There were a great many things to discuss, but we did not do so immediately. I had only barely outlined our situation before she called for a meal to be prepared. She offered for my scouts to join us. When I refused, she offered to send the dishes out to them. She was so insistent that I could not believe it a plot. I allowed the servants to invite my team, trusting the hidden runners to report our demise if I was mistaken.
I was not.
As foes of the former Order, we were considered old friends of the Volcano Manor. To provide food and beds was the least of hospitality. More, we were the first survivors they had met. Their own scouts had observed shabby former nobles – enemies of the Manor – and increasingly organized brigands. The lady admitted her concerns there. Every member of the Manor was strong, but they were few.
The marauders were no mere warriors after coin. There were Omens among their number and some who had clearly been professional killers. At their head was a black-haired witch who wielded the arts of the Godslayers.
I assured the lady that we ample manpower. Certainly, the Academy was a more attractive prospect for recruitment. If we could feed a growing population, we could send guards to the Manor. The issue of course was protecting our caves from the rotkin and Chaos Witches.
She was quiet for a moment, then agreed. She would show no mercy to a wife who would betray her husband. Such was the dignity she had learned from her own mother. So too would she show no mercy to the followers of Chaos. Such was the kindness she had learned from her dear friend, the Lord of Chaos.