Elenore, Durran, Melanie, and some assortment of Argrave’s royal guards surrounded a table in a tent. Durran and Melanie were both fully armored, just as the royal knights. Elenore pointed to a crude map of the region—it depicted no terrain, but did roughly sketch what looked to be a choke point in a valley.

“These are the main structures staying our advance,” Elenore’s index and middle finger straddled between two marked points. “They’re located within the edges of the valley and surrounded by high mountains on three of four sides. Thus far, it has been entirely impossible to even begin the process of sieging them. They have old tunnels leading to the other side of the mountains that form uninterrupted supply lines. Unlike the rest of Atrus, the Unhanded Coalition has dealt with the other impediments to the regions past the valley—bandits, claimant lords, et cetera. The lords can afford to supply and replenish the garrison as needed. We don’t have the spellcasters for a proper assault—to attack directly would be to spend thousands of lives.”

Elenore’s finger travelled further up the choke point where a larger marking prevented passage. “This structure, here, is Castle Cookpot. Despite its humble name, we can’t take it before these two fortresses, either. To be pinned here…” she added her other hand to the equation, then formed a triangle. “Any army sieging this place would be pinned on all side. It’s a zone of certain death.”

“So, we go around the mountains, move elsewhere,” Melanie suggested.

“We could. But then we’d starve,” Durran answered before Elenore could say anything, and the princess nodded.

“Precisely so. Without seizing Castle Cookpot, we cannot supply further north. The mountains make the journey difficult. This valley is a very necessary shortcut.” Elenore lifted her head up, eyeless sockets falling upon Melanie. “And that’s where you come in. Durran is already privy to the details, so I’ll spare you the in-depth analysis. But your role is to take a small party around the mountain to disrupt the supply line… and, depending on the situation, perhaps you might even seize the two minor forts through their supply tunnel. From my reports, that side is poorly defended.” Elenore’s back straightened as she stepped away from the diagram. “But primarily… Durran hopes to lure out the Unhanded Coalition so that we might work at ending them.”

Melanie ran a hand through her long red hair, her thumb tracing a scar across her right temple. “I see how it is. You invest what you’re willing to lose, eh? Better a small party than an army. We’re only ten, you said—fewer people that’ll miss us, and fewer complaints lodged to the regent.”

Elenore frowned briefly, but her stoicism quickly took over. “You’ll be travelling with Argrave’s personal guard, eight of them—far from common soldiers.”

“Yet they’re here, not protecting His Majesty,” Melanie rebutted. “How useful can they be?”

Durran suggested, “Fight them yourself, if you want. Test their mettle.” He waved his hand. “They’re standing right there. You’re willing, aren’t you?”

Melanie stared at Argrave’s royal knights as they expressed their willingness. “A fine idea. I think I’ll take them up on that when this is over. But we won’t be fighting them,” Melanie pointed out. “We’ll be fighting the Unhanded Coalition, apparently, who’ve been chipping away at our numbers rather adeptly.”

“I assume you’re wanting ample compensation,” Elenore guessed. “This mission is to be highly publicized in order to weed out informants. You’ll get plenty of prestige. With prestige, no one could complain if you were rewarded in kind. When we conquer Castle Cookpot, I plan on levying the same resistance debt, and you’re welcome to—”

Melanie held up a hand to interrupt and said, “Forget that. I’m not blind to the way things are trending, princess. Durran’s getting a lot of the responsibilities I used to have. I’m losing my position, here. Things are being structured around His Majesty more and more. I didn’t think you’d ever work for someone else’s benefit. I bet wrong, and so I’m being pushed out.”

Durran raised a brow. “You joke around a lot, but I guess you’ve got a head in there after all.”

“Maybe you’d have noticed that sooner if you spent less time staring at me and more listening to me,” she said with a joking arrogance, then gave a wink.

Durran raised a brow at her blatant flirting, but Elenore crossed her arms and said in a harsh tone, “Durran doesn’t have time to listen to you, because he’s listening to me.” She stepped a little closer then demanded, “Just say what you want, Melanie.”

“A parliament seat,” she turned her head. “And to work directly under His Majesty Argrave.”

Elenore tapped her finger against her elbow and then said bluntly, “I can’t decide that.”

“Can’t you?” Melanie tilted her head, her red hair falling over her blue eyes. “I think if you wanted that to happen, you could make it happen. What brother would refuse the earnest pleading of his favorite sister?”

The princess turned her head to the side, her rhythmic tapping of her finger almost audible in the silence between them. Elenore looked like she swallowed a bitter draught as she finally mustered the word, “That is fair.”

Melanie beamed, her blue eyes veritably shining. “Well, that’s great. I always work harder with the right incentive.”

“Durran can give you the details of the travel, as I said,” Elenore said. She seemed to pause on those words, mulling over them like something was amiss in what she said. “Ideally, you’ll leave by morning tomorrow. Plenty of time.”

“Fine by me,” Melanie nodded. Her gaze wandered over to the royal knights, still guarding diligently. “But first… I think I made a date with these gentlemen, something about ‘testing their mettle.’” She took light strides to the corner of the tent, then retrieved her gargantuan zweihander. “Shall we go?”

Melanie and the knights walked away, seeming eager at the proposition. The knights and Melanie traded a bawdy joke. Durran started to step away, and Elenore said, “Where are you going?”

“Watching the fight,” he pointed with his thumb.

“You want to watch her?” Elenore’s brows furrowed.

“If I’m going to be fighting alongside her, it’s prudent,” Durran answered at once.

“I see,” Elenore said. “I… maybe I’ll come.”

Durran’s face started to shift peculiarly, ending on a smile before he wiped his face with his hand as though to disguise his expression. He shifted his body towards her and stepped closer. “Why did you ask? What were you thinking about my intentions?”

“Nothing,” Elenore shook her head. “I was thinking about another matter I needed you for, but this operation is more important.”

“Right,” Durran nodded. “Well… I’m going. Are you coming?”

“I…” Elenore sighed. “No. I have some letters I need to send out.”

Durran looked vaguely disappointed but turned and walked away. Elenore looked at the diagram, then muttered, “…willing to lose?”

#####

“Gina,” a man called out, stepping into a simple log cabin well-concealed by shrubbery.

A brunette woman sitting at a wooden table looked up, a spell of light swirling above a book she held in her hands. She sat in a rather polite, dignified, almost aristocratic way, in harsh contrast to the simple and lightly armored leather she wore. She rose to her feet, going from dignified to statuesque in a few moments. Hers was a beauty difficult to hide, and the man stared for half a second before raising his eyes to her face.

“Georgina,” she corrected him, placing a leak in her book as a makeshift bookmark. “What news do you bring?”

“Apparently, some big happening. A small group of elites is travelling around the mountain, looking to disrupt supply for the subsidiaries to Castle Cookpot,” the man said, holding out a scroll. “The informant reported who was going.”

Georgina took the scroll and turned her back to the man, striding away until she placed the table between herself and him. She turned her head and questioned, “Durran and Melanie… who are these?”

“I know them,” a voice came from down below. In the corner of the room, someone stepped up. He wiped blood free of his hand. “Durran was one of Argrave’s men, though I know this only in hindsight. I’ve crossed paths with him once before and fought him when we did. Melanie was Elenore’s woman, though. I can’t speak much about her.”

A dark-haired man with white eyes emerged from the basement. He had a beard that had not been trimmed for a while, and a heavy brow that made him appear quite angry.

“You’ve fought him, Ruleo?” Georgina pressed.

“I have,” he nodded. “Remarkably tough fellow. A spellcaster. Much as I hate to admit it… he had the upper hand on me.” Ruleo set down the cloth he held, examining his hands to be sure they were clean. “On top of that, if Elenore is coming, she’s going to be implanting her new favorite toy—druidic magic. Anywhere they go, the birds will be watching our every move. Even if we do ambush them, they’ll get a bead on where we are.”

“We’re highly mobile,” Georgina shook her head. “We’ll be ready for that.”

“So are birds, and doubly so when controlled directly by men,” Ruleo counseled. “This is quite the thorn, all things considered.”

“They’re only ten,” Georgina’s eyes fell to the paper once again.

“That should inspire caution,” Ruleo noted. “Would you care to have a go with ten people that can fight with me?”

Georgina looked up, then bit her lip. “Then… your project. Is it ready?”

Ruleo looked back to the basement. “If it was, I’d be a lot happier,” he chuckled briefly. “No, my main project isn’t ready. But I have a lot of little unused parts of the greater whole lying about… and attrition is especially effective on the living.”

Georgina took a deep breath. “That is an excellent point,” she admitted. “Why are you so willing to commit so much resources to this?”

“This?” Ruleo repeated, not following.

“You worked with Elenore,” Georgina stepped towards him. “Now you’re hindering her. And I don’t see how you benefit from this.”

Ruleo pursed his lips. “Let’s say your idea of abolishing the monarchy appealed to me. Or… we could say that I hate Argrave enough to work for free.”

“You and I both know that’s not true,” Georgina shook her head.

“Well… you won’t tell me about your project,” Ruleo pointed out. “I recently found out some new information. And I’ve come to realize there’s some bigger stakes in this world. As such, the stars have aligned, and we work together. Don’t press further.”

She smiled, yet her eyes remained serious as she said, “That’s fair.”