With this being the first proper council meeting in two months, there was plenty of topics to get through. Treasurer Johan’s presentation alone took several hours and he was only the first. Each advisor delivered an extensive status update about the latest events in their respective field, and even that barely scratched the surface. It would take several assemblies to truly get back on track.

  Chancellor Anastasia discussed the effects of the civil wars on relations with foreign countries. Langogne was the biggest and most obvious one. She apologized for missing the involvement of Logres’ rival in the backing of Clement’s rebellion, but to her credit, their monarchy had nothing to do with it. The entire plan was an independent venture cooked up by Nilo’s father and Francois of Saint Lupien. The duke of West Aubin.

  The foreign lord was scheming together with Clement in order to acquire independence from their respective lieges. Langogne proper was completely unaware, and in fact, was going to be another victim eventually. A few years after securing the Western province, or East Aubin as they called it, the two men were going to try to get Western part too. It was only a matter of time.

  The plot had been stopped, but with Francois safely back home, the threat of another conflict still remained.

  The Council debated what to do. If the duke was left alone, he could attempt another plot in the future. It would be difficult with Nilo ruling over the Western province now, but not impossible.

  “There is always the option of crossing the border and striking out at the duke directly,” Anastasia explained, “but I advise against it. If we do it, we’d be starting a war with all of Langogne. They’d have to defend their lands, no matter what.”

  “I’m sure there are many people in our nation who would jump at that chance,” Steward Marna continued, “but I agree that it’s a bad idea. We just came out of a civil war. It was short, but chaotic. I think it’s better to focus on rebuilding for now.”

  “It was expensive too,” Treasurer Johan added.

  “If we wanted to invade them,” Marna carefully suggested, “we would need to spend a lot of time planning out our offensive first. We’d need supplies, we’d need to ensure your majesty’s vassals are on board… It would have to be in the spring at the earliest.”

  “Don’t worry,” Varre raised his hand, “I don’t want to start another war either.”

  “We could try to inform Langogne about what happened,” Anastasia said, “I’m sure king Guillaume VI would love to hear about his own vassal’s treachery. He could punish him himself. But if we go with that, then I would like some more time to investigate their court. I have a general idea of their upper echelons of nobility and what is everyone’s relationship with Guillaume, but I’d like to know what people think of Francois first. I need to know who would be on his side.”

  “Do you think Langogne would believe us?” Varre asked.

  “If we deliver it through the proper channels,” the chancellor explained, “I’m sure Guillaume is wondering why exactly one of his vassals decided to cross the border and involve himself in our succession crisis without their crown’s permission. Whatever excuse Francois gave him must be shaky.”

  “If we do that,” the steward slowly said, “how do we know they won’t just replace the duke with someone even more dangerous? Maybe someone more capable, who hates us even more?”

  “Exactly,” Anastasia smiled, “that’s why I advise caution here. I need time to learn more about the situation in West Aubin. The details,” she paused, “but I think I would advise a third option. If we leave Francois be for now, then we will be leaving an unstable brick in their foundation. Planting a seed to uproot their entire kingdom. If we do end up going to war against Langogne in the future, we will have a chip to use in negotiations with one of their dukes. And the one right next to our border. That’s valuable.”

  “You want to bribe him to switch sides?” Head Merchant Lester asked, scratching his chin.

  “Maybe,” she shrugged, “it’s a card we could play at a later date. Maybe we could offer to back his independence from Langogne in the future, or ask him to close his gates when Guillaume’s army’s will want to take shelter in his castles. I can try to cultivate that seed into something more useful over time.”

  “Then let’s do that for now,” Varre decided, “there is no need to strike out at Francois today. Let’s leave him be, as a little hidden ace up our sleeve. See what you can dig up.”

  The chancellor then moved on to explaining the situation in other nearby nations. All countries are interested in succession crises, as they are liable to very significantly shake up the geopolitical situation. The affected kingdom might split, or have parts of it territory taken over by its neighbors. Potentially strengthening a dangerous rival.

  Fortunately, with a swift end to both rebellions, nearby countries will breathe a sigh or relief. So far, Anastasia has heard news from only a couple. News takes time to travel. Besides Langogne, which was mostly busy with questioning duke Francois on why he chose to engage without permission, there was also the Miroti Republic and the Kingdom of Senise.

  The Southern Mirotis were afraid that the war might disrupt their trading relationships with the prosperous cities of South Logres. They hoped that the worst case scenario would be having the kingdom lose its Western province to Langogne or have it gain independence. Charles was a bigger threat, but a quick change on the throne should only impact trade in the short term. With the war over, normal relations would continue. Regardless of which royal sat on the chair.

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  The Senisians to the East were slightly more problematic. When Charles marched out, his lands were emptied. The king of Senise considered using this moment of temporary weakness as an opportunity to strike and take over lands close to his border. Fortunately he wasn’t ready for war just yet. Had the rebellion continued for longer though, he could have become a problem eventually.

  The Northern mountains and Northwest forests were largely unpopulated. Other kingdoms, across the Southwestern and Southeastern seas, too distant to hear anything back as of yet. Most likely, they too were simply waiting to see how the situation developed.

  Captain Hakon then discussed the latest security matters. The rebels’ armies may have been destroyed, but many soldiers managed to flee. Some would make it home, especially the nobles, but some of the peasants might turn to banditry. It was easier than trying to make hundreds of miles without money or supplies. The captain would start working on a plan to round up any stragglers before they became too big of a threat.

  As for the treacherous knights, he’d need to wait for Nilo’s reports. As soon as the alderman determined which ones were too dangerous and needed to have some of their lands taken away as punishment, he’d send out his Royal Guards to deliver justice.

  Fortunately, only two of the elite warriors have perished in the campaign so far. He would find suitable replacements among some of the loyalist knights. The recruits that Varre left in the castle before leaving on his campaign were still weaker than the veterans, but their training was proceeding on schedule. As they proved on the fields around Westbridge, they were a force to be reckoned with.

  Head Merchant Lester was occupied throughout the war, organizing efficient supply lines while selling the surplus of grain to new customers. He’s had little time for anything else, but he promised that he’d start searching for new ways of generating income for the kingdom in the future.

  The increased Crownlands and full vault gave him a lot of room to maneuver. He also needed to sell much of the unneeded royal inheritance. There was only so much artwork one could display and so many palaces one could stay at.

  This only left Court Mage Elvira.

  Just like the others, she’d been busy throughout the campaign. She travelled with the army and participated in battles directly. But there was still the matter of Tobias to resolve.

  At her insistence, Varre agreed to hold the wizard captive and transport him all the way to the capital. The mage had not only supplied the poison that killed Mikkel, but planned to betray his master as well. Archmage Kadmos would certainly appreciate having such a man delivered to his guild.

  “I’ll be honest. I don’t really like the archmage,” Varre said, “but I’m hoping that this gesture will help us work a little better in the future.”

  “I’m sure it will,” Elvira replied, “you had every right to execute Tobias as soon as he was captured. Kadmos will appreciate it. If he can deliver judgement of his own, on top of yours, that would really help show that his guild had nothing to do with the murder.”

  “And you’re absolutely certain he won’t pardon his own wizard?” the king asked.

  “There is always a risk,” the Court Mage explained with a grimace, “it would be a stupid decision, but if Kadmos really, really valued Tobias, he could have tried. But the old man absolutely hates people who try to cheat him somehow. I was a bit more worried before the interrogation, but since our captive wanted to create his own guild in this new independent Aubin…”

  “The archmage will definitely want him killed,” Varre finished the sentence.

  “If he tried to pardon Tobias anyway,” Marna added, “he’d be going directly against you, your majesty. He’d be protecting a known murderer. That would ruin the good name of his guild.”

  “And we could still execute Tobias anyway,” Hakon added, crossing his arms, “there’s nothing he could do to stop us.”

  The king nodded. “What about my image? If I take this murderer to the guild, instead of executing him myself, won’t people see it as weak?”

  “Maybe some,” the steward carefully admitted, “but not if we play it up a bit. We could make it look like we are trying to humiliate Tobias by getting him kicked out of the guild on top of everything else. We could also schedule the execution for tomorrow anyway. Without waiting for the archmage’s decision.”

  “Won’t that take away from his big moment?” Varre protested, “the whole reason we’re doing this in the first place is to help Kadmos score some brownie points. If we make the decision without him anyway…” he petered off.

  Brownie points? Elvira mouthed in surprise, having never heard this expression before. Still, she understood what he meant, so elected to ignore it. “If we were going in there blind, then yes. I’d advise not scheduling the execution beforehand. But since Kadmos was betrayed too, I think we can play it up as us helping Kadmos make it a public event and ensuring an audience. It’s a foregone conclusion anyway.”

  “Very well,” the king replied, “I’ll take your word for it. And I hope the archmage will be really appreciative for all this trouble. Because I have some proposals I’d like him to consider too.”

  -*-*-*-

  The next day, Varre went to visit the Mage’s Guild personally. He was accompanied by Elvira and Marna. Hakon joined them as well, together with a contingent of twenty Royal Guards who held Tobias captive.

  The wizard’s magic was suppressed and with the men walking so close, the captain could easily subdue the prisoner by himself if he tried to flee. However, bringing such a powerful force of men sent an equally powerful message. It was the perfect excuse to parade this captive through the streets, showing off yet another one of the king’s successes.

  And a perfect excuse to bring in a small army into the meeting with Kadmos.

  Tobias walked, surrounded by guards on foot. The king, his councilors, and several of the warriors were mounted. It looked impressive to the populace, while maximizing security. The wizard would be unable to escape. Yet, if something terrible happened anyway, the monarch would be able to get to safety. And he’d have a few more guards able to keep up with him.

  The wizard had resigned himself to his fate. He knew it was coming and had several weeks to get used to the notion already. He didn’t say anything, didn’t even look at Varre when the king joined the shackled men outside. Tobias simply stared at the ground.

  The procession didn’t bring anywhere near as many curious onlookers as the parade had, but people still lined the streets. They cheered for their king. Only the crassest occasionally jeered at Tobias. Most people were too afraid to boo at the captive, with the monarch riding so close. It could be taken the wrong way. And with Tobias surrounded by soldiers, they couldn’t even throw any rotten vegetables at the man.

  When the group finally arrived at the plaza in front of the guild, the crowd was starting to get a little denser. Guards had been deployed to keep civilians away and ensure a safe passage all the way to the front door.

  The king dismounted his horse and entered the building, followed by his companions. The mages were ready to welcome him. Hopefully, Elvira was right and Kadmos would appreciate this gesture. At least enough to consider some new ideas.

  Then, we have wild, unpopulated mountains to the North and a sprawling forest to the Northwest.

  The men haven't had the best relations so far, but the king hopes this gesture will help improve things.