Triple Strength

269. Freeing Ourselves: Wiremu

Nelson would not help any more, and they were the first to leave, heading north out into the wilds away from known routes. The mercenaries left soon after heading back to Janub. We decided to stay another night at Fredom’s End Trading Post.

This would require a full meeting, so we cooked up a big lunch and brought everybody up to date.

“Nelson certainly believed the Emperor was on the move to war with the Kingdom, and I wouldn’t doubt him in this,” I said. I looked at Runa, “What instructions did the King give you when you joined us?”

“He just wanted regular reports.”

“What have you given him?” I asked.

“I sent him reports from Skog, Waiouru and Almaeadin. The report from Almaeadin was sent when we arrived, and we were still planning to head to Janub, and the city was still standing at that point.” Runa was speaking very frankly and honestly. She is not dumb. She was there for Nelson's information and knows she is the top suspect for manipulating us.

“How do you send the reports?” Tabitha asked.

“Military Messanger Service while we were in the Kingdom. Now it goes by regular courier to the military base in Waiouru, then MMS.”

“So he doesn’t know we are diverting through the Free Republic?” Tabitha clarified.

Runa shook her head, “The next report is half-written. I was debating leaving it at the trading post for the next courier or waiting until Freeboune. Do you think Gramps is manipulating a war?”

“He is a manipulative bastard,” Tabitha said.

“The second thing to note is the reports are not private, regardless of how many times you write confidential on them,” I said.

“But…”

“We know you write in code.” Tabitha interrupted. “That just means the readers are limited to the entire Military Intelligence Division.”

“And the entire Empire’s Secret Service Section,” Ruku added.

“We don’t want any more reports going out,” I said.

Runa pursed her lips.

“Are you a trained Spy?” Tabitha asked.

“No.”

“Which is not completely true, is it?” I said.

Runa huffed. “All Kings Guards go through counter-espionage training.”

“Where do your loyalties lie?” Ruku asked.

“I am primarily loyal to Gramps.”

“Even above the kingdom?” Ruku asked.

“At the moment, they are one and the same as he is the king.”

“Not necessarily,” Ruku said.

“So you are asking me not to tell him the Emperor is personally marching to war against him?”

“That is exactly what we are asking,” Tabitha said.

“He will know through the regular spy network about major troop and affinity user's movements,” Ruku said.

“If you can't agree to not reporting, then your time with us is over,” Tabitha said.

“This is the Emperor we are talking about! He travels with a full squad of experienced warriors who are all affinity users, and that is on top of the army. You know there are only two places they will hit, right? It will be either Hrothgar, which is harder for the army but easier for them to supply or it will be Waiouru, with open ground for the army but further from their resupply. Kelda is in Hrothgar. You don’t want her warned of what is coming?” Runa said.

“Your time with us is definitely over,” I said.

“What, why?”

“You shouldn’t have brought Kelda into it,” Tabitha said.

I turned and looked at Rodion, “And you are definitely a trained spy, aren’t you?”

Rodion came with Kelda from Military Intelligence and was essentially babysitting her. This was obvious looking back. I was really sad, as I got on well with Rodion. He was a good drinking buddy. I would miss him.

Rodion didn’t try to deny it. He said, “You know you could use both our skills. We are on the same side here.”

That is not technically true. Both Tabitha and I are technically illegal immigrants into the Kingdom. We are just entering my home country now in the Free Republic.

Ruku replied, “I think it would be best if you escorted the King's granddaughter back home.”

Rodion responded, “And where do your loyalties lie, Major Ruku?”

Ruku smiled at the attempt to cast doubt on him, “Clan Črna, of course.”

The next few hours were spent getting Runa and Rodion on the road. I was quite sad at losing them; we could use their skills regardless.

Ruku put his arm on my shoulder, “This is better,” he said.

“Is it?” I wasn’t so sure. Runa rode away on Horny with Rodion trotting beside her and his pack roaming around them.

Ruku nodded. “A mission where some members have hidden agendas is a recipe for disaster.”

“That sounded like it came from experience.”

Ruku nodded again, “More than once. It is also important to note that it was Military Intelligence on all but one occasion. Do you know the main reason I chose to join you?”

I shook my head.

“It was your singular focus. Your drive to remove the Slave class was all you really cared about. I was worried about Tabitha. It seemed like she would get sidetracked easily and run after the next shiny coin that appeared.” I smiled a bit when I heard that. He continued, “It was you and Modrica that I was trusting to keep Tabitha in line and on task. That trust was not misplaced. I was worried when she was made a Countess. I thought it would go to her head and turn her away. It just shows how far she has come. She handled it well.”

“What about Gwaed?”

“Gwaed fooled everybody. Going to Northport was not wrong, but I went to try to get Gwaed on board. That was a big mistake. That woman is so messed up. It clearly shows that I am not above making mistakes. We must trust we can keep each other on task, and together, we will hopefully make fewer mistakes.” Ruku thought for a minute, “From what Nelson said, it doesn’t sound like the empire has caught Gwaed. My biggest worry was that they would recruit her.”

“They would keep it quiet if they had recruited her, though,” I said.

“True. Let's hope she has gone to ground somewhere.”

“And watch the sky for vultures.”

“And watch the sky,” he agreed.

We had another team meeting over dinner.

“Should we change our plans?” Tabitha asked.

“Runa said her last report said we were heading to Janub, and they are weeks away from getting another report through,” Astrid said.

“I would anticipate Rodion’s reports being much more accurate,” I said.

“Do we have another plan to get into the Empire?” Ruku asked.

“Nothing as good as this live animal transport,” I said. “The Free Republic have a number of unique animals that bring a good price, and it is a good cover for Težka and Cōmpēṟi.”

“The Kirghiz Kingdom are not our enemies. I don’t think they would sabotage us as what we do does benefit them. We should regard them as allies, maybe a bit unreliable with their own agenda, but allies.” Ruku said.

“It would probably stop the Empire going to war if they gave Wiremu up to them,” Tabitha said.

That made everybody stop and think. We were in Mayakku’s wagon, so I was not worried that Moja would hear us. Tabitha had learned that lesson. If the Famous Five knew my real name … well, the reward is pretty amazing.

“Do they want to stop the war?” I asked. “What do they gain from a war?”

“The essential thing they must stop is the empire gaining a stronghold east of the mountain range,” Ruku said. “A defensive war is always easier to fight because you are behind fortifications and prepared positions. This may be why they were provoking the Empire. Wars always have multiple reasons for being fought. In war, anything can be a weapon if wielded correctly.”

“So they would give me up if the gain outweighed the loss,” I said.

Ruku nodded.

“Should we even go into the empire at this time? Why not wait out the war and go in the confusing aftermath.” Astrid said.

“Wars take years to fight. The two-year war of two decades ago was extremely short. We are a five to ten-year minimum. History recorded a hundred-year war.” Ruku said.

“Then there is this part about building a slave army. Umreti was almost certainly destined for that, and there will be others. Hundreds, maybe thousands of slaves made to fight.” I said. “That is not right and something we should try to change.”

“That may be why the King allowed you to set the bounty and let us leave the kingdom,” Ruku said.

“We are the king’s weapon against a slave army he knew was building?” I questioned. “Possible.”

“We won’t be his only weapon, merely an arrow in his quiver,” Ruku said.

“He is a devious bastard, even more than I originally thought,” Tabitha stated.

“This is all still speculation,” I said. “I suggest we head to Freeborne, try to crack this enchanting and pick up some independent intelligence.”

“Sounds like a good plan.”