Chapter 16

The tension in her shoulders at an old time high, Turi re-entered the office and started dealing out instructions to her team at once. They were to plan, communicate, and coordinate the takedown with border patrol. As the Dirs ran out of the office in different directions, Turi found herself alone, still holding the dagger and scroll. She carefully placed both on her desk.

In this latest scroll the cat claimed responsibility for the attack, cynically warning of the ritual ecstasy that comes with grape harvest, and castigating the madness of tolerating such pleasures of the body.

Never mind being buried alive by rubble, Turi thought bitterly. The scroll further boasted of striking at the seat of the great philanderer (clearly Thranduil) and urging the populace to embrace the virtues of an ascetic lifestyle. 'Or else' Turi sighed to herself as she rolled up the scroll again. This was nothing short of madness.

In turn, she left the office and headed to the location given by Methedel in order to survey it ahead of the raid later that day. Things were going down.

That early evening, about 20 elves from the two law enforcement organizations surrounded an ancient looking residence in the south of the Greenwood. A tall and surprisingly elegant looking building, it appeared dark and unoccupied from the outside. Vines were crawling up the facade and in certain parts obscuring the first floor windows.

In spite of the growing darkness, no lights had come on since Turi had arrived there earlier in the day, neither had anyone been seen to be entering or exiting. But there was no doubt that this was the place Methedel had indicated to be the cat's headquarters.

Turi kept her bow trained on the front door, and nodded to the large elf with a hatchet nearest by to knock down the hard wooden door. It gave way with a low crack, and border patrol officers filed into the hall soundlessly. Turi followed in hot pursuit.

They rapidly covered the darkened rooms of the downstairs level, finding the sparsely furnished place deserted. There were some discarded cups and plates with food in the sink, indicating elves had stayed here, but had left in a hurry. No one seemed to be here now.

Turi lowered her bow and checked the temperature of the teapot above the scarred wood in the fireplace. It was cold. The group must have cleared out before she got there. She bit her lip in disappointment.

Letting the brown haired elf go this morning had been a calculated risk. But she'd seemed genuinely remorseful. Then again, if you have the kind of nature that allows you to kill, lying must come natural with the territory. Perhaps she was behind the attacks herself, or maybe she was the cat?

Just then shouting erupted from the first floor. Turi ran up, taking the stairs two at a time. She burst into what appeared to be one of the bedrooms and saw a shape lie on the bed, a deep gash visible on the side of her head. It was Methedel.

Turi put her hand to her mouth as she hesitantly took a step back. The lifeless body was staring up at the ceiling, its mouth half open. Carefully getting closer so not to disturb the crime scene, she crouched next to the body and noticed bluish finger marks around her left wrist. The blood from her head wound had gone all over. Methedel had not just put up a struggle. She had fought for her life.

There was nothing to be done now. Turi made her way back out into the evening air, taking deep breaths and looking back up the façade. The building looked more like a tomb now.

As her gaze crossed the main entrance she could vaguely make out carved letters in the waning evening light. What did they read?

She called Bra over to give her a lift, and brushed the dust and vines off of the carved plate hanging directly above the front door. It read Council of Ascetic Telerin. C.A.T.!

A shiver ran down Turi's spine. Methedel hadn't lied. She had lead them straight to the group's headquarters, and then paid the ultimate price for her betrayal. This was the cat! Not a person, but a council. The ancient edifice could easily have been its old headquarters way back.

All of a sudden that same nagging feeling made its way back to the front of her mind. Something was amiss. She was not seeing something that was right in front of her.

She stared at the plaque. Not taking her eyes of the carved stone, she asked Bra 'What are the Telerin?'