PreCursive

  Marshal Leopold's words clearly didn’t sit well with the audience, as I saw multiple people around the table make faces. In particur, the Sculpted in the room seemed most upset. One of them, which seemed to be made of gold of all things, nearly jumped to his feet before beirained by another, less ostentatiously crafted Sculpted.

  The Marshal paid no attention to them, merely fog his attention on Grey.

  Grey spoke first, though. “In what way? Even in my…absence, I heard of a battle that occurred he Duchy of Helstein that went poorly for our forces. Surely one lost battle hasn’t spelled doom for the ey of the Uprising.”

  Leopold grimaced. “Normally, you would be correct. While we were pushed ba the Battle of Helstein, we didn’t suffer a decisive defeat. However, we were sent reeling, and elements of the Loyalist intelligence forces took advantage of that chaos. They chose that moment to strike directly at the heart of the Uprising. Our support from the Nobility.”

  That didn’t sound good.

  “They must have been waiting for the perfect opportunity,” The Marshal tinued. “Because in aion that must have taken months of pnning, hostile operatives struck simultaneously across the Kingdom. They didn’t choose to assassinate our backers, no. That would have merely emboldeheir successors. Instead, these operatives chose to kidnap the children and heirs of every sympathetid that was outstretched to us. Sihat time, the Loyalists have been holding these children hostage against the Nobility to keep them from supp us. The kno effects have been costly for the Uprising.”

  Grey furrowed his brow. “I had thought the amount of forces gathered here was thin.” I gave him a side-eye at that. That huge gathering of soldiers outside the wall was sidered thin? Grey leaned forward in his huge chair. “Do we know where they’re being held? Surely, attempts at rescue have been sidered.”

  Grey’s words caused an unfortable stir to sweep through the room. Looking around, I saw plenty of faces that looked like they were either apocalyptically angry, or in the depths of despair.

  Leopold took a deep breath. “Our efforts to locate these hostages retly paid off. Sihen, however…we’ve been at a standstill. It turns out, the Loyalist leadership decided to pce them in the most well-defended and simultaneously horrific p the Kingdom they could. The isnd prison of Caer Drarrow.”

  Grey’s head reeled back as if he had been struck. “Unsable,” He said in shock, before furrowing his brow in genuine anger. “These up-jumped peacocks would dare to pce children in those halls? In the very prison that I desigo tain cssers?”

  “We didn’t think they would stoop so low, either,” Leopold answered soberly. “Which is why it took ents so long to discover where they were.”

  Grey drummed his fingers oable in irritation. “Where is the High King in all of this? Surely, he wouldn’t have approved of such a course of a?”

  “He hasn’t been seen in months,” One of the bystanders seated around the table answered. Flig my eyes in that dire, I saw that it was an rey-haired man dressed in rich blue clothing. His drooping face was etched in a pained frown. “We…think that he might be…” He trailed off.

  “Dead.” Leopold finished for him grimly.

  A tense silence desded on the room.

  “Dead?” Grey said, shocked. “How? Surely these ‘Loyalists’ wouldn’t actually turn on the King they’re supposed to be championing?”

  Another richly dressed man around the table snorted in disgust. “It depends on which King.” He said bitterly. This one was…kind of fat, and dressed in browns and reds.

  Leopold nodded. “The problem is that Prince Aric, King Otto’s heir apparent, has decided to back the Loyalists. We believe that he’s w with them in order to secure the throne. However, it’s odd. They haven’t annouhe King’s death, even though we strongly believe His Majesty has passed. If they did, Aric could easily asd to the throne. Instead, Aric has been dividing the royal family by turning on his younger brother’s fa. Prince Oskar has been vocally supportive of the Uprising, to aent.”

  “Extent is right.” The fat noble said sourly. “Oskar supports the idea of Sculpted personhood, but not to the extent of rebellion. Still, that’s apparently enough for Aric to turn on him. From what we’ve heard, the capital is on the verge of exploding into a third side in the war. Oskar is well-loved by his supporters. Still, we ’t a it. Aric’s Loyalists have a ko our children’s throats.”

  “Which is why we’re relieved to see you returned, Headmaster,” The droopy noble from earlier said to Grey. “You structed the Prison, and we were hoping you knew a way to bypass its defenses in order to free our heirs.”

  “Not only that,” Leopold interjected. “But certain members of our leadership have, unfortunately, been captured as well. We believe that they’re being held at Caer Drarrow as well.”

  Grey sighed. “Who have they captured?”

  At that, the gold sculpted from earlier burst from his chair. “They have Rick! They have him, I know they do!” He shouted in a fnging voice.

  Leopold rounded on the shouting Sculpted. “trol yourself, Aurum.” He growled. “You are not the only oo be missing rades,” Uhe Marshal’s glower, the golden Sculpted man sunk bato his chair, chastised. Leopold turned back to Grey. “It is as he says, Grand Marshal. It is believed that the Loyalists captured the current leader of the Sculpted, Woodrick. However, we’re unsure. He simply disappeared one night from the Sculpted camp, with no ohe wiser. That…” Leopold hesitated for a moment. “That, however, hasn’t been reatest loss.”

  Grey raised an eyebrow at Leopold. “What could have happehat was worse than losing the elected leader of aire people?”

  “In your absence,” Leopold started slowly. “The Academy was left leaderless. Shortly after your disappearahe proper succession of and took pce, with your Deputy Headmistress assuming your duties. She was allowed to remain at her post in an uneasy agreement of enforeutrality with the Loyalists, until the Battle of Helstein. Iermath, and when the abdus took pce, many of the children and heirs that were taken were within the walls of the Academy. The Deputy Headmistress objected to this. Strongly. However, she was overpowered by the force sent to secure the children, and captured as well. We believe Lady Honoka has been inter Caer Drarrow as well.”

  I heard Sylvia gasp softly in surprise. But that wasn’t what caught my attention the most.

  During Leopolds expnation, the room began to darken gradually in a familiar way. By the time the Marshal was fihere was a visible shadow in the room. Gng down at Grey, I saw what I was expeg. Grey was furious, face twisted in rage at what he was hearing.

  “These fools think to strike directly at my Academy, do they,” Grey seethed. “They will e tret their decisions, I promise you. Leopold, correct me if I’m wrong, but the primary instigators behind the Loyalist fa are Lords Rosberry, Valeard, Graden, and Olsen, correct?”

  Marshal Leopold was unphased at the enviroal dispy of might. The same couldn’t be said for the rest of the room, many of whom looked uled. “You are correct, Grand Marshal. After your disappearahose Lords were the ones who exacerbated the situatiohey also the ones who…facilitated your absence?”

  Grey took a deep breath, visibly calming himself. The lighting in the room returo normal, to the visible relief of its inhabitants. “I suspect so, though I was not held by any of them. Rather, I was held in a location within Principality borders by a group that is…no longer of any . Ially, I suspect that the Loyalists have had some degree of dwarven support.”

  “What?” A noble said, this time a woman dressed in white. “The dwarves are interfering in the war? Who was it?”

  “To a degree, I suspect so,” Grey said carefully. “However, if my suspis are correct, then that support has likely ended with my escape. At the moment, we have bigger things to worry about than the Principality.” He btantly ighe question of who had actually been holding him, which fused me a little and definitely irritated the woman.

  “And who are they?” She said sharply, gesturing towards me and Azarus. I stiffened, feeling the attention of the room fall in our dire. It wasn’t hostile attention, but people were definitely curious about our presence. Leopold in particur had an assessing glint in his eyes. “They are dressed in your colors and bear your mark, but we have not seen them before. I ot help but find these individuals suspicious.”

  Grey smiled slightly at the noble, uurbed. “Why, these are the people that helped me escape, Lady Turnold,” He said, causing a stir in the room. “If not for their support, I’m unsure if I would have ma myself. You see, in order to keep me imprisoned, I was affixed with a sve brand and colr.”

  The room exploded into ed shouts at that. Marshal Leopold put a stop to that, however, by smming his gaued hand down onto the table with a thunderous crash. That worked to silehe room. “Quiet,” He growled. “Let the Grand Marshal speak.”

  “Thank you, Leopold,” Grey dipped his head at him. “As I was saying, I was inflicted with the curse of svery. However, this young man,” He said, gesturing to me. “Successfully devised a method of breaking the sve bond with my tutege. I have chosen to take him as my personal apprentice”

  There was an audible intake of breath at that. This time, the gazes that were sent my way were tinged with astonishment and awe. I flushed at the attention. Though, I also felt a familiar tingle run down my spine. I repressed a smirk. Yeah, you try and Observe me. I’d been keeping my Status pletely cealed since we escaped Addersfield, not eveing my name show.

  I guess nobles didn’t care about how rude it was to just Observe someo of nowhere.

  The woman in white wasn’t finished, however. “And the dwarf?” She said, gesturing to Azarus skeptically. “You just finished saying that you were imprisoned by dwarves, a oands at your side?”

  Grey met her eyes across the table calmly. “Yes. This particur dwarf risked a great deal and lost even more to help facilitate my escape. I will not hear a word said against him. Uood?” His st word was said with a sense of finality.

  The woman was uurbed by Grey’s heavy tone, but seemed satisfied heless. She ined her head at Grey slightly and sat ba her chair.

  The table was silent for a moment befrey broke it. “Returning to our course of a, yes. Yes, I do believe I free both our rades and the children from Caer Drarrow. There are certain aspects to the wards of the prison that will reize my presend grant me access. However,” He said to the rified room. “I will require some time to recover from my ordeal and to assemble the tools I need for su expedition.”

  That defted the mood a little. I think some of these nobles expected Grey to immediately charge out of the room like some kind of heroic storybook character to go rescue their children.

  “Only a few days, however. A week at the most. Then I io depart Hollow Hill once again. This time, for Caer Drarrow.” Grey finished grimly.

  ……………………………………..

  “So,” I said to Grey. “Are we going with you?”

  It was ter that night, and the meeting was over. After it, Grey and his followers, whicluded me I suppose, had followed him up to the third floor of the tower. Apparently, those were where the actual living quarters started. Thankfully, everything past the sed floor had bee untouched by the chaos of the Uprising pnning. People had actually respected Sylvia’s wish that they stay on the first two floors.

  It was me, Grey, Azarus, and Sylvia sitting up here for now. Illuvia had left to report to the Marshal, while Venix had wandered off…somewhere. I’d retrieved Fade from Walter, so he was sitting in my p as well, trying to see up over the lip of the table we were gathered around. Well, that to get the scraps off of my die. We’d actually just finished eating dinner when I spoke up. I scooted my pte closer to the edge of the table so Fade could reach it. He enthusiastically set into the scraps of poultry left oe, even though he had just been fed earlier.

  Glutton.

  While I ying with my pup, Grey had finished wiping his mouth with a cloth. “ing with me? Do you perce mean to Caer Drarrow?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

  I leaned ba my chair. “Yup. Are we?” I said, gesturing to the rest of the table. Azarus was nursing a beer of some kind, watg the versation with a raised brow.

  Sylvia meanwhile was meticulously clearing off her pte of food as well. It had actually surprised me to learn that Sculpted o eat every on a while as well. Not as often as us anics did, but it was still helpful to them in some way. Something about Aether input? Apparently, as part of their design, they had one of those dissipating runes in their ‘stomach’ that I saw used mostly for…toilets. anic material was the most effit source of dissipated material for them, so that was why Sculpted still ate the same things we did. They could get by with just about anything, though. Some even preferred eating things like raw stone or tree bark, from what I’d been told. But they could actually taste what they were eating at the time, so most of them preferred an actual meal.

  Grey hummed. “I suspect Sylvia is,” He exged a nod with his daughter when she looked up at the mention of her name. “And Azarus could apany us as well, if he desires. Venix will insist, in his own way, on ing along. I’ll o acquire the services of a healer as well. Perhaps Preceptor Eduard? The nature of this mission means that it will o be a small strike group to get in and out quickly.” He mused, before shaking his head and looking at me. “But, well, you Nathan…”

  Azarus spoke up before he could. “Yer a bit low-level, Nate.” He said bluntly, before taking a drink of his booze.

  Grey winced but nodded. “You are…slightly under-leveled for su expedition.”

  “Yeah, but I punch above my weight css with my racials,” I said, unbothered. It was the truth, anyway. I was the lowest level person at this table by far at thirty-two. Azarus was somewhere around one-fifteen, I think Sylvia was around y, and Grey of course was in his fug seven-hundreds. “Plus, Aetherial Melding is a pretty great multi-tool if it es down to it.”

  Grey nodded slowly. “That is true. If you insist, Nathan…then you may apany us.”