Chapter 57: Guests of the Dark Nest
The meeting between Marshal Vos and Corvin did not end with veiled threats or shadowed admissions. It continued, quietly and precisely, as two men of weight discussed matters befitting their stations. Soldier and sovereign, envoy and warlord.
They spoke first of production, Vos was curious, officially, about what Raven’s Nest could offer to the trade web of Argyll. Corvin answered smoothly. The valley, nestled between the cliffs of Duskwell Reach and the eastern and northern ridgelines, was rich in mineral veins, gold, iron, and lesser streams of silver and opal. Enough, he claimed, to make the Dominion wealthier than it had dreamed. Labor, Corvin said, would be tireless and efficient. He made no mention of workforce or oversight. Vos, noting the lack of detail, marked the answer for what it was, a deliberate fog.
Corvin shifted next to agriculture. The soil was unusually fertile, thanks to the valley’s long isolation. Fresh fruits, citrus, thornberries, cloudberries, and a rare hybrid peach from the lower terraces were already planned to be cultivated by his handpicked botanists. "This land," Corvin said calmly, "has not known proper care for a long time. It remembers how to grow when treated with respect."
Vos scribbled the information, even as he considered how so much could have been organized so swiftly. Where will the workforce come from? How will the terrain be tamed so completely in short time? He said nothing.
Then came the discussion of security.
Vos asked what garrisons Raven’s Nest would maintain.
"Enough," Corvin said, his voice level. "To deter opportunists."
When pressed, Corvin was intentionally vague. He spoke of enchantments carved into the very bones of the walls, hidden glyphs that pulsed beneath the surface. Precision patrols rotated. Local units whom had ’volunteered’ support. Vos heard every word but none of the names. There were no commander listings, no banners referenced. Just capability.
And that, Vos understood, was the point.
The conversation moved to infrastructure. Corvin planned to connect Raven’s Nest to the merchant roads of Argyll. "Trade flows around ruin," he said. "Best to give it a clean current." Vos noted the implication. A road capable of bearing caravans could also bear legions. A paved path was both invitation and threat.
Then, unexpectedly, they discussed education.