Colette's Covenant

The Cave System

The Cave System

It was supposed to be an easy assignment. Nicolas didn't understand how it had all gone awry so very quickly or why this was suddenly his problem now.

Except it was his problem now.

Lady Colette came up out of the caves crying for South Gate to be put under lock down. Unlike other towns, the mountains here spread people out so there were no city walls to protect them. Instead she had people blocking off the exits for the caves, and guarding those they couldn't block. She told them of the men she had found in the caves. Of their uniform. And of how they had captured and killed four of Nicolas' knights.

Which officially made this fiasco his problem.

The first thing he did was send off a message by pigeon to Gwenael. He informed the king as to the reasons for his delay and informed Paladin Benoite, the High Commander of the military and his superior, that he would need backup to secure South Gate. He had only a selection of his men with him. Not nearly enough to defend an entire town.

Afterwards, he went off to find Lady Vivienne.

The elder woman was the leader of the town. Though Colette was the one giving orders at the moment, she did so with the backing of her grandmother.

Lady Mayor Toinette could be found in her manor at the top of the largest hill. She had gathered a few of her friends, elder ladies all of them, to do their own sort of preparations. If there was going to be a battle, they would need bandages, medicines, and splints. The ladies were preparing them on a garden terrace when Nicolas was shown by a servant to the lady's side.

"Ah, Sir Sacha," she waved to him for a brief moment before returning to her task. Her wizened hands were steadily grinding up dried herbs into powders to create ointments and poultices used for treating infections, easing pain, and healing wounds. "How pleasant of you to come visit an old lady. Girls, you've met Sir Sacha, haven't you?"

The three other elder women nodded to him, but none stopped in their tasks.

Nicolas bowed respectfully before turning to the mayor herself. "Madam, I need to have words with you. If you have a moment."

"As long as you don't mind if I work in that moment. Do you need a chair?"

"No, madam. I'll be fast. I've sent a message to the capital. I imagine we'll have a response within a week. Lady Nina Benoite is my superior and in charge of the military. When she reads my account of what has happened here, she'll send her fastest ship."

"That's reassuring. Thank you for your hard work."

"Until then, I'm in charge of this situation. I've already set my knights to work with your city guard. As I understand it, the younger Lady Toinette is handling integrating them together. I've reports that she's doing well."

"That's my granddaughter. She's a little fool, but she works hard."

Nicolas nodded. "That being said, my lady, I need to get down into the caves."

Vivienne made a sound that did not at all encourage Nicolas. "I don't know that doing so is a good idea, lad. You've never been into the caves."

"I need information on the army. Of my men, I'm the most skilled and the best at sneaking. If I can get in, I can learn more about the troops below. Their numbers, their leader. Anything at all."

"So why come to an old woman then?"

"I assumed that you had some sort of map to the caves. I need it if I'm to navigate."

Vivienne laughed as she gently poured the powder she had created into a small jar. She stuffed a piece of cotton inside to keep it dry then placed the lid on top and sealed it with wax. She set it aside into a small box with other such jars.