Jackal Among Snakes

“God damn it all… proxies, parables, metaphors, rituals—why can’t these damned gods just talk straight?” Argrave bit at his knuckle, stewing on what Anneliese had reported.

“Because then we would know what they intend to do. That might make their plans a little more difficult to enact,” Anneliese reminded him tactfully.

Argrave chewed a few more times, then looked to her. “I’ll tell you one thing, though. Dimocles… or maybe that was Erlebnis’ advice after all, can’t rule that out… he wants us to use the elven gods and then toss them aside let dirty dish rags. ‘Light the fire, but the don’t stay as the building burns.’ Heh.” He looked off to the side, a little disgusted.

“I think we can say safely, though…” Anneliese began, closing her eyes. “I do not think Erlebnis knows precisely what we intend to do. I think that comes in large part from your tendency to give out your plans piecemeal—barring me, none know of your full plan. Have you been doing that all along to mitigate the impact of potential information leaks?” She looked at him, amber eyes gleaming.

Argrave swallowed. “If anybody else asks, I would say yes, I did act mysterious to hide my plans. Since you’re asking, though—no, it was just a happy accident.”

Anneliese seemed amused, though the gravity of the situation prevented much exuberance. She grew somber as she asked, “How does this change our plans?”

“We’ve committed, right?” Argrave sought to confirm, seeing no way to change course.

“…definitely,” Anneliese confirmed after hesitating half a beat. “Metaphorically speaking… we head north, but in going north, one can still go northeast or northwest.”

“Poetic,” Argrave complimented, then sighed. “I think overthinking it will be just as dangerous as paying Erlebnis’ presence no mind… but if we consider that changing things up might be precisely what Erlebnis wanted us to do, then staying our course might be the best option to subvert him. We drive on, stay focused, try to learn as much as we can… and whatever he throws, we adapt to it.”

Anneliese heard him out, and then questioned, “Have you considered that might be precisely what Erlebnis is doing to you? Waiting for an opportunity?”

Argrave paused. “Maybe. But what’s that matter?”

“There is no better way to get information than to probe for it. If we bait a reaction… we learn how he moves,” Anneliese pointed out. “And how he moves might highlight what he seeks.”

make my so-called allies decide they’re not as fond of the pep in my step as they were before. And if we put on a

than doing nothing,” Anneliese argued

clicked his tongue, staring out across

#####

were hills rose tall, obscuring a portion of the place as a valley cut off from the rest of

several great stone monuments in this secluded grove. They were plain stone rectangles, unadorned and uninscribed. She went to each and brushed it off with practiced grace, clearing leaves and the strange, unnatural fruits of the redwoods away from them all

was done, she knelt in the center of these monuments to pray… until something caught her eye. It was beige, and situated at the top of a hill. It looked unnaturally smooth. Puzzled, she rose to her feet and walked to it. With some effort, she managed to get up to it. She realized it was larger than it seemed, and began to clear away some of the leaves that had fallen to cover it. Her

came out of the thing as she hesitated in shock. This giant had elven ears, and golden hair all the way down the length of his body. He reached for a

a flaming string, the elven

them with white hair—reached his hand out. The woman tensed, but did not

the hill he sat upon. He began to rise, coming to his full and staggering height. “Be not afraid.

upon mortal

#####

Argrave shouted as he came back upon

Vasilisa, Moriatran, and Artur, his cousin and brother, Ganbaatar, and a small yellow cat. Argrave felt a little different, looking upon them. It was likely someone here was flapping their gums to Erlebnis. Who, though? He might have Anneliese go through

The latter was largely cleared of suspicion, and Argrave needed the former’s strength enough he didn’t dare ruin things

a fight is one thing, but you do

saluted. “Yes, Your Majesty! We hear

officers mirrored that, half a step behind Grimalt. Argrave was starting to like the amber-eyed Veidimen the most of his officers, but the other two were reliable enough. As the others gave less disciplined expressions of support, Argrave eventually called aside Ganbaatar, taking the

so?” Argrave inquired. “Chances are, he’s going to be the one we end

pleasure… only the myriarchs of the Tumens even know when the position has changed hands, mostly, and that’s because they elect among themselves. It isn’t hard to guess, but even saying the name of the Supreme Myriarch once he’s in that role is taboo. Unlike

patted his shoulder. “All things are about duty with your people. Your commanders whip themselves

has proven time and time again that leadership can turn incompetence into unmatched ferocity.” Ganbaatar looked back. “Those royal guards of yours seem