The king raised his hands to get everyone's attention and gestured to Meric. "Go ahead."
Meric shifted around in his chair to get more comfortable and then began his tale. He talked for over an hour without interruption, and while he did not have a bard's skill at turning a phrase he kept it interesting enough that she was far from bored. She also found his voice quite pleasant to listen to.
The end of Meric's tale was met with silence, and several faces registering different emotions ranging from disbelief to amazement.
"Well, I knew something strange must have happened in those caves, but I would never have guessed that," Malina said. Her face showed that she believed the story, even as crazy it sounded. Or, it could just be her faith in her friends.
Alyssa found herself struggling internally. She had grown fond of Meric, more than just fond if she was being truthful, and believed he was an honest person that was not prone to making up ridiculous stories, but Dwarves were a bit hard to swallow. They were considered a child's fantasy even more than magic and no one had ever seen one. Even the oldest texts they had only talked about them in speculation when referencing some of the most ancient ruins. This very castle's curtain wall had been theorized to be the work of Dwarves or even Elves (another mythical race) in some of the older history books, since there was no known human craftsman that could match the skill evident. If not for that incredible axe she had just been examining, she would have a hard time even giving the pronouncement credence. No matter how much she liked either man. The evidence was hard to deny, though. It could be an ancient man-made weapon using a technique that had been lost with time, but what possible reason would these two men have for making up such a story. There were way too many more believable scenarios they could have chosen from. No, she would put her trust in her new friends. They had not let her down yet.
Roderick moved to the head of the table as Briannah voiced a denial and Alyssa's father asked Meric if he was absolutely certain they were Dwarves, and called for everyone's attention.
"Alyssa, William, does the weapon lend any weight to the validity of their claim?"
"Yes, I think it does. Obviously we have no way of knowing for certain, but I would have to say that it is very compelling." She cut her eyes at the two men and back to the king. "I am convinced as I can be without actually having one of them in front of me."
"William," Roderick addressed the older man again. The older man who was completely absorbed in his study of the weapon, and was ignoring all else. It took Briannah elbowing him to get him to acknowledge his surroundings.
"Yes," he said and blinked a few times at all of the eyes on him. "What?"
Roderick smiled somewhat indulgently at his friend and asked him for his thoughts on the subject.
"Oh... well, there is no way to actually ensure the veracity of their claim without meeting a Dwarf, or finding some form of documentation that either agrees or refutes that this is in fact created by Dwarven hands." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully while still looking at the axe. "I am inclined to believe their story. Unless proven otherwise, this is simply too remarkable to deny." His shrug signaled the end to his participation in the discussion for now, because he immediately went back to his study of the weapon. He even set it down so he could pull out a worn looking journal and with barely a look, reached across the table to slide a quill and ink pot over to himself and began making notes as he mumbled quietly.
Roderick actually rolled his eyes and share an amused look with Alyssa. She looked back at her mentor and teacher only to be presented with the top of a balding head of short gray hair as he scribbled away, his face mere inches from the page he wrote on. He would be useless for anything else until someone took that axe away from him. It would have to be done prior to the end of their meeting; otherwise William would take it to his rooms and might even try to take it apart in order to see how it was created. She did not think Brody would be okay with that.
The King declared that they would proceed under the assumption that Dwarves were indeed real, and that they were correct about the motivation behind the Orc's incursion until some information was discovered to prove otherwise. He then asked for a retelling of the events starting with the original ambush. Over the next two hours they rehashed the past two weeks plus, taking time to discuss each significant moment along the way. Everyone was included and all opinions and thoughts were noted. The most troubling topic being the untimely demise of Terrence Fenton and what his involvement could signify. Meric spent the most time talking about the man and once again had to live through the painful memories associated with Princess Arianna's death. She could tell that he was trying not to let his bias cloud the issue, but she believed as he and Brody did; for this particular man to be in the middle of all of the trouble was much more than just coincidence, and that meant that Xavier was most likely involved in some way. The fact that they had no proof, the proof having exploded, might mean that they could never officially accuse the man, but that did not keep them from watching him for future treachery. He had not ever really been trusted before, now they had reason enough to know he never could be. They would just have to be vigilant, especially since they had a known enemy to face and could not afford to have another at their backs.
At this point Roderick decided that they had enough food for thought in one evening, and called an end to the meeting. He told them all to get a good night's sleep and spend the morning relaxing while he, Briannah, and Barclay took the time to discuss some general steps that needed to be taken. They would reconvene tomorrow after the mid-day meal to begin making more detailed and goal oriented plans. As the group broke up she went to help Brody wrest his axe away from William and then led the guests back to their rooms. She once again stopped at Meric's door and bid the rest of them good night. Once he entered she moved to just inside the threshold and watched as he moved toward one of the two plush chairs in front of the fireplace. Instead of sitting he stood looking at her with a smile and then waved to the other seat.
"Care to sit for a while?"
"As tempting as that is, I should probably go check on Melanie and then get some sleep," she replied with regret.
At her words he walked back up to where she was leaning against the door jamb. He came to a halt only inches away from her and gently took her right hand. "I had thought to check on her as well, but given the late hour I decided she was probably already asleep."
With the two inch heels on her boots, she could almost look him in the eye and unabashedly took a moment to do so before answering.
"I am sure she is, but being practically family to Teresa and Sara I can get by with visiting the Royal quarters this late. I just want to stick my head in and make sure she is sleeping okay."
Alyssa shifted infinitesimally closer to him and linked her fingers with his, and at the same time she placed her free hand on his chest. She was unsure if was to keep him back or to make sure she could keep him from moving away. His smile widening ever so slightly led her to believe that he would not move away unless she did the moving. She did not want to do that, but she also was not sure how she should proceed. That men were attracted to her was something she had known and come to terms with years ago. As a teenager she had allowed some of the boys and young men to steal kisses in darkened corners, but had not let it go any farther. There was the one time after she had turned twenty that she had let a visiting noble think he had seduced her into his bed. It was more out of curiosity and loneliness than any actual feelings for him and he had been charming, but also had no interest in any form of lasting relationship. Which suited her just fine back then, as it had with the one other man she had satisfied that urge with since (also an outsider). It was not that she did not want more than that, but her secrets kept any kind of deeper connection an impossibility. The problem was that she did want that more meaningful connection, but since she had always believed that the hidden side of her life would interfere she had actively avoided anything serious. Now that she had found so
meone she could share everything with, she did not even know exactly how to go about having a normal relationship. It was somewhat frustrating, because she did not know-
These tempestuous thoughts were thoroughly scattered by a firm grip on her left hip drawing her up against him and his lips brushing softly across hers. "You are thinking too much," he whispered, still close enough for his breath to caress her cheek.
She was sure that her plan was to nod in agreement, but her head just tilted back as she pressed forward to capture his mouth. No thinking, no worrying, and no doubts. It took all of her willpower to keep her head and pull away after just a few minutes, but she did. She could not help the smile that blossomed at the dazed look on his face. She leaned back in for one more quick kiss and then reluctantly pulled away.
"I will see you in the morning," she told him. He just nodded slightly as he watched her walk out the door. Once in the hallway and on her way to check on Melanie, she put all of the effort she could spare into regaining her composure. Maybe he was right about her thinking too much. She should stop trying to unnecessarily complicate things and just enjoy their time together and wait to see what the future holds.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
Preparations
Tobias Thrask once again made an attempt to reign in his impatience, but it was becoming more of a struggle lately. He tried not to sneer at the nobles as he strode past them in the corridor leading to the Chancellor's office. The administrative area of the keep was busy on most days, but today it was even more so than usual. Pages scurried in and out of offices and down the halls to who knew where. Whining nobles complained to aides that they had important problems that must be addressed by the aide's superior immediately, most likely something along the lines of their pillows not being fluffy enough. His abhorrence of nobility was often a source of frustration, and for the thousandth time he asked himself why he stayed in the employ of the King.
He could make more gold as a mercenary, and could delegate any meetings with nobility to a second in command. He would be able to take the jobs he chose, for the most part, and not have to bow and scrape to the foppish cowards that were thrust upon him every day.
He would also have to be out in the field constantly, swinging a sword and fighting in the mud and heat, or freezing cold. The thought occurred to him that he was getting too soft, because that was not at all appealing. He had to force himself to control his breathing when he had to stop for the third time to keep a rattled servant from running into him. The poor sod that almost hit him started blubbering apologies, but Tobias ignored him and moved on.
It had only been like this since Xavier took the crown. The flurry of activity may have been the same as always, but the fear and feeling of impending doom that pervaded the castle was new to the current monarch. Not doom in the general sense of the word, rather it was personal doom they were worried about. Not knowing if, at any minute, the King would swoop down on you and ruin your life, was more stress than most people could handle. The man was doing more and more of that kind of thing lately.
He had heard some grumbling about servants going missing, or being arrested without any good reasons given. He was of the opinion that the king himself was cracking under the stress. That, or he was already cracked and some new issue was forcing it out into the open. He had long suspected that the man was a bit crazy, but knew there was nothing that could be done about it. At least, not without making things even more chaotic than they were. The commoners were too scared, and had no power to act. The nobles too conniving, and would never agree on who would wear the crown next.
Dismissing these concerns as pointless, Tobias continued down the hall and on to his meeting. Why the king wanted to meet him in the Chancellor's office, he did not know, but was sure the man had some plot schemed up that was going to add to Tobias' already full plate. He could feel a headache start to come on, and decided to pay the healer a visit later. She was quite adept at making him forget his troubles. Of course, if her husband ever found out how she did that, he might have to end up killing the man.
He stood at the door to take a few calming breaths, knocked twice sharply, and then entered. Xavier was standing on the far side of the room and only glanced at Tobias briefly before looking back at the parchment in his hands. The Chancellor was a fat, worthless, quivering pile of waste as far as Tobias was concerned. The man's soft hands and obsequious nature made him want to throw up every time he was forced to spend even a moment in his presence. Xavier knew this, and likely got some sick enjoyment out of making him work with the lard ass.
Deep breaths. He took two more just to be sure, and purposefully kept his hands away from his dagger; lest the temptation became too much.
"You summoned me, Your Majesty," Tobias said.
He received an imperious flick of the hand; he assumed it meant he should wait. With nothing better to do, he turned his head slowly to level a smile that he knew the Chancellor found unnerving. Erland Penner was terrified of Tobias, and that was the man's only saving grace. He watched with amusement as the man squirmed under his staring.
He moved over to look out the window into the courtyard, giving the man some relief. It was amusing to mess with the fool, but not challenging enough to keep it from becoming boring. People in the courtyard were going about their business as usual, but like those indoors, there was a furtiveness to their bearing. At some point most of them cast glances up at the windows around the yard, probably with the certainty that they were being watched. He could understand their paranoia, since he had found the king doing just that on numerous occasions.
As Tobias stood at the window with his hands clasped at the small of his back, he began to wonder if all of the things he had heard and seen lately were in fact signs of an impending doom. Maybe the people were not unjustly worried. This might be the beginning of the fall. When the King's house of cards came crashing down around his ears. Tobias decided right then that he would begin working on a strategy to extricate himself from Xavier and all of his machinations. He would, at the least, have a plan to escape the coming times with his head still attached to his shoulders.
It would be easy enough to find assistance, if he was careful. Xavier had alienated or intimidated most of the keep, and those that had been won to his way of thinking were not people that Tobias would trust anyway.
He turned back from the window to find the king staring at him with narrowed eyes. One of the tactics the King used to frighten the weak willed. Tobias did not fall into that category; he smiled benignly and waited the man out.
"I feel it is time to let you both in on my plans. I have set some things in motion that will need each of you to see them come to fruition," the king said.
"I live to serve, Your Majesty." Erland was fawning, as usual.
"You are finally ready to reveal what it is you have been so secretive about?" Tobias would be respectful, but he also expected to be kept apprised of anything that affected his position as Lord Commander of the Military.
Whatever Xavier was scheming, he knew it would involve the military. Too many of the man's questions of late, had been hinting at the need for soldiers.
"I believe things have proceeded to that point. I have been working with some... new allies, and together we have devised a strategy to eliminate the threat that the treacherous King from the West poses." Even Erland could not keep a look of confusion from flashing across his face.
"What threat would that be?" Tobias was beginning to think he should have started planning an exit strategy sooner.
"I have been watching our neighbor closely, using my own sources, and have observed some suspicious behavior. After closer scrutiny, I have come to the conclusion that they are planning to invade Rennick."
"Glendon is going to invade?" It was a struggle to keep from laughing at this statement. However, the wild light in the King's eyes helped.
"Yes, and that is not all. Our allies have informed me that Roderick has discovered knowledge of an artifact th
at, if he comes to possess it, we will be unable to stop them. It is a powerful magical weapon that once belonged to my new allies." He did not seem to notice the 'my' he used instead of 'our' that time.
Erland appeared to be incapable of speech at the moment, so Tobias was left to question the madness of this new strategy.
"And how are we to stop them?"
"I have already enacted part of my plan; the king's daughters were attacked, and all signs will point to the responsible party being our allies. Roderick will blame them, and thinking that they are being attacked, will ask for our assistance. We will agree and start marshaling troops. We will also be shocked to find that this new enemy has entered our own lands, with a force large enough to overrun our soldiers left to guard the pass they used. We will coordinate with Glendon, in order to meet the enemy at the river in the north. While they are engaged, we will attack them. They will be crushed between our two forces, and we will win the day"
The smile the king had plastered on his face as he finished speaking was dancing with madness. Tobias was now certain of it. He knew that he needed to be careful how he spoke now, but he had to ask the next question. He could only hope the horrible thought that had just occurred to him was wrong.
"Just who would these allies be, and how did they get a force into the northern part of the kingdom without me knowing?"
Xavier was nodding sagely, like he had knowledge that they could not possible understand.
"It took time and much soul searching before I believed,but with the things they told me and the information my spies uncovered... well, there was no denying it. I had to do what was best for our people." He paused, his face solemn. Then the crazy light in his eyes cam back and he continued. "Our new allies are the Orc clans."
"Dear Creator..." Erland had gone deadly pale, by the time his whispered comment trailed off.
A Soldier's Honor: The Scepter of Maris: Book One Page 18