7.5:  Bad News and Worse News

Marcus

Marcus pressed his fingers against his temples.  The reports he received were not good, bad news piled up on more bad news.  A while ago he was nervous about declaring a small war in a demilitarized zone, but this recent news made that issue seem like nothing.

“You seem disturbed my old friend.”

Marcus looked at the door, there was an older refined man standing there and Marcus quickly jumped to his feet and bowed.  “My Lord, I wasn’t expecting you here.”

“I just came to check in on you and my son.  I heard my boy Lance had a little scuffle with one of Castor’s children?”

“Actually it was Thane, not one of Castor’s”

“Thane!  Hah, the kid has his father’s spirit then.  The last time I saw him he only came up to my knee.”

“You know them?”

“I used to visit Castor whenever time permitted.  Until business and prying eyes kept me away.  Let’s not talk about the past, let's talk about the present.  My son told me that this month's reports should be heard directly from you.”

“Bad news and worse news I’m afraid.”

“Isn’t that supposed to be good news and bad news?”

“I also have catastrophic news.”

The lord felt the weight behind Marcus’ words and sat down. “All right, let's hear it.”

“The first bit of bad news you may already know.  There was a fire at the Astley manor and several servants, as well as Baron Astley himself were unable to escape and were killed.  His daughter and only heir is missing.  His wife has taken over as Baroness Dowager until the issue of inheritance is resolved, or there is a transfer of power.”

“He was a good man, I doubt there will be much of a delay before those shrewd hawks at the palace find a replacement.  This land is too valuable to ignore.  If young Ruby is still alive, I fear for her safety.”

“If any of my men find her, I will keep her safe and send word to you immediately.”

“That’s all I can ask old friend, so what else do you have for me?”

“Ah yes, the worse news.  I believe the Ash Peaks eruption will happen next summer.  One of my teams found a large group of Orcs and Goblins trying to set up a settlement in the Davos Canyon.”

“So they are already starting to send out the excess population?  The timing couldn’t be worse. I’ll have the crown send out word to the nearby lords, but if Ascalon gets word of us marshalling an army at the same time your troops are clearing the border...”  

“It's not like we can ignore either problem my lord.  We will just have to hope for the best.”

“No, we can't leave it to chance so we’re going to do it differently now. I want you to send someone to contact Ascalon, ask for their assistance and cooperation.  They hate nobles but might listen to you as an independent entity.  We can’t risk them thinking we are plotting something, tensions are already too high.”

“Can you really make that decision without the council?”

“I just did.  I am the one that hired you, not the council.”

“Once Liam has his team back together I will send them.  He still has some contacts in the houses.”

“Good good.  I’ll leave it in your hands then.  Now, you said there was something else, more bad news?”  His smile faded, “I believe you called it catastrophic?”

“Before that, the problem with the orcs is a bit more complicated.  The team that found the orc settlement also found a new species of orc.  We believe it is an Orc-Fey hybrid.  The prisoners from the last eruption evidently survived long enough to be used for breeding.  We don’t know how many there are, but we do know their blood makes them capable of using magic.”

“So the Orcs will be supplementing their armies with wizards now?  What news could be worse than that?”

“We found a large group of Leios recently.”

“Those little tunneling lizard goblins?  That doesn’t seem that bad.”

“They had several idols and were worshipping a dragon.  I had my best mage investigate further and he interrogated them.  They confirmed the dragon had contacted them, and also confirmed that it was a black blood.”

The lord leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.  “That's not good, any idea how old it is?”

“It sounds like it is still young but finding it is another matter.”

“I know, a black blood can take the form of a human from the moment it hatches.  It could be living a normal life in some city somewhere and we would never know about it until it decides to show it’s true form.”

“Exactly.  It could amount to nothing, or it could be a disaster that might not happen for years or even decades.”

“Well, we might be able to find it.  Perhaps my wife could...ah sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, I am not upset at you for remarrying.  It was something that needed to be done.  I’m sure my sister wouldn’t be upset either.”

“You ever think of coming back, reclaiming your knighthood and serving my house again?  My son...your nephew respects you greatly.  I’m talking about Lawrence of course.”

Marcus held up his finger, “He goes by Lance here.”

“That’s not important, once this is over, when the border is safe and the orcs have been driven back to their holes.  I...we would really like to have you back.” 

“I will consider it.”  He picked up a pile of rolled documents and handed them over to the Lord.   “Here is the documentation of everything we have found out about the recent troubles.”

The lord took them and placed the scrolls in a pack he had left on the floor.  When raised his head he had something else in his hands.  “I need you to take this, you can pay me back later.  I heard your new recruits have not received payment yet with all the trouble in Twinford.”

“You don’t need to do that, I have some funds that I can give them and the barony will be able to give us the bounty soon.”

“Ah, just consider this my meddling, give them their full pay now.”

Marcus looked confused, “Meddling?”  

“Indeed, Onyx told me about an interesting conversation she heard on the roof earlier this evening.”

Marcus looked at the smiling man in front of him.  His face was practically begging him to ask.  “I’m not going to ask.  I don’t pry into the personal affairs of my recruits.  But I will give this to them.”