Raynolt ignored the guards guarding the double doors and strode swiftly past the threshold. He stopped.
Damn him! I arrive late on purpose and that bastard isn't even here!
The council chamber in the palace was full with all ten Masters of the Emporium. With Raynolt's arrival, everyone was accounted for. Everyone, that is, except King Reynar. Raynolt had purposely arrived late so he could make a dramatic entrance, and reinforce to everyone here of his importance. The meeting could not start without him.
But once again, Reynar was wise to his plans. Raynolt cursed quietly under his breath and strode toward Lenard and Morgana, who were huddled together in the corner of the room.
Lenard noticed his approach and bowed his head. "Grand Master,' he greeted him.
Morgana smirked at Lenard's show of subservience and gave Raynolt a smile. Raynolt stared coldly back at her until she blinked and dropped her head. "Grand Master," she said, her face coloring.
"Why am I not surprised to find you two together?" Raynolt demanded angrily.
Are they plotting against me?
"We were just discussing your whereabouts," Lenard replied. "Morgana and I have scarce seen you since your meeting with King Reynar three days ago. We thought that odd since...we are aligned in our goals," he added, shooting a furtive look across the room to see if anyone else was listening in.
Raynolt glanced about the room. The main dais where he and King Reynar would sit was empty. None of the council members were seated in the table below it. Groups of different sizes of council members were huddled together and talking quietly.
Raynolt scowled. "I remember a time when everyone greeted the Grand Master when he entered the room."
"They are preoccupied with the upcoming war, I would imagine," Morgana replied dismissively. She focused her gaze on Raynolt. "Back to what Lenard was saying; where have you been? We have been quite nervous since your visit with the King. You have barely said five words about that meeting."
"The King signed the declaration, did he not? What more do you want to know?"
Lenard shared a look with Morgana before he said, "Well...you came out of that room looking like you barely escaped the bowels of the nine hells."
Are you the traitor Lenard? I know your greatest secret...but was that just a ploy to gain my trust?
He studied Lenard closely before responding. "The King was...not quite who I thought he was."
"What do you mean?" Morgana asked.
Raynolt glanced at her. She asked her question with great interest.
Did you crawl into my bed to spy on me?
"I told you all you need to know. Now, where do we stand on our preparations for war?"
Morgana grimaced at his evasion of the question. She would have to be reminded of her place when he had a moment alone with her. Lenard cleared his throat. "Yes, as to that, the council has been deeply divided on the logistics of this war. We have had several heated discussions these last three days."
"The council needs a firm hand," Morgana said pointedly. Her quip asked the question she dared not; where have you been these past few days?
Raynolt couldn't tell them, of course. His search for the spy in his circle had to be kept secret. The files of each of his trusted Magi that he searched the archives for had given him valuable information; too much information, in fact. Each person in his circle was still a suspect.
"I needed some time to think about our next move," he finally said. Let them chew on that.
Lenard nodded his head as if that made sense to him. Morgana scowled.
I let her get away with too much. I am the Grand Master now; she will show me respect if I have to beat it into her.
A sudden thumping sound turned everyone's head toward the entrance. The guards had stomped their spears on the floor to announce the arrival of King Reynar. Reynar, dressed in the strange fabric he always wore, strode confidently into the room. He nodded his head to each of the council members and gave Raynolt a small wink. Raynolt fought the urge to tackle him and slam his head into the floor until it was a bloody mess.
Everyone in the room bowed low as he swept past. Raynolt could only stomach a very quick nod of his head. "Welcome, my dear councilors," Reynar droned. He strode up the small steps to the table on the dais and turned to face them. "Please be seated."
Raynolt felt a surge of pride as he passed everyone and strode up to the dais. His momentary surge of pride quickly faded as he sat down. The King's chair towered over his. He gritted his teeth and turned to look at the council.
They sat in the table facing directly toward the dais. The councilor sat in order of their Tiers; the First Tier Master on the far left and the Tenth Tier Master on the far right. For years, Raynolt sat at the far right during these meetings. He chuckled to himself as he remembered the brief time he served as the Fifth Tier Master before he quickly advanced to the next Tier. He had been reluctant to hold the Fifth seat but was pressured into it.
The tenth chair was currently filled by one of his trusted men, Vaun Tulbert, who had been quickly elected after he rose to the Grand Master position.
If I can trust any of them anymore.
King Reynar nodded to the scribe standing in the corner of the room. "Let this meeting of the Council of Astuari come to order, King Reynar Lobare presiding."
Raynolt let his focus drift as the formalities of the meeting washed over him. He studied Lenard and Morgana down below him. They both appeared nervous. It took him a moment to realize that this was their first meeting and the first time they have met the King.
Was I ever that nervous when I took the Fifth seat.?
Reynar had been younger then. He had always been a talented Magi but Raynolt had not been impressed. He always deferred to Boltus during the meetings and showed no sign of the great leadership he was famous for. Perhaps it had always been Boltus' leadership that made him famous.
But that was no longer the case. The man next to him exhibited a very strong aura of power. Raynolt racked his brain to figure out when Reynar had changed. It was a slow, subtle process. But he was sure that Reynar had not always been so powerful. In between his search for the spy, he had studied his magic again.
Raynolt was simply amazed at how much he had forgotten. He knew the language well enough to cast his spells but had forgotten the subtle nuances of it. Reynar's talk about intelligence had deeply unsettled him. He had to grudgingly admit that Reynar was far stronger than him. But did studying the intricacy of the language of creation really make the difference?
Raynolt snapped back to attention when he heard his name. Reynar had asked him something. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"
Reynar smirked sideways at him. Raynolt's blood boiled with anger and embarrassment. "I said would you like to open the discussion about the upcoming war?"
Raynolt suppressed his rage and took a breath. "Yes, thank you my liege. The war with the Magi Victus will not be your ordinary war. We are not marching to a distant land and we are not facing an army. We will be hunting through the streets of our own city, seeking to cut out the rot that has infected it."
He paused to gauge the effect of his words. The council stared steadily back at him. "It will not be easy. The Magi Victus live in the very shadows themselves. We will be taking the fight to the streets. Innocent civilians will be in danger. But we must not be discouraged or lose heart. No matter what the cost, the Magi Victus must be eliminated. They have plagued us for over two thousand years, culling our numbers and creating havoc and discord among us. I say that ends now!"
He stood up and was glad to see several pairs of eyes shining with passion. "No more will we burn our own! No more will we stand and watch as the fire consumes the funeral pyres, as we did this week for Darrius, Edmund, Daminus, and Grand Master Boltus! No more will we allow ambitious upstarts to degrade our order by hiring the Magi Victus! It ends now!"
He pounded the table for emphasis. He had them; he could see it in their eyes. He knew some of them did not favor war but would still be secretly relieved to have it be done. The option had been taken from them and they were glad of it.
"Very well spoken, Grand Master," Reynar said. "However, as we have already decided to go to war, I was hoping for a speech on the logistics of the war. I admire your passion, though."
Raynolt knew he was the only one who could hear the derisive tone in Reynar's voice. The man had humiliated him in their last meeting and was doing it again.
I will not let him seize power from this council!
"Forgive me, my liege, but I was merely reinforcing the reason why we are all here. And I wanted to make sure we were united in this cause before we proceeded."
Reynar waved his hand. "Of course, of course, I understand that sentiment very well. Is there any objections?" Reynar looked each councilor in the eye. Everyone nodded their agreement. "Good. Do you have a plan, Grand Master?"
"Yes. According to our reports, the Magi Victus number around five hundred members. We currently have close to one thousand Magi. We also have a standing army of five thousand soldiers. I propose that two Magi take a squad of twenty soldiers on patrols in different parts of the city."
His proposal elicited an immediate response. "Impossible! You would risk the lives of countless citizens!" This came from the 3rd Tier Master Shona Felize.
Reynar held up his hand up. "Master Felize, please stand and speak your peace."
Shona suddenly looked embarrassed by her outburst. She took a breath to restore her dignity and rose gracefully. "Thank you, my liege. With all due respect to the Grand Master, what he proposes is simply impossible. We would destroy this country's economy."
Raynolt frowned. "And how do you figure that?"
"We would have to warn the citizens to stay indoors while we scourge the city. There would be very little business done as people would be afraid to go out. People would be unable to work or provide for their families. And there is no telling when this war will be over."
Reynar nodded. He looked sideways at Raynolt and asked, "Do you have anything to say to rebut her very valid points?"
Raynolt waved his hand. "We would arrange times for the people to go indoors as we conducted our search. As long as they abide by our schedule, nobody will be hurt and business can still be conducted."
Shona snorted and then hung her head in embarrassment when she realized what she had done. "I mean no disrespect, but you make it sound so simple. I'm afraid people don't act the way you seem to think they do, Grand Master. Besides, you insult the Magi Victus' intelligence by implying that they would simply sit back and let us hunt them during the appointed hours."
"Then what do you propose?" Raynolt snapped.
Shona took another deep breath. "I think we should keep this war secret. We should disguise ourselves to venture out into town as ordinary guardsmen. That way, the people would not suspect anything."
Raynolt smiled viciously. "Now you insult the Magi Victus' intelligence. You think they will go along with this secret war of yours? No, they will want to cause chaos and havoc. It would panic the unsuspecting public and make our job much harder."
Shona looked put out. Clearly, she had thought of no counter-argument to her own plan. Raynolt turned toward Reynar and said, "Her argument wasn't
