“Sire, your guest has arrived,” said the page.
Duke Dubar smiled. “Please show him in.”
The page quickly moved out, and motioned for Baron Lychen to enter.
“It has been too long, old friend,” said Dubar, moving towards the baron.
“Yes it has,” responded Lychen, embracing the duke.
“You may leave us now page. We will call should we need you.”
Again, the page quickly moved out of the room and Dubar motioned the baron to take a seat.
“Have they arrived yet?” asked Lychen once he was certain they were alone.
“No, but it will be any day now,” responded Dubar.
“And you are positive they will help us? I cannot afford to let Jeremy remain king.”
Dubar smiled a very wicked grin. “The Order has put my soldiers to work in case the twins should come here. Captain Moore is using this time to get his men ready for an attack. So even if the Easterners help only slightly, we will have enough power to take over Klayhern.”
“And no one suspects what the soldiers are doing? I noticed you have put a curfew on the city as well. The people do not question any of this?” Baron Lychen was a bit skeptical of the duke and his tactics
“Of course not, it was decreed by the Order. Well, I may have added a bit to the decree, which was read to the people, but they will not question anything. Fear of the Order has kept them in line for this long and I do not see that changing anytime in the near future.”
Now it was Baron Lychen’s turn to smile. “I must say you have impressed me. I did not think we were ever going to be able to get rid of the king. Now, it is my time to impress you.”
Dubar was happy to hear Lychen was impressed with him, but his last comment unnerved him. “How so?”
“The Order was kind enough to send me some of their top Maget soldiers to protect my land some time ago. They have been patrolling my lands, keeping things in order.”
Dubar was becoming annoyed. “Is this going somewhere Allen?”
“Well, you see. When everything started to go wrong with the king’s family, I put out a summons for all able-bodied men to come see me. They were then sent to the barracks where the soldiers have been staying and are now part of my army.”
Dubar laughed. “There are not many men who would go against the king. How is it going to help us?”
Lychen laughed. “The soldiers have ways of convincing people to their cause. All those men are now loyal to me, and are training as we speak. In a months’ time they will be ready to attack the unsuspecting king.”
Dubar’s face lit up. “An army so close to the king, this is fabulous news! We can use them in a surprise attack much sooner than I had imagined. Maybe we will not need the Easterners help after all.”
Lychen looked confused. “For a war, we will. I do not have enough men to fight off the ones Jeremy is training right now.”
“What do you mean?” asked Dubar, confused.
“General Traug has joined ranks with the king. All of the men loyal to him have also joined and it is rumoured the king has reinstated his personal guard.”
Dubar was going to ask how he came by this information, but decided against it. The less he knew the better. “So your little army could attack and confuse the king and his men. Then once the easterners are ready, we start the war in full. It may work, but I have a better idea.”
“And what is that?”
Dubar smiled. “Your men should attack as soon as they are ready, as you have planned. Their goal should not be just to confuse and upset, it should be to find Jeremy and eliminate him.”
Lychen now understood Dubar's reasoning. “We get rid of the king, and then we use the easterners to go in and clean up the rest. It takes the blame off us and puts it onto the Eastern Lands. The people will be so outraged their king was assassinated, they will not question it when you assume power.”
“Exactly,” said Dubar smugly.
A knock at the door brought them both back to reality. “Enter,” shouted Dubar, annoyed with the interruption.
Sol entered. “I’m sorry to disturb you, sire. I’ve been informed that eastern sails have been seen on the horizon. They should be in the harbour by morning.”
Dubar clapped his hands. “Perfect! Thank you, page, you may go.”
Sol bowed and backed out of the room.
Once the door closed, Dubar again turned his attention to the baron. “In one months’ time, Jeremy will be destroyed and I will finally sit on the throne!”
He poured them both a glass of wine. “A toast to us!” shouted the baron and drank deeply.
Moments later, they were both passed out in their chairs. When Sol was certain the drug had taken hold, he moved into the room. He moved quickly, not sure how long the drug would last. He wrote his note to Vernia and made sure to use Dubar's official seal to close it. Then he put it into his robe and went about finishing his work. He dumped the wine out the window and replaced the flask with one almost empty and not drugged. He then found some of the guards and told them to move the men to their beds. The two always drank in excess so the order wasn’t questioned. He only hoped Dubar and Lychen truly believed they had drank themselves into a stupor, and did not suspect what he had done. When all was taken care of, he sent the parchment to the Tower and went to his room. He hoped his news was not something Vernia was already aware of, but brushed the thought aside. How could she know about the baron’s plan to attack? He just hoped she responded with his orders soon.