An Angel Called Eternity

To Bet on Losing Dogs - Seventh IV: The Mists of Winter

Seventh IV: The Mists of Winter

The Eleventh Day of the Ninth Moon, 873 AD.
Blacktree Hall, Western Owkrestos, Klironomea.

The siege train had caught up with them as they'd marched on Blacktree Hall, and so their journey had taken longer than they'd initially expected. They suspected that Rhema was a little annoyed with the fact that they could have been days into the siege by now, but at the very least he'd cheered up a little when Seventh had pointed out that he wasn't going to be the one under siege this time. That was something for the prince to enjoy.

As for them, they were just happy to have avoided being anywhere near Stagspring when the Cult of the Choir had made itself known there with an assassination attempt that was always going to fail and a note that proved they knew as much.

Well, the note claimed they knew anyway. Seventh wouldn't have been surprised if that note was just insurance in case of failure to make them seem more threatening and menacing than they actually were. Fear was the sort of thing that a borderline insane cult who were dedicated to deiphagy needed, for they weren't likely to attract many worshippers to their ranks and so would need to make sure that the outside world either wrote them off as a faetale or else feared them like any man feared a direwolf in the night.

The note, written in Prince Lykourgos' own hand and dedicated to them just as much as it was to Rhema, stated that the Choir would be hunted down and destroyed wherever it was found. As soon as the wars were over the Master of Silver's extensive ratpacks would be tasked with finding the dens of these vile cultists so that they might be smoked out by the knights and armsmen of the realm. They were criminals to be hanged without a trial, or else simply put down like rabid dogs where they were found.

If Rhema had already been fuming at the Choir for what they'd done to them before, now he was truly furious at them. They'd kidnapped Seventh themselves, and according to his Grace the Prince Lykourgos this was the second time they'd attempted to end his life. Three men with daggers and another with a crossbow had injured him, but he'd given them a good enough fight for Dreamwulf to make his way there and cut down the remaining vagabonds. If nothing else it was a good thing that the prince was alright, but Seventh got the feeling there had been something left out of the message. Given how prone Rhema could be to... rashness, Seventh wouldn't have been surprised if Prince Lykourgos had elected not to mention any wounds he'd received at their hands.

Seventh shuddered involuntarily as they recounted the note they'd received from the main force at Stagspring a few days prior. It had been corroborated by a rumour spread by someone who'd joined the army in one of the small supply columns that occasionally merged with their force. They'd said that, apparently, Rhema's older brother had endured yet another encounter with the Cult of the Choir, who must have seemed at this point to have a penchant for appearing out of thin air. Well, that was what it felt like at least.  That had been their first piece of news about this event, and when they got the other message from the eldest prince it had only confirmed what they had already been told. Since receiving those messages they hadn't really left Rhema's side at all, not that the prince seemed to mind that much. If anything Rhema was probably happy that Seventh's first instinct when thinking of 'safety' was to ensure they were close to him. There are certainly worse people to have looking out for you, they thought with a smile. I mean, this is to be a perfect example of just what Rhema does to show others how he protects people.

At the moment they were stood outside the walls of Blacktree Hill with Prince Rhema and a small contingent of the Teleytaian armies, and to be perfectly honesty they had more than a little excited anticipation welling up inside them at what was to come. Here stood the greatest castle in Owkrestos save only Stagspring itself, the last real bastion of opposition to the rule of house Sperakos in these lands. They'd been privy to more than one quickly rattled off idea courtesy of the prince next to them, and they were more than a little intrigued to see which one it was he would end up going with. Would he have the castle dragged down stone-by-stone, ensuring it could never threaten Teleytaian domination in Owkrestos again? Would he leave it standing and turn it into a great barracks for the soldiery of these lands who swore loyalty to him and to his brother? He might even turn it into a great prison, dedicated to holding the worst members of society within its heavily guarded walls. Seventh didn't know, but the not-knowing was exciting to them! There was so much that might happen here!