"Missions and Motives"

Ablan City, Day 153

	"How do you like the stew?" Brinna asked from across the table. 
	Torrent had been at her house for two days now, recovering from the 
beating he had taken from the Boulders.  He finished eating a spoonful of the 
stew she had made for him and said, "It's adequate."
	Brinna frowned, "Adequate, huh?  My soup was adequate, now my stew is 
adequate.  You don't think it tastes good?"
	Torrent ate another spoonful and said, "Members of Spyre don't worry 
about how a food tastes.  Its only purpose is to nourish us, which this food 
does adequately."
	Brinna said, "Well then, I'll have to settle for being glad my cooking 
is adequate."
	Torrent finished the bowl of stew and walked over to his small bed on 
the other side of the tiny house.  He sat down and started thinking.  He had 
nearly regained his strength, and should be able to leave soon.  It was probably 
too late in the day for him to be able to get to Vent in time to rendezvous with 
the rest of his team, so he decided that tomorrow morning he'd leave.  The extra 
rest would do him good.
	The Spyre agent reached down into his pouch and pulled out the small 
purple orb.  He had looked at it several times in the last day, and was glad 
that Brinna had stopped asking about it.  He wondered to himself about the 
vision he saw of a riot in Ralla.  The only explanation that made sense to him 
was that the vision had somehow come from the orb.  Could it have been real, or 
was it just nonsense, he didn't know.
	Suddenly, the door flew open.  Gan walked in, obviously drunk, and said, 
"Brinna!"
	Torrent immediately jumped up.  He still held the orb tightly in his 
left hand, and put his right hand on his dagger.  Gan saw Torrent and yelled, 
"What's he doing here?"
	Brinna just looked at Gan and at Torrent.  She looked like she was 
afraid to say anything.
	Gan pulled out a knife and started coming at Torrent, "This time I'm 
going to kill you, Spyre."
	Torrent pulled out his knife.  Gan swiped at Torrent, but Torrent jumped 
away.  Gan lunged at Torrent, but the drunken Boulder leader wasn't fast enough 
to beat the trained Spyre agent.  Torrent shoved his knife into Gan's chest.  
Gan dropped his knife and breathed one last forced breath before collapsing on 
the floor.
	An image flashed in Torrent's mind.  He saw himself, being stabbed from 
behind.  As quickly as he could he spun around and blocked Brinna's dagger with 
his knife just before she stabbed him.  He said, "You were planning this.  You 
wanted me to kill Gan, then you were going to kill me."
	Brinna just gave him an angry look.  Torrent just pushed her to the 
ground and ran out of the house.

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Vent, Day 154

	After a day of traveling, Torrent made it back to Vent.  The first place 
he went was the residence of Hallin, the Spyre agent in charge of this town.  
When Torrent arrived, Hallin asked him to come in and have a seat.  Torrent sat 
down, "I was supposed to meet my team here yesterday, but was detained."
	Hallin nodded, "Yes, they mentioned your name.  Let me brief you on what 
happened.  We recently learned there was a Shadow Tal resistance base located in 
the Swamps of Soun.  The Rampage Corps aren't trained to handle that type of 
terrain, and most are busy on other assignments, so several Versatile and 
Stealth Corps members, including your group, have been sent to there to wipe out 
the base.  Your instructions are to catch up with your team and assist them."
	Torrent said, "Understood.  Who's leading the mission?"
	"Jermel of the Versatile Corps," Hallin said.
	After finishing his conversation with Hallin, Torrent left.  He looked 
around as he was walking down the street.  He noticed the citizens paying homage 
to Hyru when they passed by his statue.  He was glad to be back in a town where 
people abided by the law.  He decided that when he found Jermel, he would make 
it a priority to tell him about Ablan City so that Spyre can take corrective 
measures against the people there.
	Torrent walked into the Vent Inn to get a meal and a bath before going 
to the Swamps of Soun.