Chapter 25.2

Eirwen looked in-between them for a few counts, not daring to look at them directly as she struggled and gathered her resolve. Another deep breath, then she quickly looked at them. She saw that Aoife's jaw was tense. As for her hound, his entire body was, yet he was forcing his eyes to only show care for her, guilt pushed to the background. She narrowed her head at him, a subtle reminder of his promise not to hide from her. A wry smile appeared on his face as he let guilt and pity come to the surface.

She breathed in and out slowly, trying to settle her nerves. As she finally spoke, it felt as if her voice was coming from elsewhere, someone narrating for her. "When my parents were attacked, I was but a room and a short corridor away. And I was sensing my surroundings, including that room. The attack was so sudden, I didn't even realise before my mother was struck down. I rushed over and was barely in time to hold my father as he died, hands still reaching for my mother."

Eirwen left out the part where she had commanded someone to move her mother's body closer, allowing her father to hold her mother's hand just as he drew his last breath. To this day she wasn't sure if he had realised, whether it had helped him or intensified his despair in his final counts. Explaining that was just too much for her.

A few more deep breaths. "And the second time. They were subtle and on the periphery of my senses, but when the killing started, I noticed. I was immediately giving out retreat orders, forcing out the mental commands to make sure everyone withdrew. Not fast enough for some, because the instant they jumped the walls, they just started cutting down everyone within their reach."

She cast her sight in the direction of the healer clinic. "Part of me always wished I had known healing techniques, but I know that not even Bethan could have saved the person that bled out in my arms. And those cowards didn't even give me the satisfaction of facing me in combat. The very instant they noticed me rushing towards them, they just ran. All those deaths to create an opportunity they refused to grasp."

Both her onlisteners had their fists balled, clenched enough to turn their knuckles white. Even if they hadn't been on her side, they still would have condemned that. It was unworthy of a knight to murder civilians. Even against soldiers, restraint should be practised. Against the normal people? It was a disgrace even in a fight, and purely despicable when unprovoked.

Aoife took a deep breath of her own, letting the breath go while trying to settle the anger in her eyes. "I am glad we executed them. Damned beasts." Eirwen looked at her hound, madness swirling in his eyes as he nodded his agreement. She could see fresh pain there, pain he was feeling for her. Bethan had been right. He hadn't known indeed. And right now, he was wishing he had done worse to them.

It was no surprise that they felt intense about this, but Eirwen didn't know how to handle that in her current state of mind. She quickly moved on. "You know, until recently I didn't even know about that execution. I'm glad you did. Alright, next subject please. Spies."

He nodded, welcoming the distraction away from her pain. "I take it you're sending them to spy on the more central dukedoms, and the crown?" Treacherous words that could only be uttered in this small group. Not even Caerbychan could know about that, it was simply too risky. But yes, that was correct.

"Indeed. The crown never bothered until we won the war, then all of a sudden they're trying to interfere. So it's best to know what's coming, so we can prepare our defences. Additionally, those merchants their desire to please me will hopefully mean they won't scam me as much when selling off abandoned noble property."

A whistle from Aoife in response to that. "A good way to make use of those despicable wastes of breath." Ah, seems like she hadn't fully forgiven the hound yet for the way he had employed them. He grimaced briefly at her reminder. Truth be told, Eirwen hadn't fully forgiven him yet either, even if she understood his reasons. But that wasn't relevant now.

She put that touchy subject aside for everyone's sake, so they could ignore that old hurt a little longer. "Lastly, the mountains. You did have a good point in that we need to be prepared, even if the way I let you act on that was too rushed and heavy handed. On that matter, it's good that Aoife now can act like buffer between us."

A blush from his side, a grumble from hers. "I swear, it's as if the two of you are trying way too hard to find a new balance. You need to take it slow if the two of you want to mend things." Ah. That observation hurt. Straight to the point, exposing their failures. Followed by a friendly barb in his direction. "You need to remember she doesn't get relief, so you're supposed to be the sane one of the two of you."

He coughed awkwardly. "Ahem. Mountains. You want us to be prepared well?" An obvious avoidance, but Aoife backed off willingly. The quick flash of emotions reminded Eirwen that her friend still struggled with her feelings towards the two of them. Guilt stabbed Eirwen's heart. She was no better than her hound, burying her feelings and ignoring the consequences.

"I do. Which means I need to know what to expect. Sure, I could just leave all the preparations to you, but I want to actually understand in advance. And that means you need to help me, help us, improve on what we already know. From the people to the terrain, what you know about the Dire Wolves and Frost Giants, and so on. You came back with so many new techniques, then promptly rarely used them in the war. I can't just read up on that."

They both nodded, then he started. "Alright, let's start with separating reality from the myth. Some say the mountain territory is lawless, crimes just waiting to happen. But such crimes aren't tolerated, since they threaten everyone. If someone is obviously a murderer, you need to worry about becoming their next victim, so groups will gather to take them down. Thus, people commit crimes away from the sight of others, and even then only on targets they feel are worth the risk."

She observed his eyes carefully, noticing Aoife doing the same. Seems she had caught on he was hiding less around Eirwen. As for her hound, she could tell from the flashes of anger that he had been the target of some of those criminals, while also having joined in occasionally on hunting one down.

He saw them observing him but continued his explanation, fully in his teacher mode right now. "Of course the downside is that they know how important it is to not have witnesses walking around, so often these crimes turn into a murder spree. Fortunately, they used to be rare, though I'm hearing gossip that things have slowly worsened during the war. The wardens do try to take care of public safety, as that is the main justification of their self-claimed positions."

Eirwen tapped her leg in thought. "Those wardens, they're basically Reeves right, just not formally appointed? I assume they wouldn't be eager to follow commands, as they might feel they need to start paying taxes if they fall in line too much. Can we trust them, though?"

"Hm... It depends on the person. Some are perfectly reasonable, others truly believe their own lies. They should be approached with care. And I do hope we won't need to bring an army there any time soon." It wasn't the first time he said we. It felt a bit strange. Was it just an old habit of his position, or because he considered himself inseparable from Eirwen? Then again, so had she. We won the war, she had said. Not I. Not Verglas. A peculiar way of phrasing it, when her conversation partners had been on the opposite side. He had even been the one to surrender. Yet for him that had been a win as well, as costly as it had been.

"Here's hoping. So what can you tell me about the enemies? How do they operate? It is hard to separate truth from fiction, so all I truly know is that the Frost Giants are considered malicious."

A nod and a wry smile. "Ah, that they are. They take pleasure in randomly crushing combatants. The only good side is that normally, they don't go hunt down farms or such. It's really the big groups and places near roads, not individuals. But there's something else you need to be aware of. They share their stories. If one gets away, expect every technique you used to be known by most of them. And it gets worse. There's often a few scouts nearby. So if you use a technique you want to keep hidden, you need to hunt down the scouts at once, leaving no witnesses."

She nodded. "Understandable. But if it's techniques we are fine with them knowing, I guess we could use the scouts to make them wary of us. Or deceive them to lure more, but that seems risky. What about their mana techniques, by the way? What can you tell me about those?"

He tilted his head, going through them. "Honestly, there's an awful lot of variants there. I suspect most of it is innate or copied by feel, then made into a personal version. But there's main styles. They do not train them the way we do, which leaves them more vulnerable. I will need to show the two of you mentally what all I've seen."

She was eager, and could tell Aoife was as well. He had only shown a few methods, with his Gigantification still a well-kept secret at that. Though that gave her a thought. "Your ability to grow in size. How did you develop that? It's not a technique your father ever used." Aoife narrowed her eyes but remained silent. This was news to her.

"I stole it from the Frost Giants. I actually have a theory about their size. But I'll have to walk you through that later. Speaking of, I never did explain Crimson to you. As you can imagine, a sword becomes less useful when it won't grow with you. So I had Crimson made, which cost me a fortune. A core made with the help of snowplum pits, an enchantment I helped develop, the right metals and a great smith, and there she was. A sword that can absorb mana and embed them, which I can make grow alongside me."

Eirwen and Aoife opened their eyes wide at that. It solved one of the biggest weaknesses that technique posed. "I see. Is that how you earned the name Crimson Giant?" He blushed at that exposure as she continued. "I'm guessing from your red Carraig Defence and leaking flames as you fought Frost Giants at equal size?"

"You're right. I only used it a few times, though. I should note my biggest problem was clothing, I only had a few options designed and had no choice but to fight with bare chest. So if you want me to keep that as a backup, you'll have to prepare suitable clothing for me."

"I will do that. But first, I need you to teach me that technique. Not to use it, but to understand it better. Please collect whatever you need and tell me where to go."