Aphonion Tales (New posts 6/13, 6/15, 6/19)

[Cerebral Paladin]

Lady Sepulva shook her head. “Such a shame. I’m glad you had enough sense to stay safe, Brian,” she added warmly as she moved a little closer to him. From the panicked look in his eyes, she was confident that he wasn’t thinking too much about her questions or whether he should answer them. “Do you have any idea why the Duke has started charging such high tariffs? It has to hurt his revenues as badly as anyone’s, with the more marginal merchants getting lost in the wilderness or cutting back on their trips to the Spice Lands.”

“I don’t know for sure, but I suspect it has to do with the krif smuggling. I was approached about participating in the smuggling two years ago, but the danger is laughable. Smuggling krif carries the death penalty under the Archduchess’s law, and no amount of profit is worth the risk.”

“What about Brightspan? Does he take it as seriously?”

“I should say so… he impaled the merchants he caught smuggling it.”

Lady Sepulva thought about what she knew about krif. A nasty narcotic, very addictive, and very rare in Drucien. “Where did the krif come from? Can it grow in the Spice Lands?”

“That’s part of the strangest thing. They must have imported it from off Drucien, because it doesn’t grow here at all. As far as I know, the only places krif can be grown are in the Empire of Krashmere and deep in the south of the Palood in the Shadowlands.”

“If they’re shipping it in from Khamista or Zest’qua, do you know what their route is?”

“Not for sure, but it must be coming in through the old ports of the South Kingdoms. Although that’s strange too… I don’t see how the Skaven could be directly involved in the krif trade. If they were trying to ship a drug north, wouldn’t they use that dust they’re all addicted to?”

Lady Sepulva nodded thoughtfully. “It’s such a relief that you didn’t get involved in any of that, my dear boy. I assume that the people who did were struggling anyway, relying on other smuggling to get by.”

“No, no. The first one caught was Benjamin Lapelle, whose family had been in the business for centuries.”

“Perhaps it was planted, or smuggled by one of his underlings without his knowledge?”

“That’s what I thought at first, but he confessed: it was in his stock. Apparently didn’t say anything beyond his admission, though.” Penthorpe shook his head. “He was the first one impaled, and I presumed we would never hear of it again. But then two more were impaled, and one shot down after disposing of his stash in a nearby stream, if you believe the rumors.”

“Simple greed, perhaps? You said they tried to recruit you-- they must have offered quite a high premium.”

“Oh, they did indeed. That was the first thing that warned me that something was amiss. A man approached me in the Spice Lands, when I was conducting my regular purchases, although I had never met him before. He offered an enormous sum of money to move a small package. I thought about accepting, but it was too much money for any normal trade, so demanded to know what it was. When he admitted that it was krif, I told him to find another mark. And then I guess he found Benjamin.”

“Where did he want it delivered? Were they trying to smuggle it here, or on to Enclaves or some other northern destination.”

“I don’t know for sure. He only asked me to take it to Canberry City. The strangest thing was where he wanted me to take the package: to a nunnery, of all places! I was to deliver it to the Mother Superior herself.”

“Scandalous!” gasped Lady Sepulva, although with a glimmer in her eye that suggested this was precisely the sort of scandal she liked to gossip about. “What order had become so depraved?”

Penthorpe thought for a moment. “I think it was the Order of Blessed Hope.”

Lady Sepulva shook her head. “Shocking. Such a terrible thing. Oh, one last thing. What did the man who tried to hire you look like? Should I chance to meet him in my trading ventures, I want to know to avoid him.”

Penthorpe relaxed at the thought that he would finally be able to leave Lady Sepulva’s grasp. “He was of medium height, with angular features. His hooked nose and protruding chin stood out the most, although I also noticed he had reddish hair, which is not common in the Spice Lands.”

“Thank you,” said Lady Sepulva, patting Penthorpe’s cheek. “I’m so glad to have met you, and I look forward to strengthening our friendship in the years to come.”

“Yes, of course,” replied Penthorpe, a rigid smile on his face. As soon as he could, he backed away, dabbing at his nose emphatically with his handkerchief and then practically running up the stairs to his seat. In his haste to flee, he missed the amused smile on Lady Sepulva’s face.

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

After the Duke of Brightspan left, Dame Brionna, Kit, and Alistair retired to one of the comfortable sitting rooms that functioned as the Archducal Council chambers. As they arrived, Alistair turned to Dame Brionna. “Do you have any guard matters that need attending to? This might be a good time.”

Dame Brionna sighed inwardly. She had grown use to Alistair and Kit periodically arranging private time together, even in the middle of the afternoon. “Of course, your grace. I should expect that it will take about two hours, leaving time for any matters that must be dealt with before the dinner.”

“That will be fine.” Alistair waited until she had left and sat in a chair near to and facing the couch Kit had sat on. He looked trouble as he looked at her but just sat in silence.

After a few moments, Kit blurted out, “I’m sorry about reading the Duke’s mind. I shouldn’t have created that problem.”

Alistair startled. “What? No, don’t worry about it. You were doing exactly what I knew you were doing. We needed to know what he was thinking.”

“I still shouldn’t have gotten caught.”

“There was nothing you could do about that. I’m just sorry I had to leave the blame on you for diplomatic reasons. He probably knew I was lying, but you have to deny those sorts of things. But I’m sorry that it meant I had to blame you.”

“You did what you had to do. We need to protect you, and I should have been more careful.”

“You did all you could, and I don’t have to like having to blame you for that, even though I had to. But don’t worry about that. That wasn’t what I wanted to talk about.”

“Well?” asked Kit after a few more moments of silence.

Alistair paused a little longer. “Sorry…” He began again, “Kit, you know that I have to have dinner tonight with King Erich’s daughter, to begin thinking about possible political marriages.”

Kit swallowed hard. “I know. I’m not happy about it, and I wish that it didn’t have to be so soon, but I know.”

“You’ve seen how many assassination attempts there have been. As long as I’m unmarried and have no heir-apparent, the Archduchy is only a single assassin away from chaos, maybe even civil war. And it’s worse than that, because if Canberry fell, there would be no power to stabilize any of southern Drucien.”

Kit stared at him more intently. “So it’s not just about an eventual political marriage. You’re talking about marrying and having children as soon as you can.”

“I have to. The Archduchy needs a stable succession line. But I don’t want to make this harder for you than it has to be.” He paused. “You don’t have to be at the dinner tonight.”

“Do you not want me to be there?”

“No! I really want your help. And your support. But I don’t want to make you be there if it will be too painful.”

“It will be painful, but I think I need to watch. I still have to do my best to make sure she’s good for the Archduchy.”

“Thank you.”

“And even though I don’t want you to get married… I won’t create problems for someone who would be good for Canberry, and good for you. I’ll only raise objections if I think there’s a danger, not because of us.”

“I know, and I’ll trust you.” Alistair closed his eyes briefly. “I just wish I didn’t have to.”

“But you do. I need to watch and to serve as the Mouth. And you need… to marry someone who will help the Archduchy, regardless of what that means for us.”

“It doesn’t have to mean much for us.”

Kit looked away. “I’ve seen enough of court to understand that state marriages don’t always have to do with love. But I’ve also seen enough to know that they sometimes do, either initially or eventually.”

Alistair nodded. “But I don’t want to lose you. I have to marry, but I don’t have to fall in love. I never wanted any of this-- you know that.”

Kit nodded.

“And I’m willing to go through with it, because Canberry needs me to. But if I lose you as well as everything else… I need your support.”

“I’ll do the best I can, but we’ll have to see. And you’ll always have my support, even if we can’t stay together. Even if you need me to go away at some point.”

“That’s not what I meant, and I’ll never want you to go away. I,” Alistair paused, “I need you too much.”

Kit noted that he didn’t quite say that he loved her, but also saw how close he’d come. “I’ll try. We’ll have to see.” She smiled ruefully. “At least as just a knight I won’t have to make a political marriage for a long time.”

“I hope you won’t ever. I can’t offer you a marriage, but I can offer you everything else. If you want to have a family, we can, just not until after the succession is secure.”

“You mean until you and whoever you marry have an heir.”

“And a spare, preferably.”

Kit thought about it. “But that will be years.”

“Yes, but not too many. And we can be happy together, both before we can have a family and after.”

“Maybe…” Kit said. “But we don’t need to worry about that yet. I’ll be here while you do what you need to do for Canberry. And that means I’ll have to be at dinner, even though I don’t want to. But I won’t leave you over it.” At least, she thought, not yet. We’ll see how things go once he’s actually married someone.

“And you know that I’ll need to use whatever tools I can to aid Canberry. If she needs to be charmed, I’ll charm her, but I won’t mean it.”

“I know. And I won’t want to watch you flirting with other women… but I’ll do my part, and I know that you need to do yours.” Kit set her jaw determinedly.

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Dame Brionna rapped quietly on the door, and Alistair called for her to enter.

“Your grace, I have two matters of which you should be aware. The first is that I have secured a list of the members of the court who intended to commit suicide, and when. Several are planning on committing suicide at the funeral, although most of those are not crucial court personnel. You should also know that we have reasons to think that some of the common folk may throw themselves onto her funeral pyre.”

“Ugh.” Alistair looked disgusted. “We should make sure that appropriate orations are made to dissuade them, and then we should position mages with orders to sleep anyone who tries to approach the pyre without being part of the ceremony. Most of the commoners should be affected by it, and then the guards can stop any that make it through.”

“Yes, your grace. I’ll take care of the arrangements.” Dame Brionna made a small note to herself. “In addition to debriefing any of the people who will be following Amelia, I also think that we should arrange audiences with the major court officials who will continue to serve your grace. The two most important are the Equitable Varance Tuttle, the Minister of Magic and an Archmage, and the Minister of the Mind, who is an 18th Circle redactor.”

“I thought Lady Constance was the Minister of Magic?”

“No, your grace. She is the head of the Archducal Coven, but there is a separate ministry.”

“Then, yes, we’ll certainly want to meet with them. They will both be important in establishing our new schools, as well.”

“And the Minister of the Mind might be able to heal the Duke of Brightspan’s mind, at least if the Duke will permit it,” added Kit.

Dame Brionna cleared her throat. “Continuing with the surviving members of the court, Lord Brendanbeck Blowingsnoz, the Minister of Roads, and Aaron Gladhand, of the Exchequer, will also both survive.”

“Blowingsnoz? Must be a gnome.”

“Yes, your grace. The office of the Exchequer is probably the least badly affected. I suppose there are some advantages to people who are more loyal to money than to the Archduchy. The Archducal Guard, on the other hand, has the highest number of suicides. The only senior officer who will not be committing suicide is Lieutenant Zachary.”

“The Lieutenant Zachary who commanded the security delegation to Tarsh?” asked Alistair, eliciting a nod. “ I thought that we had reassigned him out of the palace.”

“We haven’t yet had the chance to. It’s on my list of things to do, your grace.”

“See to it quickly. We can’t risk him being placed in command.”

“Yes, your grace. Turning to the important members of the Court we will need to replace, in addition of course to the ones that we have already addressed, the Minister of Defense will be passing as well.”

Alistair shook his head in exasperation. “I suppose that should have been expected. The only candidate that I can think of is Field Marshal Broadfields. He has the experience and ability and the other general officers respect him. I suppose one of the Dukes or other high nobles with experience leading their own army might be able to do the job, but I don’t think any of them could afford to split their attention.”

“I shouldn’t think so, your grace. And for the next several years, it would be better if the high military posts were filled with people we can be sure are loyal to the Archduchy, not to one of your vassals. It reduces the risk of problems.”

“Yes. Very well, who’s next?”

“For rather different reasons, we’ll need a new privy secretary.”

“Yes… Speaking of the privy secretary, have we interrogated Lady Deborah Brightspan yet? Did we learn anything more about the plot?”

Dame Brionna looked annoyed. “Lady Deborah died in her cell before we had a chance to interrogate her. The conclusion of the priest who examined her was that it was a stroke.”

“Did you check for whether she was killed by another one of those demons?” asked Kit.

“Yes. There were no signs of wounds, even on close examination, and no signs of magic. I suspect a psionic attack.”

“Or a previously placed trap in her mind, designed to kill her to prevent interrogation,” added Alistair.

“Indeed. That would explain how they reached her without penetrating the wards the Eldar placed against psychoportation.”

Dame Brionna brought the conversation back to the topic of the moment. “We still need to appoint her replacement.”

“Do you think Marcus could do the job?” asked Kit.

“I should think so,” said Alistair, “at least for the interim. We can see how he does and figure out whether to make the appointment permanent later. Who’s next?”

“Lady Winnifred, the Matron of the Court, is also on her way out, your grace.”

“Matron of the Court… that’s a mostly ceremonial position, right?” asked Kit.

“Yes. In charge of a wide range of protocol matters.”

“We can probably leave it unfilled for the time being, then. Or have Aunt Cecilia officially filling the role, but with the Master of Protocol handling most of the actual work.”

“That might be perfect, your grace. It gives us an excuse to have her present for any occasions where her sight would be helpful. And her birth makes her quite suitable from a perspective of official appearances. I’m sure that people will be quite willing to overlook any eccentricities in the Archduke’s aunt.”

“Fine. Who’s next?”

“The next one isn’t a great matter of state, your grace, but I thought you would want to know. Mommy Cupcake is also planning on following Her Grace the Archduchess.”

Alistair’s eyes widened at the news. “Yes… thank you for telling me.”

“Mommy Cupcake?” asked Kit.

“My nurse until about 8 or 9.” Alistair thought for a moment. “Arrange for her to meet with me privately, perhaps this evening after the dinner. I think I’ll be able to convince her not to.”

“Very good, your grace. Most of the Guard vacancies are ones that I will have to deal with over the coming weeks by recruiting promising new Guards from the Army, the City Constabulary, and the church forces, but there is a specific position we should discuss. We will need to appoint a Guardian of the Bedchamber, the personal guard who attends to your safety when you are sleeping or in bed. Do you have a preference as to the Guardian’s sex, your grace?”

“Female,” replied Alistair instantly.

Kit rolled her eyes. “Why am I not surprised…”

“I was thinking about you! I’m perfectly comfortable with people seeing me in my bedchambers-- people have been keeping an eye on me my whole life. You’re the one who hides beneath the sheets when they bring in our morning clothes. I thought you would be more comfortable with a woman than with a man watching us when we sleep.”

Kit shrugged. “Well, that makes sense, but still…”

“Ahem,” said Dame Brionna. “I thought that might be the case and have identified a possible candidate. Dame Gretchen Overfifer is a skilled knight in the Archducal service.”

“Overfifer? A relation of the Lady Mayor’s, I assume?”

“Yes, I believe her sister, but Dame Gretchen is quite competent in her own right. She is also politically and morally reliable, as a paladin of Glor’diadel. She is underutilized in her current position in my opinion, especially given the losses we’re suffering.”

“What is her current position?” asked Kit. “Would her loss be a problem?”

“She is the court sergeant-at-arms.”

“A mostly ceremonial position, I assume?”

“Yes, your grace. The sergeant-at-arms has a variety of protocol duties and is responsible for managing entrances and the like. She would serve to break up any disruptions and to expel anyone who violated proper court decorum, but the Archduchy rarely needs to call on its sergeant-at-arms to deal with issues like that. I suspect that she was appointed primarily because of her birth; it is a fairly prominent posting.”

Alistair smiled. “I think we can even appoint her without leaving any further vacancies. A ceremonial post involved in making sure that court functions run smoothly and with proper decorum seems perfect for Lieutenant Zachary, and we wouldn’t need to worry that he would get some company killed in the field.”

Dame Brionna nodded. “Absolutely, your grace. With your leave, I’ll take care of the reassignment.” Even Kit nodded, a little reluctantly, but convinced that Dame Gretchen made sense.

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

“Are there any other appointments we need to worry about in the short run?”

“No, your grace. But I also have a report for you about the military situation. As you know, Lord Alphonse Brightspan, the Duke’s eldest son and heir-apparent, is marching with his army to the south. In addition to the First Field Army of Brightspan, he also has the support of the entire armies of Caligshire and Caldra, as well as one hundred drow and two Noldar battlebarges. We must also assume that he has substantial magical power because of his status as the host of the Abomination of Shur. That army is powerful, but it will become much more powerful in approximately two days when it unites with the Horde of the Ripping Tusk. The Horde consists of approximately 15,000 orcs and uruks, with some ogre and hill giant shock troops as well. Once the full army has assembled, it will be the most powerful army on Drucien outside of Hanal, Masque, and Canberry.”

“I should think so. That’s nearly the equivalent of five full field armies, with substantial elite support.”

“Indeed, your grace, and the troops are generally hardened veterans with ample combat experience. The army has some weaknesses. Most notably, it has very little clerical support, far less than would be advisable for a force of that size. They do have a fair number of psions and are presumably relying on redactors for healing. They are also dealing very carefully with the people of the regions they are passing through, purchasing rather than looting.”

“Perhaps because of limits in their supply train?” asked Mahler, who had slipped into the Council chamber.

“Unfortunately, that’s not what our intelligence suggests. They appear to have enough supplies to support a campaign of nearly two years. However, because of the size of the army and of its supply chain, they cannot make more than about eight miles per day, so it will take them some time to reach the Spice Lands.”

“Do the Spice Lands have any defenses against an army that size?” wondered Kit.

“They are mustering what forces they have,” replied Dame Brionna a little grimly. “They are assembling at the City-State of Tulani, which is contributing the largest number of troops. The Archbishop of the Light for the Spice Lands is organizing the effort-- most of the small holdings in the Spice Lands are devoted to Lord Glor’diadel, and they heed the Archbishop’s call. All told, their army is substantial in numbers, although smaller than the Abomination’s army. They have two organized field armies and four scattered legions from the smaller city-states.”

“Half the troops… they might be able to hold out for a while in a defensive fight.”

“If they were veterans, your grace, but most of the armies have not seen action in living memory. They do have several special assets-- forty Knights of Valor, all of whom have combat experience, and strong clerical support from the Archdiocese. They also have some powerful allies-- a grey elf lord is supporting them with his troops. He is a supreme archmagus and has brought three companies of wood elf archers. The army has also been joined by twenty-five snakemen archers.”

“Snakemen? Can we trust them?” asked Mahler.

“I do not know. They have never before involved themselves in a human conflict, as far as we can tell. But some of my information services consider them notable, even with their small numbers.”

“How long do we have before the army reaches them?”

“Approximately 100 days, your grace.”

“So we have some time to organize a response, but it would be difficult to get an army into position ahead of them, even if we could spare the troops.”

“Yes, your grace. There is another army in the field as well. On the far side of the Tulani forces, the Empire of Seachen has mobilized its entire field army. It is apparently intended as a defense if the Tulani army is overwhelmed, but it could also serve to pincer the Tulani if the Seachen are actually allied with the Abomination.”

“Is there a reason to think they would be?” asked Kit. “What do we know about the Seachen?”

“Less than we would like, and we know nothing about their alliances. We know that they are a highly matriarchal empire. They also have a strange religion. None of their clerics are more powerful than the third circle, and I have heard that they worship dead gods and are trying to bring them back.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” said Mahler.

“No. And I wonder if the Abomination of Shur might be considered a ‘dead god,’” added Alistair.

“That is my fear as well, your grace. I have a contact who used to live in the Empire, and I plan to ask her for some more information, but I haven’t had the chance to yet.”

“Good. In the meantime, I think we have to assume that the Seachen are allied with the Abomination. Which means that the Spice Lands army would be completely overwhelmed. We need to get them some more troops.”

“I agree, your grace, but I don’t think we could move any of our troops into position in time. And we’re fairly extended already, between Sir Derrick’s war against the barbarians and posting Field Marshal Greening to defend the refugees against slavers.”

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Alistair nodded. “What about if we hired the Order of the Falcon?”

“I still don’t want to work with them!” said Kit. “Their commander ate someone’s arm.”

“I’m not sure we have a choice.”

“There has to be someone else.”

“It may not matter, your grace. It might be possible to move an army from Canberry at a rapid march to catch the Abomination’s army while it is still battling the Tulani, but the extra distance to Masque would be impossible.”

“What about our airships? Could we use them to get an army into position?”

“No, your grace. We could use them to engage the battlebarges to take away the enemy’s air advantage and to move in magical support. But the airships can only carry a small number of marines, perhaps a few companies total. We could not possibly move enough troops that way to make a meaningful difference.”

The group pondered the problem for a few minutes. Alistair finally spoke again. “I’m still looking at mercenaries as the best option. We have plenty of money, but we don’t have plenty of troops. And the Order of the Falcon is still the best mercenary option we’ve identified. What if we constructed a teleportation circle or gate between Masque and the southern reaches of Canberry? We could march the Order of the Falcon through in a matter of days. If they can maintain a fast march, they should be able to catch the Abomination’s army before it has broken through the defenses around Tulani.”

Dame Brionna nodded appraisingly. “It would be tight, but it should be possible.”

“There has to be a better option than the Order of the Falcon…”

Alistair looked at Kit. “Then find it. Even with the Order, I’m worried that we won’t be able to stop the Abomination. We can’t afford to give up a chance without a better choice.”

Mahler tapped his hand on the arm of his chair thoughtfully. “Moving the Order of the Falcon in will only help if the Archbishop of the Spice Lands can get his army to hold the Abomination long enough. They have a hundred days to become an effective fighting force, but they’re still green.”

Alistair nodded and looked at Dame Brionna. “What’s their leadership like? Do they have a general who’s capable of forging them together and getting them as ready as they can be without actual experience?”

“Their leadership is part of the problem, your grace. Each of the individual nobles commands a separate force, and none of them are willing to acknowledge the authority of any of their allies for fear that they would end up subordinated to one of the other city-states. Tulani can lead to some extent, because its army is by far the largest, but that makes the other city-states even less willing to acknowledge the field army’s general as overall commander. The only thing uniting them is their loyalty to the temple. And while the Archbishop is reasonably militant, he’s not a general.”

“They might be more receptive to an outside leader,” said Kit. “If the Archbishop backed a general that they knew could not use the opportunity to become a king...”

“Especially if that general arrived with substantial arcane support, since that’s their chief weakness,” added Alistair. “They have one powerful archmage, but no mage corps to speak of. We’ll need to send down one of our field marshals-- I don’t think there’s any other Glor’diadelian realm that could supply a skilled enough general. It will have to be Broadfields… Sir Derrick and Greening are both currently needed in the field. In any event, neither of them has the political skills the job will take.”

“I agree with the analysis, your grace, but we had planned on using Marshal Broadfields as Minister of Defense.”

“I know, but I don’t see any other option. I think we’ll have to leave that post vacant while Broadfields leads the armies defending the Spice Lands. He can take over those duties when he returns.” Assuming he survives, thought Alistair.

Dame Brionna nodded and made a note to schedule a meeting with the Field Marshal.

 

[Quartz]

So how come they can't move one of Canberry's armies through a teleportation circle?

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Actually, we could probably get an army from Canberry there without teleportation. The concern was I think primarily that we just didn't have the troops to spare. We have significant commitments currently fighting the barbarians and defending the refugee lands. We also need strong forces at home to deter the Duchy of Brightspan from splitting and to deal with a potential orcish attack (although part of the possible horde that might attack has gone south with the Abomination's army). The thought was that if we sent enough troops to carry the day, we would increase the risks to Canberry itself too much. Also, and I'm not sure if this entered into anyone's calculations besides Alistair's, this could be really bloody. Better to have that happen to mercenaries than to chew up our army, especially with the ongoing other threats and the new commitments if Hanal moves on Masque or Tang. But the main consideration was that we just didn't think we had the armies to spare.

------

“Does that conclude the military issues?”

“Not quite, your grace. The departures of the armies of Caldra and Caligshire have also created issues within the Archduchy. Because they are devoid of troops, there have been problems with banditry and some humanoid raids.”

“Is anyone trying to hold things together?” asked Kit.

“Derrick, the son and heir-apparent of the Sheriff of Cogswood is trying to coordinate things as well as possible with his father here for the coronation, but he’s only fourteen. He’s mostly riding about the countryside with his friends.”

Alistair frowned. “That won’t make up for a lack of any real military presence. And if he gets himself killed or captured… The faster things get settled down, the better. But we’ll have to give Furrows the first crack at it. They’re his vassals, not ours directly, and none of the Dukes will be happy if we start managing their internal affairs. Especially not while he’s already sorting out an unclear succession after the deaths of the Caligshire House.”

“The Duke doesn’t seem well suited to handle a problem like that at this point, but Lady Susan should be ready to act decisively. With your grace’s permission, I’ll send a message over to her at his compound.”

Alistair nodded.

Mahler looked at Dame Brionna quizzically. “You said Brightspan’s army is traveling with two years worth of supplies and still foraging in the countryside? Doesn’t that seem a tad excessive for what looks to be a short campaign?”

“Indeed. We only really know that they have a huge number of heavily-laden wagons. Our agents assume that those are carrying supplies, but have not been able to confirm it.”

“Spell components?” suggested Kit. “They’re planning on performing a major ritual; maybe they needed to bring special supplies?”

“Maybe,” said Dame Brionna doubtfully. “My worry is that the wagons might be filled with undead. It would be an effective way to move them during the days, and they could seriously bolster the army’s power.”

Alistair shook his head. “I was thinking they might be collapsed siege engines, but after hearing your theories, I think that’s a best case. Still, they can’t keep them covered at all times, and in an army that big, there have to be many people who know what those wagons are carrying. Make sure we find out.”

“Yes, m’lord,” said Kit. “We’ll find out. While we’re talking about the strategic situation, I’d like to contact the Duke of Snatterkaz. I want to make sure that he’s still active, and I can give him our lead that Anastasia may be at the Muldar stronghold in preparation for the ritual.”

Alistair nodded. “Makes sense. Even if she’s not, if he attacks the stronghold and disrupts their ability to perform the third part of the ritual, it will help us. And it will be a huge relief if he can rescue her-- Hanal is too unstable without her.”

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

After the meeting, Kit headed to the Archducal Treasury.

The Master of the Vault looked her over. “May I help you?” he asked in an officious, off-putting voice.

“Yes. I need to requisition a device capable of Sending.”

“On whose authority and for what purpose?”

Kit glared at him. “I am Dame Katherine of Lyneham, and I need it for the business of the Archduke.”

The Master looked at her, thought about what he had heard of Dame Katherine, and decided that he should cooperate. “You’ll need to fill out these requests.” He slid a ledger over.

Kit swallowed. She thought she mostly understood what the documents said, but the only thing she was confident about was her own signature. Still, after a few minutes, the clerk handed her one of the documents.

“This is your copy.” He headed back into a vault and emerged a few minutes later with a small chest that he opened at his desk. “This bracelet will allow you to create the Sending effect. Will you be able to return it today?”

“Yes, I should.”

“Good. See that you do.” He made another note in the ledger as Kit walked away.

She put the bracelet on and concentrated on the Duke of Snatterkaz while holding the linkstone in her other hand. <<Are you alright? May have location of Princess. Use linkstone if safe. Send back if not.>>

After a moment, the linkstone grew warm, and she felt the familiar mental signature of the Duke of Snatterkaz. <<So pleased to hear from you. We’ve been pursuing them, deep over the border. We were nearly captured three or four times, but not quite, and it’s worth the risk. Are there factions among these damn things? A group of the huge damn things were about to fall on us, and all of a sudden another group of the small fellows opened fire on them with lightning.>>

<<Small pale ones?>> Kit sent back.

<<Yes, regular-sized, not the huge ones, but with greyish-white fur.>>

<<Those are about the only ones you can trust. They are working against the others.>>

<<Yes, I suspected as much,>> replied Snatterkaz. <<The search is going less well than we would have hoped. They have huge slave fields down here. We captured some of the group that took her, but torture means nothing to them. We didn’t get anything out of them before they died.>>

Kit grimaced at Snatterkaz’s casual reference to torturing the skaven to death. He was desperate, and they were skaven, but still… <<We have an idea of where she may be. We’ve located the site where an evil ritual will take place, and it’s logical that the skaven would have a large base there. It is the third point in a ritual to raise the Abomination of Shur.>> She discussed the precise location with Snatterkaz.

<<That’s northeast of where we are. I can move my men in that direction.>>

<<We can’t guarantee that’s where she is. But it’s our best lead.>>

<<It’s better than anything we have to go on. Thank you. I will not abandon her, but my knights are thinning out. I’ve lost about a third of my force. I will try to keep you informed of our progress more frequently in the future.>>

As Snatterkaz broke the connection, Kit “heard” the barest hint of an echo to his thoughts. Eavesdropping, she thought. I hope using the linkstone hasn’t given him away… Unable to do anything more to help, she returned the sending bracelet to the Vault and prepared for one of her less pleasant duties as Mouth: dinner.

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

The Archducal household dressed in some of its finest clothing. Alistair avoided particularly formal clothes but made sure that he looked his absolute, most dashing best. Dame Brionna turned herself out in a formal uniform over brightly polished armor, while Mahler wore an elegant but unadorned black outfit.

Kit was worrying over her clothes, clearly not enjoying the process at all, when Dame Brionna asked, “Are you sure you want to attend the dinner?”

“I’ve already been over this with Alistair. Of course I don’t want to, but I have to. I need to be able to read her thoughts and feed them back to Alistair in case there is a threat.”

“Yes, but that’s not what I meant. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather watch from the passageways within the walls. That’s where most of the guards will be stationed; you could simply join them.”

Kit’s face lit up at the prospect. She quickly changed back into her functional leathers and took up a position in the hidden passageways.

Aunt Cecilia arrived shortly before the scheduled start of the dinner, dressed in a rather overwrought pink confection. She smiled absently at Alistair and his friends, leaving them to only hope that she was having a good day and would not be too embarrassing. Still, they needed her assessment of the guest of honor too much to keep her away.

When all the preparations had been completed, a chamberlain entered and announced formally, “Her Highness, the Princess Kaitlyn Rehbah of Stormreach.”

A tall, strongly boned and tomboyish woman strode purposefully into the room and curtsied deeply. She had long blond hair tied back, deep blue eyes, and her smile displayed fine teeth. Alistair noted with disappointment that “strong” and “handsome” were words that fitted her better than “beautiful” or “alluring” ever would, but she was not unattractive. Princess Kaitlyn curtsied deeply. “Thank you, your grace, for honoring me with this dinner.” She had brought no retinue with her, and adopted the manners of a lesser noble greeting a greater noble. Despite her formal rank, she followed the reality that she was a supplicant at the court of a much more powerful potential ally.

Alistair glanced at Aunt Cecilia, who was smiling placidly, and at Dame Brionna, who lowered her holy symbol without comment, and then swept forward. “It is our pleasure and honor, your highness.” He executed a courtly, carefully measured bow, and then kissed her hand in greeting.

 

[Quartz]

Alistair glanced at Aunt Cecilia, who was smiling placidly, and at Dame Brionna, who lowered her holy symbol without comment, and then swept forward. “It is our pleasure and honor, your highness.” He executed a courtly, carefully measured bow, and then kissed her hand in greeting.

Such a discourtesy to the ladies. Tut tut. "May I introduce my aunt, Lady Cecilia... and my bodyguard, Dame Brionna..."