Alaric sat at his large, mahogany desk, his fingers rubbing his temples as he glanced aimlessly at the sprawl of messages before him. He slammed his fist on the table and cursed. Can’t these old fools see I’m making a better, stronger world?! He sighed and gathered up a stack of messages he’d already read. “Ignitia kapsuro aftahaec Chartias,” he uttered monotonously as flames engulfed the lot of them, leaving nothing but sooty ashes. His face contorted into a brief scowl as he brushed the remains off of the desk before turning his attention to the next several messages.

It was all the same. Another false apology, another king or lord refusing to participate in his war. Alaric grit his teeth, though he still held out hope for one final message. One whose sigil he did not quite recognize: a golden octopus with a human skull for its head. As he opened the message and read it silently to himself, his eyes widened. Northern raiders…seems they’ve united under a “king” of sorts. Man named Howderai. An offer of aid, but do I dare trust them? Alaric addressed one of his guards, “Fetch me Ransford. I require his counsel on this matter.” The guard clicked his heels, turned, and left the large office.

Alaric sighed, leaning back into his seat, and gingerly placed the message on his desk. The Northern Raiders are a fearsome lot even as individual raiding parties. As a united front…they may even be near as powerful as all of Tenebradia. If anything, their unification may even be proof that my ambition isn't foolhardy. He scowled as he remembered the fallout of his plan's announcement. Naive, they'd called him. Cowards! We are mighty, we are just! Yet we fear our own influence. He stared at the sigil of the golden lion adorning every banner along his study. Unworthy of that title. “Lions.” More like sheep wishing to graze till we all wither away.

Alaric jumped slightly as he heard soft footsteps approaching. Ransford walked inside, bowing slightly, “You called for me, my lord?” Alaric nodded in response and simply handed him Howderai's message. “Clearly this Howderai fellow is more well-connected than I anticipated.”

Stolen story; please report.

Alaric tilted his head, “You know of him?”

Ransford smiled, a twinkle in his eye, “That is my duty, is it not? As your advisor? I have ears all over Ipeirens.” He began to pace back and forth, as he often did whenever he used to tutor Alaric, his hands folded behind his back. “The first I'd heard of Howderai was several years ago. A young upstart. Bold, brash. Everything the Northern Raiders respect greatly. Last I'd heard, he had amassed a rather large following of bear-riders and was quickly rising to prominence. If there are two things he is excellent at, it's fighting and making money. It appears he's become their king, the first to achieve that title in over a century. I did not imagine that he would have a network connected to the mainland strong enough to intercept or overhear a message meant only for a select few monarchs.”

“So we are in agreement then, Howderai would make for a powerful ally?”

Ransford tapped his foot thoughtfully, “I do not believe he can be fully trusted. He's a Northerner, one of the island-folk. The fact that he's sending you aid…there's definitely some angle to his offer. His people thrive off of chaos and conflict. While there would be plenty of that along our quest, once peace is established, he would have to compensate and entertain his people somehow.”

“Let's do this then. Let's accept his aid for the time being and use that connection to infiltrate the North and set up a more powerful spy network. That way we can keep an eye on him and discover his true motives.”

“An excellent idea, my lord. However, you can be sure that he will do the same. He's managed to listen in on our communications already, and that is without being directly connected to the mainland. Imagine what secrets he will uncover once he has your ear?”

Alaric sighed heavily, “You're right. We will need to discover his motives first before we agree to an alliance.”

Ransford nodded, “Then I believe you have a journey to embark on. I shall gather some of the Lionsguard, those whom I deem most capable of defending you. This may very well be a trap that we are walking into.”

Alaric smiled at his old tutor, “No. With you around, it is them that will be trapped.”