Chapter 153: Return to the Vale? (Part One)
With everyone gathered in Old Nan’s burrow, Marcel didn’t waste any time on pleasantries. The nights were getting even shorter and there was too much ground to cover before they could find a place in the wilderness to hide.
If it were up to him, he wouldn’t have come out on a mission like this with such a low chance of success. There had been plenty of time for the outer villages to make their decisions. Those who were willing to return to the Vale of Mists had done so. Those who hadn’t returned likely never would.
But Thane knew Mistress Nyrielle better than any of them. He had been with her longer than any of her other progeny and when Nyrielle wasn’t within the Vale of Mists, Thane ruled in her stead. Hearing the information Marcel’s spies gathered, Thane had decisively ordered the younger vampire to take on this risky mission.
To Marcel, any number of arguments could be made against this foolishness. Throwing good money after bad, or in this case, throwing good money in a wishing well and calling it a business plan. No reasonable merchant would do such a thing, yet here he was, making the attempt anyway.
"Old Nan, I’ll be direct," he said. "This latest Lothian ruler is flexing his muscles and trying to make a name for himself. He suffered a loss recently and two of his knights died. He’s bringing more soldiers and even men from the Church into the mountain forests to hunt for anyone he can get his hands on."
"We didn’t have anything to do with killing his knights," Old Nan said, frowning deeply. "Our village is well hidden. There is nothing that will lead him to us here. You didn’t need to waste the trip."
"Its worth wasting the trip if it saves a few Eldritch lives," Marcel said, fighting to suppress the exasperation in his voice. Even he knew Nyrielle well enough to know that preventable loss of life would grind away at her. Even though these people were no longer her subjects, she would still feel a sting at their deaths.
"Think of it this way," Marcel said, keeping his tone light and pleasant. "Come to the Vale as our guests. Stay until Owain Lothian and his men give up their hunt. Then, since your village is so well hidden, you can return to it when the time is right."
"You can’t swindle me that easily, old merchant," the old woman said, twitching her whiskers in disapproval. "All this isn’t easy to keep. If we don’t manage our dams well, sudden rains and floods can wipe all of this away in a season. The rains are still upon us and will be for weeks."