'm through with you."
Timplan's eyes shrunk at the thought.
Keris growled: "Who else is connected with Chandler's wretched plan?"
Sparkling clean horseshoes clopped across a thick wooden deck.
Brye Chandler shuddered, adjusting the folds of his robe as he marched from the boat to the storehouses situated at the end of the company harbor.
"Sir!" A group of servants trotted closely behind. "Please! We insist! You must allow us to make a thorough check of the facilities before you step in!"
"I'll be fine..." He growled, marching on.
"I beg to differ, sir! With... erm... with the b-budget cuts that you—er... I mean that the company's made as of late, security is a great deal thinner than it was months ago and—"
"I said..." Chandler spun, shouting down the uniformed workers. "Leave me be! I have important business to attend to! This company won't even be able to afford a boat oar if I don't tend to these issues at hoof! Or do you think you can speak to the Council on behalf of the Consortium?!"
"Uhm... n-no, sir! We m-meant no direspect, sir!"
"Everypony... please... leave me alone." Frowning, the richly-attired stallion swung the wooden doors to an office building open and stepped inside. "When I am ready to disembark for Frostknife—and only when I am ready—I will summon you! Not the other way around! Now... keep a close eye on the waves and I don't want anypony entering or leaving port until my business is through!"
THUD!
He slammed the door shut. Once inside a spacious office, he leaned against the frame, panting and wheezing.
Dead silence...
... until ...
"...Goddess Verlaxion, ever wise and ever loving, gave Her foals sound advice the day she first unified the tribes."
"...?!" Chandler turned around.
Only then did he realize that the entire office had been ransacked from the inside out. Layers of files and unrolled scrolls littered the floor between overturned pieces of furniture. An intimidating figure leaned in the shadowed corner. From a glint of distant candle-light, Chandler made out silver armor and razor-sharp gauntlets.
"She said, 'Harmony blesses those who bless each other. Chaos preys upon those who devour each other.'"
Chandler gulped.
Slowly, one scraping claw after another, Commander Seraphimus emerged into the light. She cradled in her talons a thick ledger detailing several of Chandler's business operations. "It would seem that chaos is encroaching you on all sides, Mr. Chandler." Her charcoal brown eyes lowered from beneath her helmet. "Sadly, I've seen the corpses of those you've preyed upon. I've come to tell you... that harmony has run out of blessings to give."