The Foolhardies 210 Strange Negotiations

That late afternoon was no exception as we came face to face with Great General Garm Trickhaven, Marshall of the West and member of the Trickster's Ruling Council. Well, I should say former member for it was very clear to me that this b.a.s.t.a.r.d was a traitorous snake who'd just betrayed his clan to its worst enemy. 

As soon as our two parties met at the center s.p.a.ce between the two armies, I stared daggers at the half-elf who I suspected held a bit of giant's blood in him. How else could he be so d.a.m.n bulky? 

Garm sent a steely-eyed glare back at me, and if I wasn't so numb to the feeling of someone much stronger than me giving me the stink-eye — because I've had a lot of those encounters over the past year — I might actually have p.i.s.sed my pants. That was how menacing his aura was. 

Still, I managed to hold my ground while keeping Myth Chaser steady despite his foot-stomping display of nervousness.

I glanced to the right of Garm and noticed he'd brought the Masked Rider with him. She was another one of my rivals, someone I owed a beating to.

"Traitor," Aura hissed, and I'd never before heard her sound so angry. 

I glanced sideways at her, and despite the mask partially hiding her face, Aura bit her lip in a sign of obvious frustration. 

"And so you give yourself away, niece," Garm answered in a voice that was neither angry nor caring. 

Aura didn't respond. She just glared at him from behind her mask with her clear blue eyes. 

I cleared my throat to get everyone's attention. 

"You're outnumbered general," I said casually. "If you'd like to turn tail and run, now would be the time to do it."

Even when he'd addressed Aura, Garm's eyes never left mine. If anything, he'd narrowed them even more at my comment. 

"You really are all bravado, aren't you, boy," he commented. 

Why does every bad guy I ever meet call me boy as if it were some derogatory term? Yeah, I was a boy, a sixteen-year-old teenage boy who could whoop most people's b.u.t.ts, just saying. 

Garm raised his hand forward. "Do you think those fools you have behind you will scare me? They're nothing more than ants waiting to be crushed under the heel of my boot." 

"Ah, I see we're going to compare d*ck sizes now, huh," I bantered. "Just to remind you, your earlier victories in your war with the Dominion happened because of me." 

"You think too highly of yourself, boy," he growled. "As if Llewellyn or Redbull needed your help to succeed… no, they were simply testing your ability as I'd instructed them too… and now I know what you're capable of." 

Huh, as dastardly devious evil plans went, that was a good one, if it were true, and it probably was. This thought made me sweat a little, but I soldiered on. 

"Puhlease," I scoffed. "Haven't you heard the saying, every day is an opportunity to improve… So all I need to do is surpa.s.s the me of yesterday that I might surpa.s.s your expectations of me." 

"Then you may yet entertain me tonight," Garm guffawed. "Try your best at least make this battle less boring."

"Why are you doing this?" It was Aura again, and this time, there were tears falling down her cheeks. "Why would you betray your own family…"

For the first time, Garm turned his eyes away from me and onto her, and for a split second, I thought I saw genuine concern there although it was quickly replaced by pity. 

"Your father and I were never on good terms… I was always the half-breed, the shame of the family who was born to a mother who'd been raped by human sc.u.m," he admitted almost like he couldn't help himself. "Indeed, it was a surprise for your father and the rest of them when I climbed all the way to my seat of Great General. They never did think I'd amount to much…"

His face turned hard and angry. 

"So tell me, niece," Garm continued, "why would I be loyal to a house that has shunned me since my birth?" 

"Auranos and I have never shunned you," Aura insisted. "Even after you challenged him for the seat of Patriarch and lost, my brother didn't strip you of your t.i.tle." 

I don't think Aura realized that she'd just given herself away.

"Your brother is soft and weak… like his father before him," Garm mocked. "It was my brother's undoing, and it'll be Auranos' fate as well." 

"So this is all just a hungry power grab from the dude who got left out during playtime when he was a kid?" I interrupted them because I couldn't keep watching Aura get emotional like that. She was the calm one. I was the emotional one. That was our dynamic. "That's as cliché as cliché gets… what an unoriginal story…" 

Yep, mocking him definitely allowed me to steal Garm's attention again, and that icy stare he sent my way also sent a chill running up my spine. 

"We have definitive proof now that you've aligned yourself with the Scarlet Moon," I pointed at his companion, "and betrayed the clan… I'll make sure Darah learns about your betrayal."

At the mention of Darah, there was a visible change in Grimthorn's face, almost as if he'd been worried for a second there. 

I suspected Darah and Garm had quite the past, and I would have to ask her later just what kind of troubles did she visit on Garm when they were younger — a.s.suming I survived. 

"What makes you think you'll get the chance?" Garm asked, his eyebrow rising. "I will give you one chance to surrender now. Put yourself, my niece, and your slave brother into my custody and I shall spare the lives of your men…" 

At his demand, I turned my head to his companion and asked the question eating away at me since I'd learned I was one of their targets, "I understand wanting Aura. You can use her as a hostage to make Auranos capitulate to your demands… but why me and Luca? What's our significance?"

I didn't expect her to respond. After all, she'd been silent through all our meetings. So I was pleasantly when she did, and in a high-pitched voice that really ruined her image as a stoic, katanwielding bad-a.s.s.

"There is worth in owning the one who possesses the gift of sight," she answered. 

"And since everyone knows you jumped into the Fayne to save your brother, he's the key to controlling you," Garm added. "To be honest, I'd rather kill you here and now for all the trouble you've caused but the Scarlet Moon thinks very highly of your abilities." 

Once again, it was all about my fairy gift which was almost always the reason people were interested of me. 

"You look like you want to say that there's more to you than your fairy gift?" Garm guessed, and correctly too. "But isn't it true that your success can be attributed to your gift of sight?"

His words stung because they were also right. I wouldn't have managed to get this far without Fool's Insight. Heck, I'd probably be dead by now. 

"I see I've touched a nerve," Garm laughed. 

"Surrender to us now, and we will treat you fairly," the masked rider added. "You may even have the same luxuries you possess now…"

"And, Aura?" I asked. Not that I was planning to switch sides or anything, but it would be nice to know the enemy's evil plan. "What happens to her and the rest of my men?"

Although Garm scowled at the possibility of me capitulating — he was really raring for a fight — the masked rider seemed piqued by my interest. 

"As you guessed, we will use the princess to force her brother to abdicate the throne… Great General Garm shall ascend to Patriarch, allowing the Scarlet Moon and the Trickster Pavilion to form a lasting alliance," the masked rider explained. 

"Alliance?" I raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't you mean puppet? Isn't that what it really is?" 

They drow eyes hidden behind her masked narrowed slightly at me, but I ignored her and turned my smouldering gaze on Garm instead. 

"And you're really on-board with this? Don't you have more self-respect for yourself?" I taunted. 

"You know nothing, boy," Garm spat at me. "I am an equal to the Scarlet Moon!" 

"Sure, you are," I said mockingly. "But you won't get what you want… because you're going to lose this battle."

I glanced to my left, to Aura who'd calmed down somewhat. If nothing else, I would ensure she��d escape Garm's clutches. Afterward, I faced my enemies with renewed determination.

"Here are my demands," I said. "You have until twilight to turn around and walk away or we will destroy all of you…"

"Your threats mean nothing to—"

"—I wasn't finished," I said. Then I pointed at Garm. "Before we let you leave, you, great general, must cross this battlefield, present yourself before my army, put your head between your legs, and kiss your own a.s.s."

I heard a repressed chuckle from my masked companion to my right, and figured she knew that I'd just used the line from one of our favourite cla.s.sic war movies, Braveheart.

It goes without saying that this last statement of mine ended negotiations abruptly. Garm would have attacked me then and there if the masked rider hadn't held him back. 

We took that opportunity to turn our mounts around and ride back to our army. 

"Did you really have to rile him up like that?" Aura asked as we made our way back. 

"It's a tried and tested strategy, infuriate your enemy to force him into making mistakes," Arah explained for me. "And that line would certainly p.i.s.s him off… good choice."

"Thanks," I said, although I knew that wasn't enough to trip Garm up. "Now that you've met Garm, what do you think our chances are?" 

"I'd say it's still fifty-fifty," Arah answered. "It'll depend on whether or not we can withstand their attacks and whittle down their numbers enough to force them to retreat."

"Yeah, I think it'll be tight too," I answered. "Welcome to the Fayne, Arah. Hope you survive the experience."