CHAPTER 352: WHATEVER THE COMMANDERS NEED

Irene and Felix went into the inn with the rest of the travelers, and they all went off in different directions to drop their bags in their rooms.

"Want to meet in the dining hall?" Felix asked Irene as she unlocked her door. "I’m famished."

"Please," she agreed.

The last bit of their journey, they hadn’t taken many breaks since the Commander was anxious to return. Luckily, it seemed there were no other issues because the magical barrier wasn’t up when they returned. It must have meant that no other monsters had been spotted in the area.

Sylaron’s arrival would likely help with that as well, although the dragon had made herself scarce about a half hour before their arrival. The Commander thought she would stay away for a bit, considering the way she had perked up and gone up the mountains.

However, despite the Commander’s joking with the others upon their arrival, Irene was a bit worried by the expression he wore before figuring out what the letters were in Blade’s pouch. No one usually reached out to the Commander unless it was because of an emergency. It also likely meant the letter went to the Duke’s Tower but was retrieved and given to Blade, who brought it there.

As worries spun around in Irene’s thoughts, she decided she simply needed to move forward as normal. There was no reason for her to worry just yet, but the Commander had been in a decent mood and she hoped he remained that way.

Settling down in the dining hall, she found a spot next to Felix and Bren, who were trying to wait politely, but they seemed a bit impatient. She didn’t figure they would wait, or she wouldn’t have removed all of her armor and gotten into a different shirt.

"Waiting for me?" she asked as she sat down. "Unnecessary. You both are hungry."

"Figured we should be polite," Felix insisted. "Although I didn’t wait for you to drink something."

A faint smirk pulled at his lips, and Bren looked down at the watered-down ale in his mug.

"Soon enough, I will be able to drink with the rest of you," he muttered.

"Your time will come, and then you’ll regret it quite a few times," Irene assured him. "No rush. The Knights of Chemois know how to drink. Too much in fact."

"I think we need to drink much more than we do," Felix insisted.

At that moment, the barmaid came with three bowls of pheasant stew. The aroma was mouth-watering, and they all practically dove into their bowls. However, there was an interruption.

Trenton, who heard the last bit of the conversation, also came into the dining hall and sat beside Bren. His massive body caused the bench to creak just a bit, but the dark wood the furniture was made from was at no risk of breaking. He gestured for the barmaid to bring him something to eat and drink as well before she could be off.

"Don’t tell me you guys have gotten light on me," Trenton begged. "The only order that can keep up with my consumption, and you’ve all decided to stop drinking?"

"We haven’t stopped," Felix assured him. "There just hasn’t been anything much to celebrate. I’m sure we can find something..."

"Or not," Irene uttered as Commander Lothian came into the dining hall, darkening the mood significantly.

It wasn’t merely that the Commander had dropped in weight, but the look he wore was even scarier than usual. Ever since Alix had gotten hurt, he seemed to be stuck in darkness. His appearance was a reminder that not all of them were with them.

However, he still joined the others but sat at his own table just beside them in one of the chairs. Without having to ask, the barmaid brought him food and drink immediately. He was someone who just had that sort of effect on women, even if his mood was sour.

A quietness overtook the table as they all dug into their hot meals and finally assuaged the hunger that had taken them over—including Commander Lothian, who had been starving since, at first, he couldn’t eat, but when he could, the mages ate like birds.

Once the Commander’s bowl was empty, he pushed it to the center of the table and seemed to stare into his mug, not saying anything. Irene couldn’t help speaking to him, wanting him to be happy the same way she wanted her Commander to be happy as well.

"Did our Commander get the letters finally?" she asked, hoping to lighten the mood.

Commander Lothian turned his dark gaze to the girl, and his look didn’t necessarily lighten, but his eyebrows lowered as he contemplated it.

"He did... finally," the Commander confirmed. "Although it’s never a good thing when His Majesty is reaching out to one of his vassals. The lack of a letter addressed to me makes me wonder if there’s one waiting for me in my fief..."

Her eyes widened slightly. "I hope it isn’t an emergency."

"There’s no telling," the Commander stated, heaviness in his voice.

Irene could only helplessly nod as she looked at the man.

As it would happen, it seemed that they wouldn’t have to wait long for Henry to tell them why the King had reached out in the first place.

The younger Commander rushed into the dining hall, his eyes wide with panic. When he was at the center of the dining hall, and his dark eyes were set on the older knight, his voice came out loud and clear, but showing the room that he was moments away from panic.

"Commander. They’ve captured my mother."

In response, the wooden chair Commander Lothian had once occupied went crashing to the floor behind him as his strong legs pushed it backwards effortlessly when he got to his feet. The older Commander’s gaze was full of the same worry that Henry was, and Irene realized she was missing a few pieces of the puzzle.

Commander Henry’s mother meant something to both him and Commander Lothian. That was all she could glean from it.

"Give it here," Callum demanded, seeing the letter in Henry’s hands.

When it was in his large palm, the older Commander’s dark eyes moved quickly over the page as he took in the words, reading fast as he possibly could. It crumpled more and more until he was at the last sentence, and the page was entirely ruined in both of his hands. He tossed it to the side, and one of his bear paw sized hands brushed through his dark locks. It was clear Callum was frustrated.

"I have failed to protect her," the older Commander muttered in disbelief, his voice strained. "It was all you asked me to do, and I failed you..."

By that point, the other knights had stood up and were surrounding the two Commanders. Dutiful as ever, they were waiting for the next instruction.

"I don’t understand why," Henry responded in disbelief. "What could my mother and aunt have done..."

"There should have been knights there to protect her," the other Commander continued. "Why in the hell did they not protect her?"

Callum’s voice was starting to rise. After all he had been suffering through recently, he was on the verge of breaking down entirely.

However, the younger commander reached out and placed a hand on the older man’s shoulder. Surprisingly, he was the one who needed to keep it together.

"Even if you were there, it’s impossible not to bend to the will of the King," Henry reminded him. "Doesn’t mean I can’t fight it. I must go to her. I’ll go to Hydrogia myself."

"I will go with you," Commander Lothian stated.

Even though they were decisive in their decision, as the two Commanders stopped in their tracks as they turned towards the table and saw all the eyes of the knights on them, reminding them that they were, in fact, commanders.

Felix stepped forward first.

"Whatever you need me to do, sir," he stated.

"Me too, sir," Irene agreed.

Their Commander let out a sigh as he realized he still had responsibilities he must attend to despite the emergent situation in Hydrogia. There were a lot of people relying on his instructions before he could behave irrationally.

"Wait for us at the edge of Idona where we first saw the dragon," Commander Henry ordered. "We will prepare ourselves and be there in an hour."

Callum merely nodded at that, deciding it was the best course of action. He could hardly think straight at that moment. It felt like the weight of the entire universe was weighing him down.

That’s all there was to do by that point—wait for the Commanders so that they could get some answers.