Chapter eight: A royal briefing
Brosca entered the tent with Jareth; inside he saw the king of Pedgite and with the Arl of Celic around a table which displayed a map of Pedgite. As he and the Teyrn approached the table where Brosca then bowed before the king, "Your majesty, it is a pleasure to see you again"
"Warden," the king replied, "It is good to see you are well"
Brosca then nodded toward Jareth, "Now that the Teryn of Greenstone has joined us maybe it is time that we inform him on our plight"
Everyone gathered around the table with the king at the head while the Warden Commander stood at the opposite end. All eyes then turned to Brosca who began to speak, "As you all know, Bann Lettic requested the aid of the crown to help vanquish a religious cult which lay siege to the nearby village. I should inform you all of who they are, they are more commonly known as the children of the children of Kostamojan"
"What do they want and what are they doing in my kingdom?" the king asked.
Brosca put both hands on the table and interlocked his fingers, "A few months ago, I was personally ordered by the First Warden to conduct an investigation regarding corruption within the ranks of the Grey Wardens. I found only one lead that hinted toward a small group of Wardens forming a cult, a small religious order who believe in a being called Kostamojan"
"Who or what is Kostamojan?" the Arl of Celic intervened.
"In all honesty I have no idea," Brosca shrugged a bit. His tongue searching inside his mouth as if to dislodge a stringy piece of meat before he opened his mouth to speak, "in hopes of discovering myself I read through a number of religious texts and local legends. From the earliest draft of the Chant of Light all the way to a translation of the Qun; more than twenty books in total and yet I found no reference to any Kostamojan. When I was about to give up I was approached by High-Constable Marden, he told me some story on how he had been monitoring my search and then told me he knew of this Kostamojan. Not long after I realised he was part of the cult, possibly the leader. When I went to tell the First Warden what I had discovered Marden and two others ambushed me; I managed to fight them off but felt I had to confront them. When I managed to get to the First Warden and told him my story I was given broad powers on how to deal with them"
"This cult you speak of has an army," Jareth stated, "Why did you not bring an army of wardens with you when you came to Pedgite?"
"I had no idea the number of people the cult had at their disposal. I contacted Constable Ralath and brought with me a contingent of Wardens which were enough to act as skirmishers as they would be easier to travel with and not draw too much attention,"
The king pointed at the northern road that lead away from the village, "When my forces reached the village what remained of the cult retreated and withdrew, do you have any idea where they might go?"
Brosca sighed, "My best guess would be the Grey Tower; they intend to use it for something but without the keys they cannot do a thing. So long as they have the tower then they will not leave either until they get what they need or until they are all slaughtered"
The Arl of Celic turned to face his king, "Your majesty, I would advise we march on the Grey Tower. We take no offensive action but encircle the structure, that way our army can ensure the enemy has no chance to retreat since we have the numbers to repel any attack they could launch"
"It would be safer to have them cornered than allowing them the opportunity to leave," Brosca commented, "Having them all in one place would be ideal as it would stop any chance of their heretical beliefs spreading and would allow to…well, as they say, nip this in the bud"
"You make it sound so simple,"
"In order to silence rumours you must silence those who spread them-a saying a former carta leader would say to me which would also apply to this situation,"
All eyes now turned to the king, examining the map and weighing his options his majesty came to a conclusion, "It would be wise to encircle the tower. Warden Brosca, if your men are ready to march we can make for the tower as quickly as possible"
Nodding in agreement the Hero of Ferelden agreed, "Of course your majesty, I shall give the order and we should be at the tower before nightfall"
"But what of my son?" Joreth asked, "What if this cult decide to see him and his followers out?"
"I have the upmost confidence in Jayden's abilities," Brosca added, "I feel he would be more than capable of handling any challenge presented to him"