The First Meet.​ [06.03.1624]​

Faywyn.

THE sun had just risen above the horizon, its warm glow heating the verdant bailey, when Levi entered the great hall of the Keep. The room was already occupied when he arrived, his councillors all gathered around a large wooden table at the centre. As the earl took his seat at the head of the table, with the duke sitting opposite him, he could feel the tension in the air lighten by a small margin. “Good morning everyone,” he said. A varied chorus of replies and hums greeted him in return.

In his wake, Sarah, the Keep’s housekeeper, dropped a small pile of scrolls on the table by his right before leaving to take a seat on a smaller, separate table just off to his left, behind him; a few sheets of paper, an inkhorn and a quill sat before her, primed and ready to be used.

Levi cleared his throat. “We have gathered here today to discuss a few matters of great importance,” he began, “much of which I am sure we are all cognizant. But first, I would like us to welcome a new member into our ranks. Everyone, meet Madam Eliza, the owner of Faywyn’s very own tavern. I am sure quite a few of you here might already be acquainted with her; I did mention she would be joining us the week prior, just before I departed for Towleigh, but I believe a proper introduction is still required. She is here as a representative of the Creed of the Twins to facilitate cooperation between Souville’s provincial authority—that is, us—and Lady Vaiu, the Matriarch of the Creed of the Twins.

“Thank you for having me, My Lord,” the middle-aged woman said, nodding slightly towards Levi.

“The pleasure is mine,” the earl replied before gesturing towards the others gathered around the table. “Now, from right to left, we have Viscount Lancelot of House Dragoon—informally, My Hand, and formally, my father’s before me. Opposite him is Steward Robert of House Dywn, Faywyn’s Master of Coin. To his left is Knight Commander Ser Carter of House Twine. Those three in order are, Master Gunner Ser Turiel of House Liss, Knight Lieutenant Ser Mannon of House Liss, and Knight Lieutenant Ser Justin of House Sider.”

The men all nodded stoically towards the woman as they were mentioned. Levi smiled at the display, fully aware of—and in support of—the fact they scarcely had any trust for the spy he had knowingly invited into their midst.

“And of course,” the earl said, theatrically gesturing towards the duke seated directly opposite him, “my honourable father, Lord Aden von Grifenburg, Duke of Faywyn and Governor-protector of Souville province.”

The duke squinted suspiciously at the earl. Levi simply smiled in response. “As per his wishes, he would be in attendance today solely as an observer; and as per our most recent praxis, I will preside over today’s meeting as well. I am sure you all know who I am, hence, I would forego further introductions in favour of getting to the meat of today’s topic. To begin, the massacre of Longboat, Mells and South rock village has to be addressed. Already, I have ordered a bounty for the heads of the perpetrators; one hundred silver Thales for every dead man. A gold Royal for each one caught alive. Steward Robert has been instructed to set aside three hundred gold Royals to facilitate this. Ser Justin—”

“Yes, My Lord?”

“—You will be tasked with leading a delegate of ten men to present this bounty to all the mountain tribes that would tolerate your presence. The additional men would mainly be for your protection, hence, I would advise you to pick individuals you believe would be valuable towards that end. Should any of the tribes present an overly hostile front, you are to depart from their territory immediately. Forcing the matter could prove unwise.”

“As you will it, My Lord,” the knight replied, bowing.

“Ser Mannon,” the earl said, turning to face the older man, “from today henceforth, I name you Faywyn’s new Captain of the Watch. Given Baron Ralph, your predecessor, left the post in shambles after taking with him the vast majority of the former town watch, your first task as Captain is to supervise the training and reorganisation of the new Watch. I hear there’s been spiteful murmuring amongst the townsfolk; the displaced villagers seem idle and might be constituting a nuisance. Levy as many of them as you can into your ranks and put them to work immediately. Speak to Steward Robert after this meeting on the matter of financing your new ward.

“As you will it, My Lord,” Ser Mannon replied, smiling.

Levi turned his attention back towards Ser Justin. “Upon your return, you are to also take up the position of Mallowston’s Captain of the Watch, after which you are to select a suitable replacement to take over all the tasks tied to your current office. Come the day of your preferment, you would seek out Lancelot to oversee the restructuring of the Mallowston’s Watch; the viscount is, as I decided prior, from now henceforth saddled with the responsibility of governing the town in my stead.”

“Any objections?” the earl asked, his gaze panning across the table. “Very well. Now, unto the matter of Tristan’s army at our borders to the west. Madam Eliza, on behalf of the Creed, has been so kind as to share important information pertaining to this matter; for one, the whisperings that the Lion of Khule intends to move his army inland via the Strega have now been confirmed. Knights, peasant conscripts, and mercenaries are beginning to march east to Ricos from Thernas, Khule, Haris and Wirborough in droves. Stores of war materiel are being mustered to be stockpiled at the town’s harbour at this very moment. According to Steward Robert’s prediction, The majority of the army would likely arrive at Ricos and be ready to move in two to three weeks.

"Our priority has to be to defend our people and our territory. As you’ve all mentioned early on, the need to have patrols on our borders to keep us informed of the enemy’s movements and make sure our garrisons are well-stocked and defended remains pertinent. Although the enemy outnumbers us greatly, we hold a defensive position and our men are reasonably well-trained and motivated to fight, unlike the bulk of the enemy forces which is mostly comprised of levied conscripts sent marching out of their homelands."

There were a few nods of agreement from the arrayed council members.

"But—and this might sound controversial—I believe we can't just wait for the Quiltonnians to attack us. We need to take the fight to them as we did the Heras. Disrupt their supply lines, slow down their advance, or simply harass them to keep the bulk of their forces in a state of uncertainty. Anything to weaken their army as much as possible before they reach our borders. To that end, I suggest we send out raiding sorties via the Strega to harass the enemy at their harbour and after first delivering a softening blow. Madam Eliza could help us with gathering intelligence on their movement and plans in concert with our scouts."

“...My Lord,” Lancelot interrupted hesitantly.

“Yes?”

“...This is a rather risky proposition you are making, My Lord. And what do you mean by a… softening blow?”

Levi nodded in response before turning to face the duke seated across from him. He smiled as the duke’s left brow rose in a questioning gesture. “You see,” the earl said as he suddenly rose to his feet and began sauntering around the table, “while all that had been discussed earlier holds some indisputable truths to them, we have still failed to address the core matter at hand; which is, how do we maintain absolute sovereignty of these lands? Preparing for a siege in the manner which you’ve all proposed, even if it manages to protect us from Tristan’s army would mean we would be confining ourselves to hiding behind these walls for weeks, months, or even years.

“Truly, letters have been sent and favours have been called in. But given the state of affairs in the rest of Algrim, it is impossible to know when our fellow Algrian lords might deign it important enough to come to our aid should we be besieged. As we all know, aside from the royal family who are currently indisposed and a few others we have very few allies among the aristocracy. I can imagine no less than half a dozen lords whose faces would brighten with glee at the news of us suffering some great misfortune; one prominent example is Duke von Berat of Stotford who had to relinquish the lands that now constitute Souville province when the king sought to dilute the stifling grasp the old houses had on the realm. The only reason I believe von Berat has not sent an army marching west yet to reclaim these lands now that the king is deposed is his ambitions for the throne itself. Hence, we cannot, under any circumstance, allow Faywyn to fall under siege.”

The hall fell silent. “...What would you have us do then, My Lord,” Lancelot asked, leaning back into his seat. “I have known you long enough to know these aren’t just mere questions.”

The earl turned to smile at his viscount. “Madam Eliza mentioned that Tristan plans to bring his army to our gates via the Strega, did she not? Then why don’t we simply prevent the duke from doing so? You asked earlier what I meant by a “softening blow”. It’s not complicated really; all we need to do is take away the house cat’s little boats and force his entire army, its baggage train and artillery to march through the boggy, wooded borderlands to get here if they want to avoid a risky river crossing within our territory. Last I remember, asides from a few game trails on this side of the Strega and that one sea lane linking Khule to Towleigh on the other side, there aren’t any direct routes into Faywyn that won’t require you to cross the nearly two-mile-wide Strega.”

“...And how would we “take away the house cat’s little boats”, son?” Aden asked, speaking for the first time since he entered the hall.

“Simple, Father,” Levi quipped.

“We use Fire-ships.”