The Secret Plan

The dark clouds were moving in fast. Soon, the storm would hit our little town of Oakbridge.

Upon our return to the Chalice Inn I found myself befuddled by a sign on the door saying the inn was “closed for repairs.” The curtains were pulled shut over the windows, and when I tried to open the door, I found it was locked.

Forgot my key...

From within, I heard Jeseka’s voice, “We’re closed. Who is it?”

“Ahv and Zac,” I called through the door.

“Oh, well come on in.”

Jeseka opened the door and hurried us inside. Once my eyes adjusted to the low candle-light within the inn, I saw a great gathering of people inside. Several of the tables had been pushed together in the middle, and those within sat around the gathering of tables as one would in a meeting hall. Benji sat at the head, Elora near him, and Jeseka resumed her seat on Benji’s other side. Piers was seated at the table too, along with several other soldiers in white uniforms whom I didn’t recognize.

“What are you all doing here?” Zac asked.

I stared in silence for a moment, trying to comprehend the possible purpose of such a meeting. Benji broke the silence by telling Zac, “Hey, Mr. Zac, why don’tcha go upstairs and play with your toys? We have ta talk about boring, grown-up stuff.”

Zac let go of my hand, “Ok, Mr. Benji,” and bounded up the stairs.

Piers pulled out a chair and gestured for me to sit next to him, which I did.

“So, I think we should start from the beginning,” said Piers.

“I find that’s generally a good plan,” I said, folding my hands on the table.

“The soldiers in this room--” Piers gestured to the other men in uniform, “--are just as furious about what happened to Keren as you are.”

Jeseka, in response to my incredulous look, said, “I know. I was surprised too.”

“Your sheriff offered a good alternative to the death penalty, but Maganti refused to take it.” Piers bit his lip. “Some of the men you see here knew Keren. She’d been kind… brought the occasional home-cooked meal, or read to groups of ten or more at a time. Those who didn’t know her are still livid.”

One of the soldiers I didn’t know, a man with a broad jaw and thick neck, said, “The Consul said over and over that there’s no need for hostilities between Oakbridge and us, and yet he did something sure to infuriate the people here. Wouldn’t surprise me if his stupid decision got a few of our men killed tonight.”

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“Maganti’s an idiot!” another soldier hissed. He was a thin man with mangy black hair and a chin decorated with stubble. His teeth held a pipe, with wisps of white smoke rising from it. “Damn politicians… All full of ideals but no sense! Any fool who’s had a university education thinks he’s ready to lead an army…”

“Well, that’s what you get when some ass who’s never served in the military wins the election…” grumbled another.

Loud stomping above us told me Zac was into his blocks again.

“Aaaanyway,” Piers interrupted, “We have a lot of reasons to hate the Consul, and they’ve only gotten worse since we’ve been here.” He rolled his eyes. “Even just the fact that we are here is a sign of his incompetence, because there are plenty of other ways to cross this river without funneling thousands of soldiers through one narrow bridge in a remote town.”

“Listen…” I raised two fingers to call their attention, “I understand that you don’t like Eon. I don’t like him either, but I’m assuming you didn’t all gather here just to gripe.”

Piers nodded. “You’re right. We’re here because we want to help you. As I mentioned, I have no doubt that some people in Oakbridge are plotting revenge against us because of what Eon did to Keren. Tensions are high enough now, but if that happens then Eon will have the excuse he needs to order this town wiped out. When that happens, those of us in this room will refuse to obey him, and will even defend Oakbridge if we need to.”

“I didn’t become a soldier so I could slaughter innocents,” the mangy one said, exhaling a plume of smoke. “I did it so I could feel like a hero.”

Piers patted the mangy one’s shoulder and continued, “But if it’s just those you see here we’ll be slaughtered beside you. We need more people on our side, and that’s what we’ve been discussing. I can work on convincing my fellow soldiers that Oakbridge is worth sparing… and even saving, but we need more than that.”

Benji cleared his throat and raised his hand. “And that’s where we come in. I’ve already spoke to Jayden, and he agrees with me that we can throw the Heroes Festival early this year. Tomorrow, in fact.”

I smirked. “Heroes Festival isn’t supposed to be for another month. You think the revelry of the festival will win over more of the Tagrosi soldiers?”

“S’worth tryin’ at least,” said Benji with a shrug.

“In the meantime,” Piers continued, “we need to do what we can to make sure no one in Oakbridge kills a Tagrosi soldier in cold-blood. If that happens, no amount of revelry will save this little town.”

“To that end,” said Benji, “I think the feller we need ta keep a close eye on is Rowland. He told me he was sweet on Keren.”

“I don’t remember Rowland,” I said, “Which one is he?”

“He’s a fisherman what lives on the north side of town,” said Benji, pointing north.

“I know him,” said Jeseka. “I’ll go pay him a visit. See how he’s doing.”

“What can I do?” I asked.

Piers shrugged. “What you typically do. Be a charming host for those visiting Oakbridge. You certainly won me over that way.”

“You can also help me with the Heroes Festival,” said Benji. “Make sure everyone’s having a good time and be ready to break up fights if you have to. We can’t let petty arguments turn into violence.”

I sighed. “You really think this will be enough to win them over?”

Benji shrugged. “It’s all we got.”