Tales of the Vangen: The Siege of Middengard (Book 2)

Chapter 31: Conundrum

{Magick is like water: unbound, unbidden and in most cases wholly unstoppable, but under the right circumstances can be shaped by a vessel if contained. That is what a Talented is, a vessel used to mold the magick into whatever they see fit. For the Stelecasters, it is metal. For the pagan shamans of the northeast, it is shapeshifting. Only the Magi, greatest in his name, made his magick into three and named it Thaumaturgy.}

Chronicler Biblius, an excerpt from, "Seeing the Unseen."

"Let's get this over with. My ass is starting to chafe."

The chair Regis sat in creaked as he leaned back and shifted his weight, the wooden seat much too narrow for his sizable frame. It had been built specifically for Libro when he'd become Captain, a tradition still held onto by the Vangen. He would have preferred Dux's chair, but with his passing five years ago his seat had long since been converted into firewood. Waste not. Want not.

He stared up at the four sets of eyes watching him, Civis sitting to his left, Nox, Culter and the despicable mercenary Ohban to his right. At the head of the table it was clear a line had been drawn between the Tribunes. A division between the old and new, those who thought the Captain—the real captain— was still alive and those who thought him dead. And now it was Regis' duty to pick up the pieces. There was still a siege to carry on, after all.

"I'd like to point out the obvious lack of tribals present at the moment," Civis said, thumbing towards the empty seats. "Given that their chief is currently lost behind enemy lines—,"

"Or dead," Ohban cut in, smiling like the serpent she was.

"Or dead," Civis grated out. "You would think they'd want to at least be somewhat involved."

"They'll come knocking when the food runs out, I reckon." Regis ran a frustrated hand through his silver-wheat hair. "We can talk then."

"Why are you still feeding those vermin?" Ohban asked, once again piping up when she had no reason to.

"Because that's what the Captain agreed upon with their chief and good soldier's always follow orders." That last part Regis directed towards Nox and Culter. The Austerlander said nothing, his smile quickly hidden behind tightly pressed lips. The albino on the other hand merely shrugged.

God's how Regis wished he could have jumped over the table then and strangle the little bastard. It would have been so easy too, until he remembered how soundly Culter had thrashed him down in the Deadways those five years back. His thoughts of violence settled back down.

"Last I recall you're the new Captain now," Ohban pointed out. She lifted a finger, jabbing at him, the wooden toggles around her wrist clicking and clacking in mocking approval. "Besides, good Captains always follow their own orders, not anyone else's."

"Damn your semantics!" Regis roared, slamming a fist against the table. "Why the seven hells are you even here anyway? I told you before that you have no say on what order I fecking follow! This is Vangen business!"

"And until I am paid, then all Vangen business will be my business as well. Think of your debt to me as a promissory venture, a stake in your magnificent company."

Regis couldn't comprehend half of what she'd just said, his only thought being whether to tear his sword from its sheath and bury it in the mercenary's skull then and there. He opted to change the topic instead. "I'm done wasting words with you. Civis, have we had any success breaking through the outer wall?"

"Not exactly," Civis sat up straighter in his chair, still nursing the wound he'd taken during the first breach. "Our nightly raids have caused considerable damage to the Middenite Warhost, but with such vast numbers at their disposal we've been unable to advance any further than last time. Any aid from the trebuchets and the thunderheads have been invaluable in softening up their forces, but even that hasn't been enough." He wiped a sheen of sweat from his brow, fingers twitching and nervy. "I hate to say it, but we've been put into a stand still at the moment."