Chapter 38: Royal Concerns

  Tobias pulled out the chair for Riley before taking his own.

  “I call bullshit,” she announced, setting both forepaws on the table before tilting her head towards Lord Astor.

  Tobias missed his chair and fell to the floor, “Riley!”

  “I beg your pardon?” The old man looked at her, confused.

  “You’re full of it. You’re lying!” She pointed her paw,

  “Riley, watch your tone. You’re addressing a member of the royal family!” Sabine warned as the Ratcatcher smiled gleefully.

  “And? We just tried to gank a member of the royal family, his son, who’s first murder was apparently his twin brother! He’s going to be all nice, butter us up, get on our good side, tell us how awesome we are, and then stab us in the back!” Riley flattened her ears as her hindpaw drummed the seat; a familiar targeting box appeared in her vision.

  Avery, the Elder Lord Of Astor, Lawful Good, 1-10, Elite

  Abilities: Ice Magic

  Pray you do not live long enough to see all you hoped for turn to ashes.

  “I suppose that is fair,” the old man looked down, bewildered, “I do not know what I could do to earn your trust, but...”

  “M’lord, Riley is not of this world, and she...” Tobias began, looking pale.

  “That she is not of this world only means that her anger and suspicion are honest, while yours and that of others are veiled. I know what my son did. I know what kind of monster he became, and I never saw it until he took my eldest and my own brother from me. It shames me that it took so much to see the truth. Now, my line will die with me; I am the last of the original house of Astor. I had hoped that my name would at least find redemption by gifting it to you,” he cast his eyes down and gripped the table to keep his hands from shaking.

  Riley, meanwhile, balked at the window. The words began to blink as if in emphasis.

  “I uh, well, I might have been a touch hasty and... uh, overzealous?” She offered, her ears flushing hot with embarrassment.

  “Perhaps this will assuage your concerns; I swear to you by my spirit, by my magic, and by the honor of my house that I would never betray you or the Kingdom of Ashes,” he swore with magical impetus.

  Another prompt flared to life…

  ’An oath of truth has been sworn to you.’

  “I, uh, I owe you an apology. It’s just... no, there’s no excuse, I was wrong and I ran my mouth,” Riley wilted.

  “Suspicion is a natural and understandable course to take in these uncertain times,” Avery replied, looking at the hare with a smile, “be at peace; I take no offense and am grateful for your honesty.”

  His words hit Riley like ten-pound hailstones while Tobias glared in her general direction.

  She could feel the heat of his anger within their connection.

  “I’m sorry,” She whined to him alone.

  “I’m disappointed. We were trained not to let emotions put us into assumptions, but it’s a trap you keep falling into. Don’t be sorry, be better,” Tobias’ soul spoke words battered against her heart.

  “Thank you, Sir, for your patience,” Tobias offered.

  “Perhaps if people had been a bit more brash and a bit more honest, the kingdom would have been spared this crisis. It is far too late now, though, and I fear our troubles are only beginning,” Avery replied.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “Should we begin our hunt for Chadrick straight away, then? Is there a direct threat to the coronation?” Tobias asked.

  Sabine sighed, “You’re coming at this too direct, and you’re smarter than that. Chadrick is not the disease; he’s a symptom. During the coup, we saw minor nobles, a handful of first tiers, and black blade rangers go rogue, all the way up to one of our top generals. The fact that it was a coordinated cabal means that there is systemic rot within the very foundations of the kingdom.”

  “Which is why you decamped from the Prancing Cockatrice,” Tobias replied as the pieces clicked into place.

  “Exactly,” Sabine said.

  “What about the Greyblades?” Riley asked, her tone sullen.

  “They are raised to be paladins of the crown. Loyalty and service are all the rank and file know,” Avery replied.

  Riley trembled as she attempted to ride herd over her words, “Well, Sir, with all due respect, didn’t you just say you were blinded by your assumptions? I mean, everyone thought the aristocracy and the blackblades were loyal, but they, uh, all weren’t in the end.”

  Tobias reached out and set his hand between her ears, “You're ok,”

  “I love you, nerd boy. It just ran away with me; I can do better!” Riley pleaded.

  He began rubbing tiny circles, causing her hindpaw to tremble, “I love you too, and I don’t want to see you hurt.”

  “You make a good point,” Avery agreed.

  “I recognize this is putting you in an awkward position, but how did General Ecbert seem to you two?” Sabine asked.

  “I don’t think I could offer a fair assessment. We were treated as outsiders from the start. He seemed fairly antagonistic to our presence, and so what I’m about to say may have an element of bias, but Ecbert seemed so focused and committed to his duty that he was...” Tobias paused and turned pale, swallowing hard.

  “Spit it out,” Sabine demanded.

  “Myopic, all he cared about was results to the exclusion of all nuance, or true success.”

  “That's why we sought you out,” Riley continued, “We finished our evaluation, and he just warped us back to the parade ground and basically said he’d be in touch. He’s pretty much exiled us from Ava…Greyblade HQ.”

  “You mean Avalon,” Sabine said.

  “You know?” Tobias' eyes went wide as he looked toward Riley.

  Avery nodded, “We all here know of Avalon and Ecbert. He’s uncompromising and relentless. He came by Greyblade command the hard way.”

  Tobias and Riley looked over to the ratcatcher who's masked face could not hide a smile, "Have you not been listening? I am a broker in secrets. You need not fear your blood oath."

  "Sabine..." Tobias began but the blacklade ranger held up her hand.

  “That's why you’re still wearing your obsidian torcs,” Sabine observed, clearly moving on.

  Tobias shifted uneasily, looking toward her, then the Ratcatcher before his hand contracted into a fist, “It feels more honest. It’s what we were trained to be.”

  “So I get why we’re all here. You’re the aristocracy, Sabine is plugged into everything, and we’re the ones hunting the baddie, but what about him?” Riley pointed a paw towards the criminal in the room. .

  He smiled broadly, “Normally, I don’t hand out information for free, but in the spirit of the moment, I will grant you this much: because I know things, I know secrets held close like Avalon, and I know how to make things happen.”

  “And you’re also for sale to the highest bidder,” Tobias growled.

  “And who can outbid the King? Even that would tell you something. I assure you, I’m better to have as a nominal ally than a committed enemy, or did you not learn that after our first meeting?” A perverse giggle rose from his throat.

  “You're outright saying that you can’t be trusted!” Tobias roared.

  “I thought I said I could be trusted for the right price?” He looked up and to the right, with confusion dancing in his eyes.

  “What matters is that we can afford him, and we need him for now,” Sabine insisted, thrusting one finger down towards the table.

  “And what if that changes?” Riley asked.

  “Then it does, but if we don’t work together now, there might not be a kingdom tomorrow for it to matter,” Sabine replied.

  “How real is this? The elements loyal to Chadrick were exposed in the coup. I understand there may still be lurking remainders, but not everyone unhappy with the crown, aristocracy or no, is willing to stoop to treason.” Tobias asked while looking toward Avery.

  “You're coming at it the wrong way, son. When the coup happened, it sent a signal that the Royal line had grown weak. I agree with you that not every unhappy noble is willing to seek war against the crown, but treason is the end of a long and winding road that starts with the questions raised by Chadrick’s actions.”

  “You're talking about a crisis of faith. If the nobility or the people don’t think the crown is the strongest power anymore....” Riley began.

  “Then they will seek out what they think is the strongest. They’ll solidify cabals and make backroom agreements. Artfully put, Dame Riley,” Avery finished.

  “We're here to make sure that does not happen. The royals are responsible for overt strength, but the Rangers are the dagger in the dark,” Sabine replied.

  “It's how we were trained. It’s the blackblade way. Find the monster, kill the monster. Find the threat, end the threat,” Tobias replied.

  “And in that, your mission is unchanged, Lord Tobias, no matter what torc you wear,” Avery said with a smile.