Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

Movements

One by one, coming from all regions of the kingdom, nobles and their entourages arrived at the capital. They joined those who already lived there for much of the year, thus delegating direct control of their lands to their subordinates.

It had been a long time since so many had met. Not even at the queen's coronation had there been such a large number of attendees.

Some came with fear. They hid it well on their faces, but their hearts were suffering. They feared what the events that were about to occur might mean to them. Perhaps, their death, the loss of their status, or the loss of part of their land. Therefore, they supported royalty in their position. These nobles had broken the promise of their predecessors.

Others came with hope. The hope of changing a regime that oppressed them for not agreeing. The hope of ending sabotages, pressures and even murders. More than one had lost close relatives, or had come close to succumbing themselves. Whether it could be attributed to royalty, rival nobles or other enemies was difficult to prove. What worried them most was the possibility of failure, something they didn't want to think about. They couldn't allow themselves to fail.

Finally, there were those who could be called neutral. They were nobles powerful enough to maintain their status quo on their own or through alliances. Those nobles hadn't failed to keep their promises, nor had they given in to pressure, so they arrived at the capital without fearing any of the outcomes. No one knew if they would support one side or the other, or remain neutral.

Of course, that coming and going of nobles was impossible to go unnoticed. The rumors of Eldi Hnefa's arrival were stronger and stronger every day, and the appearance of the nobles only fuelled those rumors.

Very few hadn't heard stories about the sacred sword, or the new matriarch. Although, not many had heard them as they had happened, without flourishes or exaggerations. While it is true that virtually no one believed that Eldi Hnefa had three heads, other exaggerations weren't so clear.

Without a doubt, there was great excitement throughout the capital, and fear. Nobody knew what was going to happen, so rumors and speculation of all kinds were arising.

Playing the gallery, all the nobles supported the return of Eldi Hnefa, even though some of them weren't very credible. Under that facade, maneuvers and conspiracies abounded.

There was another group that was also bustling with activity, the rebels. Each and every one of them was on the go. They were performing one task or another, not all of them equally important. The leaders hoped in this way to confuse the spies they knew were infiltrated.

They had some identified, but weren't innocent enough to believe it was all of them. Of course, the leaders gave them the tasks they wanted them to report on, but they couldn't rely on that alone.

The most complicated issue was that they also had spies in the palace and among the nobles, and there were double agents on both sides. It wasn't easy to know who to trust. They could only be as prepared as they could, and keep an eye on each other.

It should be said that information about the movements of royalty and their allies had increased significantly, often from anonymous sources. The name of Eldi Hnefa had given the necessary courage to many servants. Some time ago, they had no hope, and believed that all forms of resistance were useless. Now, they had recovered it.

Only when information came from several sources, or from reliable ones, was it taken seriously. That is, it was true or a trap. At that time, some of them were being discussed.

"So, the guard will be relegated to duties outside the palace to 'control the crowd'," Threefingers referred to an information that had reached them from at least twenty different sources.

"What did you expect? Many would support Eldi Hnefa over the queen. Those bastards don't want us around. They're up to something," a woman with her face covered said.

She was precisely one of the reliable sources who had brought the information. She was a veteran officer of the guard, whose resentment against some nobles was deep, as well as gratitude to Threefingers himself.

Only with his help and with great difficulty had she been able to get her daughter out of the city. This way, they had avoided a rich heir to a dukedom who had taken a fancy to her.

With the help of the rebels, they had found her a job as a servant on the lands of a trusted noblewoman, for whom Lidia herself vouched. Her mother rarely got to see her, and hadn't even been able to attend her wedding. Nonetheless, at least she knew her daughter was fine.

She didn't even want to think what would have happened if she had taken five more minutes that day to take her daughter out of their house. The thugs hired by that nobleman had arrived then, and had found the house empty. Meanwhile, her daughter had been taken through the sewers to a safe place.

"Yes, it's one more confirmation that we can't trust them. Do you think you can gather a few to support us, even if it's only from the outside?" Threefingers asked.

"I'll get them, although I don't know how much we can do. Entering the palace will be impossible," she assured.

"We have to be careful not only in the palace. All support is welcome. We'll send you a communication device the day before," he promised.

She nodded, before leaving to the side, and entering to the meeting room as if she came from outside. Soon after, more members arrived, many with their faces hidden, and finally Threefingers appeared. No one knew that he had had previous meetings with more than one of them.

Now, it was about making plans that they knew would leak. In fact, some of their double agents would do it anyway.

They were plans that were difficult to hide, as they required the mobilization of many troops. However, their objective wasn't to take the enemies by surprise, but to force them to mobilize their own resources, thus preventing them from focusing those resources on Eldi Hnefa. That would reduce the pressure on him.

Only a few elites chosen for their loyalty to the cause had crucial and secret tasks that required discretion. Each of those missions that went well was one less danger towards their hope.