Jackal Among Snakes

Chapter 22: Sick Tension

“…so, which cup has the coin?” Mina asked, running her hand over an array of three identical cups. Elias sat in a chair at a rickety yet clean table, while Mina sat atop it. Argrave was buried beneath blankets in a bed at the corner of the room, forming a shivering hump as he peered at a book dimly lit by sunlight through a boarded window. Some days had passed. Mateth had been a hive of activity as the troops were rallied.

Galamon sat at the foot of the bed, watching fumes rise into the air from a brewing potion. It was a potion that calmed the mind—Argrave considered it the reason he had been able to do what he had in the battle and had elected to make more before the invaders arrived. Its ingredients were the last of Argrave’s funds, barring that set aside for necessary expenses like food.

“This one,” said Elias, pointing at the center cup. Mina lifted it; it was blank. Elias lifted the other two with both of his free hands, but none of them had the coin. “What?”

“Check behind your ear,” said Mina gleefully.

Elias retrieved the coin and widened his eyes. Argrave frowned, his annoyed face peeking out from the blankets. “You’re supposed to be helping me with C-rank magic, Mina.”

Mina hopped off the table, striding to his bedside. “I told you what I know, Grave. Fourth-dimension magic, for me, was like looking past a veil, or finding out the secret to a magic trick. Looks complicated, but it’s simple deep down.”

Elias stood, setting the coin back on the table politely. “It’s useless to ask for help. It’s different for everybody.”

“Why are you two at my house, anyway?” said Argrave, burrowing deeper into his blankets.

“Your house, Grave? You said it was abandoned,” Mina countered. “My father won’t miss me; he barely knows I exist. Mom might make a fuss, eventually, but that’s beside the point. And Elias here decided to stay and help.” Mina gestured at Elias, who still refused to meet Argrave’s eyes.

“Whatever. Do s-silent magic tricks,” Argrave shivered. “And stay off the table. You may be like a cat, but you aren’t a real one. People eat there. Namely, me.”

Mina scoffed, yet still sat at the chair. “You don’t look like you do much eating.”

Someone knocked at the door. Galamon’s head whipped cleanly, and he stood, drawing his dagger and holding it close at attention. He opened the door slowly, peeking through. Then, he opened it wide and walked away.

“Hey, Nicky.” Mina greeted.

Nikoletta entered. She wore custom-fitted leather armor, the blue swordfish of Monticci painted on the breastplate. As testament to the wealth of the Dukedom, it was thoroughly inscribed, and enchantments shone along those inscriptions brilliantly. It was a familiar set of armor.

In the normal course of ‘Heroes of Berendar,’ after Nikoletta was expelled from the Order of the Gray Owl she would be involved in the civil war briefly before returning to Mateth after hearing it was invaded by the snow elves. The armor set she wore was an heirloom and was found in the Duke’s estate, which had been overrun by Veidimen.

“Hey Mina.” She looked around the room, giving a nod to Elias. Galamon sat back down in front of Argrave’s bed, staring at the brewing potion like a dejected puppy. Nikoletta spotted Argrave and walked up slowly.

“Argrave. You look terrible…,” she said in concern.

“Don’t lie to me. My superior good looks are my one benefit in this beanpole body,” Argrave put his hand to his face to accentuate his handsomeness. His hand was warm, but his face still felt too cold.

Nikoletta elected to ignore his comment. “Every time I see you, you look more and more unhealthy.”

“Enough about me.” Argrave closed his book. “The Baretta Troupe Auction. You said it hadn’t happened yet. When is it?”

“Tonight,” Nikoletta answered. “And, considering that you may have saved the entirety of the Dukedom of Monticci should this invasion truly occur, it is a matter of honor that I help you get entry.”

“I don’t want to participate. Are you kidding? A bunch of people in a tightly packed place, all yelling and spitting like starving dogs, fighting over scraps in some vainglorious perversion of both gambling and mercantilism.” Argrave paused, taking a deep breath after his rant. “I merely have something to sell. If you really want to help, spread rumors about the exhibit so that it attracts more vultures.”

“I’d need to know what you are selling.”

Argrave paused, and then threw the blanket off. He strode across the room and pulled aside a decrepit plank, then pulled out a piece of paper. He walked back to Nikoletta and handed it to her, and then crawled back in the blankets.

“Eugh. These blankets are all sweaty. I need new ones.” Argrave complained as Nikoletta read through the document. He stood, bunching them together while shivering intensely. Galamon stood, taking the sheets from Argrave by force. He pointed to the bed, clearly commanding Argrave to lay back down.

“This is the deed for Foamspire?” Nikoletta spoke incredulously. Galamon walked away, off to fetch clean blankets.

“H-how observant,” Argrave said between shivers, veritably falling in bed. “Induen gave it to me after giving some… tough love, I suppose? Th-though, perhaps he’d hate me calling it ‘love.’ He seems to r-resent that word.”

“Why would you sell this?” Nikoletta said, treating the paper carefully. “It’s an extremely valuable piece of land. Many nobles rent out apartments during the summer and vacation there. Its income rivals a small city. And… well, Induen gave it to you. After what happened last time…”

“He’s too busy dealing with his awful dad and the soon-to-be civil war. An estate is stable income, true, but I don’t need a stable income. I need loads of lucre now,” Argrave said quickly. Galamon walked back in with fresh blankets, and Argrave quickly snatched them from his hands and covered himself.

“Why?” Nikoletta inquired.

“For gambling, of course!” Argrave said cheerily, then started shifting to cover all of himself with the blankets. He became a woolen caterpillar in seconds. “Kidding, naturally. Blackjack doesn’t exist yet. Gambling is fruitless.”

“I’m sure my father would be willing to buy Foamspire for a fair price…”

Argrave opened his mouth, about to disclose that Foamspire would collapse into the ocean in a few months. Then, he remembered that Nikoletta was one of the ‘good’ player characters, and she probably wouldn’t be overfond of blatantly scamming people.

“Then your father can go to the auction and bid,” Argrave said instead.

“You still haven’t said why you need this money,” Nikoletta pushed further. She grabbed a chair from the table and pulled it beside the bed.

Argrave frowned. “Money is a precious thing in a country at war. The Veidimen invasion, the impending civil war…”

“Every time we talk, you sound so certain there will be a civil war,” Nikoletta noted, leaning forward and placing her hands on her knees.

“It’s probably already started. No matter what, it’ll happen. The how, the when, the where, it’s all just backdrop to the inevitability. Most of the commonfolk hate the royal family on account of increased taxes and rising serfdom. Beyond that, this was, from the very beginning, a scheme by Vasquer. I know because they sought to involve me in it. The royal family wants war. Felipe wants to purge disloyal subjects and replace them with sycophants. It’s in anticipation for the succession.” Argrave scratched his chin and then added as an afterthought, “also, he wants to give Orion some land.”

Though ‘Heroes of Berendar’ was a very dynamic game, there were some things the player could not change. The civil war would always happen. Some of the nine playable characters could delay it slightly, but it still happened eventually. However, how the war resolved depended on the player’s actions.

The abandoned house had grown very quiet, and everyone had turned to look at Argrave.

Argrave, caught in the moment, continued from beneath his pile of blankets. “Parbon was the main target, but they have many friends and I’m sure much of the south—Monticci included—will join in favor of those against Vasquer. The north will remain firmly under heel of Vasquer, though. Most of the northern nobles move pragmatically rather than righteously. Supporting the royal family gets them the biggest benefit.”

Nikoletta lowered her head and black strands of hair covered her face. Elias stood and walked towards the window. Mina was looking at how everyone else reacted.

“So you’d made up your mind to turn your back on the royal family in the Tower,” Nikoletta said as if in epiphany. “Back then, when my research had been stolen, Induen genuinely had done it. It was one part of the provocations.”

“He was acting independently of King Felipe, but yes. It was dually to provoke Monticci and eliminate threats to his succession.”

“If this is true, it only reinforces the validity of the rebellion. A king pledges protection in exchange for service; such callous disregard of life is not befitting of a true king.” Nikoletta picked her head up and stared at Argrave.

Argrave kept his own thoughts about the validity of the rebellion hidden. House Vasquer was undoubtedly cruel and evil, but House Parbon lacked a plan beyond simply overthrowing the king. If the player sided with the rebels, the kingdom would fall into crisis as people scrambled to present their own vague claim to the throne. Righteous causes were always undermined by selfishness.

Of course, if one sided with Vasquer, things did not sail smoothly either. King Felipe would die, and Induen and Orion would fight over the throne. Many nobles would simply declare independence, breaking off from the kingdom. The entire situation was a mess regardless of who was chosen.

“Well, as long as you sell that little piece of paper, I’ll be happy. I’m easy to please.”

Nikoletta nodded as if drawn out of a haze. “Then, I’ll be sure to do that.” She stood. “On one condition. You have to rest.”

Argrave squinted incredulously but smiled. “Such a monumental task? What shall I do? I suppose I have no choice.”

“And I do mean rest. No reading, no errands, nothing. Mina tells me you barely sleep, eat only plain food, and spend all hours of the day either trying to learn C-rank magic or memorizing those druidic spells you looted.”

“Yeah. And then I wander to a pipal tree, sit in a lotus position, and try to reach nirvana,” Argrave shook his head. “Please. I’m fine. I read until I fall asleep. I eat plain food because it’s all I can stomach with this damned sickness.”

Nikoletta fixed her hair and shook her head. She stared at Argrave with her deep pink eyes for a time, and Argrave stared back. She broke her gaze away and sighed.

“There was another thing. Considering it’s you that brought this whole thing to my attention, I wanted your thoughts on the invasion.”

Argrave paused. He scooched around awkwardly in his cocoon of blankets till he sat upright. “It’s bad timing. Luckily, I was able to reveal it.”

“No, I mean… strategy-wise. Mina told me you intended to stay and help out, but I wanted to know what you were going to do. Further, what you think the snow elves are going to do.” She stared at him intently.

“I’m going to… one of the coastal villages.”

“Why the villages?” Nikoletta sat back down.

Argrave looked down for a second, running through his thought process. “The Veidimen resemble Vikings, but they’re not berserkers. They’re strategic,” Argrave started to explain, but Nikoletta stared at him with brows furrowed. “You don’t know what those words mean, I forget.”

Argrave pulled his hand free from the blanket and set it on his knee. “The Veidimen will come in longships. They’re long, thin boats, driven by oar. They’ll land at the coastal villages first, instead of striking at Mateth directly from sea. This will enable them to gain a foothold on land and secure a safe harbor. Then, once that’s done, they’ll probably mass troops for a day or two before marching on Mateth.”

Nikoletta considered this. “So, we should focus our ships near the coastal villages, catch them there?”

Argrave shook his head. “The Veidimen know druidic magics, you forget. They’ll scout ahead with birds before any rash attack. If you concentrate your ships anywhere, they’ll go elsewhere,” Argrave said, quietly refuting the point. “Anyway, once they march on Mateth, they’ll probably bring ships to attack the city’s docks concurrently. I suspect they’ll concentrate their mages on those ships. Like this, the city is surrounded, and your magic users are tied up dealing with those at sea. The infantry can advance unmolested. The walls will probably make it tough for them, though.”

Nikoletta stared at Argrave. Everyone was staring, he realized. He had gotten absorbed in talking.

“The Veidimen have more troops than you do. These men are battle-hardened warriors, too, not trained knights that’ve been wallowing in peace. They’re ignorant of some things like illusion magic and enchantment, but by and large their magic knowledge is no less formidable than what we have in Vasquer. They may have a few A-rank mages, but I can’t say that with any certainty. The only advantage we have is the position of defense.”

“Did you strategize for the attack on the scouts’ camp?” Nikoletta asked.

“Err… yes. Why?”

“Do you have ideas for the defense?”

“Sure, but—”

Nikoletta stood. “I think you should talk to my father. You can stay in a better place than some abandoned house you broke into.”

“Hey, I found a key. No breaking-in involved.” Argrave protested, then broke off into a coughing fit. “Why should I see your father, though?”

Nikoletta adjusted her armor and walked to the door. “To convey what you told me, and to help prepare a good defense. You know the situation well. I don’t know how or why you know, but your knowledge has been accurate so far.”

Argrave pondered this. He had intended to meet Duke Enrico at some point, but he assumed it would be after the battle had been won. If the battle had been won, rather.

Argrave threw off the blankets. “I have no reason to refuse.” He pointed at Mina and Elias. “These two squatters can help carry my things. They’ve had practice at it.”

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