Ten of Swords (Draft Only)

Chapter 4

The day of the council meeting had been hot. Primary players and rebellion associates gathered in secrecy within silently conquered territory. The old man, formerly known as Brother Corden, lead the discussion. He was accompanied by respected militia, spies, and political allies who had both publicly and privately declared support for the movement. Boss had stood with the spymasters. Though she didn't have as much power as the others in the room, she was well known and respected. She had been single-handedly responsible for recruiting many of them, and so leaving her out would look bad. She didn't have many political connections, but the soldiers and spies knew her well.

She had thirty-two agents, all volunteers, all good at what they did. Performers, thieves, merchants, night workers. Some of her people weren't interested spying, however. Pepper was their primary healer. Butcher helped them source food in situations where certain agents couldn't find food for themselves. None of them were formally trained, but they were all professionals. While Boss was at the meeting, her people would be working. She was spymaster in all but name.

The reports didn't look good. Governance had cracked down on trade. No one who produced or dealt any useful resource could travel far from home without their every move being guarded. Logistics were being strangled. Forest teams tasked with hunting were being worked to the bone trying to produce enough food to keep their people from starving. Unless they did something, and soon, all their efforts would come to a pathetic end.

"We need to downsize our forces. Send people home. Lay low for a while. If we push, we'll crack." Boss tapped the rations report. Their stores of salted meat and grain had been halved, and they were no longer producing enough to make up for their losses. They would run out within the month. Then they would be using any resources they had as soon as they got them, and it wouldn't be enough to feed everyone. If it got to the stage where they were having to prioritize who got to live, then they were failing the people who had put their faith in them.

"They're hoping we give up. Cocky bastards." Spat one of the veterans. A former knight. He'd earned his knighthood under the former king and renounced it at the coronation of the current ruler. He was arguably the first notable figure to rebel. "If we back down now, it will embolden them. I would say they plan to follow this up by hunting us down. No doubt they already know about a few of our unspoken alliances. They will take those out as soon as their men are no longer tied up guarding and fighting."

It was a good point. Any reactionary approach was likely to send them backpedaling into a trap, but if they were too rash in their actions then innocent people would begin to starve. Things were looking grim. Boss found herself wondering if perhaps conceding would be the better option. Perhaps it just wasn't the right time for them. Starting over would be difficult, but it was preferable to the shitstorm that they could see coming.

"I hate to say it, but we can't protect people anymore. Charity needs to be set aside, and we need to take military action. Put our resources into our fighters and recruiting more of them. Civilians will have to fight for themselves for a time, but if we move quickly, it won't be for long. We storm the capital as soon as possible. Get as many of the locals on our side as possible. We need riots. We need fire and blood." The former knight was distraught, but firm. He cared for the people, but in his eyes, it was the only practical option. The longer they waited, the more people would die to poverty and starvation. It would be a better death for those people, to die fighting. To die to secure a future for their children and grandchildren.

But it was naive.

"They will be prepared for such a reaction," the old man sighed. "If they know well enough that it wouldn't be force, but starvation that would end us, they would know well enough to prepare for retaliation. We've tried our best to prevent this, but perhaps we were too loud. We didn't secure our sources in time."