Drake grimaced as Sky’s words hit home. “I understand. You’re telling me we’re already outnumbered and on the verge of being wiped out. So who are we up against?”
“Four lords now sit in alliance. Proudglade, Mistvale, Frostlight, and Redbow. Brightwater is teetering on joining them. If they agree to an alliance with the others—”
“Five against four. Game over.”
“Worse. You and I aren’t officially allied, and while Blackmane and Ashwind are, those are weak manors with weak ties. If Brightwater joins the big four, it will be five against one, and one, and two. They will be able to sweep us away, one after the other, with ease.”
“And by sweep us away, you mean they’ll kill us and install puppet manor lords who already agree with them.”
“Correct.”
“And you’ve already pitched an alliance to the other manors, haven’t you? Ashwind and Blackmane. Did they both shoot...” He stopped himself. “Did they both turn you down?”
“Blackmane agreed to an alliance, but only if Gloomwood joined as well. Your predecessor was uninterested in alliances, even after Frostlight joined what was previously the big three. Even after I pointed out we were doomed.”
“The old lord was a moron. I, however, am interested.”
“I know, and it’s too late now. Even if we formalize our alliance, add Blackmane, and somehow drag Ashwind into it, we’re still four against five. We remain doomed if Brightwater joins the other four manors and tilts the table.”
“So what about if we offer to join the big four? Before they can smash us?”
“The only way they’d allow that was if we voluntarily stepped down as lords and turned our thralls over to them. I’m not willing to do that to my people. They’d have to kill me first.”
“So our only option is to stop Brightwater from joining the big four alliance.”
“I knew you had a knack for this. The problem is, I have no idea how to influence Lord Brightwater’s decision, and I fear it’s coming in the next few months.”
“You’ll hate this suggestion. I do. But what if someone killed Lord Brightwater or one of the other lords in this big four alliance?”
“I do hate that, but it happens often enough. Every time an alliance between manors verges on tipping the table, someone gets murdered. That’s how it’s always been.”
“Which is good? Even though that’s bad?”
“Good for the world. Bad for the lords. After, the new lord is too busy cleaning up after the old one to push forward with the alliance. That’s why the circumstances in which you arrived are so odd. This is the first time in my lifetime and my mother’s that hasn’t happened.”
“So any idea where Lord Brightwater is leaning?”
“My spies suggest she’s tilting in the direction of the big four.
Drake frowned. “You have spies? I don’t have spies.”
“You have spies, Clint. Your spies ferreted information away from my people many times. No one at your manor has told you about your spies?”
Drake remembered his still regenerating butler. The man who had been here for over twenty years. The man Valentia said was incredibly shrewd at politics.
“I might have someone,” Drake said. “But he’s a bit dead, currently.”
“Please tell me that’s you attempting humor once more.”
“I only wish it was. I don’t think his rarity was documented, which means the old lord... and, because you people are crazy, me... may have yet another crime to tithe for. Regardless, I may be able to ask him about spies at some point, but I don’t know how soon.”
“So your spy network may still exist, but your spymaster is unavailable.”
Samuel was currently regenerating his eyes. And brain. “Yes. That sums it up.”
“This is too much rain at once. It is a perfect storm, and those rarely occur by chance.”
He knew exactly what she meant. “Gloomwood’s spymaster, taken out before I arrived. Gloomwood’s old lord replaced with a guy who’s never heard of your realm. Your steward murdered about the same time to throw manor into chaos. And one or more powerful assassins ready to pounce on us on multiple fronts as soon as I arrived.”
“My spies are aware you left your manor recently. Are you willing to tell me why?”
Trust had to begin somewhere. “The plot we thwarted to frame my battle maid wasn’t the only attack I’ve faced. The same group of mercenaries, who I’m almost certain are tied to Redbow, also abducted me directly from my manor. I escaped, but I had to walk back home. That’s why I was traveling through your territory.”
“They abducted you directly from your manor? Can they do that to me?”
The genuine worry in her voice made him trust her even more. “No. Not any longer. I ensured they couldn’t pull that off again, and also put their whole crew out of commission.” He thought back. “I may even have a clue who hired them. But it’s in a code I can’t read.”
“What kind of code?”
“I have no idea. My mediator doesn’t seem to either. I found letters in the tent of the leader of the men who abducted me, the man I believe also commanded the Redbow mercenaries who ambushed your steward and my battle maids, but I can’t read them.”
“What if I can?”
Drake peered into the mirror. “Then I’d be willing to give you a look.”
“I have someone. A blood thrall. His rarity deals with deciphering complex patterns.”
“A codebreaker?” Drake immediately winced. “Sorry, more gibberish.”
“No, I completely understood what you just meant.” Sky now looked visibly excited. “If you can get him a look at those letters, and he can read them to us—”
“We can find out who came after us. Ten to one our undocumented enemy is working for someone among the big four. Trying to keep us off balance while the others tempt Brightwater into siding with them, or even working to actively wipe us out.”
“Those letters are the first hope I’ve had of making any progress against the big four. The first hope that we’ve had, if you’re willing to tackle this problem together.”
“I am. I have the letters, you have the codebreaker. If we don’t ally, we’re fucked.”
“Another phrase from your realm?”
“Yes. It means we are in a huge and overwhelming amount of trouble.”
“The short version is more efficient. Fucked. It accurately describes us if we don’t find a way to stop Brightwater from joining the big four, or at least hit back against our attackers.”
“So should I send you the letters? Walk them over?”
“No. Your courier could get intercepted or the letters destroyed. If they’re already in your manor, they should stay there. Keep them safe.”
“Then how will you read them?”
“The mirror. It’s perfect for this purpose.”
This mirror was essentially a camera phone. “So I bring the letters here to my private room, contact you using the reflective mirror, and point the mirror at the letters?”
“You, Lord Gloomwood, are very clever.”
He knew she was teasing him. Still, he liked her playful tone. “You’ve got a deal, Lord Skybreak. Shall I go get them now?”
“My thrall isn’t available right now, unfortunately. He’s out handling an entirely different mess I inherited. I’m also almost out of time to talk with you, because I have ten more fires to put out tonight. But he should be back by tomorrow night.”
“I’ll have the letters ready. So we reconvene just past sundown?”
“That should be fine. If you can, wait by the mirror. My current responsibilities leave it very difficult for me to get more than a few moments away. I will contact you as soon as my thrall is back and available, and as soon as we’re in a place we can talk freely.”
“I’ll be waiting, Lord Skybreak.”
“Sky,” she said immediately. “You may call me Sky whenever we’re talking in private. I’d like that... if you’re comfortable with being informal.”
“I am. Now, before I let you get back to it, how do I contact you on this thing?”
“Ah. About that.”
He sensed her hesitation. “About what?
“Unfortunately, Clint, you can’t contact me using that mirror.”
“So only you can call me.” He paused. “You set it up like that on purpose, didn’t you? That’s cold, Sky. And here I thought we were starting to trust each other.”
She grimaced. “I was hopeful I’d read you correctly in our short negotiation, but I didn’t expect you to be so clever or amenable. So I needed to ensure you had no way to keep badgering me for an alliance if I decided I didn’t want one.”
“I am cut. Wounded. Bleeding to death. You have devastated me.” He belatedly realized what he’d just said. “Or I am pretending to be!”
Her pleasant laughter on the other end of the mirror was worth every bit of awkwardness in this conversation. “Clint...”
He really did wish she could call him Drake.
“Is there anything else before I put this mirror down?”
He should leave this negotiation here. He should quit while he was ahead. But... he’d always been too reckless for his good. Was she at all open to changing her ways?
“I don’t intend to let my manor be taken by our enemies. I’m going to fight tooth and nail to ensure it isn’t. But if it turns out we can’t win... I have a way to protect your people from being abused even if the other manor lords manage to take you down.”
“What way?” Sky asked immediately.
“You might not like it. You might even think I’m a crazy person. The way I’ve found to protect my people even if I fall to another lord is very different from what you’re used to.”
“If you believe you have uncovered a way to protect my people even should I fall in battle, I will hear it, Clint. Nothing is more important to me.”
He hoped she meant that. She couldn’t lie. “Then... here’s what I suggest.”
He quietly explained the decree he’d used to utterly nullify his blood pact. He did so as if he was only a thought experiment, as if he’d only considered doing it rather than doing it. If this idea terrified or repulsed her, he still wanted the option to call for her aid.
When he finished, she looked shocked. She was trembling. That was disappointing, but... could he judge her? She’d been raised in an entirely different world with entirely different values. Her whole life, she’d been told blood pacts were good.
“You have considered this?” Sky asked. “Changing the blood pact so drastically? You would ensure no future lord could ever be protected from their thralls?”
“Yes.”
“Then if you are so certain of your convictions, why have you not acting on them?”
Her challenge was obvious. It would be so easy to lie. It would be safer to lie. Yet as he stared at her through this mirror, he felt he could reach her. She was so close.
“I have acted,” he said quietly. “Every last one of my people is no longer compelled by our blood pact. All of them follow me willingly, by choice, and it works. So even if I fall tomorrow, another manor lord can never abuse or enslave them as the old lord did.”
“Gods,” she whispered.
“So that’s how you can save your people, Sky... if you have the conviction to do so.”
She watched him in silence. Her trembling had stopped, but she still looked spooked. Yet not angry. She also hadn’t hung up on him.
“You don’t seem entirely freaked out by this idea,” Drake said. “Will you consider it?”
“Clint...” She hesitated. “I thought no one else would ever realize this.”
“Realize what?”
“The dangers of the blood pact. The reasons it must be destroyed.”
He stared at her in growing disbelief. “Hold up. You’ve done this already?”
“After my spies brought me reports of the horrors the former Lord Gloomwood was inflicting upon his blood thralls, I had no choice.”
Author Note:
A brief word about Patreon changes:
Over the weekend I added a $3 tier to my Patreon that will support one or two short stories each month. While I plan to continue writing manor lord for some time, having a tier that supports additional stories beyond this one will let me keep my Patreon open even after manor lord eventually wraps up. I regret losing touch with a lot of the folks who followed me when I was still posting Hallowed War, so adding a low tier with short story content set in this and other universes is a way to support a permanent author Patreon.
The first batch of stories I'll post are written from the POV of characters in my other series (Hallowed War, Insurgency Saga, etc) and will also include the occasional story written in the Rise of a Manor Lord universe, typically from a POV other than Drake's. Reading these stories won't ever be necessary to understand anything in Rise on Scribblehub... they'll usually offer alternative POVs on events that have already occurred. For instance, a story this week will include Valentia's escape from the Redbow mercenaries who took her.
Link is here if this sounds interesting!
www.patreon.com/SummaryInferno
Drake grimaced as Sky’s words hit home. “I understand. You’re telling me we’re already outnumbered and on the verge of being wiped out. So who are we up against?”
“Four lords now sit in alliance. Proudglade, Mistvale, Frostlight, and Redbow. Brightwater is teetering on joining them. If they agree to an alliance with the others—”
“Five against four. Game over.”
“Worse. You and I aren’t officially allied, and while Blackmane and Ashwind are, those are weak manors with weak ties. If Brightwater joins the big four, it will be five against one, and one, and two. They will be able to sweep us away, one after the other, with ease.”
“And by sweep us away, you mean they’ll kill us and install puppet manor lords who already agree with them.”
“Correct.”
“And you’ve already pitched an alliance to the other manors, haven’t you? Ashwind and Blackmane. Did they both shoot...” He stopped himself. “Did they both turn you down?”
“Blackmane agreed to an alliance, but only if Gloomwood joined as well. Your predecessor was uninterested in alliances, even after Frostlight joined what was previously the big three. Even after I pointed out we were doomed.”
“The old lord was a moron. I, however, am interested.”
“I know, and it’s too late now. Even if we formalize our alliance, add Blackmane, and somehow drag Ashwind into it, we’re still four against five. We remain doomed if Brightwater joins the other four manors and tilts the table.”
“So what about if we offer to join the big four? Before they can smash us?”
“The only way they’d allow that was if we voluntarily stepped down as lords and turned our thralls over to them. I’m not willing to do that to my people. They’d have to kill me first.”
“So our only option is to stop Brightwater from joining the big four alliance.”
“I knew you had a knack for this. The problem is, I have no idea how to influence Lord Brightwater’s decision, and I fear it’s coming in the next few months.”
“You’ll hate this suggestion. I do. But what if someone killed Lord Brightwater or one of the other lords in this big four alliance?”
“I do hate that, but it happens often enough. Every time an alliance between manors verges on tipping the table, someone gets murdered. That’s how it’s always been.”
“Which is good? Even though that’s bad?”
“Good for the world. Bad for the lords. After, the new lord is too busy cleaning up after the old one to push forward with the alliance. That’s why the circumstances in which you arrived are so odd. This is the first time in my lifetime and my mother’s that hasn’t happened.”
“So any idea where Lord Brightwater is leaning?”
“My spies suggest she’s tilting in the direction of the big four.
Drake frowned. “You have spies? I don’t have spies.”
“You have spies, Clint. Your spies ferreted information away from my people many times. No one at your manor has told you about your spies?”
Drake remembered his still regenerating butler. The man who had been here for over twenty years. The man Valentia said was incredibly shrewd at politics.
“I might have someone,” Drake said. “But he’s a bit dead, currently.”
“Please tell me that’s you attempting humor once more.”
“I only wish it was. I don’t think his rarity was documented, which means the old lord... and, because you people are crazy, me... may have yet another crime to tithe for. Regardless, I may be able to ask him about spies at some point, but I don’t know how soon.”
“So your spy network may still exist, but your spymaster is unavailable.”
Samuel was currently regenerating his eyes. And brain. “Yes. That sums it up.”
“This is too much rain at once. It is a perfect storm, and those rarely occur by chance.”
He knew exactly what she meant. “Gloomwood’s spymaster, taken out before I arrived. Gloomwood’s old lord replaced with a guy who’s never heard of your realm. Your steward murdered about the same time to throw manor into chaos. And one or more powerful assassins ready to pounce on us on multiple fronts as soon as I arrived.”
“My spies are aware you left your manor recently. Are you willing to tell me why?”
Trust had to begin somewhere. “The plot we thwarted to frame my battle maid wasn’t the only attack I’ve faced. The same group of mercenaries, who I’m almost certain are tied to Redbow, also abducted me directly from my manor. I escaped, but I had to walk back home. That’s why I was traveling through your territory.”
“They abducted you directly from your manor? Can they do that to me?”
The genuine worry in her voice made him trust her even more. “No. Not any longer. I ensured they couldn’t pull that off again, and also put their whole crew out of commission.” He thought back. “I may even have a clue who hired them. But it’s in a code I can’t read.”
“What kind of code?”
“I have no idea. My mediator doesn’t seem to either. I found letters in the tent of the leader of the men who abducted me, the man I believe also commanded the Redbow mercenaries who ambushed your steward and my battle maids, but I can’t read them.”
“What if I can?”
Drake peered into the mirror. “Then I’d be willing to give you a look.”
“I have someone. A blood thrall. His rarity deals with deciphering complex patterns.”
“A codebreaker?” Drake immediately winced. “Sorry, more gibberish.”
“No, I completely understood what you just meant.” Sky now looked visibly excited. “If you can get him a look at those letters, and he can read them to us—”
“We can find out who came after us. Ten to one our undocumented enemy is working for someone among the big four. Trying to keep us off balance while the others tempt Brightwater into siding with them, or even working to actively wipe us out.”
“Those letters are the first hope I’ve had of making any progress against the big four. The first hope that we’ve had, if you’re willing to tackle this problem together.”
“I am. I have the letters, you have the codebreaker. If we don’t ally, we’re fucked.”
“Another phrase from your realm?”
“Yes. It means we are in a huge and overwhelming amount of trouble.”
“The short version is more efficient. Fucked. It accurately describes us if we don’t find a way to stop Brightwater from joining the big four, or at least hit back against our attackers.”
“So should I send you the letters? Walk them over?”
“No. Your courier could get intercepted or the letters destroyed. If they’re already in your manor, they should stay there. Keep them safe.”
“Then how will you read them?”
“The mirror. It’s perfect for this purpose.”
This mirror was essentially a camera phone. “So I bring the letters here to my private room, contact you using the reflective mirror, and point the mirror at the letters?”
“You, Lord Gloomwood, are very clever.”
He knew she was teasing him. Still, he liked her playful tone. “You’ve got a deal, Lord Skybreak. Shall I go get them now?”
“My thrall isn’t available right now, unfortunately. He’s out handling an entirely different mess I inherited. I’m also almost out of time to talk with you, because I have ten more fires to put out tonight. But he should be back by tomorrow night.”
“I’ll have the letters ready. So we reconvene just past sundown?”
“That should be fine. If you can, wait by the mirror. My current responsibilities leave it very difficult for me to get more than a few moments away. I will contact you as soon as my thrall is back and available, and as soon as we’re in a place we can talk freely.”
“I’ll be waiting, Lord Skybreak.”
“Sky,” she said immediately. “You may call me Sky whenever we’re talking in private. I’d like that... if you’re comfortable with being informal.”
“I am. Now, before I let you get back to it, how do I contact you on this thing?”
“Ah. About that.”
He sensed her hesitation. “About what?
“Unfortunately, Clint, you can’t contact me using that mirror.”
“So only you can call me.” He paused. “You set it up like that on purpose, didn’t you? That’s cold, Sky. And here I thought we were starting to trust each other.”
She grimaced. “I was hopeful I’d read you correctly in our short negotiation, but I didn’t expect you to be so clever or amenable. So I needed to ensure you had no way to keep badgering me for an alliance if I decided I didn’t want one.”
“I am cut. Wounded. Bleeding to death. You have devastated me.” He belatedly realized what he’d just said. “Or I am pretending to be!”
Her pleasant laughter on the other end of the mirror was worth every bit of awkwardness in this conversation. “Clint...”
He really did wish she could call him Drake.
“Is there anything else before I put this mirror down?”
He should leave this negotiation here. He should quit while he was ahead. But... he’d always been too reckless for his good. Was she at all open to changing her ways?
“I don’t intend to let my manor be taken by our enemies. I’m going to fight tooth and nail to ensure it isn’t. But if it turns out we can’t win... I have a way to protect your people from being abused even if the other manor lords manage to take you down.”
“What way?” Sky asked immediately.
“You might not like it. You might even think I’m a crazy person. The way I’ve found to protect my people even if I fall to another lord is very different from what you’re used to.”
“If you believe you have uncovered a way to protect my people even should I fall in battle, I will hear it, Clint. Nothing is more important to me.”
He hoped she meant that. She couldn’t lie. “Then... here’s what I suggest.”
He quietly explained the decree he’d used to utterly nullify his blood pact. He did so as if he was only a thought experiment, as if he’d only considered doing it rather than doing it. If this idea terrified or repulsed her, he still wanted the option to call for her aid.
When he finished, she looked shocked. She was trembling. That was disappointing, but... could he judge her? She’d been raised in an entirely different world with entirely different values. Her whole life, she’d been told blood pacts were good.
“You have considered this?” Sky asked. “Changing the blood pact so drastically? You would ensure no future lord could ever be protected from their thralls?”
“Yes.”
“Then if you are so certain of your convictions, why have you not acting on them?”
Her challenge was obvious. It would be so easy to lie. It would be safer to lie. Yet as he stared at her through this mirror, he felt he could reach her. She was so close.
“I have acted,” he said quietly. “Every last one of my people is no longer compelled by our blood pact. All of them follow me willingly, by choice, and it works. So even if I fall tomorrow, another manor lord can never abuse or enslave them as the old lord did.”
“Gods,” she whispered.
“So that’s how you can save your people, Sky... if you have the conviction to do so.”
She watched him in silence. Her trembling had stopped, but she still looked spooked. Yet not angry. She also hadn’t hung up on him.
“You don’t seem entirely freaked out by this idea,” Drake said. “Will you consider it?”
“Clint...” She hesitated. “I thought no one else would ever realize this.”
“Realize what?”
“The dangers of the blood pact. The reasons it must be destroyed.”
He stared at her in growing disbelief. “Hold up. You’ve done this already?”
“After my spies brought me reports of the horrors the former Lord Gloomwood was inflicting upon his blood thralls, I had no choice.”
Author Note:
A brief word about Patreon changes:
Over the weekend I added a $3 tier to my Patreon that will support one or two short stories each month. While I plan to continue writing manor lord for some time, having a tier that supports additional stories beyond this one will let me keep my Patreon open even after manor lord eventually wraps up. I regret losing touch with a lot of the folks who followed me when I was still posting Hallowed War, so adding a low tier with short story content set in this and other universes is a way to support a permanent author Patreon.
The first batch of stories I'll post are written from the POV of characters in my other series (Hallowed War, Insurgency Saga, etc) and will also include the occasional story written in the Rise of a Manor Lord universe, typically from a POV other than Drake's. Reading these stories won't ever be necessary to understand anything in Rise on Scribblehub... they'll usually offer alternative POVs on events that have already occurred. For instance, a story this week will include Valentia's escape from the Redbow mercenaries who took her.
Link is here if this sounds interesting!
www.patreon.com/SummaryInferno
