A Deal With the Enemy

Chapter 16

A few days after their trip into town, Rylee and Liander were busy at work in the study when a messenger was brought in with important news. The young woman quickly bowed to them before relaying the message.

"Your Grace, urgent message from Sector One. A group of dissidents tried to set fire to a granary. The produce was meant to be shipped to Aura the day after tomorrow."

"Did they succeed?"

The woman shook her head, "There was some damage to the outer wall of the granary but nothing was damaged within. We prevented the disaster in time, but the perpetrators managed to evade capture."

Rylee crossed his arms and began pacing the room, slightly pouting. After some thought, he told the messenger, "Send a nationwide message to all sector officials. Tell them to have the soldiers guard the storehouses and other locations where goods intended for Aura are being kept." The young messenger quickly left.

"You're spreading the troops ever thinner if you do that," Liander voiced out his worry, a frown creasing his brow.

"Do you have a better idea?"

Liander sighed deeply, "Not really."

Rylee sat back on his chair and stretched. "Well, with your help we've pretty much cleared all the paperwork. I hope this means I can finally take a break. It's been a while since I got to practice some archery."

Just as he said this, there was a knock on the door before the head servant entered, carrying a letter on a tray which he placed on Rylee's table before quickly retreating. Rylee's face fell at the sight of the wax seal. "It's the royal seal. A letter from the king."

Carefully, he broke the seal and read its contents, turning white as a sheet. Liander moved behind Rylee to read the letter from behind his shoulder. "A grand ball in Argent City? What's the occasion?"

"Like I care. I'm barely able to keep the peace and maintain everything under control while I'm here, and now he wants me to go to Argent City just because he wills it. Why do they even want me there? They'll do nothing but ridicule and put me down at every given opportunity."

Pitifully, he looked at Liander, wide-eyed. "Would you mind following me?"

The unwilling Liander was initially planning to stay back and keep an eye on matters in Blue but he was always weak against Rylee's sympathy-inducing look. Inwardly, he sighed. "Sure, when do we leave?"

"It's being held in two months. We can leave immediately and take a leisurely journey there, stopping by other towns along the way." Rylee drummed his fingers on the desk. "Honestly, I don't even know if there'll be a riot while we're gone. Things are just too unstable right now. People are angry."

Rylee ordered the transfer of all produce destined for Aura to embark immediately, his gut feeling telling him it wasn't safe to leave it as is. Shortly after tying up loose ends, both men began their journey back to the capital of Aura.

After a month and a half of leisurely travel, they crested a hill to behold the brilliant city before them. It truly was a spectacular view. Argent City lay tucked between two rivers whose origins began at the Snowy Mountain ranges. The city was built just before the confluence of both rivers, with the mountains as its backdrop. To enter the city, one had to first cross the raging waters of the wide rivers via one of two magnificent white bridges, one for each river. In this way, the rivers acted as natural barriers, protecting the city from potential invaders marching in from the East.

However, this did not mean the city was impenetrable. The mountain ranges offered protection, but the further north one travelled along the border the easier it was to cross over into Aura territory. Furthermore, although the widths of the two rivers were widest surrounding the city, it was still relatively narrow upriver, making it easier for intruders to cross. This was one of the reasons why the army's border presence was still important.