Chapter 76: The Wall’s Vault (1)
"Do you have any idea what you are asking for?"
"I do."
Encrid’s voice remained calm.
"I am asking for permission to take one item from the Wall’s Vault."
Ulrich leaned back slowly in his chair.
The Vault was not a treasure room in the traditional sense.
It was a place where the Wall kept things that were too valuable to leave in an ordinary warehouse, yet too unusual or important to simply sell.
The cores of the strongest Roamers killed beyond the Wall were kept there, preserved because of the immense amount of Star Energy they contained. Relics and strange objects recovered by the Far-Watch during their expeditions were stored there as well-things whose origins were unknown, whose properties had yet to be understood, or whose value could not be measured in simple coin.
Weapons and artifacts that had been taken from the corpses of powerful enemies sometimes found their way into the Vault.
So did things discovered deep within the Great Green.
Some had been sitting there for decades.
Others had been there for centuries.
The Vault was not a collection of treasures meant to be admired. Most of the things inside were simply too valuable to risk losing, too dangerous to leave unattended, or too mysterious to entrust to anyone without reason.
And Encrid had just asked for permission to take one of them.
"Which item?"
Encrid’s smile returned.
"That depends on what is inside."
Ulrich stared at him.
For the first time since the conversation began, he had the distinct feeling that Encrid had known exactly what he wanted before he had ever walked into the room.
The young man had not come here with three requests.
He had come with a plan.
✧ ✧ ✧
Encrid walked beside Steward Vess through one of the older corridors of the Wall, their footsteps echoing against the stone as they descended deeper underground.
The Vault lay beneath the Wall itself.
It was not a place most people ever saw, and fewer still were permitted to enter.
Vess shook his head as they walked, a disbelieving laugh escaping him.
"I still don’t understand how you managed to obtain permission to enter the Vault."
He glanced sideways at Encrid.
"But I have to admit, you are quite something."
Encrid smiled faintly.
"Thank you."
Then he looked at Vess.
"And thank you for bringing the book to the Commander."
Vess waved a hand dismissively.
"I only carried it there."
"You still brought it."
Encrid’s expression became more serious.
"And you also helped me with the Council."
Vess’s steps slowed slightly.
"The Commander will bring up the matter soon," Encrid continued. "He intends to propose giving me a seat at the Council as the Wall’s strategist."
Vess stopped walking.
Encrid took another step before realizing the Steward was no longer beside him.
He turned.
"I’ll need your support."
Vess stared at him.
"My support?"
"Yes."
The surprise on the Steward’s face was almost comical.
"Do you have any idea how the Council votes?"
"I do."
"There are fifteen seats."
Vess began counting them off with his fingers.
"The Lord Commander holds three votes. The Captain of the Far-Watch has two. The Chief Healer has two. Everyone else has one."
He lowered his hand.
"Nineteen votes in total."
Encrid nodded.
"And you need ten for a majority."
"Yes."
Vess looked at him as if he were waiting for Encrid to realize the problem himself.
"Even if the Commander gives you all three of his votes, and I give you mine, that only gives you four."
"Correct."
"You still need six more."
"I know."
Vess stared at him for another moment.
Then he shook his head.
"And how exactly do you intend to get those?"
Encrid resumed walking.
"I will get them somehow."
Vess hurried to catch up.
"That is not an answer."
"It is the only one I have right now."
He glanced at Vess.
"But I need you to promise me your vote."
Vess was quiet for a few moments.
Then he asked,
"And what’s in it for me?"
Encrid looked at him.
He had expected Vess to agree.
The Steward had brought the book to the commander. He had even risked his position by doing so. He had clearly understood what Encrid was trying to accomplish.
But apparently, understanding was not the same as giving something away for free.
Encrid was mildly surprised.
So this was the man who controlled the Wall’s entire supply chain.
’Of course.’
A person who had spent eleven years deciding what entered the Wall, what left it, and what every soldier received was unlikely to become Steward by being careless with his own interests.
Encrid thought for a moment.
What could he offer him?
He had no position to grant.
No wealth of his own.
No army.
No influence beyond what he had managed to build in the short time since arriving at the Wall.
He was still the fourth son of a Duke-a noble by birth, perhaps, but one with very little power behind his name.
He could promise Vess something obvious.
He could promise to take him out of the Wall.
With the right connections, Encrid could probably arrange it.
But he immediately dismissed the thought.
Vess had devoted eleven years of his life to this place. The man had stayed behind while others came and went, keeping the Wall supplied through shortages, bad harvests, damaged roads, and everything else that threatened its survival.
A man like that would not appreciate being offered an escape from the Wall as though it were some reward.
Encrid looked at him. Since he didn’t know what to offer him, he decided to go with the simplest solution.
"What do you need, Sir Vess?"
Vess stopped.
The question seemed to catch him off guard.
For the first time since they had begun walking, he did not have an immediate answer.
He studied Encrid for several seconds.
Then a slow smile appeared on his face.
"Well..."
He turned and continued toward the Vault.
"Now that’s a much better question."
✦ ✦ ✦