Chương 87: A Den of Rangers

The Greencloaks' hideout was far nicer inside than I was expecting. There were no cobwebs or vines hanging from the ceiling, no pools of water lingering on the floor. Candles sat in sconces along the walls of the entrance hallway, keeping it bright, and a pair of Greencloaks greeted us. The hallway was large enough to fit our horses inside, and Askan said, "Bring the beasts." Then, he turned to one of his companions and said, "Get their horses to the stable.

Feed them and brush them, and prepare them for a ride home."

"Yes, Askan," the Greencloak said, dipping his head deferently.

"So you're in charge, here?" I asked.

"By the book," Askan replied.

"Yes, I am the highest ranked of the Greencloaks present here."

"You're not the head of your Order?"

"That title belongs to Nylinn, and you'd best hope you don't meet her."

"Right," I said, leading Burr into the labyrinth. The fact that she wasn't resisting, wasn't evening stamping her hooves, was a good sign. Usually, horses had a good sense for whether something was wrong or not. A different Greencloak took Burr's lead from me, and I asked, "Where are they going?"

"Just around that corner." Askan pointed to the first branching hallway of the Labyrinth.

"We built a stable there. We'll feed your horses a meal of hoofseed." I tilted my head in confusion.

"Hoofseed. The best feed for a horse before a long journey. They can run for miles on a single meal."

"Never heard of it," I said.

"How far has the army fallen if they cannot afford to feed their horses hoofseed?" Askan grumbled.

"Consider it a treat, then."

"Burr considers onions a treat," I said.

"I'm not sure about hoofseed. She's probably never had any."

"She'll like it," Askan said.

"Now, come along."

"Is there a reason we're here?" I asked. He led us down the central hallway, then turned and brought us to a converted common room. This was the upper level of a labyrinth, but where were the traps or the Labyrinth Keepers? Nothing was even marked out as a potential trap. It was like walking the inside of a castle.

"I am interested to meet the Dupe who saved Aelfwine's Birch," Askan said.

"Despite putting a massive dent in it at the same time."

"Nothing in return?" I asked. Askan raised his eyebrows.

"Only that you leave quickly tomorrow morning."

"Any chance you can help us move the siege weapons north?" I asked hopefully. It would take us far too long to do it on our own. We turned toward the common room, and I glanced back at the other Dupes, then motioned for them to join us. They moved hesitantly, and glanced around at the nearby Greencloaks. We were drawing eyes. A few other Greencloaks stood in the hallways, staring at us.

"This way," I said.

"Do you guys want to rest or not?" My squad stepped closer to me, and Anchor said, "I'm just not sure if we can trust them, sarge."

"Sage, what do you know about the Greencloaks?" I asked her.

"You have to know more than us, don't you?"

"They used to be quite noble," she replied.

"Not thegns in title, but in spirit. And they are usually quite powerful." She cleared her throat.

"Anchor can confirm, but Askan is strong enough to hear every word we speak right now, and he could kill all of us—without us putting up much of a fight."

"He's certainly strong," Anchor said.

"After a certain point, it's difficult to tell."

"It does not sound like we have much of a choice, brother," Brawl said.

"We should not arouse suspicion."

"I'll find out what he wants," I said.

"I bet he wants something, no matter what he says." This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. I rushed to catch up with Askan, and the rest of the Dupes followed. I turned the corner, then followed Askan into the common room. He'd gotten far ahead of us, and now, he sat at the head of a long table. Nothing in here had any ornaments, but there were still plenty of candles to keep it bright, even if it stunk. Smoke and lard stung my nostrils.

"You think very lowly of me, Sergeant Levi," said Askan.

"Please, take a seat, and let us speak freely." I sighed, then took the chair adjacent to him, beside the head of the table. The rest of the Dupes filtered in, and I motioned to them, getting them to sit down at the other seats.

"Askan," I said, "We plan to leave tomorrow morning and return to our camp. If you could help us move the trebuchets, that would be much appreciated. And…I don't presume to know everything about you, know, but you seem interested in defending Gate. Well, this is what we've gotta do to protect it." Askan folded his fingers together.

"My men can help you, yes. But we will only take the trebuchets, not the catapults. That should be seven of the total weapons?"

"Correct," I said.

"The trebuchets are stronger, more valuable," Askan said.

"And I can't spare enough men to take everything."

"What are you guys doing?" I asked. Askan narrowed his eyes.

"Sorry," I said.

"I'm not trying to accuse. But I'm curious—""Aside from staving off the Dark Lord's stronger servants, we have been hunting for his spies," Askan said.

"The Ealdormen of the south tolerate our presence here because without us, the stronger threats of this world would flatten everything between the Thelea and the mountains."

"I promise you, Askan," Sage said, "he just asks far too many questions. He doesn't mean anything by it."

"You're not like the Subtle Men?" Anchor asked from the other side of the table."They look for spies too."

"The Subtle Men are the Warlord's internal enforcers. They don't care about the Dark Lord's spies—they only care about quashing dissenters. If they had the choice, they would bring our Order into their Union of Orders, which answers directly to the Warlord and often fights for them."

"And somehow, you've avoided becoming beholden to them?" I asked.

"Yes. We're useful. We're too useful, I imagine, because we are the last true Order of rangers." Askan tapped his fingers on the table.

"It gives us grounds to negotiate on. The Warlord may be weak, and his rule may be failing, but he still tries to hold his kingdom together, no matter how badly he fails."

"We can speak freely here?" I asked.

"Good," Askan replied with a grin. That wasn't an answer to my question, but then I realized what he was doing.

"Was that a test?"

"Yes. I had inklings that you might not be favourable to the Warlord, but I couldn't guarantee it." I glanced around the room, eyes flitting over the others sitting at the table. I didn't doubt the loyalty of my squad, or of Romance and Elf, but the others were a mystery. They might report me.

"Yes, I know, you don't trust your men perfectly," Askan said.

"I don't trust every Greencloak, either, and it often puts me at odds with our Order's head council. But it turns out that, if you build a network of counter-intelligence, you can muddle things. There is likely one or two among you who is thinking of betraying you right now. I couldn't tell you who even if I wanted to, Levi, but I will tell you this: you will never defeat them all. Your best bet is to spread so many rumours, some true, some false, that the Subtle Men don't know what to think."

I nodded casually, as if I was listening to advice from my grandpa that I really didn't intend on using (it was probably fifty years too old, and delivering your resume in person only irritated people), but the longer I thought, the more sense Askan's words made. Plus, he had more experience in these matters than I did.

"I'll work on it," I said.

"So, the trebuchets. You'll help me move them. What do you want in return?" Askan breathed a heavy sigh.

"You think so little of me?"

"I don't like owing people."

"No, I suppose not. But you have my word," Askan said.

"I swore an oath to protect this land, accepting nothing in return. Every Greencloak did. If you show us honour, we will return the favour."

"We haven't exactly shown you honour," Anchor replied.

"We did kinda just break your tree," I added.

"No," Askan replied.

"Break is far too extreme, and even I would not go so far to describe the distasteful things you did to Aelfwine's Birch as 'breaking'. But I know why you did it, and…" Askan folded his fingers.

"Consider it an investment in all of our futures. If Gate falls, there will be nowhere to run. This is a battle for our lives.."

"What about the other nations?" Sage asked.

"Those to the west." Askan grimaced.

"They're not anywhere near as powerful as Gate. They will crumble far faster than we will." I hung my head.

"Thank you, Askan."

"We're trusting him?" Anchor replied.

"Yeah," I said.

"He has no love of the Warlord, and our interests align."

"Keep at it," Askan replied, looking at our entire squad.

"Trust your hearts and the Path. You will find that it earns you more allies than brute force and scheming ever will. And those allies will be far stronger." I nodded.

"Thank you."

"Now, enough business," Askan said.

"We will feed you, even if it isn't much. You will rest, and in the morning, you must leave."