Chapter 26

Year 163 – Summer – Quartus Mensis – 42nd day

Avem, town of House Valmai, land of the Vale

When the Valmai army came back from their assault, the sun was high, and the forest fire was growing larger by the minute. They carried the equipment to the armoury and the storage area.

The Eagle – “Judec, I need to talk to you.”

Judec – “Yes, my Eagle!”

The Eagle – “While I lead, I need to be certain that the others are following; you’ll now have to oversee the work of the soldiers. If they don’t do what they need to, it is your job to make sure that someone does the job. If no one does it, then you’ll have to do it yourself. I need you to gain the respect of the others. I won’t allow a lack of trust in the orders they will receive. This means that if they don’t respect you, I’ll have to find someone else to take your place. If I happen to fall during a battle, your job is to take command, so you cannot wait like you did back there. If you lose sight of me, you take command of those around you until I order differently.”

Judec nodded.

The Eagle – “Also, you now have the responsibility to ensure the daily training of our militia. I want them to train at least two hours a day. Marco used to make them strike the air with a spear or run around the town.”

Judec – “Yes, my Eagle!”

The Eagle – “Now, I want you to bring four soldiers with you and help Marcus with the storage. He’s getting old, and there’s a lot to carry around.”

Judec – “Yes, my Eagle.”

The Eagle – “You may dismiss.”

Judec left toward the garrison to find some soldiers for his new task. At that moment, the wife of Lord Valmai approached Ethen.

Ethen – “Lady Valmai, what might be the purpose of your presence?”

Lady Valmai – “Rulfus sought your presence.”

Ethen – “By all respect, why did he send you in particular?”

Lady Valmai – “It would be most advisable to keep this from the eyes of the mass.”

Ethen – “Lead the way then.”

Once both entered the town hall, Lord Valmai was already present, waiting in silence. Lady Valmai then left to join her own apartment.

The Eagle – “My lord, you requested my presence?”

Lord Valmai – “Yes, tell me, how did the raid go?”

The Eagle – “We brought some food, arrows, armour, swords, crossbows, and other equipment. We killed 94 Kalator at the cost of 17 of our own, with eight possibly not able to fight anymore.”

Lord Valmai – “Why are there so many casualties?”

The Eagle – “One of them, who I suspect was their leader, killed 12 of our men by the time Morgan got to him. I underestimated his ability, which cost us the lives of many good men. I will take full responsibility, but I suspect this isn’t the reason for my presence?”

Lord Valmai – “You are correct. As you most likely saw, our northern forest is now on fire. Are you informed on who did it?”

The Eagle – “I do not know in particular, but I agree to the strategic value of this action.”

Lord Valmai – “General Thorkel has arrested the culprit, who happens to be the girl who recently joined your troops.”

Ethen seemed confused but kept listening to the speech of his lord.

Lord Valmai – “If she acted without your consent, I would like to know why she wasn’t part of the raid. Do not lie to me, Ethen; I will know it.”

The Eagle – “I told her I didn’t want an unready soldier fighting in an ambush. I suggested to Thorkel to convince his lord to take such action for his people. I had in mind that if he accepted to do it, we would have more time to prepare for the attack, and he would have a debt toward you.”

Lord Valmai – “You know he cannot repay this debt.”

The Eagle – “The debt could have been paid by vassalizing.”

Lord Valmai – “Lord Krain’s too proud to consent for such submission.”

The Eagle – “I would like to add that Vatra is by no means a traitor and that I doubt she did these actions without receiving the order to do so.”

Lord Valmai – “You are implying Thorkel asked her to do it on his behalf and arrested her to protect his own lord from having a debt?”

The Eagle – “That is correct.”

Lord Valmai – “And you want me to release her?”

The Eagle – “We are in need of as many good fighters as we can have.”

Lord Valmai – “It cannot happen.”

The Eagle – “Why?”

Lord Valmai – “While I understand she isn’t a threat, she has burned the wealth of the Vale.”

The Eagle – “Those lands are still fertile. The famine we are living in is because of the unexpected amount of mouths to feed. In a year from now, those refugees might become permanent residents. These lands aren’t lost; they’ll just serve a different purpose.”

Lord Valmai – “Grain isn’t as valuable as oak, Ethen.”

The Eagle – “But she followed Thorkel’s orders!”

Lord Valmai – “Her release might lead to the belief of her innocence, which would create a witch hunt inside our walls to find who the real culprits are. Whether she did it on her own or did it for Lord Krain doesn’t matter. I will not allow any lack of trust from our people. In the end, she is still a stranger who came from a faraway land, and Lord Krain is the leader of 200 soldiers as well as 300 more potential conscripts. She is a necessary sacrifice.”

Although his anger was rising, Ethen kept his composure.

Lord Valmai – “As of now, your duty is to prevent this wildfire from spreading through the grass and roots all the way to our wall. Take as many of our militia as you need and preventively burn the ground all the way to the forest. Make our citizens carry the water and inform them that this fire was the doing of a Kalator spy to intimidate us because they know our will isn’t the kind to shatter. Do not let the morale of our people down, Ethen.”

The Eagle – “Understood . . .”

Lord Valmai – “If you are thinking of taking action, I would like to remind you that you suggested such an idea and that it could be considered an act of treachery. Can I have your promise on the behalf of our people that you will not worsen the situation?”

Ethen – “I won’t let our people down like you let her down.”

Lord Valmai – “She is from the East. She’s a slave for all we know.”

Ethen – “No, she is one of your subjects, and you’ve used her as a scapegoat.”

Ethen got up and left the hall in anger.

Lord Valmai – “She isn’t your sister, Ethen. She isn’t one of us!”