Once again I was on a train with Hanlon on my way to a destination I had no idea about. He wanted me to bring all my bag of tricks and cautioned me that there would be killing (naturally the man is a weapon dealer, its not like he's calling me in to talk to a group of people about the safety of magic). Hanlon of course brought nothing, and unlike my last train ride with this guys ancestor (I think I've never actually deteremined if the person who calls himself Hanlon is in fact any relation, he could be some creepy god being who just likes the name) at least I knew that this Hanlon wasn't going to lie to me about what he knew about what was going on. Hanlon was at least blunt about everything that was about to happen, even if it was freaking horrible.
"They're making a warship basically." This was Hanlon's opening, like we'd been having a conversation beforehand that lead to this moment, except we weren't and this is the first thing he said to me about an hour into our train ride, prior to this I'd just been staring out the window at the ruined countryside.
"They?" Again he started in the middle and I had to catch up.
"Your enemies, well the enemies of this country and effectively your enemies because they don't like you very much."
"You'll have to be more specific on the enemies part." Hanlon laughed, it was a dry laugh devoid of actual mirth.
"Former Red Hand sorcerers."
"Again?"
"Your recent travels was just a crazy councilman, this is the educated part of their army, or was the educated part, its why they are making a warship and not trying to conjure a beast."
"And your interest is?"
"Can't I say the well being of the fledgling Guard government?"
"No you have no interest in their continued survival and love war."
"Guilty as charged Trezlan! Tell you the truth they went through another weapon supplier and that just bothers me, I mean what if that supplier gets the contracts for the actual conflict? Well it would just ruin all the effort I've gone through here."
"So if they had contacted you about supplying the fire power?"
"We wouldn't be having this conversation, but since they didn't and we are, time to figure out how we scuttle their warship."
"And by we, you mean me?"
"Oh Trezlan you catch on so fast!" And so Hanlon and I figured out how to sink a ship that wasn't actually in the water, well we started on the process that eventually lead to the... You know what I'll get to that ok.
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