Ahh, what a nice morning. Waking up warm, comfortable, cuddling my favorite person in this world, and plotting to start some shit. Honestly, Larvell kind of pissed me off. Even if he had given a lot of his life towards this fight and was hesitant to give more, doing nothing was basically as good as surrendering to the enemy and letting them walk all over you. While they had stalemated for a long time, they were not in a position of power, and bit by bit what little they had would be taken from them.
So, first order of business for the day, turn Larvell’s armies against him. Force his hand by empowering theirs. I’d need to ask around, find the barracks or perhaps where the officers live and speak to them on a personal level. They need to know just what their leaders are giving up with their inaction.
It was a slow start to the day as I had to build a fire just for Kala to get out of bed. I thought she was bad about waking up before, but that only seemed to get worse as the temperature outside dropped. She could cry biology all she wanted; I knew she was toasty warm under those sheets and fully capable of activity. The song and dance to get her out of bed was a bit more elaborate than usual, but I eventually got her to waltz her tail out into the world of the living.
We started our search for breakfast by wandering the halls looking for something that looked like a kitchen. I was planning to raid the pantries and get something simple cooked up for us, but that plan was stopped when we finally did find the dining room and were met by a full complement of butlers and chefs that were waiting to serve us. It made sense, we were technically diplomats after all, so they were rolling out the welcome carpet with a full-service stay.
Kala and I were seated at a large table that could have potentially seated a dozen people. Regrettably it was only the two of us there as the rest of our friends were forced to eat in a different room, which was probably the equivalent of the staff dining area. It felt rather lonely sitting at such a large, empty table, but the disparity in our perceived social status demanded separate eating accommodations. At least I still had Kala with me as she was considered my ‘lady.’
Breakfast consisted of poached eggs, various fruits, some I recognized from eating before and others that were completely foreign to me, and then we ended on thin cuts of seasoned meat. It was quite a lavish meal compared to what was normally considered food in this world. Most of the meals that I've had consisted of bread, fruits, cheeses, and variations of jerky. It was a rare moment when we got to cook and prepare fresh meats, and even then, we used simple seasonings.
The food was great, and I did my best to remember my table manners which Kala also mimicked to the best of her ability. After finishing the meal, we thanked the staff, collected our friends, and stepped outside to put our plan into motion. The brisk morning air helped clear my mind and focus on how best to maximize our efficiency.
“You’re thinking about something again.” Kala commented. “Anything I can help with?”
“That’s actually part of what I was thinking about. My plan was to find where the soldiers spent their time and begin trying to convince them to speak out in favor of deployment. Just dragging you behind me for the whole day doesn’t seem like the best use of your time.”
“I can agree with that. Perhaps I might speak with someone else?”
“Seems like a solid enough idea. Maybe you can start with Bishop Yolder. Informing him of the council's first decision on the matter would be the wise thing to do for one of our few allies in this city. Maybe get him to preach about me, as awkward as that is, at least more than he might be doing right now. The priests should let you see him if you say that you were sent by me.”
“Sounds easy enough. Have a nice little conversation and plan out some talks with the people of the city.”
“Simple, sure, but there is still the risk of reputation and bad actors who want to do nothing but tear us down. We have to get ahead of them and establish ourselves as the ones doing the right thing.”
“You really think there are people who would do that?”
I shook my head, not as a signal to the negative, but more like a show of disappointment in society. “It’s a safe bet to say they would. Even if it’s just one person, the sentiments they spout can spread and poison the well so to speak. Things will get messy, especially if the council gets involved and starts denouncing us.”
Kala sighed. “Nothing can ever be simple, can it?”
“Few things are, especially when what you’re doing is important. So, you understand what’s at stake?”
“Yes. Don’t worry, I'll be respectful and quick.”
With a nod and a smile, I pulled her close, giving her a quick kiss. “Good luck out there and try not to get into too much trouble.”
She pushed my nose inwards with her pointer finger a bit, careful not to scratch me with her claw. “That’s what I should say to you. You’re the one that’s always getting into some kind of trouble.”
I chuckled a bit. “Perhaps, but even so...” I turned towards the rest of our group. “Three of you go with her, don’t care who, just choose.”
They looked at one another for a moment before three of them simply decided to volunteer. Holdrem, Hargon, and Velian split off and moved closer to Kala to signal their decision. I gave an approving nod before saying some last-minute words of encouragement.
“Very good. I know we can do this, so stay confident and don’t let anyone trip you up. Let’s get to it.”
Everyone gave some sign of affirmation to my words before our two groups separated. I felt a little nervous about Kala going off on her own, but I pushed those feelings aside and reassured myself that she had three strong fighters and trusted friends with her. For now, I focused on the task ahead and set about trying to find the local barracks.
The first step was the easiest in the grand scheme of things. It mostly involved walking around and asking people if they knew where the soldiers stayed, trained, or spent their free time. The reactions I got from these random individuals were varied. Some of them reacted with awe or shock that I was talking to them. Those that knew about me were contrasted by the few who apparently had not heard about the goddess’s new champion. These people seemed to be split into either seeing me as some strange sideshow or wondering with open hostility why a ‘Thrainian’ was in the city. It had been a long time since I was last compared to them, and it took some measure of self-control to explain things in a calm manner.
At least all the efforts paid off as it was revealed that the barracks were located lower in the city, not quite the bottom rung but certainly closer to the main gate and the walls as was practical. So, we descended the social ladder from the upper echelons to a more modest lifestyle. It seemed like this city was doing well for itself, there weren’t any obvious signs of poverty at least, but it would be a safe bet that there was someone who had fallen through the cracks. It was simply the way cities worked.
I got to see more of the average person's life around here at least. One of the running themes that I've noticed divided the different classes was just how personal things felt at various levels. Down here there were markets, people interacting, talking, brushing shoulders with one another. At the upper levels things were different. Every interaction was conducted like a business deal, there were no casual conversations or friendly chats. Words had value up there, and those stingy bastards weren’t ones to give things away for free.
It just seemed a lot more fun down here, but unfortunately our stay would not last. The directions that were provided to us turned out to be accurate as we found a very utilitarian-looking building that was host to the current armed forces of the city. The inside was little different from the outside. I suppose when you are trying to train soldiers to fight and kill other people having a welcoming environment isn’t exactly on the top of your list of things to care about.
The only thing in the entry room was a simple wooden desk that was currently staffed by a single bored-looking Valus. Our entry did bring a modicum of interest to their features, but they kept a professional decorum. I did my best to project an air of authority, thinking that I would help expedite this process a bit.
“Can I help you, sir?” The receptionist asked in a monotone voice.
“Yes, can you direct me to whoever is in charge here?”
He seemed a little hesitant about complying with that request. “Sir, if you have a complaint, you may leave a written note detailing your grievances and I will leave them with the captain.”
I raised a placating hand to stop them. “No, no complaints from me, I simply wish for a meeting to discuss important events going on outside the city. It is more of a personal conversation to have so I hope to be able to talk face to face.”
The soldier thought for a second before returning with a reply. “I cannot guarantee that the captain will agree to see you, but I can bring your request to him. If you would be so kind as to wait here while I do so, that would be appreciated. You are Lord James, correct?”
“That is correct.”
He nodded. “I figured as much, but it is always better to confirm these things. I’ll be back soon.”
The Valus slithered towards a door in the back of the room that they quickly disappeared behind. There was a commotion that briefly made itself heard when the door opened, but that was quickly silenced when the door closed again. Well, time to hurry up and wait again.
There was little in the way of furniture around the room, so I took to leaning against a wall while waiting for the receptionist to return. Every now and then more muffled sounds managed to reach my ears, but it wasn’t anything I could make sense of, so it was just white noise in the back of my mind while I was deep in thought.
I began to imagine what kind of man the captain would be, temperament, opinions of the current council, thoughts on the state of the war, all these things and more would have an impact on our conversation. Part of me really hoped that he would be easy to convince. After that shit-show with the council, I needed a win.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
It was around ten minutes later that the door in the back of the room opened again. The Valus had returned and stopped right in front of me as I pushed off the wall to meet him.
“The captain formerly extends an invitation to speak with him. He would be honored if you would join him in his office for a drink and some pleasant conversation.”
Well, that was certainly a proper invite. “I’m glad to hear that my request has been accepted. Am I to follow you or are the directions to his office simple enough for me to go alone?”
“It would be best if you would follow me, sir. We are actively training new recruits, so to prevent any accidents from happening, I will guide you to the captain’s office. Please follow me and stay close.”
After a nod of affirmation, I was led towards the back door that the receptionist had made use of before. Now that I was able to see outside the door when it was opened all the noise that had been heard earlier came into perspective. We emerged into a large square courtyard that was filled with a variety of people who were currently performing various training exercises.
Around the edges there was a long line of recruits currently running in circles all the while an instructor kept pace and was shouting words both demeaning and encouraging as was needed. Near the center there was a line of training dummies that were being jabbed, hacked, and hit with blunted weapons. The purpose of that seemed to be getting the forms needed to use the weapons down before moving onto a proper bout. Speaking of, there were several different duels scattered about the courtyard in various open spaces, some seemingly against other recruits, others against instructors. The way I could tell which it was due to how lopsided the fight seemed to be as the instructors used their skills to avoid, deflect, and counter the attacks made by the new recruits, thoroughly trouncing the unskilled fighters. Not that I held a much higher opinion of my own swordplay though as the veterans could probably beat me almost as handily.
We walked close to the wall, staying out of the way of the training area as much as possible before dipping into another entrance to the building at the back left corner. From there we encountered a straight hallway that held a series of doors on either side. Our guide led us to the back of the hallways where he stopped by one of the doors on the right side and made a gesture towards it.
“The captain is waiting for you inside.” He confirmed that this was our destination.
Gathering my wits about me, I approached the door and gave a short series of polite knocks. A confident voice from within said, “Come in.” With permission given, pushed the door open and entered the office while my entourage waited outside.
There was a theme here that extended to even the private offices it seemed. Utilitarianism seemed quite prevalent as the space was rather scant in terms of decorations or personal touches. The usual suspects were all there, that being a simple desk and an array of wooden cubicles stacked on top of a table to hold a variety of sorted papers and letters. Other than that, the only decoration afforded to the room was a landscape painting on the left wall and a potted plant, some sort of flowering bush, in the back right corner closer to where the captain was seated.
The captain himself turned out to be a Droln with large horns and a dark brown coat of fur. Being well adapted to the cold, he wasn’t wearing much clothing, but what he did have on looked to be well made at least. His attire consisted of a sleeveless vest, and oddly enough, something akin to shorts though they weren’t made of the same sturdy canvas or denim material as what was used in my world. I still wasn’t too great at approximating the age of your average Droln, but by some subtle hints of grey in his fur and the fact that becoming an officer of any rank requires time, I would probably put him at around middle aged.
The man stood to greet me, speaking in a strong, hearty, tone. “Lord James, I must say the last person I expected to seek me out would be one such as yourself. My name is Caldern, and I must say what an honor it is to make your acquaintance. Please, come in, have a seat, and tell me what I might do for the goddesses’ chosen?”
I accepted his invitation to sit in the chair opposite him as he returned to his seat as well. Now that we were both comfortable, I replied to his question. “Well, to begin with, please tell me what you know about the current state of the war, particularly the situation surrounding Yol’vastume.”
“Yol’vastume? A heavy topic that. I find that such topics are better discussed with a drink in hand.” He reached down and opened a drawer in the desk. From its depths, he removed a pair of cups and a decanter of what I could only assume was hard liquor. He poured a modest amount into both glasses and pushed one of them my way.
My bad experience with accepting drinks from strangers reared its head again as I hesitated to accept the offer. It took a little bit of reasoning with myself to push past my hang-ups. For one thing, he poured both our drinks from the same source, so if there was anything in it, he would be affected too. Another point to accept was that I had clear allies waiting outside the door, so if he did try something, he certainly wouldn’t be able to get very far with it.
Successfully swaying my inner consciousness, I took the cup of rich amber alcohol as Caldern raised a glass to signal for a drink. Figuring it would be rude to refuse, I matched his movement as we both brought the cups up. My imbibing of the alcohol was rather reserved, and it was lucky that I had the foresight to do so because what he gave me was rather strong. It was the kind of stuff that burns from start to finish. Caldern took a much larger drink of his such that I would have been in fits of coughing if I tried to mimic him.
At least the drink gave me some time to think about how to proceed. If I came in too firm or aggressive it could push him away or cause him to put up barriers, but if I appeared to be weak then he won’t take me seriously. There had to be a middle ground, but first to lead him into the subject.
“So, getting back on subject, what have you heard?”
Caldern put his cup down before answering. “There are a lot of rumors circling Yol’vastume right now. Many people talk about how it is now under coalition control, some claim that the gods finally struck them down with a great explosion that shook the very heavens with their wrath, then, of course, there’s you, the will of the goddess in the flesh leading a rebellion inside the walls. So many details and variations of the same stories that get progressively more outlandish every time I hear them.”
“Do you believe those stories?”
He adopted a contemplative look while scrutinizing me with his gaze. “There’s always some truth to rumors, no matter how elaborate they become. However, what I believe is that when people start talking, emotions can cause them to make foolish decisions in the heat of the moment.”
That doesn’t sound too good for my plans. If he ends up being one of those wait and see cautious types, then that just makes things even harder for me. I groaned in my head. Might have to invoke the bitch's name again.
“Well...” Caldern continued, “since you were there, I get the feeling that you’re going to tell me exactly what happened, aren’t you?”
Not trying to appear overly eager, I gave a non-committal wave of the hand. “If you’d like, I can share my experience in Yol’vastume. Perhaps there might be something you have yet to hear.”
“Please, enlighten me.”
So, I told the story of the battle of Yol’vastume from my perspective. I tried to keep things simple and avoid exaggerations. He seemed like the kind of man who liked his news without all the showmanship that these tales might normally entail. After laying out all the details for him, I allowed for a moment of quiet so that he could process things. When he finally did speak, it was with a small nod of the head.
“I see. So, many of the rumors did turn out to be true. Well, this certainly leaves us in an interesting position. Militarily, I’d say it’s our best shot at securing a strong foothold for once, politically, though, is another matter. People’s hearts just aren’t in the fight anymore. Duty and honor are all well and good for inspiration, but if you try to say that to a grieving widow or mother, she’d be likely to spit in your face.”
Well, time to pull the bitch card out. “I know, and I think that’s why I'm here now. The Eternal Goddess sent me here to bring this war to an end, and as much as I'd like to do it without putting others in harm's way, it would be impossible for me to do so alone. Much has been sacrificed to get to where we are now, but stopping now when we are so close to a major turning point would not only mean that all those sacrifices would amount to nothing, but more would be lost as the Thrainians keep chipping away at you bit by bit until your whole society comes crashing down. Action today can save the lives of countless numbers of people in the future, but the council just can’t see that and is blocking my attempts to make that change. I need people at my side who will lend their voices to me until we are too loud to ignore.”
Caldern’s brow furrowed a bit. “What you are suggesting sounds dangerously close to sedition in my ears. You are essentially asking me to go against the wishes and orders of my superiors.”
“I am not asking you to take action against them, I simply wish for you to speak up and help them see that this is the path they should be taking. It is not a betrayal to offer sound advice.”
“If only things were ever that simple. Even questioning their decision openly could be considered a hostile act by some. You must understand, Larvell spent most of his life in this war before I even took up a sword for the first time. Do you know about his family?”
“His family? I’ve not heard anything about them, no.”
Caldern shook his head. “He had three sons once, and he buried all of them. That is a price few can pay without losing a part of your soul in the process.”
No wonder he was so adamant about keeping the troops at home. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “His loss is great, yes, but that does not change the facts. Every day a soldier dies defending the border, every week a patrol doesn’t return, every month a village is razed and the people either slaughtered or enslaved. If he’s not going to do something about that, then it’s up to us to stand up and do what is right.”
Caldern leaned back in his chair and buried his face in one of his hands for a few seconds. The first thing he did after unveiling his features again was to down the rest of his drink in one shot. “This conversation has placed a heavy burden upon my mind. I will need time to consider your words before I act on anything.”
Well, better than just being told no at least. I tried not to look disappointed while nodding to him. “Very well. When you come to a decision, please be sure to let me know. Thank you for your time today.”
He gave me a non-verbal acknowledgement and then walked me to the door. The first thing I saw was Jorn showing off his prosthetic and the different weapon attachments that came with it to the receptionist and two other soldiers who had evidently wandered in while I was talking to the captain. The moment they realized that we had exited though they snapped to attention and were once again in business mode.
A smirk briefly made its way onto my face before I flattened my expression again. There were a few short exchanges of polite goodbyes before we were escorted back to the entrance. Now outside in the crisp afternoon air I had time to consider my next move. Perhaps I should go see how Kala was doing on her end, or maybe spend some time speaking to the people. The latter wasn’t as appealing because grandstanding was still awkward for me.
In the end, though, the decision was made for me as an approaching group of five armed soldiers wearing the colors of the coalition on their tabards. I had a bad feeling about them. Maybe it was the look on their faces or the stiff posture they had as they walked, but I just knew that this wasn’t going to be good as they stopped right in front of my group.
“Councilor Larvell wishes to speak with you.” The lead goon shot off tersely.
I was briefly at a slight loss for what to say, but I snapped myself out of it and tried to avoid the situation slightly. “Right, well, I’ll be sure to make my way to him when I can.” Regrettably, my attempt was shot down.
“We are instructed to bring you to him immediately. This matter is non-negotiable.”
Well, shit. Is he really willing to go that far? “I am rather busy, what if I refuse?”
I noticed that his hand shifted to the hilt of his sword. “It is non-negotiable, sir.”
We had a brief stare down with the both of us throwing out our best poker faces. Eventually, I decided that it wasn’t worth the trouble to try and resist. I doubt they would have taken any real action to harm me or my friends, but they might have gotten more physical with the ‘request.’
“Very well then, I will hear what the good councilman has to say.”
The guard relaxed a bit at my acceptance. “Thank you for your cooperation, sir. Please follow us.” With no more words needed he turned and marched back towards the upper levels of the city. I followed along with my escort behind me. There was no way for me to know exactly why Larvell wanted to speak with me right now, but whatever the reason, it was guaranteed not to be pleasant.