RavensDagger

  Chapter Two Hundred and Fifty - of and

  All it took to see the ander of the base was for Bastion to walk up to the front and politely--but firmly--say “I o speak with ander Warmwood.”

  No one questioned us, and even though we passed many soldiers, not one of them stopped us—though a few stared, of course. I was getting used to it. Not only was I not a sylph, I was also very muot a soldier. Bastion got his share of attention too, and a few salutes, though some didn’t seem as certain as others.

  The ander’s office was in the rgest building of the headquarters, a pce where we were brought to and told to wait while the ander prepared himself to receive us.

  “Any questions?” Bastion asked me as we both stood by the wooden door that blocked the way into the office.

  “Why did only some of them salute?” I asked.

  He chuckled. “Observant. As a padin, I have no actual military rank. Also, as a padin, I give orders to the military and expect them to be... sidered. It’s a strange position. No authoritative power, a some cultural power. It helps that most padins were, at oime or another, in the military, most with some form of officer ranking. Though there are plenty of padins from elsewhere. The guard, and some were ht civilians before joining.”

  “,” I said. Bastion’s speess really shone when he was in his own nation. “Do I have to address the ander in any special way?”

  “Refer to him as Sir Warmwood or ander Warmwood. Be polite. Do... try not to hug him. Don’t salute. You’re not a servian and I doubt you know how to salute properly besides.”

  “I’ll do my best, Sir Bastion, sir.” I said. I snapped a salute, one foot thumping down and ears boung as I brought a hand to my forehead.

  Bastion looked me up and down. “If you were my subordinate, I’d have you running ps to improve your form.”

  I grinned and lowered my arm just as the door opened. “e in, please,” someone said from the other side.

  Bastion stepped in ahe door open for me.

  The office was about what I expected of an office. There was a rge wooden desk, sharp and angur, with a big padded seat behind it and two more seats before it, much less padded and not nearly as fy-looking. The table was mostly cleared, except for a small potted pnt on one er and an oil ntern oher. Some papers were stacked ly in the middle, a gilded fountain pe o them.

  I blinked as the person I guessed was the ander moved behind the desk.

  I’d never seen an old sylph before. Not really. Or maybe I’d seen a few oreets, but I hardly had an excuse to stare, and it would have been rude. The ander was an older sylph, with a heavy brow covered in white bristles, and saggy jowls under a scraggly moustache that could have passed for a brush. His hair still had some bck to it, the same colour as Bastion’s own, and he had eyes that were a darker green than Bastion’s.

  “ander Warmwood,” Bastion said as he saluted.

  The ander nodded. “A pleasure to meet you, padin.”

  “Padin Bastion Coldfront, sir,” Bastion said.

  The aurned and eyed me up and down, and I had to suppress the urge to salute. It almost felt as if I had to in his presence. “And you are?”

  “I’m Broccoli,” I said. If I couldn’t salute, I could at least smile.

  “This is Captain Bunch, of the airship Beaver Cleaver. Her ship is the one I used to e here, and the captain happens to be a very talented explorer with a few skills that might e in handy,” Bastion expined simply.

  “I see,” ander Warmwood said. “Very well. Pleased to meet you, captain. I hope you find the base fortable and that my men have acquitted themselves well.”

  I nodded. “Everyone’s been very nice so far,” I said.

  “Wonderful. Now, Sir Bastion, might I finally learn why I have a royal padin in my office?”

  Bastion shifted, arms folding up in the small of his bad legs pnting more firmly in pce. “ander, it has e to my attention that there has been some ret trouble with the local molefolk y. The city guard became aware of my presend asked me for assistance.”

  The ander nodded slowly. “That seems appropriate, yes.”

  “We discovered that the molefolk have begun to build a rge dam, which might threaten the safety of Granite Springs. Diverting the river entering the town would cause some obvious issues. The damage to infrastructure, and potentially the health of the citizens here, definitely escates the issue.”

  The araightened. “I see. I imagiroying a dam would be a difficult task for a lone padin, no matter how strong.”

  “Actually, I believe it would be possible to vihe mole people to destruct their new project. It would be a much safer alternative than ht destru.”

  ander Warmwood grinned. “Ah, a fine idea. Have them take apart their own tools of insubordination. That has a certain level of ironic charm to it.”

  “Wow,” I said. “You just keep jumping to all of the most violent possibilities.”

  The ander looked my way, fusion showing i of his bushy brow. “Pardon me?”

  “I don’t know. Every solution you have is very... hammer-y.”

  “What Captain Broccoli is trying to say, I believe,” Bastion cut in, “is that we have already e into tact with the mole people. Specifically, a General Holey, who is in charge of the forces at the dam. In situations like these, with possible diplomatisions on the line, I find it best to open a el of unicatioween both sides before esg to violence.”

  “I... see,” ander Warmwood said. He moved around his desk and sat himself down on his plush chair. Then he gestured to the seats across from him. I took one, wiggling myself iil I was fy. “That’s reasonable. I’m beginning to suspect that I’m missing some key information here.”

  Bastion didn’t take a seat, staying standing instead. “I believe that might be the case, yes. Though I also suspect that it’s through no fault of your own.”

  “Very well then, y it out for me.”

  “From my preliminary iigation, ohat I started only this m, I believe the sequence of events is as such: A quarry operated by Granite Springs relocated some of its equipment and started to dig in a new dire. This dire happeo lead the quarrying work into an area over the mole people town. I haven’t observed the Dhigeyhole - Granite Falls treaty, but this might be a viotion of it.”

  The ander sniffed. “So we started digging over their heads, did we?”

  “Ihey have evacuated a portion of their town, and seem ready to divert the river for fear that it will shift towards the quarry, fill it with water, and potentially harm their town,” Bastion said.

  ander Warmwood leaned forwards, elbows on his desk. “Were you not a padin I’d say that the eory was a little far-fetched. But I imagihis is the kind of plication you’re meant to deal with.”

  “They’re not usually so simple,” Bastion admitted.

  The ander huffed. “Very well, you’ve vinced me that the military should interve’s our duty to protect the citizenry, and I imagihis situation is beyond the ability of the guard. Do you have a pn, Padin Coldfront?”

  Bastion nodded. “Thank you, sir. During my meeting with the mole person general, he mentiohat he had sent frequent requests to Granite Springs, but these were intercepted by the military.”

  The ander sat straighter in his seat. “What’s the meaning of that?” he asked.

  “I do not know how trustworthy the general is, but he seemed quite put out by the ck of response. I believe the attempts, at least, were genuine. He also mentioned a Major Springsong.”

  The ander’s upper lip twitched, a distasteful look crossing his features. “Oh, him,” he said before schooling his expression.

  This was all very exg. My mom used to love watg court procedurals aive shows; this felt like being in one of those, but live. It was kinda cool. “Do you know him?” I asked.

  The ander eyed me, then Bastion before replying. “I do. He’s not under my of and.”

  Bastion tilted his head to the side, just a tiny bit. A quirk, showing his fusion, maybe. “He isn’t? Five me, is there any other battalion in the region?”

  ander Warmwood shook his head. “No, but you’re not a foolish boy—I imagine you figure it out.”

  “The Inquisition, then,” Bastion said.

  I blinked. I hadn’t heard of them in a while. “Aren’t you part of the Inquisition?” I asked.

  Bastion shook his head, then paused and seemed to ge his mind before nodding. “Teically, yes. The Royal Padins of the Order of the World operate uhe auspices of the Inquisition. I’m a padin of the Royal Inquisition. So yes, on paper, I’m part of that anization. In practicality, we are different. The Inquisition itself is mostly ed with internal matters, proteg the nobility and ensuring a proper funing of the nation, whereas padins serve to protect the royal family. We serve the King, Queen, and their offspring more directly. Which ofteails flict resolution on their behalf.”

  My head bobbed up and down. I’d uood most of that. “So, Major Springsong is an inquisitor.”

  “With a small ptoon of soldiers under his and,” ander Warmwood replied. “I knew he was out of the base with the majority of his troops, but I imagihey were doing training drills or the like. It isn’t too unon to use the wilderness here for that sort of thing.”

  “It seems like that’s not the case,” Bastion said. “Not unless it’s the most bizarre wilderraining I’ve ever heard of.”

  “No, I would suppose not,” Warmwood agreed. The aapped the top of his desk with his fiips. “This is being more plex than I’d imagined. It’s not in my purview to go bother the Inquisition, not without good reason. Oher hand, the settlement I’m supposed to protect risks being attacked or at least damaged. That’s plenty ‘good reason.’ ”

  “But you’re still worried?” Bastion asked.

  ander Warmwood nodded. “It’s unusual.”

  “Um, but we’re going to do something, right? We ’t just sit baot when this might hurt the people,” I said. “We should go talk to this Major Springsong and see why he did what he did.”

  “That seems like a reasonable approach,” Bastion agreed. “I don’t imagine you know his exact location?”

  The ander nodded. “As a matter of fact, I do,” he said. The old sylph pushed off his desk and stood up. “I’m going to raise the alert level within the base by a notch.”

  “Are you certain?” Bastion asked.

  “I have the impression that no matter how things turn out, it will mean a,” the ander replied. “My bones might be growing old, but they’re old because I trust them when they ache like this.”

  Bastion nodded. “Very well then. If you could have someone point us in the right dire, then the captain and I will be off. I feel like we’ll be running ourselves ragged by the end of the day, trying to keep up with everything that’s going on.”

  The ander snorted. “Indeed. I’m gd you’re here, padin. I ’t imagine what it would mean to learn all of this even a day ter.”

  “Just doing my job, sir,” Bastion said. “I hope you don’t mind if I skip some of the formalities. I think we might be more pressed for time than I’d initially imagined.”

  “I uand. Good luck, padin. And you too, captain.”

  ***

  RavensDagger

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