Aside from the disastrous discussion of crushes, the sleepover actually went quite well and the teens talked and snacked all night until they all drifted to sleep.

When they woke up, it was back to work. Frances was duelling with Ayax. The troll’s semifinal duel was the next day and while they couldn’t stop the conspiracy, it was now more important to keep circumstances under control.

At least, this was according to Eleanor’s reasoning. True to Edana’s word, the Windwhistler matriarch wasn’t even phased by Frances’s loss and patted her on the head that morning.

“Frances, you couldn’t beat Ophelia, that’s fine. It would have been nice if you won, but it was never going to be a sure thing. What you can help us with is by making sure Ayax wins. No, it might not help, but it would still be useful to have a Windwhistler in the finals.”

“Why’s that? We can’t stop the tournament,” Ayax piped up.

“We don’t know the conspiracy’s target. It could be the stadium, it could rely on the timing of the stadium. It could easily be you forfeiting your final match that throws them off. We just don’t know. The opportunity for more control however would be useful and so that’s why you need to be in the final,” Eleanor explained.

So as Frances and Ayax practiced once again, Martin and Elizabeth were on an intriguing assignment.

“Wait, you want us to identify weaknesses and targets in Erlenberg?” Elizabeth scratched the back of her head as Eleanor and Ayax’s adoptive father Alexander, nodded. “But I’m… I’ll be fifteen in a week, and Martin’s sixteen.”

Alexander, who was also the head of the Windwhistler’s Household troops, laid a map on the table. “You’re also the ones who have fought the Alavari for the longest in this city anyway. We’ll be consulting with Erisdalian experts , but you did help capture Kwent and retake Freeburg. I’d like your opinion. We can weigh it properly later.”

Martin nodded slowly. “Doesn’t the city have a professional army? Why aren’t we talking to officers from them?”

Eleanor and Alexander’s faces twisted in annoyance. “We did ask the Erlenbergy Army, who House Antoine heavily influences, if they were interested in talking to you. They said they didn’t want to talk to a bunch of teenagers,” said Eleanor.

“Even if you’ve actually fought the Alavari. So, what do you think? And take your time,” said Alexander.

The pair looked over the map. It actually had two maps. One showed the Republic of Erlenberg stretched across the bay that gave it its name, along with roads and terrain features. The other was a map of the city, which surrounded the inlet of Sailor’s Rest. The Grand Canal that ran through the city cut through the city, and linked with the Silverstream river. This river marked Erlenberg’s westernmost edge.

“How many ports does Erlenberg have apart from Erlenberg city and Port Lisalle?” Martin asked, pointing at a smaller town in the Republic, closer to the border by Erisdale.

“Just those two. Why is that important?” Eleanor asked.

“The northeastern region of Erisdale is highly mountainous. If something were to happen to even one of the ports in Erlenberg, transporting reinforcements and supplies to Erlenberg would be made more difficult,” said Martin.

“I thought Erisdale’s road network was second to none. You can transport packages and documents from the city of Erisdale to here faster by horse than by ship,” Eleanor exclaimed.

“Packages and documents, not troops, food and weapons. Martin’s right,” Alexander pursed his lips. “And I think you’ve noticed we might have a problem about supplies from Conthwaite.”

Nodding, Elizabeth pointed at the border between Alavaria and the Republic. “Yeah, the Alavaria are probably going to try and succeed in seizing the western bank of the Silverstream. You have a fort guarding the border on the eastern bank of the Silverstream, but the west bank is open.”

Eleanor grinned. “That’s a start, as worrying as that is. Thankfully we can guard the seas. Our navy is larger and better trained then the Alavari’s. Their lack of a port that doesn’t freeze over in the winter means they have significant problems.”

“Well that’s a relief,” said Martin.

The group continued to look at the map and discuss Erlenberg’s defenses. By the end, Martin and Elizabeth felt a bit more worried about the city’s situation, but at the same time, they were glad that they were working together.

Later…

Eleanor had known Oscar Voidsalor wasn’t going to like this news. Rachel Windstorm hadn’t even been part of Oscar’s family and she did not take the news that Basil Voidsailor and James Seaskimmer were likely responsible for smuggling the gunpowder in well at all.

But right now, thanks to their investigation at the warehouse and after a few more interviews and lead tracking, they were now fairly certain that Basil had bought the gunpowder from the Windstorms before smuggling it off the books. The Windstorms had actually come through for Eleanor and found the invoices and the manifest that indicated the gunpowder had been moved to the abandoned warehouse. The manifest wasn’t signed by Basil. It’d been signed by the person who sold the warehouse and its contents, and who was conveniently not in Erlenberg. However, Basil had signed the purchase form for the gunpowder.

That had led to Eleanor and Rachel calling a meeting with Oscar Voidsailor, Basil’s father.

Oscar’s reaction… well, the short half-goblin had listened to Eleanor and Rachel with slowly widening eyes. Once he’d finished, he asked in a very quiet voice, to see their evidence. Eleanor and Rachel produced the invoices, reports of Basil’s movements, and even a witness report from a hostess that served Basil and James at the House of Light. All these suggested the pair had been meeting with a half-orc half-troll woman.

That woman continued to mysteriously vanish from their spies as soon as her meetings with Basil and James were finished.

“You have no hard evidence they’ve done anything wrong,” Oscar hissed, not looking up at the two women.

Eleanor sighed. “Oscar, this is very suspicious—”

“Of course it is! Those idiots!” Oscar slammed his fist on the table, making the cups on the wood leap into the air. “Damn it! That explains how Raven was bribed. Basil and James knew her well and worked with her together in setting up our Alavari branch of our bank. And now we can’t even cancel the tournament.”

“You can ask Ophelia to forfeit—”

“With her as a finalist? My family will riot. Don’t get me wrong, most of them… at least I hope they respect me, but they want to win this badly and nothing I say will convince them otherwise,” Oscar groaned. “That idiot boy. And James… of all the people I didn’t think James would do this. Why?”

“Well, can you help us catch them in the act or find evidence to bring them to trial?” Eleanor asked.

“I’ll do my best, but they’re being very careful. Have you ever been able to catch them together with their contact?”

“They’re meeting in a place that is far too public. Any attempt to capture them will result in a hell of a lot of casualties. I’m not sure why they won’t just use magic mirrors, though,” Eleanor said.

Oscar scratched at his chin. “James’s mirrors are in his rooms that he shares with his wife. I suspect she doesn’t know the extent of his involvement.”

“Let’s keep tracking them then. They’re unlikely to make a move in the semifinal, but maybe they slip up and we can figure out a place to capture them,” said Rachel.

The other two house heads agreed and the meeting went on.

A day later…

“You did it! You won!” Frances cheered as a sweaty, but grinning Ayax left the stadium arena. The Lovestrike champion had tried to beat her cousin, but Ayax had trained to fight against an Otherworlder. It had been a tough battle, but Ayax had piled on more and more damage until the Lovestrike champion had slipped up enough for the troll to land a heavy blow that knocked them out.

“Thanks to you. You make fighting others quite easy.” Ayax staggered slightly, but Frances and Elizabeth managed to steady her. Martin helped by handing Ayax her water bottle.

“I think… I think I need a shower,” the troll groaned. Laughing, the band carried their friend to the changing rooms.

Martin leaned back in his chair. “So the final duel of the tournament is going to be between you and Ophelia. Are you ready, Ayax?”

Ayax looked up from where she was laid out on a sofa-bed, tail flicking slowly side to side. “As ready as I can be. I don’t know if I can win, but I think I have a better chance. Ophelia used most of her magical cards, items and devices. She can’t recover most of those in five days.”

From her spot on a sofa-chair, Frances sighed. “No she can’t. I wish we didn’t have the impending threat of sabotage or some disaster coming, but there’s nothing else we can do.”

“Yeah, we know who it is, but not how to catch them in the act,” said Elizabeth, reclined on a rocking chair, feet on a stool.

“Pity we can’t just grab them,” Martin muttered. He had chosen to sit on the couch, a glass of water in hand.

Frances frowned at her friend’s muttering. She did sympathize with him to an extent. However, the tone the knight had said it in sent a shiver down her back.

“If we do, then we’d be no better then they are,” Frances said.

Martin’s shoulders sagged. “I know. But… I’m a knight. I want to protect people, especially my friends. If we don’t stop them, the conspirators are going to hurt a lot of people. They have already hurt you and others. I just wish we could stop them before it comes to that.”

Rising from her seat, Frances sat down next to her friend. “Thanks, Martin. I really appreciate that. But I don’t want you, or any of my friends doing something wrong on my account.”

“Thanks.” Martin sighed. “If only we can make them meet somewhere that would allow us to catch them.”

From across the room, Elizabeth piped up, in a quiet voice. “Martin, I’m sorry for asking this…. private question. You really don’t need to answer it but… well, you’re the son of nobility aren’t you? Um, I thought that you’d have some other friends like… like…”

“Friends aside from two Otherworlders, and a troll that’s not even from your country. Oh and the troll and one of the Otherworlders have issues,” Ayax finished in a lackadaisical tone. She was studying Martin with interest from her seat, though.

The knight steepled his fingers as Frances realized that her cousin was right. Martin had tagged along with her and Elizabeth without any reservation, and hadn’t minded the trips to Erlenberg. One might think that would take him away from his friends in Conthwaite, but he hadn’t complained once, or wrote any letters.

“It’s a little less suspicious and simpler than you think. Not uncomplicated however.” Martin’s lips thinned. “I do have friends in Conthwaite and some other acquaintances. They were also men at arms and knights my age. I never really connected to them. You know how you have some friends that are friends, but not close friends? I was always one of those friends. And then well… I witnessed what they did to an Alavari village.”

Ayax was no longer reclined on her couch. She was staring at Martin, whilst Elizabeth stiffened. “You mentioned that you saw Erisdalians run amok, burning, pillaging and worse… you didn’t say they were your friends.”

“We weren’t on good terms by that point. I and a fellow officer tried to stop them, and the troops, but they were too far gone. Several knights lost their knighthood that day and five other Dale-folk were executed.” He glanced at Ayax. “I cut them out completely then, but I wish I could have done more.”

“Martin, you’re a good bloke, but don’t bring that up again,” Ayax hissed. She shifted back to lying on the couch. “Do Erisdalians hate the Alavari that much?”

“Some yes. There was always that wariness and border skirmishes were frequent especially in the Meluthen region, east of Vertingen. Then, after the war’s first year, just before the Otherworlders were summoned, General Berengeria led an army into Erisdale, sacking towns and villages. She nearly destroyed the Temple of the Heroes.” Martin sighed. “I’m not saying that this makes what the Humans do fine, I’m just saying that that event led to a lot of resentment.”

Frances’s heart almost skipped a beat. “Wait, you mean the Alavari almost won the war by taking out the Temple of Heroes?”

“Yes. Frances?” Martin blinked as the short mage leapt off her chair and began to pace across the room, arms crossed.

She didn’t stop for several minutes. She also wasn’t the only one. Elizabeth’s brow was furrowed and she was toying with a lock of her hair, but in a way that indicated she wasn’t paying attention.

“Cuz, you’re going to wear the carpet out, what’s wrong?” Ayax asked.

Frances rubbed her temples. “I can’t figure it out. Something seems… familiar? Odd about all of this.”

“I know what you mean, Frances. It has to do with how the Alavari fight and make war,” said Elizabeth. She shook her head. “But I can’t figure it out either. We need more information, and we can’t unless we can interrogate James Seaskimmer and Basil Voidsailor.”

“Who we can’t because we can’t catch them in the act. They plan their meetings too carefully,” said Martin.

“Then we force them to meet,” Ayax said, suddenly.

Frances nodded, smiling eagerly. “That’s a good idea. Any idea how, Ayax?”

The troll shook her head, tail also mirroring the movement of her head. “Uhhhhhhhh… no? I mean it’s kinda obvious. They’re prepared, you make them unprepared.”

Elizabeth chuckled. “Maybe it was obvious to you, but it wasn’t to us. Good thinking.” She was so deep in thought, she didn’t notice Ayax’s reddening cheeks. “There is definitely one thing we can do to make them meet suddenly. If they thought we suspected them, they’d meet for sure in person to discuss it, and meet soon.”

“And how would we tell them?” Frances asked.

Martin snapped his fingers. “Jeffrey and Ophelia. So far as we know, they’re loyal to their houses. We could tell them and of course they would tell their families. They’re young enough that they wouldn’t be believed by most of their family, except for those who know they are guilty. We could then track them as they go for a meetup.”

Slow nods came from around the group, but Frances still looked hesitant. “Do we tell them about the plan?” she asked.

“I’d like to, but they might refuse if we do tell them.” The knight’s fists clenched. “But the right thing to do would be to tell them.”

“I agree. We should tell them, but let’s consult with Eleanor and Edana first,” said Elizabeth.

Ayax slid off her couch and onto her feet. “Well come on then!”

---

The plan was quickly approved by Edana and Eleanor after they consulted with Oscar Voidsailor and Rachel, and soon, after a quick mirror call, the teens were marching out to the park on the hill called Charlotte’s Rest.

After they arrived, Ophelia, Robert and Jeffrey arrived soon after. Robert’s presence was a modification that Edana had suggested. Since the Windstorms were involved in the Windwhistler’s investigation, having Robert to confirm what they were going to share with Ophelia and Jeffrey would help.

Ophelia put her hands on her hips. “I take this isn’t a social occasion?”

“I’m afraid not,” said Martin. As Frances, Elizabeth and Ayax stood guard, the knight slowly explained what the Windwhistlers and Windstorms had discovered. As Martin finished explaining why they suspected James Seaskimmer and Basil Voidsailor, the Erlenberg teenagers all slowly began to react.

Robert knew more of what Martin was telling the group, so his reaction was a little more subdued. However, the troll didn’t know the result of the investigation. He sat down, hard, almost crushing his own tail.

“No. That’s not possible. Not grandfather,” Jeffrey stammered. He looked like the world had collapsed on him.

Ophelia, scowling, her fists clenched tight, hissed, “You don’t know for sure.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “No, which is why we need your help. We know the conspirators are going to try something during your duel with Ayax, the final duel of the Winter Tournament, but we can’t be sure if they are James and Basil. We need you to leak that we suspect James and Basil to them. On such short notice, there’s a good chance they meet with their contact who we can track.”

“You’re asking us to betray our families? To mislead them based on this nonsense?” Ophelia spat back.

“If your uncle and Jeffrey’s father are innocent, then they won’t react as we suspect. If they are, we might be able to stop the saboteurs,” Elizabeth explained.

Jeffrey nodded.“Ophelia, she’s right, and Grandpa has been acting far more nervous of late and he has been going out at night far more often. I… I thought something was wrong, but I didn’t realize… Oh Gods of Seas and Sand—”

“Pull yourself together, Jeffrey. What if they’re wrong? What if there’s nothing wrong about what James and Basil are doing?” Ophelia snapped.

“Your grandfather quite readily believed it, Ophelia,” Ayax hissed.

That wiped the scowl off the young mage’s face and replaced it with a wide-eyed stare. “But… why…”

Frances took a deep breath. “Ophelia, I can’t imagine what you feel like, but war is coming to Erlenberg and if we don’t act now, the saboteurs, whoever they are, will act and we need to find out if James and Basil are suspects. Please, can you both help leak this out? Especially you, Jeffrey. Oscar’s already going to help, but we have nobody to spread this information to the Seaskimmer House.”

Ophelia and Jeffrey exchanged glances. The half-orc nodded, wiping his eyes as he did so. The human, hands pressing against her face and made a sound half-between a groan and a scream, and nodded too.

The night before the final match of the Winter Tournament, and there was still no news as to whether the scheme had worked or not. So, with nothing else to do Martin and Elizabeth were studying maps of Erlenberg in preparation

Frances and Ayax were discussing the upcoming duel.

That is, Frances was planning and Ayax looked as if she had eaten a lemon.

“Cuz, I know you’re trying to help, and you are, but I… I get that we need the tournament. It’s too late to cancel, and we need to distract the conspirators, and make them think we’re none the wiser, but I don’t get what’s the point of winning it.”

Wincing, Frances sighed. “Sorry Ayax, I’m just… anxious, and I wanted to just help if I couldn’t figure out why.” She crossed her arms, and closed her eyes. “I have a really really bad feeling about tomorrow. I just… I know I don’t make sense but I think we’re missing something.”

“We are missing key information about what the enemy is planning. It makes a lot of sense that you are uncomfortable with that,” said Martin, looking up from his map.

“You’re right, but it’s not just that. It’s… sorry I can’t figure it out—”

Elizabeth suddenly straightened. “It feels like Freeburg right? Not like, before Freeburg. We had no idea what was going to go on, but like… because we nearly got trapped at Freeburg, it feels similar to that now.” Frances bobbed her head and the speed of her pacing increased.

“Okay seriously cuz, you need to nap, talk to someone or have a snack,” said Ayax. She tried to catch the corner of her cousin’s dress but missed.

Sighing, Frances released her arms from her armpits and took a deep breath. “I know. I’ll go make something.” She headed for the lounge’s door and blinked as she felt a chime in her pocket. Reaching down, she pulled out her hand mirror and opened it to find Ophelia and Jeffrey’s faces reflected in the glass.

Ophelia’s eyes were tinged red. “Frances, you were right. Uncle Basil and James have requested to be absent from the Winter Tournament’s final duel, saying they have business to attend to. They’ve never done this ever.”

Frances smiled sympathetically to her rival and nodded. “I’m sorry. I’ll get Edana. Thank you.”

“Just get him, and stop this, please,” Jeffrey said.

Nodding, Frances said, with quiet determination and with all her conviction, “We will.”