Chapter 26: CollusionDay 22

  Ah, depravity feels so warm and comfortable. I’m happy with the delusion that my sve loves me. In truth, she at least seems to like me. What’s harder to simply accept is that she seems satisfied with her status. Now, I just need to shut up and accept Alina’s feelings as genuine and her world-view as valid.

  “Morning everybody. Thanks for making breakfast, as usual.”

  “Better than eating burnt porridge, Boss.”

  “That was an accident, not a plot to get out of making breakfast, however well it worked.”

  Alina quietly adds, “A boss doesn’t need an excuse.”

  Ignoring the criticism, “I don’t know if we’re expected to continue with Rutina. We should go to Vale after breakfast, just in case.”

  Upon arrival, I spot Rolf sitting alone on the usual bench. No soldiers in the area and everything else appears normal so I approach with the guys keeping guard.

  “Hello, Sir, your party members couldn’t come and asked me to take you there instead.”

  That suspiciously neutral wording felt like a good sign so I decided to trust him. Rolf took us to Selmer’s Castle. No unusual level of force here either.

  In notably more casual tone, “I’m still on contract so I’ll come back here in an hour. Otherwise, I’ll be in Bode doing short runs.”

  Rolf took off and we were met by two guards, who treated me as an expected guest who naturally had bodyguards. Marcus and Theo left their swords at the gate so they could come along. I had already put Durandal away and just showed my awkwardly-empty scabbard. The guards escorted us upstairs to Rutina’s study. After opening the door, the guards waited outside. There were no guards inside the room. Just two maids who were chatting with Rutina. Seeing us, the maids took chairs near the door and started needlework or something.

  “Good morning, Lord Moreau. Please have some tea and make yourself comfortable. Your men as well.”

  “Thank you, Lady Rutina.”

  I sat directly across from her while the guys sat as far away as possible — possibly wishing that they had some knitting of their own.

  “Thanks for accepting my invitation. Gosr wanted me to take you directly to Bode, but it seemed better for us to talk in private first.”

  “I appreciate that, Lady Rutina. It’s good to have a little time to pn.”

  “Yes but it’s a shame that our lessons were cut short.”

  “Well, you’ve already learned every incantation and used them against monsters in the byrinths. All that’s left is to gain the experience needed to lead a party of your own.”

  “That’s very kind of you to say.”

  “To be clear, I didn’t say that to be kind, it’s simply the truth. You are a real Mage, Lady Rutina.”

  “Then, thank you for your assessment. Still, as you say, I ck experience. I need to get stronger and that will require spending much more time in the byrinths. My primary concern now is how to accomplish this.”

  “Yes, I can see how it might be difficult to find people you can trust here.”

  “What do you mean by that, Lord Moreau?”

  Still looking at Rutina, I ask in a rather ft tone, “Theo? Can those maids understand us?”

  “Doesn’t seem like it, Boss.”

  “Sorry, Lady Rutina, just had to check. Anyway, I meant no disrespect. I just meant that after Jakob and Brunhild, it might be hard to know who else is involved with criminals. Jakob not only had the kitchen staff on his side. His ‘boss’ may still be out there and have several other underlings.”

  “Or, there were just a few bad people, unassociated with each other.”

  “That’s true. Much worse is that Brunhild seemed loyal to you and yet helped set up an organized ambush.”

  “What? There really was an ambush?”

  “Yes, that part was true. There were at least ten brigands plus an Adventurer who appeared to be in the process of bringing in more. This wasn’t a simple robbery. With this many brigands, the goal was probably to kidnap you.”

  “What? That’s horrible! Where was Brunhild all that time?”

  “At first, she was having a friendly conversation with an elven brigand. When the fighting started, she ran off towards the vilge. I ter found her pretty far out. I don’t really understand what her pn was or even if she had a pn.”

  “Why didn’t you say any of this before?”

  “Initially, it would have been my word against a Knight’s. Even after she was decred a criminal, I thought she’d be questioned. With her sudden execution, it just didn’t feel like the time to present new evidence. I left while I still could.”

  “Even ignoring Brunhild, it seems like that would’ve been the perfect opportunity to announce your heroic deeds. The fact remains, Brunhild brought the danger and you protected me.”

  “Brunhild’s betrayal could be seen as an embarrassment. To minimize the damage, it would be easier to bme an unknown commoner than to acknowledge that a Knight conspired against the heir of her county.”

  “Aren’t you being too cynical?”

  “Am I wrong?”

  “Yes, because you, Lord Moreau, are a Mage. A Mage has value and credibility well above that of the usual commoner. I was betrayed by a criminal, not a Knight. Besides, you have me on your side.”

  “Your support is appreciated and certainly valuable. The problem is that your family might be unhappy that I led a young, unmarried dy into such a dangerous situation without proper permission. Regardless of the outcome, of that crime, I am undeniably guilty.”

  “Lord Moreau, I am truly sorry for bringing all this trouble to you. Still, I have more influence than you seem to realize. I will make certain that they understand your value.”

  “Not to sound ungrateful, but why would you do this?”

  “Because it’s fair to you and it helps me as well. I can’t just hide behind my father’s over-protection. I need to become stronger and I believe you can help. I want to learn more from your years of experience.”

  (Probably shouldn’t tell her that I just became a Mage a couple weeks ago.)

  “Good to hear though I’m not certain if we’d be allowed to work together in the future.”

  “Well, we’ll see about that. Nothing will happen if I give up now. So, let’s go.”

  “Don’t we need an appointment to see the duke?”

  “No, we should talk to my father first. Him finding out afterwards would be a great insult and that would indeed be dangerous.”

  “Going to your father now could spell my doom. To him, I would just be a commoner who misled his daughter and possibly tricked Brunhild.”

  “Lord Moreau, that’s awfully rude… and possibly correct. I hate to admit that he isn’t the most patient and understanding man. Still, my father needs to know what happened from me.”

  “Since Captain Gosr has made a direct request to see him, it should acceptable to start there. When we’re done, we can go see the count together.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe I should talk to my father first to make sure he’ll stay calm.”

  “To be honest, I like that pn much better. I was just trying to be fair.”

  “Haha, well, he may still want to see you ter. In fact, my father will probably wish to reward you.”

  “Well, rewards are generally better than punishments.”

  “Yes indeed, Lord Moreau, let’s go to Bode now. By the way, I don’t know how to contact you.”

  “Good. We don’t want anyone to mistakenly believe that we have a social connection.”

  “Hmm, well, I’ll go get ready and come downstairs soon.”

  The guys and I are then escorted back to the gate and retrieve their swords.

  “Guys, there’s no reason for you to suffer through yet another meeting. Personal protection is impractical at the duke’s castle anyway.”

  Without protest, the guys walk through the warp portal I opened inside the guard house, just barely out of view of the guards. Just as one of the guards starts looking around, Rolf arrives just outside the gate.

  “Perfect timing, Rolf. Lady Rutina will be down in a moment.”

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  Arriving at Bode’s Castle, Rutina leads us through the gates and casually calls to a guard, “Tell Gosr we’re here.” We continue to the same conference room we were in st time. Soon, Gosr joins us, who thankfully has not brought a scribe.

  Gosr begins, “Lady Rutina, thank you for taking the time to come back and bring Lord Moreau. The betrayal of a Knight is a very serious matter. While this is not an official inquiry, I would like to know more about the events that led up to the event. To start, there was some mention of an attempted robbery. Where did this occur?”

  Rutina: “Near the entrance of Nordselm’s Labyrinth.”

  Gosr: “Oh, a byrinth? That’s quite a remote region. How many brigands were involved?”

  Rutina: “I actually didn’t see them. When Brunhild didn’t return, Lord Moreau asked Rolf to protect me further inside the byrinth while he and his men investigated.”

  Gosr: “Ah, then, Lord Moreau, did you see any brigands?”

  David: “Yes, Lord Captain, at least 10 of them. They appeared to be setting up an ambush with more on the way.”

  Gosr: “That’s unexpected and quite the serious cim. Do you have any evidence?”

  David: “The conflict was near the vilge. Also, I collected cards and equipment. I didn’t bring the equipment since the swords were rather unremarkable.”

  Gosr: “Interesting. Let’s start with the cards.”

  David: “I also have two cards collected after a different encounter.”

  I handed all 12 cards to an attendant, who ran off to have them assessed, I presume.

  Gosr: “Is this something you do often?”

  David: “Yes, I guess you could say that, though this event was my first in Elven Territory.”

  Gosr: “Lord Moreau, did you observe anything of special interest?”

  David: “Lady Rutina, do I have your permission to mention Brunhild in my observations?”

  Rutina: “Yes, Lord Moreau, please feel free to answer fully.”

  David: “I saw Brunhild speaking to one of the brigands, an elf, in a rather familiar manner. I don’t know what they were talking about, if she knew him to be a brigand, or if she was in fact trying to deceive them.”

  Gosr: “Please continue.”

  David: “Soon after being seen, we fought and killed the brigands.”

  Gosr: “With Brunhild’s help or against her?”

  David: “Neither. I ter found Brunhild well past the vilge. She gave me a dubious excuse and we returned together to find Rutina.”

  Gosr: “Why didn’t you confront Brunhild?”

  David: “It isn’t my pce to question a Knight. She may have had a perfectly reasonable expnation.”

  Rutina: “Brunhild said that she snuck in after you.”

  David: “Well, she joined in Theo’s Dungeon Walker spell so she wasn’t being especially sneaky. You may recall, Lady Rutina, that we came from further inside the byrinth.”

  Rutina: “Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.”

  Rolf: “I can confirm that. Also, I heard Brunhild speak to Lord Moreau before they reached us.”

  Gosr: “Well, it’s hard to reach any other conclusion other than Brunhild’s guilt in allowing the attack to occur and quite probably in pnning the attack. Let’s enjoy some tea while we wait for the cards to be assessed.”

  A little while ter, a clerk returned with a bag of what I hope to be my money, “Lord Captain, ■■■ ■■■■ ■■■■ ■.”

  Gosr: “What?!”

  I immediately jumped back out of my chair and took a defensive stance, hand on hilt and just barely holding back the urge to draw my sword.

  Gosr: “Oh, my sincere apologies, Lord Moreau. Please let me assure you that this is a good surprise, not bad.”

  Rutina: “Lord Moreau, I trust Gosr. He means you no harm.”

  David: “Like Brunhild was trusted or like Brunhild was taken away? I’m sorry, Lady Rutina, I know nothing of the Lord Captain other than his ruthless professionalism. I have no doubt that he would have me killed in an instant if it were deemed necessary.”

  Rutina: “Hmm, you actually have a good point there.”

  Gosr: “Lady Rutina? …well, yes, that’s actually true. But, I have no such intention and I’ll expin why. It seems that Lord Moreau has managed to rid us of some of the most notorious brigands of the County of Selmer: Simon and his gang.”

  Rutina: “What?! Oh, sorry, that was a reflex. This is indeed wonderful news. Please, at least trust me, Lord Moreau.”

  David: “OK, Lady Rutina, I’ll trust you. And I’ll feel even better when the two Knights outside the door lower their swords.” [1]

  Gosr: “How did you… never mind. Lady Rutina, Lord Moreau, please come with me.”

  Gosr grabbed my reward from the clerk and we followed him through the corridors.

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  [1] Total bluff since he can’t see through walls. The Knights were there when they walked in and probably heard the commotion but hadn’t entered.