The Truce - 23. Chapter 23

Carlisle Cathcart was a prince, a leader, a husband, and a hard worker. There were very few people in the world that could make him doubt himself, or feel like a fool. His parents, his husband, and the mentors that he grew up with reserved that very special right, and several days into the siege of Yago Clarion’s territory, it happened. Carl set the letter that he had received from Director Chamberlin down, and put his head in his hands. I never should have doubted all of you. I should have come to you for advice instead of holding you in suspicion. If I had just been straightforward all those months ago in Tomacia, maybe we could have avoided the situation we’re in now.

He stood up to pace, and shook his head. He knew that there was no point in dwelling on the past, but it was frustrating that secrecy had cost him so much. If he had done as his parents suggested and joined the Hallowed Order, maybe he would have known about Yago Clarion’s designs sooner. On the other hand, maybe the Order should have been a bit more public and warned us before we took the collective troops of Nabius into battle. But no, he thought, this is no time for casting blame. He continued pacing, only to stop for a moment to look towards the tent’s bed at Alex. He was asleep there, though twitching fitfully. Carl suspected he was in more pain than he was letting on, and wasn’t taking the proper steps to fully heal. He hoped his husband would get some rest before he needed to be filled in on this.

He’s spreading it with meat. Human meat. Carl felt revolted, and was extremely concerned for the citizens of the continent. Yago had been able to develop widescale trading networks, there was no telling how many people could already be infected. Chamberlin had of course briefed Richard and Carmine Cathcart, but even a ban on imported meats wouldn’t catch all distribution. And now it makes sense that General Clarion is troop matching. He wants even fights so as to produce the most carnage possible. In turn, that gives him more of what he needs to continue the operation. Disgusting.

Earlier that evening, Carl had made the call to slowly reduce the number of troops rotated into the battlefield at one time. As expected, Yago had done the same. Carl thought about the rest of Chamberlin’s letter, particularly that he had explained that the disease killed as many as it drove mad. The entire idea is insane. But seeing Ysabel… the truth of the words rang inside him, and Carl felt like he understood the opposition’s end game for the first time.

We’ll keep pulling them out. Numbers of those on the front lines had been dwindling all afternoon, but Carl knew that Yago would never allow a full cessation of battle. He still needed bodies, and if they were to give up, Yago would simply send his troops into the camps. That was the last thing Carl needed, but he felt unsure of what to do. So, he had continued to test the waters throughout the day, pulling several hundred men out at a time to see how Yago would respond. So far, it didn’t seem like the General had noticed that they were on to him.

In Carl’s mind, there were only a few options for moving forward. The first was that they could continue to fight as is, and hope that Yago’s troops would run out. Given that he had free reign over the provinces for a few decades. Carl didn’t put much faith in that. Secondly, they could start killing the ‘collectors’ – a term that the men had begun using to designate the tribespeople that were carting bodies off in the middle of battle. That would likely enrage Yago, but he probably had more replacements for that too. The last option was to mount an assault that would be so overwhelming that they could penetrate Yago’s homestead, and try to get to him. This didn’t seem feasible, as General Clarion likely had a large number of troops on reserve, and his home was nearly impenetrable. Carl sighed, feeling lost and defeated. Yago had them cornered, with no way to win.

I’ll discuss this with the rest of the leadership during the meeting tomorrow. Maybe the Ironians will have some new ideas. Or perhaps Luca will think of something – he’s generally a good problem solver. Carl wished he could wake Alexandre up and talk to him about this immediately, but he figured he would let the younger general sleep while he had the chance. He knew Alex would be mad at him for not providing this information the moment that he got it, but he didn’t care.

At least we’ve got the Ironians on our side now too. The price was high, but the reinforcements will be worth it. Jared Coyne and Marion Monciet were slated to arrive the next morning, and would likely be all for finding a solution to help to end the war sooner rather than later. The only reason they were risking their troops was because Carl had promised them Nabian territories, including Alexandre’s home. The contents of the letter he had received might sway them to feel a bit more passionately about the outcome, though. I hope.

Either way, this is going to be a difficult war to win. We need another option. What we really need is to kill Yago. If we could somehow cut the head off of the snake, then we could work on dismantling what he’s built.

***

Marion took her place at the makeshift table in the middle of the war camp, shoulders hunched and suspicions high. It wasn’t often that so many leaders from the continent congregated, and tension was palpable as a result. Once again, Marion found herself in a summit to try to work together. Once again, she was prepared to end everyone there if she felt threatened. Though I will exercise restraint, she thought with a sideways glance at Jared, who was to her right. The prince had yelled at her like he never had yelled at anyone in his life. It turned out that the destruction of the Order had been a massive mistake, and Marion now saw the error of her ways.

I refuse to feel guilty, though, she told herself. Guilt did still twinge in the back of her mind, despite her attempts to remain confident. If I had known… all of those people would still be alive.

“Thank you for coming, everyone,” Alexandre Di Coteau said from his seat at the round table. He was seated next to his husband, and looked paler than normal.

He looks sick. Marion knew about his injury on the battlefield, but didn’t realize that it had been downplayed for the masses until just then. He is weak. Weaker than he wants to seem.

“We’ve got a lot to get through today, so I appreciate your punctuality.” Marion resisted the urge to roll her eyes, only slightly narrowing them instead.

Even half dead he manages to come off as condescending.

‘You have no ground to stand on right now,’ her mind told her in Jared’s voice. ‘Show some respect.’

“I assume by now all of you are aware of my Uncle’s designs on this continent. Now that the Hallowed Order has been… spurred… into action,” he said with a glance in the direction of Marion and Jared, “I’ve been told that they informed you all of what was going on.” The group nodded, and Marion looked around the table.

Alexandre and Carl, the Steward Luca and his guard – lover? I don’t understand why he keeps getting included – plus Elsa Torne, Laura and Almanita Nandra, and Devan Di Coteau. Devan Di Coteau was the only face she hadn’t seen in person before, being that the Nandras and Elsa Torne were both members of the Order. She wondered if any of the Generals bore her any ill will for the destruction of the Order at her hand, but doubted it. Nandra’s brother helped me do it, and Torne has probably killed the most people of anyone at the table. Seated directly across from Luca, Marion thought of her ex-sister-in-arms Jezebel, who he had dispatched. The young man’s innocent features and boyish good looks painted him as cherubic, but Marion knew that he was just as deadly as the rest of them. When Marion had his background looked into, she discovered that he was also suspected in the death of Yonin Meko, a prominent trader and sex trafficker. It’s like being in a pit of vipers.

“Please reiterate, so that I can assume I am on the same page.” The voice that spoke up was Devan Di Coteau’s, and it was deep and gravelly sounding. She figured that of everyone there, he probably had the least connections to the Order.

“Yago is using the bodies generated by this war to infect food supplies around the country, thereby inflicting disease on it’s inhabitants,” Almanita Nandra spoke up. “The disease causes mania, paranoia, and an increased drive for violence. We need to simultaneously win this territory, disrupt his supply chains, and stop him from collecting the corpses of the fallen.”

A concise assessment, Marion thought while eyeing her old mentor.

“What we need is for someone to infiltrate Yago’s palace and take him out,” Eamon said with annoyance in his voice. “If we could just get to him, we could stop the orders from flowing.”

“We’ve got that in the works, of course,” said Elsa Torne. She checked her nails while making the statement, practically oozing nonchalance. “Plenty of people are attempting to get through enemy lines as one of them as we speak.”

“Not that any of them will make it. Would-be assassins in Yago’s territories will be found and shamed faster than you can say ‘we tried,’” Laura Nandra growled.

“I know,” replied General Torne with a look of regret on her face. “But all of the bodies I threw at that volunteered.” Nandra rolled her eyes, but didn’t say anything more on the subject.

“We may have a better chance than you think,” Devan said evenly. Marion interpreted that as him having information that no one else did, but she didn’t raise her voice to question him.

“It’s notoriously difficult to get into the mountains,” Alex piped up. “No one will make it.”

“Not from the north, no. But some people say there are tunnels through the mountains to Yago’s home. They connect him to the tribal lands. The assassin that I know is on the way can make it through those.”

“Sure,” Jared began, “but then they’d have to go through the provincial lands. Nobody could survive that. They’re all Yago’s people anyway.” Marion nodded her head in agreement, and saw that several others in the circle were doing the same.

“Nobody could survive that but one of their own.”

“You have an assassin that’s a member of the tribes?” Alex asked incredulously.

“No,” his uncle replied calmly. “I’m referring to your mother.” The group went silent for a minute, taking in what Devan had just told them. To Marion, it now made sense why Ysabel Clarion was not at the meeting and hadn’t been seen in over a week.

Who better to get by than Yago’s family? After a little time had passed, Alexandre spoke again.

“It’s a nice contingency to have, but I don’t think we can rely on it. We need to think of something else.” Marion agreed with that, and waited for someone else to speak up. After a little while, Almanita Nandra spoke again.

“Does anyone have a proposition? It seems that our problems can’t be solved compatibly.”

“I agree,” said Alexandre with a sigh. “We can’t devote troops to stop the body collectors. It seems like we’re outmatched there, even with the Ironian reinforcements.”

“What if we don’t have to collect them?” Marion asked coolly.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not quite sure yet. Lady Nandra, do you know anything about how the infection is spread other than through consummation?”

“I’m not sure I follow,” Almanita replied to her mentee. “The meat is ritualized, and then eaten. That seems to be all that it takes.”

“The shipment in my region that was destroyed by the order contained only raw or salted product. Preserved, but not cooked.” Almanita appeared to catch on now, and she slowly nodded.

“Yes – what was on that boat? She asked her wife.” Laura scratched her head, and shrugged her shoulders.

“Just bacon, I think. Well, so we thought,” the General said with a grimace.

“You think we can burn the bodies?” Luca asked, having grasped the situation.

“I do,” Marion replied. “If the corpses are cooked, perhaps the disease that’s latent in us will be killed. Then they won’t be useable, and we can continue the assault.”

“I’m all for that,” Prince Cathcart said. “But piling the bodies and getting them to light would be a lot of work. We might as well go back to the idea of killing the tribespeople that are collecting.”

“Actually,” Marion said, “I have a bit more dramatic of a solution. The use of a substance that you all should be familiar with by now.” Recognition sparked in everyone’s eyes, and Marion knew that it would work.

“We’ll have to sacrifice some horses to get it spread on the enemy’s side of the field, but I’m sure you have plenty of riderless beasts by now?” Alexandre nodded.

“We do,” he said quietly.

“Very well. We’ll rig them to carry pots in, and send fire in once they’re far enough. It can be a simultaneous attack and problem solver.”

“How long would it take to get more powder from the mines in Jack Du Vance’s lands?” Marion thought it was interesting that Carlisle didn’t refer to the territory as Jezebel’s.

“Not long,” Marion said, even though the question had been intended for Alexandre. “My sisters and I have taken control of Jezebel Di Coteau’s former lands, and have been amassing the substance for weeks. I’ve got plenty here with me already.” Alexandre raised an eyebrow, and then looked from Marion to Almanita. It was clear that he wasn’t aware that they had commandeered the land away from his family, but Marion simply held his gaze. Almanita had the decency to look guilty, but gave a noncommittal shrug.

That’s not going to be the only land I take from you, General. Best get used to it. He didn’t say anything for a while, but then sighed and gave assent.

“Very well. Lets use what you have as a trial. If we can work mass burnings into a regular schedule, my uncle may react. We may as well try.” Marion nodded, feeling victorious over Alexandre’s acknowledgement of her taking territory.

“Excellent. I’ll get the plan organized, and we can send a wave of fire in in a few hours. Next topic?”

Marion made tense eye contact with Alexandre and Carl, but eventually the hostility wore out and the group began discussing additional battle tactics.

Huh. I actually do wonder how General Clarion will react.