The following morning, Gideon woke up and, after taking nearly ten minutes to summon enough willpower, slowly rolled himself out of bed. He reached into his rucksack for fresh clothing and began to get changed. The whiskey bottle sitting on the table drew his gaze several times, tempting him to walk over for a taste of brown-gold forgetfulness.
I don’t need it anymore, he told himself, but he wasn’t sure if he truly believed it.
Once he was ready he stepped out of the cottage, only to be greeted by a stiff, chilly gust of wind blowing hard from the east. He shivered while setting off at a brisk pace, whatever optimism he’d woken up with officially blown away. It had been an unusually dry and windy winter for Loso, with hardly any of the snow and ice storms that usually pummeled the city all winter long. The snow and rain back at the end of autumn had been the only significant storms of the season, so far.
He arrived at the dyeworks after roughly half an hour of walking against the wind, feeling frozen stiff. Caeda stood on guard at the rear entrance, wearing a heavy winter coat and looking slightly troubled at his approach.
“Let me in,” he told her brusquely.
She hesitated for a moment, then gave the door two quick knocks, and another of Edea’s soldiers opened it from inside. Gideon stepped past them both without another word.
The dyeworks had been transformed into a field hospital of sorts. The primary workshop area was filled wall to wall with cots containing wounded men and women. Silas walked between the cots, talking quietly to the wounded and checking bandages. Tia and Siora, the two young housekeepers from Edea’s retinue, followed after him, their arms full of bedpans and biscuit tins. They handed their goods out to the wounded as they walked, only stopping long enough to give a kind word or two.
Gideon knew that the mere presence of casualties was not in itself a sign that the resistance was losing, but the negative aura that emanated from the wounded certainly was. Most of them were asleep, but the ones who were awake had distant, indifferent looks, and were mostly silent.
Things really haven’t been going well for them.
He decided to approach Silas to ask after Surelin when she suddenly appeared from one of the rooms on the other end of the building, with Edea, Celaena, and Len following close behind.
She spotted him immediately, and waved him over.
“There you are!” she said as he approached, smiling. “Good morning.”
“Mornin’.”
Len also offered greetings, and Gideon nodded to him.
“We were just about to have a staff meeting,” Surelin said. “You’re welcome to join us.”
“Sure.”
She gave him another smile then headed for the stairwell, with everyone following after her. Celaena glowered at him as they walked past, but said nothing. Edea appeared to be ignoring him.
He followed the group up the stairwell, and waited as everyone filed inside the meeting room ahead of him. More people had already been waiting in the room for the meeting to begin, it seemed, and a large rectangular table had replaced the simple square table that’d originally been present. Kara sat at the middle of the table, and to Gideon’s surprise Corrina, the diviner they’d met at Kali’s temple, sat directly across from her.
Edwin was there as well, standing against the wall by the window. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Gideon enter the room.
“What is he doing here?!” he shouted.
“I invited him,” Surelin said simply. “Now lower your voice and sit down.”
He blinked several times, staring at Gideon in stony silence.
“Sit!” she said sharply.
A loud, angry sigh suddenly erupted from him before he gave in and took a seat at the table next to Kara. Gideon shrugged and walked over to the other end of the room, leaning back to rest against the wall. Kara nodded in greeting to him, which he reciprocated.
Surelin took the chair at the head of the table. Edea, Celaena and Len sat down on her right and left.
“Diviner Corrina, would you like to say anything before we begin?” Surelin asked.
Corrina gently folded her hands on the table in front of her before responding.
“Thank you, Majesty. Kali has made her will known to us this morning. A powerful western wind blows towards the homeland, carrying change with it. Something vital and new is about to emerge from the fog of destiny, though its shape remains unclear. Whatever its form may be, this wind is assuredly Kali's boon.”
It took a great deal of self control for Gideon not to scoff.
What the fuck? That could mean anything. They don’t actually believe that vague bullshit, right?
But it seemed very much like they did. A sense of relief passed over the room, and even Celaena seemed to be a little more at ease.
“Thank you, Corrina,” Surelin said kindly. “It sounds like good news is in store for us. We could definitely use some of that right now.”
“Of course, ma’am.”
A scowl crossed Gideon’s face, and he tried to hide it by turning his head to the side.
Surelin gestured to Len. “Marshal?”
“Thank you, ma’am, but I’m sorry to say that the only news is bad at the moment. Late last evening we received reports that the hussars have begun a massive new operation, one aimed at systematically cleansing the slums of all traces of the resistance.”
Gideon nodded. The hussars had come by his cottage soon after Surelin had left, but quickly moved on after asking him a few basic questions.
If I were Forelian they would’ve turned my place upside down.
“Yes? So what is our response to be?” Edwin asked impatiently.
“There is little we can do in the face of such overwhelming strength,” Len replied. “Their current assembled forces number close to seven thousand, and the great houses could easily summon more if pressed. We were at the height of our strength after the assault on the Capella’s estate, and even if we still retained that power we would not be able to face such a force.”
“Marshal Len,” Edwin growled, “Are you suggesting that we retreat? The enemy has finally taken the field, and you want us to run away?”
“Conservation of strength is our only reasonable option at the moment, sir, and may be for the foreseeable future.”
“The enemy is there,” Edwin said, turning to Surelin. “If we refuse to take proactive action here then the war is already lost.”
“Show me which of our forces are ready for that kind of activity,” she replied.
“We have two remaining advantages left to us,” Edea interjected. “The enemy does not yet know our full strength, and they do not know our location. Exposing ourselves with a frontal attack will expend those advantages for no gain.”
“Listen to yourselves! You’re suggesting that we lie still, like a helpless crab on the chopping block waiting for the fisherman’s knife to fall! Don’t you understand that inactivity is tantamount to defeat?”
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An uncomfortable silence filled the room.
That’s exactly what Len just said, kid. You’re pretty much defeated.
The silence dragged on for a few more moments before Celaena spoke up.
“We should evacuate the royal family from the slums while we still can.”
Edwin scoffed angrily.
“And leave everything behind?” Edea asked solemnly. “The slums contain our last traces of power. If we abandon it we would simply be putting ourselves at greater risk.”
“We could retreat to the sewers—”
“The sewers!” Edwin shouted incredulously.
Surelin looked between them both with a worried frown, then looked to Gideon.
“What do you think?” she asked.
A small frown appeared on his face as everyone in the room turned to look at him.
“I already told you what I think,” he said. “Best thing you could do is leave Loso.”
“Wonderful,” Edwin scoffed. “Amazing. Now why didn’t we think of that? Thank you for such a brilliant suggestion.”
“Well why not?” Gideon shot back. “If they’re going sector by sector then just get the fuck out of their way. Go somewhere else entirely.”
"Yes, of course,” Edwin replied dryly. “We could also just sprout wings and fly away.”
“I agree with Gideon,” Celaena said grudgingly.
She suddenly had everyone’s attention.
“He’s right about leaving Loso. The threat to the royal family is spiraling out of control. We have to change the situation now, before anyone in the movement can betray us to the great houses. Leaving with our people in tow would resolve our security problems as well as our political problems.”
“I don’t think anyone would deny that simply leaving would be for the best,” Len said. “But there are two massive problems with that plan, the first being that the great houses will never let us leave.”
He suddenly fell silent, thinking. Surelin gave him an expectant look.
“Yes, Marshal? What about the second problem?”
He was startled. “Ah, apologies, ma’am. The second problem would be where to go with everyone. Unfortunately, even before that we would have to figure out how to keep the great houses from pursuing us. The two problems are interlinked, it seems.”
“Just give them a good reason not to follow you,” Gideon suggested.
“Pardon?”
“The hussars are all mercenaries. The great houses don’t conscript the poor like the Kenanites do. Every single soldier they have is a merc. They’ll disobey an order to chase you down if it's against their interests.”
Kara seemed to be following his line of thinking. “They’re not loyal to the great houses, but they still live inside their city. You’re saying we should keep them from getting paid somehow?”
“Yeah, basically.”
“We have pursued this avenue already,” Edea said coldly. “Our ability to disrupt the transfer of wealth to the hussars has been curtailed by your actions in the merchant's quarter.”
A new, loaded silence fell upon the room. Gideon looked around, and most people avoided eye contact with him.
“Wealth,” Edwin suddenly scoffed.
Everyone turned to look at him.
“You’ve been focused on wealth for so long that you can no longer see the forest for the trees,” he said to Edea.
“What are you saying?” Celaena frowned.
He looked around, obviously frustrated. “Am I really the only person here who sees the path forward? You’ve laid out the pieces, now put them together. We cannot halt the flow of wealth. The hussars are not truly loyal, and they live within the city…”
No one spoke up, and another loud sigh exploded from him.
“I cannot believe that even you don’t see it,” he said, turning to Surelin. “The woman who burned down the Capella’s estate to rescue me.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “...You’re saying we should use fire? But where?”
“The entire city!” he exploded. “Burn down the entire city! Think about it! Almost every building in this city is made of wood! We send out troops to start fires in every quarter, and then we leave when the hussars are distracted with putting out the blaze! They won’t pursue us if their homes are burning down!”
Gideon frowned at him. Now he’s all for leaving.
“That…might create a short opening,” Len admitted. “But one long enough to evacuate everyone from the city? There are ten thousand Forelians here, along with thousands of other slaves. How do you propose we evacuate them all in time? While the city is on fire?”
“And where would we go?” Edea added.
Edwin seemed eager as he turned to Corrina, who raised a curious eyebrow in response to his gaze.
“We go home,” he said excitedly. “Kali’s wind is directing us back to Forelia.”
“An exodus,” she murmured. “Just like the one Kali and the Suemia undertook.”
Excited chatter filled the room, only for Edea to silence it a few moments later with a raised hand.
“What the slave masters fear most of all is their slaves murdering them in their beds. They are correct to fear it, because the presence of the hussars is all that prevents it. However, if the hussars are distracted with putting out fires, we can coordinate a general slave uprising. With the hussars preoccupied and the slave masters neutralized, we can then overwhelm the western and southwestern gates through sheer force of numbers. I propose that this fire attack be conducted after midnight, in order to cause maximum confusion and consternation amongst the enemy.”
Agreements rang out, then Kara raised her hand for attention.
“Hi! Sorry, don’t mean to interrupt your little plan, but I’d like to know how you expect to feed all those people once you’re outside of the city? In the middle of winter?”
The excitement that’d been building in the room suddenly deflated.
Kara continued. “People need to eat, especially if they spend the entire day walking in the cold. Also. The trip from here to Forelia takes almost four months. And that’s if you use wagons, it’s going to take longer on foot. ”
“I also have something to say,” Corrina quickly added. “What you are describing will cause absolute panic on the streets. It will be anarchy. A great many people will die, perhaps thousands on that very night before the sun rises. And the fires will burn everything alike, be it slave hovel, mansion or temple.”
“It will be pandemonium,” Len agreed, then turned to Surelin. “And we must contend with the fact that more will die on the journey back to Forelia. Frankly, there is no way for something like this to be done cleanly, ma’am. We may return to Forelia with only a small fraction of the people we left this city with.”
Surelin stared at Len, thinking quietly for a moment before she replied.
“Loso has a stockpile of grain, doesn’t it? A sizable one. Correct?”
“The great houses are well stocked for winter, as far as we can tell,” Len admitted.
“And Kara,” Surelin said, turning to her. “Trade is the lifeblood of this city. There must be hundreds of wagons here for that purpose. How difficult would it be for us to take them for our own use?”
“...I—” she interrupted herself with an incredulous scoff. “There’s definitely loads of wagons here. But you’d have to separate them from their owners. You’d also need to find enough pack animals for them, not to mention drivers. Honestly, sur-sur, I have no idea how possible organizing something like that would even be.”
Edea raised an eyebrow at Kara’s nickname for Surelin.
“Can you guess for us?” Surelin asked.
Kara looked troubled. “...In that time frame? You could maybe scrounge enough wagons together to transport a small portion of the population. Anyone who gets sick, maybe, or the very young and very old. But no matter what, I think it's almost certain that the vast majority of people will be walking.”
“If walking was good enough for Kali,” Edwin interjected dryly, “it should be good enough for us.”
“There are many problems with this plan,” Len said gravely. “Assaulting the grain silos while also setting fires throughout the city will put a serious strain on what remains of our forces. And whatever grain we do manage to loot will not last forever. Food will likely be a perpetual problem for us, even after we reach Forelia. In addition to those problems, we are gambling that the hussars will be more preoccupied with their own wellbeing here in Loso than with coming after us.”
“We can spread the word to our people to loot whatever food they can find once the slavemasters are dead,” Edea added placidly. “And they can assist in spreading the fires.”
Gideon winced and pinched the bridge of his nose. Fuck me, I was thinking about Surelin and maybe a few others leaving when I suggested this, not her plus the entire slave population of Loso. This is going to be amazingly difficult, especially for her since she’s gonna be leading it.
Len looked around the room, gauging each expression, then turned to Surelin.
“As I see it, ma’am, there are two choices. We can evacuate Loso with just ourselves, or we attempt the fire attack and evacuate as many of our people as possible.”
Surelin looked to Gideon, clearly wondering what he thought of the choices.
He responded with a shrug. Both options suck.
She seemed to understand him, and nodded.
“We will conduct the arson attack,” she said firmly. “I do not wish to abandon our people to eternal bondage. With this, they will have a chance at freedom.”
Most heads nodded in her direction. The room seemed to agree with her decision.
They’re deferring to her more than they used to, Gideon thought ruefully. She’s becoming the queen Edea wanted her to be.
“It should be done as quickly as possible,” Len said. “Give us one week to spread the word and make preparations, ma’am.”
Surelin gave him a quick nod. “One week, Marshal.”
Gideon frowned, and looked out the window. The wind was still blowing hard outside.
She’s so fiercely determined to be a hero. Can’t she see that they’re gonna use her up and spit her out when she isn’t useful anymore? It was a mistake to bring her here.