Assassination Mission

At Miss Justice's reminder, the Hanged Man, Alger, quickly conjured six pages of diary entries. He was about to present them to Mr. Fool at the head of the Bronze Long Table when something occurred to him. "Mr. Fool, I've learned something about the Secret Order."

Sifa turned slightly to glance at the "seaweed head" nearby. He knew the Hanged Man operated at sea, where pirates were plentiful—and pirates had every reason to value intelligence.

Sifa wasn't surprised that the Hanged Man had obtained information about the Secret Order. He only wanted to know what Alger had learned.

"Very good." Klein nodded gently from within the thick fog, apparently with no intention of speaking to the Hanged Man in private.

That surprised Sifa for a moment. Then he figured Klein wanted the other members to learn more about the Secret Order so they could help gather information.

Seated beside the long table, Alger felt as though he had reclaimed an important place in the gathering. Leaning forward slightly, he said at an unhurried pace, "The Secret Order has certain ties to the Intis Republic."

Sifa waited for him to go on, but Alger said nothing more. He blinked.

That's it?

The Secret Order was based in Intis and was an ancient organization dating back to the Fourth Epoch. It would have been stranger if it had no ties to the Intis Republic.

Klein's thoughts went further.

Chariot mentioned last time that the Secret Order had countless connections to Solomon and the Zaratul Family. I also read in the Emperor's diary that Zaratul, the leader of the Secret Order, approached the Emperor in Trier, the capital of Intis. The Secret Order later took part in the upheaval there.

*So it's hardly surprising that the Secret Order still has ties to the