Chapter 82: The Power of a Letter
The entire room went quiet when Sebastian asked whether they should involve themselves in the Lothian’s war against the demons or not. Several of the assembled guild masters shuffled awkwardly in their chairs or took large bites of their meal under the pressure of the question. No one wanted to be the first to offer an opinion.
"Perhaps we should take several steps back before arriving at a conclusion," Isabell said, relaxing in her chair and sipping the chilled white wine. Of everyone present, she was under the least pressure since Owain Lothian hadn’t planned to include her Illustrious Company of Engineers in the first place. Even if she left this gathering now, no disastrous consequences would befall her or her engineers.
"Since Lord Owain didn’t see fit to include me in his deliberations, perhaps you gentlemen could help bring me up to speed," Isabell said. "What exactly is it that he’s trying to obtain from you? Sebastian, as the host, perhaps you can go first."
"Ah-hem," the white haired sailor said, clearing his throat and nodding his thanks to Isabell for throwing him a line. "The Lothians have long been the most favored of the frontier marches in the eyes of the Church," he began. "They have granted more territory, a greater share of their spoils and consistently placed at least one of the members of their direct line within the Church every generation."
"Now, the Lothians have not only received the support of the Pontiff in the Holy City of Staigue," he continued. "They’ve received a pledge of support from the Luminary in Kilcashel to declare the start of a holy war," Sebastian said.
As soon as he said the words ’holy war’, eating around the table stopped and several people looked at him with wide eyes. Owain had never intended to negotiate with them as a group and all of them had received different information from the Lothian heir about his plans but this was the first time they had heard that the highest priest in the Church of the Holy Lord of Light in the old countries was involved in these plans.
"If this is a holy war," Ruadhan said, running a hand through his straw colored hair as if to wipe away a sudden burst of sweat on his brow. "Can we really refuse?"
"It’s just a holy war," Olver said with a snort. "Don’t get your knickers in a twist. A holy war isn’t the same as a Crusade. If it were a Crusade, we would all be pressed into service by the Church, and we wouldn’t be dealing with temporal lords like Lord Owain Lothian, we’d be talking to an Inquisitor."
"You’d understand the difference if you went to a proper school," the weaponsmith added smugly. "How a lout like you made it to Master is beyond me."