Under the darkening sky the filthy streets and alleys of Stelt’s main harbor were lit by hundreds of flickering lights in all colours imaginable. There some Matoran were cleaning up their master’s shop under the watchful eyes of a worker class Steltian, opposite from them the door of a cheap dockside tavern opened, for a short moment bathing the street in a dark orange glow until it was obscured by the stumbling silhouette of a Skakdi sailor who only made it a few steps until he collapsed amidst the piles of trash in the gutter. The few passersby ignored him as well as the rust encrusted being that came out of one of the many dark alleys and began rooting through the possessions of the now snoring sailor.
Isthra pulled her cloak tighter around herself, as if the dark fabric could protect her from the stink and the looks of the other pedestrians. She tried to not let her contempt show on her face as she passed the cutpurse and his victim. How could anyone choose to live in this cesspool?
A few streets away two voices started shouting, followed by the sound of metal on metal until one voice went over into gurgling and then fell silent. Somewhere else someone was trying their best to open a door with what sounded like a sledgehammer. A second cutpurse challenged the one behind her for his spoils and soon the two were rolling around in the trash on the street, hands at each others’ throats, hissing and cursing.
Isthra ignored the noises, instead moving on while trying her best to navigate around muddy puddles and piles of garbage in the street. Despite all her discomfort she had to admit that hiding on Stelt had been a brilliant idea. After all, who would think of searching for her in a central sea port with a near permanent Brotherhood presence? The mere fact that she had been here for several months now told her that they obviously hadn’t. All they needed was to get a glimpse of her and she’d stand out to them like a beacon, disguise or not. But it would be naive to assume the situation would stay like this. Once the situation outside of Stelt had cooled down a bit she’d try to reach the Southern Islands, where no one would dare follow. If Napak had been right about Furtaan’s destination she might even be able to join up with him – provided he managed to escape – even if he was an insufferable smartass. However, he hadn’t hesitated to oppose Teridax on this fateful day, had he? And that was doubtlessly more than could be said of most others.
Briefly she considered who else was left she could trust. Hormahk had been killed by Teridax himself right after the Convocation if the stories were true. She also suspected that Kindrix was dead. The scientist might have been an expert in Rahi creation and ecosystem development, but when it came to understanding politics she had all the comprehension of a drunk Zyglak. Miserix had been murdered by Krika and Spiriah, so that left Nevantar, but she had no idea where he had gone or if he was even still alive. Isthra suspected that there were some others with a certain sympathy for the exiles left within the Brotherhood, but it was too risky making contact with any of them at the moment.
She snapped out of her thoughts as she reached her destination of this night, the Koro-Bar. It was an upper class tavern where merchants and local nobles liked to drink and barter. However, most of all it was known for being one of the best places to get information, exactly the thing she currently was after.
Stepping through the doorway was like stepping into another world. While from the outside the building had looked as run-down and shabby as everything else on Stelt, the inside was richly furnished – for Steltian standards. The tiled floor was almost clean and mostly smooth, as were the tables and chairs, even if they seemed to originate from dozens of different places. Lightstones in sconces on the walls bathed the whole interior into golden light, leaving only some alcoves in the back covered in shadows.
Despite the hour the taproom was well filled, but then life on Stelt seldom slowed down. Isthra passed a Skakdi merchant laughing about something a Matoran in carefully polished armor had said to him, and had to shoulder through a group of Steltian Nobles who were in the middle of a game of dice to reach the bar.
She had been here a couple times and so the barkeeper, Kenjas – a Turaga, of all things – wordlessly handed her a drink in return for some Widgets. She took a sip of the blue liquid in her cup and briefly examined the Toa of Earth leaning on the wall beside the counter. He flatly returned her gaze. On her past visits it always had been a Toa of Magnetism standing there. She wondered how many Toa Kenjas had in this place.
Turning back her attention to the Turaga she bent forward a bit and lowered her voice.
“I’m here to see Hashmec.”
“He awaitin’ you?”, the barkeeper asked in a bored tone.
“Not directly.”
“I’ll ask if he wants to see ya, then.” He glanced up. “Been around here frequently as of late, haven’t you? What’s the name again?”
“Ahsanka.”
Isthra flipped the barkeeper a few more Widgets which he deftly caught with his free hand and slipped them into his satchel. He moved on to pour a drink for another customer, then vanished behind a ragged curtain leading to a back room.
“Ahsanka, eh? Can’t say I remember that name. Why is that, I wonder?”
Isthra turned and found a Vortixx looking her over. An important one if the silver engravings all over her armor and the gemstone encrusted headdress were any indication. She cursed silently.
“You don’t look like someone I’ve met, either”, the Vortixx continued in a matter-of fact tone, “See, I’m here because of some… rumors of a Xian mediator who shows an unusual interest in trade with the Makuta and the Southern Islands.” She took a sip from her own cup. “Unusual insofar that I never sent a mediator. I hoped you might be able to help me… solve this little issue.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not the one you’re searching, then.”, Isthra lied, “I’m working for the Nynrah Ghosts.”
“You don’t really believe I’ll buy that, do you? I’ve done enough research. Currently you’re the only Vortixx on all of Stelt that isn’t either one of my agents or part of one of the local gangs. So what about you come quietly instead of me calling my mercenaries to drag you off?”
Isthra sighed inwardly. She had had to deal with a few people pestering her with questions already, and in her experience it payed off to take care of them quickly and permanently. While she had no idea who exactly this Vortixx was, there was no doubt that killing her in public would attract even more problems, though. Some people in the taproom were already turning their heads and the Toa beside the counter was eyeing them warily.
Isthra locked stares with the Vortixx and held eye contact, slowly moving her hand into her cloak.
“I fear I’m currently rather busy and can’t afford joining your party”, she said, finally finding what she was searching for.
“This wasn’t an off-”
Still holding the other’s gaze, Isthra activated her Stasis Field power, making the Vortixx stop in mid-sentence, completely unable to move. At the same moment she pulled out the little modified Electro-Blade she carried and sent out a small bolt of electricity that hit the Vortixx square in the chest. The tool didn’t do any actual damage, of course, its main purpose was to cover the use of Isthra’s real powers, which no Vortixx should possess.
“No fighting inside!” Kenjas came running back into the room, agitatedly waving his arms. The Toa of Earth also had moved closer, and behind Kenjas two more Toa filed into the room, one already with his sword drawn. The taproom suddenly was quiet enough to faintly hear a spilled drink dripping from the table to the floor. All eyes were fixed on Isthra’s Electro-Blade.
She put it back into her cloak and raised her empty hands. “Sorry, just a minor dispute, she should snap out of it in an hour or so, just leave her alone that long.” Slowly, people picked up their conversations again, clearly not caring what the cause for the disruption had been as long as no one kept waving around with weapons.
Kenjas shot Isthra a dirty look. “There are house rules concerning this kind o’ stuff, you know? Well, at least you didn’t break anything… But next time I’ll have you thrown out, mark my words!”
He calmed after Isthra flipped him another few Widgets.
“Hashmec?”, she asked.
“Awaits ya”, the barkeeper grumbled, “Ya know the way.”
The small room behind the curtain was only illuminated by a cracked lightstone in a lantern hanging from the ceiling. The two Toa she had seen earlier had resumed their game of dice at a low table, but looked up with equally disgruntled stares as she entered. There were two stairways, one leading down into the basement, which Kenjas probably used for storage, the other one leading up to the second story of the building.
Isthra went up, arriving in a narrow corridor with multiple doors on each side. At the far end waited a Steltian worker-class guard, big enough to block the entire corridor if necessary. He wore the expression of someone not paying attention because he was bored.
At the second door to the left Isthra stopped and knocked.
“Come in.”, a raspy voice replied.
The room beyond the door wasn’t lit at all, neither did it have windows. Before she closed the door again and shut out the light from the corridor, Isthra could dimly make out the silhouette of what she supposed was a Steltian Noble in a high-backed chair behind a thick table on the other side of the room. This was all she’d ever seen of Hashmec. She was also fairly certain that he only called himself Hashmec in this place. In his line of work it payed off to be careful.
“Ah, Ahsanka! Take a seat, my friend!” Hashmec seemed to be in his usual good mood, despite the fact that it probably also had been him who sold that information to the Vortixx in the taproom. He was the only one Isthra had ever indicated any “business plans” to. Besides, he just seemed like the person who’d do anything for the right amount of money.
There was a single chair on her side of the table, so she sat.
“So, what brings you to me today?”, Hashmec asked, “Some pressing matters you need solved? Contacts? Simply information? Oh, I just acquired a tablet with details of next week’s shipments out of Metru Nui. Interested? Ordinarily I’d charge at least 1000 Widgets for that, but since you’ve been such a good business partner… how does 850 sound?”
Isthra wasn’t in the mood for small talk. It was only a matter of time until one of that Vortixx’s mercenaries went searching for his mistress, and then they’d tear this place apart.
“I’m here because of the information you promised me”, Isthra said. “It cost me a lot of money in advance, if I remember correctly, and I like getting something out of my investments.” She almost felt ashamed for how easily she managed to sound like a Vortixx by now.
“Not interested in those shipments? Well, you’re missing a great deal!” There was a scraping sound as Hashmec put away a stone tablet. “Ok, your… request. I fear it turned out that higher bribes were needed in order to-”
“I payed you what? 5000 Widgets? And you demand even more for a single information?” In truth money meant nothing to her, but Isthra had to play her role.
“Hey, you basically asked me to spy on the Brotherhood of Makuta, my dear, and I heard their new leader is far less tolerant than their old one. Even the Dark Hunters refuse working directly against the Brotherhood.”
“So do you have the information or not?”
“As I was saying”, Hashmec’s voice became a little strained. He didn’t like it when his customers showed little patience. “It turned out to me more costly than expected, but I’m positive I do have what you are after.” He paused.
“I’m not paying you anything more until I know for sure it’s what I wanted. Tell me, I’ve other business to attend to as well.” Isthra was prepared to give in eventually, but she must have sounded harsher than she thought for Hashmec surprised her by actually following her demand.
“The Makuta of Cajin is dead.”
Silence.
“WHAT?!” Isthra bent forward, checking herself just in time to not seize Hashmec and shake him. Instead she gripped the edge of the table.
“He supposedly was killed for political reasons somewhere south of Hent while trying to flee into exile. It’s only a rumor, but apparently he didn’t get along well with the Brotherhood’s new leader. Was he a friend of yours?”
“But- No- He-” Isthra struggled to find the right words, “I have ten shiploads of wares for him – that’s several ten thousand Widgets!”
“So, this really wasn’t easy to find out and quite risky at that, so what about a bonus?”, Hashmec suggested, “500 Widgets? And I dare say I deserve more, but I’m not without -”
Now Isthra did seize him, dragging Hashmec halfway across the table in the process.
“Shut up!” She gave him a shake. Something clattered onto the table – a small triangular stone piece as far as she could make out in the darkness. “This might have ruined me!”
“Surely not!” Hasmec hastily tried to retrieve the stone piece he’d lost. “There must be enough other people to buy your excellent -”
Isthra dropped him and turned to go. Furtaan dead. That meant she now really was on her own. She needed to think.
Over the sudden news Isthra had completely forgotten about the Vortixx from earlier. Apparently no one had been here to check on her yet, as she still sat motionless on her chair, but no doubt those mercenaries she had mentioned earlier had been ordered to seize any other Vortixx leaving this place. Pondering her options for a brief moment, Isthra eventually turned to Kenjas.
“I need to use your escape tunnel. There are people waiting for me outside I’d rather avoid.”
“Hey, now hold on a sec, who says I have an escape tunnel?”
“You’d be an idiot if you hadn’t.”
“Hmph, maybe.” Kenjas crossed his arms. “But why should I help ya? The way I see it this is a problem between you and those people and nothing I should get myself involved in.”
“We both know you will tell them where I’ve gone if they ask. I just need some time.”
“Still sounds risky. You want help you gotta pay.”
Isthra rolled her eyes. She had neither time nor patience for this. She untied her purse and threw it to Kenjas. It was heavy.
“Your escape way. Now.”
A smile crept onto the Turaga’s face. No wonder, as he just had been handed an entire week’s earnings or more.
“Well, in that case I’m glad to be of service. Palatus!”, Kenjas called. A moment later a Toa of Stone stuck his head through the curtain to the backroom. “Escape way, one person.” Kenjas pointed at Isthra. “Make it quick. Oh, and tell Xrenkan to get up here. Might be trouble coming.”
Following Palatus Isthra went down into the building’s basement which was mostly filled with crates and chests of all sizes. She also spotted a door, but the Toa ignored it and led her on until they reached the rear wall.
“Tunnel goes on for about 200 bio”, the Toa said. At least he understood the word ‘quick‘. “Then a ladder. Ends in a dockside warehouse. Should be empty at this time of day but one never knows.”
He reached out his hands and the stone wall retracted into the floor. The tunnel beyond was dark and clammy, but seemed in good enough shape.
Isthra stepped through the opening, pulling out a lightstone that at least allowed her to see a few steps ahead. A crating noise behind her told her that the Toa had already closed the entrance again.
She’d need to leave Stelt as fast as possible, she realized. If the Vortixx were searching for her it only was a matter of time until this would draw the Brotherhood’s attention in one way or another. She cursed herself for forgetting to ask Hashmec about Nevantar. With no allies she really only could try to reach the Southern Islands and go into hiding there, patiently waiting for the day that would allow her to strike back at Teridax – if this day ever came.
Opinions/Questions/Criticism welcome!
Isthra is a character by @Willess12, but most of this is completely made up by me. Had an idea for a MOC and decided to write a shortstory thing - turned out longer than expected, though (which is why I post it here and not with the MOC). Part II will be posted somewhen, Part III when I’ve finished the proper revamp of Makuta Isthra. Non-canon Makuta names and names of islands are all from the Brotherhood Project - still searching for people to participate, by the way.
Otherwise enjoy
