Annice approched Wilhelm at the
Magistrate as they had discussed, the large man was peering over the crowd as
she approached and nearly turned to enter without her. Annice raised her hand
and let out a call. The man’s gaze snapped to her and he seemed visibly pleased
at the sight. He waved to her, and she rushed a little to meet him, out of
breath as she arrived.
“Sorry I’m… late.” She stated
between breaths. “The High Priestess asked to speak with me when I woke this
morning.”
“Gave you a proper jawin for
cavortin with us gladiators?” Wilhelm asked, apologetically.
“No, actually. She gave me her
blessing to accompany you on your journeys.” She smiled. “I am happy to say
that I have accepted your offer, Wilhelm. I will be your Healer.”
“Well ain’t that a delightful thing
to hear in the morning!” Wilhelm exclaimed, reaching his hand out to her in
offer of a shake. Annice paused, but eventually took the hand, grinning.
“30 percent.” She looked at the
man, waiting for his response. Wilhelm raised a brow, but nodded with a smile
“I think that is agreeable.” He
said, finally shaking the hand. “You’ll go far in this business. Now come on,
Mareen’s head is probably about to fly off in a rage to search the city for me
by now.”
The two entered the Magistrate,
being expected they were quickly ushered to a back office. The offical there
opened the door and as they entered the joyous mood they had just a few moments
ago was quickly sapped away. The room was, to a point, dreary. They were
surrounded by stone walls with sparse decoration and little in the way of
lighting, one sconce and a fireplace that was nothing but burning embers. The
unfriendly room, clearly an interrogation chamber hastily converted into an
office for the General’s use boasted one two pieces of furniture, a large and
quite elegantly crafted desk with maps and scrolls scattered along it’s top,
and a chair with a familiar cape draped across the arm and a familiar woman
seated.
“You’re late, Wilhelm.” Mareen
stated cooly. “You promised me morning and the noon sun has almost passed.”
“Well then technically it is still
morn-“ Wilhelm started, but Mareen was having none of it.
“First. Thing.” She snapped. “You
told me first thing, the morning is now gone, and I am in no mood for your
games, Wilhelm. I put my trust in you, I thought you were one of the few men
left I could do that. Was I wrong?”
“No, Mareen.” Wilhelm sighed. “You
can trust me. I apologize, I drank a little too heavy at the feast last night,
when I finally had my head together I needed to conduct some business I had
planned before I coming to see you. A personal obligation, needed myself a new
healer. Maureen please meet Annice Qileth Cleric of Syrene, recently contracted
under me.” Mareen’s eyes snapped to Annice, and Annice gave a small wave.
“Hi.” The Cleric said.
“Okay.” Mareen let out a long
breath. “Porter.” She addressed the man who had brought the two in, still at
the door. The poor boy snapped to attention, saluting, it was comical as the
kid held no actual rank. “One, put your hand down, and two go fetch a pair if
chairs for my guests.” The boy droped his arm ridgidly to his side, and rushed
off to find chairs.
Soon they were all seated, Mareen
leaned back in her chair and stared between the two of them. The silence was aggressive
and unwelcome. Annice did everything she could to resist the urge to ap her
foot, and Wilhelm sat back into a creaking chair, crossing his arms over his
chest.
“Mareen you’re gonna have to
eventually tell us why you brought us here.” He said, finally breaking the
silence.
“Wilhelm what I’m about to share
with you is something I cannot share with just anyone and by Balt if the wrong
person hears…” She paused. “It could mean war in the Enclave.”
“Three Hells, Maureen, why didn’t
you tell me this sooner? Had me doin song and dance around you for days now.”
Wilhelm said, sitting up. There hadn’t been war in the Enclave in over two
centuries.
“Because I shouldn’t even be
telling you. If it gets out that the Spear knows these maniacs might launch
their plans early. They’re not ready, they likely couldn’t win at the moment,
but it would still mean the deaths of thousands… tens of thousands, even. I
have every anti-scrying spell the Spear mages have ever heard on on this room
right now, the gods themselves would have difficulty seeing us.”
“What maniacs? Who could possibly
put such a fright into the Vibrant Spear?” Wilhelm aced, looking actually
worried now.
“The Supremacy.”
“Criminal syndicate?” Wilhelm
asked.
“No, social movement.” Mareen
stated. She stood up and handed Wilhelm and ANnice some papers. “They’re a
Human Centrist movement.” The parchment in Wilhelm and Annice’s hand was some
sort of flier inviting people to a speech to be read at a tavern in Yortun, a
town in the Enclave to the north. “They have some… Strong beliefs about Humans
being the raced most favored by the gods. Think Humans should be allowed to
have their own nation.”
“Humans have their own nations
though?” Annice interjected. Dozens of Kingdoms, Principalities, and Councils
across the realm.” She furrowed her brow, the entire message made no sense.
“Humans are, well, everywhere? I’d wager there are more Human lead nations than
any other of the Primal Five peoples.
“They’d disagree with you. They
argue that while the Elves have their own forrests to themselves and the Dwaves
have their mountains, that humans have to share their lands with the others.
And they don’t think highly of them others either.”
“How so?” Annice asked.
“With backhanded compliments. Elves
they’re most kind to, saying they are a worthwhile people with great many
talents, but lack the ambition that Human’s do o truly lead great nations.
Dwarves they’re less kind about, saying that they are skilled miners and smiths
but that their as hard as the mountains they lack the kindness and compassion
to raise up a truly noble people.” Mareen physically blanched at that, as if
speaking the words herself was revolting. Annice agreed that it was.
“Horse shit.” Wilhelm exclaimed
bluntly. “I was raised by Dwarves and they’re some of the kindest most loving
caregivers this rotten world has ever had. And I’ve met Elves with more
ambition in their big to then most men got in their entire useless carcasses.”
“I wasn’t agreeing with them
Wilhelm, just stating what they believe. It’s what makes them so dangerous. They
coach what they say in platitudes and coded language. They never outright state
that one of the Primal are lesser than Humans, but it’s always clear that they
believe Humans are superior.” Mareena sat back down.
“So take em out if they’re so
dangerous.” Wilhelm said.
“We can’t. Wilhelm you don’t
understand, they are everywhere. They have been at this for some time,
we only in the past few months got wind of them. If we attempt to take out any
of them, we’re looking at a retaliation that would come across the entire
Enclave. That’s what they do, they bolster their numbers, seed them into a
nation, and when the moment is right they attack. No one sees it coming, no one
can defend from it. By the time a military can be called… they are already in
control.”
“How do you know this?” Wilhelm
said, quirking a brow.
“They’ve already done it once.”
Mareen said grimly. “The southern tip of the continent, past the Wild Lands,
the nation of Gleth. It was a trial run, somewhere they could test themselves.”
Gleth was a small land, newly
formed in the last generation or so. It sat as a peninsula at the southern tip
of the world and inaccessible by land. The entire land boarder was overed in a
fey wild forest, woodland touched by the Fae, dangerous on it’s own. But in the
first age of magic a Wizard attempted to tap the land, seeking to draw the wild
Fae Magic into themselves. Their failure tainted the land, corrupted it, and
making it nearly impossible for mortals to traverse. Some seventy years passed
sailors anchored on the penninsula for a spell and made a startling discovery.
“They… took Gleth?” Wilhelm said,
the color draining from his face.
“What?” Annice sat up, noting
Wilhelm’s discomfort. “What does that mean?”
“What happened in Gleth, Mareen?
Wilhelm asked.
“Slaughter. Any non Human on the
peninsula was killed. The majority of the SUpremecy ‘believed’ they would
simply be asked to leave, but when the killing started nobody seemed too
concerned with that.” Mareen spoke flatly, coldly, stating the facts and
nothing more. It was all she could do not to choke up. “Even the Elves,
Dwarves, and Halflings that worked for their cause.”
“So they have the…” Wilhelm asked.
“What, they have the what?” Annice
asked, annoyed at being out of the loop.
“Yes. They have the Vorpal mines.”
Mareen said.
“Oh… Oh.” Annice sat back in her
chair, a sudden weakness in her form. Even she knew what Vorpal was. The
strongest metal in the realms, easy to smelt, easier to smith. Any form of
magic wether Divine or Arcane could be attuned through it. The weapons made
from Vorpal were called God Killers. “That’s bad.”
“To put it lightly.” Mareen said,
steeping her fingers together in front of her face.
“Alright, what you want me for,
how’s this something you can’t get one of your own doin?” Wilhelm asked,
leaning forward in his chair.
“I’ll be straight, Wilhelm, I don’t
know who in my ranks I can trust.” Mareen said.
“You can’t be serious.” Wilhelm’s
brow raised at this.
“I’m afraid so. I have reason to
believe that the Spear has been infiltrated by the Supremacy. If I keep this in
house, it will likely get leaked, and same result. A war that tears the Enclave
apart.”
“I feel like I’m going to be sick.”
Annice leaned over her chair, and held her hand to her mouth.
“This is why I need you, Wilhelm. I
know your past, I know they would never in a million years have recruited you.”
Mareen’s word were a whisper. “At least I hope they haven’t”
“Damn spit they haven’t. If I had
encountered them I tell you I’d be walked away in chains and they wouldn’t be
walking.” Wilhelm’s fists clenched, he was getting angry.
“Good to her, I’m going to need you
to pack that away, cause I need you to join them.” Mareen leaned forward as she
spoke.
“Excuse me?” Wilhelm looked like he
just had the wind knocked out of him.
“Yes, join them.” Mareen repeated.
“And why on the Mountain God’s bald
head would I join these scum?” Wilhelm’s anger was returning, but now it was
directed at a friend.
“Because I need information,
Wilhelm. I do not know how many people are with the Supremacy. But I know how
to find out. They keep a list on a scroll, magic. Impossible to find if you
don’t have it in front of you. It contains the name of every member of the
Supremacy, signed when they prove themselves and are taken in to the inner
circle proper. I need that list, it will have the names of any Valiant Spear
member they have, as well as I imagine several members of the Enclave Senators.
With it I can make strategic strikes against core members, bring the Supremacy
into the light and force the roaches to scatter, preventing a war.”
No comments:
Post a Comment