Vesuvian Palace - Council Room
***
Bjorn sat at the head of the table, with seven other nobles with him, his loyal retainers and council, one that was tempered for both governance and battle.
A well-oiled machine of a council.
"Right... I'm sorry for waking you all up so early in the morning."
"It's nothing, my lord. If this matter concerns the capital, then waking up at this time is not an issue."
Bjorn nodded before ordering a knight to lay down a map of Snowkeep's current situation, along with updates from Javier himself.
"We are all aware that Snowkeep is surrounded by Rhyne's men, as for Elberich, we don't know yet."
Bjorn stood up, pointing at the encampments that tried to bleed Snowkeep's economy and supply dry, a careful maneuver planned by Rhyne for years.
"But according to one of Lord Justinian's messengers, Bridgeton and Herdrin are as good as gone, the paths alone enough for us to send reinforcements to the duke."
Bjorn pointed a finger at a location near where Bridgeton's enemy encampment was formerly located.
"This is where the duke and his men are currently resting, apparently, we are to join forces three hours from now to unleash an all-out campaign against Rhyne."
"My lord, if I may speak."
One of Bjorn's council members raised a hand, skepticism in his expression.
"It seems like a brash situation, no? Especially with the mystery of how the duke took out Bridgeton and Herdrin."
"I agree, it would be like sending troops to an unknown danger; we don't even know if those two messengers are telling the truth."
Bjorn took in all the concerns before answering with a stubborn slump as he stared at all his council members with a cold gaze.
"The talk of gods is forbidden in our council, you all remember that rule, right?"
Bjorn asked, the nobles nodding at his question.
"But I'm afraid we have to abandon that for now, as Lord Northros gave his support for Lord Justinian."
He sat back in his chair, stress in his face as he revealed the grave news.
"Lord Northros!?"
"That changes everything then..."
The nobles began to think amongst themselves, weighing the strategic disadvantages of blindly listening to Justinian's messengers and the risk of disobeying their patron god.
"I'm sure you all know by now we have no choice in the matter."
Bjorn spoke up again, grabbing a sword that was hanging on a nearby wall before planting it straight onto the table.
"House Vesuvian swore to fight by House Thirell's bloodline ever since this city was formed, but we have abandoned that duty for our own safety."
Bjorn slid his hand onto the sword's blade, as if coating it with oil.
"Now is the time we fix our transgressions."
The sword immediately responded, freezing the entire long table in a wave of ice as it completely covered it with cold ice.
Bjorn Vesuvian, chosen of the God, Northros.
***
Snowkeep Outskirts - Unnamed Forest
***
"My lord...?"
Matthias spoke, a company of guards behind him as he roamed the dark forest, with the faint lights of the guard's lantern lighting the way.
This was where he and Elberich met up to discuss the ongoing rebellion, a hidden location that only the two of them and a select few trusted knew about, and hopefully, where Matthias aimed to convince Elberich to betray Rhyne.
"I am here, Matthias."
Elberich appeared, with his own group, knights instead of guards, and far more elite.
"I trust you have made up your mind, my lord?"
Matthias spoke, hands behind his back as he stared at Elberich with a calculating gaze.
"Your eyes always irked me... You know?"
Elberich joked, feeling the heavy weight of Matthias' gaze upon him, despite his better bodyguards, he couldn't help but worry.
"I had my scouts confirm your words... the duke... he really did defeat Rhyne's men decisively."
He stuttered slightly, as if he couldn't believe his own words.
"You have made your point clear, Matthias."
Elberich locked eyes with the Castellan and Steward, offering his hand in a sign of peace and alliance.
Matthias smiled, accepting his hand and giving him a piece of parchment, one that laid out Justinian's plan to take out Rhyne once and for all with the help of Vesuvian.
But with small adjustments made by Matthias for Elberich to follow.
"If you do this correctly, you will be pardoned."
Matthias narrowed his eyes; his actions were completely unknown to Justinian, but at the same time, he knew Justinian wouldn't disagree with his actions.
The fewer people who knew about Matthias' plan, the fewer issues would arise when the time finally came to execute it.
"For House Thirell..."
Elberich muttered before bowing, leaving with his knights.
"Impressive."
Fenrix appeared suddenly in the shadows, causing Matthias's guards to unsheathe their swords out of surprise.
"You're Rhyne's spymaster..."
Matthias spoke, backing away and positioning the guards in front of him.
"I'm not here to fight, nor am I here to side with Rhyne."
"What?"
"What I'm saying is... I wish to defect, Lord Rhyne's... strategies have been unsatisfying to say the least."
Fenrix grinned, toying with the dagger nestled within his cloak.
"And as far as I am aware... your council lacks a competent spymaster."