The emperor furrowed his brow, deep in thought. "Hmm, why did he not use a communication crystal?" he asked the knight with a note of confusion in his voice.
"He fears that there are spies within the palace who could tap into the conversation," the knight replied, his head still facing the floor.
"I see," the emperor murmured, nodding to himself. "Well then, give me the letter." He gestured for the knight to hand it over, which the knight did with a bow.
A short while later, a grim expression appeared on the emperor's face as he read the grand duke's letter. "Sir Beaumont, is this true?" he asked, turning his face towards the knight with a serious expression.
"Unfortunately, Your Majesty, that does seem to be the case," Sir Beaumont replied with a light nod. "While the northern barbarians have launched a surprise attack against us, none of the nobles, northern or central, have responded to His Majesty's letters. When confronted on this by the grand duke, they all denied receiving such a letter."
The emperor's eyes narrowed as he absorbed this information. "As such, my brother believes that not only are there spies here in the imperial palace, but also across the wider empire."
"Correct," Beaumont replied with a light nod. "And while we have no idea who these spies belong to, my lord has a suspicion that they probably have their nails deep within the structure of the empire to be able to interfere on such a large scale."
The emperor sighed heavily. "There is no way these spies belong to those seafaring bastards down south, and I doubt either the dwarves or the orcs would cooperate with humans. And lastly, we have an alliance with the elves… This must be either an inside job, or it has something to do with the suspicious activity from the demons, then?"
"While what you suspect could be true, there are reasons to suspect that unusual activity is taking place in the tribes both west and to the empire," Sir Beaumont said, after nodding in agreement with the emperor's deduction. "Although we cannot say anything for certain, my duke believes that something is afoot. Some scouts we have sent have reported seeing some ginormous ships docked on their shipyards."
"I have seen those reports myself. I sent an envoy to check, but I haven't heard from them yet," the emperor replied.
"So, your majesty, what do you intend to do now?" Sir Beaumont asked, his expression expectant.
The emperor pondered momentarily before turning a curious gaze towards Sir Beaumont. "Do you have a communication crystal linked to the grand duke with you?"
"Yes, your majesty. He gave me one before I left," the knight replied.
"Call him. We need to talk," the emperor said, nodding decisively.
"But, your majesty, there could be spies here, tapping into the call," Sir Beaumont pointed out, his expression souring.
"Don't worry about that. I'm sure Dante has had the crystal sealed if he knew that spies existed here," the emperor reassured the knight, his tone soothing.
Having been reassured, Sir Beaumont pulled out the communication crystal from his bag and handed it to the emperor. The emperor poured his mana into it before addressing the grand duke.
"What is it, Beaumont?" Dante's voice crackled out from the crystal.
"Dante, it's me," the emperor spoke into the crystal.
"Eric? I can take it that you have read my letter then?" the grand duke asked.
"I have indeed. What do you want from me?" the emperor replied, nodding slightly.
"I need support, a lot of it. Most of my army is occupied here in the Icewind Bastion, leaving the other forts practically defenseless. I know the barbarian chief is smart enough to know that, and as such, he has likely sent a larger force to take over the other forts," Dante explained urgently.
"I guessed that you wanted that much already. You wouldn't have sent your closest knight here if that was all there was to it," the emperor said with a wry smile, his eyes twinkling with amusement.
Dante took a deep breath before speaking. "It's about father," he said, pausing for a moment.
The emperor's face immediately turned to a frown. "What about him?" he asked.
"Some suspicious people have been around him recently," the grand duke explained. "While they have been moving silently, one of my men managed to overhear one of their conversations. It seems like there is a larger organization at play… I don't know their motives or how strong they are, but I know for a fact that their reach is beyond our capabilities. Try putting my letter over a fire," he instructed.
As the emperor did as he was told, he exclaimed, "Holy shit, what is this?" He looked at a detailed map of the continent with a crucial detail that he had not been aware of.
"This is a map that was with one of the spies that I captured in my castle before I had my little visit at the palace," Dante explained.
"This is an entire fucking different continent. What in God's name is going on here?" the emperor exclaimed, his surprise evident in his voice.
"I had the exact same reaction," Dante said, empathizing with the emperor's shock.
"It's safe to say that we know little to nothing about the enemy, but they know quite a bit about us," the emperor said, taking a moment to calm down. "Once you're done taking care of the north, come visit me in secret… I fear we need to take action regarding this as soon as possible, else it might just be too late," he continued.
"I planned on doing that anyway. For now, send the first and second legions to the north, and send your messengers to the northern lords immediately. God knows we need a lot of support right now," Dante said.
"I understand," the emperor said, nodding in agreement as he ended the call.
As he finished his conversation with the grand duke, the emperor immediately called for a maid. "Call the legates of the first two legions to my office immediately," he instructed as the maid came in.
"As you wish, Your Majesty," the maid replied before quickly leaving the room. The emperor turned his attention to Beaumont, who was lost in thought.
"Sir Beaumont, were you aware of this?" the emperor asked, indicating the map.
"I knew some of it, as the Grand Duke tends to share important matters with me, but the existence of the map and a second continent was completely unknown to me," Beaumont replied, snapping out of his trance.
The emperor frowned, deep in thought. "This is far more concerning than I anticipated. What I thought to be a small group of rebels has turned out to be a much larger and more dangerous enemy than I could have ever imagined."
As they spoke, there was a knock at the door and a voice calling out from the other side. Two knights, dressed in full black armor adorned with the gilded crest of the imperial family, entered the room.
"Your Majesty, you called for us?" one of the knights said as they both bowed before the emperor.
"You two, along with Sir Beaumont here, will be marching north. The barbarians have declared war on us," the emperor announced.
"We understand, Your Majesty," the knights replied in unison.
"Prepare to leave as soon as possible. I fear there is little time before the barbarians make contact with the first fort," the emperor warned.
The knights saluted the emperor and turned to leave, pausing only briefly to nod at Beaumont. "Sir Beaumont will brief you on the situation in more detail later," the emperor added before they departed.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the knights replied before leaving the room.
In the designated room for Prince John's studies, Oberon could be seen quizzing him at random intervals to test his understanding of the content, while John diligently read his book. As the Grand Duke's army assembled on the field outside, John interrupted their lesson.
"Sir, I think we've done all we can for today. It appears the Duke is about to depart," he said, glancing out the window.
"Will you be accompanying him?" Oberon inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm not certain, but I think it's best to ask him if he needs me for anything," John replied, shaking his head.
"I understand. Very well, then. Go ahead," Oberon nodded.