AO 5 Ch 19

Chapter 19

The rest of my anchors took their sweet time waking up.

I must have been brooding for an hour before they trickled down in a small group, immediately spotting me in the corner. Something about either me staying in the corner or Maribelle's presence by my side had scared any other travelers away from the neighboring tables, leaving a small buffer zone between me and the rest of the tavern.

My anchors slid into their seats. Only then did Maribelle step away, most likely to get them food.

"Well, aren't you up early," Emlyn said. "Did Aurelia not tire you out enough?"

"Aurelia was lovely," I said, reaching over and squeezing her  hand. "However, I'm not lazy like some people," I glanced at Emlyn.

"Guarding you is hard work." She snapped back, "Totally fair that I get enough sleep to do it day in and day out. I need it to stay this pretty." She yawned and stretched her arms over her head. "Besides, you're at least smart enough now to always have one of us with you." She glanced around the room to see Maribelle coming back, juggling a set of bowls.

While I had been served Maribelle's own culinary creation, it seemed Emlyn and the others were getting the inn's stock porridge. Not that any of them complained, quickly enjoying the warm meal.

Zuri paused. "There's something else bothering you?"

"There is." I glanced around.

"There's a particular lack of Uncle Valken that's bothering me," I said. "Eva was here earlier this morning, and surprise, surprise, so was Boss." The mention of our brief bandit comrade made Emlyn pause, the spoon halfway to her mouth.

"The bandit." She confirmed.

"Very same, though apparently he's not skulking through the forest. He's wearing fine shirts and trousers, walking around with a sword belted to his hip, as if he was a knight."

The anchors all looked at each other, questions passing silently between them.

I waved my hand to clear the air. "We talked. We'll have to wait until we can find more privacy to get into details." I gestured up towards our room. "The whole situation is..." I hesitated. "A tad too convenient in my opinion. I feel like I've been baited into this. Or he has, or we both have."

"Or you could just be Ard," Emlyn said, going back to eating. The other two anchors nodded along with her.

"What do you mean, I am Trevor?" At least that was the name I was supposed to be using. It was convenient whenever Emlyn used ‘Ard’ like it was a bad word.

"Right, Trevor," Emlyn repeated. "Well, Trevor just happens to be the absolute magnet for trouble. It's like... He has a fifth sphere. One side is finding trouble, the other side is… luck. Good luck and bad luck." She settled on it.

I glowered at her, as the other two seemed completely familiar with this concept she was already talking about.

"Look, Trevor," she said the name pointedly. "You have to admit, your life is far more exciting than most."

"I am a mage," I said proudly.

"Uh huh, a certain type of mage. And you keep finding yourself in the thick of whatever is going on around you. There are plenty of mages that are off doing whatever it is that mages do. At war, killing monsters, or staying home healing bodies or altering faces for money." Emlyn rolled her eyes. "You're doing none of those. Instead, you're traveling. And wherever you go," she waggled a finger at me, letting my mind fill in the rest of it.

I had to admit, I was a little bit of a nexus for whatever current brand of chaos was affecting the area. But that was also natural given the magic I possessed. And frankly, it was boring to wait on the sidelines.

For any normal person, I would simply be bunkering down when the Colossal Wyrm came, or the pirates stormed the docks. If there had been a manticore attack, I would have gone to the nearest city and reported it, hopefully for some mage to clear it out. The only difference between many people and my life was that as soon as a problem came up in front of me, I tackled it head on, which tended to cause a small cascade.

Emlyn lifted her bowl of porridge and practically poured it down her throat before setting it down with a sigh of satisfaction. "Alright, let's go back to the room and talk. I'd love to know what new maelstrom of problems Ard has found his way into."

I rolled my eyes but got out of the corner as Zuri and Aurelia finished their own meals just as quickly as Emlyn, who then set off for the room.

I finished telling them what the situation was, using my soul magic to scan the surroundings to make sure no one was particularly listening in, and also looking to see if Eva had returned.

"That is quite convenient," Zuri agreed, drumming her fingernails against the stool.

"Whether or not it's convenient doesn't change the ultimate question, though. Do we go or not?” I pressed.

“It's not a matter of convenience, it's a matter of risk." Zuri answered cryptically.

"Alright, I know it. Then what's the risk?" I pressed, wanting my tactician's thoughts.

"Well, since you haven't told them or officially joined their plan, we have a fair amount of freedom. It isn’t as if we are following their plan. Yet, yet don't know anything about this place.” Zuri said.

“Eva supposedly collected some information," I said. “However, my accusations towards Lord Valken had caused her to step away.”

Zuri nodded, though her eyes were slightly accusing towards me.

"What?" I demanded. 

"It would be best not to upset either of them." She replied.

"Yeah, well, it's also best to keep me in the loop and not feed me half information like some child," I shot back a little too quickly. My problem wasn't with Zuri, it was with the other two. 

"Calm down," Emlyn put a hand up as if to stop me. "We're all here to help you."

"No, I'm not that upset, just..." I hesitated to find the right words. "I thought we were going on the offensive together, not being quietly ordered around."

"We are fairly low-ranking in the military overall," Zuri reminded me. "It's not really our place to give orders or do our own thing. We are there to follow orders given."

"Well, it'd be one thing if it was an order," I said. "This wasn't even that."

"Anyway," Emlyn tried to pull the conversation back on track. "Let’s talk risks. Risk number one, obviously, is that attacking the Depot puts everyone at risk; it is combat. Risk number two, bandits betray us. Risk number three, Uncle Valken has some grand plan ulterior motive.”

“Most of that can be mitigated by understanding more about this Depot," Zuri said. 

"I think it would be a good idea for two of us to go scouting," I shrugged. "I don't even know the depot’s location." 

Only for my head to turn to the side as I felt a stronger soul enter the tavern. It was slightly masqueraded, telling me it was Eva practicing her normal protections against other soul magic users. 

"Eva's here, if you would go invite her up please, Maribelle." The maid curtsied and spun out of the door. 

"Before she gets here," Zuri glanced at me, "I need to know if you trust her. The question, to put a fine point on it, comes down to trust."

Silence hung in the air as I opened my mouth, but I actually used my brain for a change before speaking. "Yes, I do trust her and Uncle Valken.”

“You just feel a little betrayed at not being completely informed," Zuri added for me. 

"That would be accurate enough." I shrugged.

"Good," she glanced at the other two anchors, "and I think I know where we stand."

Once again, they managed to communicate with a look alone, making me even more curious about what was being said. And I also wanted to know how exactly they came up with such efficient silent communication.

Eva entered the room, trailed closely by Maribelle who gently closed the door behind her. Eva glanced over her shoulder at the now closed door. 

"I feel like I'm about to get...retired," she said. 

"Don't worry. Maribelle gives everyone that feeling," I replied.

The maid curtsied at my comment and moved away from Eva while saying, "Ard only has to ask it, and it will be done."

"Maribelle, you're not helping," I said as she busied herself around the room, keeping herself occupied.

Eva took a seat on the bed. "So, if Maribelle's not about to kill me. Is it time to have a discussion about what we're going to do?"

"I would say it's high time we did that," I replied. "Look, Zuri made a very good point before you arrived. I do trust you and Uncle Valken. The problem I have right now...is that...I feel like you don't trust me.”

“If Lord Valken has hidden anything from you, he's hidden it from both of us," she insisted. "The last thing I want to do is to get on the bad side of the world's only four-sphere mage. Besides, I intend to try and lure you to Zenovia one of these days," she said, smiling at me. 

Well, that was good, because to do that, I need to stay alive.

“So what are you going to do?" she asked. 

I glanced at the rest of my anchors. "You all get a vote." 

Maribelle started to speak, only for Emlyn to cut her off. "Yeah, yeah, we know what you're going to vote.”

“What is she going to vote?" Eva asked. 

"She's going to cede her vote to Ard. He's already answered." She replied.

"Oh, well, how convenient. Ard gets two votes.” Eva observed.

“We've had this conversation before. It's not that I get two votes, it's that I get a free space. If any of my anchors doesn't want to go through with the plan, we need to modify it until the vote is unanimous," I explained. 

That answer seemed to mollify Eva at least partially.

"The first decision we have is if we're even going to participate. At the very least, I think we should be there," I said. "There's no sense in not at least being present should we have the opportunity."

Zuri glanced at me. "You want to hang back?"

"I think so. This has the potential to be a large fight. And I think we're better off if we don't get involved at the front of this. We're better off picking off priority targets after the fight begins," I said. 

Zuri, now in a tone which I could only assume meant I was a tactical genius, replied, "It's a pretty basic plan, Ard. But we have a basic understanding of the situation. We can't overcomplicate it until we have a complex understanding of the situation. We'll be there two nights from now, ready to assist them."

The group nodded, taking that in.

"As for Uncle Valken," I said, glancing at Eva, "if we get hide or a hair of his location, I would very much like to talk. And I'm sure he would love to clear the air."

Eva said, "From what I understand, the estate is on a hill overlooking a stream. That gives you a place to start with your planning. It’s large enough you can expect a hundred men plus any caravans stopping there."

"It's not much," Zuri said, "but there's a nearby waterway. I can almost guarantee the bandits are going to use it to bring the kind of numbers they need to overwhelm one mage, let alone mention multiple mages. Traveling by rivers is probably their only bet. It's on a hill, so going over land is going to be difficult without getting spotted well ahead of time."

"Okay," I said, taking that information in. "So, the bandits are probably going to boat in.”

I paused, considering the idea. "The river is probably how the army is moving most of the supplies to the depot to begin with. And then moving it from there via carriages. Why not attack upstream, wherever these are coming from?" I asked.

“You'd have to follow that. And the depot, right now, is a big enough target for us to make an impact on the war somewhere along the lines. Even if we try and trace it back the supply line is going to shrink back to all of the individual villages and farms that they are getting the materials from.” Zuri explained.

“Got it, a supply line is actually thickest at the middle. You hit where the supplies are, and they're at the depot," I said. "Makes sense."

"My next question is, what are we going to do with all of these goods once we're done there?”

“I have to assume the bandits are going to try and take a lot of it.” Emlyn interjected.

“More like rebels," I corrected her, causing the group sitting around the bedroom to stare at me. 

"What? They're natives? They're rebelling against the king? Or at least, Boss is. It's not about being bandits. It's about sticking one to the king. So, in essence, they're rebels.” I reasoned.

“We can work with that.” Emlyn kept the conversation going. “So we let the rebels take as much supplies as they can carry.”

“ With the depot down, do you think I might be able to take to the air with Cyam?"

"It's risky," Eva said. "Cyam is quite the ball of magic. Anyone scanning for enemy mages would pick you up in the heartbeat.”

“Got it. Got it. So no flying the supplies out.” I nodded.

“We could always bury them and come back for them later," Zuri rubbed her chin.

I raised an eyebrow and nodded. "I like that idea. We're in the fort. We managed to take all their loot. We stuff our loot just over the hill, deep into the ground. And then we come back for it in a week. Once the heat has died down.”

“Or in a month," Zuri offered. "We could finish the trip back to Trevor Shalman's estate. Do what we need there. And on our next pass as merchants, we know we have a stockpile of goods hidden here. It also gives us more variety. More flexibility in what we take from the bandits. They seemed rather flush with new weapons. I'm sure they wouldn't mind giving us more."

"Can't eat a sword though," I said. "And that seems to be everyone's problem around here. That, and a severe lack of healers. Speaking of, do you think there's any chance that Boss has an idea that I'm more than just a fox sphere mage?"

"He pegged you as having four anchors," Eva said. "It's not impossible for a single sphere mage to have four anchors, but it is somewhat unlikely. You could almost say the number of anchors is sort of a prestige marker. He expects you're at least a modestly to significantly competent mage. That, or you come from a family with a great deal of influence.”

“That is to say, four anchors mean Ard has some sort of power." Emlyn agreed.

"Exactly. So it's possible that he suspects you have another sphere. However, I would say it's very unlikely that he's going to guess you have all four." Eva said and I nodded along with her. 

"So if I show off one more sphere..." I started.

Eva nodded. "Then you can confirm his suspicion while keeping him away from your real secret that you have all four."

"Well, that's easy," I said. "We'll show him that I have the wolf sphere. That's fairly common. It won't get me in trouble like the serpent sphere, and it will still allow me to spy with the raven sphere if I so wish."

"Not that you're any good at it," Emlyn interjected.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Nothing," Emlyn said quickly.

"Also remember that if we're going into this fight for the depot, you may have to use your soul magic," Zuri reminded me. "Popping a few mage's heads would make the whole situation far easier. We need to be considerate about how we can do that without alerting the Boss and the rest of the bandits to your capabilities."

"All right," I said, laying back on the bed and lacing my fingers behind my head. "Two days to get ready. Meanwhile, we pretend to be merchants. Aurelia, Emlyn, you two get to be bodyguards. I want Zuri and Eva to go scout the depot. If you can leave today, hopefully you can be back by tomorrow morning. Just in time for us to head out and make it there for the bandits' attack."

Zuri cast some serious side-eye at Eva. "Are you sure I should take her along? She will slow me down."

"She'll be your battery for magic. It's either that or I send Maribelle on her own." My maid froze up at the mention of me sending her away. I could feel a slight creeping dread in the back of her psyche at the thought of being separated from me.

I broke out in stiff, somewhat forced laughter. "I was kidding, Maribelle. Kidding. We're sending Zuri and Eva. Unless either of you have a problem with that?" My gaze landed on the two.

My anchor looked down her nose at Eva. "Absolutely no problem, assuming that she follows my lead. I have plenty of training for infiltration with both of us."

"I have my own fair share," Eva insisted.

"Wonderful. When you're the one carrying me, then you can be the one in charge. But if we're going to make Ard's timeline, I'm going to have to get you out of the town and cut across the country with you on my back." Zuri answered.

Eva's expression soured at the idea but she nodded. "I understand. You'll be in charge."

"While I'm away, Ard, you can check the south end of the market.” Eva continued. “There's a well there. On the shady side, look between the stones. That's where I'm supposed to receive any messages while we're in this town. And hopefully, where Uncle Valken will leave a message for us."