Richard

Richard was on edge. He wasn’t sure the stress knots would ever come out of his shoulders at this point.

The Lieutenant was still in town.

If even one of their members was seen going somewhere unusual, everything could be over. The King would bring his army and the entire group and everyone in it would be dead. The old tunnels in the back of his property were proving invaluable these days. They’d been used for this purpose for generations and yet he still felt painfully alert, listening for any sound that might indicate he was being followed.

Defying the King was dangerous business and Richard was keenly aware of this fact. By continuing, he placed his whole family at risk, although given his wife and eldest child were also members, he felt justified in maintaining his membership. Really, the only innocent party in danger was his youngest, Willow. But surely even she could understand the important work he was doing. While she'd never shown the same rebellious nature that seemed to burn in him, Esther, Siobhan and Brendan she cared a great deal for people. It often confused Richard how, even though both her parents and Brendan and Siobhan were Resistance members, Willow somehow never possessed that 'spark' that would have made her an exemplary member. That wasn’t to say she wouldn’t have been an excellent asset, she was intelligent and well able to think on her feet, both attributes well valued within the Resistance.

When she was young, Richard assumed she would grow into it. She'd not been dissimilar to Siobhan or Brendan than... perhaps a bit quieter, a bit more inclined to play dolls and house. Brendan and Siobhan had played rough with many of the other kids when they were children; Willow always gravitated towards those both younger and weaker than her.

Richard smiled as he reminisced. She was too kind-hearted for this world. Eventually, that attitude was beaten out of even the most stubborn. Richard's smile dimmed. Brendan's death was the last straw for Willow. She'd lost several family members by that point, seen several of her friend's relatives go too and she'd comforted them all as best she could in her childish way, but when Brendan died, something snapped. She’d just… broken. It wasn't unheard of; it happened to most. But that didn't make it any less heartbreaking as a parent, watching helplessly as the world crushed your child.

Life could be cruel, with a unique way of beating people down.

The results were far from what he expected and every parent dreads that snap. Richard remembered watching Siobhan’s break. Hers pushed her to new heights within the Resistance. She was now a well-respected member of the Resistance. Richard couldn’t have been more proud.

After Brendan’s death, Siobhan became angry and destructive. The Resistance loved it, encouraged it even, until her recklessness proved too dangerous for the people she was leading. It forced the Leader to pull her from the field. Siobhan had rankled against the decision, but in the end, there was little to be done about it. In those days, Esther's father was the Leader and Head of Recruitment and in a private conversation, he confessed to Esther that he hoped she'd take the time to re-assess the value of those still left to her.

This plan had not grown to fruition, unfortunately, and Siobhan had not re-evaluated her attitude. No one more than Willow suffered for it. Willow and Siobhan were close, regardless of the large age gap between the two girls. After losing Brendan, Willow had felt abandoned by the one other person she gave the same respect. So, Willow closed off.

Richard had tried to be there for the girl, but she'd pushed him away. The one time he’d brought her to the compound, hoping to light the fires of healing, she’d been so terrified, she’d had a panic attack and fainted at the sight of the men training. The experience had left her reluctant to spend time alone with him. He had accepted it as part of the healing process, leaving the supporting to Esther. His wife had been invaluable to Willow, and she'd followed Esther around like a duckling for the next two years. As time passed however, the behaviour began to concern Esther. The dependency at her age wasn’t typical, and as she reached her eleventh birthday, Esther had a chat with her.

Richard wasn't privy to that conversation, but Willow slowly seemed to come out of mourning after that and Richard breathed a sigh of relief. But the Willow who’d come out of mourning was a stranger. It wasn't surprising, of course. But the fire had been doused and Richard found her more interested in following the laws the King made then defying them. He'd done what he could to reignite it, still hoping to make a Resistance member of her yet, forcing her to learn how to wield a sword and a bow. This only served to push her further away from him though. She'd not enjoyed the pursuit and hated, even more, the violence of it all.

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He'd given up then, although he still enforced the weapons training. No sense leaving her unable to defend herself after all. But she'd resented it every step of the way and continued to resist to this day. Richard often lamented that she could have put her stubborn nature to better use, but there was nothing for it now. She’d had such potential too…

Richard exited the tunnel into a wide expense, lit liberally by torches, and stretched his aching shoulders with a grunt. He wasn't as young as he used to be, and he found such exercises caused more discomfort than not of late. Hands behind his head, he ambled forward, following the familiar twists and turns of the cave system of the Resistance stronghold until he reached a doorway.

“Ho!” He called out in lieu of knocking and upon receiving a returning shout entered, hands returning to his sides.

Kane was a broad man, a few years younger than Richard, with deeply tanned skin and a thick brush of hair just starting to recede. He'd taken control of the Resistance when Esther's father died several years ago now. Privately, Richard considered him ill-equipped to deal with leading such a large organisation. But Kane had been a phenomenal leader of small troops and carried strong loyalties from those groups, and it was they who had led the vote.

Richard gave him a curt nod before turning to lean against the rightmost wall and surveying the room. Dickson's place was ostensibly empty, and Richard felt a dull pang in his chest. Richard was not like many others; he never grew numbed to the many losses in his life. No matter how many people he lost, he felt their lose keenly. Although it comforted him to know that Dickson had died how he wanted, in service to the cause.

Esther would not be joining them for this meeting, preoccupied with seeing to Dickson's orphaned child and his elderly mother. This left two other higher members of the Resistance, Stoss who led training and Cole, who oversaw supplies. Richard himself was both head of espionage and lead correspondent and performed most of the communication that travelled between the differing Resistance cells. Esther oversaw relocation, a job she took as seriously as required.

Once settled, Richard began. “The hanging went as expected. We couldn't find where they were keeping them until it was too late to continue looking. I've asked for some scouts to continue, but at this point I've still no idea where they were before the hanging.”

Kane nodded silently for him to continue.

“The Lieutenant didn't leave as expected. None of my scouts have returned either, and I’m worried about them. Another day and I will request a confirmation on their status.”

“What is keeping the Lieutenant here?” Cole wondered aloud, turning away from Dickson's empty chair. “Would he be aware of us?”

“I think he's been aware of use for generations,” Kane interjected thoughtfully. “The King's been hunting us longer than any of us have been members. I don't think he knows how large we have grown, who is in charge, or where we hide. He would be more determined to find us. We are, for the moment, an unquantifiable threat.”

Stoss nodded. As the oldest, he was the most knowledgeable and well respected by the troops. Although when people died so frequently, the respect given to him was more for having survived so long. He was a quiet man but a good leader and good at what he did. Even Kane had no idea how he managed the miracles he did. When asked he always claimed it was luck and wouldn’t speak on it further.

“The supply lines have been harder to intercept of late,” he shared. “We've managed, but I've noticed more guards in each convoy. I still say there’s no way the caravans we target are the only ones. With the number of foot soldiers, there’s no way enough food is being transported around the country.”

Richard agreed easily. “Perhaps he suspects our growing power. Maybe he knows we're in contact with others over Realm lines.”

Kane tapped his fingernail against his desk. “With both the Lieutenant and the number of King's Guard in the city, there's no point in recruitment efforts. People are not likely to join up while the threat is so obvious.”

Richard ignored the implication. It was one thing Richard disliked most about Kane's leadership. He often made it seem like they were hoodwinking people into joining them, rather than keeping the people informed so they could make an educated decision.

Cole sighed heavily. “Numbers have been down for years, even before the last leader.” This was a well-known fact. Even the common foot soldier knew numbers were down. Some saw it as a point of honour—they were brave in ways most were not—but others saw it as a reason to withdraw from the cause entirely. It was a problem with no simple answer.

“People are on edge, suspicions are high. It’s compromised the usual truce we live in within the city while the Lieutenant and his entourage are here. People are growing too paranoid to speak of anything, even if it's only implied.” Richard shook his head. “It's an understandable fear, but one that is not helpful.”

“We need to gain more trust from the people,” Kane stated. This was another old argument, one that had been dissected multiple times. There was no obvious conclusion. There was no point reopening the point now. “We'll pull everyone in from the field for now,” he added, obviously annoyed by the fact. “It's too dangerous to have them all coming and going right now. Anyone could make a mistake.”

Richard fought not to roll his eyes. As if the safety of the troops was less important than progress! Where would they be without the troops?

“I heard the Betrayers have set up camp. Pass along my thanks for coming so swiftly to Wandering Foot.” Kane changed the subject abruptly, addressing Richard. “Please arrange a meeting immediately. What we must discuss is of the highest priority.”

The others agreed easily, and they quickly dispatched underlings to pass the message on.

Cole and Kane conversed quietly while Richard wrote out notes, and when the last was sent through the carefully concealed portal, Kane turned to him, face serious and eyes hard.

“How are we going to convince Willow?”