The Eighth Warden Book 6
Copyright© 2024 by Ivy Veritas
Chapter 8
“War?” Yassi asked. “What happened to the offer of peace we sent?”
“We weren’t fast enough,” Leena said. “Rusol killed Corec’s brother.”
“Oh.” Yassi wasn’t sure what else to say, but it was easy enough to understand the ramifications.
“It must have happened before we spoke to you, but we only heard about it three days ago. Corec’s father learned of it before us and declared war, along with a group of knights and the other lords of the Black Crows. Corec joined them as soon as he heard.”
Yassi nodded. “The Crows are sparsely populated. It will be difficult for them to stand against the king, even with a warden’s aid.”
“That’s why I’ve come. Corec says they’re spread too thin to protect the entire mountain range at once. He asks if you could let us know when any troops are approaching.”
“You want me to spy?” Yassi asked.
Leena handed over a sealed message. “Corec explains it better than I can, but Highfell is vulnerable, being right along the main road. If you could watch east from Telfort and let us know if you see any soldiers heading that direction, we can get everyone to Highfell in time to protect it. We’d need at least three days warning.”
Yassi stared at the letter without opening it. “I’m still the Queen of Larso,” she said. “I lived most of my life there. You’re asking me to aid a rebellion against my own homeland.”
“The only way to end the war is to stop Rusol,” Leena said. “You’re not the only one he’s used demonic compulsion against, and you told us yourself that his reasons for attacking Corec were false.”
“Wardens are too dangerous to trust,” Yassi said. “In Larso, even at the best of times, all the factions are balanced against each other to keep any of them from growing too strong. What if Corec makes things worse?”
“If I thought that, I wouldn’t be here,” Leena said. “Empress Shereen told me you came to Sanvar to get away from Rusol. You’ve spoken to Corec. Do you really think he’s anything like your husband?”
Yassi hesitated. “You’re only asking me to watch the Trade Road? Nothing more?”
“I don’t know what you’re capable of, but Highfell is our most urgent need.”
Which meant she was leaving that decision open, if only to avoid pressing too hard.
“I need time to think about this,” Yassi said. “I’m not ready to answer yet. But you should be safe for the moment. Rusol is already at war with the Order, and that’s been taking up all his attention.”
“What happened?” Leena asked.
How much information could Yassi provide without admitting to herself that she’d already chosen a side?
“His soldiers massacred a group of knights and priests, then laid siege to Telfort Tower—that’s the knights’ stronghold in the city. The tower fell two days ago, but there are old tunnels beneath the city that the soldiers didn’t know about. Some of the knights escaped.”
“I’ll let Corec know.”
“There’s more,” Yassi said. “I’m not sure what story my husband told to keep the soldiers on his side, but not all of them were willing to betray the Church. About a quarter of the capital brigade and the city guard have disappeared.”
“Deserters?” Leena asked. “Or were they killed?”
“The documents with the names and numbers just labeled them as missing—that’s all I was able to read before a messenger picked them up to deliver to the palace. I can’t See anything inside the wards.”
“Thank you. I’ll tell the others.”
After Leena had left, Yassi stayed seated, thinking. She ignored the sound of footsteps behind her until Lucanus came to stand behind her, resting his hand on her shoulder. She laid her fingers over his, taking comfort from the touch, but then let go. Regardless of the circumstances, she was still a married woman. Luc understood.
“I was in the other room listening, like you asked,” he said. “Is it as bad as it sounds?”
“Not for us,” she said. “I don’t think he can get to us here, and the empress will protect us. But they want me to side against my husband.”
Lucanus snorted. “Doesn’t seem like a hard decision to me.”
Conley had to walk fast to keep up with General Calum, who seemed to know the layout of Northtower—both the city and the outer fortress—quite well. At the entrance hall, they met up with Priest Aelfred, who was waiting for their arrival. Aelfred was one of Leonis’s close associates, and Ephrenia had placed him in charge of the small group of priests that infiltrated the fortress to free the resident knights from the compulsion spell.
“Sir, welcome to Fort Northtower,” Aelfred said to Calum.
Calum nodded. “One fortress delivered, three hundred knights saved from demonic compulsion, and no casualties. You’re as expedient as always.”
Aelfred cocked his head to the side, puzzled. “As always, sir?”
Conley had to agree it was an odd thing to say. Calum had only been with the army a few weeks longer than he himself had.
“Ephrenia’s told me about a few of your escapades.” There was a hint of warmth in Calum’s tone that he reserved for Ephrenia, Aelfred, and two other priests who’d served Leonis. Around everyone else, the general was business-like and unemotional.
“Will she be joining us?” the priest asked.
“She’s preparing to bring the army in, but she thought it best that I check with you first before we parade two thousand foreign soldiers through the streets.”
Aelfred nodded. “The knights are aware the soldiers are on the way, and they understand the role that the Army of the Order played in securing their freedom. They’re ready to receive you as allies.”
“And the populace?” Calum asked.
“Fortress Commander Millard has announced that the Church is sending reinforcements from the north,” Aelfred said. Unlike Hightower, Northtower didn’t fall within any lord’s domain, effectively putting Millard in charge of the region when there weren’t any high-ranking priests around to countermand his orders. “We’ve asked the freed knights to keep quiet about exactly what purpose those reinforcements will serve. There’s some confusion from the citizenry about why we need outside help, but so far no one has raised any objections. By the time they realize what’s going on, we’ll have full control of both the city and the fortress.”
“Excellent,” Calum said. “Then as long as the knights can convince the people that Rusol betrayed them, we might just pull this off.”
“We may have some help in that, sir.”
“Oh?”
“There are rumors coming out of the Black Crow Mountains that the eastern border lords, led by Baron Ansel Tarwen, have risen up in revolt against the king. We haven’t heard anything definitive, so I’ve sent a pair of knights south to find out more. Along the northern border, Lords Wymond and Harding have pulled their soldiers back from their usual posts, not giving any public reason as to why. I’m not certain whether they’re in communication with the rebels, or preparing to march against them.”
Calum raised an eyebrow. “Tarwen?”
“Rumors say Corec Tarwen is his son,” Aelfred said.
Conley nodded. “He is.”
Calum eyed Conley silently for a moment. “It would have been helpful to have that information earlier.”
“I’m sorry, sir,” Conley said. “I didn’t realize it was important.” That, plus he’d been trying to limit the amount of information he offered to the man, which was easier said than done. The general had an air about him of someone who expected—and received—obedience.
Calum pursed his lips. “If Tarwen has convinced his father to declare war, things are moving forward faster than I’d expected. We may have to persuade them to hold steady over the winter. Aelfred, when your scouts return, let me know immediately.”
Conley wrinkled his brow. If the Black Crow lords had declared war against the king, why was Calum’s first thought about Corec? This wasn’t the first time Ephrenia or the general had displayed unusual interest in the man’s doings, despite the fact that even their own tiny army dwarfed any force Corec could put in the field.
That wasn’t the only puzzle Conley had discovered. Ephrenia had turned out to be a mage herself, with powers much like Ariadne’s, making her a strange choice for Pallisur’s Herald. Yet Delvin insisted Pallisur had sent a vision naming her for that task.
No one had received any similar visions about General Calum. The man had just appeared out of nowhere one day, yet Conley was almost certain Ephrenia answered to Calum rather than the other way around.
Conley had kept his suspicions to himself during the trip south, but he’d paid attention to everything happening around him. While Osbert was off training cavalry, Conley had been appointed to the general’s staff, which not only kept him close to Calum and Ephrenia but also made him popular amongst those trying to get their attention.
One thing he’d learned about was the political structure of the Carved Basin. Or, rather, he’d learned that it had none. Leonis had been the religious ruler and military dictator of Blue Vale for longer than anyone could remember—possibly for hundreds of years, though that seemed unlikely unless the man had secretly been an elf. His takeover of the rest of the Carved Basin was more recent, a gradual process tracing back to the North Border War.
Ephrenia had arrived some five or six years ago, and was accepted by Leonis and his priests only because of the vision Pallisur had sent. They’d listened to her guidance as she’d counseled them toward nation-building and away from warring with the barbarians. With Leonis’s death, she’d seemingly—unofficially—inherited the whole thing. That control was dependent on Blue Vale’s church hierarchy, though, and thus required following in Leonis’s footsteps ... or appearing to.
She’d kept Leonis’s people united by promising vengeance, even while delaying those plans time and time again. Once they’d started heading south, they’d moved at a slow, cautious pace, as if uncertain whether they actually intended to engage with their opponent.
And now the information Conley brought had helped them cross the border and gain a foothold in Larso, taking over an important defensive position.
He’d achieved his goal of freeing the knights from the demonic compulsion, but he couldn’t help wondering whether he’d made the situation better or worse.
“Mother Nora, thank you for seeing me.”
“Sister Treya, welcome to Highfell. I assume you’re here to discuss this fourth Order you insist we need to pursue? It’s hardly the sort of thing that just springs up out of nowhere, yet I’ve heard nothing since the initial queries.”
The student who’d led Treya into the study stepped out silently, closing the door behind her. This was the sturdiest chapter house Treya had seen yet, built from thick stone and log walls to hold off the cold mountain winters and the biting winds that blew through the pass.
“Sister Liese from Four Roads will be sending you the plans we’ve come up with so far,” Treya said. “I’m afraid I’m here on a more pressing matter. You’re aware that the lords of the Black Crows have declared war against King Rusol?”
“I could hardly have missed it,” Nora said. “I told Landon it was a bad idea, but these mountain men, they all stick together.”
Treya was puzzled for a moment by the familiar form of address, but then she remembered that Nora had once been concubine to Baron Highfell’s brother, before the man’s early demise.