I annoyed Lord Calin by not being in my rooms the following morning when he came to fetch me and couldn't find any of my ducklings. I'd taken them for a pre-dawn hike back up to the top of the dome. Ellie heard us getting ready, so she got the girls moving along with us, frustrating Lady Lavinia. By the time I was halfway up, I had that pain with each breath where the ribs hadn't fully healed. Then again, they still hurt when I rolled out of bed, lifted my left arm, or any number of things, so this wasn't going to stop me from enjoying the exercise.

So I was late to the breakfast meeting with Regent Grigore and Burgraves. Well, I wasn't late because I couldn't be late, but they were all rather early. Calin and I were the last ones in. I sat opposite him in the circle of chairs, though this seemed to be by design rather than lateness. The table was round, and I didn't see any hierarchy in the sitting pattern. I did my usual answer questions by asking my own and otherwise tried to learn the personalities of the different high lords.

Lord Emil was to my right, gray-haired with a bit of blond still showing. Though still reasonably fit, he definitely had the dad-bod, not surprising at almost sixty. He had Bacea, the lands east of Baemardis. Emil seemed calm and collected, not often speaking, though the others paid attention when he spoke.

Lord Calin was to his right, a decade younger, blonder and trimmer, and a couple of inches taller than Emil. That still left him a couple of inches shorter than my own five-eleven. He was the Burgrave of Baemardis and the lands surrounding it. He handled the day-to-day running of this area while Regent Grigore ran the whole country, also called Baemardis. Definite Type-A personality.

He seemed like someone with aspirations who was in a dead-end job. The only position higher was Regent, but Grigore was over a decade younger than him. I was the only one younger than Grigore in the room. I wondered if that was why Calin had volunteered to be part of my retinue...give him something new to do. Maybe be the power behind the Realm?

It wasn't like any of them could aspire to become king. It had been tried a couple of times, according to Boian, and Uncle John had brought in forces of swordsmen from who-know-where and quickly took care of the attempted coups.

Regent Grigore seemed uncomfortable. He'd taken over after his father's death a few years back but didn't wear his regency with ease, or at least not with me at the table. Boian said he became regent because none of the Burgraves wanted the job. From the discussions around the table, he seemed to be less than autocratic, but at the same time, it seemed like he did have the power to remove the bows from the armies, or rather his dad, so I still didn't understand the balance of power here.

Lord Tiber was next around the table and was a few years younger than Calin, though more laid back. He had the southernmost lands of Moise and seemed quite happy I was here. Since his son Radu was now my new squire, that probably had something to do with it.

A chair sat empty next to Tiber. I wasn't sure why, though it was set as though expecting someone.

Lord Bogdan was next, Burgrave of the beleaguered northern areas of Crisan. He seemed of ill health. I was told he was in his early fifties, but he looked much older and heavily set. His skin was almost as gray as his hair. He spoke laboriously, wheezing upon occasion.

Lord Marian finished the circle, sitting to my left. He was the oldest of the Burgraves, controlling the western holdings of Painat. Thin, he had the energy of a much younger man, even if his dark hair had faded most of its color, not actually gray, but not really another color. He was the only dark-haired Burgrave, though his complexion was paler than the others.

A thought struck me. What if this world was the twenty-first century like at home, and Lief Erikson or his equivalent had managed to settle the Americas a millennium ago? They'd kept to themselves genetically enough over the intervening centuries, at least enough to have this Scandinavian-looking ruling class. It still didn't explain the look of the commoners, but maybe a different mix of those coming across the Bering Strait or something. It was still a wild-ass guess, but maybe now with a bit of science behind it. Or it might be total bullshit.

"Yes, yes, but we need to do something about the gross incursions into my lands," Bogdan wheezed. "Your father would have formed a suitable force to kick Sandoval's forces back into his own lands and beyond, yet you sit and equivocate." He broke into a cough as if to punctuate his inability to go out into battle himself.

"Milord Bogdan, we are planning and strategizing on the best way to defeat Sandoval's forces and will deal with that in due course." Regent Grigore looked like the words coming out of his own mouth were distasteful to him.

"And while you strategize, the threat comes closer. I've lost my eastern Primori already, and the northern Primori could fall at any time. When that happens, I will have only a token force left for the western area of Crisan. I will have no choice but to surrender. You cannot wait any longer."

A silence lingered, which Lord Emil broke. "While we're on the subject of attacks, the Sobeck incursions have gotten worse. Over the last few weeks, I've had one village burned to the ground and two others almost as bad, the last saved in part to a lucky thunderstorm that doused the fires."

"That doesn't rise to the level of Sandoval's attacks, Emil," Bogdan retorted.

"It does not," Emil agreed. "However, two things are certain. First, their attacks have become stronger than ever before. Second, they are now taking prisoners."

"Prisoners?" This was exclaimed by many around the table.

"We are missing people, mainly young men and women. There are reports of them being carried off."

"Preposterous," Bogdan coughed out.

"I wish it were," Emil said evenly, "but it isn't, unfortunately. I could call my son in to explain better, but Lord Kevin of the Realm also fought in two battles against the Sobecks and saw the decimation of the village of Craeg. Lord Kevin, can you give us your testimony to those happenings?"

I couldn't answer this with another question, so I sighed and nodded, thinking about where to start. At the start, I supposed.

"Shortly after we met Lord Boian, we were attacked by five Sobecks. It was a close fight, and where I got this wound." I held my hand up so they could see where the webbing between my thumb and forefinger had been slashed. Doina had removed the stitches the day before. "Also, fang gouges on my head, though my hair hides those well enough. Lord Boian limps because of a thigh wound from that battle. My sister got by with bruised ribs and a twisted ankle, and if you've seen Maid Oana, a spear thrust sliced her cheek. Despite that, we won."

I had their attention now.

"Before the storms, we counted two groups of Sobecks, one of about a dozen and another about twice that size. We hid, so we heard more than saw them, so some might have been human prisoners instead. There were over a dozen dead laid out among the burned-out buildings in Craeg."

I felt a tightness in my chest. A part of my nightmares sometimes. Ellie, Oana, Sorina, and even Sam lay out along the muddy road. Dead. I took another deep breath. Let's get all of this out.

"Once we got to Floresca Hall, Lord Boian ordered the lands around the hall to be burned so they wouldn't have the scrub to hide in. That burning continued east beyond Craeg and west past Dambu. There were no attacks on Floresca or the villages, whether because the burning scared the Sobecks off or maybe they'd already left, though based on the second battle, I think it was the first."

My hands were shaking. I wished Ellie were here, then was glad she wasn't. This recounting would be harder on her than on me. I took a sip of the holly drink, aware that all eyes were on me, then took another deep breath.

"On the way to Suata, Sobecks rose up in front of our caravan, but this turned out to be a feint. Lord Boian realized this quickly and gave orders that kept the ambush from working as well as it could have. My sister's accurate bowshots made a big difference, taking down several Sobecks before they could join the battle." I stared at Grigore as I said that, and he looked away.

"We lost all of the cavaliers in that battle. They were targeted. I ended up on the ground, as did Lord Boian, though I know they still went after me. Maid Elexus shot down at least two of them who tried to attack me before she ran out of arrows. I'd managed to shoot a couple before I had to resort to my rapier." The question of prisoners was next. One was obvious, but I thought there was at least one more.

"Maid Mara was being dragged off by a Sobeck when it was struck down." I wanted to tell them about Sorina, but this wasn't the time or place. "Another Sobeck attacked my scribe with the butt end of his spear, bruising Master Adrian badly several places before my page stabbed it. I'm pretty sure it planned to drag Adrian off. Otherwise, a single spear thrust would have been more appropriate."

The lords weren't saying anything but seemed bursting to speak. I needed to finish this up, but I had a couple of points if I could keep them quiet long enough.

"Our people were being captured for a purpose. Why is this? If someone knows, please explain. Also, I have an order. Lord Regent Grigore, your father confiscated the bows and arrows from the Burgraviates years ago. Especially for Lords Bogdan and Emil, these need to be released so they can better defend themselves against their attacks. We can discuss sending forces to their aid later."

As I released a breath I didn't know I could've been holding, everyone started talking at once.