"And what is it?" Oliver asked. Again, it seemed like Skullic knew more than he let on.
"A Pandora Flame," Skullic said. "You already named it aptly yourself, did you not? Did your father tell you about such things? I had not thought him to be well acquainted with the matters of the arcane."
"I could say the same for you, General," Oliver replied. "You make it sound as though it's an oddity to know."
"Of course it is," Skullic said, "I'd wager only a handful of the most serious scholars have plumbed into it quite as deeply as I have."
"Are you a fan of the arcane, General?"
"Hardly," Skullic said. "I'm a 'fan' as you put it, of matters that concern me and my men. I knew a month ago I'd likely receive a request asking for the liberation of that Fort, and I did my research. I found traces of occupation long before we last assumed. Thousands of years ago, rather than hundreds.
There was mention of occult happenings there, including the Pandora Flame, though it seems most of it was a falsity."
"It's a danger," Oliver said, "what do you plan to have done with it?"
"I'll order it destroyed, if at all possible. If not destroyed, then I'll have my men seal the way towards it," Skullic said. "Before I make a gift of it to Lord Barlow."
"Of course. You didn't think I would waste my men holding it, did you? Those are not my lands. It would buy me far more political advantage as a gift than it would to hold it. That is what you have bought me, Patrick, with your assistance," Skullic said. "I mentioned that I would work you for my benefit, did I not?"
"And now you have served three highly-placed men. You did so in the name of the High King, as we'll have proclaimed. You did so under my banner. You did so for the benefit of Lord Barlow and his people… Oh, and I suppose it's to the benefit of Lord Blackwell too, to have his charge perform heartily," Skullic said.
Only when it was laid out like that, did Oliver realize the significance of what he'd achieved.
"You see," Skullic said, reading his face. "You might know how to swing a sword, but you're unaccomplished at getting the most out of it. Yesterday you won a great victory – and you've clawed a fitting political reward for it. Now, your deeds might not ring out in all four corners of the country, but even the High King will not be able to contain their whispers."
Oliver nodded slowly, hoping that was true. The hole that he was sitting in politically seemed almost impossible to escape from. If, like General Skullic said, he'd made those sorts of waves in a single mission, then he couldn't have been happier.
"Of course, I promised to reward you for your service to me," Skullic said. "You've made that an easier deal than I thought it might be. They're a tightly knit sort, Northman's men. I'm surprised to see that you've managed to earn their favour already. There will be a month before your next mission, but next time you ride with them, as a noble, you shall do that which is expected of you.
The whole force shall move under your command. Though you would be wise not to usurp the command structures already in place entirely."
"The whole force?" Oliver's eyebrow twitched. He'd expected Skullic to work him far harder before he trusted him with a hundred of his men.
Skullic smiled in response. "What's that? Are you intimidated by the prospect? You who told me that you wished to walk the path of the General? Well, you've shown aptitude, and I am rewarding you for it. Would you turn that away?"
"No, no I wouldn't," Oliver said firmly. "Though, I just didn't expect it, given how reluctant you were to give me just ten men."
"The benefits of being a young General," Skullic said dismissively. "I'm more open-minded than the rest. You've been compared to your father a great deal, young Patrick, but I think I might see a flicker of something in you that exceeds him. I might gamble on that – to my benefit. Of course, with a hundred men under your command, I would expect far more from you."
"I would push for one more thing," Oliver said.
"Oh?" Skullic raised an eyebrow. "Another hundred men? Come. Don't be greedy."
"Not that. My retainers," Oliver said. "And Lady Blackthorn. They've asked for the opportunity to ride with me next time I attend one of these missions. If they seem fit enough for it, I would like to be able to bring them – at my own discretion."
"Now that's dangerous territory," Skullic warned. "They haven't been cleared by Royal Decree to fight as you have."
"Are my retainers not an extension of me?" Oliver asked. "If you asked the Skullic House to defend a city, you would mean the whole Skullic House, would you not?"
"You would…" Skullic agreed reluctantly. "That would clear Idris – though he's of age anyway – and the other few beneath you. I wouldn't clear Lady Blackthorn. Besides, she's a servant of the Pendragon Princess now, since her father has declared himself to her."
Oliver perked up. "Is there a possibility there… If by alliance, would the Royal Decree somehow extend to the Pendragon House? It would give Asabel political backing as well, if her own were fighting with me."
"Tenuous," Skullic said, shaking his head. "Dangerous too. You'd be shaking the hornet's nest, just for the sake of one girl. Perhaps it would work to the benefit of Asabel too, so it would be for the sake of two girls, I suppose. Is that a risk you want to take?"
"I don't like the way you phrased that," Oliver said, twisting his lips, "as though I'm doing it for the sake of a woman."