27 Permission (2/2)

This was the War Mage.

The Hero.

”Nikolai. Wait!” She scrambled to grab his arm before he could dash off. ”Follow the plan!”

He shuddered, eyes flashing with a cold light that was terrifying.

”The Empire lost its name to break the chains.” His voice had become deeper, flatter and without the vibrancy he normally displayed.

”I know Nikolai, but it won't do anything to warn people if you go in with your magic! They'll cower before a War Mage and whoever is supporting them will melt into the background. In a while they'll just return and look for another gang to take over.” She spoke rapidly, stroking his arm to calm him down. He'd reacted so strongly she'd been caught unawares.

With a deep breath Nikolai placed Nezgrom aside and caught her hand. ”How many troops do you have here?”

”Five lances of Fifty Knights each. Each Knight has a few squires and women-at-arms so around two thousand five hundred troops.” The exact figure was actually a little less, but this wasn't the time to get into details.

Nikolai brooded, gazing out the window at the town and tightly gripping her hand. With a squeeze he let go and returned to his desk, taking out several papers and ink. He started scribbling a letter and nodded, passing her a letter which temporarily deputed her as one of his followers with the power to command the guard and bring the Knights of Chernigov into the town proper for its training and in assisting the guard in its work.

”Fine.” He said and Elya sighed in relief at his agreement. It wouldn't be auspicious to go behind his back for these sorts of tasks. At least not often. ”But I have some changes to this scheme of yours. If you're going to do something like this, you should go big. No point in holding back.”

Elya swallowed as her heart sank at the sharp grin which flashed across his face.