“Too obvious.”
After two more steps, he spotted Lawrence and Holo and looked at them the same way.
“As are you.”
Lawrence had no idea what he meant, but he did feel Holo tense up and whisper behind him.
“I.. cannot believe it..”
“I do not come with good tidings. Please take me to a room!”
“Sir Milicky!”
Moid tried to calm him down, but a sharp glare from Milicky stopped the experienced mercenary dead in his tracks. Only then did Hildir finally speak.
“..Jan Milicky?”
“Yes, or at least that is the name I use as the head merchant of the Municipal Council of Sovereign.”
Milicky took firm steps all the way up to Hildir, revealing that he was even taller than Hildir was. Shorter than Moid and Reginald, perhaps, but still tall enough to exude pressure on others.
“My true name is Kristoph von Hebrasche.”
“What..?”
Hildir was stunned, especially when Milicky quickly turned his poker face to him.
“I already doubted the information I received before dawn, but it is even more difficult to accept that you do not know my true identity.”
Milicky, or rather Hebrasche, walked straight past Hildir and came up to Lawrence. He then bowed next to him, at Holo.
“I know of your achievements.”
However, Holo suddenly slapped Milicky’s hand away. Everyone was surprised by her reaction, even her. It seemed to be an instinctive response, given how she stared at him and held her right hand with her left. Lawrence was used to seeing her slap faces, not hands, but what truly shocked him was that look of fear in her eyes.
“A powerful first impression, as expected. But I am not here for a social call. Let us talk inside the room. A fire is lit, yes?”
Hildir was running his hand through his hair, muttering to himself, but now regained his composure.
“This way, please.”
He led Milicky there while Holo stared at him, frozen in place. Lawrence was sure of it now.
“He’s.. not human, is he?”
This was the north, after all; a place full of pristine mountains and forests.
“About half.”
Lawrence couldn’t believe her response, and looked at Milicky himself. The moment he did so, Milicky stopped as if having sensed it.
“Please join us. You two have a duty to be present as well.”
Holo put on her usual act of having not heard someone, but Lawrence could feel her grip on his sleeve tighten. He held her in response, only able to reply on their behalf.
“Whatever questions you have, just ask.”
They were as good as dead if they tried to run. A rabbit and a wolf had come to a town, led by mercenaries. It was obvious they were related, so if Lawrence made a break for it now he would only make things worse for Moid and Hildir. Being hurt didn’t help his odds, either. Holo couldn’t even transform in a small space like this, so one false move could spell their doom. Lawrence had to lean on Holo to walk forward this time, with Milicky waiting for them at the door and watching.
* * *
There were only four people in the finest room of the inn: Hildir, Milicky, Holo, and Lawrence. Moid wanted to join them, but was refused by Milicky. Normally, Moid would have stubbornly joined in regardless, but he seemed to detect something about the fact that Holo and Lawrence were invited, and so he just followed Milicky’s instructions to keep a watch outside their room.
“Well!”
Milicky was the one who broke the silence.
“You’ve brought quite the storm to our little town!”
He was obviously downplaying the importance of Sovereign, which was a vital transportation hub for the north. The northern barons were reputed to all be ignorant and arrogant. Did Milicky fit that description? Living on this land, and speaking in this way.. oddly suited him.
“The Hebrasche name has kept the peace for two centuries now. Even the Churches’ incursions haven’t ruined that. Even the most ambitious invader is dismayed by deep valleys and tall mountains, but this town doesn’t enjoy such defense. Why have you brought our enemies here! Why couldn’t you keep this little war to yourselves, Diva company?”
He seemed reasonable, but Hildir was not deterred.
“Yes, we have brought enemies with us. But they are the reason that we are here. We plan to make up for that.”
“Make up for it?”
Milicky wasn’t having any of it.
“Surely you jest? Have you any idea how many warriors are camped south of our town? Our reports estimated thousands, all lead by captains! Did you think they were here to settle your little dispute out in the fields? No, they plan on invading us!”
Diva was dead serious about that, in fact. For thousands of men, all lead by captains, to be present made that obvious. They all had fought under banners like the Myuri mercenaries did. They wouldn’t fight in mountains and valleys, only on fields or in towns. Diva had chased Hildir here by buying the loyalty of the Hugo mercenaries. They wanted their names to go down in history. They planned to overrun Sovereign as the first of their conquests.
“You clearly know all of this. That rare bird who came yesterday was surely your friend.”
Hildir’s silence was as good as any admission. Milicky then turned to Holo.
“And why would such a proud wolf let herself get caught up in such a mess?”
He even knew that Holo was a wolf. Her judgement that he was “about half” surely referred to how much of him was human.
“I hear that you saved him. Does that mean you insist on helping-”
“I do not.”
Milicky stopped as Holo cut him off, and raised an eyebrow in pleasant surprise.
“Ah.. so you are rational.”
Was he being sarcastic? Maybe not.. it seemed like he wasn’t, at any rate. He turned back to Hildir.
“A foolish dream does not a great man make. Greatness is measured by how responsibly one wields their power; by whether they understand that the mountain cannot be moved, not even one small stone at a time. Only those who play with small stones have such delusions. I essentially manage this town’s commerce, so I’m quite aware of your delusions. They are the reason why we distanced ourselves from Diva company. You sent all those envoys, but never came yourself. If you had, you would have anticipated this outcome.”
This manager of commerce in Sovereign was the same man Hildir was pinning all of his hopes on. Hildir was entirely unaware of that fact, because it wasn’t rare for barons to also be on municipal councils, and Hildir had not checked himself. Milicky was right: Diva’s fragmentation wasn’t something that sprang up overnight. Hildir had been so occupied with running his company in Lesco that he didn’t realize that.
“Spending too much time in the world of business can make you feel like the very world is in your grasp. You are so busy reaching up for the sun that you do not even think to look down and see the cliff you are heading toward. I took Jan Milicky’s name some five years ago. He was a great man, but frail. When he died, I felt I owed it to him to take over his management of this town’s affairs. There was no subterfuge, no trickery. But somehow you weren’t aware. You came because you thought there were other barons that could help your little cause, yes?”
In other words, Hildir had been so blinded by his determination that he had ignored the smaller details. Hildir couldn’t dispute that. Once his people felt they had enough people on their side, they seized control. He really had no way out of this accusation.
“Then why did you reply that you wanted to cooperate?”
Hildir calmly tried to find a foothold for a counterattack.
“Why else? If we hadn’t, we’d lose track of you. None of the villages have enough food for the winter already, so if all those starving mercenaries show up then many people might not live to see spring. Far safer to trick you into coming here where we can minimize that risk.”
/> His earlier statement that his family had kept the peace for centuries wasn’t just talk. Hildir calmly continued.
“Then you plan to hand us over to them?”
Hildir, Moid, and Holo must have talked while Lawrence was recovering and already arrived at this conclusion. At first they would wonder why.. was it because they were too outnumbered? Because their captain was wounded? No, by the time they finished talking they would have seen the simple truth. No one from the town had come to talk to them since they had arrived.
“What else can I do?”
Milicky was blunt, but Hildir wasn’t a man who dreamed that unrealistically, so he had already made up his mind.
“But not all of us, alright? Just me.”
“Fine.”
Milicky’s tone didn’t change. He made it sound like it was a matter of course; that Hildir should know this was his fate already. Profiting required taking risks, but with an army this large at their doorstep, betraying him for money, a life meant nothing. He had to have been ready to take that risk, since the profit he sought was colossal. He had bet with his own life.
“That’s what I would have said if you came to visit me earlier. But now, I’ll need more from you.”
“Well! You sure don’t know when to give up. You’re not in your own court here. It doesn’t work that way.”
It was a rational assessment, but a horrible one. Hildir changed his tone to one of challenge. Lawrence was starting to see that this merchant he thought was great was so taken in by his dream that he might as well be an excited youth with a haphazard idea of how to succeed. Regardless, he was doing his best to bargain.
“This was never just about us. If our plan succeeds, the north will be able to keep its long peace. Once enough barons unite this region under one currency, the others only stand to lose. Those living this far north have to look to others for supplies, and a common currency will be stronger than any army when it comes to such business. We’re certain we can build something great under such conditions.. even bringing all these barons together under one banner, which not even the Church could do!”
That was essentially what Lawrence had excitedly reasoned in Lesco. Hildir was now making the same case to Hebrasche, though Lawrence wasn’t sure if it was a plea for trust more than an attempt to convince him of their plans. Still, Milicky was clearly not interested. No one wanted to be the side that was going to be brought under control. And yet, he didn’t look at Hildir with contempt, but rather as a patient father might view a son discussing a foolish dream.
“And how can you guarantee that merchants will do a better job than barons have at running this world?”
Hildir was rendered speechless. No one could give such a guarantee, since power corrupted. Many kings began their rule with noble intents, only to spiral into out of control tyrants. The only proof could be one’s behavior, and Hildir clearly wanted to use that argument, but Lawrence decided to cut him off.
“Merchants are traders, and trade is based entirely on profits.. and profits come about from making people happy.”
Lawrence wasn’t able to dream along with Hildir, but he wasn’t strong enough to stay silent when that dream was being torn apart so cruelly.
“Wow.”
Milicky looked at him like a child to be praised for his seriousness, but Lawrence wasn’t angry about that. Dreams were childish things, and even Hildir nodded when he heard Lawrence talk, so there was no need to be ashamed.
“If someone innocent said that to me, I’d have smacked some sense into him. But you’re hardly innocent, are you?”
He stared at Lawrence’s wounded leg, then turned his eyes on Holo.
“You can still say those things, even after seeing what they lead to?”
“Ask yourself that.”
Hildir suddenly talked back to Milicky.
“What do you mean?”
“There are those who would stand against the Diva company, and I am of use to them.”
The smaller a town was, the faster rumors spread through them. By now, many would have noticed or heard that a band of people had run into town before daybreak. At least some of them would know of the Myuri mercenaries, who had a reputation in the north, and if they learned that Hildir was here then even the dimmest of them could piece together that Diva had been overthrown.
The enemy of one’s enemy could be their ally, and if they had once been the heart of their enemy, they could be a very, very strong ally indeed.
“You want to bring them under your control too, then?”
“No, what I mean is that there’s an ugly truth you are missing: Diva is now only being driven by greed. They must be stopped.”
Hildir and Milicky stared at one other in silence. Milicky was the one to eventually break that silence.
“Really? Then let’s do that. Well, try to.”
“Didn’t you just tell me to hand myself over to them?”
Milicky smiled at Hildir’s torment.
“I could catch you whenever I wish. Of course I’d think twice, if you weren’t a rabbit.”
He was obviously comparing Hildir to Holo.
“Will you grant us mobility?”
“If you wish it. That is, if you can bring my people under one banner, like the Church tried to, like the flag-waving barons tried to.”
Milicky rose. He wasn’t just challenging Hildir for fun. He wasn’t joking; he was confident. That attitude was what made him seem authoritative, even if he wasn’t tall or formal enough to warrant such behavior normally.
“But what of the fight?”
Sovereign would crumble if they fought here, and that was why Milicky wanted Hildir to take the fight into the open. Lawrence had asked because he had no idea what he was really thinking, but Milicky didn’t give him time to wonder.
“If you were truly that slow, I couldn’t possibly help you. But you’re not - you’re quite clever in fact, so that is none of your business.”
Being called clever by someone like him wasn’t ingratiating, but it was clearly sincere on some level. Was he just trying to say that Lawrence didn’t have the experience to help them? Lawrence quietly stared at Milicky.
“This world is so hard to change precisely because barons like you exist.”
Milicky shot him a rare smile.
“Hahaha! And yet-”
Milicky spotted some dirt under his nail, and used his thumb to carefully flick it away. His act was so perfect that he could fool anyone.
“If this world could change that way, then those in power would have already changed it.”
He was staring at Holo as he said that, and her eyes narrowed like she was staring at some malicious cat. Milicky smiled at her reaction, then turned back to Hildir, who had been staring at him.
“Just how much do you plan to sell this town for?”
Hildir was obviously issuing a challenge, but by then it was obvious that it was the only way to get an answer out of Milicky. It was only possible to tug at heartstrings that existed, after all. If those didn’t exist, you could only anger someone and judge them by their reactions.
“Money? Yay, money! It’s a wonderful thing!”
His laugh sent a chill down Lawrence’s spine, and he wasn’t the only one who seemed nervous: even Holo tensed up visibly.
“Only fur and amber passes through this town. The craftsmen are left, and no visitors stay. They only pass through, just like the weapon-minded fools who try to launch excursions from here. All that lies beyond is snowy mountains. Treacherous ones. All those fools will leave is a trail of footprints to be inevitably covered by more snow. We’re all but footprints to be covered over by the passage of time.”
He spoke smoothly, but with obvious spite. Lawrence finally realized that he was caught by the same trap that Holo had been caught in; the chief difference was that he loathed his inability to alter fate.
“You’re quite the poet.”
It was one who believed that fate could be altered that spok
e up: Hildir.
“And you’re too talkative!”
This was Kristoph von Hebrasche, who went by Jan Milicky in this town. In an instant, he had determined that Hildir and Holo weren’t human, and according to Holo he was only half human himself. He might act strangely, but his status was assured. His capabilities, too: hiding one’s identity was never an easy task. Even Huskins, the Golden Sheep, had to resort to eating the meat of his sheep kin to maintain his cover. It would be a mistake to think he was just some half-human baron with a grudge.
“Yes, you are, for one who so underestimated money!”
“I have learned from my mistakes!”
Hildir had been betrayed by his people, then again by the Hugo mercenaries. Milicky wasn’t looking at his peer with condemnation, but rather empathy.
“Is that so? Well, then I’ll take my leave.”
With that, he left the room. As the door closed behind him, Hildir cast his eyes downward and sighed. He was unwelcome here, which effectively meant that he had failed. He hadn’t even gathered the most basic of information, and wasn’t aware that Jan Milicky was actually Kristoph von Hebrasche. Convincing such a man as him wouldn’t be possible now.
But then, what options were left to Hildir? Assassinating him? Running away? Surrendering? They were all horrible choices, and none of them would bear edible fruit.
“Do we have any chance?”
Lawrence was so worried that he couldn’t help but ask. Hildir had made a promise with Holo, and had a handle on the basic situation. The look on his face begged the question, “What will you do if I say no?” But, he already knew that Lawrence wasn’t the type to run so he actually gave a simple reply.
“Yes.”
A great merchant would never give up without a fight. Even the stubbornest of traveling merchants couldn’t hope to match their stubbornness.