Chapter 4: Chess Board

The weather was starting to warm. It was almost bearable to be outside these days. Kar was in the northern part of the Empire so winter liked to cling to the state and linger like a desperate illness.

The city had started to catch wind of the men from the Temple wandering around the state. It had only been several weeks since their arrival and yet, somehow, they had already crept back towards the capital, pulling away from the rest of the state. When Gilbert caught news they were back in town he had gotten nervous, but Warren seemed calm as ever.

Warren finally stopped neglecting his proper duties as the assistant Governor. Thanks to his lackadaisical attitude the past month or so Warren had been forced to dive into his work to make up for the lost time. That meant that Gilbert spent most of his time running to and fro on behalf of his master. At least as Warren had gotten older he'd turned into a diligent young man and no longer required the constant nagging from Gil to get work done.

It was a particularly busy day for Warren. His father had left with one of his advisors to visit a neighboring Governor to deal with some strife that had popped up on their borders between two towns of farmers, leaving Warren temporarily in charge of all local affairs. Since they do say that trouble often comes in pairs, Warren found himself dealing with a smuggler in their port not long after his father had left.

Gilbert had just arrived from the port inspectors office with the official report of what had been smuggled in. Illegal arms had been shipped in at the bottom of several boxes of imported fruit.

The servant opened the door to the study and brought the papers over to Warren. "What did the inspector say?" He asked, his eyes still glued to the document in front of him. "It seemed like a rather small batch. Much too small to be a part of a large operation. He suspects it was probably a one time attempt," He said as he placed the small report on the desk.

Warren sat back, frowning a bit. It didn't really add up to him, but he didn't have the authority to involve a bigger investigation. "This is going to have to wait until Father returns…" he muttered to himself. Pushing away from the desk like a man freeing himself from chains he stretched a bit. "I need to take a break, I feel like I'm going to melt into that desk," he said, grabbing the coat that was draped over the back of the chair. "Let's go into town for a bit," he said, making his way towards the door.

"Into town?" Gil asked, following behind him. "I just came back from town. You couldn't have made this decision before I had to deal with the port inspector on my own?" He asked with a frown. The port inspector was a harsh and crude man who seemed to take an instant disliking to Gil simply because he worked for Warren and not Governor Salphus himself.

"You know Gil, I've always been so grateful for what a studious and dependable aid you've been," Warren said with a small grin.

"Don't try and flatter me," Gilbert grumbled back, following him out of the study.

*____*

The two of them arrived in the city just a short while later. It was still cold, but the wind no longer whipped across the skin, turning it raw if you were outside too long. The snow had nearly melted, pathing the way for people to once again take to the streets of the fine capital city. With how bad the weather had been this winter, some shops were forced to close their doors entirely for a few weeks. It was nice to see them open and the city thriving again.

Gil had been hoping they'd be able to visit the fine goods store and see if they had his favorite coffee in, but it seemed that Warren was already on a mission. He should've known better. Wanting to go into the city meant wanting to see about a new book. If it weren't so quaint, his master's love for books would be a borderline unsettlingly obsession.

The cobblestone clicked beneath their feet as Warren strode confidently...right past the ally the specialty import shop was at the end of. Maybe he was wrong. That would be a first.

"Where are we headed?" Gilbert asked trotting a bit to catch up to Warren. He was older and taller and his strides were longer, so when he walked at such a determined pace sometimes it was hard for Gil to match it. "There's a new Cafe at the end of the street I've been wanting to try."

"A Cafe?" Gilbert asked curiously. Warren had never been particularly fond of such places, it was a bit odd to see him suddenly interested in one. It sounded quite nice though. The two of them hadn't enjoyed a quiet outing together in what felt like a while. Gilbert smiled to himself at the thought of such a relaxing and enjoyable afternoon. Despite how much time he spent around Warren, his company was always so refreshing.

As they reached the end of the street, Gilbert could see the little red brick building sandwiched between a women's boutique and what looked like some sort of firm. The smell of freshly baked bread and brewed teas pleasantly flirted with each other as they got closer. However, with their approach a man at one of the outside tables stood, walking over to greet them. He was an attractive man, well dressed with delicate features. He was the type women swooned for when he merely passed. Gilbert almost tripped over the discovery of this unnecessary third wheel.

"Lord Salphus," The man said, walking over to Warren to shake his hand. "What a pleasure to finally meet you in person," He said. His voice was crisp and clear, pleasant to hear, and he smiled and moved with natural charm.

"Lord Ross, I hope I wasn't too late." Warren grasped his hand firmly in return. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well," He said turning to Gilbert who was never very good at hiding his displeasure with a situation. "This is my Aid, Gilbert Greaves," He said. Gil was quite often introduced to people, especially other Lords and Officials as Lord Warren Salphus's Aid, but this time hearing it annoyed him a bit.

"It's nice to meet you as well, I'm Lord Edwin Ross," he said, offering his hand to Gilbert who shook it with all the fervor of a dying man. "Gilbert," he said in return. Both men politely ignored the servant's prickly attitude.

"Well let's not stand around, come have a seat, I'll order some more tea," he offered. Warren sat across from the other Lord and Gil sat by his side.

"So is this your first time in Kar?" Warren asked. He spoke in a casual and natural manner as if the two of them had already formed some sort of friendship, but they had clearly both said this was their first time meeting in person. Gilbert had worked beside Warren long enough that he was quite aware of most of the Lords and Governors from surrounding states and even some of the farther ones, yet Lord Ross didn't ring a bell. Was it possible he was from one of the Empire's newly acquired Kingdoms and not from the Central States?

Lord Ross paid Gilbert little mind and nodded in response. "It is not, but it is the first time in a while. Things have changed quite a bit since the last time I was here," he said. "Well, I hope you didn't simply travel all this way to meet me. I don't believe I'm a man worth making that sort of trek for," Warren said with a small laugh, leaning back in his seat a bit.

Something changed in Lord Ross's smile in response to that comment. Gilbert wasn't quite sure what it was, but it made him wary of the man. "To the contrary! My Mistress and I believe quite the opposite," He said. "But I'll take your humility as a good sign that our faith is not misplaced," he said. "In fact, I came here to bring you a special delivery on her behalf," he said, reaching into his coat. The sweetness of his words coupled with the slyness of his tone made Gilbert worry that he was going to pull a knife on Warren, but those fears were silenced for the moment when he produced a small parcel, wrapped in a dark blue cloth.

Warren took the item, a familiar feeling in his hands as he unwrapped it a bit to see the corner of a book. "I suggest you not open that here," Lord Ross warned with a small nod. Warren peeled back the cloth just a bit more, before once again wrapping it. "Tell your Mistress I am incredibly grateful for her generous gift," He said, sliding the package away before Gilbert was able to see exactly what it was. Though despite not catching a good look at it, he had a haunting suspicion that it wasn't a thrilling novel.

Lord Ross nodded in approval to Warren's acceptance of the gift. "So I hear that the Governor is out of town to deal with a scuffle around the border? " he asked.

"You must be quite astute to already be aware of that," Warren said, though he was cautious with his words, they weren't necessarily guarded. To Gilbert, it sounded like he wasn't all that surprised to know that this Lord Ross kept a close ear to the ground.

"I like to be aware of the movements of important pieces," He said, much more nonchalantly then someone should've when referring to the ruler of a state as a game piece. He relaxed in his chair and took a sip of his coffee as if this were just an average kind of conversation for him.

Gil's eyes followed the conversation moving between the two men as they spoke. It was painfully obvious that something deeper was going on in this conversation, but they spoke with the secrecy akin to that of men who believed their lives hung on the careful selection of their words. The more they spoke of the conflict on the border and the inner workings of the city the more Gilbert grew uncomfortable. It only took one more question for the quiet servant to become unsettlingly aware of just why their conversation sounded so roundabout.

"And the Temple men, they've made their way back into the capital this morning, haven't they?" Lord Ross asked, setting his cup down and catching Warren's eyes. Gilbert shivered at the intensity of the look. A look that could've stopped the winter storms in their tracks.

Warren never flinched. "I believe they have, but their movements are something you would be more aware of than I, isn't that correct?" he asked, his pointed response piercing through that intense look. There was a small bit of surprise that rippled across his face, but he quickly drew it back in before leaning forward and smiling a bit. He seemed to concede defeat in their verbal game of chess. "I suppose you are correct, Lord Salphus," He said. "In that case though, I do urge you to be careful. Even rats bite when they feel they've been cornered," he said, standing from his seat.

"And you feel they've been cornered?" Warren asked.

Lord Ross smiled at them one more time. "Oh, I do."