king still alive?” She asked. “I don’t get any news anymore.”
“Uh, yes, I think so. I’m going to see him now. I’m his adjutant. That’s just a fancy way of saying I do stuff for him. Guarding mostly.” Kenton liked talking to this lady, even if he hadn’t asked her name yet. It felt good talking to another common Chell again.
“Sounds good.” She said offhandedly.
“Are we close to the manor region.”
“Just a few hours away. A lot shorter since you have a horse.”
He stood up and nodded. “Well that sounds fine. I guess I’ll be leaving then.”
The lady folded her arms. “I guess they got the farms.”
“What’s that?”
“The farms. All the farms are near the manor region. I could see the smoke yesterday. I think the Welgos destroyed them all. That’s where all the food is. That makes me think, you know?”
Kenton felt that this woman wasn’t quite with it. “Think about what?”
She bit her lip and her eyes widened. “Their next step.” She started counting with her hand. “Religious sites—castles without walls—towns—farms—what’s next?”
Kenton sighed. Victor’s face loomed in his mind. “That’s almost everything.” Kenton said. “Only one thing left.”
“The manor region.” The lady mulled thoughtfully.
“Nope.”
She gave him a furtive smile. “Then what?”
“I wouldn’t worry too much.”
“How did you get a Welgland horse?” She asked.
“I stole it.”
“Those horses only trust a Welgo. That’s the way it works.”
“It’s just a horse.” He reminded her.
“Those horses are not just horses.”
The front door opened and a large man with a beard stepped in. Kenton would recognize a Welgo anywhere.
“What is this?” The man yelled.
“He’s with the king.” The woman shouted suddenly.
The Welgo pulled a dagger from his belt and ran toward Kenton, who jumped out of the way and out the door.
There was no time to get the horse free. Kenton ran at full speed away from the house.
After several minutes of running, and realizing that no one followed, he came to a stop and looked back. He fell to his knees and held his side. If only Victor hadn’t taken his sword. It didn’t matter now. He’d lost his horse and all the food he was provided for his trip. At least the manor region was only a few hours away by foot, unless that woman lied about that.
Thankfully she didn’t lie about that. Several hours later he came upon the large stone wall that all the nobles hid behind. Several guards paced back and forth in front of a tall gate. One of them recognized Kenton from training several years earlier. He helped the tired and defeated Kenton inside and into a small office where a medic looked him over. Marvie came in and gave Kenton a big hug.
“I can’t believe your alive!” Marvie exclaimed. “Rogerseen came riding in a few days ago and said you were dead. He said he saw you strangled by a Welgo while prisoner in some town somewhere.”
Kenton rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe he’s still alive.”
“So what happened, Morzha?”
Marvie started checking for wounds.
“We found a Welgo town.” Kenton said simply. “They let him go and kept me a while.”
“Well it looks like they did a number on you. At first glance nothing looks broken. You do have a bunch of bruises, though.”
“I figured.”
Kenton remembered being punched repeatedly by a couple Welgos. “I’m sorry, adjutant.” Victor had said. “What would they say if you strolled up to the king without a scratch?”
“It’s alright now.” Marvie said with a wide smile. “You’re safe. This is the safest place in the whole kingdom. I’ll tell the king to let you off easy a few days until you’re better.” He clapped his hands and looked very pleased. But then he frowned. “How did you get out?”
Kenton could see Victor telling him something. He shook his head and the image vanished. “I snuck out at night and stole one of their horses. I lost the horse, though.” He looked at Marvie seriously. “They are indeed settling.”
Marvie nodded. “We’ll regroup. We’ll get them. Give them a little payback for everything. That’s the new plan.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll have the king explain. He’ll be thrilled to see you again.” Marvie chuckled. “It’s funny. He was so distraught when he thought you’d died. He said: ‘that man was my best guard. He was the only one I could trust’.” Marvie smiled toothily. “How about that?”
Kenton stared at the floor and gripped his chair. “I never realized he valued me so much.”
Marvie helped Kenton from the office and down a road lined with larger houses than Kenton had ever seen. Each one had an eight foot wall around a giant yard. Kenton looked in awe as Marvie led him up to one of the houses. He told him that that particular manor was being used as a hospital for only the richest of nobles and most important of commanders.
The house bustled with nurses and bandaged soldiers. They went up to the third and top floor where a room was provided for Kenton to use.
“I’ve been told to save this one in case anybody important enough showed up injured. I’ll take that to mean you.”
Kenton sat back on an extremely comfortable bed and looked around at the room. It only had a bed, a couple chairs, and a cabinet, and yet was worth more than the entire town he grew up in.
“Rogerseen’s down the hall if you want to see him.”
“Never again.” Kenton said.
Marvie laughed and went to tell everyone that he was alive.
Kenton tried to get comfortable, but before he could King Chellias came bounding into the room. Marvie tried to follow him in, but the king quickly closed the door behind him. The two looked each other over for a minute before the king finally spoke.
“I’m glad you’re alive.” He said gruffly.
Kenton nodded.
Chellias took a seat in one of the nice chairs and groaned loudly. “You’re one of the few I trust, Morzha.” He shook his head. “So many have deserted. I don’t know. I just don’t.”
Kenton had never heard the king talk like that. In fact, he couldn’t remember the king saying so many words to him in the two years he knew him. “That’s what happens in war.”
“We’re going to invade them.” He said, staring steadfastly at Kenton for his reaction.
Kenton kept his face emotionless. “If you think that’s best.”
“That’s all there is.” The king grunted. “We got word this morning of a large amount of ships heading this way. We’ll fend them off and then launch a counter attack deep in Welgland. That should force them back up there. If we can take the capital before they figure out what we’re up to—then we can inflict immeasurable damage.”
Kenton nodded slowly.
“Speak freely, Morzha, what do you think?”
He never knew what ‘speak freely’ really meant. But he took a deep breath and did as he was told. “I think that we need to realize that an invasion will take a lot of soldiers. It’ll cost us a lot as well, maybe too much.”
Chellias jumped up.
Kenton pushed himself back against the headboard, fearing the worst.
The king paced the room, stroking his beard. “There’s nothing left. If we had more options, then sure. But we don’t. They are just going to keep bringing more and more in. Word from our neighbors is equally bad. Rogerseen told me they’re settling. They’ve taken the Vastlands already. There’s only two places left in the whole kingdom that we still have control over.”
“Then make a deal.” Kenton stressed. “Meet their leader and work something out. Give them the Vastlands in exchange for going away. Pay them off somehow. I
know that worked in the past at various times.”
“This kingdom will not be separated!” The king howled. “I will let it be destroyed before that.”
“You’re the kingdom!” Kenton shouted back. “As long as you’re here the kingdom can continue. Very few people out there care if they live in Chell or Welgland. Condense the kingdom and start over. We can build towns and walls and build a relationship with the Welgos. And then, years from now when we’ve gotten back on our feet we can strike back. When we’re stronger.”
The king glowered at Kenton, who took far too long to realize that he had just yelled at the king.
Chellias closed his eyes and gave a relieved sigh. “I’m surrounded by yes-men.” He let out a snicker. “I needed that, Morzha.” He opened his eyes. They shined with a kindness no one in the army had ever seen. “For the last few days I’ve been trying to figure out who can replace Rogerseen. He’s no use to me the way he is. I want you to be the new commander.”
Kenton frowned. “The what?”
The king laughed. “There’s usually a ceremony, but in the current climate that’s obviously not going to happen. I’ll get you the jacket in a bit.” His usual frown returned. “I like your idea.” He said quietly. “But they won’t negotiate with us when we’ve got no value. We have to invade their land and show that we are just as strong as they are. When we do that we can negotiate.”
There was silence for a long time as they both thought things over.
“Thank you,” Kenton breathed, “for making me commander.”
“You’re the only one here worth anything.” Chellias said, his kind smile returning for a brief instant.