Roderick

"Rhugh was a good man! And he and his hundred are dead. His sacrifice must not go to waste," roared Glinrin, the war head, in his deep voice. His words sounded like those of a commander, before leading his troops into battle. The stress he put on his words echoed through the council chamber. This was the most Glinrin had spoken in a year full of Council meetings. That did not surprise Roderick a bit; he was expecting him to put on this show.

Roderick shook the glass in his hand a little and looked at the translucent reddish content inside. That was Furginian wine, known for its high alcohol content. Roderick oft wondered what he would be doing in the world was it not for this splendid invention by the Furginese. He gulped down the content in a go as he had done multiple times the last night.

That's the only armour I have after all.

As soon as he had come to know of the complete defeat of Rhugh and his hundred by a shadow force known as the Order of The White Capes, his mood had turned to a melancholic one. He had spent last night at a friend's inn, Greyshire. Despite his friend's disapproval, he strove to get drunk.

It wasn't the demise of the hundred that haunted him. He could care less for Rhugh. On the contrary he had come to respect this Order that only boasted of a twenty member strength. It was this council meeting he was now in, he loathed. That, and the consequences that he predicted. If what he predicted was accurate, the situation would escalate to levels that would be disastrous. Now was the only time this situation could be avoided in a timely fashion. And it depended on the council.

Had these fools paid some heed to my advice last time, this position would never have arisen.

He was quite sure his advice would fall on deaf ears again by some distorted logic put forth by mindless trolls that sat with him in the council chambers. No, trolls reasoned better. Food - eat. No food -sleep. That at least made more sense.

They say it's wiser to have smart enemies than foolish friends. But here I have fools for allies, smart ones for enemies.

"They must be avenged," added Yule, stroking his beard.

"Oh 'avenged' you say? Sure sounds interesting. Kill the Priest you said, wait we didn't do that yet, did we? Oh, the ones we sent lost in a more than fair fight, but no I reckon they still need to be avenged. Now you say kill the order that protected the Priest. Sure that will bring many good results. The King will be a branded stereotypical 'evil doer', who defied will of God. Sounds interesting I say," Roderick said with a tone of such heavy sarcasm that it caught Yule in a fit of coughing. "Tell me Yule. Are my words a form of flu? That you catch a cough instantly after hearing them? That is another interesting matter."

Roderick wondered if he was drunk. He was sure that he didn't look drunk. But then, no drunkard assumed any such.

Glinrin roared," Roderick are you trying to mock Rhugh? He died for the empire!"

"Hush now, when did I mock Rhugh? What fun in mocking someone who can't listen?"

Glinrin stood up from his chair, his six foot frame blocking the sunlight from the window, throwing shadows across the table, towards Roderick.

How misled can you be?

"Do you even realise the gravity of the situation, war head? There is an organization in our Empire. This organization claims to be under direct command of almighty himself. This does not constitute the entirety of our problem though. Nor is it Rhugh and his hundred. It is the fact that people believe this Order is under the command of God!"

Roderick sipped his refilled wine as he let his words sink in. The King signalled Glinrin to sit. Silence declared itself greater than the King of the Empire.

Tren, the treasurer didn't deem this appropriate as he broke the silence," In other words you are stating that killing the Priest, or the organisation is meaningless for the root lies in the belief of people?"

Glinrin said," But my dear friend, belief does not raise armies!"

"Then what do you think killed Rhugh and his hundred?" retorted Roderick.

"That was trickery I tell you!" said Yule, his expression proving he had put much though into his revelation.

"What trickery? Rhugh knew from miles away about the Order. He should have had ample warning. It was probably his pride that crushed him," Roderick looked at the translucent liquid being poured into his glass by the cup bearer.

"But any way you look at it, going against Rhugh and his hundred, is going against the army. And this is the Empire's army. This must be seen as a sign of an insult to his Majesty. If it goes unnoticed, people will look down on the King himself. Can he not rule his subjects? They will ask. This is a seed for future revolts. Must be dealt when it's still a seed, with a crushing heavy hand," Yule the bearded stroked his beard.

That's the reason I am drinking since yesterday, you fool. To deal with your distorted sense of reality.

Glinrin banged his hand on the table, "We must not tolerate this insult to his Majesty!"

The King looked at Roderick for his response. Roderick noticed he hadn't been annoyed by King's idiosyncrasies.

Hail the Furginian wine.

He would have liked it better if a cask of wine sat in place of the King. 'Mad ruler of an Empire'.

Well, that sums it up. I am drunk.

"Yeah sure, attack Andlenore. Hundred men were not enough, so now you will send five hundred I presume? Five hundred men will have to be sent from the City Guard as this stands a more personal matter for the King. He can't call loyalties. So here is what will happen. Five hundred men will go and attack Andlenore. The woodcutters, their wives and children will die. Barely any resistance offered and where will be The White Capes then?" Roderick banged his hand on the table, spilling a little wine," Gone! Nowhere in Andlenore will you find them. Nor them, nor the Priest. Coz even if this Wilbur guy is a forth as smart as I think he is, he would have long left Andlenore. So what do our Five Hundred men get?" Roderick drank in a go. The treasurer completed his statement, "They get a pile of matchsticks and corpses of our past taxpayers."

Roderick pointed at the treasurer in agreement," With that, we have a shortage of men here, making the King vulnerable for more than two months."

"That is certainly unacceptable," declared the King.

"So you suggest we send two hundred men instead?" asked Yule the not so learned.

"Well if you find time from scratching that beard of yours, do listen to my words. When the heck, did I say send anyone? On the contrary it's logically sound to send no one at all to Andlenore. Give it up as a lost town. Never was it of much gain to the King anyways. Not like it has any gold and silver mines hidden. It was just a town you even remember coz you exiled the Giant there."

The King chuckled," But we can't just take an insult from a town under us, can we?"

"Remember it wasn't the town that insulted you, O King!"

Tren found his voice again," Won't other towns find confidence to betray the King?"

"That will have an effect on them. But the effect will be multiplied if you touch their religion," Roderick said. Roderick had never paid the treasurer much heed, but he realised that he was the one that would hear all arguments before stating anything. In a way he was smarter than he looked.

Or maybe I am just drunk?

"I must agree, the part about The Order is correct. Any good General would do the same. But I swear, give me time my King, and I will find each and every one of these White Capes and annihilate them."

"Yes yes! How dare they insult the King," added Yule.

Damn you, politician! He doesn't know what to say but he knows too well, when to say.

For the first time in that day's council meeting, Roderick put down his wine glass. He placed both his hands on the table," Calm down gentlemen. I have a proposal that will solve all of the King's current problems in a very short amount of time."