"I can only speak to the Captain."
"Insolent fool! Are you playing games with us?" one of the men roared, standing up and shouting at Dismas.
Dismas knew that one wrong move could mean he would not leave this room alive. But to complete his mission, he had to hold firm, while also appearing deferential. "I would never dare to offend you sirs. It's just that the situation is grave. I cannot speak of it to anyone but the Captain."
"I hear your whole band was wiped out."
A gruff voice came from the back of the room. A stout, bearded man emerged. He wore no armor, only a military uniform, with leather riding boots on his feet and an exquisitely crafted saber at his hip. The man came out and sat down right next to the woman, throwing an arm around her.
Dismas knew that to look too much was to err too much. He quickly lowered his head and explained respectfully, "Only this humble one was lucky enough to escape."
The Captain sized Dismas up, a look of curiosity on his face. "I am here. Now, speak. Who did this?"
"It was the barbarians," Dismas blurted out. His words immediately provoked a strong reaction. Though there was friction between all the gangs, they had generally maintained a level of restraint. There was no reason for the barbarians to attack so suddenly. If they had, there had to be a reason. Even the Captain, who had seemed somewhat pleased at the news of another gang's misfortune, now grew serious.
"I was on watch in a tree, late last night," Dismas began his tale. "I don't know what happened, but our camp was suddenly overrun. Before I could get back, I saw my leader fall. He was no match for them. The others... even those who surrendered, it was no use. They took no prisoners. Soon, everyone was dead. I was the only one who escaped, by hiding in the tree."
"You're lying!" the Captain suddenly roared. The other men immediately drew the pistols from their belts and aimed them at Dismas, ready to fire at any moment. "Do you take me for a fool? If it was those barbarians, you wouldn't have survived."
"My lord, I know the rules," Dismas said, his voice steady. "If this were a small matter, I would not have presumed to disturb you." He looked up, his gaze sweeping over the men in the room, before he spoke again, slowly. "I also saw... that one of them possessed a transcendent item."
At these words, the men in the hall fell silent, their earlier reactions gone. The Captain and his lieutenants exchanged glances. One of them, looking eager, urged him on. "Speak! What did you see?"
Dismas knew they had fallen into the trap. A wave of admiration for his lord's cunning washed over him. He continued his story.
"My brothers were killed by white wolves. The wolves were all under the control of a single man. In his hand, he held something like a pendant. After the battle was over, I saw with my own eyes as they gathered all the corpses into a pile. Then, the wolves surrounded the bodies, as if performing a ritual. The pendant began to glow, and under its light, the pile of corpses slowly shrank, as if being consumed by something unseen. And the wolves, they all began to howl. Those men were in a great hurry. They left quickly after they were done. I hid in the tree until dawn before I dared to come down, and then I came straight here to report to you, my lord."
Dismas relayed the story just as his lord had instructed him. The details had to be vague. Only what they guessed for themselves would they truly believe.
"Oh," the Captain said. Though he remained outwardly calm, the greedy glint in his eyes had already betrayed his thoughts. A transcendent item that can control white wolves...
"My love," the woman beside him suddenly said, "he's lying to you. If those barbarians truly had such a thing, why would they have waited until now to use it?"
Just as they were about to take the bait, the woman's words had sown a seed of doubt. The Captain hesitated. For the first time, Dismas felt a profound hatred for a woman. His great plan had been disrupted. Who wouldn't be angry? But he could only try to defend his story.
"The way it consumed the corpses... it is no ordinary thing. I heard my leader say that those barbarians got on a nobleman's bad side precisely because of some thing they had. It is likely they kept it hidden because they were afraid of being discovered."
Everyone had heard the stories about the Claw of the White Wolf. Dismas's reminder only made them more certain.
The Captain fell silent. Reason told him the situation was not so simple. He had seen the strength of those barbarians. The fact that this man had survived was, in itself, very strange. But... a transcendent item... that was something measured in gold. In the army, he had seen the great commanders wield the power of such items. If I could also possess one...
Dismas sensed his hesitation. The situation had deviated from the plan. He had to seize the initiative himself. "Words are cheap. Why don't you see for yourself, my lord? Come with me and see the bodies of my fallen brothers. If you still think I am lying then, you can shoot me on the spot."
The Captain might have been able to resist, but his lieutenants could not. One of them stepped forward, eager. "Boss, I don't think he's lying. Let me take some of the lads and check it out."
His words were exactly what the Captain wanted to hear. "Fine," he said. "Number Two, you and Number Three take a few of the lads and see if what he says is true." He had made his decision. It would cost him nothing to take a look. But he added one last precaution, to prevent his underlings from taking the prize for themselves. "Whether it's true or false, I want him brought back to me alive."
Dismas stood to one side, his head bowed in silence. The situation was no longer in his control. All he could do was take it one step at a time.
The two lieutenants quickly gathered a few men. From their equipment, it was clear they were the elites of the company. Eight elites, plus the two lieutenants. Dismas could only hope that his lord could improvise.
There were fewer beasts about during the day, and they did not have to worry about being discovered, so they quickly reached the camp.
"You see," Dismas said, pointing to the ruin. "This was our camp."
But when they went inside, they found no bodies. All that remained was the thick, lingering smell of blood. By all rights, this place should be littered with corpses. But now... they were gone. Unless someone had gone to great trouble to carry them all away... they all knew what this meant. The situation immediately put the two lieutenants on high alert.
Could it be true...
"Search the area," one of them commanded. The elites fanned out. Dismas was kept under the watch of the two lieutenants and forced to repeat his story of the previous night. He knew what they were really interested in, of course, but he kept his words vague, saying only that it had been too dark to see clearly.
"That's right," he added, remembering his lord's instructions. "When they were gathering the corpses, I heard them say something about preparing for a 'sacrifice.' I think that thing... it might get stronger the more corpses it eats."
"Hmph," Number Two scoffed. "A single cannonball would blow them to bits."
Number Three, however, was more thoughtful. "What else did you hear?" he pressed.
"Nothing," Dismas said with a shrug. "That was all."