Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 181

Chapter 181: Please believe us
Trace grimaced as he looked at the commander.

“There are many things that could go wrong if you simply rush out and try to take him prisoner,” He explained. “Oakdown may have increased power so close to the source of his magic. He could order men to defend him with their lives, or to kill the king unless the rest obey him. Things would turn into a bloodbath.”

The commander pressed his lips together. “My men are prepared to give their lives in service to the king, but if you have some way to avoid the slaughter, I’m all ears.”

“How many are up there?” Trace began with his questions. “What are your orders, exactly?”

“We have sixty men at the king’s disposal. His Majesty is at the entrance of the cave with Count Oakdown and his magical advisor. Our orders are to kill all Foundrel insurgents inside this cave without mercy and bring them out.” He said.

“So why did you hesitate?” Anaisa asked from beside Trace. “We are not dead, but you had the opportunity to do make it so.”

The commander pondered this for a moment before answering.

“The best strategy is made with the most information. If I had simply moved in and tried to kill as soon as I heard the first voice, I could have been drawn into an ambush and risked my men. And so, I hoped to draw my opponent out into the open by talking and appearing reasonable. It appears you had the same idea, only… I wound up being the one in the wrong.”

Trace smiled briefly before continuing.

“Were there any other orders than to kill and bring out any insurgents?” He asked.

“We were not to venture more than half a league into the cave,” The commander replied thoughtfully. “It is a strange instruction, but supposedly the intelligence we received was that the air in the cave becomes noxious below that depth and we would begin to die. If we came to a bottomless pit, that was the beginning of the source of the miasma we needed to avoid, and we should turn back immediately.”

Trace wondered how detailed Oakdown’s commands to King Harold were. Was there only the initial command to have Denholm marry Sapphira, and to say nothing about being under duress or magical compulsion? Was King Harold giving in to the rest of the traitor’s demands to bargain for Sapphira’s safety, or was Oakdown being forced to use more and more power to control the monarch?

Trace wished he had a way of knowing for sure.

“Thank you, that is helpful. Our goal is to trap Oakdown and stop his ability to command anyone, at which point he can be taken into custody and killed… since that is fastest way we know of to free the king from his power.” Trace winced. He didn’t like killing, even so evil a man as the count. “There is a second room over to the side that’s a dead end. If we can get him in there, we can trap him.”

Originally, that room, a left turn instead of a right at the fork, had held a secondary exit from the cave, that was small enough you had to crawl through it instead of walk. Since the first guard was further in from that point, there was no need to keep anyone at that entrance.

Before he left, Martin had apprised them of the fact that Oakdown had had him make that exit, secretly, so that only the two of them, and Oakdown’s son, knew about it. Because of that, the Count shouldn’t have any great reservations about entering that room with enough inducement.

“How do you plan to get him down there?” The commander asked. “He seems inclined to stay on the surface.”

“With this,” Trace reached into a sack on his side and pulled out a large, glowing emerald. “I will need a handful of volunteers as well.”

“Volunteers for what exactly?” The commander narrowed his eyes. “I cannot send my men into danger without knowing the exact risks involved.”

“There is very little risk to them, but plenty to the one who stalls Oakdown from giving further commands,” Trace warned. “You can tell him you’re still searching or something, but two or three of you, the ones most loyal to the king and fastest runners, I will need to come with me. Quickly.”

The commander turned and quickly pointed to three men from amongst the visible soldiers who had crowded into the cave’s room.

“Go with this man.” He ordered them before turning back to Trace. “You’re sure there’s no risk involved?”

“I will explain to them on the way, and they will have every opportunity to back out of my suggestion,” Trace assured the man, “but somehow, I don’t think soldiers as brave as them will have any reservations about wholeheartedly engaging in this mission.”

“So be it,” The commander said. “I should probably take a prisoner back with me to help stall the Count while you finish whatever it is you need to do.”

“Take me,” Anaisa volunteered suddenly. “I will go.”

“No!” Trace ordered. “Absolutely not.”

“We need your parents down here, just in case, and Emily is vital as well. You are coordinating and sending you away would confuse the others too greatly. Sending up Calvin would tip Barnabas off that Nivan knows of the Count’s lies. Everyone else is needed for the plan, except for me. This is one way I can meaningfully contribute. It will confuse the soldiers up above that the Princess’s double was found in the cave with the alleged Foundrel insurgents.

“Barnabas will have to talk them into believing I’m a traitor made to replace the princess or some other tale. It will take time, but no one will be willing to execute me since I look so much like Sapphira.” Her chin lifted confidently, but Trace’s stomach clenched with horror.

It was true that he had intentionally not given his wife a vital role in the plan. Partly because she was one of the few without magic, but also because he hadn’t wanted her in any more danger than absolutely necessary.

It looked like that part of the plan was going out the window.