Council of War

I know this minor lord, though not well. He is Lord Rodney, and he holds this region as a fiefdom under the Duke of Suffex, Fred the satyr's father. It's obvious that Fred recognises him, though understandably Rodney does not recognise Fred.

Rodney has rather forgotten his manners in his surprise, calling me "Cederik" rather than "Prince Cederik" or "Your Highness"; not that it would be appropriate to reprimand him, given the circumstances. "As you can see, Rodney, the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated," I say. I go on to tell him of my brother's treachery, of my imprisonment by the dragon, and my unexpected rescue.

"Your Highness - or should I say 'King Cederik'?" Rodney says, remembering protocol this time. "I am overjoyed to find that you are alive and well. I should like to meet and congratulate your rescuers."

"And so you shall," I say. "That young man over there is Velus, and the two satyrs are Lord Frederigo and Princess Astra." For the second time in a space of a couple of minutes, Rodney's mouth drops open in astonishment. I call over Fred and Astra so they can explain to him what happened to them.

When they have finished their story, Rodney says to Fred: "Your parents are going to get quite a shock when they see you." "I must admit I hadn't thought of that," Fred says. "I suppose I should have done."

Fred goes on: "But there was something I wanted to ask you, Rodney. Could your soldiers perhaps spare a couple of swords for Astra and myself? Our own weapons were left behind in the Red Pyramid, and we had to make do with farming implements in the recent battle. As a result, we were kept out of the front line, and we didn't like that at all. We don't have any armour either, of course, but that can't be helped. Even could any be made to fit us, we wouldn't feel comfortable wearing it. It wouldn't feel right somehow." "I'm wearing a halter top out of deference to human ideas of decency," Astra butts in, "and even that feels a little strange."

Rodney arranges for swords for Fred and Astra, and then we all - the "locals" (myself, Rodney, the satyrs and Velus) and the Champions - hold a "council of war" in an attempt to make a plan. "The way to Caemlyn leads right through the heart of the Duchy of Suffex," I point out. "That could be fortunate for us. Lord Fred, if we ask your father for his support, will we get it?" "I'm sure we shall," he says, "once you are shown to be alive. We should be able to raise an army of five thousand men, maybe more. But it is still a long road to Castle D'Honaire, and the duchy's hold over this border region is at best tenuous, for all Rodney's valiant efforts. If there was one band of Emry's soldiers, then there may be more, so we must be careful."

As if on cue, one of Rodney's scouts is ushered into the inn room in which we are meeting. A large troop of soldiers, wearing the same colours as those we have defeated, is camped a couple of miles from here. "There must be more to this than just making sure you don't return alive from your dragon-slaying mission," I say to Fred. "That would take only a small number of well-trained men. I wish I knew what they intended." I look hopefully at the mages, Jarlath, Andrea 2 and Synizn.

Jarlath shrugs. "To tap in on people's conversations or thoughts from a distance using magic, you either need to have magically prepared their minds in advance, or else to have introduced some magical artifact into their neighbourhood that can act as a relay." "But there is a way to find out what they are up to," Andrea says. "A man, or even a demifox, couldn't get close without being spotted, but there's a way to make it unlikely one would be spotted, or even if noticed one wouldn't be seen as a threat..."

She breaks off, and I stifle a startled yelp as her clothes seem to fall in upon themselves. From under the pile of clothes, a vixen emerges.

1. She winks at us, then lopes out of the room, no doubt to head for the location the scout gave.

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