“Prince Cedric,” Arkk said.
The private meeting room within the former Duke’s manor possessed the same air of opulence and finery that it had under the Duke’s rule. Heavy velvet drapes, a deep shade of burgundy, were drawn tightly over tall, arched windows. Slivers of moonlight slipped through the gaps only to be washed out by the bright glowstone lamps hanging from the ceiling.
It was far too fancy of a place for either Katja or the Prince, which probably meant that nobody had bothered redecorating since the Duke’s death.
A long, polished oak table sat directly beneath the central chandelier. On one side of the table, Arkk took a chair, trying not to fiddle with the lapel of one of his nicer suits. Both Kia and Claire stood just behind him, flanking either side of the chair. He certainly had not been about to meet the Prince without their backup. Although Zullie had a few other possible responses to a demon, the dark elves who had undergone Project Liminal remained the best bet. All they had to do was touch the demon and it should be shunted out of this plane.
Opposite Arkk, the current Lord of the Land sat with an air of authority. Although clad in a much nicer suit than Arkk’s, it was a subtle garment. Nobody would have mistaken the Duke with all those gold and silver rings, colorful and flamboyant suits, and the slicked-back hair that had become the preferred style among the wealthy of Mystakeen under the Duke’s rule. Prince Cedric was dressed well, but without any of the gaudiness.
Lady Katja, dressed up somewhere between the former Duke and the current Prince, sat on one side of the long table.
Arkk found himself somewhat cross with Katja for outing Edvin like that. His job of spying on both her and the Prince was going to be much more difficult now that the Prince knew he worked for Arkk. Perhaps it was time to reassign him elsewhere.
“I can’t say I expected a meeting with you,” Arkk said honestly. When Edvin tugged on the link, Arkk feared something unfortunate had happened. Perhaps a demon summoning or another attack from Eternal Empire warships.
“You are most adept at dodging attempts at meeting with you,” Prince Cedric said.
“There’s a war going on. It has kept me rather busy.”
“How many engagements have your forces had since retaking Elmshadow?”
“Open battles? None,” Arkk said. “But that doesn’t mean I’ve been resting upon my laurels. There is much to be done.”
“Such as rejecting an army.”
Arkk dipped his head.
Between them, a decanter of aged wine and a small array of crystal goblets stood as a silent offering of hospitality. Nobody had touched their drinks yet.
Prince Cedric pulled his hands together, resting them on the table in front of him. “Help me understand you, Arkk of Al-Mir. What is it you hope to gain from the current situation?”
“Gain? Some semblance of peace, I hope,” Arkk said, taking one of the crystal goblets. “An end to this war.”
“Do you intend to end it in favor of Evestani?”
It took a force of willpower to keep from spewing the wine across the table. “Certainly not. After all the troubles I’ve caused them, you think I could flip sides and keep my head?”
“Then the soldiers you rejected—”
“Absolutely won’t help,” Arkk said with a sigh. “I hate to be the one to inform you, Prince Cedric, but this war will not end through any level of conventional warfare. I doubt this war will ever end unless we kill the Heart of Gold’s avatar.”
“An entity your reports claim you have defeated on multiple occasions.”
“Defeat in this case does not mean kill. He possesses children—my researchers indicate a child is more easily manipulated than an adult. No matter how many times we defeat him, he’ll keep coming back.”
Prince Cedric didn’t look surprised at the news. It probably wasn’t news to him, even though Arkk hadn’t exactly gone around telling people the full story. Better to flaunt what victories they had than let people know they were up against a nigh-unkillable implacable man possessing the bodies of innocent children.
“You have a plan, I presume?” Prince Cedric asked.
“I do.”
“Care to enlighten me?”
Arkk carefully set the goblet of wine on the table as he shook his head. “It is the kind of plan where the less it gets out, the more likely it is to succeed. My researchers have reason to believe that our enemy has ways of divining certain events or futures, or at least scrying upon meetings such as this one. My fortress has protections against a variety of divination.” He hoped those protections were working. “Better to avoid saying anything at all here, unfortunately. If you wish to join me at Elmshadow…”
Arkk knew he said the wrong thing before he finished speaking. The Prince’s eyes flashed. Not in the way that Arkk’s might. There was no glow. No sign that he had made a contract with an otherworldly artifact of power. Just the mundane anger of someone unused to being denied.
It only lasted an instant. Prince Cedric quickly covered his expression with a simple frown. Running his finger along the rim of his goblet, the Prince moved to his feet. Both Kia and Claire tensed. They didn’t move, but Arkk could still feel their sudden wariness through the link. It was a similar feeling to when someone was in pain or danger.
It wasn’t a feeling he got often. At least not outside combat. Concerned, Arkk looked back at them through the link, keeping his actual eyes on the Prince. There didn’t appear to be any cause for concern. Arkk couldn’t see any threats to them, supernatural or otherwise.
Were they just being wary?
“I am at a crossroads, Arkk of Al-Mir. My father, the King of Chernlock, charged me with restoring stability to this land. He tasked me with doing whatever is necessary to achieve that end. I’ve tried diplomacy—”
“Really?”
“It went over about as well as you might expect. One of the early responses contained a coded plea for help. Unfortunately, I was never able to follow up on it. Messengers after that point began returning decapitated.”
Arkk grimaced, nodding his head. He suddenly felt uneasily aware of his neck.
He hadn’t had any diplomatic interactions with Evestani since exchanging prisoners for gold. Given that they had turned around almost immediately and started marching back, Arkk hadn’t been too interested in pursuing further relations with backstabbers and traitors of their ilk.
With the precautions he had taken, both in having the gold retrieved by undead and, after, having Agnete melt it down, he did wonder whether or not it had been trapped. Did Evestani think they caused him some inconvenience? Had they expected him to die? Did they think they got the better end of the deal? From Arkk’s perspective, the gold had been worth a whole lot more than a few thousand mouths to feed.
The Evestani got their soldiers back, but they had paid for about half of Leda’s tower. An excellent trade, in Arkk’s opinion.
“I have deployed elite units to secure tactically advantageous positions throughout Mystakeen,” Prince Cedric continued. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed a rolled-up scroll onto the table in front of Arkk.
Unfurling it, Arkk stared down at a map of Mystakeen. A fairly oblong stretch of land. He could see the border of Evestani, Moonshine Burg, and a long trailing route that indicated Evestani’s path into the former Duchy. Rather than a wave washing through the country, Evestani had been pushed down into a thin, narrow corridor. The same route Arkk had harassed them upon. He could even see the odd turns his various efforts had forced them to take.
Following the map back to the Evestani border, Arkk leaned forward, narrowing his eyes at the notations written down.
“This is…”
“Did you think I sent you everything I had available to me? Were you disappointed at only being spared a little less than ten thousand soldiers?”
“You’re poised to—”
“Ah. As you said, you never know who might be listening in.”
If the map was accurate, Prince Cedric had several sets of roughly nine thousand soldiers lined up along the border. They were positioned carefully so that they weren’t likely to be spotted. They weren’t just guards maintaining the border. It was an invasion force.
Arkk looked up, eyebrows raised. He hadn’t the slightest clue that the Prince had managed to maneuver several armies around like this. Granted, he hadn’t been searching for it. The scrying teams focused on immediate threats and certain key areas of observation. Mostly wherever Evestani’s army was and anywhere surrounding his territories. The border was far off from both.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Katja, who was peering over the map while trying to look like she wasn’t all that interested, looked just as surprised as Arkk was. After a moment, she met Arkk’s eyes. The corners of her lips twitched downward and she slowly shook her head. Arkk didn’t expect her to know everything the Prince got up to but she was supposed to keep an eye on him. For something like this to have gone unnoticed meant he must have been playing with his hand very close to his chest.
“Why haven’t you pushed forward?” Arkk asked slowly, looking at the Prince.
Cedric put on a faint smile. It might as well have been the biggest, smuggest grin for all that it implied he had gotten one over on Arkk. Still, he managed to maintain some level of decorum. “The answer should be obvious, no?”
“The avatar,” Arkk said, looking back down at the map.
With the numbers he had, Prince Cedric could have crushed Evestani’s army at any point along their route into Mystakeen. At least, if they were a conventional army. But they weren’t. Even if one didn’t know about the avatar and his near-immortality, anyone could look at their army and spot the numerous esoteric magics to which there were few, if any, answers.
“Among other reasons, yes. The avatar has been spotted in numerous locations distant from one another yet close enough temporally that he must have access to teleportation—”
“Possession,” Arkk said, shaking his head. Ignoring that his own movements had likely been tracked in some manner, he motioned to the top of his head. “Evestani shaves people and tattoos magical runes on their heads. Some, mostly those from Evestani, are likely willing. They are not above tattooing them on innocents from Mystakeen. Unfortunately, my researchers haven’t been able to study the exact mechanics of the system. Anyone with those tattoos is at threat of becoming the avatar without warning. Don’t really want a golden beam blasting through my researchers, now do I?” he said with a wan smile.
“Whatever the means, this avatar has a method of effectively appearing in multiple locations at once.”
Arkk looked down at the map, noting the movements of the troops across Mystakeen. The paths each group followed were annotated with dates, giving Arkk a rough picture of where everyone had been at any given time.
“I think I see,” Arkk said. Cedric wanted Evestani focused on him and Elmshadow, not looking at their borders.
“It is more than that. Unless there has been some severe…” Prince Cedric waved his hand vaguely as if grasping for the right word. “Miscommunication,” he settled on. “Barring miscommunication with my father, the force we sent to you should be the only other major force in all of Mystakeen. I am certain Evestani is aware of them, but if they don’t see that force with you…”
His trailing off left Arkk filling in the rest of the sentence. It seemed like the Prince was doing so as a countermeasure to potential observers, but he still said too much. Anyone with half a brain could figure out that he was worried Evestani might feel something amiss and wouldn’t focus entirely on Elmshadow. Of course, depending on Evestani’s true abilities in gathering information, it might not matter.
For Arkk, a map on the table was far more valuable in his crystal balls than a word in a meeting. Crystal balls communicated visually, not audibly. His earlier rejection of the Prince’s question had been more of an excuse than anything else. Did the Prince know something more about their abilities?
Something to ponder.
Regarding the Prince’s actual words, Arkk wasn’t sure he agreed that Evestani would spread their focus away from him.
Evestani didn’t like him for more reasons than just getting in the way of their invasion. He had little doubt they would focus on him. But he could still see where the Prince might disagree.
Arkk took a moment before nodding slowly, indicating he understood.
“I’m still not sure what exactly you want from me,” Arkk said. “Like you, I’m sure Evestani is aware that your army is present in Elmshadow. If you insist, I can put them on the frontlines, but they will almost certainly die.”
Prince Cedric pursed his lips, letting out a short hum. “My objective will succeed regardless of your input. The crossroads I find myself standing upon regard whether or not you survive the coming conflict.”
This time, both Kia and Clare tensed. Arkk saw them move, their afterimages positioning themselves closer to Arkk, providing a barrier between him and the Prince. Their actual selves caught up to their afterimages a moment later.
Katja tensed as well, though only after seeing the two dark elves move. With the way Prince Cedric had moved around the room, she was now at his back. The fingers of her left hand gripped the edge of the table. Her right hand slipped somewhere below the table. Just from the way the muscles in her wrist tensed, it looked as if she had grabbed hold of something.
A blade?
Did she intend to use that against the Prince? Or Arkk?
“Excuse me?” Arkk said, keeping his calm. He even offered a polite smile, looking first to Katja to maybe calm her before his eyes refocused on Cedric. The Prince said his survival in the coming conflict was in question, not his survival for the evening. There was no need to panic just yet.
The Prince’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. He barely glanced at Kia and Claire, dismissing their unusual manner of movement as if it wasn’t anything more threatening than an old man hobbling on a cane. Was he that confident in his abilities? Had he finally summoned a demon that he knew would protect him? Or did he just expect that Arkk wouldn’t order Kia and Claire to do anything before he had given him an actual reason to do so?
If the latter was the case, he had a whole lot more faith in Kia and Claire’s willingness to remain constrained by Arkk’s orders than Arkk had.
If Arkk were Cedric, he would be especially wary about making any sudden movements. Or saying anything that could be construed as a threat. Or breathing too heavily.
“I am something of an overachiever,” Cedric said, making Arkk blink at the apparent change in subject. “When I was a boy, my mother asked me to watch my younger sister and ensure she stayed safe. She meant for the afternoon, but a year later, I poisoned my uncle after I discovered unreasonable levels of abuse perpetrated against my sister. When I was a teen, I was given the duty of overseeing a small vineyard in Chernlock to demonstrate my skills in management.
“It is now the largest supplier of fine wines throughout all four of the Kingdom’s states,” he said, gesturing toward the decanter on the table. “Of course, my most infamous contribution to the Kingdom of Chernlock was the resolution of a… ruling dispute within Vaales. I’m sure you’ve heard of that one, at least.”
“I have,” Arkk said, narrowing his eyes. “I suppose you’re going to say that mere stability in Mystakeen isn’t enough for you?”
Prince Cedric smiled, chuckling lightly. “I’m glad we understand each other. Yes. Stability is far from enough. Evestani and the Yzanstani Empire they replaced have engaged in numerous wars with Chernlock over the centuries. If there wasn’t some conflict, large or small, at least once every fifty years, I would be shocked.
“So tell me what good is stability now if a new war is going to break out in another twenty years? In my eyes, peace is an impossibility as long as Evestani exists as an autonomous power. The solution is, therefore, simple.” Prince Cedric spread his arms, palms facing upward. “They cannot continue to exist as an autonomous power.”
Arkk couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, both in surprise at Cedric’s ambition as well as his blatant speech despite the suspicion that they might be spied upon. Not that he said anything beyond a vague plan to destroy the enemy country. Bringing that vision to reality was another matter entirely.
But it sounded… good to Arkk, if he were being honest. Arkk could use the Prince’s ambitions against him. Let him have Evestani. He would be off fighting a war, acting as a barrier between Arkk and anyone else who wanted his head. Arkk might even consider supporting that effort. Leda’s tower was already positioned to perform a similar task. Arkk hadn’t been planning on conquering the entire country but…
If the Prince was in Evestani, he would likely leave Katja in charge here—he surely wouldn’t have kept her alive thus far without plans to use her for something. That would let Arkk get back to what he needed to do. Which, at the moment, was researching the other realms and bringing down the Calamity.
There was just one problem.
“You don’t believe it is possible?” Cedric asked, reading Arkk’s expression.
Arkk thought a moment and slowly shook his head. “Not while the avatar exists.”
“Yes,” Cedric said with a small sigh. “If even half the reports are accurate, the avatar must be dealt with. Thus, I am forced to act to your benefit.
“It has come to my attention that a large portion of the army, currently housed inside one of the Elm mountains, has developed a… shall we say dissatisfaction with your leadership in Elmshadow.” Prince Cedric paused, giving a pointed look to Arkk. “They are a prideful people who don’t take kindly to being sequestered away.”
“Dissatisfaction. On the level of rising up against me just to die to Evestani?”
“You have powerful subordinates,” Cedric said, waving a hand at Kia and Claire. “That much is clear. But Hawkwood’s reports of your numbers suggest you don’t have all that many personnel in the grand scheme of things. You believe you can handle Evestani and their Eternal Empire allies—something I am uncertain about but willing to overlook for the sake of this argument. But can you handle that front while also dealing with an uprising at your rear?”
Arkk closed his eyes, sighing loudly. “I’m trying to keep them safe,” he said, only half lying. Keeping them as witnesses to Al-Mir’s might was another reason to keep them away.
“I am aware. But the force sent to you is primarily young and hotblooded men eager to prove themselves.” Prince Cedric adopted a rather cruel grin. “They won’t realize how good of a deal you offered them until they’re standing in the mud and muck, watching the enemy charge toward them. Only when they wet themselves with blood will they wish they had taken you up on your offer.”
With a groan, Arkk leaned back, closing his eyes. “You try to do a nice thing for somebody and they stab you in the back…”
Cedric chuckled again. “A common hazard among those who find themselves in positions such as ours.” He turned partially, not quite looking toward Katja while still flicking his eyes in her direction. She wouldn’t have been able to see it.
Arkk definitely could.
Maybe he wasn’t keeping her around to groom her into the new Duchess.
“Speak with my adjutant with the army,” Cedric said. “Let Mags know of our discussion and that I would be exceedingly displeased were something unfortunate to happen to either of our forces at this particular time. As for the army? Put them on the front lines. I would request you try to keep them as far away from the avatar and other such threats as possible, but if Hawkwood’s opinion of you is half the truth of reality, you’ll try to keep them safe without my input.”
He said to put them on the front lines. Plenty would die from that alone. But they were soldiers. Arkk didn’t know if they had been conscripted or if they signed up for it. But then, he went and essentially asked for them to be placed up against things soldiers should handle, rather than the things Arkk had to handle.
Arkk drew in a breath, looking over the Prince. For all he had heard of the man, Arkk would have expected a callous disregard. Yet here he was, maneuvering around to try to protect them. Knowing what he now knew of the grand scheme of things, Arkk would have figured that they would be even less valuable for anything but a distraction for the rest of the soldiers on the Evestani border.
“I’ll have my soldiers start running drills with them,” Arkk said, formulating a few plans of his own in the back of his mind. “Tell them they’re going to fight to keep them happy then beat them down with my specialists to show them just how outclassed they are.”
“A lot of effort to keep them alive,” Cedric commented in a neutral tone.
Arkk shrugged. “That’s just how I am.”
Besides that, perhaps he could sway a few into joining him on a more permanent basis.
With Edvin no longer able to act around Cliff as he had been, perhaps he could start sowing a few seeds of doubt among their allies.
Arkk stood, somewhat surprised that the meeting had been productive and not a series of stealth insults, assassination attempts, or other subterfuge.
He had a path forward now. A proper one. Defeating the avatar had always been the plan, but it had been more of a symptom to deal with, leaving Evestani as a whole and possibly the Eternal Empire. Now, that same symptom being removed was the cure. Kill the avatar. Enable Prince Cedric’s ambitions and get him out of Mystakeen. Arkk would show off that he was a force not to be messed with and get all his problems out of his hair in one fell swoop.
A perfect plan if ever there was one.