by Victor Kloss
“It is a contingency plan,” Volvek said, when William asked the reason behind the lessons. “Apprentices talented in certain areas are being further trained, in case they are needed when the time comes. I sincerely hope you are not.”
The same went for Charlie and Natalie. Natalie received extra Diplomacy lessons and spent at least a couple of hours a day dealing with questions from citizens arriving at the Institute, both commoners and nobles. Charlie was already incredibly competent as a Scholar, and so he was used more for research regarding the dark elves – how would they most likely attack? What might their strategy be?
They each enjoyed the challenges, but along with their continuing third-grade apprenticeships, it restricted their free time significantly. Not even Dagmar had the power to change their schedule, as she couldn't give a valid reason to do so.
Nevertheless, they met regularly, sometimes with Dagmar, to discuss what they had found. To Ben's immense frustration, very little progress was made, and they left dejected but determined to do more the following week.
Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye with little progress made. To make matters worse, the planned dark elf invasion started to impinge more and more upon their Institute lives. The Institute had recalled several hundred members from the Unseen Kingdoms now that they were no longer under immediate threat. It made the place even busier than usual and finding some privacy for their research that much harder.
Ben consoled himself with the fact that this weekend, the four of them, Abigail included, were going over to his grandma's to do a real thorough search. Ben was hopeful that they might spot something he had missed.
It was with that slightly comforting thought that he left his Trade lesson, and headed down to the apprentice floor to grab a few things from his locker. He decided to take a less-known route, fed up with the constant traffic. He ended up on the far side of the apprentice floor, which had the rare phenomenon of being almost empty.
“Josh, I need a word. You've been avoiding me.”
Ben paused, just as he was about to round the corner. That was Aaron's voice.
“I've got nothing to say to you,” Joshua said a little tersely.
“I know that, but I believe you will change your mind after I have spoken to you.”
Aaron's voice was soft, persuasive, but Joshua's grunt indicated that it didn't have the usual desired effect.
“You misjudge me,” Joshua said.
“I think not,” Aaron said. Ben could almost see his charming smile attempting to work its magic. “We have a mutual adversary: Ben Greenwood.”
Ben's stomach jumped, and his heart started beating so loudly he was afraid it would give his position away.
“He is no adversary of mine,” Joshua said. “In fact, most of the time I try to pretend he doesn't exist.”
“Sounds like you're not part of the Ben Greenwood fan club,” Aaron said. “He has one, you know – such arrogance. If that is your opinion of him, how can you tell me he is not an adversary of yours?”
Silence. Ben had an enhanced hearing spell, but he was afraid to cast it. Since the increase in security, any unauthorised spells could immediately get reported.
“What was it he did to you?” Aaron said, his voice suddenly soft. “Tease you? Betray you? Lie to you? He has done all three to me.”
“It is none of your business,” Joshua said. Ben was expecting anger or impatience, but he detected neither in Joshua's voice.
“Fair enough,” Aaron said. “Well, I don't want to impose myself, but I know you two have quite a history, and you would be well placed to help me. Can I tell you my plan, at least? You can make a decision, and I won't hold it against you either way.”
“No,” Joshua said with a sudden forcefulness. “I don't care what petty squabbles you have with Ben. Gaining revenge will not make me feel any better.”
But Aaron wasn't finished. “I can feel your anger, Joshua. Why don't you at least tell me something about your grievance with Ben? It will help, trust me.”
“Even if I wanted to, I can't. It's a family secret – something that happened many years ago. I made a promise.”
Ben's mind was momentarily cast back to the scene he felt sure Joshua was referring to. His dad and Joshua's uncle had had a row at Joshua's parents’ house. For some reason, the argument escalated, and his dad ended up killing Joshua's uncle. Joshua, then just a child, had witnessed the whole thing.
“Very well,” Aaron said. It was remarkable how his voice went from friendly and endearing to uncaring in a heartbeat. “I'll find someone else. You weren't my first choice anyway.”
Ben's stomach lurched at the sudden sound of footsteps. They were coming right to him. Quick as a flash, he darted away on tiptoes, and opened the door into a nearby room. It was packed with storage boxes, but thankfully empty of people. He waited three minutes before poking his head out. Apprentices walked the corridor, but, to his relief, Joshua and Aaron had gone.
Despite being run off his feet with the apprenticeship and the extra Spellsword lessons, Ben thought the day still seemed to drag out, and it felt like an age before he met up with Charlie and Natalie. Dagmar had managed to get them access to one of the most magically secure conference rooms, located on the Diplomacy floor, which they could use as long as it was empty.
It was six o'clock, and Charlie was munching on a baguette. They often had little time for dinner and so would grab what they could before getting back to work. Now they were third-graders, and over sixteen years old, the Institute felt they could be pushed a little harder with their schedule.
They were seated around the circular table in the conference room. One quick glance at Charlie and Natalie, and Ben could tell they had no news.
He leaned forwards on the table, giving them both serious looks. “I think I might have a possible lead.”
It was as if someone had crept up behind Charlie and Natalie and said “boo”. They both stared at him, food momentarily forgotten.
“A real lead?” Charlie said.
Ben raised his hands. “Don't get too excited. It's tenuous at best, but it's something, and given that we have nothing else to go on, I think it’s worth pursuing.”
Ben had their complete and undivided attention.
“It's Joshua,” Ben said.
Seeing them both frown, Ben retold the conversation between Joshua and Aaron, ensuring he got every detail right.
Their responses were, typically, quite different. Natalie clapped her hands, her pretty face flushed with hope. Charlie, however, looked thoughtful.
“I'm not saying this is nothing,” Charlie said. “That whole incident with Joshua's uncle and your dad was never properly resolved – even Wren thought the whole love story thing was rubbish. But, if that is what Joshua is referring to, what more can we learn? And how would it help us?”
“We can't learn anything more with what we have,” Natalie interjected, completely undeterred by Charlie's cautious manner. “But we can find out more.”
“What could we hope to find?” Charlie asked.
“At worst, nothing,” Ben admitted. “But my dad was involved, remember? And many strange incidents in the past have been answered by his motivation to preserve the secret behind Elizabeth's Legacy.”
To Ben's surprise, Charlie nodded with agreement, rubbing his cheeks. “That is true. Perhaps something happened where he had no choice but to kill Joshua's uncle.”
“I hope not,” Ben said. “But the point is, we have a lead involving my dad. Maybe it could give us a clue to the location of the sword.”
“Yes, that's possible,” Charlie admitted.
“Possible?” Natalie asked, staring at Charlie with mock exasperation. “It's the best – well, only – lead we've had since we found Krobeg and the breastplate.”
Ben felt his mood rising now that he had won Charlie's approval. “The question is, who do we ask? Joshua and I aren't exactly best buddies. He tries his
best to pretend I don't exist.”
“I don't think we should approach Joshua. Not yet anyway. I think we should go to his dad, Arnold.”
“He's not easy to get hold of,” Ben said. “He's out at some Unseen Kingdom half the time.”
“No, he's back,” Natalie said, her back almost leaving her chair with excitement. “Most of the Institute members have been recalled to focus on the UK. I saw Arnold the other day.”
“So did I,” Charlie said. “Though he was surrounded by half a dozen other Wardens. He's a powerful man, and won't be easy to catch alone.”
“Don't worry,” Ben said with a smile. “I have a plan.”
“How is that possible? We only came up with the idea seconds ago.”
“True,” Ben said and shrugged. “It's not really a plan, more of a germ of a potential idea. But work with me here. I'm on a roll.”
— Chapter Seven —
Arnold and the War Room
Catching Arnold alone turned out to be more difficult than Ben had anticipated. Arnold spent much of his time in the Warden Department, surrounded by an entourage and often within earshot of Draven himself. Ben soon learned that Arnold was part of a group of three Wardens who were essentially second-in-command, directly below Draven.
Ben, Charlie, Natalie, and even Abigail took turns trying to catch him alone, but with the craziness of the impending dark elf invasion, it was nigh on impossible.
“What's this plan of yours, then?” Charlie asked.
The four of them, including Abigail, sat in the common room, looking a little frustrated. It had been three days now since Ben had overheard Joshua and Aaron, and they hadn't come close to getting a moment alone with Arnold.
“I didn't think it would be this difficult,” Ben admitted. He was leaning back in a soft chair, one leg on a coffee table. “Clearly what we're doing isn't working. We need to try something else.”
“We could go to his house,” Abigail suggested. She had a cup of tea and drank it in tiny sips.
“I don't think he goes home anymore,” Natalie said. “Most of the senior Institute members work here twenty hours a day, and then sleep somewhere in Taecia, either here or at a hotel. I don't know how we'd find out where Arnold sleeps.”
“We could follow him,” Charlie said.
“Tried that already,” Ben said. “He's staying at the Hotel Jigona. I thought I might be able to catch him on the way there, but several other Institute members were with him. Then I thought maybe I could knock on the door where he was staying. I traced him all the way to his room. I was about to knock on the door, when I spotted his wife and Joshua there. I had to bail.”
“What about Dagmar?” Abigail asked in her soft voice. “She said she would help if we needed it.”
Ben lifted his second leg onto the coffee table. “Tried that as well. Nobody can accuse me of not trying here. She and Arnold are not on speaking terms for some reason, and she said any request for help would be met with a great deal of suspicion, and the last thing we want is questions being asked. But she did say that if we can't find another way, come back to her.”
“Well, as far as I can see, there is no other way,” Charlie said. “It would probably be easier getting hold of the US president right now.”
Ben removed his legs from the table and sat up. “I'll catch him today.”
“What? How?”
“I'd much prefer to get him alone, for obvious reasons, but if I can't, then I'm going to approach him while he's surrounded by his people.”
“That's risky,” Charlie said immediately.
“I know, but we've wasted too much time on this already. I'll take the risk.”
They ended the meeting on that note, and agreed to meet later that evening.
“If I'm not there, you may want to get Dagmar,” Ben said with a smile as they left.
Ben knew from experience that five o'clock was a good time to try to catch Arnold. Many of the Institute members left for a quick dinner, before returning between 5:30pm and 6pm. Arnold, however, often got someone to get him his food, so he could keep working. The hardest part was staying up on the Warden floor without attracting attention, but Ben had that worked out. At 4:45pm he went upstairs. The atmosphere changed the moment he entered the Department of Wardens; Ben could almost see sparks of electricity flying from the tension in the air. Institute members regularly ran down the corridors, and those who didn't were deep in conversation. There were apprentices too, and they always ran, zipping down the corridor, often with notes or strange small boxes that piqued Ben's curiosity.
Ben stepped behind a couple of apprentices, picked up his pace, and followed them into the War Room. Somehow, it looked even busier than his last visit. The room was also set up differently. There was one huge table surrounded by Institute members, who leant over it, talking, gesturing and generally causing a great deal of noise. Ben could just about get a glimpse of the map on the table, and he couldn't help gasping, despite his attempt at remaining inconspicuous. It was laid out in three dimensions; the colours were vibrant, and the texture and detail were incredible. It looked like it was just the south of England, allowing for greater detail because of the smaller area. Ben knew he should have been used to the incredible things they could do with magic, but it was still startling to see the small Institute garrisons in miniature 3D on the map.
Ben had to tear his eyes away, and quickly searched for Arnold. He wasn't at the large table, but at a smaller one, set up for senior members. Papers and cups of tea littered the surface.
Ben attempted a quick head count, focusing on the members and apprentices in the room.When he had a good estimation of numbers, he left, not wanting to risk getting spotted. He walked no more than twenty feet down the corridor until he reached a door that said “Unseen Activity”. Ben, however, didn't enter, but stared at a large map on the wall, detailing populations, terrains, political information and economies for each region. It was a map he was supposed to learn back to front by the time he finished the third grade, and it was the perfect excuse for standing outside. If anyone questioned his presence, he would say he was studying. If he saw someone like Draven, he would simply step into the room, where he could really study, as he had several steps to do on his Warden checklist in the Unseen Activity room.
Ben positioned himself so that he could see the map, but also see the door to the War Room in his peripheral vision. He held the clipboard he had brought along in one hand, and started making notes. He had to be careful not to write complete nonsense, in case someone checked it. He had debated leaving the clipboard behind but decided its presence would lend an authentic air to his studies.
Ben had counted between fifty and sixty members in the War Room. Thankfully, he hadn't noticed Draven, but in an ideal world he would want fewer than a dozen members in there before he approached Arnold. Just as he predicted, it wasn't long before the members started filing out in twos and threes to grab some dinner. It was surprisingly difficult looking at the map and keeping track of how many members left. Ten minutes passed and Ben counted twelve. Fifteen minutes passed, and the number was up to twenty. That meant there were still at least thirty members in the War Room. Ben cursed silently. It wouldn't be that much longer before some of the members started returning. Once that happened, his chance was gone. How much longer should he wait? Another five minutes passed, and several more departed. Ben started getting impatient – was twenty in the War Room too many? If the members were spread around the table, then there might not be too many people near Arnold. Five more minutes, he said to himself, then he would move. To his delight, those five minutes yielded another ten people leaving. There were now just ten members left inside. Ben had the sudden urge to give it five more minutes – at this rate everyone bar Arnold would be gone.
Two Institute members rounded the corner, and promptly re-entered the War Room.
Ben clenched his fist in frustration. He had waited too long. Served him right fo
r dallying.
He left the map and headed for the War Room. It occurred to him that he hadn't given much thought to what he was going to say when he approached Arnold. He wasn't one for thinking too far ahead, but, nevertheless, his mouth suddenly felt dry as he tried to visualise the conversation. Ben grit his teeth. He couldn't afford to back out now. He reached the War Room door, took a deep, calming breath, and entered.
He took the room in quickly. As he had predicted, there were only a dozen or so members in the room, and several of them looked ready to head for dinner. His eyes went to the small conference table, and he immediately spotted Arnold. There were two others with him; both had four red diamonds floating above their shoulders. With only a moment's hesitation, he headed right towards Arnold and his colleagues. Arnold had the same thick, blond hair and slightly stuck-up nose as his son. His sharp blue eyes looked tired, and the normally impeccable suit he wore had signs of wrinkles, which, for someone like Arnold, was a strange sight.
“Yes?” a rather curt voice said.
The Institute member next to Arnold had spotted him first. Arnold turned, and Ben saw surprise etched in the fine wrinkles of his face.
“Ben Greenwood,” Arnold said. “Can I help you with something? We are rather busy here.”
“I'm sorry, sir,” Ben said, pleased that Arnold remembered his name. “I wouldn't bother you unless it was extremely important. It's about that incident with your brother and my father. I really need a few questions answered.”
Ben cursed himself most vigorously the moment he had finished talking. What sort of pitch was that? It was horrible. Why should Arnold care? Quick as a flash, he started trying to re-word the question in a slightly more sensible manner.
But to Ben's immense surprise, Arnold didn't laugh or tell him to leave. Instead, he gave Ben a serious look, those blue eyes seeming to grow distant. After what seemed like an eternity, Arnold gave a nod, and turned to the two members by his side.
