CHAPTER 773: JOCELYNN’S PLAN (PART TWO)

When Bors spoke of defeating the demon lords who had plagued Lothian March ever since its founding, High Priest Aubin’s mask of indifference crumpled and he found himself leaning forward in anticipation of the young lady’s answer.

The Temple in Lothian City was the grandest and mightiest in all the frontier, yet despite fielding twice as many Templars as the other temples, the Church had yet to claim victory over a single demon lord who had blocked their advancement west. The most they’d been able to do for the past hundred years had been to hold the line, protecting the towns and villages from dangers like the Demon Lady of the Vale and her vampire spawn with constant vigilance.

But this young lady, newly arrived in Lothian March, and educated by masters trained in the old countries, seemed more confident in their victory than even the most faithful of Templars and Aubin deeply wanted to understand why. Was it her knowledge of the support coming from across the sea that gave her such confidence? Or was it faith?

"I believe that we will defeat the demon lords this time, your Grace," Jocelynn said smoothly. "Because this time, you have two things that you have lacked for the past hundred years. The first is the support of the Church to start a Holy War and draw on the strength of the kingdoms across the sea," she said, nodding her head at the High Priest and the other men at his table.

"You are placing a great deal of faith in the Church, young lady," High Priest Aubin said. "Many have doubts, and even the Holy Lord of Light cannot promise victory at the end of a Holy War. The Lord of Light only gives us the opportunity to struggle to reach the Heavenly Shores. We must obtain victory for ourselves."

"Your Worship is right," Jocelynn said, lowering her head respectfully. "The Church cannot promise us victory. But this is the first Holy War since the end of the Second Crusade. Men of faith from all over the world will flock to our banners. That alone gives us strength not seen since the era of Cellach Lothian when he drove the Demon Lady of the Vale from her home. But this time, you have another advantage as well," she added.

"The second advantage is an alliance with my family and all the resources, supplies and knowledge we bring to this war," she added. "My sister cannot be here to speak on behalf of Blackwell County," she said, closing her eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath as she fought to present the image that her sister was merely indisposed and not lost to her forever. "But I am here in her place to ensure my family lives up to our obligations as your allies."

"Lord Liam," she said, turning back to face the young lord from the Dunn family. "The terms of the agreement with the Guild Masters of Blackwell County are very specific regarding their support for the war effort and what they will and won’t contribute to the march in order to secure their titles. In fact, because of their contributions to the war, they are exempted from the thousands of gold sovereigns that would normally be owed to Marquis Bors in order to receive their lands."

"But they are required to invest their own funds to improve their lands, construct their manors and establish their villages," Owain said as he strode forward to stand next to Jocelynn, smiling proudly as he revealed the ’trap’ within his plan. "Don’t you see, Liam? By giving up your lands for a time, you force these wealthy merchants to spend their own money to replenish your lost herds, build stronger villages and improve more lands."

"In the end, it will all come back to you," he promised. "We’ll even dangle a carrot in front of the guild masters, offering up the position of baron of these lands to whichever of them contributes the most to the reconstruction and the conquest of the demon territories in the coming war."

"You’re a soldier as much as I am," Owain said, walking over to Liam and throwing an arm around his shoulders in an almost brotherly gesture. "Soldiers know when to retreat in order to advance again. Take this step back for now, and I promise you, the Lothians and Dunns will advance together when we trample the demons beneath our feet!"

Sitting at the table of lords, Baron Otker stared in open mouthed shock at the way his moment of triumph had been snatched out of his mouth before he could even savor it. Count? They were offering to formally elevate the Dunns at the end of the war so long as they were willing to take a step back now? What kind of punishment was this? This wasn’t what he wanted at all!

The other lords looked just as dissatisfied, as though they’d been served a mouthwatering mutton-chop only to find it cooked to the consistency of boot leather when they bit into it. Baron Leufroy could at least recognize that it was, as Marquis Bors had said, a gamble at best. One that could still result in a loss of territories for the Dunns if they were unsuccessful in defeating the demon lords in this war. But the upside if they gambled and won... wasn’t it a bit too generous?

At the table where the men representing the Church sat, however, the reaction was very different.

"They’re proposing to marry the Dunn family’s rise or fall to victory in the Holy War," Diarmuid whispered. "It’s a shrewd trap. If the Dunns refuse, it’s as good as proclaiming their lack of faith in our ability to defeat the demons. They might as well brand themselves as heretics at that point. Losing a fifth of their lands would be cheap by comparison to what they’ll lose."

"It might not be as bad as that, Inquisitor," High Priest Aubin said softly as he stroked his brittle white beard in thought. "But it does bind them tightly to the war against the demons. The’ll fight twice as hard because the stakes are clear. Victory delivers a very tangible reward and defeat will see them stripped of hard won lands."

"Sir Tommin," the old man said, raising a bushy white eyebrow at the Templar who had once been Owain’s personal guard. "Is this kind of shrewdness typical of your former lord? I hadn’t thought him to be so calculating off the battlefield."

"This," Tommin said, frowning in discomfort as he grappled with how to answer the question without betraying his former lord’s confidence. Not because he owed any great loyalty to Owain since leaving his service, but because he refused to compromise on his own ideals any more than he already had when he revealed that Owain had murdered Lady Ashlynn.

"This is the sort of scheme that would appeal to him," Tommin finally said. "Lord Owain is always confident in his ability to obtain victory and he expects others to behave the same way. He never considers defeat because he is unwilling to lose. But to think of something like this? I think we can thank Lady Jocelynn for much of this."

"Mmm, and it seems that Lord Bors knows it as well as you do," Aubin said, nodding along in understanding. "But he isn’t exposing the charade that this is Lord Owain’s plan. Perhaps he isn’t as firmly committed to Loman taking the throne as we thought..."

"Should I say something?" Inquisitor Diarmuid asked. "A few questions should reveal how much Owain knows or doesn’t know about ’his’ own plan. If he is propping himself up on his sister-in-law’s abilities, it shouldn’t be difficult to expose."

"No," Aubin said with a deep, heavy sigh. "Whether it comes from Lord Owain or Lady Jocelynn is irrelevant. The result is still a noble family on the front lines of this war who will lose their ability to retreat or accept defeat... This is a good thing for us and not something we should impede."