Chương 80: Chapter 81: Researcher

"Sweet gods above!" the retainer shouted, scrambling to put distance between her and Róise.

"Oh, none of that. No worries here!" Eoin slid off the chair smoothly and bowed slightly, holding his hat to his heart.

"It's just that Miss… what was your name again?"

"Róisín."

"Miss Róisín and I have actually met before! What are the odds?" He smirked at her.

"Some unnatural luck must be involved!"

"Must be." Róise was not up for joking and laughing with Eoin. Here was the most powerful man she'd ever met who wasn't an Eternal King or an island. He'd helped them against Ultán, but she remembered too much about Miriam's story to trust that he had benevolent motives about anything. And, she had far too much common sense to believe that they'd just met by pure coincidence. Not to mention that he was working for her gods-damned brother.

"Oh! Well! That is… very fortuitous," the retainer said, smoothing out her uniform.

"I was bringing Róisín here as a candidate for the strong arm you said you needed." Eoin looked confused.

"I told you I needed someone stronger than a Third. No offense," he said to Róise.

"Actually a Fourth now," she said coldly. Three spectral lenses appeared over one eye and he stared at her.

"Oh my! So you are! Congratulations! I absolutely cannot wait to hear the story of that."

"It's a real yarn," Róise said.

"So, do I need to audition for this position, or…?"

"Of course not!" Eoin clapped loudly and began to usher the retainer out the door.

"My dear, thank you so much for bringing Róisín to me. Mr. Séarlait will of course hear nothing but praise from me on your performance. Now please go away and allow my new assistant and I to get to work!" The retainer bowed and smiled, then darted out the door as fast as she could.

"That's the one thing I hate about the lower Rings," Eoin said.

"Everyone treats you like a monster!"

"Are you one?" Róise stood with her arms crossed, inspecting every hint of his body language for deception. Eoin hesitated.

"Sometimes. Trying to do better."

"Why are you here? How did you know where we'd be? You got here days ago - we only crossed into the Second Ring yesterday. Why are you working for my brother?" He blinked.

"Okay. I should have expected suspicion. I'm here because if you all survived Cianán's Walk - which it looks like you did, congratulations! - this is the most likely route you would take. I got here days ago because that's how long it took. I went to Shirren first, got my hands on some money, a haircut, new clothes - a hat, thank the gods!"

"And then?" Eoin's smile faltered.

"Well… I found myself a bit… unmoored. I had been a prisoner for years. I had nowhere to be, nothing to do. That's when a man offered me a job."

"My brother?"

"Seems unlikely," Eoin said.

"Wait, who is your brother?"

"You don't remember?" Eoin rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but you and I met for about three hours in the middle of a thunderstorm at sea, after years of underwater captivity and before an aerial battle with a bounty hunter. I didn't get your life story." Róise snorted.

"I guess that's fair. Caolán Searlat."

"That guy's your brother? Real piece of work. Well, it was a job and I needed one. It also brought me here, where I thought I might be able to intercept you all, if you were able to make it out. But I can tell you, my working for Séarlait is a ruse. One that's about to bite me." Eoin shook his head.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I have met the man before. Maybe forty years ago. You can't be a crafter of vastly expensive magical gems and not know all the rich people in every ring. But does he know I'm here? No." This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"And how is that going to bite you?" Róise gestured towards the door the retainer had exited.

"They are not that on top of things here. Seems unlikely you're going to be discovered any time soon."

"Well, that might be true, except for the fact that Caolán Séarlait is scheduled to arrive in Teilgcheárta in about a week. He will certainly notice the man pretending to be one of his top employees."

"So? You're a Fifth, Caolán can't touch you."

"Róisín -""Róise. Unless someone is listening."

"Róise. For anyone Fourth Ring and below, I am a powerhouse. If I drop any sense of humility, even among Fifths, I am a force to be reckoned with. Alone against three hired Fifths? Four? More?" Eoin shook his head.

"I might be powerful, but at the end of the day there is no greater power than money."

"So just leave. I'm sure you could get away before he gets here."

"I absolutely could. But then I wouldn't have finished the job I was hired to do." Róise shrugged.

"What job? Who hired you?"

"I'm not going to tell you that."

"Why?" Eoin's eyes flared.

"Because it's none of your business! Look. I was in a dire predicament. I found Miriam and helped her to get free. In return she helped me do the same. Since then all I did was to expend a ton of power to help you and your friends. I may not work for your brother, Miss Séarlait, but neither do I work for you! If you don't trust me, that is your prerogative, but don't assume that my willingness to be helpful means that you have any authority over me." Róise frowned, then nodded.

"You're right."

"I am?"

"Of course." Róise patted him on the arm.

"I'm sorry. Miriam has a very absolute sense of morality, but such strong conviction can leave little room for redemption, and I hopped on board her judgement. I hope we can get to a point where we all owe each other some forgiveness. I think I will need some before this is all done," she said, trailing off. Eoin looked confused.

"I'm sorry, I'm just really not used to winning morality arguments. Anyway! I do actually need your help for what I'm doing here."

"If you tell me what you're doing here, I might be able to help. Or rather, I don't see how I can help unless I know what you're doing." The Selkie acknowledged the point with a nod.

"Ok. I'll walk you through it. A few things - have you noticed anything unusual about the Crockern here?"

"No, but I haven't known many of them before. They seem dedicated to their work, if a little pushy." Eoin pointed to the far wall, which was covered by a long cloth. With a tug on a piece of rope, the curtain rolled up to reveal a huge window overlooking the foundry floor.

"They gave me an overseer's office. Very posh, isn't it? So, look at all the Crockern. Every single one of them on the floor is young. Maybe a hundred, but no more than a hundred and thirty years old. Maybe only one or two beards among them."

"That doesn't seem so surprising," Róise said.

"Even in Shirren most of the hard labor is done by the young."

"True enough, but even the supervisors are beardless. The only real exception is Ferris Einion - the Regent-Elect, the man who runs the whole show." Eoin sat down on his desk, which was overflowing with diagrams and blueprints.

"When I spoke to some of the floor workers, they all reported having worked here less than a year. Not a single man longer than that. And this taking in independent contractors - that was unheard of for Teilgcheárta only a few years ago. And contracting with competitors like Séarlait? Unthinkable!

"Something happened here, Róise. Something that affected an entire generation of foundry workers. Even our great leader, Ferris, is only the Regent-Elect because the position can't be formally approved until the Teilgcheárta Council meets, which it does once every five years. Whatever it was shook the foundation of this place such that to me, Ferris doesn't seem like a man trying to right the ship. He seems more like a captain determined to go down with it."

"And you have no clue what might have happened?"

"None! I mean… iron is toxic, of course, but even the worst possible spill of molten iron on the factory floor wouldn't cause this. Whatever it is, is worse than the worst accident that could happen here. My employer seems to have an inkling of what has occurred, but has not shared it. I suppose he wants my unbiased opinion." Róise crossed her arms.

"Ok. This aligns with my goals here. We're trying to find something that will help the war effort in Shirren. We have reason to believe there is something here that will dramatically do that." Now Eoin looked confused.

"War effort? I was just in Shirren - I saw no war there." Róise let that disturbing revelation pass by without reacting.

"If there isn't, there will be."

"Fair enough. It seems our interests do align then. Because what I need is someone to sneak into the lower tunnels below Teilgcheárta and tell me what they find." Eoin shut the blind again.

"Only Crockern are allowed."

"Why don't you go?"

"I could," Eoin said with a grin.

"I am very good at illusion techniques. I could probably slip in and out without anyone being the wiser."

"And you don't because…" He shook his head.

"I don't want to. I am powerful, as you keep pointing out, but not immortal. Whatever laid low thousands of Crockern is down there, I suspect, and until I know it's safe I won't risk myself for a job." Róise shot him a look.

"But you'll risk me?"

"You can always say no!" Eoin said cheerfully.

"But I won't," Róise said, laughing to herself.

"Indeed. Sneak down and map out the tunnels. Figure out what they're hiding. Report back to me."

"Why did I have to be a Fourth again?"

"Simple. If you get caught, you have to fight your way out. Let no one who has seen you live. The strongest worker here that I've seen is a Fourth. You'd have to be one too to have a chance." He held up his hands in a resigned gesture.

"Do you agree?"

"I do." Later, after Eoin had dismissed her for the end of her first shift, Róise let out the breath she'd been holding to mask her excitement. Tunnels, missing Crockern, anonymous employers - that was all fine. What he'd said before and she had done a master's job in hiding her reaction to was the real exciting part. Her fórsa blades flickered in and out of existence almost on their own, as if hungry for the target she envisioned. Caolán was coming to Teilgcheárta.