Snake Traps

Julien looks at Heath with disbelief clear on his face. "Milord, if Atlas has a legendary class, I doubt we'd be able to protect him. A single rogue mage would be able to cause enough damage to destroy the territory. We simply don't have the power."

Heath looked at him. He knew this; however, he had to try. He had to protect his family.

"I think we'll have to start recruitment once again. We may have to push for Atlas' ceremony to happen before he turns ten. That's the only way we'll receive royal protection."

Julien looks disgusted,

"That coward of a king will do nothing. He's letting the Arachnae run rampant near Fulder. And that's part of his OWN LAND! I'm sorry milord, but relying on the royal family would be a bad idea. I'd be more worried with them here than without any help. Maybe we could try Duke Locturne. He is the lord of your territory, milord."

Heath thought for a moment. King Invaria Velgar Kentern was indeed a coward. His father before him was the worst candidate for the throne, but his grandfather had reached his later years and soon went sterile after he was born. The king's father had abused him and taught him to fear everything. Heltanis damn it, He even gave up territory to the Lachvern republic from both his and Helfen's territory! Not to mention his kids. His eldest daughter bathes herself in the blood of virgins, while his youngest son keeps a pet goblin! His elder son is the only one that's slightly capable, and he's a woman murderer for Heltanis' sake! There's already talks of an insurrection brewing in Helfen's territory as well as Henchar. The only people slightly loyal to the crown are the Duke of Locturne and even his loyalties lie elsewhere as he wants to place his son on the throne and force him to marry the Heka-spawn, virgin blood obsessed princess.

"Hah, our kingdom is royally juiced isn't it?"

Julien walks over to a cabinet and pulls out a brown glass with a golden honey-colored liquid.

Heath feigns shock and says,

"Drinking on the job?!"

Julien laughs and says,

"You know it!"

He sits back down and pulls two silver cups out from his drawer. He pours a cup for himself and Heath. Heath sits in front of the desk and the two reminisce about the past for a while. Talks about the war they fought together, when Julien managed to get 'the balls' to ask his now-wife out, when their whole squad got drunk and accidentally burnt their captain's ass on the bonfire.

Julien and Heath grew up together, of course with both of them on different social levels. Heath was generally seen as the bigger brother of the relationship as he had taught Julien various uses knights have for magic. The two had a bond together. As such, it tore Juliens heart to shreds when he was unable to help.

Suddenly, a lightbulb appears over Juliens head,

"What if we feed them false information and make a trap?"

Heath raised an eyebrow,

"I'm listening."

Heath stands up and gets a piece of paper,

"So, based on what you've told me and the little outburst you had outside, it's safe to assume that somebody already knows about Atlas right?"

Heath scowls and nods his head,

"What if we spread some misinformation?"

Heath leans forward in his chair,

"What do you mean?"

Julien takes a swig of Kipperfiber mead and starts writing things down,

"First, we spread misinformation that Atlas is taking a trip to the regional capital of Locturne with his sister Alvina, because I assume they'll be after the lass for her Grand class as well."

Heath nods his head, as her grand class was the whole reason for the doubling of the guard in the first place.

"We spread the info that they'll be taking a backroad around Giant's Peak."

Heath stops him there,

"Nobody would be stupid enough to believe that we'll risk ourselves in a carriage on Giant's Peak!"

Julien grins,

"Not normally, but what if we spread that we know about a spy in our midst? Suddenly, us taking the backroad makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?"

Heath calculates silently,

"But what's the point? If we don't load them into a carriage nobody would be stupid enough to folow it."

Julien stands up and takes another swig,

"Your wife is a mage, Heath. A mage who can change peoples visage with illusion magic. I say we pre-load the carriage with dummies and have several others follow it with actual soldiers disguised as regular servants. I tell you, even I'd fall for that one! It's practically fool-proof!"

Heath raises his eyebrows and chuckles,

"Heh! I like it! We've just gotta be careful of who we tell. Only the men who would die for me will be on this mission. We also must make sure that we only tell one or two gossipy-types each so as to not draw suspicion. I'll tell the head maid and have her "accidentally" slip up in front of one of the loud mouths."

Julien raises his glass,

"I'll say it to a group when I get drunk!"

Heath takes a swig of his own drink this time with a grin on his face,

"It's kind of exciting isn't it? It feels like we're doing another prank. I'll be leaving with the soldiers in the carriage. Let's say they're leaving to have a master staver make them staves."

Julien nods his head,

"I suppose we'll have to wait and see if this works. I can most likely convince Knight Sage, Knight Kana, and Mage Hulder to join you in the carriage. Sage and Kana can play the role of Atlas and Alvina, and Hulder will be in there as your second knight along with miself. The other ones will have mainly soldiers and weak knights and mages."

Heath nods his head and smiles. He stands up and walks to the door,

"Nice chat, make sure those snake traps are set throughout the territory!"