Chapter Six: Hurdles (Grayson)

Find him.

The doors to the White Cathedral open. It is empty except for a single figure who now stands facing the pair who enter the doors, in front of the sculpture of the idol who the people of Schweiz so blindly worship.

"Mr. Secara, it is a pleasure to see you. How was your trip here?" Grayson's eyes drift from Ace to Aaron, looking for the latter to reply.

"It went perfectly fine. Nothing happened out of the ordinary," Aaron steals a glance at Ace, who can do nothing but nod along.

"Oh? Then why do you appear shaken, Aaron? What occurred that made you, my assistant, so scared?" Grayson walks forward until he is only a few feet in front of the boy.

Aaron avoids looking at Grayson but replies, though his voice is hushed.

"There was this boy-"

"What did he look like?" Grayson grabs Aaron by the collar of his outfit, and Aaron lets out a sound of surprise at the aggressive action.

"U-um... Black hair, military uniform, pale white skin... I-I couldn't see his eyes!" Aaron stammers, and Grayson lets him go with a dissatisfactory groan.

"Someone must have followed Adelric. I'll need to adjust the plan, but as long as he doesn't interfere any more than he has, we should be fine. Anything else you should report, Aaron?" Grayson turns away from the two, and takes out his pocket watch, looking down at the hands that slowly move in a circle.

"Why did you send someone to take over his position?"

Grayson waits fifteen seconds, closes his pocket watch, slips it back into his pocket, and glances over his shoulder at a slightly trembling Aaron.

"And why do you wish to know my plans? Haven't I told you that you work for me and listen to my orders? Or did this boy ask you about them?"

"The boy asked for me to give you an answer a week from now. He threatened to kill me and Ace if my answer wasn't satisfactory. What should I tell him?"

Grayson laughs after Aaron speaks. This boy- who was he? Threatening Aaron and following Adelric were two unusual actions for anyone in Schweiz's military to do, or else they lose their position or be executed, as Grayson ordered the man he sent to follow through with if any of the soldiers were disobedient.

This boy already lost his position in the military. All that was left to do was execute him. Or maybe he should come to the White Cathedral so Grayson could chat with him. It never hurt to have more information on Adelric, anyway. All Grayson knew of him was that he was a coward, protecting his other soldiers over himself, which was an easy way for him to get killed.

Grayson walks forward a few steps, then replies.

"Don't answer. Shoot him with this. It should knock him out long enough for you to bring him here," Grayson pulls out a small gun from the pocket of his cloak and tosses it behind him, hearing Aaron catch it.

"You want me to tranquilize him?"

Grayson whips around to face Aaron, his eyes blazing with fury.

"I'm getting fed up with your questions, Aaron. Tu einfach, was ich dir sage!"

Aaron opens his mouth to reply, his expression one of confusion and fear. He then closes it, hesitantly bows, and disappears, leaving Ace alone.

Grayson takes a breath before focusing his eyes on Ace.

"Did you deliver the message to Leon and Engelard?"

"I wasn't able to. Basel was attacked, and that's where the two reside. I don't know if they got killed, or where they are now if they ran away. I could try and find them, but it might take a while depending on where they are and if they move day to day," Ace, unlike Aaron, has no reason to fear Grayson.

He has his work cut out for him as a merchant, so this was just a side job for him. But Grayson liked having someone as reliable as him to deliver messages, as no one would grow suspicious of a traveling merchant going back and forth to places rather than Grayson.

All that was missing from Der Kreis was Engelard. And, if this boy who followed Adelric proved worthy, him too. They would just be extra assets in Grayson's plan.

His phone ringing brought the man back to the present. Grayson held up one finger in Ace's direction, who nodded in understanding. Grayson turned back around and pulled out his phone before answering it.

"Hello. Yes, I knew you would call, so English it is. Did it go as planned? Hm. Aaron just told me of the same boy threatening his life. Do you happen to know where Adelric and the boy went? Do you know the boy's name? Find out, will you? And keep executing the disobedient. They should be grateful that they're no longer under the command of a coward."

Grayson ends the call, returns his phone to his pocket, and turns back around to face Ace.

"If you would, finding Engelard and Leon would be nice. If you happen to find Adelric, please give him this. He should be in standard white military uniform. And, if you find the boy before Aaron meets with him, try and convince him to come to the White Cathedral voluntarily.

"If you can't verbally convince him, force is the only other option. Thank you for all that you're doing, Ace. I appreciate it. You are free to rest here until you are ready to go," Grayson dismisses Ace with a motion of his hand, but not before giving him an envelope produced from Grayson's cloak pocket.

Ace nods before heading underneath the leftmost staircase leading upward, where the basement and sleeping quarters reside.

Looking around himself for any sign of Aaron, Grayson sighs when he determines he is completely alone.

"Could this boy...be Heileg? No... That's not possible. If he was older, maybe. But not if he's just a kid or teenager. Nonetheless, the more information I can extract from him before I might decide to kill him, the better. Soon, after Bern is destroyed, this country will experience true peace. No more military, no more knights, no more conflict.

"With Adelric out of the way, all that's left to do for now is wait until my intel concerning Kreshnik's father comes back. Then he'll be rooted from his position, and we'll have clear shot at Bern with its defenses down.

"Of course, I'll have to think of a way to extend gratitude to both Russland and Finnland. Russland more so than Finnland as of now considering their efforts in the war so far, but things might change in a matter of days.

"That being said, I should write letters to both Army Generals and send them with Aaron in the morning when he makes his rounds. I'll let them know of the plans I have for Schweiz, and what to do with any forces of resistance they may meet.

"Ah, Adelric. How does it feel to see the country you so selfishly swore to protect crumble right under your feet? Hopefully, you'll seek the easy way out of this pain. But if you choose to keep going... Well, you'll get your end anyway."

Grayson allows a smile to glide over his expression as he ascends the rightmost staircase and begins to write another letter at his desk while the distant sounds of explosions and periodic gunfire outside come as a wonderful symphony to his ears.

Words and phrases used in this chapter:

Schweiz- Switzerland

Tu einfach, was ich dir sage!- Just do as I tell you!

Heileg- Sacred

Russland- Russia

Finnland- Finland