"Inevitable, since word would get out anyway. One can hardly keep an entire Legion secret for long."

"It's our best shot," Amara said. "Can you think of anything better?"

"We sneak in close, furycraft ourselves into the camp, obtain evidence, and then run like the crows were after us."

"Oh," Amara said. "I considered it. I decided it was too brainless and predictable."

"It has the advantage of simplicity," Fidelias pointed out. "We recover the information, give solid evidence to the Crown, and let the First Lord launch a more comprehensive antisedition campaign."

"Yes, that's simpler. But once whoever is running this camp knows that they have been observed by the Cursors, they will simply disperse and move their operations elsewhere. The Crown will simply spend money and effort and lives to pin them down again-and even then, whoever is putting out the money to field their own army might simply get away."

Fidelias glanced up at her and let out a low whistle. "So you want to get in and out undetected, get word to the Crown and-then what?"

"Lead a few cohorts of Knights Aeris back down here and crush them where they lie," Amara said. "Take prisoners, have them testify against their backers, and wrap it all up right here."

"Ambitious," he commented. "Very ambitious. Very dangerous, too. If they catch on to us, they'll kill us. And it's reasonable to expect that they'll have Knights as well-and that they'll be on the lookout for a Cursor or two."

"That's why we don't get caught," Amara said. "We play the poor, greedy smuggler and his slave, haggle for all the money we can get from them, and leave."

"And keep the money." Fidelias frowned. "On general principle, I like any mission that involves a profit. But, Amara-there's a lot that could go wrong with this one."