Chapter 10
March 30, 0350 ATG (After The Gate)
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It is possible to fail in many ways, while to succeed is possible only in one way. This idea reflects the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle’s view that failure is multifaceted, whereas success requires a precise alignment of actions, making it difficult to achieve. Similarly, the ancient Greek historian Plutarch noted that even a good captain could be shipwrecked and a great man can fail. These perspectives emphasize that failure is common and natural, but success demands a singular, correct path, even if the success is built from a foundation of blunder.
– Author and Phillosipher Ackare Forman. “Paradigms of Success”
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Erick was still slumming it in Jonas’ home. Well, it was technically his now, but in Erick’s mind, it would always belong to Jonas. It just didn’t feel like home. Then again, no place really did. The only place Erick ever really truly felt at home was that cozy little safehouse outside of glory. He walked into the study, brushing his fingers against the wall as he did so. Erick found his way to the chair and sat down.
On the writing desk before him was a folder containing various pieces of paper that held vital information about various people, groups, places, and events that are believed to be centered around the expedition. Erick gulped, staring at the folder before him. It had actually arrived by courier that morning. That courier being a certain silent man and not the usual deliverer of his mail. It hadn’t been cheap, either, but the man’s past performance was exemplary. He had also assisted Jonas when he didn’t have to and had done it in such a way that was meticulous and covered up the cause of death. They even went through the process of carving off the faces for good measure. It was a good thing to, because Erick had learned much later that that the smugglers had been paid three times his usual pay to sabotage Erick’s elicit operation. This was always a concern, but it gave their leader the leeway she needed to act on her desire to teach him a lesson.
With trepidation at what he might find, Erick opened the file. He wasn’t sure what he’d find within its pages, but Erick hoped it was good news. He sighed. “Like that will happen. It can’t be worse than all that’s led up to the expedition.” Erick stopped hesitating and flipped through the papers. The report was in sections. Each section was marked with a folded piece of paper that served as a divider. Erick licked a finger and thumbed through the pages of each section to get a sense of what each section was centered around and to check each divider for any hidden messages. Of course, none of the dividers did, but it never hurt to check.
There were three sections in total, the whole report was encrypted with a code that only he and the silent man knew. Erick removed the staple and sorted the papers on the desk by section. He picked up the section labeled “05,17,23,16,05,12,14” It was a number cypher, but decrypted, it spelled out council. The cypher did change, of course and never stayed the same, but it was predictable if one knew when and by what factor of addition was the change for each value. This time around, it was an addition factor of 3 with the exception 12=i, 13=j, and 10=k. Those 3 always stayed the same, and the number 3 was used twice, but those would always shift with the other numbers as the cypher shifter..
Erick got up and closed the curtains and sat back down and began the tedious process of decrypting the file. Thankfully Erick didn’t have to thaw the ink by the fire. It had gotten cold that night, but thankfully not cold enough to place the ink wells by the fire place. It took the councilor 6 hours to decrypt the report in its entirety. By this point, Erick didn’t even want to read the thing, let alone see it. However, in the deadly game he was playing, information was everything.
Erick got up walked around the room to get his blood flowing and to put 3 more pieces of wood on the fire. It also helped to alleviate some of the monotony, and allowed for Erick to hit his brain’s preverbal reset button. He groaned as he looked back at the Silent Man’s report. “Fuck!” Erick exhaled, but forced himself to sit back down and pull out a tinder box to light 3 candles.
With sufficient lighting, He read the first report. Georgy had been assigned as co-leader of the expedition. That didn’t surprise Erick. The man was in open opposition to Erick and his allies. That also meant Jonas by extension, and he’d serve to hamstring Jonas into a vulnerable state when the time came to get rid of the archeologist. This led Erick to some other points of interest, Nia and her co-conspirators. Nia had failed to kill Erick in her assassination attempt, which led to Erick gaining political leverage and ultimately buying time for himself to solidify his foothold once more. This was a good thing, but Nia was proving to be quite a tenacious problem. This had pros and cons, but would ultimately end the same way. That being Jonas’ death and Erick losing ground on the political stage over the find.
That was nothing new. He’d been dealing with that sort of thing for years. What was alarming was Nia’s attempt at getting into Jorey Mires’ good graces. Not much was known about Jorey other than the fact that his family founded Glory, and were held in the highest of regards. His position seemed antithetical to that fact, but it was a fact all the same. Even his motivations for intervening in the discussions revolving around the expedition were enigmatic. However, as meticulous as the Silent Man was in their report, there was no elaboration on the subject. What was brought to light, was Nia’s machinations. She clearly wanted What was in that library for herself, and was going to remove him and Jonas at an opportune time. The how and the when were still unknown, but it was clear that she saw this as an opportunity.
This brought Erick to the expedition section. This had light overlap with the first section. This caused a slight frown to creep across Erick’s face, because he had seen the paperwork for the whole expedition. It wasn’t the guard detail. That was expected. No. What caused the frown was something else entirely. It was their supplies. They were under stocked by months, and Georgy, the Resource manager and co-leader had not been told. This was where the Silent Man’s meticulous nature shone brightly, as the next page depicted a map with likely locations. They would have to divert to one of these stops if they wanted to stretch their supplies.
The rest of that section contained additional points of interest and information on the guard detail, but nothing that really stood out. Lars maybe, but again, nothing beyond expectation. The only worrying part here were the locations circled. There were no telegraphs set up at any of the circled locations, and they were known to be thick with gang activity. There was a town near the circled POIs that was lost to one of the more vicious ones. Erick tried to remember which one it was. Sons of alley, Sons of kabob… Alla? It was Sons of something. There was also the Rattlers near Rockstone.
Erick stopped his musings, and went to the last section, which contained the subject of his very musings. It pertained to the settlements and groups operating in the area as well as their activities. Erick made note of the usual, but as he continued to read the decrypted notes, he noticed something that stood out to Erick. A well-stocked and heavily defended caravan was attacked. It matched the description of the expedition, but than again, the description could have matched a dozen caravans or wagon trains. Caravans and the like were always a hot target for any group with ill intent, especially in those regions. It usually starts with probing attacks to feel out the defenses and continues in an attempt to gauge weaknesses, and if none are found, they quickly back off. Hopefully it would be the same here. “Unless?” Erick began but shook his head as the unbelievable thought was pushed from his mind. “If Jory was involved, surely it would be too late now, and besides, what would be the point. Jonas has no where he could run without being chased down like a dog. No. It’s still too early in the game.”
The pieces have been set. He had done all he could to set this up his side of the board, and Nia hers. Things just felt off. It felt like there was a third player in this game. The purposeful and subversive supply shortage for one thing. “Just what are you playing at?” Erick mumbled, fingers steepled contemplatively. The move made no sense. “If the goal was to divert the expedition, then congratulations it’s a success, but to what end? It not like they couldn’t resupply at one or multiple villages, and these areas are resource rich with hunting, water, and wood.” Erick puzzled this allowed, hoping it would begin to make sense, but the answers still evaded him.
Erick got up and grabbed all three sections of the report and placed them within the folder. He carried it over to the fire, where Erick tossed the report into the raging inferno. He was worried, but again, what could he do? The pieces had been set, and even if Erick could contact Jonas, what would he even say? You’re in danger? He was already in danger. The difference between them, was that Jonas benefited from a window of usefulness. Erick did not, and it was likely open season on resurrected councilors.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
As if the universe heard Ericks inner thought, a knock came from the door. He stoked the paper with the poker to make sure the folder and its contents thoroughly burned. He made his way to the front door, careful to avoid any windows along the way. Laying on the floor in front of the door was a slip of paper. It had something written on it. It read, “You’re in danger.” That was when Erick heard shouting, and multiple guns going off.
“YES” “NO” “WHY? THEY ARE KILLERS.” “SO WHAT? I’M A KILLER TOO. WHAT’S YOUR POINT?” Two of the hired guard were passing the wagon that housed a very heated debate. Mayble and Nick were those two guards working this rotation on this side of the encirclement. There was a lot of cursing and it sounded like something heavy hit the ground, but when Mayble popped her head in to investigate, two very angry men turned their anger on her and she backed out. There was no point getting involved in their business now. No one was hurt or being hurt… badly. “What do you think that’s about?” Nick asked, curiosity nipping at the heels of his mind. “Don’t ask me. As long as no ones being murdered, they can shoot at each other’s for all I care.” Nick sighed. “You will have to step in and so will I.” Mayble raised an Eyebrow and met his eyes. “Don’t give me that. I know why we’re here. Besides, I’m not saying we don’t kill him. I am saying that it’s too early. Though, I don’t like either.” Mayble quickly shushed the idiot. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. I mean, that its unnecessary, because they are not actively trying to kill each other’s. I swear Nick, you can be daft sometimes”
As the two guards walked away, the arguing inside the wagon began to calm to a simmer as Jonas stopped punching Georgy. “Peace?” Jonas offered. With resignation, Georgy said, “Peace.” Jonas got off him, and rubbed his swelling eye. “Fucking hell, Georgy. Dam that smarts.” Georgy didn’t smile, as he had his own aches and bruises to deal with. “Yeah well, I don’t think I like this thing you call Russian politics.” Jonas straightened himself out and noticed a tear in his buffalo skin coat. “Not my fault you don’t listen.” He mumbled. “What was that?” Georgy challenged with not as much enthusiasm as he had during their physical debate. Jonas would have smiled If it hadn’t been for his soar jaw. Hell, talking was a bit of a pain now. “Since Might makes right, I’ll inform the expedition where were going.” To Georgy’s great reductants, Jonas grabbed the map. He began messaging his jaw and grabbed his cowboy hat and tipped it at Georgy as he walked out.
The lead driver was not too happy to see Jonas, let alone receive the new course correction from him. Jonas just tipped his hat to the wagon driver in greeting, anyway. “We have a course correction for you.” Jonas showed him the map and the co-signed signed order. “I don’t take my directions from you.” The weasel of a wagon driver said spitting to the side. The offending glob landed on the archeologist’s boot. The ache in his jaw was a constant reminder of the shit he had to endure today. Jonas wasn’t stupid, though. He knew he was purposefully being provoked, but they couldn’t kill him off now, and Jonas knew it. He grinned.
“Now why would you go and do something so ungentlemanly like? I’d have thought you’d have more manners than to soil another man’s boots.” That fight with Georgy did relieve his tension with the co-leader of the expedition, but this man was another issue all together. Jonas’s blood was still running pretty hot, and he found the nameless wagon driver to be another thorn in his side, which was odd, because Jonas pictured the man to be more of the cautious and informant type and not the revers.
Jonas took a menacing step forward after having a very quick discussion with misses right and mister wrong. “Stay back! I’ll scream.” The weaselly wagon driver threatened. Jonas tied the wolf pup to the wagon. “By all means. Please do.” The wagon driver tried to escape. Jonas made a feint that caused the man to change directions and try the opposite direction. There was a yelp as the man kicked the puppy out of his way. Jonas flooded his body with electricity to boost his body’s reaction and overall performance. He caught the man with little effort, and dragged him kicking and screaming out of view and beyond the immediate safety of the encirclement. On his way out of the perimeter, Jonas did a visual check on the little shit head, and to his relief the puppy looked to be ok, he’d double check later, though.
The man continued to make a fuss that could be heard throughout the encirclement, but no one came. A second look confirmed that. Everyone was actively ignoring the situation. “Look! I’m sorry. I won’t spit on your boots again.” The man chocked out. The wagon driver had a lot to be afraid about. The wild areas between towns had no law or justice. That department was handled by the individual. “You know? I was just gonna shoot ya in the leg, but then you just had to go and kick my dog.” Jonas slammed him up against the wagon with slightly unnatural strength. The man peed himself as Jonas than proceeded to beat the teeth out of the man. Once he was done, he pulled out his revolver and pressed the muzzle against offensive man’s shin. “Right or left?” But the man never answered. He had passed out. “Well shit.” Jonas cured, as he flipped a coin. Right it is. He pulled the trigger, putting a bullet in the right shin.
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Georgy was hurting and exhausted. He hadn’t expected the man to be abnormally strong, let alone man handled by someone smaller than he was, and Georgy wasn’t weak by any stretch of the term. That was why he was made a co-leader. In short, Jonas could be a brute and Georgy was put there as a brick wall to curb his brutish tendencies. If only Nia and her allies warned him of this, then Georgy could have been better prepared to out maneuver the brute, but instead, he was forced onto Jonas’ battlefield and not theirs. He plopped into a chair, and lamented the morning.
The whole morning was a disaster, really. The short handing of supplies, he could understand, even if he was blindsided by it. The attack on the expedition was another thing entirely. Georgy remembered the interrogation of the brigand. They were hired by Nia to capture Jonas and force him to translate his journal. It was a stupid move and it risked the expeditions success. That was probably why he was ordered to divert to Fort Wellspring in case of issues early on. Georgy sighed as things started to click into place, and realization dawned. They were never meant to make it there together. They were always going to force Jonas to decipher that damn journal and leave him dead somewhere, and he’d out maneuvered them by forcing Georgy to sign his name on a paper solidifying a change in destination. “You brilliant son of a bitch. That, or you just got really lucky
Georgy let out a laugh. It was honestly better this way, anyway. Even if the drug worked and Jonas deciphered the journal, there was no guarantee they would understand it, and if they failed, Nia’s gambit for power would just fail. Georgy should have known they wouldn’t listen to his recommendation. That must have been why there was a resource shortage. Georgy just laughed again. “Russian politics.” The co-leaders mirth was brought to an end when a single gun shot rang out. “Oh, what the fuck now?” Though, Georgy had a pretty good idea as too what. “At this rate, we’ll kill each other’s before we even reach that death trap of his.”
To Georgy’s dismay someone had indeed been shot, with multiple injured. Too his further dismay, he learned it was the lead wagon driver. As Jonas was led in, Georgy couldn’t help but notice the smirk on his satisfied looking mug. Jonas tipped his hat in greeting. In his other arm was a whimpering wolf puppy. “Why’d you shoot the lead wagon driver?” From the look of it, Georgy could already tell why. “Would you believe me if I told you, it was for insubordination. I doubt spitting on me is enough, and then there is the fact he kicked my dog.” Jonas said, as he comforted the scared little thing. Georgy was about to wright off the whole thing, and re-arrange the wagons when Jonas added, “And I busted his teeth out.” “For fucks sake, Jonas.” Georgy cursed. “I get were in the lawless frontier, but dammit man. Please tell me you shot the left leg and not the right one.” The co-leader asked hopefully. “I flipped a coin.” “You flipped a coin? Well, did you shoot the right or left leg?” Georgy asked again, but this time with irritation. Jonas smiled already knowing the answer. “The right. Oh, and can I requisition some bandages for the puppy’s ribs. There not broke, there is a fracture.”
Georgy had to remember the journal. They needed the journal translated before killing him. Surely, they wouldn’t be too mad if there was an accident- Georgy cut that line of thought. “Please tell me you have a replacement.” He asked as a slip was handed to Jonas. “I’ll find one. I even Have a temp in mind until we can get a knew one.” Georgy just looked skeptically at Jonas, but sighed in defeat. “Outplayed again. Is he doing this on purpose. How much does he know?” “Fine. Just… don’t brutalize the next one.” Georgy said assessing Jonas. “Now, why would I shoot myself.”
