In front of the others, Irene always tried to make a point of listening to what her knight was telling her. She wanted them to wholeheartedly believe in whatever he ordered the same way that she did.
Considering he was the highest ranked it was important for everyone to trust his guidance.
However, as he told the three apprentices that they needed to go find the mages, Irene couldn’t help having a moment of pause as she stared up at the knight in shock.
"Forgive me, sir, but why?" she wondered. "We will be better off here protecting the Duke’s Tower. What if another wave of monsters appears like it did before? I trust your abilities but you will be even more outnumbered."
However, as Sir Gunnar looked down at his apprentice and saw the black on the side of her mouth, he frowned. Sir Sven told him what he did when Irene was seemingly choking to death on what the black smoke had done to her. He didn’t want her there anymore. Each time the poison was in front of her, it seemed her response was getting worse.
The girl still coughed every so often, and he was worried about her having to face the poison anymore than she already had. How awful it was that she had been the first to be infected with it in the first place.
"I don’t believe this is something we can handle on our own," he persisted. "This poison and these monsters are unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. I will write a letter to Stanley begging him to return, but the three of you must find him and the other mages first. I don’t care how long it takes."
Felix stepped forward, holding the same sentiments as Irene. He didn’t want to be away from the tower because he wanted to be the person who was in charge of each and every goblin’s demise. It was the least he could do for Agnes.
"We need as many eyes as possible on this place, Sir Gunnar," Felix explained. "I would hate to return to bodies because we weren’t here to aid in the efforts we have dedicated ourselves to taking on."
Gunnar knew that the three apprentices were strong in their opinions, but he needed them to know that he was even more certain.
"If there is even a thought of uncertainty about what we will face, I will have every knight, apprentice, and squire climb to the top of the wall," he assured the apprentices. However, his method in convincing them changed, and he let out a short sigh, showing that he was relenting on a point he had been hesitant about before then. "Stanley and the mages are the only ones who knew what truly happened in the forest that night that the three of you decided to sneak in. Now you are inexplicably involved in this, so you need to be the ones who retrieve the mages for us. Stanley possesses knowledge that will lessen our casualties. I believe that wholeheartedly."
Since Gunnar wasn’t normally one to pour his heart out, and he was finally giving them a piece of what they had always wondered about, Irene bowed her head. It was her turn to relent.
"If it’s what you believe will turn the tide of this situation..." she trailed off, having nothing else to say.
"Get some rest," Gunnar said. "Then the three of you will be off. Mages won’t hide for long, after all. With the duchy’s uncertainty, there will be an even bigger target than normal. We have plenty of supplies for them to have a tent of their own. They will be paid handsomely, and their reputation in the duchy will most certainly change if they are credited with helping in these war efforts."
Irene’s head snapped up, and the others took notice of Gunnar’s choice of words. He wasn’t one to speak out of turn or unnecessarily.
"War, sir?" she asked quietly.
"This is the beginning of war," he explained. "I believe it wholeheartedly. What Peroda once called Tenetium will be Chemois until the King makes right in his promise to include us in the politicking in Hydrogia. This impending war is a result of Chemois being forgotten."
Gunnar turned away from Irene, so it didn’t seem like he was only addressing her. His grey eyes swept over the entire group before him, and he nodded his head. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novel[f]ire.net
"This is war, my friends," he persisted. "And we are the Knights of Chemois."
"We are the Knights of Chemois!" Sir Eitan shouted, showing his undying support. "I will stand with my brothers north before I bend to my cousin again. As far as I’m concerned, I stop existing to that family the moment I chose to lay my sword down for Chemois."
The group fell to silence shortly after, but the silence still felt loud and heavy with energy.
It felt like they were turning a page. While they weren’t trying to pull from the kingdom and become a nation all on their own, they weren’t going to be what the King wanted until he proved himself worthy as a leader.
They were likely going to have to spend an entire winter in a tent encampment because of His Majesty’s choices regarding the duchy. It was a fact they were all coming to terms with.
After realizing the importance of their order, Irene, Leif, and Felix finally relented. They all went to sleep for a few hours before getting items together and heading off to the great unknown, where they would search for the mages who hopefully weren’t very far away.
Before Irene left, she approached Sir Gunnar, and the man offered his arm for her to embrace. She immediately grasped his forearm, and he did the same to her.
"You must be safe," Gunnar reminded her. "There are battles to be fought here, and we will take care of that in the meantime. The task you have been assigned is of the utmost importance to our survival. I believe that fully. There aren’t three I trust more than you three to handle this for me."
Irene squeezed his arm more tightly as she looked up at him, and she nodded. Her posture was straight, and her dutiful nature to the knight came forth.
"We will be back in only a short time, sir," she promised.
With that, she and those who felt like her brothers were off to the great unknown with their saddlebags full of all the supplies they could need. Sir Gunnar also gave them quite a few coins to spend in towns in case anyone needed more convincing, parting with the information they likely possessed.