"Your return was quick as usual, Master Rudolf," Gasper said while cleaning his sword. The windows of the cabin were letting the sunlight inside, illuminating their surroundings. "Was the Viscount satisfied with what we've done so far?"
"He was," Master Rudolf said, masked as always. "But there is something else he wants us to do as early as we can."
"Huh?" Gasper stopped what he was doing. "Is it that urgent?"
"Yes," the old steward said. "He is attacking Robben Luwin in a few days. We need to finish this task before the assault."
"What is it that we need to do then?"
"There are a lot of details to tell," Master Rudolf said, producing a letter and waving it for Gasper. "The Viscount has sent you a letter."
Gasper chuckled helplessly. "I hate letters." Then he received it. The last time he'd received a letter from the Viscount, it had informed him that his crew was supposed to get attacked.
This letter was longer than the previous one though, much longer. It seemed that the Viscount had a lot of trust in him. He'd included details that Gasper didn't need to know, but they were there anyway. The letter briefly explained the Viscount's conflict with his cousins and Grina's power in Ard. Canary was supposedly her. Aside from that, the letter also had the details of their task, which Gasper believed was not going to be easy.
After reading the letter, Gasper summoned Erick. The latter arrived shortly.
"Chief," Erick said after entering the cabin. "You sent for me." Then he nodded to Master Rudolf respectfully.
"Yes," Gasper said. "I need to send a message to The Nest."
"Very well, chief," Erick said. "I will prepare a rider."
"No," Gasper raised his hand, stopping him. "You'll have to go yourself for this one. It's important."
"What is it, chief?" Erick asked, seemingly intrigued.
Gasper straightened his back and looked Erick in the eye. "You'll only tell this to Viper himself, and no one else."
"Yes, chief," Erick nodded with a serious expression
"You will tell him that I already know who the Viscount is attacking next," Gasper explained. "If he wants to know more, he will have to assemble the other chiefs again. I will meet them and explain."
"I will deliver your message to Viper himself, chief," Erick said solemnly. "Please rest assured."
Gasper nodded. "You can take a few riders with you. Return with his response without delay. Go."
"Yes, chief," Erick said, then he turned and left the cabin hurriedly.
Gasper turned to Master Rudolf. "Will this truly work? Mentioning a merchant of our own who's willing to provide the same services as Canary all of a sudden might garner some suspicion from the other chiefs."
"It might," Master Rudolf nodded. "You will just have to do the best you can. Hopefully, it won't ruin the Viscount's future plans for us. But this is also important, after all. We can't let the relationship between Grina and the bandits continue."
"But Viper isn't simple," Gasper said. "I fear he might notice something."
Master Rudolf chuckled in response. "You overestimate him, Gasper. Knowing when to betray doesn't make you clever. It just makes you a traitor. And that is all he is."
"Perhaps," Gasper shrugged.
"You should be less concerned about greedy brigands, and more concerned about the deserters," Master Rudolf continued. "That man, Lucas. He won't be easy to fool. Bandits aren't used to being tricked or fooled by nobles. Most of the time, they are just stomped by the raw power of a noble's army. So they might not expect you to be serving the Viscount and fooling them. That former knight, on the other hand, may see through your disguise if you aren't careful. He has served a noble before, and trickery among nobles isn't uncommon. He should have seen his share of it."
Gasper nodded. "I will choose my words carefully in front of him." He'd found the old steward's advice quite valuable during the time they had spent together. Master Rudolf was too sharp for a simple steward. And that wasn't all. Gasper hadn't forgotten that night the old steward had snuck into Black Dog's camp. Gasper had noticed the mysterious nature of Master Rudolf since then. However, he had held back any questions he had.
Later that day, Erick returned. He informed Gasper that Viper was quite shocked by the news, and that The Nest's chief would do all he could to arrange for another assembly in three days.
. . .
. .
.
Three days later, after dusk, Gasper rode out of the camp with his men and Master Rudolf. The meeting place would be the same as last time. He would meet the other chiefs and deliver them a lucrative offer. Hopefully, they'd show joy instead of doubt in response.
Gasper and his men galloped towards the north without slowing down in the middle this time. They reached the edge of the village before midnight. The large house from last time was still surrounded by men and torches. The men, however, were more numerous this time. It looked like all the other chiefs had arrived before him, unlike last time. The news was important enough for them to avoid dawdling. Though Gasper didn't doubt that Viper had to have expended some effort to bring Edith and her brother to the table, evident by the three days the latter had needed to arrange for the assembly.
Soon, a rider approached Gasper and greeted him, then led him and Master Rudolf towards the smaller house. Gasper commanded his men to stay near the large house, all of them this time.
When they reached the house of the assembly, the guide knocked on the door, and, as expected, Marco emerged.
"Chief Gasper," Marco greeted him hurriedly. Then he continued speaking before Gasper could return the greeting, "They're waiting inside. Please follow me." He headed into the house again.
Gasper and Master Rudolf followed him inside. They reached the assembly room, and Marco pushed its door open. As Gasper entered the room, he caught a glimpse of all those present. Harland and Edith were sitting next to each other, their two lieutenants standing behind them. Lucas was present without a lieutenant, just like last time. And Viper was in his seat, gazing at Gasper impatiently.
"Gasper," Viper stood up. "You've arrived. Take a seat." He pointed to the chair beside him.
Gasper nodded to him then to Lucas and Harland. They both nodded back. Then he nodded to Edith, who snorted in response. He didn't take it to heart though. He had to be everyone's friend today.
He sat down and took a breath. The chiefs around the table were quiet, but he knew that they were a moment away from exploding with questions. So he spoke first. "As you all know, it was me who asked Viper to arrange for this assembly. And it's about the Viscount and the Red Rain band."
"Is it true that you know who the Viscount's going to attack?" Harland said, leaning on the table.
"Indeed," Gasper said calmly. Then he stayed silent. He ran his eyes over the other chiefs. Every one of them was waiting for him to speak in noticeable anxiety. Yet he did not speak.
"Tell us then!" Edith was the first to lose her patience, glaring at him intently.
"I cannot," he said the word that would bring him a lot of unkind looks.
"Why the hell not?" Edith pounded on the table. "You think we're going to pay you for it?"
"Calm down, Edith," Viper said. Then he turned to Gasper. "Are you certain of this news you're bringing, Gasper?"
"Very," Gasper nodded.
"Then why can't you tell us?" Viper asked.
"It's not my choice," Gasper sighed and shook his head, as if he was as upset as they were. "The one who brought me this news decides who I can tell it to. I can't afford to betray his trust. I stand to lose more than gain from it."
"Then why in the hells are we here?" Edith growled again.
"Because the owner of this news has an offer for all of you," Gasper said.
"What offer?" Viper pricked his ears.
"One that is similar to the offer you gave me last time," Gasper looked at him. "He is a merchant. A powerful one. He offers to buy all your goods and deliver Ard's news to you. But you have to cut all ties with Canary."
Viper chuckled and leaned back in his seat. "I find it difficult to believe that there is a merchant more powerful than Canary in Ard. Why should we believe that his news will be accurate?"
"Because the attack will happen in the next ten days," Gasper said, wearing an indifferent expression.
Surprise appeared on Viper's face and he gulped. "Does this merchant know the time of the attack?"
Gasper shook his head. "He only told me that it is in the next ten days. You have to accept his offer if you want to know everything else he's told me. The news will be confirmed when the attack happens, so you will have your proof soon. If what I tell you turns out to be false, you can always return to trading with Canary. But I assure you that it is true. He has never delivered me false news before."
Everyone grew silent. Gasper observed the other chiefs patiently. They all seemed to be deep in thought, except Lucas.
The former knight gazed at him for a moment then spoke. "How did you get to know this merchant?"
Gasper was taken aback by the question, but he kept his composure. "I used to live in Ard," he said. "Then I joined one of the crews in the east. After I assembled a crew of my own, I sought an old acquaintance of mine who led me to this merchant." He told them a half-lie. He thought that sooner or later they would know that he was part of Black Dog's crew, so hiding it was pointless.
Lucas kept his gaze fixed on Gasper but didn't speak again.
Viper cleared his throat and spoke. "Black Dog's crew, yes?"
"Indeed," Gasper nodded.
"Some of his men joined my crew after escaping from that massacre," Viper said. "They told me that you used to be part of his crew. I thought the names were just similar, but one of them ascertained it after he saw you the last time you were here."
"I took part in the assault on Big Mountian's camp," Gasper said solemnly. He wasn't surprised that some of Black Dog's men had escape. Aside from the ones that joined Viper, there were others that ran into Master Rudolf's net. They were all killed though. "I barely made it out alive from the Viscount's encirclement."
"You did well for yourself though," Viper smiled. "Regardless, we have more important matters to discuss. I believe that we should give this merchant a chance. I intend to accept his offer, for now."
"I suppose I will too," Harland said.
Gasper looked at Edith, who reluctantly said, "I will accept his offer, but if his news isn't accurate, it will be on you."
Gasper just shrugged in response. Then he turned to Lucas. The former knight met his eye. They stared at each other for a moment then Lucas closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"I will accept it too," he said.
"Very well," Gasper said, a hint of a smile appearing on his face. "I suppose I should tell you now that the Viscount and the Red Rain band are planning to attack Robben Luwin."
There was a brief silence.
Then Viper smirked. "If that's true, then . . . "
"This is good news," Harland laughed. "Luwin is one of our troubles. If the Viscount wants to remove him, we've got nothing to lose."
Edith nodded.
"Fools." Everyone turned to the source of that word. Lucas.
"What do you mean by that, Dirt Knight?" Edith glared at him.
He ignored her and continued. "If the Viscount succeeds in removing Luwin, do you think removing us will be a problem? We will be next."
Viper's smirk faded and he anxiously stared at Lucas. "But he won't have the strength to move against us after fighting a bitter battle against Luwin. His men will suffer a lot during it."
"I doubt it," Lucas shook his head. "He will probably throw those mercenaries in front, like all nobles would. He will have his losses, but they won't be as great as you may think."
"We have many more men than Luwin does," Viper said. "Luwin only has 2000, I believe. Compared to us, that's nothing. We have perhaps 6000 combined. If we unite together, the Viscount won't be able to defeat us."
"We will also have all the news we might need from Ard," Gasper added, trying to reassure them. The discussion was becoming more complicated. He didn't want to discuss matters other than trade today. The Viscount had mentioned in the letter that he had plans for these chiefs and their crews. Gasper didn't know any more details, but the Viscount had mentioned that he didn't want the other crews getting restless and acting before his assault on Luwin.
"Yes," Viper nodded. "We should be able to fend him off if we're cautious." He turned to Edith. "Edith, you need to forgo your conflict with Lucas. If we don't all unite now, we will certainly perish later."
"Let's see if the news is true first," Edith said. "If the Viscount does attack Luwin in the next few days, then we may speak about a true alliance."
Viper looked upset. And Gasper knew why. Edith and her brother were the safest among them. Their camps were in a forest. That's why they didn't care much for an alliance for the time being. If the news turned out to be inaccurate and the Viscount attacked someone else, it was unlikely to be Edith or her brother.
"Fine," Viper said through his teeth. "We will wait. Our pact with Gasper still stands though, right?" He turned to Gasper.
"Of course," Gasper said, unconcerned.
Viper nodded. "Well then, I suppose there is nothing else for us to discuss." He paused. "Gasper, when will the merchant send his people to our camps?"
"In a few days he will send you a rider to inform you," Gasper said.
"Alright," Viper said. "I suppose this assembly can now end."
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