Chương 89: Rumours and Maneuvers

"I need you to help me spread some rumours," I told Romance and Elf. We sat around a fire near the edge of the 294th's camp, eating our stew. Today, because of our successful return, we had a chicken stew. Chicken and poultry wasn't as uncommon as I thought it had been in past—or a world like it. (I was tempted to label everything 'medieval,' because that was what I was used to calling it on Earth. Of course, this seemed more like the Dark Age or the Early Middle Ages than anything. It was hard to say, what with the trebuchets and slightly higher usage of plate armour, or crossbows, but I couldn't expect everything to be an exact analogue to what I knew. This wasn't Earth, and it wasn't the past.)"What sort of rumours?" Romance replied.

"Like what Askan suggested?" Elf asked.

"When I leave, yeah," I said.

"I doubt everyone in there hates the Warlord, and there's bound to be someone who says something. Askan kinda put me on the spot."

"Perhaps it's another test. Or he's pushing you," Romance said.

"Whatever the case, it wasn't very helpful." I shook my head.

"I guess, it wasn't very helpful unless I can use this to start building a name for myself."

"What do you need us to do?" Elf asked.

"Well, the first report is going to be that I expressed anti-Warlord sentiment. The Subtle Men will investigate. I need you to start putting out massively conflicting rumours, say that I believe anything and everything. I love the Warlord, I hate the king, or maybe I like some foreign king from the far west even more. Make as many conflicting messages as you can. And don't just do it about me. Do it for everyone. Pick Barley, for example, and spread rumours about him too." Romance looked skeptical.

"And what about your goals?" He lowered his voice to a whisper.

"What do you actually believe? If you're truly building a battalion of people who oppose the Warlord, won't this make it harder for them to find you?"

"We're in the early days," I countered.

"At the moment, I think it's better to be cautious. Besides, I think it's better to have people who are loyal to me because of my willingness to fight and defeat the orcs, rather than my opinions on our internal politics." Romance and Elf nodded.

"We'll do it, then. Starting tomorrow."

"Starting tonight, even," Elf said.

"I have an idea."

"Then let's get back to everyone else." We returned to the main central clearing of the camp, where Hild and Fleda were distributing soup and bread to the soldiers—with priority given to those who have fought with me and defeated the orc convoy. It was a longer night than I hoped, but I got distracted halfway to midnight, gathering everyone around.

After Shave had died, the battalion was left without a System expert, which meant that we didn't have anyone with particularly impressive knowledge about Skill merges left. Except me and my squad. I gave them a general list of skills they needed to start trying to accumulate. Thre were two problems. First off, they had no Labyrinth to exploit for skill earning. Second, I had been a lot more capable of earning a gravity-based Art because of the lack of System stability in my newly soul-stolen body.

So I consulted with Sage and Anchor, trying to figure out what the best Arts for a regular Dupe would be to guarantee a gravity-based Skill. They would do this slowly, but they would do it. Eventually, we settled on attempting to earn five different Skills: [Shifting Weight], [Balance], [Steady Stance], [Light as a Feather], and [Shield Use]. If they could get at least three of those Skills, they'd be in a better position to get a gravity-based Art—as long as they combined it with another activity-focused Skill.

And for me, as I saw it, I only had one of those. That was a problem I needed to remedy as quickly as possible, because I was going to need better gravity-based Arts for myself eventually. After giving the 294th something to work on, me and my squad rested as much as we could. In the morning, I woke up early and visited Maurifus.

"How much scrap do I have in my allowance?" I asked.

"I was just in the process of transferring your totals to Castle Urcia," he said.

"It'll take a few weeks to do so, to actually move all the metal, but—""Can you hold it here, please?" I asked.

"Not all of that scrap is in my name, right?" Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

"Most of it is. And a quarter of it has a weak enchantment on it. You're sure you want to leave it behind?" I paused for a moment. I wasn't certain that leaving it behind was the best course. Perhaps I should try to get myself some other pieces of enchanted armour. But in a matter of months (if I played my cards right) we were going to have access to the lower level of the Labyrinth, and there would be far better gear in there. It'd be a waste to use that enchanted scrap on me. I said, "Use it.

I want you to try to build a set of armour for everyone here, which contains at least one bit of enchanted gear per Dupe. Go for Focus or Perception, 'cause that'll help with gravity-based Arts."

"As you wish," Maurifus said.

"Just sign here to complete the transfer." I picked up a quill, dipped it in the inkwell, then left a signature at the bottom of the page that Maurifus held out to me. I used the same signature as I did on Earth, but instead of a fancy LG, I modified it. LV. Yeah, the System seemed to acknowledge that I had a surname still, but everyone knew me as Levi. Not that it mattered. To them, my signature was unintelligible. And that was probably for the best, because it would be difficult to replicate.

More amusingly, our notion of what a signature was on Earth, versus here, was similar. Since Dupes and most freemen (the average citizens of Gate) didn't have a signet ring or a seal for their house, they simply drew a symbol which represented their family to enter binding agreements. Rambles about signatures aside, it confirmed the transfer of the metal to Maurifus, for use in equipping the 294th with better gear.

"Good luck, Levi," Maurifus said.

"I'll get working on this as soon as I can."

"Thanks," I said.

"We're going to need everything we can get." ~ ~ ~ Our ride back to Castle Urcia was largely uneventful. We rode as quickly as we could without overtaxing our horses, and when we arrived, Lord Ceonwin was waiting for us. As soon as we arrived, he met us at the castle's main gate.

"Levi. With me, please." I gulped.

"Sir, is something—""Please, just come with me." I dismounted, then handed Burr's reigns to one of the non-Dupe castle workers. The others looked at me expectantly, and I gave them a shrug.

"I'll meet you guys in the mess hall," I said. It was getting late, but we weren't too late to miss dinner. Though, it depended on how my meeting with Lord Ceonwin went. I followed him to the inner wall. Instead of taking me to his office, as I expected, he climbed up to the ramparts of the inner wall, which had the best view of the surrounding countryside. We walked a few paces away from the stairs, waited until a patrolling sapper passed behind us, then finally, Lord Ceonwin said, "That letter? You sent it?"

"Correct, sir. It was my signature, right? Should I get a seal?"

"Not yet. Regular Dupes don't get signets or coats of arms." He stood right behind one of the wall's merlons, looking out over the snow-dusted plains.

"When I received the letter, it was difficult to believe. Had it been anyone else, I would have tossed it out and taken you for a traitor."

"A traitor, sir?"

"You destroyed an orc army and took three losses. Three. It's impossible." I inhaled slowly, tasting the cold air.

"I know how it sounds. But—""But since it was you, I considered it might be possible." Lord Ceonwin shook his head.

"And your story about Aelfwine's Birch lines up."

"You heard about what I did to it from someone else?"

"No one knows it is a Slumberer save for the Greencloaks."

"And you, it would seem, sir." Lord Ceonwin exhaled abruptly, creating a puff of steam in the air.

"I trained with that branch of the Greencloak Order in my youth. They were tough, especially Askan, but they were excellent teachers." I nodded.

"Yes, sir. Do you need me to provide more proof? My entire squad can give testimonials—""That's not necessary," Ceonwin continued.

"But you must be careful. If what you said was true, you made an incredibly risky play and put my daughter's life in great danger…" I chewed the inside of my lip.

"Perhaps, sir, but I would've retreated if the situation was unmanageable. And now, the 294th is in an even better position. Once their gear is ready, they'll be able to fight far stronger foes. And Slowbend is becoming a fortress."

"Yes, indeed," Lord Ceonwin said.

"We're going to have to call it Slowchester, or the like. No, that doesn't have a good ring to it…"

"It doesn't," I agreed.

"Regardless, you performed well, and I'm sure the 294th's opinion of you will continue to improve. But for the time being, you need to focus on reaching Steel. You cannot neglect your own progress. My daughter is about to advance ahead of you, and I don't trust that tree golem alone to protect her."

"I will continue working, sir," I said. One day, hopefully, Sage wouldn't need anyone to protect her. But then again, with her being a healer, she was a part of a squad. Just like none of us could do this on our own, neither could she. And Lord Ceonwin was right—we couldn't let her down.

"Very good, Levi. Dismissed." ~ ~ ~ I met my squad in the mess hall. I still hadn't gotten a chance to bathe, but I was more hungry than anything. When I arrived, I said, "Any sign of the Subtle Men?" Since we'd returned from Oschester, and since we'd sent Frythlid packing, looking for traitors in her own ranks, I hadn't seen any, but I wanted to make sure. They wouldn't just leave the sappers, would they? Unless there were more pressing matters to deal with.

"I have seen none," Brawl said.

"Me neither," Sage added.

"I would stay wary," Anchor provided.

"Of course," I said.

"Until then, you must continue your training, brother," Brawl continued.

"We have a Labyrinth run soon, after all."