/n/jackal-among-snakes-1520/c-289
chapter-288

Argrave returned with a much smaller entourage than what he’d left with, and he was glad to have it that way. Elenore waited outside Relize with a similarly small escort, and when he looked upon her, he could tell she did not bear happy news. They joined somberly, and Elenore caught him up to speed as they walked through the city.

“Traugott was looking for me?” Argrave repeated, turning to Elenore as they walked through the streets of Relize. They headed for Leopold’s mansion, escorted by his royal guards.

“I’m worried for your safety,” Elenore said. “A man like that is as easy to predict as a grasshopper—namely, not at all.”

“We should first tell Castro that his choice of aid wasn’t exactly stellar,” Argrave said.

“Already done, though I put more politely than that,” Elenore confirmed. “Even still, Durran has been eyeing the shadows like they’re diseased, and I am similarly paranoid.”

“Relax. With vigilance, we can be prepared for anything might try. Traugott’s shadow is only a link to the Shadowlands, another realm beyond this one,” Argrave said evenly. “Beings far greater than you or I roam in that senseless abyss. He can travel short distances, maybe transport the odd object. It’s too much of a risk for him to do much more. His shadow itself has the same offensive capability as a blanket; resist, and you can get out fine.”

Elenore nodded, somewhat comforted by that.

“Anything happen while I was absent? Papers to sign, troubles to solve?” Argrave pressed somewhat hopefully.

Elenore thought for only half a second before responding, “No. Some matters did arise, but I handled them in short order. We can talk details later, but for now… we should talk about safety measures.”

“You seem to have run this place well,” Argrave noted. “That shouldn’t surprise me. All along, you’ve been the engine and the oil for this machine.”

“What do you mean?” Elenore looked to him, perplexed.

“I told you long ago that I wanted you so that you could be regent in my place while I handled other matters,” Argrave told her. “You remember, right?”

“Argrave?” Anneliese asked worriedly, recalling their conversation.

“You want to go into hiding?” Elenore guessed. “I… can certainly run things in your absence, but…”

Elenore paused, hesitant to mention that she’d facilitated his arrival.

“Hiding? Far from it.” Argrave smiled. “I think that’s been my issue, why I’ve felt in such a rut about this upcoming war. I lost a bit of my proactivity. I’m just waiting for reports from you, acting accordingly,” Argrave looked at Elenore. “Not like I’m ungrateful, but…”

“Walking around with an escort… leading armies… it’s unwieldy,” Argrave said, looking around at all around him. He conjured a ward to hide their conversation, then bunched everyone together. “All these resources are weighing me down.”

“Argrave, you’re not suggesting…” Elenore stepped back to him.

“What if I am suggesting? You said yourself that Traugott was very curious where I am. If I stay here, if he knows that I’m here… if I can say one thing about that man, it’s that he endeavors to learn things that fascinate him.” He rubbed his hands together as he gained momentum. “We have a problem with our spellcasters. So far, all I’ve done is wait around for old man Castro to send some support… when I’m forgetting how I got here in the first place.” Argrave looked at Elenore. “Has Magister Vasilisa left yet?”

“No, she hasn’t. As far as I know, she leaves by ship soon,” Elenore shook her head, then got closer to him and asked with urgency, “Will you tell me what’s going through your head?”

Argrave looked to her. “You said you always had trouble predicting what I’d do. I’d say that worked to my advantage a lot of the time.” He took a deep breath. “I think it’s long overdue for me to take a personal hand in the north. So, I’m going to see Vasilisa. She’s almost definitely returning to Quadreign.”

“What?” Elenore’s brows rose in shock. “Argrave, we—”

“We need spellcasters on our side. It’s our biggest weakness, currently. Our army can stand up to our enemies, I’m sure of it. Once we have sufficient magic, it’s all but a straight shot to claiming the fortresses of central Vasquer, and then heading to Dirracha. Why should I rely on whoever Castro sends to earn support? Have I forgotten how I got here? On top of that, Galamon tells me the man with the glass eye is in the north right now.” Argrave gestured to the knight-commander.

Galamon gave a hesitant nod of confirmation.

Anneliese touched Argrave’s shoulder. “We should discuss this more, I think.”

Elenore nodded in agreement, but Argrave continued, saying, “Sure, alright—we can talk about it. But I don’t think anything’s missing. I head to Quadreign, work a little magic, and it all falls down like dominoes. Elenore handles the army, that side of things… while I patch up our biggest weakness, solve our issue of lacking spellcasters. Once that’s settled, we reconvene near Vysenn, get that business taken care of, and then finish this war.”

As Elenore’s face betrayed skepticism, Argrave continued, “Rather than me sitting at the helm doing very little at all other than looking handsome, we can be working on two problems concurrently. I deal with the far north, you deal with the near north… and we converge in the middle. What happened in Atrus—it’s something I haven’t been taking ample advantage of. I haven’t been using my knowledge to my advantage.” Argrave tapped his temples.

“I-I…” Elenore sputtered before gathering herself and saying calmly, “You’ve stayed here thus far because it’s not safe outside of Relize. Even the small journey you just went on…!”

“But that’s the thing,” Argrave nodded. “It isn’t safe. I got some of my best work done when it wasn’t safe.”

“What is this, superstition? Don’t be ridiculous,” she shook her head. “How will it look if you depart for Quadreign on the eve of our army’s march?”

“Who says anyone has to see at all?” Argrave held his hands out. “This is all going to be very low-key. It might be for the best if I stay out of sight, out of mind.” Elenore’s face remained steeped in disbelief, and so Argrave hurriedly said, “I think Anneliese is right. Let’s go somewhere else, talk about what I had in mind… for starters, let’s talk about how Magister Vasilisa’s presence is a boon and a half. A good thing, too—I think I rather liked being a nobody.”