POLL

The Order of Things

Chapter 6

The wetlands east of Haubach, four days before the Battle of Nordstepped Lands

 

“Who was this damn woman?!”

The heavy table was slammed, the wooden figurines bouncing slightly around the spread maps. Silence followed Fredrik’s outburst – a more common occurrence lately than in the past but few could blame him. The reign of the King of Brandengrad had been a path few would envy, even if many declared they admired – perhaps less so lately than in the past, at least openly.

“We tried to bring her in but, perhaps unsurprisingly, she was not where she had said she would be,” Brand said after Fredrik had collected himself.

“You think she was lying then?”

Brand grimaced, expecting the question and how the answer would be received.

“I think it doesn’t matter what I think,” he said and, seeing Fredrik’s eyes narrowing, he went on, calm as a crocodile on a summer noon. “While the source of the information is important, as is its validity, the timing is even more so. Whether the information is accurate or not, it is a possibility we cannot ignore. If the list is accurate, if the insurgency is as organized and as widespread as it implies, then the best time for them to strike would be when you are occupied with the Nords. We spent our autumn and winter planning for the attack and those who would refuse your claims know this. We have given them the perfect opportunity to strike and the exact time to do so. Even if half or a third of that list is accurate, they would still be a threat when all our forces are engaged and our Kingdoms are left with skeletal forces to defend them.”

“What if it’s a ruse, though?” Otto’s raspy voice boomed in the tent. “To address all the names in that list in four days would mean mobilizing most of our forces towards that goal; forces that’d best serve against retaking our lands from the Nords. If this report is a ruse, Fredrik looks weak for not facing the Nords, and also half-mad, chasing ghost stories and unverified threats.”

“I have to agree with Otto, Brand,” Fredrik said. “I don’t mind being mocked for my choices but at least I usually stand by them. I know who I’ve killed and this woman claims there’s a man in Siilstok who is very, very dead,” he said, with some humor in his voice.

“I believe you,” he said. “But again, truth has little to do with this. If your doubters believe it to be true and rally around a dead man’s name, they are rallied all the same.”

“Idiots,” scoffed Otto. “Idiots everywhere.”

“And that is the issue. The list claims they are everywhere or near as to make no difference. I do not think we can ignore it.”

“What do you suggest then?” Otto said, not without some bitterness. “That we allow Schur and their lot to do our job for us? What does that say for us, what does it say for Fredrik and his ability to lead Riismark and the Eleven?“ he said, motioning with his head dismissively towards one corner of the tent. The Sealed Temple Priory Commander, clean shaved and short hair, helm held under his armpit, said nothing, showed nothing, as did his retinue.

“You know King Otto, Commander Möller” Fredrik smiled towards the Order member, who simply nodded and Fredrik went on. “As we are at risk of King Otto displaying his usual elegance in diplomacy, perhaps you would prefer we reconvened later?” Again, the Commander nodded and, after a moment’s hesitation from a squire, he was followed outside.

“Seriously, Otto,” Fredrik said but Otto simply exclaimed in disgust.

“Send them or the Chamberlain’s hound to deal with the treacherous rabble and we do what we must: retake Riismark,” Otto said but Fredrik and Brand both motioned negatively.

“No,” Fredrik said first. “I need Schur in Angengrad to offer a victory to the Chamberlain – and, if I am lucky, to make him present it as a victory of the Conclave as a whole. As for the Orders, the Sealed Temple is only here to help with the reconstruction and Everard only cares about the Nords. Besides, using the Orders to hunt down rebel nobles will poke a whole new nest of vipers in the Conclave.”

“No,” he went on. “We must address this or risk leaving all three Kingdoms exposed. We need to see our options.”

*             *             *

“Couldn’t we have stayed?!” Jelena’s whisper came almost annoyed but the sharp look from the Priory Commander reined her in. “…Commander,” she added, in a different tone.

“The man in Siilstok,” Möller said, ignoring her. “Is he like the others?”

“My master thinks so, Commander,” Jelena said after a moment’s hesitation, her hand mechanically reaching for a tuft of hair to pull behind her ear. She found none, her hair dyed once more and this time cut short and she tried not to sigh wistfully. “How many others, if I may ask, Commander?” she urged politely.

Commander Möller turned to look at her, his eyes piercing as if a mere look was enough to interrogate. “Tell Everard that I know of two confirmed,” he said in the end. “A Knight in Vaansburg. He leads a hunter’s club for young nobles – a front for their cult, obviously, or an avenue of recruitment. Also, a baroness in Sieva, who apparently made a miraculous recovery from bloodrot. She leads the Gate’s guard so the fortress is probably being used as a hideout; the rumors of it being haunted only help.”

“The Whisperer?” she asked in a weak voice. “She is real..?” He ignored her.

“There are rumors about others,” he said instead. “Tell him those are still being investigated.”

“Is this why your men grabbed me in Brandengrad, Commander?” she asked and immediately regretted asking. The Commander stopped, turning to face her, as she remembered to stop and stand attention only after a few seconds.

“No,” he said flatly. “This is the reason I agreed to Everard’s plan. Tell him that. They grabbed you in case I was forced to offer you to the King to appease him. Be grateful, recruit. Your antics could have cost all of us.”

She gulped, feeling small and vulnerable under his look. Mustering her courage – and drawing from the endless supply of her audacity – she pressed her luck further. “But… if you support him then why did we leave? We should have stayed, find out what they will do and…”

“Two of them will address the issues you brought to their attention, though I doubt they will pay the report about Siilstok any heed. In good time, I will confirm the report and urge Fredrik to move. He will welcome this, after Angengrad.”

“Who will..?” she started once more but his look gave her pause.

“Know this,” he said. “And more importantly, let Everard know this. Not all of us are of the same mind. Many would prefer we keep working from the shadows, let the Kings play politics while we do the work. But I don’t agree. What is to come is not for Kings to face. We need to take the reins once more. And if his little… coup fails, we risk everything.”

“But who will…?”

“Tell him not to fail or I will be forced to hunt him myself. Dismissed, recruit.”

 

Who will go to Angengrad while the other two secure Fredrik’s territories from the insurgents?