“That is quite the ambitious plan you have,” Vraekae commented while leveling her gaze on Dys. “I had no idea you had any desire to expand Fortune’s Favored.”
“Neither did I, honestly,” Dys shrugged. “I only really considered it after coming to the capital. Seeing how things work around here sort of sparked a fire in me.”
“Good,” the elf nodded with a satisfied smile. “Levels are only one means of gaining power. I am glad to see you are expanding your horizons.”
The two of them were sitting inside of the small office room, the best privacy they could get for the moment. Vraekae had claimed one of the worn chairs that had been left behind by the previous owner, while Dys sat on top of the desk. The wooden piece of furniture creaked under her weight, but it was sturdy enough to handle her.
Jadis didn’t mind Vraekae knowing about her plans. She figured the magistrate would probably tell the second prince, but she doubted the info would go anywhere else. Even if it did, nothing Jadis had said was truly sensitive information. It was the logistical details that would require protection from prying eyes.
“You’re a good example as far as that goes,” Dys admitted. “What with you being a powerhouse on the battlefield and on the political floor. I’m not interested in politics, but I’m not going to ignore their existence. Besides, there are other avenues to gaining power, like building up a base of loyal mercenaries.”
“Indeed,” Vraekae nodded. “A loyal following will give you more ground to stand on when you inevitably knock heads with those who act counter to your plans.”
“And knowing me, there will definitely be some head knocking,” Dys smirked.
Vraekae’s lips tweaked up in another restrained smile, a rare show of emotion on the icy elf’s face. The amused expression was quickly smoothed over though as she raised a slender finger to make a point.
“While I agree that your plans to expand your mercenary company will be a benefit to you, you also need to keep your surroundings in mind, Jadis. You have been sequestered in the temple district for your stay in Eldingholt thus far, with only brief forays out into the greater city. The paladins and guards who have been escorting you have been acting as a buffer. Once they are gone, you will find that far more of the general citizenry will approach you. I think you have some inkling as to what I mean considering you have already acted in your capacity as a representative of Lyssandria at one of the smaller temples.”
Jadis did know what Vraekae meant. Some of the people who had come to see her had been borderline worshipful of her. Roy and the guards who waited for her outside were there to guard the people from her, but also to guard her from the people. She had no doubts that some more intense types would seek her out once her assigned guards were out of the way. That was part of why she wanted to expand her mercenary company. The more people she had working for her that she could trust, the larger the buffer between her and the kind of crazies who could cause problems there would be.
“Yeah, I know,” Dys replied to Vraekae’s warning. “I won’t always have Roy out there running interference for me. That’s part of why I don’t want to linger in the city too much. Better to get out into the world than stay cooped up here.”
Shifting her weight on the desk, Dys leaned forward towards the magistrate with her hands on her knees.
“That said… Sage advice on how to handle my upcoming company expansion and personal freedoms isn’t what brought you out here, is it?”
“No, it is not,” Vraekae agreed. She paused a moment, perhaps to choose her next words, before raising one eyebrow as she asked a question that she had to already know the answer to. “You have met the young Lady Brunholt?”
“Yeah, I have,” Dys nodded with a grimace. “She approached me at Trummelton’s. Aside from being a huge thorn up my nose for no damn reason, she’s nothing like her father.”
“Quite,” Vraekae’s expression shifted to one of mild distaste at the mention of Egilhard. “Elodie Brunholt takes more after her mother, Vanessa. Be careful what you say and what you do not say around those two. They are both experts in court intrigues.”
“So I’ve been warned,” Dys replied mildly. “Is Elodie or her mother stirring up some shit that I need to know about?”
Vraekae shook her head.
“Not that I am aware of, though that does not mean they do not have their own plans in motion. Eir reached out to me about her after your encounter. Lady Brunholt has been invited to the ball that our family is holding in your honor. Eir has asked if it would be politically viable to rescind the invitation that has been extended to Brunholt and her kin. I am here to tell you that it is not.”
Dys frowned. She didn’t particularly like the idea of having to deal with General Egilhard’s snob of a daughter, but she didn’t think her presence at one party was really that big of a deal. If she had to smile and make small talk for a few minutes with the woman, she could deal with it. But from the way Vraekae was explaining things, it didn’t seem like Elodie’s presence was just a minor annoyance that she had to put up with for a night before moving on with her life. Something bigger was going on.
“I don’t get the impression that Egilhard or his wife and daughter are all that politically important,” Dys frowned back at Vraekae. “So what’s the issue?”
“They are not, no. Lady Vanessa Brunholt is the sister of Duke Colgrave, which does give her some pull in the courts. But that is not the reason why the invitation cannot be withdrawn. Lady Elodie has recently become engaged, a fact that I only became aware of a few days ago. With other issues taking precedence, I neglected to pay attention to recent affairs of court. The man she has been betrothed to is Ludger of Crosswall.”
Dys stared blankly at Vraekae for a moment. Eventually, when it seemed like no further explanation was coming, she asked for clarification.
“Who?”
Vraekae frowned, her brow furrowing in a way that reminded Jadis a lot of when Eir was frustrated with something.
“You have not been using your time here in the capital to educate yourself on important figures and current events.”
“I’ve been busy,” Dys shrugged.
“Busy going on dates.”
“Yes,” Dys confirmed without a bit of shame. “I’ve been going on dates. Dates with my girls take priority over nobles and their politics. As such, I don’t have a clue who this Ludger guy is. So just spill the beans already. Who is he and why should I care?”
Vraekae arched a brow at Dys’ turn of phrase, but after a restrained sigh, she continued.
“Ludger of Crosswall is the Hero’s Bulwark. Not only is he one of the Hero’s chosen companions who acts as his defender and right-hand man, Ludger is the Hero’s childhood friend. They have known each other for most of their lives and are described to have a brotherly bond. In other words, he is a man who has strong and direct influence with Valtar’s Chosen Hero.”
“Oh,” Dys blinked after a moment. “I guess he’s kind of important then, huh?”
“Yes, he is,” Vraekae confirmed as she rose from her seat so that she was more on eye level with Dys. “And it has nothing to do with nobility. He has a great deal of influence already thanks to the deeds he has accomplished, and that influence is only going to grow. Ludger is not a man you want to have as your enemy, especially since being marked as such would practically guarantee that the Hero will also see you as an enemy. And Lady Elodie Brunholt now has that man’s ear.”
Well. Fuck.
Jadis didn’t know very much about the Hero. She knew he existed, of course, and she knew that he was Valtar’s answer to Samleos’ Demon Lord. There were other small details that she’d learned in passing, like the fact that he was a young human man, probably younger than her in fact, and he had a party of powerful followers whose classes were influenced by his presence in the same way that her own companions had classes influenced by her. Jadis knew that he was up north somewhere, fighting demons along the imperial border, but she’d never actually asked which country shared that border.
There were a lot of things Jadis had never asked about the Hero. In fact, she didn’t even know the man’s name. It wasn’t as though she didn’t care about the Hero. She knew that considering her own God-given mission, she was going to have to interact with the man at some point. It was just that, for some reason, investing effort into learning more about the Hero felt like committing to a course of action that Jadis hadn’t previously felt like she’d been ready for. Once she opened the door of knowing the Hero, she felt as though she’d have to step through it and out onto the stage where she’d then have to deal with him, in one manner or another. By not asking too many questions about the Hero, she’d always gotten the feeling that she was buying herself some time to grow stronger before walking through that door. That had been a pure delusion, of course. Whether she knew details about the Hero or not wouldn’t have changed when she met him. Now, it looked like the time to do her homework had grown much shorter than it had seemed a minute ago.
“There is other news,” Vraekae announced, drawing Jadis’ attention back to her. “I have received unconfirmed reports that the Hero and his party is on his way back to the capital from the front line.”
Time had gotten really, really short.
“He is?” Dys exclaimed. “Why? He’s not coming here because of me, is he?”
Vraekae shook her head in the negative.
“Not everything that happens is because of you.”
“I know that,” Dys scowled at the smaller woman. “But with how those two princes have been bickering, I wouldn’t be surprised if the scum sucker first prince had called the Hero down to mess with me.”
“Prince Hraustrekr would not call the Hero to the capital just to inconvenience you. He is not that foolish or impulsive. I am not entirely sure the Hero would listen to such a request to begin with. There is a demonic invasion going on, after all. From what my sources have told me, this seems to be a simple withdraw for rest and resupply. With the winter weather hitting, the demonic invasion has slowed. It is a good time for him to back away from the border and take a break.”
That made more sense than Hraustrekr calling on the Chosen Hero of the Gods to come beat her up, Jadis supposed, but she still wouldn’t put it past the prince to try and influence the Hero into doing something to fuck with her.
“Okay, so, the Hero is on his way back to the capital—”
“Probably,” Vraekae interrupted with a correction. “My reports are not yet confirmed.”
“Okay. Probably on his way to the capital, which means his party of super strong, super amazing companions will be with him, too. And one of those companions is his childhood friend, who is also engaged to marry Elodie Brunholt, who is the daughter of General Egilhard, the guy back in Far Felsen who hates my guts. Also, the general is a loyal follower of First Prince Hraustrekr, the man in line to the throne, who also hates my guts because he thinks I’m a pawn of his brother, Second Prince Kestil. Is that a good summary?”
“Brief, but decent enough,” Vraekae nodded in approval. “I take it you see the inherent problems this could cause you?”
“Yeah, yeah I do,” Dys sighed. “Fine. I can see where the wind might be blowing. Things have the potential to blow up real bad, depending on what bullshit Elodie whispers to her fiancé, and what she says will probably be heavily influenced by Egilhard or Hraustrekr, or maybe both. Which means I need to prepare for what might be coming my way.”
With another heavy sigh, Dys stood up from the desk and folded her arms across her chest. Restraining her frustration, Dys focused on doing what she could, rather than moaning over things she couldn’t change.
“So. What can you tell me about the Hero?”
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