LOCATION: THE CRUCIBLE, 100TH FLOOR
PLANET: LAPIS DIVINUS, ORION LUMINARY INSTITUTE
YEAR: ? | DAY: ?? | TIME: ??
As the three began loading sacks with coins, jewels, and other artifacts, Kaela outlined the plan she had in mind.
“Rowan, do your people know who leads the three mercenary factions?”
Her bag was growing heavier, but so long as the fabric held, her Strength would be sufficient to carry it.
“Yes, Lioness. We do.”
He heaved a large gold bar into his own sack. The bags were lined with special pockets that muffled the clink of the gold and artifacts inside.
Despite that, their trip back to Caerwyn City, laden with the heavy treasure, was going to be much slower than the one to the Velthorn estate.
“Alright, set up meetings with each of them. I will see who can be convinced or bought, and who needs to be eliminated.”
Rowan was surprised at her tone, but said nothing about it.
“It shall be done.”
They finished packing everything they could carry.
“The room is still too full,” Kaela said. “It appears the Velthorn family has been planning this for a very long time.”
Rowan slung his sack over his shoulder to test the weight. He added a few more gold bars.
“Yes,” he said. “And unfortunately they did an excellent job of hiding their efforts. Our agents only got wind of it just before the coup occurred, and couldn’t get word to the royal guard in time to protect…”
A tear fell down the big man’s cheek as his voice trailed off.
Kaela squeezed his arm.
“Do not waste your time with regrets, Rowan. This was not your fault. There is plenty of blame to go around, however. And we will make them pay tenfold for what they’ve done.”
The three made their exit and returned to the city, stopping at the warehouse to offload their considerably valuable cargo. Rowan told her he would get to work counting and separating it.
He committed to setting up meetings for Kaela with the heads of each mercenary group.
She thanked him and returned to the room she was renting. It was small and cheap, and the walls were thin. But the bed was comfortable enough.
She fell back onto it, exhausted from the long day’s exertions.
Kaela’s thoughts drifted.
She was surprised to realize that it was memories of her time with Lucien that filled her mind, rather than her family from Earth.
She fell asleep with a smile on her face and a firm determination in her heart.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
When morning came, another Scout rapped softly at Kaela’s door. She opened it and let them in.
“I need to get a report sent to King Alaric and Prince Lucien. Can you make that happen?”
“Yes, Lioness,” the Scout said. “Just give me the words and I will see it is conveyed.”
She kept the message short, but gave a concise summary of events so far, along with a rough timeline for the plan.
With that done, Kaela bathed and made her way to the safe house, where Rowan waited with news.
“We can go see the first group right now,” he said. “The second is scheduled for the early afternoon.”
“And the third?” she asked.
Rowan rubbed the back of his head.
“They uh… refused to meet with us.”
Kaela stared at Rowan.
“I assume you offered them money?”
“Oh, yes. But, they appear to be loyal to Hillstead, and Hillstead wants the Caerwyn throne. So it seems—"
“So it seems that this group will have to be eliminated. Do you know how many they have in the city right now?”
Rowan nodded.
“They have the largest contingent, around four hundred soldiers, give or take. But the other two groups together have nearly six hundred. It would be a dangerous, bloody battle taking place on the city’s streets, but I think our faction can overpower theirs.”
“Only if we can convince the other two mercenary companies to join our side,” Kaela added.
“If I may?” Rowan asked tentatively.
“Speak your mind.”
“Our royal guard and general security forces are depleted from the war, and it seems Hillstead may be coming for us in the future. If you offer these groups legitimacy, pardons for their actions thus far, and a respectable wage, I believe the two could be swayed.”
Kaela nodded thoughtfully.
“They don’t realize that they are about to meet a Queen, after all,” Rowan added. “We have not told them.”
“That’s the second time you have called me that,” Kaela said. “You may have forgotten I am a Princess, not the Queen.”
Rowan shook his head.
“Oh no, Your Highness. The Caerwyn royal family is dead. You are the only one with a legitimate claim to our throne. You are already the Queen. You just haven’t been named yet.”
Rowan and Kaela left for the meeting with the first mercenary company.
They were a group of soldiers who were refugees from another land, who had sailed into Goldenvale long ago in search of fortune and work.
“I will admit we have been considering joining a faction and disbanding the group,” the leader said. “But I would require something of value to convince them.”
Kaela smirked.
“You wish for a large sum for yourself?”
“Oh no, Your Highness. Whatever you provide to me, I will split evenly among all of my men. That is my word, and my word is all that I have.”
Kaela stared at him for a long time.
The man didn’t even fidget under her gaze.
“Would you be willing to stay in Caerwyn City permanently as a detachment of the royal guard?” she asked.
The mercenary leader looked from her to Rowan, who nodded. He turned back to Kaela.
“I would need to discuss it with my leadership team, but I believe I can make it work.”
They settled on the details. The leader sent word to Rowan later that very day that they accepted, and Rowan delivered the payment, along with contracts for each of the mercenaries.
By that evening, the royal guard corps had grown by 250 men.
The second group Kaela met with were interested in gold only, not a long-term place in the kingdom.
However, they were eager to take up arms against the third mercenary group, as they had a long-standing grudge against them.
“A dozen times already,” the leader of the second group said, “small fights have spilled out onto the city’s streets. If you pay us more than the Velthorns, I can gladly ensure my men start nursing that grudge more openly.”
“Do you think you can get them to leave the city?” Rowan asked.
The leader laughed.
“Can we kill them?”
Kaela nodded.
“Then, yes. I will make sure they leave your city. Once enough of them leave the city in bags, I assume the rest will do so on a more voluntary basis.”
And so the plan was in motion.
Rowan made sure the citizens of Caerwyn City followed the curfew to keep them safe. He and his spies created a list of the mercenaries from the third, non-cooperating faction, and where they were lodged. He gave it to the two groups.
“Make sure they stay quiet. One way or another.”
And with that, Kaela turned her sights toward Caerwyn Castle.
It was time to take the fight to those truly responsible for the atrocities.