Chaos.
Total, unadulterated, chaos.
"If you had only strengthened the patrols like I ordered you too, this wouldn't have happened!"
"Well, if you hadn't taken half of my units for whatever flimsy business you were doing, then I would've weeded the spies out!"
"Flimsy!? I had them break down the black market trading and-"
This and many other arguments sprung forth when Percival had recounted the whole tale from his point of view. According to the Holy Knight, he had been walking back towards his room when he heard a loud ruckus coming from the bar. Hearing this strange commotion, he entered the bar and witnessed first hand "5 men of large size and hidden countenances attack three men." Two of the men were Lieutenants Levi and Davis of the 15th Cavalry while the last, most injured of them all was Corvus - former second in command of all the Saxon hordes and keeper of the treasury under Horsa.
A distinction that ended with Corvus, actually. Because Horsa had the sense to remove that rank entirely from his Horde. Horsa then made Aedilhild of the Forest Mauraders the leader of all the Saxon Lord's armies. While Hansa held the financial and secretarial side of Corvus' position. A quartermaster, if you will.
Moving on. Percival's appearance did not do anything to provoke the assailants into further murderous actions, rather it stalled them. In fact, the moment the assassins drew their eyes towards the Holy Knight who just entered the room, they scattered like vultures seeing a lion slowly inching towards their food. A sign that they weren't thugs doing a random beatdown. Rather, they were coordinated hitmen on a mission to kill and evade when the authorities got involved. And if the injuries done to the three men had anything to say, the assassins were targeting Corvus.
Meaning: the assassins were more likely Saxons with a vendetta. Saxons who had somehow sneaked into the city. Saxons who were more than capable of wreaking havoc from within whilst the main army marches to destroy Chelmsford and its people from the outside.
Hence, the finger-pointing that is occurring right now.
"That's what's wrong with you Camelotians. Just because you have this oh-so shiny King at the tip top of your Kingdom, you act like you are always right. We know that it's your fault that the Saxons got in." Accused a Roman commander. Who earned a ring of agreements amongst his fellow Roman peers.
"Heh, yeah right. Like we were the ones in charge of the refugee inspection. Why blame us when we were only in charge of guarding the inner city. If your "Roman heritage" was all that you said it was, then how did the Saxons get in?" Countered one of the lesser Camelotians in the room.
"Well if you're in charge of the inner levels, then how-"
SLAM!
A loud bang erupted through the church suddenly. All of the lesser men in the room shook in fear and instantly shut up. Everyone looked towards the origin of the sound and found Percival gripping what seems to be a large spear that far exceeds his height. The spear end had been lodged into the church floor. Causing a large crack that stretched from all sides.
"Jesus Christ." Mordred exclaimed. Truth be told, Percival was one of the people on the higher section her 'don't fuck with list'. Simply because his spear was literally stronger than anything she could offer against it.
Archer meanwhile took some time examining the spear in Percival's hold. What he saw surprised him. A Holy Artefact in the hands of the Holy Knight wasn't meant to be a shock, but the Artefact itself was mildly off putting to him. He always wondered how Percival managed to actually come into possession of such a thing. But those thoughts were brushed aside when Regulus' voice rang throughout the whole room.
"Sir Percival, if you could explain to all in here. How did Corvus over there live to survive such grievous injuries?" Regulus asked curiously. Knowingly redirecting the attention of everyone towards the main issue at hand.
"The Spear of Longinus has the ability to heal many injuries. It is due to the fact that it has been touched by the Blood of Jesus Christ-." Percival explained but was cut off by the gasps and exclamations of the people.
"Ah! So the rumours were true. The spear was indeed real!" One of the Roman elders shouted aloud before being overcome by his faith and began praying to the Lord.
"Hasta, quae percussit Deum meum…". Whispered some of the Roman commanders.
"Deus meus." Said Regulus as he wiped a cold sweat from his brow. "To think that it took so long for my people to accept that it was real. Forgive them, Sir Percival. They have only heard of the Spear through folklore like I did. However, they doubted that the spear you held existed, unlike I."
"It is alright, Lord Regulus. I understand that the truth of this Spear has been doubted for so long. After all, this spear had been transformed from its origins as a Roman Pilum to the one you see before you. All due to reasons that are beyond me." Percival explained once more.
'Well, that explains why the descriptions of the relic were so mixed…' Archer thought to himself.
"To return to the main point," Percival said with finality. "My spear wields great power. Healing is merely one of them. It is not its primary power, however. Corvus' arm and eye cannot be restored by this spear of mine simply due to the fact it is not capable of such a feat."
Everyone looked towards the man in silence. Corvus was there just getting annoyed by it. He then used that moment to voice his thoughts.
"I'll live. So don't you all look at me like that. What matters is that I'm alive and that the ledger is in safe hands." he said whilst thinking that the book was safe inside his room.
"Is the item still in your room?" Regulus asked sternly. Knowing the significance of the object, keeping it somewhere no one can find it is paramount.
"Last I checked, yes." Corvus replied with confidence.
"Then we'll send someone to fetch them." Said Gawain as he turned around to his right side towards the man standing there. "Captain Faust, send you and whoever you deem with you to Corvus' room. Find any and every valuable thing within it."
Captain Faust saluted at the Knight. Hastily signalling to the remaining men of the 15th Cohort to follow him out of the church. As the men of the 15th Cavalry walked out of the church, Mordred suddenly perked up and said.
"I'll come too." but as she rose from her seat, she was dissuaded by Gawain.
"I request that you do not, Sir Mordred. We need your presence here." The Sun Knight was stern in his words. His face is like stone.
But his stoic facade was a farce. For inside his head, he doubted if what he said was enough to convince the Knight before him to stay. After all, only the King could rein Mordred in with words alone. To the Red Knight, orders are but suggestions. Which is exactly the reason why she was placed Under the Command of Captain Faust instead of the other way around. As a means to teach Mordred the value of obeying and listening.
"Fuck that, I'd rather be out there doing shit instead of catching cobwebs in here." Mordred said as she got up her seat and began walking towards Faust and his men.
'And it looks like Sir Mordred learned nothing at all…' Thought Gawain as he sighed in dismay. It appears that the rowdy, insubordinate nature of the Red Knight has not faded a bit under Captain Faust's command.
"Looks like the rumours aren't fake… Mordred of the Round really is that unruly." Whispered a Roman commander to his peer.
"This is mild, you know. You haven't seen Sir Mordred fight Sir Lancelot to understand him fully. It was a hell of a fight" Whispered a Camelotian commander. The whispers between the insignificant soldiers at the back were increasing as the disagreement between the two Knights of the Round stayed unresolved.
"As you are under Captain Faust, and Captain Faust is under my command, you are subordinate to me. I urge you to stay here because we need you, Sir Morded." Gawain pressed on.
"You go do your shit while I do mine, Gawain. I don't care if I'm technically lower than you in rank. I'd rather go find those sons of bitches rather than waste time here!" Mordred countered.
She was never fond of meetings due to her impatient nature. This outburst was no different from the rest to her. In fact, she was justified in wanting to get out. The more they stay here, the longer the Saxon spies are on the loose. Better divide and conquer and all that, she thought. And what's the point of this meeting? Fuck strategy! All that matters is grabbing the spies in the head and bashing them in with a sword. The Red Knight was about to conclude this debate by walking out of the church, when all of a sudden Archer spoke up the moment she turned to face the door.
"Mordred," Archer said with an obvious hint of annoyance for the gossiping soldiers. He got so pissed off by them that it irritated Archer enough to act. "We need it here. Do you mind going back to your seat?"
Normally, had it been anyone else, she would've given them the middle finger and a "Fuck off". But this is Archer. Mordred holds him in a higher regard than even most in the Round Table. In time, they became close. These days, their relationship is tight like a mothafucka'. In her head, Archer's words have weight. He means what he says (until he doesn't). So, she couldn't help but feel weird for what she's about to do.
"...fine, I'll stay. But it isn't because you said so, that's for sure." Mordred acquiesced as she sat back down in her seat. The shame in arguing with Gawain earlier isn't beyond her at the moment. Now she feels like an idiot acting the way she did.
'What was the point of doing all that shit when I was going to stay anyway! Damnit, now I regret listening to Archer.' Mordred screamed in her head. Luckily her helmet was on to hide her embarrassment.
"Well… huh… that's new…" Muttered most of the Camelotians present. Who knew that Mordred of all people could be convinced? They thought.
"Hmm. Interesting…" Gawain muttered to himself. His interest in the redhead piqued all the more after that display. Sir Archer is a special being, that's for sure.
"I was merely suggesting, Mordred. You need not stay if you don't want to." Archer nonchalantly said to the Red Knight. Who couldn't help but elbow the bowman for his cockiness.
"Asshole." Mordred said. But a small grin was on her face as she spoke.
"Now that we have all that out of the way. We must plan our next moves." Regulus said as he moved the direction of the meeting back to the main point. Secretly getting pissed that the Camelotians keep sidetracking things. Well, the 2 Knights of the Round specifically. But, inside he forgave them for it due to their youthfulness. They'd lose their time wasting antics as they age.
"Now, fetch me the maps." Regulus commanded one of the Roman Commanders. After a few seconds, a man holding a large rolled up parchment came around and proceeded to lay the whole thing onto the table. It was a map. A large one that Archer couldn't help but feel proud about.
"Over the past three days, I had asked Sir Archer to map out the city, the surrounding area outside the city, and everything else in a 4 mile radius away from the city." Regulus explained as he rose from his seat to grab a box from underneath the table.
"So that's why I couldn't find you." Mordred quietly hissed to her seatmate.
"You weren't the only one busy. We need every advantage we can get. All I did was simply what I could do with my current powers." Archer explained as he slightly leaned towards the Red Knight so that she could hear him more. The two then turned their attention back towards Regulus who had begun placing wooden figures down on top of the map.
"Now, I propose a three layer operation in order to expel our vile enemy from the city. First, for the entire time we have been turning this city into a fortress, Sir Gawain and I have agreed that his soldiers would not be working in unison with the Roman garrison in Chelmsford. However, seeing the lack of unity and cohesion between the two parties, I suggest that we integrate our forces to build trust and respect." Regulus said with such a voice that left no debate, that the ones who had qualms about this arrangement shut up and just hummed in affirmation once the gaze of Regulus passed them by.
"He's impressive." Archer commended. Mordred huffed unimpressed though.
"Bah, he's got nothing compared to the King." Mordred said. It's a good thing the two had the common sense to whisper to each other right now. It isn't a good look to hear the Red Knight dismissing the old Roman leader like that.
"I accept the offer, Lord Regulus. It is a most needed change if we are to fight against the Saxons." Gawain briefly said.
He honestly didn't see the point in refusing it, so why not just go with it? The only reason he hadn't thought of such a thing sooner was because he understood that his men had egos. And certain individuals within his ranks would definitely feel that their egos would take a hit if they more or less obliged the requests/orders of Roman soldiers. Even in a knightly Kingdom like Camelot, the arrogance of men still lives on.
"Excellent, now onto the second point." Regulus then placed 6 small wooden sculptures on every single accessible road that leads out of Chelmsford. Be it the major Roman road or the minor dirt roads that litter about, all bases were covered.
"I suggest 6 cavalry detachments that consist of a combination of both Roman and Camelotian men be sent forth to these roads to monitor them. That way, we can minimise the chances of these Saxon spies from leaving unnoticed. The archers that are stationed at the newly built walls can handle the blindspots." Regulus finished. He was pleased to see that all in the room liked the idea. Their murmurs were all about how the rotations would work out and the lot. But none were against it in any way.
Well, in hindsight, it is kind of hard to argue against a man who had the ability to make people listen to what he says, but I digress.
"A satisfactory plan in my eyes." Gawain commended, but then his demeanour shifted a bit to a more serious tone, "However, the men who are to be assigned to these 6 detachments also have the responsibility of being the city guards patrolling around the place to keep the peace and order we have maintained so far."
"Why not just grab some of the recruits? I know the best of the best among them, and I can give you 100 men who can be great replacements." Mordred offered. Being the one in charge of the training regimen, the Red Knight realised that it would be pointless if the proven ones among them were held back from joining the main forces. Better to get them out of the drill camp now so that those who remain as well as the newcomers can be taught more.
"Then I shall see to it that they are added to the patrols as soon as possible." Gawain said. A look towards Regulus showed that he too was pleased with the offer. The meeting so far was going well after the whole fiasco a few minutes ago. If things go well, they might-
"Lastly, I propose a door to door search for the assassins. Anyone can be investigated no matter what time or place they may be. Both Roman and Camelotian guards can enact the search while the spies are still at large." Regulus finished. Knowing full well what the reaction of the room would be.
"Lord Regulus, that is absurd!" Percival exclaimed. Soon after, a chorus of Roman commanders, elders, and simple soldiers who were just there rose up in abject horror at what the implications of what that proposal would mean to their people.
"While the measure I have drawn up is intrusive and obstructive, it allows a quicker search for the spies. It shall only be active for 2 days. And once that time is up, no soldier be it Roman or Camelotian is allowed to enter a man's home with the express intent of searching through it." Regulus said with a booming voice. The people found it an acceptable amendment to the original plan he drew up. He hoped that they would accept it as an active order for a week's time. But he can't complain. 2 days is probably enough.
"That is all I have thought of. If there are any other suggestions, you are welcome to speak now. Any other moment than this, and it will not be done." Regulus commanded. No one spoke a word.
"Then I suppose this is a completed meeting." Regulus said as he clapped his hands. "I shall entrust the execution of this plan in your hands, Sir Gawain. The rest of you" Regulus turned to his commanders, "are to heed Sir Gawain's orders. For his word holds as much weight as mine."
And so, everyone stood up from their seats and began leaving the church to head back to their posts. Archer and Mordred stood up and began walking towards the door when Gawain and Percival stopped them.
"Sir Archer, is it alright for you to take charge of the watchmen stationed at the walls? We are in need of your talents for this mission." Percival asked.
"Can I ask that you follow me, Sir Mordred? I believe that now is the best time for us to collect the men you spoke of from the barracks." Gawain said.
Both of them looked at each other and simply shrugged. Looks like responsibilities are going to split them apart again. Oh well, they'll see each other tonight anyways. So no biggie.
"Yeah/sure why not." Mordred and Archer said as they parted ways.