“The harvest is nearly complete, Your Majesty,” Edwyn said. “The problem is, we’re losing a third of our grain to bandits. At this rate, we won’t have enough in the city granaries to last the winter. Something must be done.”
“Are they only attacking the food shipments?” Wolfric asked.
Otto had warned him that Straken agitators were controlling the bandits and while the spies in the capital had been dealt with, those in the country were still roaming free. He’d have to speak to his friend and chief advisor when they met tonight.
“No, Majesty,” Edwyn said. “They attack anything they encounter. Even a large force of guards isn’t always enough to discourage them. It’s strange. Bandits are usually looking for an easy target, not to fight skilled warriors.”
“I see. Halt shipments for the time being.” A thunderous protest rose from the gathered merchants. Wolfric patted the air with his hands. “Only for the time being. Once I get this bandit situation under control things will return to normal. A few days, a week at most. After all, it’s better than losing your merchandise, isn’t it?”
There was a bit more grumbling, but most nodded.
“We look forward to hearing from you again when it’s safe to resume shipments, Majesty.” Edwyn bowed with surprising grace for a man his size and the merchants filed out.
When the last of them had gone and the doors thumped shut Wolfric turned to the court secretary, a dour man in his sixties dressed in solid gray robes that matched the few wisps of hair swirling around his head. “Please tell me that was the last of them, Jennings.”
“Captain Kelten requested a few minutes of your time, Majesty. I didn’t get the impression that it was urgent, so if you wish me to put him off…”
Wolfric scrubbed his hand across his face. Kelten was Father’s most loyal guard. If there was anyone he needed to keep tightly to heel, it was Captain Kelten. Best to see what he wanted. “No, I’ll see him. He’s not a man to waste my time with a minor matter. Show him in, but after that I’m done for the day.”
Jennings bowed and shuffled toward the throne room doors. The old man poked his head out and a moment later the door opened and Captain Kelten strode in. He was dressed in mail and draped with a black and gold tabard featuring the royal griffin. An arming sword hung at his side and his blue eyes looked intensely at Wolfric. For a minor matter he seemed especially serious.
Kelten bowed and said, “Majesty, thank you for seeing me.”
“Not at all. You’ve always been a great asset to the Crown. I hope I can count on you serving me as well as you did my father.”
“That’s what brings me here today, Majesty. The more I think about it, the more I can’t help wondering why Straken would be so sloppy in their assassination of your father. The papers we found on the dead man’s body were far too obvious. All I can think is that we’re missing something. With your permission, I would like to look into the matter more closely. If there is a conspiracy against the Crown in Garen, we must find it before the enemy tries to do to you what they did to your father.”
That was decidedly unlikely given that Wolfric had had a hand in his father’s murder. He couldn’t exactly point that out to Kelten. The man was the honorable sort who would strike Wolfric down then kill himself to atone. If that happened, Garenland would fall into chaos. It simply couldn’t be allowed. He’d speak to Otto about it later. For the moment they had time.
“If you feel there’s still a danger, Captain, then by all means investigate. However, given the war and threats from Straken, you’ll have to do it on your own and in whatever free time you have. I can’t spare you from your regular duties, not now.”
“I understand completely.” Kelten bowed. “However long it takes, I will find the truth.”
When Kelten had gone, Wolfric rubbed the bridge of his nose. If being king was this hard, how would he manage as emperor of an entire continent?
Captain Kelten finished another long shift and slogged back to his room in the palace barracks. His command had their own building and as captain he had a small room of his own. Nothing fancy, just an eight-by-eight bedchamber with a nightstand and footlocker. He led the unit responsible for protecting the palace while his counterpart, Commander Borden, oversaw the king’s personal protection. They worked well together, but Kelten always got a slightly off feeling from Borden. The man was scrupulous in his work and there were no outward signs of corruption, but something still stuck in Kelten’s craw.
He shook it off and turned down the path to the barracks. The day shift was finishing up and the night shift going on duty. The cook should have dinner just about ready and he was starving. The day after tomorrow was his first free day and he hoped to get going early. He intended to begin his search for the truth about the king’s assassination. What exactly he was going to do was another matter. He knew next to nothing about Lothair and beyond asking around didn’t know where to start his search. Kelten’s skill set didn’t really translate to investigation.
He stopped in his tracks and slapped his forehead. His skill set didn’t, but there were plenty of watchmen in the city. If Lothair had ever been in trouble with the law, one of them would know about it. He had a place to start anyway.
Chapter 3
Otto sat with Wolfric at a small table in the king’s private dining room. Not the little hole in the wall where they used to meet, but a much more opulent room furnished with the finest hardwood chairs, pure silver utensils, and porcelain plates featuring the royal griffin peeking out from under the gravy. Otto found he missed the simpler room and, judging from his friend’s pensive stare, so did Wolfric.
It seemed he found the crown heavy. Not a great surprise since he’d gone from one of many important court functionaries to the man around whom everything rotated. Naturally he’d need some time to get used to his new situation.
Otto polished off his chicken, sighed, and pushed his plate away. “The food is still delicious, even if the dining room has changed. Want to tell me what’s got you so down?”
“Bandits to start with. The bastards are interfering with the harvest. The merchants tell me we’re at risk of running short this winter unless something’s done. I don’t suppose you could…”
“You’re in luck. My former master has just arrived in the capital and agreed to help me with the wizards’ training. I can leave the basics to him while I sort out the bandit issue. I’ll need to borrow Hans and his men.”
Wolfric waved a hand, his face slack with relief. “Take him and as many as you need. In fact, I’m going to assign Hans and his men to you permanently, then you won’t have to keep borrowing him every time something comes up. There’s another matter.”
Otto didn’t like the sound of that. “What sort of matter?”
“Captain Kelten doesn’t believe the investigation into my father’s assassination is really closed. He’s requested to look into it more closely and I agreed.” Wolfric raised a hand before Otto could speak. “I know I should have ordered him to drop it, but if I had, he still would have investigated and he probably would have begun to suspect me.”
“You did exactly the right thing,” Otto said. “The question now is, how do you want him dealt with? I can make him disappear or we can let him run around to his heart’s content looking for a conspiracy that doesn’t exist. That’s much riskier since I have no idea who might have seen what as we were working. There’s no telling what he might learn.”
Wolfric took a sip of wine. He’d been cutting back since ascending the throne which was a relief to Otto. “We can’t kill him. The royal guards are incredibly loyal to the man and he’s still loyal to my father’s memory. I’ve been quietly moving my own people into place, but it will take time to make the change. It would be far better for everyone if he was convinced that Straken was responsible and no one else.”
“I have agents that can nudge him in the right direction. If worst comes to worst we can always kill him and purge all those loyal to him. I un
derstand it’s not ideal, but one night of blood might save a lot of trouble down the road.”
“Hopefully it won’t come to that. Now, how goes things with your wizards?”
“Good. We’ve interviewed every wizard in the city that wanted to volunteer and signed up forty. More will come in from the provinces as word gets out. We should have a hundred or near enough.” Otto didn’t mention the extortion threat. Wolfric had enough to worry about. “Training begins tomorrow. I hope to have them on their way north in three weeks.”
“I wish I could be there on the front lines when Straken sees our wizards for the first time.”
“It will be glorious.”
Otto raised his glass and Wolfric clinked his against it.
King Uther of Straken paced in front of the blazing hearth in the great hall of Castle Straken. Despite the heat of the fire, he wore a heavy fur cloak with a coat of mail under it. His people saw him as a warrior king and he did his best to reinforce that image. Every few strides he muttered curses against whoever had killed the king of Garenland.
Uther hated the man, hated him as much as he hated every other citizen of Garenland, but he didn’t want the king dead. Not yet at least. The weakling was the perfect foe. Too devoted to peace to fight a war, he would have let Uther march right up to Garen and kick in the palace gates.
Now he had to deal with the royal brat. What Wolfric lacked in experience, he made up for in aggression. Uther’s scouts reported the enemy’s Northern Army had already marched. His generals were searching for a place to engage, but it would be a fraught battle. The soldiers of Garenland were angry and eager for blood. They were also fighting for their homeland. That gave men courage.
His carefully laid plans were a mess and all because some idiot killed the king. When he found out who it was, he’d wring their neck.
A small side door opened and the Lady in Red entered. As always she was a vision draped in crimson silk. Some whispered she’d reached her current position by sleeping with his former spymaster then killing him and taking his place. Uther didn’t know the truth any more than he knew her real name and he didn’t care. She was far more effective in her job than her predecessor.
“What news?” Uther asked.
“The bandits continue to harass Garenland’s merchants.” Her velvety voice was almost a purr. “I have yet to insert a new agent into the capital. With the portal closed, all visitors are checked closely. In time one will make it through.”
“Hopefully whoever it is will have better luck than the last fool you sent.”
“To be fair, Xavier did excellent work for years. It was just bad luck that he got caught right before the war.”
“I don’t believe in luck and neither do you. Do we know how he was found out yet?”
She shook her head, sending her long red hair dancing. “All we have from the capital are rumors.”
“That needs to change.”
“It’s my highest priority. What news from the border?”
Her expression soured with that last question. The generals refused to allow a woman to join their strategy sessions, even his spymaster. It wasn’t worth the trouble to argue with them. Uther would have happily replaced the hidebound fools, but he lacked anyone of equal skill to take their places.
He gave her the gist of the meeting. “They can’t decide if they want to fight it out or retreat to the forts we captured.”
“If they can force a siege, it would buy us time, then winter would buy even more. By spring we’ll be so entrenched, it will cost them half their army to retake their territory and they’ll be too weak to threaten Straken.”
“True, but I’m loath to give back what we’ve already claimed. One battle must be fought to test their strength and determination. After that, we’ll see.”
She bowed, giving him a good look at the tops of her breasts. “As you say, my king.”
Chapter 4
Otto was up, fed, and out of the mansion before Annamaria or Edwyn had begun to stir. In fact, as far as he could tell, only the cook and her helpers were awake as they began the daily bread. Despite the troubles, the Franken coffers still had plenty of gold to maintain their lifestyle. And given Otto’s position in the government, he’d be sure to see things stayed that way. Not that he cared all that much about gold but having resources at his disposal was convenient.
Beyond the gate, he found Gold Ward quiet, but the business district already hummed with activity. The incessant clanging of hammers filled the air along with smoke and soot. He ignored it all and made straight for the eastern gate. His blackmailer said morning and Otto intended to be there as early as possible. Hopefully he could get this taken care of quickly and get back to more important matters, like killing bandits and training wizards.
A few hundred yards from the outer wall, the air cleared and he took a deep breath. It had been too long since he went for a walk in the woods. Even if he was going to meet blackmailers, he’d enjoy the trip. Busy as he was, he didn’t know when the opportunity would present itself again.
The fields surrounding Garen gave way to new-growth forest. A path had been cut and smoothed leading to the park. The box filled with double eagles was heavy in Otto’s shoulder bag. It weighed about twenty pounds more than his mithril sword. He’d left the weapon at home. He didn’t need it to deal with whoever was waiting for him and he didn’t want to risk the greedy fool demanding he hand it over.
Ten minutes of hiking brought him to a clearing in the middle of the forest. There were tables with attached benches where people, mostly those with money enough to take time off but no land of their own to enjoy it, could have a meal outside. At one of the tables sat a single figure in a worn gray tunic and matching trousers. A week of stubble covered his cheeks. Hard, dark eyes glared out from under heavy brows.
Otto shifted his vision to the ether, but if this man was a wizard, he wasn’t using his magic at the moment. With a shrug, Otto walked over to the table. “I assume you’re the blackmailer?”
“That’s an ugly thing to say to someone you just met.”
Otto raised an eyebrow.
“Also correct. Put the coins on the table and sit down so we can discuss our new arrangement.”
Otto moved closer and pulled the box out of his satchel.
“You should know that I saw that one weak thread you used to deflect the assassin’s dagger. I can wield seven. Just remember that if you get any ideas about binding me and cutting my throat. Also…” The man snapped his fingers.
A pair of strangers in leather armor stepped out of the nearby forest and leveled loaded crossbows at Otto. They wore full face helmets and from a distance Otto couldn’t tell if they were men or women. Not that it mattered. A woman could shoot a crossbow just as well as a man.
As Otto set the box on the table, the wizard across from him formed an etheric shield around his entire body. It looked like he was using all seven threads’ worth to protect himself. That wasn’t a technique Master Enoch ever taught Otto, though he had learned it later from Lord Karonin’s spell book. It would be interesting to know where this guy learned it and who his master was. Not interesting enough for Otto to go out of his way to spare the blackmailer’s life however.
“Open it,” the wizard said.
Otto obliged. The ten double eagles gleamed in the morning light. The wizard’s eyes grew wide as he stared.
That was all the opening Otto needed.
A twenty-thread tentacle of ether slammed through the blackmailer’s shield. The moment it touched his chest, five threads’ worth of lightning crashed into his heart.
Quick as thought, Otto reformed the ether into a shield.
Two crossbow bolts skipped off it and flew away.
Before they could reload, he conjured a whip and slashed their crossbows in half.
A flick of his ring bound the crossbowmen in their tracks.
And that was it for the blackmailers. Otto gathered up his coin box and slipped it back into hi
s satchel. The blackmailer groaned and shifted.
He survived that much lightning? Impressive.
Otto dropped a hand on the top of the wizard’s head and conjured ten threads’ worth of lightning directly into his brain. The man’s eyes exploded and smoke shot out his ears. No doubt about him being dead now.
An infusion of ether strengthened Otto’s body and he dragged the dead man over to his cohorts who were still bound and rigid. He dropped the body at their feet and pulled the right-hand thug’s helmet off.
He found himself staring into the eyes of a terrified young man in his middle teens. A dusting of freckles across his cheeks made him look even younger.
Otto released the binding around his head and asked, “Who are you and whom do you work for?”
The young man looked down at the body. “My name is Eric, she’s Erin. Master Anders, he hired us to provide muscle. He said this would be an easy job and promised us each a double eagle just for showing up and pointing our crossbows at you. Please, I didn’t know he was trying to blackmail the king’s high councilor.”
“Would it have mattered if you did?” Otto asked.
“Probably not,” Eric admitted. “We were desperate for coin. Please spare us, my lord. Master Anders told us nothing beyond where and when to show up.”
“Is Anders his family name or his given name?” Otto walked over and removed the second thug’s helmet. Underneath he found a woman perhaps two years her partner’s senior. She had freckles of her own and hard, angry eyes. “Your sister?”
“Yes, my lord. I don’t know which name Anders is, I’ve never heard him called anything else.”
Otto nodded and walked back in front of the young man. “Where did he hire you?”
“The Rusty Arms, a lot of mercenaries hang out there. People come to hire guards or muscle or whatever they need. I thought we’d finally gotten our lucky break.” Eric shook his head and sighed. “What a joke. If you let us go, I promise you’ll never see either of us again. Please, my lord. I beg you to spare us.”
The Great Northern War (The Portal Wars Saga Book 2) Page 2