"Yes and no. My troops are being dissolved and I am upset. They came here trusting me, so I plan to replace the palace maids with our servants and my troops. Anyway, it is not like we can trust anyone in the palace. We still don't know what dangers are out there," Abiri half-lied while making sure the servants were out of ear-shot.
"Does father know?" she asked.
"Yes. It was my idea. Will you help me replace them in your and Adeer's chambers as well?" Abiri asked. To her clever sister this direct approach was always better. She immediately understood the implication – the palace people are not to be trusted. Even though she knew there was more to it she didn't ask and agreed immediately.
But unlike Abiri who was scaring them away, Aziza was extremely polite with everyone and kindly persuaded (Read: Emotionally Blackmailed) them into giving their positions to her 'hometown friends', 'mother-like figures', 'sisters by blood' while also promising to put a good word with their supervisors.
Soon, all the maids and servants were moved from Conall's and Adeer's chambers to Abiri and Aziza's chambers. Their own servants and some of the trusted guards replaced them.
Meanwhile, her training with her troop had extended till the afternoon. The rumours about dissolving the troop were already wide-spread and given their fierce nature, nobody bothered with them.
"I have a request from you," Abiri told Rya after training.
"Little Chief, there is no such thing as request, please give the order," Rya said as she bowed.
"The troop will be dissolved. This palace has hidden dangers and I need your help to resolve them. I am forming an organization for intelligence and you will need to work in the darkness along with me. This is not a battlefield and there will be no military merits. But, I, Abiri Arlo, swear on my life that I will take care of you till the end. This is a perilous journey that might be more dangerous than the wars we have gone to. So, I cannot and will not order you to follow me. I give you two choices; you join me and continue working or go ahead and live your life the way you want to. I will give you enough gold to survive for a long time. I can also recommend you to other military camps or can also find you a good husband," she clasped her hands.
"I, Rya Sienna, was saved by you Little Chief, and will follow you for my lifetime," Rya declared. The she half-smiled, "So this why you have been acting like a domineering crude princess! Because there are dangers in the palace."
Abiri smiled, "You are indeed smart. Since you have decided to follow me, I would need you to communicate with the rest of the troops. Ask for their choice. They get the same promises as you. Also, tell them this was the emperor's plan. Thinking of this, how come you didn't ask me if the emperor knew about it? What if I was rebelling?"
"Firstly, your father is the crown prince, you don't need to rebel. You don't even want the throne. Secondly, if you do rebel you will have your reasons and I will join you. You are the one that saved my life not the emperor so my loyalty lies with you not him," she said nonchalantly.
"Don't speak out such words in the future. Both of us will get into trouble," Abiri said.
"I know. But I am sure the rest of the troop feels the same. They would become spies for you but not the emperor," Rya said.
Abiri sighed, "I get your point. Tell them what I told you and ask them if they would like to join us. Come back with the list."
Although the emperor had asked her to converts them to spies, she had to take their consent. She had rescued them from people who manipulated them or took advantage of them, so she never even dreamt of forcing them into it.
Most of them immediately agreed to join them. They were a few who didn't want to become spies but they also didn't want to leave the Arlos. This was understandable, as being a spy and being a soldier were two very different things. Besides, all of them had left their hometown and followed her thousands of miles to a new city. They had nowhere to go or no loved ones to return to. So, Abiri arranged for them to stay with Adeer or Aziza as their personal guards. This was why her followers were very loyal to her, because she never abandoned people who trusted her.
Soon the spy organization was covertly planned. The organization was named The Shadow Watchers and soon a structure was formed.
The Shadow Commander was Abiri Arlo, who would be the head of TheShadow Watchers. Rya was the High Commander and also the face of the organization. She would oversee different branches of the organization.
Night blades were Field Commanders under whom other spies worked. Although gathering intelligence was the number one priority. Abiri wanted to protect these first-time spies, so Night blades were usually skilled assassins and strategy planners. Each Night blade had their own set of encrypted codes to pass messages. They directly reported to Rya.
Whisperers were Spymasters who were experts in disguise and infiltration. They were mainly responsible for gathering intelligence and reported to Night blades.
Veil runners were the trusted operatives who deliver sensitive information using secret codes and hidden routes between various spies.
Night Prowlers were similar to scouts. They were stationed at various places near the undercover spies and took care of their needs, like money, food, lodgings and also helped them retreat in emergencies.
All of them were to help recruit new members and if the new members performed well or contributed significantly, the recruiter would be promoted or paid a certain amount.
Abiri and Rya had divided their troop into various categories based on their capabilities. They had five Night blades, 20 Whisperers, 50 Viel runners, 60 Night Prowlers.
"This is the complete structure of The Shadow Watchers," Abiri said as she handed the report to the emperor and her father. They were sitting in the emperor's garden.
She continued explaining, "Since the physician had already said it was made from unidentifiable flowers, I have sent someone to Luse, the North-East Forest tribe to check for the contents of the poison. They might not know the poison but they might recognize the contents. A few of my people have gone to Bavel. They number of fugitives that attacked Nokor was alarmingly high. It is not possible to train and move so many of them at once without any higher-ups knowing. Even if they have nothing to do with the poisoner, being able to train so many people in secret means they are very dangerous. I will catch them. Third, I had someone follow Sir Whir every day. We noticed that he visits a particular jewellery store, owned by a Khaamsha merchant, every other day. My people are looking into the owner of the store."
"Wonderful! I knew you had potential!" the emperor said, "Within ten days, you not only formed the network but have also started the investigation. You also have a lead! Good job!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Abiri bowed.
"Where is the headquarters located at?" Conall asked.
"After the troops were officially disbanded, Rya stayed back as my personal bodyguard. Right now, we are using an abandoned courtyard for communication. I have a place in mind but I am looking for a suitable but discreet way to use it."
"Oh? You do need a place which is right in the centre but also hidden in plain sight. What is this place?" the emperor said.
"Beneath the marketplace," answered Abiri.
"Beneath?" asked Conall.
"Yes. I read in the history records that there is a network of tunnels under the city left by the previous dynasty. They used these tunnels as an escape route. I had my people explore these routes and found out that the tunnels cover almost the whole city. Some of them even lead out of the city. The entrances can be bought discreetly by the Night Blades and act as stations of the network. The problem is that the merchant guild sits right on top of the intersection of all tunnels, which is an ideal place for our base," Abiri explained.
"The merchant guild is highly dependent on Khaamsha for trade. If we try to bribe or convert them into spies, it may backfire on us," analysed Conall.
"There is a simpler solution," said the emperor.
Abiri and Conall looked at him simultaneously.
"Replace or convert a few bookkeepers, attendants and some merchants who are not part of the guild's core members but would need to visit the place often," he said, "We need to investigate the Khaamsha jewellery store owner anyways. It not only gives us cover and access to the tunnels but is also a good source of information," the emperor continued.
"As expected of the emperor," Abiri thought.