Chapter 10 #2
“Innocent students?! Have you seen that fucking place?!” Elias slammed the table with his hand as he stood up.
“They’re waving the flag of the Grath Nomad in that village.
A white flag with a black handprint. A year ago, no one would have dared do such a thing.
It’s been less than a month since Vincent Crenshaw was murdered, and someone has the gall to wave the enemy’s flag in their village?
I know for a fact that’s not the only village that waves his flag. ”
“A year ago, the Grath Nomad didn’t exist!” Eldric shouted at his grandson.
“He never died, Grandfather,” Elias sneered. “You may not have told me this, and your precious Covenant might be too tight-lipped, but I know the Grath Nomad is Mortandagh. I’m not entirely pigheaded. Or hotheaded, for that matter.”
A curtain of quiet fell upon the thirty-eight people assembled in that room.
Truth was, it wasn’t Elias who had figured it out.
It had been Freya who had cracked the code.
And she sat there with her lips pursed, eyes widened in fake shock lest anyone think that it was actually her who had told Elias.
“Be that as it may, Elias,” Eldric said, holding his hand up. “That is even more cause for you to exercise caution in places where he’s gathering support.”
“So that’s it then? All this talk of sending me to the frontlines?”
“Oh, I will send you to the frontlines,” Clive Bane said.
While Eldric was the head of the Solignis Covenant, Clive Bane was its head of combat, just like Elara Moore took care of medical matters.
She had help, of course, from Aishwarya, who was also in attendance.
Cassian Veilmonte was in charge of scouting and espionage.
Everyone in the room looked from Clive to Eldric.
Eldric stayed quiet for a long time, deliberating, before nodding briefly.
“Yes. As punishment for your indiscretion, you will go to the frontlines. And you will learn there the importance of comradeship. You shall not go alone. Along with Theo Cohen and Freya Drummond, you shall also be accompanied by Professor Cassian Veilmonte and Lesya Rosefield.”
“What?!” Elias growled, staring at Lesya. “She’s the one who got me in this mess in the first place!”
“Your decision to harm fellow students got you in that mess in the first place,” Cassian Veilmonte said calmly.
“I will not have two Balthazars with me! They’re going to stab us in the back! Don’t you know their entire house pledges allegiance to Mortandagh? So it was the last time and so it will be this time!”
“Almost half the people sitting at this table are from House Balthazar,” Eldric said.
“If your prejudices and bigotry are going to get the better of you again and again, Elias, perhaps I should stop getting in the way of the law and let them take you to the Doldrum Isles. Your recent behavior is quite fitting of that.”
“You wouldn’t,” Elias said, his face turning pale.
“Try me,” Eldric said. They stared at each other for the longest time until finally, Elias looked down and nodded.
“Good,” Eldric continued. “Even though locating Elias and rescuing him was quite the frustrating task, it gave me an insight on how the Grath Nomad operates. I have visited this place, Horrow’s Heap, several times in my life.
Only now, the place is unrecognizable. He has placed a spell upon the village.
It is no longer in disrepair. The people seem to be in good health, cheerful.
Not only that, he has promised them sustenance.
That’s why they raise his banner. That’s why, should he rally for war, they will answer. ”
“Perhaps we can take proactive measures for the villages he hasn’t rallied yet, Headmaster,” Aishwarya said. “Send healers, give donations. A war is coming, we all know it, and it would do us well to have some numbers on our side.”
“We could even rebuild some of their old infrastructure,” Elara Moore said, to which many agreed. “If we can’t outbid the Nomad, we can at least do as much as he’s doing.”
“And then what?” Cassian asked, standing up.
“We should’ve been helping them all along, I say.
If we do so now, they will see that we’re just trying to play catch up.
If this is indeed a popularity contest between us and the Nomad, we need something else.
A show of force, something that reminds people why we prevailed over Mortandagh and the Deathless in the first place. ”
“You know, I hate to agree with him,” Elias said. “But I agree with him. A show of force is exactly what we need.”
“You’ll get your wish, young Master Solwyn,” Clive Bane said.
“As it happens, the Nomad is also engaged in guerrilla warfare with those who are resisting him. Just last night, he and his Deathless attacked Wilted Hamlet. Those who resisted were taken prisoner. Those who fought against him were massacred. I even got a report that he’s used necromancy on several of them and has raised them from the dead to serve in his army.
Necromancy, Headmaster. The same thing that we suspect he used on Vincent Crenshaw. ”
“What is it they’re doing at Wilted Hamlet?” Lesya asked in a timid voice. But since no one else was speaking, her voice carried across the entire room.
“They are unearthing one of the temples of Aeterna. Prior to the war, it was the oldest temple of her to exist in Aladria. He means to build a monument out of it. He proclaims his strength comes from the goddess herself, and that he’s her prophet sent to ensure that her name is proclaimed and worshipped once more in Aladria. ”
Lesya and Cassian shared a quiet look. He shook his head, and she didn’t say whatever it was she was about to say.
“I am going to send a party to Wilted Hamlet. Several soldiers of ours, as well as the people you mentioned, Headmaster. Perhaps that will teach Elias Solwyn the harsh reality of this war, and put some caution in his step.”
“The Grath Nomad hasn’t ever met me in combat,” Elias said, crossing his arms, broadening his chest. “Let him come at me. I’ll put a premature end to his schemes.”
Many members at the table laughed at him, including Clive Bane and the headmaster.
“Let’s end our meeting at this lighthearted note,” the headmaster said, and rose from his chair. “Lesya, Cassian, a word before you leave, please.”
The crowd dissolved in the great room, with several members teleporting out of the room, others taking the door. Pretty soon it was just Clive Bane, Elara Moore, Eldric Solwyn, Cassian, and the four final-year students of Umbrveyl.
“Now then,” Eldric said, clearing his throat.
“I want to be very clear that this is not a combative mission. I’m allowing you all to go with Professor Cassian Veilmonte.
He’s been traveling on these missions for some time now.
For your protection, Clive Bane and his Vanguard soldiers will accompany you.
But under no circumstance are you to engage in combat with the Grath Nomad or his Deathless.
Scout, observe, report back. That’s it.”
“But I thought I was finally going to get a chance to fight,” Elias snapped.
“Trust me, kid,” Clive Bane said. “When you witness the atrocities of the Deathless with your own eyes, I’ll ask you then if you want to fight or go back running to the safe confines of this mansion.”
Professor Eldric was whispering something in Cassian’s ear. When he was done, Cassian nodded quietly.
“We leave the day after tomorrow, at dawn. I suggest if you have any business that needs tending, attend to it now. You may not get a chance to do so until much later,” Clive Bane said.
There was a grim warning in his voice that worried Lesya.
As if he’d wanted to say, Attend your business now, for after that you might never get a chance.
As if they were going to their deaths.