Renevere Mars: Part Three

Episode 25: Carrots

 A knock at her front door awoke her the next morning. She groaned and glared at the clock. It was just barely passed sunrise. "Duren, you psycho," she muttered, burying her head in her pillow. Another set of knocking drilled into her already aching head. "I know you said first thing, but fuck!" she hollered, throwing herself up and rubbing her face before she slid her feet into her slippers. Then she paused, thinking wait... Duren doesn't knock... on the front door...ever....

She cursed at herself and grabbed her robe before swinging open the front door. A woman was standing there, looking uncertain. "Uh, sorry," she stammered. "I know it's early, but this is under direct orders from Lady Rexus Keylopè."

"Of course, I'm sorry," Ren said over her, shaking her head in tiny, apologetic motions, "I thought you were- well, someone else."

"No apologies necessary, Ma'am. The Rexus needs to see you at the top of the hour."

"Of course, I'll be right over," Ren said, ducking back into her apartment as she thanked the courier. She threw on mission gear, because a call from the Rexus was rarely for tea. After suiting up, strapping on her knife belt, and stuffing an oat bar in her mouth, she rushed through town headed for Vertexia. She wound through the building, past security, and to the hall where the entrance to the Vertex was located. Duren was waiting there outside the door.

"You too," Ren breathed as she approached. This could only mean her suspicions, her hope, had been correct. This must have something to do with Sam and Cara. "Any idea what this is about?"

"My guess is as good as yours."

Then the door swung open and one of the Rexus's assistants let them in. She sat behind her desk as usual. "Duren and Ren," she greeted them with a nod and a beckoning wave. "Come, I have news. I don't know how helpful it will be, so don't get your hopes up."

The two of them came to stand at attention before the Rexus's desk. She stood, picking up a piece of paper from her desk and coming to walk around it toward them. "Back around when we attacked Hashu Mountain, we intercepted an enemy transmission. It took us a while to crack the cypher, but they've finally decoded it." She held it up for Duren to take. Ren unabashedly broke decorum to lean into him and read over his shoulder.

The original note was written very carefully and seemed to have been folded on a cloth parchment to a very tiny size. As Lady Kelopè said, the original was nothing but gibberish, but above the scrambled text, the decipherers had scrawled the message's decoding. You said there would be three Wolves, but one of those girls was not a day younger than 15. Explain that. Fix this, or you're done for.

"This was sent around the time of the battle at Hashu Mountain?" Duren asked.

Lady Kelopè nodded. "We intercepted it just a few days after. There was no indication the message had anything to do with the ongoings at the mountain until we deciphered the message, and we don't know to whom the message was intended."

Ren took the letter out of Durren's hands to keep staring at the words. You said there would be three Wolves... the girl was 15...

"15," Ren scoffed, making a look of disgruntlement. I don't look 15, she resisted the urge to say. "This must be talking about me, because the warrior fact sheets don't list our age." She looked up at Duren and Lady Kelopè. It was funny that she only knew this because Trish had brought it up the other day. A frown tilted Ren's brow just slightly and froze there.

"Anyway, I don't think it's necessarily a break, but it's at least confirmation..." The Rexus's voice faded far away from Ren's mind. Something was itching in the back of her brain.