CHAPTER 813: THE ONLY CHOICE

"So what do you say, Sir Carwyn?" Ashlynn asked. "Can you accept the terms I offered?"

Sir Carwyn was still staring at the door that the soldiers had just carried Sir Rain through when Ashlynn asked her question. Of all of the things he expected when the powerful witch took action, the notion of mesmerizing a man until he believed that he was a little girl who wet herself had never once entered his mind.

To a man like Sir Rain, that was a fate worse than imprisonment or torture. If they paraded him in public, the shame would haunt him for the rest of his days, and even if they didn’t, it would still break the man’s spirit. From her words, the punishment would only be temporary but in a way, that only made it worse. It was something she could do and undo as she wished and the thought of the other things she could do with that power was...

"Sir Carwyn?" Ashlynn prompted gently, shaking the young knight out of his thoughts. "Please, don’t mistake me. You can refuse my offer without facing the kind of consequences that Sir Rain will. You have been nothing but honorable and courteous since you arrived. You won’t share his fate if you feel that honor demands that you reject my offer."

"Then, if I refuse, what will happen to my family?" Carwyn asked hesitantly. "What will happen to my village?"

"If you refuse, I’ll send a message to Commander Savis and he’ll add it to the list of villages the Second Army must capture," Ashlynn said, as though it were only common sense. "I understand your father is still healthy enough to don his armor and swing his sword. I imagine he’ll rally the remaining soldiers and villages to resist the assault. Many will die, but it isn’t the Eldritch way to slaughter the innocent," she said.

"If your father is as honorable as you are, then he’ll likely die in battle," Ashlynn continued. "I cannot order his life to be spared if he takes up his sword. But your wife may be captured and brought here once the village is occupied. That much, at least, I can offer you."

"When you say it like that, the choice seems obvious," Liam interjected calmly as he sliced a portion of the rabbit and radish dish for himself. "Sir Carwyn, you should take Lady Ashlynn’s offer. Save your village. Save your father’s life. Resisting the Eldritch armies with the forces of your village will only welcome tragedy."

"Afterward, whatever happens, you can say that I gave my blessings for your surrender," Liam suggested. "Or, if it would be better this way, I’m sure that Sir Hugo can give his blessings for your surrender in place of his father."

"Of course," Hugo said quickly. "Sir Carwyn, you’re the most honorable man I know. You shouldn’t have to lose your father and your village when Lady Ashlynn is offering you a better path."

"Thank you, my lords," Carwyn said formally after taking a deep breath to calm himself. "But what I do, I will bear responsibility for doing. I already told you that I was prepared to surrender my village to protect my family and my people," he said as he stood, walking around the small table to kneel before Ashlynn.

"Your Dominion," he said, deliberately choosing to address her in the Eldritch way. "I cannot give you my sword, because my sword will belong to Dame Sybyll after today, but I give you my surrender. I will guide Captain Barsali and his men to my village in the morning, and I will ensure that they accept the terms you’ve offered. You have my word."

"Thank you, Sir Carwyn," Ashlynn said as she stood and helped the other man to his feet. "I hoped you would accept this offer," she said with a warm smile. "So did Sir Ollie. He offered to accompany you in Captain Barsali’s place, but I need him elsewhere in the days to come. He and I are both worried that some among your people may not accept your decision," Ashlynn said as she reached into a pouch at her waist and withdrew two small wooden medallions, each the size of a thumb’s last bone and carved in the shape of a shield.

"The power in these is weak because Ollie only had a few hours to carve them today," Ashlynn explained as she pressed the shield-shaped amulets into Carwyn’s hands. "They will break under strain. But they should grant enough protection to you and your wife to stop the blade of a farmer turned assassin, even if the attack shatters the amulet in the process. I know the sting of a traitor’s blade too well," Ashlynn said softly. "And good people may do foolish things when their emotions run hot. This way, you’ll have a chance if the worst happens."

The pain in her voice and the ghosts lurking in her eyes couldn’t be clearer to Carwyn and as he looked at that pain, he felt like he finally understood Sir Ollie and how a man raised as a kitchen boy could strive hard enough to become a knight. Because if there was something he could do to ease the pain he saw in her, he knew he would do it.

"Do I need to do anything to use these ’amulets’, my lady?" Carwyn asked as he felt the warmth radiating from the wood. "Do they require a blood offering of any sort, or spoken words? I, I know nothing of witchcraft, but I remember Lady Heila speaking several words over me when she healed my limbs."

"Just wear them so they touch your skin and that’s enough," Ashlynn said as she returned to her seat and gestured for Carwynn to do the same. "They are quickly made and their power will fade over time, so do not rely on them forever, but they should be more than sufficient to protect you and your wife until next winter."

"Lady Ashlynn," Liam asked as he cut into the stuffed quail. Part of him wished that there had been more of the rabbit, but when he bit into the savory, sweet, creamy, stuffed quail, he found himself grateful that he hadn’t filled up on the previous dishes.

There was always plenty of variety at feasts, but all too often he found himself returning to the same things over and over again without ever tasting half the dishes piled on the long tables where the lords sat.

"Are protective amulets like those common among the Eldritch people?" Liam asked directly. "Do your soldiers all wear such a charm?" He’d never seen one on any of the demons he’d killed in all his years of fighting, but he’d also never confronted the forces of the Vale of Mists directly before. If they all had items like this, it made it even less likely that the forces of Lothian March could prevail against the demons in the short term.

"It would take Ollie months to carve enough of these amulets to protect all of our soldiers," Ashlynn said with a pleasant smile. "In the short term, there’s no reason to rush him to do such a thing."

Beside him, Hugo’s mind was already busy calculating. In just a few hours time, Sir Ollie had already produced enough of these ’amulets’ to ward two people from the blade of an attacker. From the way Ashlynn described them, they were consumable goods, much like arrows, but even if that were true, they were just as easily replaced.

And from the sounds of it, with more care, they could be made even stronger. Perhaps strong enough to survive multiple blows. On the battlefield, that kind of advantage could allow a single Eldritch soldier to kill perhaps twice or even three times as many men before they were brought down, and by the end of winter, she could likely equip as many as a hundred men with them.

Her losses in every battle would be fewer and her enemy’s losses would be greater. And this was just the work of one of her witches if she chose to have him strengthen her army... Moreover, Hugo realized, this was something simple enough and common enough that she didn’t even seem to be worried about exposing this capability to them.

And if that was the case... What else did she have hidden in her witch’s hat?