126 Mission Impossible (2/2)

I sighed in relief. Finally, one thing went well tonight. I hoped.

Grimthorn and I made our way toward Aura, and when we were within shouting distance of each other, we both spoke at the same time.

\”I couldn't get Garm to give his permission,\” I said.

\”I managed to convince Arah not to go to the Fayne for now,\” she said.

We both blinked. Then we both rolled our eyes at each other.

\”Perhaps these are conversations to be had in less open circumstances, my lady,\” Grimthorn said, rolling his own eyes at the pair of us. \”Kids these days… follow me and bring your officers.\”

Grimthorn led me, Aura, and the rest of my officers further into the lines of his forces and to a pitched pavilion at the very center of his formation. He ushered us all inside, packing us in with his own officers, and after he'd shut the opening flap turned to face all of us and said, \”Well, aren't you lot lucky I happened to pass by, otherwise you'd all be prisoners of Garm's by now.\”

Grimthorn's sudden change from friendly uncle to the dour old dwarf was unexpected, but at least I'd seen this before.

I raised a hand and pointed out, \”I called you here, sir.\”

\”I was already on my way here, lad,\” he countered. \”Good that I was, too, or I wouldn't have seen our lady here,\” he pointed at Aura, \”charging through the Westmarch on her own without a guard in sight!\”

After he'd said this, he glared at Edo whose job it was to be watching over her.

\”It's not their fault, Great General… I simply finished my errand ahead of schedule,\” Aura reasoned before turning to me, \” And I rushed ahead here without waiting for my escort to join me so I could report that my mission was a success.\”

\”Your mission?\” I asked at the same time as Grimthorn said, \”What mission?\”

\”I'd traveled to Mudgard earlier this night to speak with an informant who pledged to assist our investigation over there.\”

She'd emphasized those last two words for my benefit which was most likely her code for Arah wasn't coming to the Fayne, at least for now.

Grimthorn eyed me and Aura like he knew there was something we weren't telling him. But he decided to change tact and demanded to know why I was even dueling Garm in the first place.

\”I needed his permission to cross the blockade into Westersand Desert and he wouldn't listen until I agreed to his duel,\” I explained.

\”You dueled my uncle?\” Aura asked.

\”He won too,\” Luca added.

\”Didn't matter as Garm wasn't planning to honor the bargain,\” I whined.

\”What did you expect?\” Grimthorn raised an eyebrow. \”Crossing the blockade might as well be an act of war on our side. Seeing as you lot just survived one war, I didn't think you'd be so eager to start another.\”

\”It's not like that, sir,\” I said. \”Our intel on a slave caravan we're chasing points toward the city to the west of Westersand Desert.\”

\”I've heard about this quest you're on…\” Grimthorn stroked his beard as the expression on his face hardened. \”These rumors of a 'chosen one' have made its way even to your brother's court. And we are all of a mind not to pursue it.\”

\”But, General—\”

\”—I've heard the boy is your friend, lad,\” Grimthorn said, his hardened expression softening for a moment before hardening again. \”But need I remind you that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few?\”

That was it then. There would be no help from the Pavilion. I gritted my teeth and lowered my head while feeling drained for the first time in a long while.

\”Officially, the council does not condone this quest,\” Grimthorn continued.

I raised my head and glanced over at the dwarf whose hardened expression was in danger of cracking.

\”Your unit will return to its base of operations and await further orders,\” Grimthorn said, his eyebrows twitching. \”I will personally arrive in two weeks to see that you have complied with the council's instructions.\”

I glanced over at Luca and wondered if he was thinking what I was thinking. He must have because there were the beginnings of a smile across his face.

Grimthorn wasn't giving us permission but he certainly wasn't stopping us. In fact, he'd given me a clear deadline. Two weeks. That was the time I had to infiltrate the Westersand Desert and rescue my friend.

\”No resources shall be provided whatsoever to this quest as there is no quest,\” Grimthorn finished, as if anyone there hadn't realized it already.

So, no resources and a time limit, meaning very little time left for planning and preparation. This was sounding a lot like a Mission-Impossible scenario. And I think, just to be absolutely sure, it was time for another out-of-body spiritual journey.