The Secret King

The Mission Begins

Bishop Skaar sat on the ramparts of the Deev castle taking tea at a small table as he had done each day since the Deev left Xenoth. He had not slept well since learning from Azmeritus of the mongoose's intention to awaken an Ürgod. His own knowledge of  the Ürgods was limited, clouded with the fog of legend and the uncertainty that accompanies speculation and myth.

In the Bishop's mind, the stories he had heard as a child of the desert swam at the edge of his consciousness. He trusted Azmeritus, his life was devoted to the mongoose, but this news gnawed at him. Nothing he had ever heard of the Ürworld or the creatures which ruled it seemed in anyway to be a thing to be desired. It was, from what he had been told as a child, a world of terror and destruction. It was a world where grand thoughts and high aspirations had no place, where survival itself was a questionable endeavor.

The Bishop looked out over the Cold Narrows and sighed. Too late now, he thought, too late to change the course of events. He would need faith, the very thing he felt he lacked. If he could not muster faith, he would have to settle for blind devotion. It was a lazy compromise, but it was the best he could manage. His tea began to taste bitter and he put it aside. He heard footsteps and turned toward the keep which provided access to the ramparts.

Prester Jauba appeared through the archway heading in his direction. When the sable reached the table and bowed in greeting, Skaar addressed him.
"What is it Jauba?" Skaar asked, not bothering to mask his annoyance at being disturbed.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Bishop. I wanted to discuss the castle security."

"What about it?"

"With our brothers now divided between the compound and the castle, we are spread a bit thin and there has been no change in our guard patrols even though we are now patrolling both sites."

Skaar thought for a moment.
"A good point, Jauba. His excellency has informed me that we will be increasing our numbers very soon. He has called for the entire Brotherhood to join us here on Xenoth, so our numbers will be substantially swelled very soon...within the next month, I should think."

Jauba's eyes grew to the size of saucers.
"The entire Brotherhood? That is good news indeed. Should I arrange for any preparations?"

"My understanding is that half of our brothers will remain on our ships patrolling Xenoth. We will need to accommodate about a thousand additional beasts, those who will not be on board our fleet. I think the majority should be housed in the compound and the rest here, in the castle."

"I will see to the arrangements, Bishop Skaar....about the patrols?

"I'm glad you brought that up, Jauba. Certainly you should double the patrols, but there are some additional precautions that I would like you to take."

"Bishop?"

Skaar stood and walked to the edge of the ramparts facing the sea. He stared out at the surf, pounding the rocks below him at the edge of the cliff. He was silent for a moment. Jauba remained patient as Skaar leaned out over the wall to observe the torrent of water from the falls cascading down the cliff-face.

Finally, the Bishop answered.
"We will be sending out the Gleaners soon. The natives have become a good deal more effective in warning their families of our movements. As a result, our harvests have become smaller. Now, as the final awakening approaches, the supplicants are particularly vital to fulfilling the prophecy. Understand, Jauba, that each supplicant you fail to harvest will result in a brother taking their place, so it behooves us to be efficient.

"It is my feeling, and I'm sure you'll agree that the only way the natives can be warning their fellows is by watching the compound from some nearby point and signaling the Gleaner's approach. Therefore, starting today, I would like you to station additional squads, hidden on the plateau, to watch for spies and to deal with them as necessary."