Page 92 of The Iron Dagger
She picked up a sheaf of loose papers and rifled through it. They seemed to be field reports about different locations throughout Mycan, Lenwen, and Norwen. She was about to set them aside when she saw a page markedOpportunities and Risk.
She pulled the sheaf out and found that it was dated less than a year ago.
Flooding near border of Garretstown, Norwen dam nearby. Plant man in Garretstown council to suggest shoddy N infrastructure is the cause.
Noblewoman found traveling in disguise; reason unknown. Last seen at Canling Inn. Monitor to discover identity. Ransom opportunity?
Lord Anthony reports the mood at Lenwen court: relieved at ceasefire. His strategy is to behave as though the ceasefire doesn’t exist. Continues to create battle plans and has put in new order for cannons, ballistic machines, and projectiles.
Disgust made her hands clammy as she gripped the folio of papers. It seemed the Commander had spies roaming the continent to look for ways to sow strife and ensure that conflicts continued. The note about the noblewoman being used for ransom made Hara feel as though she had swallowed something spoiled. It was too similar to what had happened to Alexandra, and a creeping suspicion began to grow as she studied the spiky handwriting.
There was a good chance this was written by Gideon, and the noblewoman was in fact Alexandra. He and his father were agitators, and Hara wondered if the war between Lenwen and Norwen would have come to an end many years prior if it wasn’t for their machinations.
She searched through a few more folders, but all seemed to be similar to the one she had read. More to satisfy her own curiosity than having hope that Commander Falk recorded prison lists in his diaries, Hara picked up a journal and flipped to a random page. It was dated some twenty years prior and the spidery writing was faint with age.
Corvus’ second meeting with the Ilmarinens went nowhere. They refuse to lend their influence to install sorcerers at the factories. The nerve they have to call magicalweaponry an abomination, when they allow magic to be practiced unchecked and uncontrolled. We ride for the Norwen capital tomorrow to meet with the Steward. There is already agreement from the Lenwen king to send all war prisoners to us. They are so desperate for funds they accepted our offer without any negotiation. If the same goes for the Steward, we will have a low-cost work force to begin work on the new designs. The Lenwen king was very impressed by the prototypes and is eager to add them to his arsenal. We predict the Steward will be equally impressed.
Hara flipped to a new page and read:
With the Lenwen king and the Steward in agreement, the only one who stands in the way is Silfe and his heir. We have Lenwen and Norwen support to move forward with the coup, with dedicated soldiers from both at the ready. Corvus is hesitant to say it, but it becomes clearer every day that the Ilmarinen must be removed for the good of the country and for our economic interests. An unexpected ally has paved the way, and it is only with his knowledge of the inner workings of the court that I believe we have a hope of succeeding. Seith happens to hold the key to their undoing; his paramour is the court Seer, and he is confident that he can keep her visions at bay. Without forewarning, they will be easily eliminated.
Feeling sick to her stomach, Hara turned to another page.
Transition has not been easy, but it has gone as smoothly as we could have hoped. Thankfully, we had all the contracts signed and sealed, and workers are already arriving in such great numbers that we can hardly house them all. The first order of business will be to expand the factories, and so there is a considerable amount of labor being devoted to building. Now that the battle is won, Corvus’ uneasiness hasabated and he has stepped into his role as Empirator, a title he has adopted.
Unfortunately, Seith has been difficult about this. We tasked him with finding the Seer, for she had somehow escaped with her child before the attack, but he has deserted his duties. Turnswallow has thankfully stepped into the role we had hoped for Seith, since we will risk no uprising from their kind. He found the Seer just this week, and has assured me that she has been taken to Herebore. The child was not found and is presumed dead.
Hara’s arms went limp as she looked up from the page. There it was, and if it weren’t for her curiosity, she could have easily missed it. But she had learned more than what she had seeked to find.
Seith, the dark blot on the Ilmarinen line, was her mother’s lover.
Her heart ached at this knowledge, and at the knowledge that the reason for the coup—therealreason—was because the Ilmarinens did not want to use magic to create weapons. She thought of villages like Caerwood, leveled to the ground in a matter of minutes. And now this new weapon Gideon spoke of, capable of wiping out cities in an instant. Introducing magically enhanced weapons to a place without running water, where they still depended on candles for light, was monstrous. The Commander’s dream had come to pass.
But the leaders of Norwen and Lenwen had agreed. All this time, she thought that Corvus and the Commander had worked alone when they overthrew the Ilmarinens, but it was a conspiracy between realms. War was profitable for all, and the Ilmarinens were standing in the way.
“Find anything interesting?”
Hara dropped the journal into the chest and whirled around.
Commander Falk stood hunched in the doorway, his mouth pulled into an ugly smile that looked more like a sneer. He closed the door and approached her.
Was there any way to salvage this?
“My Lord, forgive me, I was just waiting for your return.”
“Were you?” he said.
“Yes, you see, I have news about a rogue witch that might be some trouble, and I thought you . . . ” She broke off as Commander Falk went to sit in one of the chairs before his desk and rested his hands over his stomach. When she stopped talking, he gestured for her to continue.
“Go on. I want to see what you prepared to say.”
“M-my lord . . .”
“Or was it Gideon who came up with this story?” said Falk, his tone even. “Clever of you to be the one to break into my office. I almost forgot that Recruiters were able to bypass the wards. I’ve been waiting for them to trip for weeks.”
Where is Gideon?Thought Hara desperately. Something had gone terribly awry in their plans.
“So, what were you looking for?” he said, resting his hands on his stomach again, the picture of leisure.
