studiobondurri The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom, Part III: Act 5, Chapter 9
The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom, Part III: Act 5, Chapter 9
The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom, Part III: Act 5, Chapter 9
Chapter 9
“We’ve got trouble.”
Remedios sat up in her bed, stretching her arms over her head with a yawn. She looked around, sleepy-eyed, eventually spotting Liam in a corner of her bedroom.
“What sort of trouble?” She twisted slightly to regard him, “Did a fight break out?”
“No,” Liam looked away. “Something happened on the north coast. People are saying that a lot of wreckage is washing up on the shore. They’re saying that this year’s trade fleet has been destroyed.”
“...where did you hear this from?”
“Everywhere,” Liam said. “I heard it from House Restelo, first. Then I went around the city to see if anyone else knew about it. Everyone knows about it...at least the Nobles do. They each have their own sources. Messengers from Banre to Rimun are reporting the same thing.”
She threw back her covers and swung her legs over the edge of her bed. After ringing a bell to summon Carla, she padded past Liam to look out of the nearest window. The nearby manors were all lit and activity could be seen in and around them.
Has the Holy Order always been this oblivious? No, it’s because the Royal Army is gone...
Normally, it was the military that organised intelligence and coordinated the different institutions of the Holy Kingdom. Remedios wondered if Caspond already knew what had happened. Going by the Nobles’ age-old tendency to keep information to themselves until it was advantageous to reveal it, probably not.
“What have they been saying?” She asked as she sat down across the table from Liam.
“It’s all been speculation about what happened, mostly,” Liam answered. “They’re putting plenty of armsmen onto the street, too. I overheard a few lords sending for even more.”
“What’s the point in doing that?” Remedios frowned, “Are they trying to put together an army? It’s not as if Hoburns is under imminent threat.”
“I don’t know,” Liam shrugged. “Maybe they’re doing as you say. Or maybe they’re just scared.”
“Why must it be just any one thing?” Carla’s voice came from the doorway, “The re...”
The Maid stopped just inside the doorway, her eyes going back and forth between Liam and Remedios. After a moment, she walked toward Remedios’ wardrobe.
“Allow me to fetch you a robe, Miss Custodio.”
Remedios turned to exchange a look with Liam, but Liam had fled somewhere. She shook her head and went to join Carla in the wardrobe.
“What’s taking so long? It’s not like this is some special occasion to dress up for.”
“It’s not that it’s a special occasion, Miss Custodio. I just believe you should be more considerate of young Liam.”
“Why? He comes by every week or so.”
Carla’s lip twitched upward. The Maid’s eyes seemed to twinkle as she gave Remedios a mischievous look.
“Is that so? I hadn’t realised the two of you had become so...intimate.”
“Huh? He was around me all the time before. You know, back when he was staying here.”
The Maid released the smallest of sighs, holding out a white gossamer nightgown.
“This one should do. Please wear it properly. Does Liam’s visit tonight have something to do with what’s going on outside? It’s a few hours too early for people to be up and about.”
“I was just getting the details from him. I thought you should be around to hear them.”
They left the wardrobe, finding Liam sitting at the table again. Remedios went to take a seat on the edge of her bed.
“Anyways,” she said, “you were saying, Carla?”
“I was going to say that the nobility’s reaction to the news isn’t driven by any one reason, but I suppose that wouldn’t exactly be correct. They are driven by one reason.”
“And what might that be?” Remedios asked.
“That Prince Felipe’s fleet was seemingly destroyed,” Carla answered. “The way you two were trying to analyse the actions of the aristocracy is akin to the thought processes of an apprentice artisan, believing that the whole is the sum of its parts. A novice will never become a master if they think like that, and this can be applied to any walk of life.”
“...I don’t get it.”
“I don’t doubt that, Miss Custodio. But, at the same time, you were never one to analyse a situation by breaking it apart and analysing the pieces. Yet, you tend to come to the correct conclusions because you are instinctively aware of what I’m describing and don’t fall into the logical trap that so many others might.”
“Uh...sure. If you say so.”
She still didn’t get it, but it seemed that it didn’t matter anyway.
“So why...” Liam said, “Uh, wait. What...no.”
Clara grinned at Liam’s confusion. The Maid went over to sit on the chair across from him, resting her right arm on the tabletop.
“The nobility received news that Prince Felipe’s fleet may have been destroyed. In response, they are, well, rendering the appropriate response. Armsmen are being mustered because it is, in essence, a security concern with everything such concerns involve. Gathering forces in the capital is both a strategic and political move, positioning troops in a central location that can react to further potential incursions while showing the crown and the citizens of the capital that the aristocracy has the means and will to face whatever it may be that threatens the Holy Kingdom.”
“So they’re not just gathering men for their protection?” Liam asked.
“I had hoped you would have known better than that by now, Liam,” Carla sighed. “Royalist or conservative, the Nobles are doing what they believe to be their duty. If personal safety was their priority, they would go on a permanent vacation to Eryuentiu.”
“Where’s that?”
“...it’s a city in the southern hemisphere, many thousands of kilometres from here. My point was that they wouldn’t stick around in an unsafe place if safety was their priority – all they’d need to do is hop on a ship and sail far away.”
“Alright, so what does that mean for us now?” Remedios asked.
“It is what it is,” Carla shrugged. “Everyone is doing what they should be doing. I don’t know how many soldiers they’re sending to Hoburns, every staging area should be facing a similar influx of personnel. Hoburns is about to get much busier.”
Was that a good thing, or a bad thing?
“I’m surprised they’re acting so decisively,” Liam said. “Based on what I’ve seen, both factions are pretty slow and methodical in their moves.”
“It would be fast if this was the first inkling of trouble,” Carla replied, “but the royalists have been investigating their late shipping recently.”
That was true. If one included loading and unloading times, a round trip from Canta to Banre would take roughly a week. At first, the royalists were flinging accusations at the conservatives over their missing vessels, but, realistically, the idea of the conservatives attacking royalist shipping was so ludicrous that no one took it seriously. The Nobles were probably already half-poised to send expeditions to investigate the missing transports when the news from the northern coast hit Hoburns.
“How will the Royal Army factor into this?” Liam asked, “They should have been mustering soldiers at the wall for the last month or so, shouldn’t they?”
“Trying to recall them using ships is impossible given the current situation,” Carla shook her head. “At best, they can have them withdraw from the coast if they believe an attack is coming from the sea. Otherwise, it’s probably best to leave them where they are to serve as our eastern bulwark.”
“Just what we need,” Remedios grumbled. “More armsmen running around trying to run the city their way. Does anyone have any real idea who is responsible for the wreckage on the northern coast?”
Carla shook her head.
Caspond was distinctly underwhelming before; Remedios couldn’t find the words to describe him now. Nothing about him was kingly and the Nobles in front of her had all put on their expressionless masks. The Prime Minister stood and looked up at the king with a perfectly straight face.
“Your Divine Grace,” he said, “Settlements all along the northern coast have reported an unheard-of volume of wreckage washing ashore. Based on our findings, we have no choice but to assume that Prince Felipe’s fleet has met with some great tragedy.”
“How do We know this?” The Holy King asked.
“Of the wreckage analysed,” the Prime Minister replied, “we’ve identified debris from two dozen ships from the trade fleet. Our people have barely begun to sort through it all, so we can expect far greater losses than that.”
“That’s terrible,” Caspond traced his upper lip with his index finger. “When did this happen?”
“We’re not precisely sure when the ships were destroyed, but the wreckage started showing up about a day ago. Based on–”
“A day ago?” Caspond leaned forward on his throne, “Why didn’t you immediately bring this to Our attention?”
“Immediately...? What do...I mean, Y-Your Divine Grace, that is the minimum time it takes for a ship to deliver this information directly from the northern coast to Hoburns...”
The rustle of fabric whispered through the hall as the assembled Nobles shifted uncomfortably at the interaction. Caspond stared blankly at the Prime Minister for several moments before leaning back in his seat.
“Continue,” he said.
“Yes, Your Divine Grace. Based on our limited information, we can only conclude that the debris field was carried by the currents of the Gyre from a spot over the horizon between our shores and Argland. They would have washed ashore in Argland if the ships had been destroyed earlier.”
“Does that mean Re-Estize attacked Prince Felipe’s fleet?” Caspond asked.
Light laughter filled the air of the hall. The Prime Minister lowered his head to conceal his twitching lips.
“The possibility is negligible, Your Divine Grace. Re-Estize does have a navy, but it is stationed on its northern coast to guard against the Baharuth Empire.”
“But they could sail their navy over to attack the fleet, yes?”
“...”
The Nobles visibly fought to keep their faces straight. It seemed like Caspond had displayed his ignorance again.
“Re-Estize doesn’t have a national navy as we do, Your Divine Grace,” the Prime Minister said. The naval forces guarding Re-Estize against the Baharuth Empire are the property of House Urovana and operate out of the naval station of Re-Uroval. Rest assured, House Urovana has absolutely no reason to sail all the way around Argland’s territorial waters to attack our trade fleet. Never mind that, they would be utterly obliterated by our forces.”
“We see,” Caspond smiled. “Well, that’s very reassuring.”
“Erm, yes, Your Divine Grace, I suppose that it is...”
A long silence hung in the air after the Prime Minister’s words trailed off. He wasn’t the only one wearing a thoroughly confounded expression. After silently working his mouth for several seconds, he finally managed to push the discussion forward.
“Pending additional evidence, two possibilities present themselves as the culprit for this unprecedented destruction. The first is that a marauding power intercepted the fleet and destroyed it north of our shores. We find that highly unlikely, as Argland wouldn’t suffer such an attack so near to their borders. None would dare to tempt the wrath of their draconic councillors. The second possibility is that they were attacked by the Demihuman tribes in the waters off of the coast.”
“The information we’ve gathered supports the latter possibility,” Lord Cohen said. “We’ve recently received multiple demands from different tribes to cease fishing along our northern coast. In response, we ordered the people to comply with the demand, but there may have been those who continued violating the treaties.”
“Or the fault may lie with the conservatives to the west,” another Noble muttered.
“We’ve done no such thing!” Lord Agrela, the conservative representative in the court replied, “In fact, we never received the same demands in the first place. This is solely the fault of the gross mismanagement of ‘progressive’ territories! The poor people suffering under your heel probably ignored your ban on fishing because they’d starve otherwise!”
The court exploded into a vicious shouting match with each side blaming the other. Gustav slammed the tip of his scabbard on the dais several times.
“Order!” He shouted, “ORDER!”
It took several minutes for the row to end. As usual, the Holy King didn’t seem to think anything of the disturbance.
“There is no definitive proof as to the cause of this incident,” the Prime Minister said. “It may not be Roble’s fault at all. Our current concern is mustering a response to the threat lurking off of our shores. Those responsible for managing the northern territories are mustering troops in the cities along the central highway, but what more can we do?”
“If what you say is true,” Caspond said, “will gathering land forces matter in any way? Should we not send the marines instead?”
Enrique Bellse, the new Commander of the marines and the ‘Blue’ of the Nine Colours, stepped out from where he was standing close to the balcony.
“We’ve been preparing to send an expedition to investigate our missing shipping along the coast,” he said. “In light of our current findings, however, it would be unwise to send our forces into the unknown. Additionally, I spoke to Ran Tsu An Rin and he had some additional bad news to share.”
Enrique’s expression shifted in shades of uncertainty as his azure gaze went to the Holy King.
“What is it?” Caspond asked.
“The Demihuman tribes off of our shores have grown increasingly uneasy. None of the local Sea Dragons have been sighted since midsummer.”
We’ve gone from bad to worse.
Worried murmurs rose from the assembly. It was an ill omen of the highest degree. Most of the Holy Kingdom’s coastal population – in other words, two-thirds of the country’s population – considered the Sea Dragons guardian deities. The rest of the population at least considered them benevolent allies. The already precipitous atmosphere that had fallen over the Holy Kingdom would deteriorate even further if the people learned of their disappearance.
“Ran Tsu An Rin is leading an investigation to discern the truth of the matter,” Enrique continued, “but I strongly recommend against doing anything that might agitate our neighbours even further.”
“Then what are we to do?” Lord Cohen let out a helpless laugh, “Sit on our hands and wait for whatever doom lies beyond the horizon to fall upon our heads? I do not like this feeling that we’re slowly being strangled in our sleep.”
“Why not look beyond our borders for assistance?” Lord Agrela suggested, “A threat lurking off of our northern coast is also a threat lurking off of the coasts of Re-Estize and Argland. They may have more information on the matter. The gods know they’re in a better position to do something about this than us – especially Argland.”
“Re-Estize is as powerless as we are,” Lord Cohen snorted. “The only difference between us and them is that they won’t starve if they lose their ocean access. For the same reason, that makes them unlikely to come to our aid – they didn’t even send a single regiment to assist us when Jaldabaoth invaded.”
“Argland has always maintained their policy of non-interference,” the Prime Minister said. “Unless this threat is on a scale that the Dragon Lords are obliged to intervene, Argland will not make any movements.”
“But Dragons have died,” Caspond noted. “Shouldn’t that justify intervention?”
The Prime Minister didn’t even bother hiding his weariness over the Holy King’s ignorance this time.
“Their policy of non-interference applies to even Dragons, Your Divine Grace. The Platinum Dragon Lord can turn our country into a pile of sand in the blink of an eye. He is an existence that can slay even gods and he will only move if powers unfathomable to our minds threaten the sanctity of the world itself.”
“Indeed,” Lord Cohen nodded. “I can only pray that the issue isn’t something that forces Argland’s hand. Any number of countries may disappear overnight if it is.”
“In that case,” Caspond said, “what about those who have already demonstrated their willingness to help us? The Sorcerous Kingdom, for instance.”
Vicar Salazar cleared his throat.
“It is the stance of the Temples that we refrain from any further collaboration with the Undead. I understand that recent events have cast the Sorcerer King in a favourable light with the people, but we must understand that the evil of the Undead is both unfathomable and immortal in scope. What may seem like kindnesses to the common man are only seeds of destruction being planted for future harvest. No good can come out of any ‘beneficial’ relationship with the Sorcerous Kingdom.”
Remedios nodded in agreement. Whatever his vices might be, the Vicar was correct about the Undead menace that was the Sorcerer King.
“...is, is that so?” Caspond’s cheek twitched, “Then it appears that We are quite limited in our options.”
“That is, unfortunately, the case, Your Divine Grace,” the Prime Minister said.
“Very well,” the Holy King smiled thinly. “We shall continue gathering Our strength along the central defence line, and We trust that everyone will cooperate to maintain order and security while We await further developments. Patience may very well be our greatest ally in this situation.”