***
Artin, Vice Commander of the knights, locked in the prison north of Barad Castle's main keep, wanted to pour out the injustice of it.
Just then, the scholar Varter came to see Artin.
Artin asked what had happened, but Varter only looked into Artin's eyes for a moment.
"It was a decision the lord and the vassals made carefully."
Varter took hold of Artin's arm.
Artin slowly removed Varter's hand from his arm.
"Did you agree to locking me in prison too, Scholar?"
Artin's voice rose.
"Don't get worked up; hear me out......."
Varter telling him not to get worked up didn't calm Artin down at once. Artin was taking deep breaths.
Varter told the jailer to step away for a while; he would call later.
"You saw Lord Stormmond, no, Stormmond, run off. What do you think that means? His secret plan was about to be exposed, so he even used magic to fly out of the castle."
"......."
"Stormmond was from the South to begin with. Why would a promising mage from Himister's Mage Tower come all the way to Barad Castle?"
Artin didn't know why Stormmond had had to leave the Mage Tower.
"When he was young, at the Mage Tower, Lord Stormmond took up forbidden—."
Artin cut Varter off.
"Scholar, are you defending Stormmond?"
"Haha. That's not it. Listen to me a moment. Whatever the reason, the follow-up force turning back has complicated matters. You know that much yourself."
"Can't we just send the follow-up force to Orpul again?"
"Well, it's not that simple. We sent the follow-up force to Orpul secretly at night to bluff, and it came back to the castle. Now we can't send it to Orpul again. So preparing for the barbarians in Orpul has become hard.
Now that things have come to this, the expedition has to join forces with Tiregel's soldiers and prepare well for the barbarians. That's my worry. The situation isn't good. This came about because the follow-up force turned back, so we had no choice but to hold you responsible."
"If they find out at Castow Castle that I've been locked in prison, the expedition could be in trouble."
"With them having to join forces with the expedition against the barbarians, that won't happen. It would be good if we could at least find a new mage and send one to Orpul....
With the mage's post empty, I have to go find a new mage. I have a lot on my mind."
"A new mage? So the lord has given you the job of finding a new mage, Scholar."
"Don't be too disheartened about being locked up; just hold on a little longer."
"How long do I have to stay locked up?"
"That depends on how it goes with stopping the barbarians in the Grimhall Mountains."
The situation Varter feared most came to mind. If the barbarians weren't stopped, Artin would have to bear the responsibility. Then it couldn't end with prison alone. It would become a situation where they couldn't make allowances for him as House Tiregel's second son.
If they beheaded Artin, House Tiregel would no longer remain a vassal house of House Rosrad.
By the rules, Artin should be beheaded, but because of the relationship with House Tiregel, they had decided on prison.
"Stopping the barbarians won't be easy."
"It won't be easy, but House Rosrad's fate hangs on this battle. We must pray that Sir Gerhardt works well with House Tiregel and stops the barbarians one way or another."
Varter finished speaking and left.
Artin sat crouched in the corner for a long while. The only sound he could hear was the jailer's snoring.
Artin thought the scholar had come to console him for being locked in prison. The scholar had said he was going to find a new mage, but by the time he found a mage and sent one to Orpul, it would probably be after the matter with the barbarians had been decided.
He had seen through Stormmond, who harbored treason, in advance and saved House Rosrad from a crisis, and instead of a reward, they had thrown him in prison.
Artin wondered whether he should really go on pledging his loyalty to House Rosrad from now on. Artin was House Tiregel's second son, so he couldn't inherit his own house either.
It seemed he couldn't rely on House Rosrad alone. He had to look for another way out. For the time being, on the surface, he had to keep showing that he was as loyal to House Rosrad as ever.
Whatever happened, he had to get out of prison to be able to do anything. He had to hope that the expedition and House Tiregel's soldiers would work together and stop the barbarians.
If the expedition failed its mission, would he have to stay locked in prison forever? Or else, or else.......
Artin stroked his own neck with his hand. Then he shook his head.
He prayed that such a situation would never come.
Artin felt that from now on he would no longer care what became of the likes of House Rosrad. Locking up a loyal knight in prison. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
Being locked in prison, Artin had more time to think calmly than when he had been outside. One person suddenly came to Artin's mind.
Willan Rosrad, the lord's younger brother, was working as Assistant Treasurer. Artin thought that someone with authority over finances might make it possible to try something.
If he got out of prison, it seemed he should meet Lord Willan quietly. And he meant to spend time with him, going out into the town to drink or going to a house of pleasure together.
He knew which house of pleasure Willan often frequented.
Varter didn't tell the lord that he had visited Artin in prison. Beheading the second son of a vassal house must never happen.
If the expedition's mission succeeded, that wouldn't happen. In the present situation, sending a new mage would be the way to help the expedition, but that couldn't be done in a short time.
In that case, it seemed best to send at least part of the follow-up force to Orpul.
Just then, Anchin called for Varter.
In the hall of the main keep, Anchin and Varter sat facing each other. A servant set two cups of water on the table.
Anchin spoke.
"Leave for Himister sometime tomorrow."
The surest way to find a new mage was to go to the Mage Tower in Himister, in the South.
"I'll go. I'll get ready for the journey at once."
"No matter whom you meet in Himister, you mustn't reveal who you are."
"I know. It would do no good at all for a rumor to spread in the South that House Rosrad is looking for a new mage."
"So travel without attendants. But you'll need bodyguards, so hire them, changing them every so often along the way."
"If I travel with attendants, who I am will show. I'll do that."
Anchin ran a hand over his face once.
"When you hire the mage, don't even say House Rosrad is hiring. Say something like a wealthy merchant guild is doing the hiring. Talk your way around it like that."
"No one but a powerful house or a wealthy merchant could hire a mage anyway."
"In the end, word that House Rosrad has found a new mage will spread, but there's no need for us to spread that information ourselves right now. This news has to spread as late as possible."
Varter took a sip of water.
"My lord. How about sending at least a small force to Orpul?"
"A small force... I've thought about that too. We can't send a mage to Orpul right away. If we can't send the whole follow-up force to Orpul, it would be all right to send at least a small force."
"That's right. It will take time for me to go to Himister, find a mage, and send one all the way to Orpul.
To give Orpul even a little help, we should send at least part of the troops. Then how large a relief force did you have in mind?"
"I think around 500 would do. We have no mage. We can't pull a force of thousands out of Barad Castle."
"That's right. Around 500 is about right. It would be best to send the troops quietly at night without a baggage train."
"Let's do that. I'll have the Treasurer pay you the cost of hiring the mage and your travel money by today."
"Understood. I'll get ready for the journey today."
Varter went to his chamber and prepared for the journey. It was a long way to Himister in the South. Varter asked a servant to prepare clothes a wealthy merchant would wear, and an abacus.
On this journey he had to disguise himself thoroughly. Varter mustn't reveal his real name while traveling. He had to use an alias.
Varter decided to use the alias 'Bertom.' So that the name Bertom would come naturally out of his mouth, he kept saying 'Bertom' to himself as he packed his things for the journey.
Varter finished all his preparations, and the next day he picked out a sturdy horse from the stable and left Barad Castle.
Varter wore a tunic and, for legwear, close-fitting hose that were easy to move in. Over them he wore a silk robe. The robe was lined with squirrel fur.
Varter hired 4 bodyguards at the mercenary office in Unton.
This way, anyone would think a wealthy merchant was traveling. From Unton to Himister in the South took some 50 days just to get there.
It was a long road. Varter changed bodyguards when he passed through certain cities. This way, the newly hired bodyguards could never know Varter's identity. They would only think he was a wealthy merchant.
Constantly changing bodyguards was a nuisance, but it couldn't be helped if Varter was to hide his identity completely.
Varter introduced himself as a merchant of the Hansa Guild when he hired the bodyguards.
At the mercenary office, they took Varter for a wealthy merchant from his clothes.
When Varter wrote down the expenses so far on paper at the mercenary office, he let them see him take out his abacus and calculate. On the day Varter left Barad Castle, Anchin sent some 500 troops to Orpul at night.
It was far fewer than the original follow-up force, but even some 500 in support would help Orpul.
Anchin wrote a letter saying he was sending some 500 men as a follow-up force and sent it by carrier pigeon to Castow Castle.
The Orpul expedition had to succeed. If it failed, he would have no choice but to hold Artin responsible.
Considering the relationship with House Tiregel, he would at least have to strip him of his knighthood, even if not behead him.
If the Orpul expedition succeeded, he meant to give a great reward to the person who had won the greatest distinction. It was only natural, since that person would have saved House Rosrad from a crisis.
Anchin was drinking wine in his chamber with his wife, Joan Elosis.
Joan spoke.
"Barad Castle feels empty."
"Why wouldn't it? After the expedition, I sent the follow-up force to Orpul, if only part of it, and Stormmond, whom I trusted, has gone off somewhere. Even Varter, who was always at my side, has set off on a long road to find a mage."
"The expedition will succeed, so don't worry too much. The scholar is more loyal and wise than anyone; he'll hire a fine mage and come back."
"I truly hope so."
Anchin and Joan clinked their wine cups lightly together.