Jackal Among Snakes

The night came and went very quickly. Argrave and Anneliese spent a lot of time together, but they seldom did so while doing nothing more than enjoying each other’s company. In this manner, the joining ceremony was a precious opportunity that reminded him of the good fortune he’d had in meeting her. Argrave had been complaining about not having a proper wedding, but by the morning he came to realize that this was a far nicer way to celebrate than with expensive pageantry and large groups of people obsessing over the two of them.

They returned in the morning. The Veidimen warriors were eating their rations—salted meat constituted the bulk of that. They were big and fierce, but that meant they ate nearly twice as much as a normal person to maintain that strength. Galamon had assured Argrave that these men were used to dealing with food shortages and foraging, but it still elicited some concern.

After some time to eat of their own, Argrave and Anneliese rejoined with Orion and then met with the patriarch once again. He was with Rowe and Galamon in his tent, dismantling some equipment to pack for their journey back.

“Congratulations,” were Dras’ first words to them as he deconstructed a chair. “The two of you are now husband and wife. Dare I ask what vows you made?”

“Well…” Argrave scratched his ear. “We made a lot of them. Couple hundred, maybe.”

Anneliese laughed quietly in remembrance of last night.

Dras gave confused glances between the two of them, but he prudently shook his head and dismissed it. “Then we’ll be going. The men I promised are yours—the rest will be sailing back to Veiden today.”

“I’m thankful for your support. These men will be well-utilized.” Argrave nodded, then turned his head to Rowe. “And I appreciate your refinement of my A-rank ascension. I think the next time we meet, you’ll be very surprised.”

“Hmm, sure.” Rowe nodded. “I think you’ll still be dragging your feet when next we meet. Or maybe I’ll be looking down at a corpse in a coffin. That would be a little less surprising than your success. Your ascension is an active body reformation—those are the most dangerous kind, you realize. Not many of those are discovered… without incident.”

“I’ve gotten advice from so many people, it’d be embarrassing if I failed,” Argrave shook his head. “And besides, I’ll be doing it in a place that minimizes my risk.”

“Ah, yes. The classic coward’s tactic: take risks only when it’s not risky.” Rowe nodded knowingly. “If you succeed, though…” the old S-rank wizard shook his head, eyes a little wide. “I’ll have to make far fewer jokes at your expense.”

“I question if that day will ever truly come.” Argrave shook his head, and then stepped up to Galamon. “I think it’s time you introduce me to those officers so we can get on the road.”

“Come,” Galamon said, stepping past Argrave.

Along the way, Galamon explained what he’d promised to the day before: namely, the situation in Veiden. It was more or less as Argrave expected it to be. Fear and panic were high, and the problem was exacerbated by occasional assaults of things that fell under the waxing influence of Gerechtigkeit. The same thing prevailed here in Berendar, too, though Veiden was being hit harder—perhaps it was because of their unity, or perhaps there were simply more things for Gerechtigkeit to throw at the Veidimen.

Eventually, they entered into the officer’s tents. The three of them in question knelt on the ground, cleaning up the last of the interior of their tent. When Galamon and Argrave entered, they rose and came to attention. Though uniform in equipment, they all looked a little different.

“This is Bastal.” Galamon gestured towards a white-haired, white-eyed man. He was the smallest of the three and kept his hair long yet bound into a ponytail. “That’s Grimalt.” The next was a shaven man with amber eyes—the largest of the three, standing taller and wider than even Orion. “And then Rasten.” The last was a lithe man with golden eyes and hair. He reminded Argrave of Durran, and not from eye color alone. “Each of these three command a unit of one hundred.”

Galamon looked at the men. “You will call him Your Majesty,” he informed them, then pointed at Anneliese. “And her, Your Highness.”

the men confirmed

now, you answer to the king and queen first, and this man second.” He looked at

fighters,” Orion said, voice echoey from behind his

went far beyond

nodded. “I may have insisted Dras allow me to choose them in

you’ll know that what we have is insufficient to fully contest who you know as He Who Would Judge the Gods. You’re going to have a large number of men beneath your command, in time. Not only that, but they’ll all

answered

Argrave nodded. “Tell me—what do you think

three of them hesitated, saying nothing. Gradually, Grimalt managed to say,

magic?”

Your Majesty,” Rasten confirmed. “The man’s a fish in water compared to a baby in the sea. As a matter of fact, I’d prefer to be a

“Some of that is him. But

his

one of you are going to be sized for new armor. It enhances your physical prowess, wards you from lesser attacks. And

qualities

men to gather their things and

replied asynchronously, then gathered some

said cautiously, “I think it will be impossible to find enough large horses to carry these men. Preparing one for you and I and a few others—certainly, it’s manageable,

And then… it was like a beehive come alive. Their tents could house five, and each group of five worked with startling efficiency to prepare for travel. In one minute, all the fur lining was gone. In the second, everything within was stowed away. In the next, the wooden constructions

and Anneliese watched with pride, and Argrave looked at Orion. “Something tells me that

back. Even the tent they’d just been in moments ago was gone, stripped and packed away. Argrave was very much looking forward to

#####

not too long after the men had finished preparing—funnily enough, it took longer for Argrave’s party to prepare than it did the troops. After saying a final farewell to Galamon, they left at midmorning. Along the way, Anneliese and Argrave discussed how best to utilize these new elven forces to build up the army he envisioned. Having the snow elves’ disciplined coordination permeate

down names, and then prepared to send those into Dirracha. There, the royal smiths would reforge royal knights’ gear into armor that fit them. For practicality, Argrave requested that the armor not be ridiculous and shiny gold. Orion didn’t like this,

Veidimen would be taken care of here in Relize in way of food and such. Rather than disturb the citizenry, he commanded that they pitch their tents outside the city.

informed Argrave and Anneliese after a while. “It wasn’t urgent, so I refrained from immediately telling you. Still, I think you should see

few moments, Argrave placed what she might’ve

into the city with Orion as his escort, heading towards Leopold’s estate by the river.

“Leopold around?” Argrave questioned.

I get him for

hand, looking towards the table as Anneliese walked towards it. She picked up a breastplate and held

Your Majesty,” Ansgar confirmed. “Shall I send for someone to help