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BONCHANCE
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The next day, we had our audience with Duke North Star, so naturally, we were in our best outfits, with Clea in a dress and looking positively stunning. Simon was in his ‘dress uniform’ and was riding with us in the car that had been provided as our security detail. Clark was also riding with us as we drove through the city of Rice.
“Any last things we should know?” I asked.
Clark shook his head, “Not really.”
Looking over at Clea, I said, “This is yours, Countess.”
“Thank you oh so very much, “ she sighed, then winked at me.
We pulled up in front of a large building, and a servant came to open the car door. I stepped out and then offered Clea my hand, which she took as she elegantly stepped out.
With her hand on my elbow, we entered. Simon and Clark followed behind, and we were halted by a soc in a nice suit.
“Your weapons, sir.,” he snorted.
“Weapons to a diplomatic meeting?” I replied and unbuttoned my jacket and held it open so that he could see.
He relaxed slightly, “You’d be surprised, sir. Sorry for the trouble.
“It’s never any trouble when someone is doing their job as best they can.”
That got a smile and a nod, “Thank you, sir.”
He didn’t bother searching Clea, but Clark and Simon were, and Simon left his revolver and his knife with the guard.
“He was pleasant,” Clea said.
“First time I’ve met a soc that didn’t want me immediately dead,” I agreed.
The servant who had led us in stopped at a door and knocked.
“Yes?” came from inside.
“The emissaries from Ceedo, your Grace.”
“Ah, let them enter.”
The servant opened the door, and we were in an office.
Duke North Star was an older man, about as old as Peter Galway, I would say, and he stood and came around the desk. I gave a polite bow, and he nodded, then extended his hand for me to shake.
“What’s wrong with your hand that you keep it covered, lad?”
“Childhood deformity,” I replied. “It’s not painful, but it doesn’t look very appealing.”
“Ah!” he said and bent to kiss Clea’s hand. “So you are Lord Bonchance Magellan, and this must be the exceptional Countess Lindquist.”
“So charming, your Grace,” Clea said in response, and he smiled. “And you must call me Clea.”
“And me, Bonchance,” I added.
“Excellent, formality is for the masses, after all. I am Thomas.”
“A true pleasure to meet you, sir,” Clea said.
“It’s a pity Duchess Edgerton could not join you.”
“Running a Duchy takes a great deal of supervision, as you well know,” Clea began. “She was unhappy that she had to miss this trip as well, but she is looking forward to meeting you as she travels East next year.”
“Travels East?”
“Yes, she intends on visiting the seat of the Empire to offer fealty,” Clea continued.
The Duke nodded, “And before she is requested as well. A wise decision. That will gain her favor.”
“She is very clever on the matters of politics, I have found.”
“Where is she from?”
“Oh, she is like myself; she comes from the far west. She was a soldier and we were scholars; myself in administration and Lord Bonchance in matters practical. The three of us met and decided to set off east to seek our fortunes. We found and rescued several groups of poor souls who decided to band with us, and so we established our Duchy well off your western edge in the depths of the frontier.”
“Bonchance, she did not say you were from the west?”
My turn to speak, “Oh no, I was born in the Empire and left when I was much younger. I encountered the Duchess and the Countess on my travels to the west and offered what assistance I could. So far, my offer has been repaid many times over.”
The Duke looked at me and then nodded, “So what do you think of these women of the west, lad?”
“They are terrifying,” I replied quite honestly, and the Duke began to laugh.
“That is all women, not just them, and any man who says otherwise is either a stone liar or a damn fool.”
“I was…attempting to be circumspect, sir.”
He laughed again, “Another good answer. My dear Clea, what do you think of this young man?”
“That he is a lot more clever than he appears.”
“And that, lad, is a great compliment. So, to business?”
“Besides the fact that we truly wished to meet you, that is the reason we traveled,” Clea replied.
“And another compliment. I do appreciate them. Go on.”
“Your Grace, Thomas, we would like to extend trading rights to the Duchy of the North Star for lumber and other goods. There is already trade between our two lands, but we would like to formalize non-aggression and joint protection for those who travel between the two.”
He nodded, “No mutual defense or anything like that?”
“That will come when we join the Empire; however, if you need assistance before then, do not hesitate to contact us. We wish to be good neighbors.”
“That’s it?”
Clea nodded, “That truly is it. I was serious when I said I wanted to meet you, and this gave me a good excuse.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
He smiled, “A meeting so that we should know each other’s faces and as people, not simply names. Very good. Your suggestion holds weight. Is your man Clark outside?”
“He is.”
“Good. Tell him to be by this afternoon, and we shall have a treaty for him to look over. He can sign for you?”
“In a matter like this? Yes.”
“Splendid. Now, when you return to your lands, could you please inform your Duchess that I very much would like to meet her as well, before her trip east if possible?”
That sounded…foreboding. I spoke up, “It would be my honor, your Grace.”
“Fine, fine.”
Clea and I rose and, bowing, left the hall.
“Did you set it in place?” I whispered.
“As I was adjusting my skirts.”
“Duchess, it’s in place.”
“Good job, both of you. Also, Nicolas held the pages of that file you found, Clea, to a window, and we were able to capture them with the drone’s camera. Interesting reading.”
“And the conversations from the bank?” Clea asked.
“Enlightening. I’m surprised you left some alive.”
“None of them saw me, and who would believe such big, strong men were struck down by a woman?”
“I would,” I said.
“As would I,” Simon added.
We stopped our conversation as we approached the soc, and Simon reclaimed his weaponry before we returned to the car.
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Back in the hotel room, I looked through the documents Clea had recovered. There were descriptions of Mara, me, the Galways, and several others. Notes on rumors that Ceedo possessed Old World technology. Estimates of the population and value of the area. Sketches of Edgertown’s layout. Sketched maps of the entire area, including the backside of the ridge, with a note that three bodies, including a soc, had been found there and had been dead for quite some time.
There was also an analysis of the quality of the defenses, stating, ‘There is a defensive wall at the top of the ridge where the Duchess’s residence is located. The town below has no wall; the guards are few and are armed primarily with bolt-action weapons of a variety of makes, clearly scavenged. I saw no watchtowers or checkpoints on either point on the Old Road north and south of the town, so attackers could easily steal in and take the place. I believe that this ‘Duchy’, though rumored to possess Old World weapons, has, in fact, none.’
There was a note attached stating that a copy of this document had been sent on to Headquarters.
“Well?” I asked Mara.
“First, let me playback what the device Clea planted last night recorded.”
There was a slight hiss then, ‘What the hell happened here!?...I mean, what the hell!?’
A second voice, older, calmer, spoke, ‘Screaming won’t help them. Two survivors?’
‘Clarence and Stephen…Stephen is still unconscious, though. Whoever bashed him hit him hard.’
‘What did Clarence have to say?’
‘He was working on the reports when he hears a knock,’ a third voice said. ‘He thinks nothing of it until he hears it again. Thinking it’s one of the others needing something, he goes to the door and opens it, and that’s when he’s laid out flat. Whoever hit him, secures him and seems surprised that he’s there, as if they were expecting to rob the bank and not find our place. Then they go through all the cabinets, probably looking for money, get pissed off when they don’t find any, and then set fire to all our paperwork in the middle of the floor.’
Calm voice, ‘So you think it was an attempted theft?’
Third voice, ‘I don’t know. They used some kind of saw on one of the shutters and cut right through the iron so they were prepared to break into things. There was no attempt on the vault, though, but if they were targeting us, what did they succeed in doing? Destroying items that we had already sent copies of to the capital.’
First voice, Maybe they didn’t know we make copies and send them out of town?’
Calm voice again, ‘That is very possible…Who would have done it? That new group that entered?’
First voice, ‘The Duchy of Ceedo? They’ve had somebody in town for a while, and we made the approach to set up a branch in their town. Their representative seemed interested, but he had to ask his ‘Duchess’ about it. Though, did you see the people they did send to talk to North Star? That woman is something special, and I’m not lying.’
Third voice, ‘None of them had gone near the bank, and we have people watching them. Well, they rearranged some furniture briefly, but we fixed that. Apparently, the woman and the Lord that’s with her were keeping each other warm all last night, and we know that their guards were sticking by their rooms.’
Calm voice, ‘So it wasn’t them?’
First voice, ‘I don’t think so…Oh, the microphones are breaking again. I think one of them backfed into the entire system, and now none of them are working. I’m going to have to replace all of them.’
Calm voice, ‘Put it on the list. So what do we say happened here?’
Third voice, ‘Attempt to interfere with Empire Safety and Security that resulted in two agents dead and one severely injured. Destruction of duplicate records and nothing more.’
Calm voice, ‘Good. Write it up as fancy as possible, and we’ll all look it over, check it, and then I’ll sign. What a mess.’
The hiss stopped, and Mara spoke, “Other items of import that I heard, they call their group the Gray; the first speaker is named Cyril, the second Haggerty, and the third Brandon. Haggerty seems to be in charge, with Cyril responsible for technical services and Brandon in charge of personnel and records. Those three, as well as the ones that Clea encountered, are the total complement of this station.”
“Anything from the device in the Duke’s office?” I asked.
“After you left, he called in a man called Frederick and tasked him to visit Edgertown to see what he could find out.”
“That is not very surprising,” Clea spoke up. “He knew about Ceedo before, but it hadn’t really set in that he needed to actually think about it. I’ve seen this before.”
“Is there anything else that needs to be done?”
“We both need to get some suits made; you will, too,” Clea replied.
“I need to figure out how I can get braided cable and iron piping,” I added.
“Oh?”
“I think the Duchy of Ceedo needs electrification and indoor plumbing. I can design and install them, but I need the raw materials.”
She laughed, “Anything else?”
“A rail line to Rice would be nice.”
“That’s almost 300 kilometers.”
“I can dream.”
“If we could get the crews and the materials, how long would it take for that line?”
“Two miles…four kilometers a day with a good crew, I seem to recall. There are no severe mountains in the way and only one large river that needs to be bridged.”
“Yeah, the St. Louis…This is doable, but it would be very expensive.”
“We would also have to tie in to the Imperial West Rail Company. They are the track holders of the line to North Star and Rice.”
“Something to be considered. However, I absolutely agree that we need that line. Anything else? Anybody? Simon?”
“Me, milady?”
“Yes, you. As a former non-conscripted member of the Imperial Army, do you have any ideas on their state of readiness? And you can call me Mara. Remember, I was an NCO before I became a Duchess.”
He laughed, “I’ll try to keep that in mind, Master Sergeant.”
“See that you do.”
“Frankly, Mara, their state of readiness is terrible. The Imperial Army is draining all their people, and they only have a token garrison in return.”
“Speaking of that drain…What does the news say about the state of the War with the Southlands?”
“There is a reason I headed west to avoid the Army reclaiming me, “Simon replied. “Pity I was soon captured by the Dark Warriors.”
“It’s definitely censored,” Clea added. “The broadsheets speak of victories but are remarkably light on the details.”
“We need to get someone into the capital before our visit.”
“How?” Simon asked.
“We could fly them in on a Howler. They have the range, but it will be a very long flight…”
“Or we could fly them just outside one of the towns with a railroad coming from the north. That way, they could have a return ticket as well, and coming from the north, they would be less likely to be suspected as an agent from the south,” Clea said.
“Okay. We’ll do it that way. Clea, you’ll need to find somebody in our people who can do it. And make sure they’re not someone who would be conscripted.”
“Me?”
“You’re the professional spy.”
Clea shrugged, “I’ll do it.”
“Good. We need to know the ongoing status of the war. Anything else?”
“Nothing more from us,” I replied as I saw Simon and Clea shaking their heads.
“Good, get the suits made and whatever else we need. Signing off.”
Looking at Clea, I stood up, “Time to get fitted, I suppose? I’ve never done this so formally before.”
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The trip back to the bunker took another five days, but at least it was uneventful on the Old Road, unlike the first time I had walked it. Simon was taking notes on the best places to set up guard forts, and when we came to the river crossing, I began mentally surveying the best place for a bridge. The river was shallow and sluggish, clogged with dirt and rock, when a stone storm hit what Mara said had been the city of Duluth; craters from the impacts surrounded the area.
“Can you imagine what it would have been like?” Clea asked. “Boulders falling from the heavens?”
“I’d rather not,” I admitted. “I have enough things to be afraid of.”
“Why do you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Pretend you’re a coward. Chance, you’re one of the bravest people I’ve ever met.”
“Are you serious?”
“Completely…but you’re smart about your bravery. You never let it slide into foolhardiness. You know exactly what you’re capable of and never slip past that line but manage to stay exactly on it.”
“How is that bravery?”
“Because you’re brave enough to completely understand yourself. You don’t over- or underestimate your abilities.”
“I admit, wandering like I have? I have had plenty of time for introspection on my failures.”
“And your successes?”
“I must admit, until very recently, I have not had a great deal of those.”
She smiled. “Oh, in some matters, I think you’re very successful.”