“State your business, if you please.”
Knight Lorcan Fortune looked down from his mount at the spear wielding Warrior that barred his way. Resting his gloved hands on his pommel, he leaned over slightly to loom over the man. “You will inform the Lady Dream that I have come to call on her.”
The man leaned on his spear, seemingly at his ease. He waited that way for a moment before replying. “Happens as how I have no idea who you might be, which I’m thinking would make it mighty difficult to tell anyone you’d come a calling.”
Before Lorcan could reply, the Warrior continued. “It also happens that Lady Tadrianus is not at the estate at the moment. She’s meeting with your Knight Commander right about now, assuming you are a Knight, given the fancy war mount and all.”
Lorcan’s grip tightened with the creak of leather at that hated name. He tried to stare Warrior down but the man seemed impervious to his gaze. After a few more moments of silence, he leaned back in his saddle. “Very well, I shall wait for her here. You will see to my mount and provide me with refreshments whilst I wait.” He made to dismount but was interrupted by the Warrior’s voice.
“Now see, that won’t be happening, Knight. You’re an uninvited visitor, one who still hasn’t announced himself. That means you aren’t on the approved guest list. And that means you aren’t setting foot or hoof into the estate until the Lord of Lady inform me otherwise.”
Lorcan felt himself redden in anger. This man, a mere servant, would dictate terms to him? “How dare you, sir?! I am a Knight, a defender of the Jeweled Gate. I demand the respect my position deserves.” His hand strayed to the hilt of his blade. He would thrash this upstart and then have Lady Dreama dismiss him upon her return. She would no doubt thank him for ridding her of such a rude servant.
The Warrior straightened from leaning on his spear, his brows drawing down as he frowned. “Now why did you have to go and touch steel for? I’d been hoping to keep things peaceful.”
Lorcan sniffed and scowled at the man. “You should have thought of that before treating me so atrociously. You have earned the thrashing you are about to receive.” The ring of steel being drawn was music in his ears.
The man took a few steps back and shook his head. “Yeah, I don’t think so. Boys!”
Lorcan stiffened on his war mount as a pair of monsters stepped from either side of the gate. They were hulking beasts, with bug eyes and scythe blades for arms. More evidence of the corruption of Dathan as the man employed such creatures, no doubt bound by forbidden magic.
One of the things seemed to speak. “You have been informed that Consort Dreama Tadrianus is not present. You have been informed that you will not gain access to the Tadrianus Colony.” It reared up, able to look him in the eye even while he was mounted. “We will protect the Colony. You have been warned.”
Protect the colony? There were more of the creatures? It was an infestation! He needed to get to the Knight Commander and inform him of what Dathan had unleashed on the city in his efforts to maintain control of Lady Dreama. It was up to him to save her and the city!
Turning his mount away from the gate and the disturbing guardians, he kicked it into a gallop as he headed to the Knight Compound.
This was endangering the city in time of war. If he was able to present things the right way, Lorcan was sure that the Knight Commander would not only remove Dathan from Knight hood, he would strip the upstart of his Lordship. Lorcan would only be too honored to step into the void, taking his rightful place with Dreama as his wife.
Had the young upstart not arrived ten years ago, this would have been the current reality. He’d been well on the way to defeating all the other challengers for Dreama’s hand, unmatched in the duels. Then Dathan swoops in, stealing the Lady away, beguiling and bewitching her with things like picnics and spending time with her. He’d refused to take part in the duels, as if he was too good to fight for what he wanted. More like he was too weak!
Lorcan had been disallowed to challenge Dathan to a duel while the upstart had been a trainee. Yet when the youngin had earned his Knighthood he immediately proposed to Dreama, who for some reason, no doubt due to nefarius influences, accepted! They were married soon after, leaving everyone else stunned and confused, which allowed Dathan time to cement his power over her, somehow securing an estate and Lordship!
A curl of annoyance came to Lorcan’s lips as he thought back to the failed efforts over the years to remove the upstart from the field. Not only his efforts, either. He knew of at least two other fellow Knights who felt as he did. Not that they were his equal or worthy of Dreama, but he was willing to let them do the work so he could sweep in and reap the rewards.
Nearing the Knight Compound, he shook away thoughts of the past to focus on the present. He needed to rehearse what he would say to the Knight Commander.
After seeing to this war mount, Lorcan strode straight for the Commander’s office. Seeing the door open he marched straight in.
“Commander! You will not believe the danger that young upstart Dathan has put the city in!”
The Knight Commander, seated at his desk, leaned back in his seat to regard Lorcan with a level look, then turned his gaze to the side. “Danger to the city? Lord Tadrianus, have you endangered the city?”
Lorcan froze in place before his eyes followed the Commander’s gaze. There stood Dathan and Lady Dreama.
***
“Lord and Lady Tadrianus, thank you for coming. First, let me thank you again for your work with the Irikashi. In light of the elemental assault, the extra forces are a welcome addition. The Council extends its congratulations on securing the deal.”
Dathan smiled at the Knight Commander, while Dreama nodded her acceptance. They both waited for the Knight to continue.
“We’ve had a swift courier from Central, a Nemu, so you can see the urgency of the message. Apparently the Central Academy has ordered our Magical Engineers to join the Leyline Project. Before you protest, know that the Council has already rejected the order. The courier will take our answer back to Central Academy.”
Dathan felt himself relax, though he hadn’t realized he’d tenses up. A Nemu Courier meant serious money spent on the message. Nemus were the fastest of the Majestix. To have the message rejected spoke of the urgency facing the Jeweled Gate.
“Is the situation really that precarious, Commander?”
Mythra nodded. “It is. We have had near constant assaults from elementals for several weeks. The assaults have pushed through our defenses. That’s the reason I wanted the two of you here. I want you to lead a counter attack along with the Irikashi to take out that totem. At last count there are several dozen elementals and an unknown number of giants, though we estimate no more than half a dozen.”
Dathan frowned. “Why wait so long to counter attack? Knights Michealson or Elright could have led a force. Ask the Treefolk for some additional help from the Southern Grove. Have a few siege mages lead off with a meteor bombardment behind a line of Shield Warriors.”
Dreama spoke up. “I’ve seen the Mages do a rolling wall of flames that can fill the valley from side to side. Lead off the attack with that to take care of any charging elementals while advancing.” Her frown matched his own.
Mythra sighed and leaned back in his chair. “At first it wasn’t seen as a serious threat. A single elemental is easily handled by the outer defenses. Korin deemed the threat low enough to wait until the mages could change the defense to tailor them against elementals. Remember that defenses of the city falls under the purview of the Warrior Guild. During the first week or so he refused to authorize any attacks.”
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Another sigh escaped the Commander. “By the time we realized the mages weren’t going to be ready any time soon, word of your mission to the Irikashi had leaked out and there was a clamor to wait for the reinforcements before attacking. They cited the loses incurred during the Encampment Clearing Expedition as reason for the wait.
“Thus, here we are.”
Dathan looked over at Dreama before turning back to the Commander and nodding. “Thus, here we are.” He sighed. “Things are certainly escalating faster than I anticipated, not to mention in ways no one could have foreseen. I know I originally counseled against asking for additional aid from Central, but I’m beginning to think we’ll need additional Mages and Warriors. We need to find whatever War Leader has made these changes to warfare for the giants and kill him before he can bring the giants together into a new horde with elementals and tactics we’ve never seen.”
The Knight Commander nodded grimly. “From what the Courier told me, especially in light of the original request, help from the Mages seems unlikely. The Warrior Guild may be a possibility, if you can convince Korin of the necessity. From our interactions, that also seems unlikely. I’m afraid we’re going to have to figure things out of our own resources, which is why I’m doubly thankful to you for your dealings with the Irikashi. Sixty four extra warriors is extremely welcome.”
Dreama folded her arms beneath her breasts, a thoughtful expression on her face. “Perhaps it is time to reach out to the Raka and Prada Clans for help. While we have a few of their Warriors in the city, they each maintain decent standing forces. There are also the various Varren packs.” She seemed to hesitate a moment before adding, “I believe the Luxon have a settlement in the forest somewhere to the southeast.”
Dathan blinked at his wife. He hadn’t heard about the Luxon. That was certainly some interesting information. While he’d never personally met a Luxon, he had heard of them. Large grey skinned beings with four arms, thick legs, vicious tusks, and a short trunk. They were also said to be extremely insular, not dealing with any of the peoples of the world. He wondered how Dreama knew of them.
Mythra nodded, his expression less grim. “Interesting suggestions, Lady Dreama. Perhaps I’ll be able to convince the Council to use the Nemu Courier to pass on our messages to the various groups.”
Dathan winced. That would be expensive. Getting that request through the Council would be a fight.
Before the conversation could continue, someone strode into the room. Dathan recognized the Knight just before he spoke.
“Commander! You will not believe the danger that young upstart Dathan has put the city in!”
The Knight Commander leaned back in his seat, looking at the Knight with a level gaze before turning back to Dathan.
“Danger to the city? Lord Tadrianus, have you endangered the city?”
***
“It has been a while since I last endangered the city, hasn’t it? Perhaps I’m due? Oof!”
Lorcan watched with wide eyes as Lady Dreama delivered an elbow to the upstart. While watching the abuse of the youngin would normally be great sport, he could not allow himself to become distracted. He had hoped for a private meeting with the Knight Commander to discuss his charges against Dathan, but with the upstart’s presence, what would have been a cold, precise accusation would turn into a debate. It would take all of his not inconsiderable ability to argue his point.
“Knight Commander, Dathan has brought monstrosities into the city. They have already established a colony in his home and no doubt will be expanding to the rest of the city soon if we don’t do something! He should be locked up until we can cleanse the infection, after which a proper court can be convened to establish his guilt and punishment.”
Lorcan stood at attention, affecting a concerned look as he watched the reaction from the Knight Commander, who returned the gaze with a level one of his own.
“Lord Tadrianus, do you have monstrosities at your estate?”
Dathan pursed his lips in thought for a moment, seeming too relaxed given the severity of the accusations. He should have been stammering his innocence or proclaiming his dark nature, finally throwing aside the thin veneer of respectability to show his true colors now that he’d been discovered.
“I’ve heard them called little monsters before but my dear wife assures me that all children are like that from time to time. Ow! That’s gonna bruise!”
Dathan cradled his side while Lady Dreama leveled him with a glare.
“Okay, okay! Sorry dear, I’ll behave. No, Knight Commander, there are no monstrosities at the Tadrianus Estate, to the best of my knowledge.”
The Knight Commander nodded at the upstart before returning to Lorcan. “Knight Fortune, Lord Tadrianus denies the presence of any monstrosities on his estate. What evidence do you bring to the contrary?”
Lorcan resisted the urge to turn and glare at the youngin. “Direct eye witness. I was threatened personally by the monstrosities, which told me they had a colony at the estate.” There! Let him deal with that!
A chuckle came from the upstart. “Ah, you must be referring to the Irikashi Guardians at the gates. The Colony they refer to is my family, as that is their only concept of a family group. The two Guardians are part of my household and arrived with the rest of the Irikashi.”
The Knight Commander raised an eyebrow. “That’s quite the arrangement. I didn’t know the Irikashi loaned out their Guardians. Don’t they only serve the Queen?”
Lorcan watched in disbelief as the upstart blushed. He amidst to a strange relationship with monsters and that’s his reaction?
“Normally yes, but I was able to ally my family with Queen Xiri. The Guardians are mine, part of my family. They see me as the Queen and Lady Dreama as my Consort.”
What kind of filthy relationship was Dathan subjecting poor Lady Dreama to? Lorcan was interrupted from those thoughts by the Knight Commander.
“I hope that clears things up for you, Knight Fortune.”
Lorcan barely kept his jaw from falling open. “That’s ip? You’re not going to investigate the accusation?”
“Yes, that’s it. Lord Tadrianus is a Knight of unquestionable integrity. Unless you wish to question that integrity?”
For a moment Lorcan was tempted to say yes, to directly challenge the upstart and face him with bared blades. So tempted. However, with the city under attack and so little other evidence, the challenge would be pushed back for weeks, if not longer.
Lorcan shook his head. “No, I accept Knight Dathan’s word.” And how that galled to say.
The Knight Commander nodded and waved. “Then that will be all, Knight Fortune.”
Lorcan saluted and left, smoldering with resentment. Something else would need to be done.