“Why war!? We haven’t had so much as a border skirmish with Sylfen in more than two hundred years! Have we even tried to negotiate? To try and avoid it?” Duke Ellis was red in the face as he spoke, his usual calm demeanor totally lost at the news he’d just received.

“It’s the will of Caedus himself. The recent troubles with the Twin Kings have created more problems on the border and he wants to take the initiative before Sylfen themselves strike,” said Fybarn.

“Oh, they’re the ‘Twin Kings’ now? We’re to show them respect for their rebellion that’s going to plunge us into war?”

Fybarn sighed. “Listen, I know you are unfamiliar with war. No one in Caedun, but those along the northern border that face barbarians every winter has experienced anything even resembling it. Look at it another way, this is an opportunity to grow our borders. There hasn’t been such a chance in whole lifetimes. As a duke, if you throw your full participation behind this you could grow your family to heights it has never seen before.”

“And all it will cost is the lives of thousands of young men and elves right? Is that what their lives are worth?”

“You used to revel in the coliseum fights, why the sudden distaste for a little blood?”

“That was sport, it was limited, people almost never actually died. It’s impossible to compare the scale of those two things.”

“I’m through arguing with you Ellis. I simply came to tell you to prepare for what’s coming. The King and the majority of us in the nobility want this war. We’ve justified it, sold the peasantry on it, and stand to gain from it. Fall in line or don’t, in the end it will affect nothing.” Fybarn stood up from the dinner table and left, stomping up to the room Ellis had, out of courtesy, provided for him for the night.

Ellis picked at his food for a moment and took a small sip of his wine before giving up on eating. Instead he sat there, stewing and thinking of what he could do. He controlled a good portion of Buryn along with a couple small towns and more than a dozen villages. He could seek an exemption for his people, try to keep them from having to serve in the military, but that could easily be overruled. Besides that he was certain the young men would seek to join the military anyway, he’d already had more than three servants leave in order to sign up for the promise of adventure and spoils.

Duke Wyther was not like the other nobility. He’d never isolated himself from those without noble blood and had in fact preferred their company. He tired easily of intrigue and words with double meanings which meant that the simple straightforward nature of the common people was more appealing to him. It also meant he actually gave a damn what happened to his people.

One of his servants approached him and bowed. “Ser, I’m sorry for interrupting your meal, but there’s a Mr. Stone here to see you.”

“Stone Tangled in Roots or Stone in the River Bed?”

“In the River Bed, Ser.”

“Bring him here, but quietly. Make sure none of Fybarn’s servants are aware of him.”

“Yes Ser.” The servant bowed again, and left. A short time later he re-entered the room with Stone in tow.

Stone looked different from the last time Ellis had seen him. His normally graying beard and hair were dyed solid black and he was wearing heavier leather armor than he’d last seen him in. He also had an additional belt across his chest covered in what looked like round metal balls with short pieces of rope sticking out of them. His usually jovial expression was more neutral, more subdued.

“Stone, welcome. Would you care for something to eat?” Ellis gestured to the opposite end of the table where Fybarn’s chair sat empty.

Stone nodded and climbed up to the chair with minimal fuss. “Fybarn’s still here right?”

“Yes, he retired to his room after giving me some news and sharing several opinions I didn’t agree with.”

Stone nodded, ripping a small loaf of bread in half and generously buttering each side. “The war I assume?”

“Yes, the war.”

“I understand. Two of my grandchildren were drafted. One was foolish enough to sign up for herself though.” Stone took a large bite of the bread he was holding, chewed for a few moments, and swallowed. “How would you like to do something about that?”

“About your grandchildren? I may be able to make sure they’re as far from the field as possible, but even that would be difficult now that I’ve made my feelings about the war clear to Fybarn.”

Stone smiled and he immediately looked a lot more himself wearing the expression. “I appreciate that, that’s a real kindness, but I meant more doing something about the war.”

“There’s nothing I can do. I’ve tried talking to the other nobles and even speaking with the king, but it accomplished nothing.”

“Lad, there’s always something you can do. From peasant to Duke, there are always options.”

“What do you suggest?”

“Well, I’d start by blackmailing your friend Fybarn. I have some rather damning documents detailing his debt at a little place called ‘Estelle’s House of Unearthly Pain’. As a man that advocates for the removal of all such establishments, including those that are considered temples, I think such a thing would be damning.”

Ellis chuckled. “It would be, but it’s honestly a rather open secret among the nobility. He’s never been that impressive at hiding it.”

“What about the fact that he’s been going there with Count Valk’s daughter for the last four months?”

Ellis raised his eyebrows. “Count Valk would challenge him to a duel immediately if he knew that.”

“And he’d kill him quite handily too, wouldn’t he?”

Ellis smiled. “He would, but what would we even ask of him?”

“Little things at first, and bigger things as he becomes further involved with us. The eventual goal would be for him to openly oppose the war.”

“I doubt Fybarn’s opposition would make much of a dent.”

“We wouldn’t be stopping at Fybarn. Aside from you and Kyren, I’ve already found a number of nobles against the prospect of war with Sylfen. People whose families have intermarried with theirs, who trade through their territory, even a few like you who disagree with there being a war on principle. If we can gather enough of them, we may be able to stop things, or at least slow them down long enough for everyone’s blood to cool.”

“Would it matter? The King’s word is absolute. Even beyond his heritage he’s beloved by many, and the war itself is proving very popular.”

“It’s easy to rule justly when you’ve never been challenged, when things always go smoothly for you. Let’s see how beloved he is when people see how he behaves when things aren’t going his way.”

…

Ellis made his way into his family's mausoleum. Since Hrig had left he’d been making more frequent trips down there. Part of it was due to what he saw as a failure of management. If he’d been keeping a closer eye on things it’s possible he would have avoided the undead incursion that had briefly disturbed his estate. The other part was that now that he and Hrig had finally had a chance to talk, he no longer felt the same pain at visiting her siblings, his adopted family. He made his way down to their tomb and lit a few of the candles that he’d placed on a small altar in front of them. He then said a small prayer and placed a bundle of flowers from the garden on the altar as well. He took a letter from his jacket and unfolded it.

“Your sister has been writing to me lately, I thought you’d like to hear how she’s been doing with Dorsia.” He cleared his throat and placed the letter on the altar. “She didn’t write it herself. She was never great with penmanship, hard to blame her though, she really only spent time with the tutors to make sure you were both paying attention.” He smiled. “She’s still training hard, big surprise there, and she’s been active in working with some allies to disrupt Talen’s trade with Buryn and trying to hurt his businesses in Cirros as well. She mostly seems to be doing that by being pointed at issues and breaking them until they aren’t problems anymore. Well, you know how she is. She’s planning on visiting, along with Dorsia and Jade, but doesn’t know when she’ll get the chance. That was pretty much it. I just thought you’d like to know how she's doing.” Ellis left the candles burning and made his way back out of the tomb, stopping for only a few extra moments to leave more flowers on his parents grave. Once out of the mausoleum he took a deep breath and let the sun warm him, driving the chill of the tomb from his bones.

A servant approached. “My lord, Clara is here to see you. She’s taking tea in your study.”

“Thank you Tillis. I’ll head that way.” Ellis made his way across the grounds and into his manor. He entered the room to find Clara, seated and enjoying tea. She was tan, with a tangle of dark hair that had been forced into the latest style, her eyes were light brown with flecks of green.

She smiled and stood as he entered, giving a slight bow. “My lord.”

“You don’t have to do that. It’s not as if we haven’t worked together before.”

“You’ll have to indulge me. I’m so used to dealing with adventurers I’d really like to flex my courtly manners a little. I rarely get the chance.”

“Fair enough.” Ellis had found Clara to be a bit of an enigma. She was of low birth, but was smart and capable. She craved the taste of nobility in the same way he had craved the simplicity of common folk.

She curtsied and sat back down. “So, what can I do for you, Duke Ellis?”

“You’ve heard of the war coming I presume?”

“Hard to avoid, I’m afraid.”

“Is war good for the adventuring business?”

“It is at first, as the young men leave home and places become easier prey to monsters and bandits, but eventually there’s not any money to pay them and those that would work for free start to not have enough money for equipment and that tends to lead to their downfall. Some join the army of course, but they are rarely suited for it. They’d made their way on small teams or as individuals, those with an adventurer’s disposition typically lack the ability to conform necessary to excel at war.”

Ellis smiled. “Is that lack of conformity ever trying?”

“Constantly. They often go around my back, or take jobs without negotiation, or even disappear. Managing them is exhausting.”

“I’m not surprised to hear that,” he paused, “it sounds like you’d prefer to avoid war if possible.”

“Absolutely, yes.”

“What if I told you I had a way we could do that?”

“I’d say I want to hear it, but I’d also like to know how I’ll be involved.”

“Stone and I have put together a large group of benefactors. We want to hire something like 50 adventurers.”

“Fifty? I only manage 17.”

“But you know other fixers right?”

“I suppose… but what would you do with those 50 adventurers?”

“It’s simple. We’d end the issue at the heart of the war before it even starts. We’re planning on taking out the Twin Kings.”

“What?”

“The Twin Kings house noble traitors from our kingdom and Sylfen believes we’re planning on annexing their territories into our own. That’s the whole impetus for the war. If we remove the twin kings from the board, and take those nobles out as well, we can stop things before they begin.”

“Sylfen itself hasn’t been able to bring them in line, what makes you think you can with fifty adventurers?”

“Sylfen moves slowly. It’s their longevity, keeps them from risking immediate action. A small group of individuals can move quickly, and a strong group can strike hard. Sylfen is considering and planning and plotting while Caedun escalates things in anticipation of them doing the same. We can get ahead of both of them.”

“And it’ll be up to me to assemble this group?”

“All, but three of the fifty, yes.”

Clara sighed and smiled.“Do I need to guess which ones?”

“No, you don’t”

“Well, you get me the money, and I’ll get you what you need. From there, it’s on you.”