Roland showed up early in the morning for his meeting with the General and the remaining Council members. He abandoned the disguise this morning since there would be no crowd present for his portion of the proceedings; he was merely to report to the Council everything he knew and receive anything they had to say back to him.
Entering the inner Council chamber where confidential meetings were held, Roland bowed before the four men as the guards closed the door behind him. His eyes scanned the faces of those before him, wondering if any of them recognized him as the young physician's apprentice who had first reported to them what now seemed like ages ago.
He glanced down at himself. How much had he changed since then? He had been through rigorous training with the Klain military, and then under Rhone. He'd been injured and healed and manipulated and freed. He felt very different than when he'd stood before them prior. Back then, he had felt a little like a boy projecting what confidence he could.
Now, he had spent weeks under the scrutiny of a sorceress-queen. The elected officials of Klain seemed utterly harmless and good natured in comparison, and he felt no discomfort before them.
"Good Morning," He greeted with a small smile.
The General looked tired, but less haggard than he had been the day before. Perhaps the Provider's removal allowed him to sleep a little bit better. The Peacekeeper appeared worried and stressed. The Judge maintained his stoic air, and the Treasurer still looked bookish and the slightest bit scattered.
Each of them nodded at Roland, and the Judge spoke first. "The General has reported some of your story to us, but we decided as a group it would be better to hear it from you so that we miss no context and can question you as to particular details as you proceed. We thank you for your efforts on behalf of Klain."
Roland bowed slightly in acceptance of the thanks, and launched into his tale. He began with the wolf attack that had injured him and moved through the discovery of his origins. The General had brought the records to confirm the story as shock reverberated through the Council that it had been ignorant of such important events.
The Treasurer was mildly outraged that the records were not properly kept and stored, but his anger subsided as it sank in that this was not a personal attack on his integrity, but a strategic decision by the previous General to protect the identity of the foreign heir.
The fact that an actual spy had made it onto the Council drove home that the decision had likely been a wise one.
Roland moved on in his story, coming to the most important part, about how Titania desired the total destruction of Klain, how Prince Duncan was not entirely committed to that goal, and that the answer in preventing attack might lie in finding an alternative interpretation of the prophecy.
"My goal here right now is not simply to rejoin Klain, although I wish to do so. I must return to the Rhone before they launch an attack and do my best to prevent it. I hold out some slim hope of opening diplomatic talks between the nations, but only if Titania can be deposed or sidelined in some way.
"I also want to remind everyone that the frontline soldiers in the attack will probably be those villagers who have been forced to join Rhone's ranks with their families as hostage. Avoiding all-out war is paramount to keeping everyone of Klain safe." Roland's brow creased as he assessed the reactions to his report.
The Council was silent for several minutes as they processed everything he had said. The Judge had a few questions, mainly clarifying what type of magic was used to transport between worlds and if it was related to whatever Roland had done to the fake Provider the day before.
"Ah, yes. I have a personal way in and out of the Darkness, but I don't know how to replicate it to allow others to do so. My way also will not work for anyone other than myself, and I'm afraid to use it often, as I'm not sure about its secrets or side effects as of yet," He touched his mother's necklace unconsciously.
"As for yesterday, that was due to the efforts of my fiancée," He relished the word as he said it. The General's eyebrows rose, but he gave no other reaction to the news of engagement. Roland continued.
"She, at great personal risk to herself," He pursed his lips slightly, "ventured high in to the mountains and was able to make contact with the Fae."
The Council members' faces ranged from unreadable to incredulous, but he pressed forward.
"She sought their help and they provided her with a mixture of herbs designed to nullify active magic. It has its limits. For instance, once magical healing herbs have finished their work, this would not undo that magic, to my understanding. However, since the imposter was using magic on an ongoing basis to disguise his identity, the mixture nullified that enchantment and revealed his true face.
"It was unfortunate that it had to be used, because now there is not enough left for the original purpose it was designed for." Roland frowned, wondering again if he had made the correct decision.
"Which is?" The Judge leaned forward with interest. Roland sighed slightly.
"The Fae are going to attempt to make more, but that takes time. If they can bring enough, and if it pleases the Council, my fiancée intends that it be used to surround the city of Klain with a protective barrier, so that no magic may be active within its walls."
Each of the men contemplated the implications of such a thing. It would provide a large measure of protection against Rhone to have their greatest and least predictable weapons ineffective within Klain's walls.
After all, not even Roland was aware of everything Queen Titania was capable of.
"I also took the liberty of planting some flower seeds around the town square. The flowers carry a scent which is intolerable to halflings. If any of the guards see people appearing to be children reacting to a strong smell, immediately arrest them on suspicion of spying."
The General nodded. "I have slowly rounded up the halfling spies that came into the city posing as orphans. I told the families that took them in that the children's origins had been revealed. They assumed I meant that their birth family had been located. Most of them seemed rather relieved to be rid of the children. It seems the halflings are not particularly loveable."
The General would have been amused by the situation had it not been so serious. The adoptive parents were unnerved by the unsmiling, sullen children who did not behave quite like real children. The General was proud of how willing the citizens were to take care of strangers, but was deeply disturbed that they had been put in danger by the insidious little spies.
"There are two or three still unaccounted for, by my estimation. It seems rumor got around that they were being retaken, and those ran away from their families. I can only assume they are now posing as street urchins, and we must be on guard for whatever plans they have. We will continue to search for them."
The Council contemplated this carefully, but the Peacekeeper's mystery-solving mind was distracted, still working on the prophecy Roland had shared.
"The Mountain's Keep," He muttered to himself, drawing the attention of the other men in the room. Realizing he was being looked at, he firmed his mouth to suppress his slight embarrassment and spoke louder. "There are tunnels under the mountain. Perhaps that is part of this riddle?"
"What's in the tunnels?" Roland had known they existed, but had no idea what lay within them.
"Mostly they are escape routes into the mountain range for if the city is besieged indefinitely," The Peacekeeper looked to the others for confirmation, "but I believe many of them were used as storage for various relics and other things. I've never actually been through them all myself, but many are very old. Perhaps 'down within the mountain's keep' refers to something in the tunnels."
"An excellent thought," The General complimented. "I will send some soldiers to begin a search immediately for anything that might be relevant."
"With respect, your soldiers may be needed to defend the city soon enough. Please allow my Peacekeeping investigators to search for clues. I try to choose the best minds and problem-solvers for my inner circle." The General nodded with a little hesitation. He was slightly wary of the man who had voted to let the Provider stay in office during the investigation. The man's pride had perhaps been wounded, but it was still of a little concern to him.
"May one or two of my soldiers accompany them for support? That sort of training would be very useful to our military forces."
"If you'd like," The Peacekeeper replied easily, putting the General's mind a little more at ease.