"We must convince him this entire campaign is flawed."
"No," she said, "not yet, at least."
"Why not?"
"Merely approaching him would bring unwanted attention. He's more likely to arrest us, and then where would we be? No, we must give him no reason to suspect our true purpose here."
Natalia led him away from the Ragnarite, steering him towards a distant door. "With all these Cunars about, it's beginning to get a little uncomfortable."
"Perhaps we'd better leave?" Athgar suggested.
"How many Temple Knights do you reckon are here?"
"You mean on guard or as guests?"
"Both."
"Well," he said, "I've seen at least two dozen standing at doors and whatnot, and I'd say there's at least thirty more wandering around. Any way you look at it, there's a significant number."
"Yes, and a fair number would have stayed behind in their commandery."
"What makes you say that? Wouldn't they all be here, where the master of their order is?"
"You forget," Natalia said, "they took vows. They tend not to congregate where women gather. They believe it helps them avoid temptation."
"And yet there are plenty of women here," noted Athgar. "Does that mean the guards have broken their vows?"
"No, they're here on duty."
"That's true for the guards, but what about the others?"
"Temple Knights of Saint Cunar are not known to socialize, at least not the common rank and file. I suspect the people wandering around are senior officials, officers subordinate to the father general."
"That would indicate something big is in the works."
"My thoughts exactly," said Natalia. "I should very much like to work our way back to the duke. If plans are being made, we should be present."
"Fair enough…" He was about to say more, but something caught Natalia's attention. "Something wrong?" he asked.
She stood on the tips of her toes, peering through the crowd. "I thought I saw someone," she said.
"Who?"
"I'm not sure."
"You're not sure if you saw someone?"
"No, I'm not sure who I saw. His face was familiar, but I couldn't place him."
Athgar cast his eyes about. "Where?"
"Over that way, but he disappeared into the crowd."
"Should we be worried?"
"Not yet, but if he shows up again, I'll point him out. In the meantime, let's find the duke, shall we?"
They wandered around, finally finding Lord Deiter Heinrich in the company of Sir Raynald.
"There you are," greeted the knight. "I was wondering where you'd gotten to."
"Enjoying the place?" asked Lord Deiter.
"It's quite impressive," said Natalia. "Tell me, who lived here before the father general?"
"I understand it was owned by the rulers of this city. A nasty bunch, I'm told. We kicked them out in the last crusade."
"When was that?"
"About five years ago. To my knowledge, it was the last independent city in the north."
"Meaning?" asked Athgar.
"An independent city has its own leaders, much like Corassus."
"I thought Corassus was a city-state?"
"It is," said the duke. "The two are essentially the same thing. Mind you, Corassus is run by a group of merchants. Here, the leader was a barbarian or so I'm told."
Athgar scowled. "Why is it we label those that don't conform to our beliefs as barbarians?"
"It's not their beliefs that set them apart," said Lord Deiter, "but their culture. They're a primitive race."
"Then how is it they had a city?" asked Athgar, his face growing red.
"I'm sure I can't say. Possibly they conquered it? It wouldn't be the first time a city fell to a group of outsiders. Mind you, if the architecture of the city is any indication, Ebenstadt is very old."
"Do you think it was part of Therengia?" suggested Sir Raynald.
"Maybe," mused the duke. "I wish I'd learned more history when I was younger. Wasn't their last stand somewhere around here?"
"I believe that was closer to Draybourne," said Athgar. "They had a statue there commemorating it."
"Maybe this was a regional capital?" suggested Natalia. "It was a large kingdom after all."
The duke looked around the room. "That would certainly explain the presence of a place like this. Still, that would have been what, five hundred years ago?"
"Closer to six," said Sir Raynald. "The last of the successor states was captured in 603."
They all looked at him in surprise.
"It's a particular interest of mine," he explained.
"What could possibly interest you about an ancient kingdom?" asked the duke.
"Most of our armies are modelled after them," the knight explained, "and they're the ones who standardized their military organization. Of course, they didn't have the cavalry we have these days, but their footmen were said to be invincible."
The duke barked out a laugh. "Well, that's obviously not true, or they wouldn't have fallen."
"Still," Sir Raynald persisted, "we owe much to them in terms of tactics."
"Nonsense," said the duke. "They are a conquered people. The very tactics they developed led to their inevitable defeat."
"I understood they collapsed through internal strife," said Athgar. "Is that not true?"
"There is always speculation," said Sir Raynald, "but the truth is we shall never really know for sure. Most of their records were lost to history. Even so, what little we do know is often studied by those interested in the art of war."
"War is not an art," said the duke, "but rather a bloodbath. It is numbers that tell in the end, not fancy manoeuvres."
"You must tell me more of these Therengians," said Athgar. "They sound like a fascinating people. Do you know much about their culture?"
"No," replied the knight. "Only their military history, and even that information is often contradictory. How about you? What have you heard?"
"I know very little," said Athgar, "though maybe Natalia might be able to tell you more."
"Therengia was not studied during my training," she confessed. "But I have since learned a few things here and there."
"Such as?" pressed the knight.
Natalia briefly looked at Athgar, unsure of how much to reveal. "They had a standing militia, didn't they?"
"Yes, that's right, the fyrd," said Sir Raynald. "Though I doubt it was very effective. Therengia's strength lay in its professional army. Some say
