Annabelle's team arrived at the Needle through a portal almost fifteen kilometers from Arexia, distant enough that the portal wouldn't be noticed from the city. They were disguised as diplomats of the Carcos Tribe, a nomadic tribe in the Outer Regions that, according to intelligence reports, was considering negotiations with Daraken's empire. They would give the Black Legion their horses (which were unheard-of in Garnoth) in exchange for protection from the Legion's advance, and aid against their own enemies.

Annabelle was carrying a bag of holding that took the form of a purse. Inside it was her weaponry (an Arcane Bolter and a sword enchanted for superior durability and sharpness), as well as five healing orbs (like potions, but not totally impractical to use in combat).

She was also wearing one of the Resistance's most powerful magic items, the Agent's Aegis. The magical amulet had two effects. Firstly, it created a field of magical force that could deflect and absorb incoming attacks, compensating for the fact that Annabelle couldn't wear armor with her disguise. And secondly, it could alter her form with what could best be described as magical plastic surgery. She had used it to make herself appear a bit older (as she was a bit young to be a plausible diplomat), and had been mildly creeped out by the amulet's magic physically reshaping her body. It couldn't change her physical capabilities, but a disguise would prevent her from being recognized on sight by the guards.

"I hope we don't have to walk very far in these costumes," Lorso said. "I'm already overheating."

Unlike Garnoth's mainland, the Needle was a cooler, grassy region. It had almost the same climate as Sanctuary, in fact.

"Probably just because it's heavier than what you usually wear," Annabelle snarked.

Unfortunately for Lorso, it was a fairly long walk. It took three hours for the trio to reach Arexia on foot, and Lorso complained most of the way. Meanwhile, Annabelle practiced with multi-target telepathy.

Annabelle knew it was possible. The Elders had at several times used city-wide telepathic broadcasts. If her plan was to have any chance of success, she would need to do something similar.

Normally, telepathy was a single focused channel, picking a specific mind to interact with. But she had previously created a telepathic burst that seemed to affect everyone near her, even if it only stunned them.

She first attempted to replicate the uncontrolled psychic burst she had done earlier. It was surprisingly hard to get herself to do it in a controlled environment, but she quickly figured it out and released a minor blast, enough to get attention of Lorso and Silence.

But she needed more control. She created a message and focused on it as she released another psychic burst.

What are you doing? Silence asked her.

Attempting multi-target telepathy, Annabelle replied. Did you get my message?

No, Silence sent. But I think I know the technique you're trying to develop.

Don't you only communicate with one person at a time?

Normally. But I- Silence hesitated. I can create a wider network.

Hello, Lorso, Silence sent out, as he created a three-way communications channel.

Why are you- Lorso replied, in the same network.

We're working on telepathic stuff. Feel free to ignore us.

It's not like you're in my head or anything... Lorso grumbled.

Silence decided to drop the connection to Lorso, at least temporarily.

How did you do that? Annabelle asked.

I forge stable links, one at a time, Silence explained. I create connections that do not break after my focus is lost.

Though it wasn't exactly what Annabelle was looking for, it would still be a useful technique. How do you do it?

Silence explained how he did it, and Annabelle only partially understood his explanation.

She told him to drop his telepathic channel, as she attempted to copy his technique, using him as her target. If it worked as he said it did, once she established it, it would linger when she took her mind off it, rather than dropping the instant she stopped using it.

She opened a channel, as if she was about to send a message, but instead of going through the channel, she attempted to reinforce it first. But all she managed to do was cut herself off instead.

She made another few attempts, and thought she had gotten it on the last one, making a stable channel, but it ended up breaking up when she simulated a loss of focus. She would have given it more attempts, but she needed to save her energy for the upcoming fight.

Besides, a large series of stable links would take far too long to establish. A wide-scale telepathic burst was her best bet.

**********

As they approached the city, they saw the Black Legion military camp. Or at least what was left of it. As the reports had stated, much of it was in ruins, and the remaining buildings were deserted. They appeared to have left a large amount of supplies behind, and Annabelle was surprised to see no one scavenging through the camp.

Well, of course they aren't scavenging, she realized. The city's on lockdown, and the Black Legion wouldn't let people go out to steal their stuff. Even so, why wouldn't they bring their supplies with them?

They walked past the ruined camp and arrived at the city gate. Five guards were on duty, with one of them appearing to be the captain. Here, Annabelle's abilities would be tested.

Sure, she could boost herself over the stone walls, and go loud from the start. But then they would be fighting an enemy on the defensive, in their own territory. However, if Annabelle's team could infiltrate first, the Black Legion would have difficulty responding to the threat, and they could start the assault at their headquarters. And, they would be able to get Darius to join them.

"Halt!" a guard wearing the red-striped helmet of a Black Legion officer announced. "State your business."

"We are a diplomatic mission from the Carcos Tribe, seeking an audience," Lorso announced.

"You come at an unfortunate time," the officer replied. "The city is under lockdown until fugitives can be captured. No one is to enter or leave until the situation is resolved."

Lorso sighed in frustration. "So, we wait. But for how long?"

So, now what? Annabelle sent, using Silence's telepathic channel.

Poke around, see what you can do. I'll keep them busy, Lorso told her.

"Leave." one of the grunts ordered. "We cannot allow visitors until this lockdown is resolved.

"We were attacked by bandits," Lorso claimed. "They stole our horses, our food, and most of our supplies. We barely made it here, and I don't think we have the supplies to go elsewhere."

While Lorso argued with the guards, Annabelle went to work, analyzing the defenses. Using her telepathy, she attempted to skim the surface thoughts of the guards. She couldn't get much more without alerting them, and even thought-reading could be detected if one of the guards was wary or strong-willed.

"We don't care. Just leave our sight," that grunt continued.

Another guard offered to let the group stay in the military camp outside the city, but Lorso ignored them to retaliate against that guard.

"Inhospitability towards diplomats is a grave sin." Lorso declared. "If you do not allow us entry, you'll be facing our armies."

"Wait. I think we can work something out," the officer said. "Just, just give me a few minutes."

What do I do? I'm not qualified for this. The officer's thoughts were racing.

"You have five minutes," Lorso declared.

"Excuse me for a bit." The captain left, along with the misbehaving grunt and one other individual. Annabelle briefly considered controlling one of the remaining guards, but the odds of having one guard silently kill the other were too low to attempt.

However, though she didn't sieze control of one of the guards, she did continue to skim surface thoughts.

What is the point of this uniform switch? It's messed up the chain of command, and probably caused a diplomatic incident.

Annabelle was now glad she had analyzed the situation, instead of opening by simply mind-controlling the highest-ranking enemy. If Daraken had managed to execute that trap...

Alright, Lorso, I am fairly certain the 'officer' here is a grunt disguised as one. I'm not sure where the real commanding officer is, though.

That's interesting, Lorso replied. I think I'll try to push him around until he breaks.

After a few long minutes, the 'officer' returned, along with the non-misbehaving grunt. "I apologize for this inconvenience. I have reported the guard's actions to my superiors, and have sent for my captain. He will be arriving shortly to clear you for entry."

"What exactly is your purpose when you can't even solve a simple problem without having to go up the chain of command? Shouldn't they have just stationed a higher-up on the gate in the first place?"

The officer began to waver, but attempted to save face. "My captain is busy with this manhunt. He was not aware that you would be arriving."

On a hunch, Annabelle decided to read the surface thoughts of the guard that accompanied the escort back.

I need to do something. If I let this decoy continue to appear to be in charge, we'll lose face in this key negotiation. We might even start a war.

So, that man was the true commanding officer here. She sent a quick message to Lorso, then went into action.

With an invisible psychic effort, she pushed forth a new course of action. While outright mind control could work, Annabelle would need to maintain it until she either found a way to kill off the officer or could handle the alert the officer would raise. However, a more subtle influence would likely go undetected, especially when it was an action they likely would have performed anyways. Her target's will was weak, and he was easily influenced.

"I believe," Lorso retorted, "that Daraken should make a concession in our agreement. Namely, you should be stripped of your rank for incompetence."

"You dare?" The decoy reacted, suddenly becoming aggressive. "If you did not have diplomatic immunity, I would order you shot where you stand."

"Bring it!" Lorso shouted.

Lorso, no fire, Silence warned. Annabelle looked back at Lorso, who had shifted into a combat stance. She seemed only a few seconds away from blasting the gatehouse with a fireball.

I was bluffing, Lorso claimed.

"Alright, that's enough!" Annabelle's target shouted. "You aren't in command, I am."

The decoy decided to object. Annabelle had a slight panic, as if she had suggested the right course of action to the wrong person. "Excuse me?"

Her target turned towards the group. "I apologize for this incident. Daraken, in his infinite wisdom, decided to place this man as a decoy, making him dress as an officer for reasons I cannot fathom. He has no real authority."

The decoy glared at his superior, but decided to back down, thankfully. If he had gone berserk, Annabelle's team would have been correctly suspected of mind control, but for the wrong reasons.

"Even so, I will expect compensation for his actions," Lorso demanded.

"I will start by opening the gates," the true officer replied. "I will escort you to an inn, and provide you with room and board free of charge, while I inform our own diplomats of the arranged meeting."

He motioned to the other two guards, who moved to each side of the gate and pulled it open to let Annabelle's team get through, then closed it. The officer began to lead them to an inn.

They arrived at the Lizard's Eye Inn. Annabelle didn't expect much based on the title, but it was a surprisingly upscale establishment. It seemed the Black Legion spared no expense for their diplomatic allies. The three of them immediately sat down at a table and ordered food and drink. The officer dropped a coin purse on the table, then left to return to his post.

Small problem, Silence interrupted. More guards.

Annabelle took a glance around them, and saw four Black Legion guards entering the establishment. They weren't making any efforts to blend in. Annabelle tensed up for a moment, before realizing that having a group of guards keep friendly diplomats out of trouble wasn't out of the ordinary.

They shouldn't be a concern for now. I'll deal with them later if necessary.

"So, " Annabelle mentioned to Silence, "what do you think of our chances?"

Silence, naturally, didn't respond.

"Will he actually aid us against our foes, or will he just use this alliance until he tires of it, then merely add us to his empire?"

I'm not going to reply to that, you know.

Just trying to keep up appearances, Annabelle replied. Give the guards something to report on.

"I'm not sure," Lorso said. "Seems like he doesn't care about us."

"That was just a misunderstanding, and you know it. Although, he seems a bit scatter-brained."

"I don't know. Maybe he doesn't trust us. Maybe he'll agree to an alliance, then backstab us when our guards are down."

Annabelle finished eating, then commenced the next stage of the plan.

"I'm going to go clear my head, " Annabelle announced. She walked out of the door of the inn, and wandered the city, seemingly at random. After she left, she took a glance behind her to find that two of the guards were tailing her. After all, she still needed protection.

She led the guards halfway across the city before she get rid of them. She took control of one of the guards.

"Hey, I've got something to show you, " Annabelle's thrall said to his partner. "Come over here, quickly." The other guard was reluctant, but as Annabelle's thrall ran into a nearby alleyway, his partner had no choice but to follow. There, her thrall drew his blade and slew his partner, before turning the blade on himself. Annabelle had to take direct control of his body to get him to override his own survival instincts, but she still overpowered him.

Eventually, their deaths would be discovered, but by then, it should be too late for the Black Legion to do anything about it.

Then, she reached her destination, one of the Resistance's safehouses. The Resistance had three safehouses in the city, and Darius was likely to be hiding in one.

She came across a large collection of dead guards. This safehouse's cover had been blown. Darius was unlikely to be in the area, and had likely been captured.

Their prison would also be at their main fort. If Darius had been captured, any prison break would just be part of the main assault, and with the Black Legion's penchant for torture, he likely wouldn't be in any fighting shape.

Suddenly, Annabelle felt someone grabbing her from behind, putting a knife to her neck. Almost on instinct, she used a telekinetic burst to break her attacker's grip and get clear. Then, she turned around and saw an indistinct form, seemingly camouflaged with the surrounded environment.

Darius, it's me, Annabelle.

You don't look like-

I'm in disguise. I'm not sure why you're here, though. This place is exposed.

Darius realized that pretty quickly, and lowered his weapons. The Black Legion probably expects me to evacuate after I kill a patrol. They've sent a few small patrols to follow up, but I managed to hide from all of them.

That was a surprising strategy. It was probably banking on Daraken or his subordinates overthinking their search plan.

Why are you here? Darius asked.

Annabelle sent him the plan.

This is a risky plan, Darius sent. But, the reward could be a crippled Black Legion.

Just wait for the signal, Annabelle told him.

She left the safehouse (after Darius checked to make sure they weren't being tracked) and returned to the inn. She also had Silence modify their telepathic network to include Darius as a member, and he modified the connection between Darius and Annabelle to facilitate it. Annabelle still wasn't sure how he did it, even after analyzing what he did.

When she reached the inn, she saw Lorso talking with a Black Legion commander and her retinue.

"There you are," the commander said. "You went missing, and the guards that were supposed to keep you safe disappeared. We were worried about you."

Were they worried about her as a person, or as a potential threat?

"Daraken is now ready to receive you. Follow me to the citadel."

Wait, in person? Surely, Daraken wouldn't receive any diplomats in person. If he did, they were likely in serious trouble.

They followed the commander and her troop towards the citadel. It was originally designed as a defensive emplacement that the city's populace would retreat to for a final stand in a siege, but after Arexia surrendered, they seemed to put up no resistance to the Black Legion using it as a general military headquarters.

"Wait, are we sure this isn't a trap?" Annabelle said loudly, right as they reached the citadel's gate.

"If they wanted to kill us, " Lorso replied, "they would have attacked us sooner. Why would they go through this whole process to invite us in, when they could have easily had us executed as soon as we arrived?"

"That isn't exactly reassuring."

"We are not in the business of killing diplomats, " the commander said. "They're more valuable alive than dead, after all."

"Also not reassuring. But, I guess we don't have much other choice."

The commander signaled to open the gates. But as the gates were opened, an alert came out. A Harpy flew down from the sky, shouting an alarm. "The fugitive is rushing this position. He's going to kill the diplomats!"

Annabelle and Lorso feigned fear, while Silence stepped in front of them to act like a bodyguard. The guards turned outwards, preparing to fire on Darius the instant he appeared.

They were not ready for their surprise attack.