The Duke stood at the table, overlooking the map stretched across it. His agents were talking among themselves, placing figures throughout, and discussing potential moves.

The stone basement was lit by only four Enchanted Lights, casting the corners of the room in shadow, but lighting the center brightly. There were thirteen people around the table, the Duke being one of them.

Some of them wore shiny armor, but most wore dark robes or clothes. They were the spymasters for the Duke. The ones who monitored the Kingdom of Lissura. Each had dozens, some even hundreds, of spies working under them. All relevant information was rerouted and reported to the Duke. And with the tensions rising throughout the land, there was plenty of relevant information.

With their country being in the center of the continent, a significant threat could come from practically anywhere. Luckily, on their southern border, Zalar continued to remain silent and neutral. To their West, the Republic of Athera had isolated themselves, but it was still possible for the Empire to cut through a corner of Atherian land with an army.

To the north, the Savage City States were fighting a Monster wave from even further north. As such, it was believed to be a low probability for them to attack, but a high probability that they would allow the Empire to march through to attack the Northern Mountain Pass. If the Empire did so, they would take heavy losses while taking the fort, but if there was one thing the Empire had, it was numbers. How much they were willing to lose was up for debate.

The Gilaen Empire’s large tracts of land were a double edge sword. On one hand, it allowed them to grow vast amounts of crops and expand their cities however much they could. But on the other hand, they also had to defend their land from the constant threat of monsters. If they lost too many soldiers invading Lissura, they wouldn’t have enough to defend their own lands against the monsters. Of course, the Adventurers of their country would step up more as the need arose, but there was only so much they could, or would, do.

Taria, to their east, seemed more focused on Celarn, even further east. However, reports told of a Tarian army moving to capture the Independent city of Onigas. A small city in the unclaimed region around the S Rank Dungeon. That small city was in the perfect position to attack Lissura’s south-eastern cities. The Lissurian city of Vrens was a frontier city. Its defenses were designed with monsters in mind, not other people. There was a worry that if Taria captured Onigas, they could push right ahead into Lissurian Territory.

It would take roughly two months for the Tarian army to reach Onigas, and the spy reports suggested that unless something drastic happened, Onigas could hold out for roughly half a year. Now, the discussion was about whether it was worth reinforcing Vrens. It would cost immense resources to prepare the city for a siege. Resources that could go elsewhere, places where attack was more likely and would be more critical.

The Duke stood back and let his subordinates hash out the details among themselves. They had more of a personal understanding of the situations around the Kingdom. They reported to the Duke so he could report to and advise the King.

“How possible would it be to assassinate the Generals of the Empire?” Duke Redmond asked. To him, the Gilaen Empire was the biggest threat. Taria was being proactive in their defense, but he doubted they would risk war with another Kingdom while they were already battling Celarn.

“Nigh impossible m’lord. Each one has numerous bodyguards, including at least one Expert.”

Of course, while Experts were rare, they weren’t that rare. Many Lissurian assassins were experts. Experts were even just normal soldiers, high ranking ones, but just normal soldiers. To put it simply, even if a peak Expert assassin failed to do their duty silently, they would still be quickly overwhelmed, especially since most assassins specialized in stealthy single target kills. They were not equipped for an actual battle.

“We might be able to sabotage their supplies, but that would only delay their armies by days, weeks at most.” One of the agents in armor explained he was one of the Duke’s agents that watched over the military.

“Once they started marching, could we destroy the roads? Set up landslides, or even just soak the roads?” Another agent asked.

“Possible, but the effort required won’t be worth much in the end. They will have Mages with them capable of repairing or clearing the roads. It would again delay them for a bit, but we also risk revealing our agents in the area.”

“What is our progress in catching foreign agents?” The Duke asked, after all, they weren’t the only ones that had agents reporting and doing whatever they could do to reduce enemy effectiveness.

“Painfully slow.” A cloaked agent growled, “And those we do manage to capture alive know next to nothing. The Gilaen agents work independently. While that leaves them weak to do anything against anything large, it allows them to effectively deal with most things. Such as messages. They are able to easily intercept them, even when we send out a dozen. And since they don’t work together, they receive their orders directly from the Empire and have no contact with the other agents. They receive their orders only as needed. The most we get out of any captured agent is a link to the Empire, which is useless, and their latest orders, if we are lucky.”

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The meeting went on for several more hours. When it ended, the Duke was tired and hungry. Regardless, instead of heading for his carriage to take him home, he went to the Castle’s chapel. The Duke always had his meetings somewhere in the Royal Castle. It was the most secure, both from intruders and from listeners.

The Chapel in the castle was merely a place for the residents of the castle to have a place to worship. The Cathedral was elsewhere in the capital. While the King was a follower of Anera, Goddess of Life and Order, he refused to let religion interfere with his Kingdom. That was one thing that the Duke agreed with wholeheartedly. Normally, he would give his opinion about something and the King would take it under advisement but do something slightly different.

The chapel was on the small end, it was only meant to accommodate a hundred people comfortably. There wasn’t much different from this chapel and any other. However, the few changes were obvious. The pews were cushioned. The candelabras were golden. There was a deep red carpet running down the center, between the pews.

There were a few people there, some praying to numerous shrines of the different Gods presented, some quietly talking, and some servants moving about their duties. The Duke ignored all of this. Instead, he moved directly to one of the side doors.

Closing the door behind him, he entered a much dimmer passage, only lit by the occasional Mage Light. The narrow passage descended deep into the earth. Having been constructed by an Earth Mage, the walls were smooth as they arched overhead. The floors gently sloped downward but were textured to remove the risk of slipping. There were no branching paths, or doors. After several minutes of walking, the passage ended at a single door, enchanted to remove the possibility of sound passing through. The Duke knocked gently on the old and worn wood and backed up. A moment later, the door opened to reveal the Oracle.

The Oracle was a beautiful woman in her mid-forties. She wore the traditional white garb of a nun, with a black tabard running down the middle of her chest and over the white dress. She stepped aside and allowed the Duke in.

The room he entered was just as dark as the passage, with only one Mage Light in the center as the only source of light. Against the far wall, there was an ordinary bed and dresser, but besides that, the room was bare. Despite her elevated position as the Oracle, the woman preferred to live this way. Very plain.

“Hello Redmond.” She greeted with a calming smile.

“Good evening. Any changes?” He replied as he would a friend.

“A few. The girl is progressing nicely. She pays attention in her classes, always scores top of her class in any test. She is kind to those around her, which draws people to her. Your son, on the other hand, while he is a great boy, is less attentive in his classes.” The Oracle teased, sitting down on her bed.

The Duke sighed, “That boy, I swear, he is going to be the death of me.”

The ever-present smile on the Oracle’s face died, “That is one of the changes.”

Her tone caught his attention. She almost always had a smooth smile; it was one of the reasons he visited his friend so often. It helped to calm him after a stressful day.

“What do you mean?”

“As you know, my Ability doesn’t allow me to see the future. Instead, I feel a general feeling about the future.”

“Yes. I remember back in school that it was difficult for you to get a grasp on, but now, it helps shape our kingdom.”

“Recently, I have been getting the feeling of a violent death for you, one of sorrow, pain, and terror.”

“I’m the Duke, cousin to the King. I never believed I would die a peaceful death, my father didn’t.”

“Daniel. I’m serious. Instead of a death by poisoning later in your years, I am feeling a violent death within a decade.”

The Duke chuckled, “Don’t worry so much. These things change. I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve predicted my cousin’s death!”

The woman allowed a small smile, “Perhaps you are right. I hope to the Gods you are.”

“But what about Evelyn? Any indication about what is so special about her Constitution?” The Duke asked, trying to steer the conversation back on track while he stretched his legs. Old Age was beginning to bite him, even as an Expert.

“Still the same. Only that her Constitution is vital to our Kingdom’s continued existence. However, there is one change. Not about her, necessarily. It's her brother, his name keeps popping up in my mind, but I am unable to glean anything about the reason. He is important in some way.”

They sat in silence for a few moments, each pondering their own thoughts.

“Daniel?”

“Hmm?”

“Why did you have to order their parents’ death?”

“You said it yourself back then. That they would hinder both the girl and the Kingdom. My agents tried to come to an agreement with them about her. They offered a better life for both the girl and themselves, they offered a fortune, they offered amazing opportunities. Yet they were stubborn to be in her life. I couldn’t allow that. I couldn’t allow them to taint the girl any further, not when it could mean so much.”

“I worry. I watch over each citizen of our Kingdom, none of them draw much of my attention. And yet, this village boy. Every time my mind wonders, it is drawn to him. Daniel, we orphaned the boy and stole his sister.”

“It was for the betterment of the Kingdom.”

“When you were his age, if someone had killed me, would you have cared?”

The Duke hesitated, “No. I wouldn’t have. I would have hunted the people who hurt you and done the same to them.”

“Daniel, the boy concerns me. When I try to focus on him, I am overcome by the feeling of death.”

“Then we just have to ensure the death surrounding him is to our advantage. Perhaps we could find him and draw him to our cause?”

“Find him? I can’t even locate any information about him, and I can find information about the Gilaen Emperor.”

“Yeah, but the Emperor is a big figure, and draws a lot of attention. A single orphan boy won't draw any attention.”

The Oracle sighed and laid back on her bed, “Perhaps you are right.”

“Don’t worry, I will look into it. We couldn’t deal with him in Onigas, but I’m sure we can find out more now. I have to go now but send a message if anything changes.”

The Duke quickly left the Oracle’s room, closing the door behind him. As he ascended the passage, his face turned dark. He had put on a strong face in front of his dearest friend, but the boy concerned him, more than he dared allow himself to acknowledge.