Chapter 550: The Guild Masters’ Plan (Part Two)
"Ha! What foolish nonsense," Baron Hanrahan roared, stepping quickly back into his role as a goad when he realized the merchants were taking the conversation well and truly off the beaten path. "A little experience fighting wars for kings in the old world, and you think yourself invulnerable to attacks from demons!"
"Do you lot really think that you’re so mighty that you can fight off the Demon Lady of the Vale?" the baron asked, slamming a fleshy palm into the table for emphasis. "She’ll squash you like bugs!"
"Master Tiernan," Jocelynn quickly said, stepping in before things became too heated. Under the table, she gave Owain’s thigh a reassuring squeeze while she took the focus off of him so he could formulate a more reasoned response and decide if the Masters’ suggestion would still suit their plan.
"I’ll admit that I haven’t been in Lothian March for very long, but even I have heard nightmare-inducing tales about the Demon Lady of the Vale," Jocelynn said. "They say that no walls can truly bar her unless the Church has recently blessed them and the Church charges an exorbitant amount of money for their services just to maintain the protective blessings on Lothian Manor and at the city gates."
"I know that Master Isabell’s skills are very impressive," Jocelynn added, looking at the older woman with genuine admiration. "But if two seasoned knights of the frontier have already failed to hold those lands, what makes you think that you can prevail where they fell?"
"It’s simple, really," Isabell said, leaning forward and smiling at the perplexed-looking Lord Owain. "In the end, it comes down to faith. Not in the Holy Lord of Light," she added quickly. "But faith in young lord Owain and the army we will prepare for the Holy War to come."
"I’m sure that the Demon Lady of the Vale is a terrifying threat to all of humanity," Isabell said in a very severe tone. "And from what I’ve been told since we came to Lothian March, her demon spawn are just as dangerous, if not more so. But we’ve made this selection for two very important reasons," she said.