Shadows over Nothross | Page 5

He puffed smoke from his pipe, and the smoke drifted off to
the rain outside through a big crack in one of the window panes.
Aleln shoot his head. "I'm merely a duke in exile. City of Nothross was
overrun by monsters mere two years ago - do you think everything we
stood for fell with it? It takes a longer time than that to truly destroy
something we spent centuries to build, don't you think? Over the two
years we've taken considerable time and effort to reorganise things to
mount a counterstrike. Can you imagine how hard it is to destroy the

monsters of each and every significant location of the most treacherous
and hostile quarters of our kingdom, especially during an economic
recession? I've felt the chilly grip of poverty grabbing my shoulder."
"So you had to trade the golden forks to mere silver ones?" Facyr
grinned weakly, and even when Aleln looked at him with a bit icy look,
his grin calmed the elven lord enough to bring him to good humour
once again.
"Worse than that, really, I had to sell most of the little other possessions
we had. For a time I was lodged in the summer residence of Duke of
Westholt, and, you know, he's known for collecting the most boring
books ever written. I received a heavy blow to my senses every time I
stepped in the library, which connected every room in that manor", the
duke said, and everyone present chuckled. "In any case, war effort is
now progressing well. We've made great progress over the past year,
and the recent offensive solved almost all of our problems. All that is
left to do is to destroy whatever monsters stand in our way in one fell
swoop, reclaim my castle and destroy the usurper. It is these few last
steps that have proved to be quite difficult."
"I'm just curious," Faira said. The black-clad, raven-haired lithe woman
stretched and sat up in a bit more suitable position on her chair in the
corner of the room. More suitable, in this case, meant that she finally
got her legs off the table - that had clearly been an etiquette breach
when there were nobles in the house, though she had long ago figured
out they didn't mind. "How and why did you come to choose us for this
mission? Isn't the world full of really nasty mercenaries anyway?"
"Ah", Aleln said with a smile. He looked at Faira, not sure if she just
feigned ignorance, or was just honestly curious. "Two reasons, actually.
Firstly, the Varmhjelmian diplomats recommended you. The King has
the habit of discussing about really bad news that cannot be solved
immediately over the supper. I was visiting the capital to explain the
current situation in Nothross, we were discussing various people who
had already failed in the task, and the Varmhjelmian ambassador
recommended you. He holds you in high regard, saying he respects the
heroic deeds you did during the Varmhjelmian Revolution and the war

that followed."
"Very kind of him to think so", Facyr said with a big smile. "I was
already worried people would have forgotten us. Seems to me the
memories of most folks don't stretch all the way back to three years
ago!"
"Then there was another reason - Duke of Bluebrook holds you in high
regard, having good... even cordial relationships with you", Aleln
continued.
"Well, that is true", Facyr said with a smile. While he had not met
Thalimve Lucien yet, Gnedrnygr had spent a lot of time in the vast
libraries of Castle Bluebrook before the war, and despite all sensibility
- love is blind, they say - it seemed the Duke and Faira were getting
along rather well. Facyr pondered this for a few passing seconds, and
then decided to skip to more pressing matters. "Can you tell us what
exactly are we up against? I have only heard vague rumours about the
state Nothross is right now. City in ruins, monsters everywhere?" he
asked Aleln.
"Actually, it isn't quite as bad as it sounds. Late in Springbreak, I led
three regiments of Mighty Lancers to the city, and it remains in our
hands now. Half of the city is still desolate, uninhabitable battlefield.
The other half is being rebuilt, and people are returning to their homes.
Our real problem is the castle where the wizard plots and his monsters
multiply."
"Can't you just lay siege on the castle?" Facyr wondered.
"It's pointless. The creatures don't seem to come out of there except
when they're trying to raid the village. And they seem to be getting
supplies somehow. Perhaps there's a tunnel we don't know of yet. They
also seem to be getting supplies by air. Last month, we found from the
woods