Jackal Among Snakes

“Damn it,” cursed Duke Enrico as he stared out into the distance at his domain. Now that war was upon them, he had donned his plate mail, the blue swordfish of Monticci embedded on its chest. He stood atop the walls of Mateth, right beside one of the giant marble statues, as he stared out at the rising smoke in the distance. “The boy was right, to the word.”

Nikoletta stepped forward to stand beside her father, arms crossed. The two seemed like echoes of each other with their similarly decorated armor—one plate, one leather. “You could not have known. No one knew, besides him.”

“And that’s the mystery. How did he know? Perhaps the royal family’s influence is greater in my domain than I expected. It’s pointless to consider now… henceforth, though, I’ll follow his advice.” He turned back. “Knight-Commander Ryger. Command the mage battalions to center their forces near the docks, preparing to counter magic.”

“At once, duke,” with his voice echoing through his helmet, Ryger bowed and then moved to obey. His heavy armor clanged noisily as he sprinted.

The Duke turned back to Nikoletta. “If we should survive this, I view Argrave as your most promising marriage prospect.”

“What?!” Nikoletta could not help but shout in surprise. “He’s my cousin!”

“He has no force backing him, so he won’t compete with you for control of the duchy when I pass. He’s a bastard, so he should have no issue adopting the name of Monticci. He’s a very promising mage and a brilliant strategist. He’s young. Above all, you like him,” the duke continued, unaffected by her outburst. “As do I.”

“He—” Nikoletta paused, taking a deep breath. “You’ve spoken to him but once, and you ‘like him?’ He’s a friend, nothing more. Worse yet, he’s near identical to Elwind. As I said, he’s already family.”

“That matters little. You have no shared ancestors beyond your mother,” Duke Enrico shook his head. “There should be no issues with your progeny.”

At the mental image her father’s words gave her, she shook her head frantically. “Father, please…!”

“No more discussions. When he returns… if he returns,” Duke Enrico amended, “I will send the proposal.”

Nikoletta opened her mouth to say more, but a voice from behind cut her off.

“Duke Enrico!” a lightly armored gatekeeper ran up, breathing hard.

“Catch your breath, then speak,” the Duke commanded.

The gatekeeper did, and then he took off his helmet and wiped his face with his wrist. “Two people are trying to enter the gate, duke. One of them claims to be Knight Ryles from Barden, bringing urgent news from the village regarding a mage. The other is a female mercenary with a giant sword seeking to help in the defense.”

“Argrave went to Barden,” Nikoletta said immediately.

“Oh!” the gatekeeper exclaimed. “That name was mentioned, young lady Monticci.”

“Take this token. Find and command a High Wizard of the Gray Owl to examine both people for magic trickery before they

gatekeeper took the token from the Duke’s hands and stared at it, bewildered by the responsibility he’d just been given. He saluted the Duke and ran off once again. The Duke retrieved a seeing glass and looked out at the coastline, watching the movements of the longships

beside them, a distinct lack of conversation settling between the two as they waited. Nikoletta tapped her finger against her elbow as though to speed up time. She could not deny she was worried. That the knight was alive was a promising thing, but the fact he returned mentioning Argrave specifically could not be a good

than fifteen

once he’d catch his breath. “Knight Ryles. I was

led you to abandon your

of Blackward,’ and claimed that he was the duke’s agent,” Ryles said, speaking as though he was telling a big secret.

used that as an alias when

turned back to

to gain parley with the snow elves. He claimed he was an agent

and then ran a hand through his blue hair. “What

did not head the direction he wanted. “I

see them sail away? Defeat the metal

close to the snow elves, so I thought…” Ryles trailed

horde of monsters alone, and then let him sail to Veiden by himself?” He released, pushing the knight away. “Damn it. This boy… I have no idea what he’s up to. And you.” He pointed to

to keep

never seen him act without a plan. Realistically, what he’s done doesn’t change what we need to do. We

turned back to his daughter. After

#####

Argrave’s room, a fur sack in her right hand. She had cleaned and changed into a more fitting white-fur robe. Ahead, the door was slightly ajar, and a dim sliver of light peaked past. She started to hear noise from the room, and she

notes at points. “Bedridden, imprisoned in me. I’m crippled and broken, alive and not free. The sun out my window, it warms me and leaves. No calls and

put. She pushed open the door and entered. He turned his head towards her. He was buried beneath white fur blankets,

as though celebrating. “You look like a Russian princess

on the bedside and hefting the sack atop

a while, and then smiled. “People never ask those sorts of questions. They just ignore my weird words and move on, unwilling to admit their own ignorance. A Russian

face for a minute. Then, she pushed the bag she was holding towards Argrave. “Here. I brought preserved fish and meat. Eating rich foods like this is the key to a speedy recovery. Healing magic cannot replace lost blood.

leaned over to grab the bag. Argrave opened the bag, pulling free thick strands of red, dried meat. He bit into it. “Hm. Like jerky,

lap. Barring a few shelves with nothing on them and a window closed off with a fur blanket, the

me briefly, and then kicked me out,” Anneliese said. “I suspect a

his hands into small, bite-sized pieces. “What, you

“Yes,” she confirmed.