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An Otherworldly Scholar - 143
🕑 Added 2024-07-12 22:15:27 +0000 UTCSpring was around the corner yet the day was even colder than the previous day. My mind wandered to the Heat Stones, but due to our guests, I couldn’t use them to warm the ballroom if I wanted to keep my Runeweaver Class a secret. I rubbed my hands together, however, neither Captain Kiln nor Sir Janus seemed to feel the cold. Elincia had brought the small brazier, but it was barely enough to make the temperature more bearable.
I had Corin call for Sir Janus first thing in the morning, and he had appeared at the manor not an hour later. Captain Kiln had spent the night at the orphanage, so everyone was reunited in the ballroom. Risha and Astrid were sitting by the windows, watching that no kid came nearby to spy while Ginz was in his workshop working on Astrid’s gun. With the next round of the tournament in only two days, we had little time to decide what to do with the threatening letter.
“It doesn’t match with Kellaren’s handwriting, but it’s obvious this was written either by him. Otherwise, the sender wouldn’t have signed it as ‘A friend’,” Sir Janus said as he examined the letter.
“Do you know Kellaren’s handwriting now? Are you close to him or something?” Captain Kiln asked, arms crossed over her chest, and a defiant expression on her face.
“I spied for Prince Ragna for half a decade. I learned a couple of things,” Janus grunted back.
Neither of them seemed happy with the presence of the other, but in times of crisis, I couldn’t spare any allies. Janus wasn’t happy with the decision of involving Captain Kiln in our plans against Kellaren, and she wasn’t happy that Janus was spying on the Marquis.
“So, you are the one who is bribing my guards to look away from the guest room?” Captain Kiln accused him.
“Izabeka, please. I’m no amateur,” Janus mockingly replied.
The situation had turned even more hostile between them after Captain Kiln forced Janus to repeat the conversations he had been spying on verbatim. I just listened carefully. The Marquis had three private meetings with the Osgirians during the last couple weeks, two of them with Kellaren present in the room, where they had discussed the logistics of the new trade routes. While the Great Hall's anti-espionage measures had obscured most of the conversation, Janus had enough leads to dig in other places. The movements of Farcrest's treasure were harder to hide, and Janus knew who to tail and who to press to get answers.
“So, what do you think about the letter?” I asked, veering the conversation away from their personal problems.
“We could try to trace the origin of the paper and ink, but that would take weeks. Considering the quality, I say it is safe to assume this was written by someone wealthy, probably Kellaren or the Osgirians, so the threat must be real,” Sir Janus said as he examined the thickness and texture of the paper. Then, he put it back on the table and looked at me. “Drop out from the tournament, you can’t ensure the safety of the orphanage.”
“I think the same, Rob. You showed everyone the kids have potential, and I’m sure we can work something with the Marquis to avoid the next conscription wave,” Captain Kiln said.
For the first time in the day Janus and Izabeka agreed, which wasn’t great news for me.
“Dropping out from the tournament will not stop Kellaren from going after Firana,” Elincia came forward. “Zaon caught Prince Adrien’s eye, and Ilya was the only participant to get a perfect score in the quarterfinals, so I think there’s a possibility for them to go to the Imperial Academy. But, do you think Kellaren and the Osgirians will let Firana go and miss the opportunity to reform the Aias Mercenaries?”
The ballroom fell in complete silence.
“If we expose Kellaren’s crimes against royal soldiers, the Osgirians will have no choice but to cut ties with him, and the Marquis will keep his integrity intact,” I added, looking at Janus. “We need to put our plans in motion earlier than expected.”
The man scratched his hirsute beard with a doubtful expression.
“We might not have enough time. Even if we acquired the documentation, it would take days or weeks to work Kellaren out. And that doesn’t even count the preparations for the actual heist,” Janus said, shaking his head. “Abandon the tournament, Rob, we need more time to bring Kellaren down.”
“I’m with Janus, Rob. We are talking about a sizable mercenary force. This isn’t something we can improvise,” Captain Kiln said.
Elincia grabbed my hand. We had already gone through this discussion. It would be risky, but the perspective of sacrificing Firana for the well-being of the rest was even worse.
“The preparations for the heist are mostly done,” I said, putting out the blueprint of Kellaren’s manor and a stack of parchment with a series of numbers compiled by Corin. “This is the layout of the manor, and this is the routine of the patrols by area, time, and number of guards.”
I spread the documents on the table and Janus’ eyes shot wide open. He read the pieces of parchment and placed small markers on the manor’s map. A minute later, we had a detailed visual representation of the objective. The western wing housed Kellaren’s chambers, the officer’s quarters, a private kitchen and dining room, a personal library, and the treasury of his mercenary company. The eastern wing had been refurbished to hold the barracks, a mess hall, the kitchen, and storage rooms. Outside, there was a building for non-essential storage and the stables.
“How in the everloving System? Even with advanced concealing skills, it could take months to compile all of this,” Janus muttered.
“We have an informant,” I said, pointing at the last piece of parchment of the lot. That one had the information of the manor’s security during the tournament. With Kellaren outside the manor, the security inside the western wing and around the perimeter became lax, so the perfect time to strike was during the tournament.
“Typical of mercenaries,” Janus grinned.
I stood and put my finger on the corner of the layout.
“The mole told us that the library belonged to the previous owner of the manor. No one uses it other than Kellaren, so there is a good chance it is unguarded. It’s also the closest point to the western wall and only a corridor away from Kellaren’s chambers,” I explained, tapping the library with my finger. “I think that should be our breach point.”
Sir Janus let out a long sigh before admitting it was possible to execute the heist during the next round of the tournament. Captain Kiln agreed, and we started to draw out plans. Our main concern was the Sentinels, but there were two ways of tricking their enhanced detection skills; attenuate one’s mana pool, or hide among a group. After an hour of deliberation we settled for both. While I performed the tricks Sir Janus taught me to hide my mana pool, we assigned Risha the job of creating a diversion in the front gate. The half-orc smiled and left the orphanage saying he had to cash-out some favors.
The whole plan had a huge weak point. The moment the kids appeared at the next round of the tournament, the orphanage would be in danger. We needed extra protection during the lapse of time between the kid’s fight and the moment we could use the proof of Kellaren’s crimes. Risha had friends in the army who could double as bodyguards for a reasonable price, but I wasn’t sure it would be enough. When Corin appeared in the orphanage by midday, I sent her back to the Great Hall with a message for Prince Adrien.
Just as Risha had said, there was no better moment to collect favors.
Hours passed, and our plans started to take form.
After years of preparing events and presentations for school, I knew that things always moved slower than anticipated, but with the help of Captain Kiln, Sir Janus, and the other members of the orphanage, it seemed we would meet the deadline. I fed [Awareness] and put my mind to work. Elincia was locked in her room, studying Vedras’ alchemy manuscripts and searching for anything useful. Risha was in the army camp, convincing his comrades to cause a stir outside Kellaren’s manor. Astrid was looking over the kids, as her Corruption left her out of the operation.
Hours passed with none of us moving from the long table at the ballroom.
“This is perfect, but did you have to tell her?” Janus grunted as he leaned over the blueprint. The more we worked and the more tired we got, the more hostile Janus and Captain Kiln were to each other.
“I can hear you, Janus,” Captain Kiln replied, but the man ignored her.
“We are conspiring against the Marquis, Robert. Forgive me if I question your mental sanity, but it doesn’t seem wise to me to tell his right hand,” Janus pointed out despite we were hours deep in the plan and had already discussed a dozen different illicit actions.
Janus had a point, though. I only decided to trust Captain Kiln due to my gut feeling.
Before I could reply, Captain Kiln spoke. “Do you think I want Farcrest under the Osgirian domain? My ancestors fought tooth and nail to reclaim the valley. I have bled for this city.”
Janus sighed again, his cynical attitude clashed with Izabeka’s honorable personality. “So, only one patrol in the western wall. What do you think?” He said.
“You can probably do it in three blinks if Risha’s diversion works. A crowd of twenty could be enough to obfuscate the senses of a Sentinel,” Captain Kiln replied, pointing at a section of the outer wall. “Or you can take them down.”
Despite not getting along at the minimum, Izabeka and Janus worked like clockwork.
“I don’t want casualties. Too hard to clean,” Janus replied.
“Plans never go as planned,” Captain Kiln pointed out.
“Then you haven’t seen an Imperial Knight in action,” Janus said as he put a small flag on the western wall of the manor. “With my blink and Rob’s illusions, it will be enough to outsmart the guards. And no, you are not coming. A small team will be difficult to detect.”
Captain Kiln nodded and leaned back in her chair as she massaged her eyes.
“I can’t believe the Marquis is under the bed sheets with the Osgirians,” she sighed.
Janus laughed.
“That is politics for you, but if that makes you feel better, we are not conspiring directly against the Marquis but bringing down an asshole who wants to kidnap the Aias kid,” he said, stretching his back. After many hours of work, we deserved a short rest. “Just pushing a troublemaker out of our turf, like we have done before.”
“You two have done this before?” I asked.
“Bandits, in the aftermath of the Forest Warden Monster Surge, but Farcrest used to be a lot smaller then. It’s funny to think we went from fighting highwaymen to driving out a ducal family that might kill us all with a flick of the wrist” Janus added.
Janus’ sense of ‘funny’ was twisted, to say the least.
“I prefer fighting highwaymen, even a Forest Warden,” Captain Kiln whined.
I nodded in silence, remembering Farcrest’s history. The Forest Warden had almost destroyed the city when Captain Kiln was barely a teenager, but she had defeated the monster alone in the end. I stretched my back, and looked at the old ceiling, wondering how many stories Farcrest had.
“Do all Monster Surges have a powerful monster behind them?” I asked, rubbing my eyes. We had been planning the heist all morning non-stop, only taking breaks when the kids tried to peek into the ballroom through the windows.
“Not always. Some Monster Surges are only a wave of displaced monsters without a leader, and the big monster never comes near the city. Those are the funny ones. Lots of free experience for troops,” Captain Kiln replied, reclining in her seat. “The Sentinels try to keep a buffer zone in between the Farlands and the inner valley, so not every displacement of monsters turns into a Monster Surge.”
As she spoke, the door opened, and Corin entered the room. In less than a second, my mind shifted back into work mode. The girl closed the door and approached the table.
“Is the Prince going to lend us guards?” I jumped to my feet.
The basis of my petition was weak, but I hadn’t time to come up with something better. I asked for extra security, claiming there were shady people prowling near the manor, and hoping the Prince had a couple of idle hands. Corin’s smile told me she had succeeded.
“Prince Adrien sent a Fortifier and two soldiers. They are already outside,” she said, proud of herself.
I excused myself and exited the ballroom, not that Janus and Izabeka needed me to continue. I opened the front door and found a man dressed in gilded armor accompanied by two soldiers of lesser rank. His right arm was missing. I recognized him instantly. He was the high-level Fortifier who had brought Firana the Aias Sword and stopped my fight with Kellaren.
“Captain Garibal,” I greeted him.
“Robert Clarke, it’s been a while,” he replied.
I didn’t expect him to remember me.
“Prince Adrien told me about your stalker problem. It’s not strange considering your team’s performance in the tournament when a rising star appears; everyone wants a piece,” Captain Garibal said.
I silently thanked Corin for making this happen. In most cases, the way a message was delivered was even more important than the message itself. She had a great future as a Courier.
“Thanks for coming, Captain, even if it might be nothing,” I replied. I didn’t expect Prince Adrien to send a high-rank Fortifier to guard the orphanage. My mana blades couldn’t even scratch his barriers, and I was aiming for the kill with Kellaren.
Captain Garibal raised an eyebrow. “Don’t play it down, Robert Clarke. Prince Adrien told me about your importance for the royalist cause, and he has a good eye for people.”
I nodded and gave Captain Garibal and the royal soldiers a quick tour of the orphanage. After assessing the situation, the man told me one of the soldiers would watch the front along with Captain Kiln’s guardsman, and the other would remain in the backyard near the grove. The three will rotate shifts so there would always be two of them around. Captain Garibal introduced me to the soldiers; one of them was a Sentinel, the other a Fencer, both in the high 30’s. As much as I disliked having strange people around the manor, Captain Garibal struck me as an honest man the moment he put a foot in the orphanage.
Two veteran Guardsmen, two royal soldiers, Risha and his army friends, Astrid and Elincia with shotguns—it sounded like a great security body.
“Sir, someone is coming,” the Sentinel announced.
We turned around just as three carts with their tall cargo haphazardly loaded on top appeared around the corner and stopped in front of the orphanage. It seemed like a circus had arrived in town, but less colorful. I was at a loss for words and I thought that maybe Nasiah had decided to start using the orphanage as a warehouse. Chests, furniture, bags, crates, and food sacks. [Awareness] told me that the cargo only lacked a tent to be a circus. I looked for crests or banners but I couldn’t pinpoint the origin of the caravan or its purpose.
Lady Lyra Jorn jumped down from the third cart and crossed the battered iron fence, followed by her bodyguard, a tall, blond man with a pale expressionless face dressed in all black. The girl stood before me and smiled.
“I heard you had a stalker problem, so I came immediately,” Lyra said.
Captain Garibal and I remained in a slight shock.
“I-I know it’s not much, but any wrongdoer would think twice before getting in the way of the Jorn family,” she added.
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. The carts parked outside the manor, and a small army of servants started unpacking into the front yard. Captain Garibal and his soldiers respectfully moved to the side as the pile of crates and bags grew above their heads.
“Might I ask how many people are coming with you?” I finally asked.
“Just me,” Lyra said with an even wider, enthusiastic smile. “These are just my travel essentials.”
Comments
I Dare Korval
"just my travel essentials.” - I hate to sounds sexist but,...women. Also, we now have a ton of strangers, all from the ducal faction, now in and around the manor. This just made protecting the kids and orphanage way harder. That bodyguard will do what the Duke Jorn ordered him to do over anything Lady Lyra orders. Lady Lyra really doesn't have much sense or suspicion. Thanks for the chapter and hope you enjoyed your vacation!
Mohamed
Thanks for the chapter
