CHAPTER 814: A TASTE OF THINGS TO COME

Ashlynn allowed the conversation to fall into a quiet, contemplative lull as each man finished Georg’s carefully prepared dishes. Sir Rain’s outburst made the atmosphere much tenser than she wished, but Sir Carwyn’s surrender had accomplished the first truly significant goal she had for this evening’s meal.

Now, as she rang the bell to signal the beginning of the main course, she turned her thoughts to the remaining young lords gathered at the table.

Lord Liam was working aggressively to position himself as a leader of this small group, so much so that he’d shoved Sir Hugo almost completely aside.

Every time something had happened this evening, whether it involved him or not, Liam had chosen to involve himself. From the moment he slapped Sir Rain in order to take control of ’punishing his outburst’ on Ashlynn’s behalf, he’d sought to present himself as a man in control of his environment.

The point where he’d offered to cover for Sir Carwyn’s surrender was the most outlandish overstep he’d committed, brushing aside Sir Hugo to whom Sir Carwyn actually owed a measure of fealty in order to claim responsibility for the young knight’s actions.

He was trying too hard, Ashlynn thought. But the question was, why? At times, he felt similar to Owain in his need to be in command, but unlike Owain, there seemed to be an intention behind his actions that benefited others more than himself.

She wished she had more time to study the man and to understand what drove him. Was he genuinely concerned for the others in this room and acting out of a sense of obligation as the highest-ranking nobleman present? Or was he scheming to put himself into a more advantageous position with her when it came time to negotiate for the Dunn Barony? She couldn’t tell.

The doors opened to admit several more servants than had come previously, each carrying a much larger platter covered with a silver cloche. In addition, a servant set a large leather scroll case on a side table near Ashlynn, ready for the moment when it was needed.

"Master Georg understands that larger portions are more common in the lands that Lady Ashlynn and her guests are from," the horned servant said as he raised the cloche on the dish in front of her. "And so he has prepared something to represent a triumphant hunt."

"The venison loin before you has been wrapped in boar bacon and the sauce accompanying it is a reduction of venison stock and rich red wine," the servant explained as he gestured to the first dish, featuring a slice of venison the size of Ashlynn’s fist, wrapped in thick cut bacon and resting in a pool of sauce so dark and red that it reminded Ashlynn of freshly spilled blood.

"Beside that," the servant continued, "we have a split Elk bone, roasted until the marrow is soft and flows like butter, topped with pickled mustard seeds with bread for dipping."

"And finally," the servant said, gesturing to the last dish. "A seared double breast of duck on a bed of foraged mushrooms and wild sorrel. Please, enjoy," he said before withdrawing from the room with the remainder of the servants. In the process, they removed every last trace of Sir Rain from the room, including his chair and the rest of his place setting, leaving a conspicuous gap in the seating arrangement but no other sign that he’d ever been there.

"I’m sure you’ll all appreciate such a hearty meal," Ashlynn said as she tore herself a small piece of bread to dip into the rich elk marrow. "But if you enjoy sweet things, do save room for dessert. Master Georg’s cooking is among the most refined I’ve sampled in the Eldritch world, but his pastries are his highest art."

"I’ll be honest, Lady Ashlynn," Liam said lightly as he emulated his host in sampling the elk marrow. "When I saw the bone, I almost wondered if this was harvested from the cattle recently taken from Dunn hamlets. I don’t know if I should be relieved that it isn’t, or disappointed that you didn’t see fit to give me a ’taste of home’ as well."

"I told you in the beginning that your circumstances aren’t the same, Lord Liam," Ashlynn said, shaking her head at the young lord. "Sir Carwyn has been here for several days already, and I know very well how much he must miss the flavors of home. So does Georg. The dish he offered for Sir Carwynn was meant to provide comfort. If we served you your own beef, however..."

"There’s a good chance I’d take it as an insult," Liam acknowledged. "You understand people very well, my Lady. I really regret that I wasn’t able to know you better before you... left the march," he said delicately.

"There will be plenty of time for that in the future," Ashlynn said with a cautious, reserved smile. "I have a proposal for you, Lord Liam, just as I had one for Sir Carwyn."

"Just for me?" Liam asked, raising his brow slightly as he glanced at Sir Hugo. "By seniority, shouldn’t you speak to me last? It should be Sir Hugo’s turn, shouldn’t it?"

"No, I’m different from you," Hugo said, shaking his head and reluctantly setting down his utensils before he’d finished even a quarter of the venison and boar. "Lady Ashlynn wasn’t just being polite when she said our circumstances were different. My life has been claimed by my cousin, Dame Sybyll. Sir Ollie and Lady Heila have both acknowledged this, and I imagine that Lady Ashlynn does as well."

"Whatever is in store for me and for Hanrahan Barony, it will be up to Dame Sybyll to decide," Hugo said. "So, while there is room for Lady Ashlynn to negotiate with each of you, when it comes to me, I’m mostly a spectator," he said with a resigned shrug.

"Don’t dismiss the importance of the things you’ll see, Sir Hugo," Ashlynn said with a knowing look. "After this meal, there are men waiting to take you to Dame Sybyll’s camp. The winter nights are long and you should be able to catch up to them shortly before dawn. You and Lord Liam, in fact. I had intended to send Sir Rain with you as well, but... I’m afraid that Baron Aleese will need to hear about what you see from Sir Hugo or Sir Liam instead of from his own son."

"And what are we going to see?" Liam asked as he looked at Ashlynn. "More of your raids against the Hanrahan villages, like the one you threatened Sir Carwyn’s village with?"

"No, not a raid," Ashlynn said as she took a bite of the tender, delicately prepared venison. "Commander Savis and Commander Tausau will mop up any of the villages in Hanrahan Barony that still have knights to defend them, and they’ll occupy everything else directly. Sending the two of them after villages feels like using sledgehammers to open walnuts, but the experience will help with their perspective."

"No, Dame Sybyll intended to confront her cousin Ian at Hanrahan Town directly," Ashlynn said with a smile that was more genuine than the last one but also distinctly predatory. "Of course, she’ll have to wait until Loman Lothian arrives with Sir Tommin and Inquisitor Diarmuid," she said, shocking everyone at the table with her casual mention of what should have been secret plans to reinforce the Hanrahan Barony.

"The two of you will be going as observers," she said sweetly as she took another bite of the venison that dripped dark red sauce, leaving a faint line running down from the corner of her lips that was reminiscent of Nyrielle and the other vampires after they’d fed until she carefully blotted it away. "It’s time for you to have a taste of what may descend on the rest of the march. To see firsthand how this will be different from any war that’s ever been fought in Lothian March."

"I take it you feel like we’ll be impressed enough by your demonstration that we’ll accept the terms you’re offering each of our baronies for surrender?" Liam asked. "You know that there’s a large difference between your initial attacks against people who aren’t expecting you vs what will happen when the real war begins."

He could accept that the right thing for Sir Carwyn to do was to surrender as quickly as possible. It was impossible that anyone could reinforce his village before Ashlynn’s forces arrived to capture it, and without a knight and his best soldiers behind stout walls, defeat was almost certain.

But for the larger towns like Dunn or Hanrahan, or the older, more established villages closer to Lothian City, like Maeril, which boasted a stout stone wall and larger fortress, the chances of being able to successfully fight back were much greater. It was in those bastions of human strength and the power of the Church’s priests and templars that Liam placed his faith for humans to fight back against Ashlynn’s forces.

"That’s true," Ashlynn agreed. "But it’s my hope that we can prevent much of that suffering," she said with a sigh as she set her food aside and lifted the scroll case off the table nearby. "There’s a vision of a better future I’d like to share with you. One that, given the choice, is much, much better than the results of any extended wars."

Around the table, everyone slowly set their utensils down as their eyes tracked the scroll case. From inside, Ashlynn pulled a simple map of the westernmost territories of the Lothian March, extending all the way to Airgead Mountain, the High Pass, and slightly beyond.

The maps were of a higher quality than any of the men sitting at the table had ever seen, with precise distances measured and a great deal of detail about regions where humans had yet to make any significant progress exploring.

But even though there were hidden lakes and rivers, peaks and passes, and many other things the men had never seen, it was the borders and the labels on the map that sent a ripple through their hearts and froze their breath in their chests...