Jasper's watch ended uneventfully, but the third watch never started. For the first time in a few days, the heavens opened up, pouring down with such ferocity that the already muddy ground could not absorb it fast enough to prevent flooding. They packed up quickly as their campsite turned into a makeshift pond and fled to the relative high ground of the imperial road.

Conditions on the road weren't much better, but they could do nothing except trudge on. Five hours passed in quiet misery before a pair of grey walls loomed out of the storm clouds.

Dūr-Sūqêrbettu held an impressive position. The rolling hills around them swelled in height as they neared the fortress and the valley narrowed, reduced at its smallest point to less than two hundred feet in width - and it was there that the fortress had been built.

Twin keeps perched on both sides of the valley, offering a commanding view of all directions. A large curtain wall bridged the gap between the two donjons, encircling a small village, and forcing all travel through the valley to pass through the fort's mighty gates. In better times, Jasper guessed the road would be bustling with caravans traveling from Abāya and Dūr-Ṣadê, filled with luxuries for the more prosperous northern cities.

But they were alone on the road today, and the gate was closed.

"That's close enough!" When they got within fifty feet of the gate, a gruff voice called from above. Looking up, Jasper saw a dozen soldiers with drawn bows clustered around a man in full armor.

"The gates only open twice a week now and today ain't one of them," the man continued. "If you head back down the road, there's an inn a few hours away."

"We're not merchants," Jasper called back. "We're here to deal with your bandit problem - Lord Bahrê sent us."

The armored man leaned over the edge, peering at them suspiciously. "You're telling me that our lord sent just four people to help us? And one of them is some bloody foreigner," he grunted. "Leave before my patience runs out."

Jasper sighed. "I'm a Djinn - surely you heard about the army marching to support the emperor?"

"Doesn't mean you're one of them," the man retorted. "Kruvas̆ - how stupid do you think we are?" He shook his head angrily. "I've had enough of you bandits trying to sneak in and sabotage our defenses. Men, fire at will!"

A volley of arrows soared toward them as the men released their bows with admirable synchronization. For a moment, time seemed to slow as Jasper desperately summoned a spell, then it snapped back into focus.

The arrows were tossed as Tsia's wind-blade intercepted them and Jasper lurched out of his saddle, born aloft by shadowy wings. The soldiers' eyes widened as he shot toward them, and a flurry of hastily aimed arrows rose to meet him. Spinning out of their trajectory, he sped up, ramming into the armored man with enough force to slam him into the ground.

With a frenzied cry, the man struggled to kick him off but, even though he was a warrior, he was too low-leveled to overpower Jasper. His struggles promptly ceased when Jasper raised his hand, allowing trickles of flame to run between his fingers. "Can your bandits do this?" he asked coldly.

The sergeant's helmet toppled off as he shook his head frantically. "N-n-no!"

"Please, my lord, there's no need to harm him!" Jasper released his grip on the man's throat as a woman rushed up the stairs to the top of the wall, pulling frantically at the ties of her rain jacket. "Sergeant Nabulîl is a good man, just a bit gruff."

With a sigh, Jasper rose to greet the newcomer and cast a critical eye over her. She seemed young - although given the ages Corsyths could reach, Jasper knew appearances were often deceiving - and a bit too pretty to be a soldier. There were no calluses on her hands, and beneath her long, waxed raincoat, Jasper spied the hem of a dress rather than armor. What is she - the man's wife? But as the gathered soldiers made way for her, dipping their chins in a nod of respect, he reassessed her position.

"Wasn't planning on hurting him, Lady-?" he asked, fishing for a name.

Her cheeks grew rosy at his words. "Oh, I'm not a lady. I'm just Damqa, daughter of the fort's commander."

"Are your father's men generally in the habit of shooting at innocent travelers?" Jasper asked.

The woman's blush grew deeper, but she held her ground. "We've had several groups of travelers prove to be bandits," she replied. "The men are tense for good reason. But obviously," her eyes traced the gently flapping wings behind him with a touch of wonder, "You are not with them. Were you truly sent by Lord Bahrê?"

"We were," he confirmed.

"And you have some way to prove it?"

Jasper had to pause a moment to think. In truth, it was Ardûl who had sent him, not Bahrê, but after a brief hesitation, he reached into his bag and pulled out the sheaf of reports Ardûl had given him. "I don't have his seal, but these are the reports your fortress has been sending Lord Bahrê. Is that good enough?"

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She shuffled through them quickly, then nodded her head. "I doubt the bandits have access to these, and if they do-" she shuddered - "we're in worse straits than I realized. Welcome to Dūr-Sūqêrbettu, my lord. Selene knows, we need any help we can get," she added drily.

It took another twenty minutes for the guards to open the gates and raise the portcullis, bringing the rest of the party inside. Fortunately, Jasper wasn't stuck waiting in the cold rain for them. Instead, Damqa ushered him off the walls and into the small village that was sheltered between the twin keeps.

"So why the paranoia?" he asked. "Have the bandits infiltrated the fort?"

"Several times. Just last week, a group of travelers spent the night in our inn. It was only the day after they'd left that we realized that half of our grain silos had been contaminated."

"And you're sure they did it?"

"There was no one else," she shrugged. "And that's just one of the bandits' methods. They've sabotaged our supplies, attacked our patrols, harassed the caravans, raided nearby villages, started fires in the forest. It's been a hard few months for all of us - I hope you won't hold Sergeant Nabulîl's actions against him."

"Eh, nobody was hurt," Jasper shrugged. "But I hadn't realized the situation was that bad. I read through all the reports Lord Bahrê gave me, and had gotten the impression the bandits were more of a nuisance than a threat thus far."

"Maybe if we had more men, they would be," Damqa continued. "Fortunately, they haven't mounted a real assault on the fort yet but, thanks to the emperor's campaign, the garrison is barely a third of what it should be. We're just stretched too thin to chase them out of the area."

Jasper followed her inside, shuddering with relief as he stepped out of the pounding rain and was met with a blast of warm air and the rich aroma of roast beef. "Guess we aren't exactly the reinforcements you were expecting," he remarked with a chuckle.

"We were hoping for…more," she replied carefully. "But a mage will be a welcome addition to our forces. Do you mind if I ask your specialty?"

"Three mages," Jasper replied, blithely ignoring her question.

"Par-pardon?" the woman choked out.

"We brought three mages - and the fourth is a damned good archer," he added with a touch of warning.

"Lord Bahre sent us half his magic-corp?" she asked, flabbergasted.

"Well, no, we're just doing a favor for him. We came with the Djinn army," he explained.

Understanding flooded her face. "Ah, that makes more sense. I've heard magic has not declined so steeply among the Djinn. But," she led him over to the bar and, waving the barkeep over, sat down. "I feel I should warn you that these bandits may be…unlike others you've fought before."

"I already know they're Zalancthians."

She started at Jasper's interruption. "Oh. But how? We've only suspected it thus far, but haven't been able to prove it."

"We had a run-in with them last night. Got a body we were hoping your local priest could look at," he explained simply.

"Of course. I'll be glad to help with anything that can stop these bandits."

Jasper accepted the ale the barkeep brought him and took a long, appreciative drink before continuing. "You said your father is the commander of this fortress, right?"

She nodded yes, but he didn't miss the nervousness that flitted through her eyes.

"So tell me - why am I talking to you rather than him? Mind you, I have no complaints about your lovely company," he added quickly, "but in my experience, the commander's daughter isn't normally the one giving orders to men on the walls."

"My father's…" Damqa's hands twisted nervously in her lap. "He's not here," she finally admitted. "My father knew - well, he thought - Lord Bahre wouldn't be able to send any help, so he took a squad and rode for Merom. My mother's family are merchants from Āl-Saḫertu, so he hoped he could convince them to finance some mercenaries to protect the trade route until the emperor's campaign ended."

"And he just left you in charge?"

"Not exactly. He left Captain Tōrîl in charge."

"So where is he?"

The woman cast a nervous glance at the barkeep behind them before leaning forward and whispering in a low voice. "He's gone missing - the villagers don't know yet."

"Missing?" Jasper kept his voice quiet. "What does that mean exactly? Is he 'missing' in the sense that you suspect he was in cahoots with the bandits and ran off to join them, or 'missing' in the sense that he's been kidnapped?"

"Tōrîl would never betray us like that," she replied swiftly. "And it's not just him that's missing. After we discovered our grain had been sabotaged, he took a few men with him to chase after the 'travelers,' but hasn't returned."

That doesn't necessarily mean he couldn't have betrayed you, Jasper thought. In truth, it didn't seem like they had any real evidence tying the travelers to the sabotage, so he couldn't rule out the possibility that it was an inside job. Then again, if the captain had been working with the bandits, it didn't make sense for him to flee. Why not just open the gates at night?

"So the captain's either kidnapped or dead," he surmised, keeping his doubts to himself. "Has anyone looked for him?"

"We sent a full cohort down the road, but the rains had washed everything away. There was nothing to follow."

"And that left you in charge?"

"Technically, no," Damqa smiled guiltily, "But no one wants the quartermaster in charge. Not even him."

As Jasper took a sip of ale, pondering the information she'd given him, the door to the tavern swung open.

"Forget about us? I just tied up your mount in the pouring rain." Water cascaded down her body as Ihra stalked over to the bar and snatched the drink out of his hand. Her lips were blue as she gulped down the ale, and Jasper reached over guiltily and pushed some essence into her.

"Just gathering information."

Ihra plopped down the empty mug on the bar and eyed the woman skeptically. "Yes, I can see it was an arduous task," she replied sarcastically.

"Sorry," Jasper rose swiftly. "I can finish up with Dapplegrim."

"Don't bother - we got him settled in. But there is something you could do to make up for it." Jasper raised a brow in question.

"Have you forgotten the body?" Ihra smirked. "It's not getting any fresher."

"Damn it, you're right," Jasper cursed, and turned to the commander's daughter. "You said there was a priest we could talk to? Can you take me to him?"

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