'Do you mind if I say a few words, Baron?' General Quelgrum drawled.
'Please, go ahead, General,' Grimm replied, only too happy to have someone else take up the slack.
The General stood up, and the young Questor realised for the first time how imposing the broad-shouldered, stocky old soldier's presence was. He wore no medals or badges of rank, and he was dressed in simple robes instead of his normal, form-fitting green attire, but, nonetheless, he seemed to be able to dominate the room through sheer strength of personality.
'I first met Questor Grimm only a few months ago,' Quelgrum said in a pleasant, avuncular baritone. 'I tried to control him and his fellow wizard-I'm sorry, that's mage-and they and another colleague fought my army and me to a standstill. I might still have beaten them, but only at the cost of many lives I'd sworn never to waste in a fruitless battle. As I now know, the threat of overwhelming opposing force was untrue. Nonetheless, our confrontation had already cost us dear, so I don't regret the decision I made then.'
'I'd have thought you'd have been pretty angry to discover you'd been duped, General,' Harvel said. 'Yet here you are accepting Questor Grimm, here, as your lord and master. It seems a little odd to me.'
Quelgrum shrugged. 'It was a perfectly legitimate ruse of war, Harvel. I've done similar things myself on occasions, when we were outnumbered or outgunned. In any case, I never wanted to be a mighty warlord; all I ever sought was a home for my charges, somewhere we'd be respected rather than just used. Baron Grimm has provided us with that home.
'Warrior Crest; you were present at that last battle. Did Questor Grimm seem unduly scared or cautious to you?'
Crest snorted. 'Far from it, General. He's no coward, I know that, and I don't need you to convince me. I wouldn't be here if I didn't trust and respect him.'
'But perhaps you still think this is overkill, or you're unhappy about the necessity of the Quest.'
'It's necessary, General, I'm convinced of that. I've given Questor Grimm my word, and I'll do my utmost to fulfil it. All the same, I don't have to like it.'
'I've been fighting all my life for one man or another,' Quelgrum snapped. 'Do you think I enjoyed it? I'm no bloodthirsty sadist, and I hate to waste anybody's life. Of course you don't have to like what's ahead. But you do need to believe in it, heart and soul. If Questor Grimm's worried about this woman and her Order, you can bet that they're not just helpless little old ladies.'
'We know that, Quelgrum!' Harvel said. 'Sure, she's a menace to society, or whatever, and we'll go along with it. I don't understand what the problem is here. I've offered my sword to this enterprise, and I never do that if I'm not fully committed. What's the bloody issue here? We've said we'll do it, and we will! I don't understand the problem.'
'I think I understand the problem, swordsman,' Guy said in a lazy voice, stretching like a cat. 'You think my dear grandmother's just a misunderstood, sweet little old lady, don't you?'
'Of course not, Questor Guy,' Harvel said, bristling. 'We already know she's a powerful witch, and she's no push-over. You've told us all about her before. It's just that Crest and I prefer a stand-up fight with armed opponents.'
'You think that because Grimm and I beat her in High Lodge, we can do it again, don't you?' Guy wore a boyish smile on his face, but his eyes glittered. 'That wasn't her main power base; she'll be ten times as dangerous on her home ground.'
Harvel sighed. 'That's all very well, Questor. Still, it seems to me that you mages will be doing all the glory stuff, and we footsloggers will just be sorting out the local ruffians and riff-raff on the way. Like I said, we'll do it, but we prefer straight stand-up fights like we had here in Crar, where we all pulled together.'
'Leave it, gentlemen. I think we'll just have to soldier on as we are, Lord Baron,' the General said, turning towards Grimm. 'Crest and Harvel have committed themselves to the Quest, and I don't think we can ask any more of them.'
'I know, General, and I am grateful for that,' the young Questor said. For some reason, he felt hot tears rising, and he swallowed hard. 'I just wanted…'
The old soldier's eyes fixed on Grimm's. 'You wanted a crusade, didn't you, Baron, with flags waving and hearts singing? Just accept that you've got two loyal men with you who don't quite see the righteousness of your cause the way you do. I'm sorry; I felt the same way when I was your age. Just be grateful that they trust you enough to go along with you. Don't try to sell them your dream, your vision. We're ready to go, so let's do it!'
'Well said, General!' Harvel crowed. 'Let's just get on with it. If I'd wanted a bloody sermon, I'd have gone to church!'
'Harvel's right, though I hate to admit it,' Crest said. 'Face it, Questor, heroic speeches aren't going to get the job done. Let's go! That's all we want, not some kind of pep talk.'
'Amen, padre,' Guy muttered, rising to his feet.
'Wagon's waiting outside, gents,' Quelgrum said, as Crest, Harvel, Numal and Guy rose to their feet and left the room. Feeling empty, Grimm made to follow suit, but the General stayed the mage with a hand on his shoulder.
'Not quite the heroic departure you expected, eh, son?'
Grimm gulped, staying the tears. He had wanted so much to have a triumphant chorus of fervent voices, as he led his men into battle in a righteous confrontation between good and evil. Now it seemed that he had been sidelined and abandoned; Quelgrum, Crest and Harvel were really in charge of the expedition. He nodded, unable to speak.
'I was about your age when I first led a group of men into battle, and I felt much the same way,' the warrior said. 'I was so damned proud to be in command at last. I tried to do the same thing as you did; a vainglorious, silly speech about how good it was to die with a true heart, and about the nobility of our cause. I might as well have been talking to a wall; my little speech fell on deaf ears. My sergeant saved me from making too much of a fool of myself. He said, 'Lieutenant, you can tell us what to do, but don't tell us what to think or feel. Don't try to do our jobs for us, please. We know what to do, and we'll do it, no matter what happens. You can't ask for more than that.''
'Being in command means trusting your men; you can't do everything yourself. I believe they told you that at the start. It's not easy to take your hands off, but you'll never be a leader of men unless you learn to do that.
'You can command what they do, but not how they think or feel. Crest and Harvel-well, you may know them better than I do, but they're old soldiers-and I understand soldiers. Just trust them to do their jobs, and don't preach to them. Keep your hands on the reins, but loosely. Give them room to breathe, and to think, and things'll go a lot smoother, I promise you. It can take a while to learn just how loose those reins should be, but you'll learn.'
Grimm nodded. 'I guess you're right, General. Crest and Harvel must have been in all kinds of battles, and I suppose they've heard it all before. If they just want to get on with it, I can't complain about that. I just wanted to make my first Quest as Senior Mage… well, special.'
Grimm sighed. 'Oh, well, I suppose we'd better go. Don't worry, General; I think I may have learnt an important lesson here.'
'That's the spirit!' Quelgrum said, clapping an impersonal hand on the young mage's shoulder. 'Come on, they'll be getting impatient.'
Grimm sat beside the General as the older man drove the wagon through the streets of Crar. His disappointment at his failure to enthuse his team dissolved as his eyes took in the glory of the morning; the deep- blue sky, the muted sunlight highlighting the bright colours of the refurbished marketplace, and the sweet smell of the air. Behind him, he heard Crest and Harvel arguing, each trying to out-boast the other as usual, and even Guy seemed to be joining in the impromptu brag-fest.
Despite his earlier bleak mood, Grimm smiled.
The city gates opened as the wagon approached. The full light of the sun streamed through, almost like a celestial benison on the Quest
'It's a good day to be out, eh, Lord Baron?' Quelgrum said, grinning.
'It certainly is, General.'
