Back at the camp, in the great pavilion reserved for councils, the air was heavy with expectation. Around the round table sat Wulfric, Bjorn, Alice, and the Khan, joined by seasoned generals and even the clan's shipwright. The flicker of torchlight cast long shadows across their faces as the murmur of voices settled into silence, each of them waiting for the discussion to begin.
The caravans are threatened again," one general began, his tone sharp. "Bandits strike at the edges of our routes. If we do not answer, trade will falter."
The shipwright leaned forward, calloused fingers tapping the river lines on the map. "Not only the roads—we must prepare the waters. Boats will carry what horses cannot. I can build them, but I'll need timber, labor, and time."
Bjorn smirked, lounging back in his chair. "Boats, horses, blades—it won't matter if the men's spirits crack first. We need discipline, not just tools."
Alice, quiet until now, laid her hand gently on the map. "Or we risk bleeding our people thin. Trade is life, but so is balance. If we fight too hard, we may leave the heart of the clan exposed."
Enough," he said, his voice calm but cutting. The others fell silent. "We've been speaking of roads and rivers as if they are separate paths. But they are not. We control both, we control the flow of trade—and the bandits choke."
His finger traced a line where the road met the river. "Here, we build small stations—half fort, half dock. Soldiers and boats together. Merchants pass through once, not twice. Our presence becomes a net, not scattered spears."
The Khan's single eye gleamed. "A net," he repeated softly, a slow grin spreading. "Strong enough to catch fish… or strangle wolves." He know having Wulfric on the same table sometimes is a threat, sometimes is a thrill that he cannot quite understand why.
A single guard rushed into the tent, breathless, and bent low to whisper in Wulfric's ear.
"Your Majesty… Lady Elizabeth—she is not in her tent with her servant. They may have gone somewhere, without announcing."
Wulfric's face remained calm, unreadable, but his fist clenched so tightly the veins stood out. Without a word, he rose to his feet.
"Dismissed. All of you."
The generals stirred, exchanging curious glances, but none dared question him as he strode out, his steps quick and heavy with restrained fury.
He reached her tent in moments, yanked the flap open, and began sharply, "No letter, no announcement—"
But the words halted on his lips. His gaze caught on something colorful spilling across the floor—an array of delicate ornaments, beads glinting like fragments of light, scattered as if in haste.
"Where did you go? Elizabeth." He thought, then suddenly the guards step into the tent with a terrifying small girl, looking up at him, her hand holding the beading that it's the same with that one floor.
"Speak!". The guard yell at her, make her more terrified, Wulfric signal them to back off, then he crouching down to speak with her. "Little lady, can I ask where did you got this from?"
Little girl look at him, then hesitated. Wulfric smile, then he gave her a coin. "If I throw this coin up and it land with the King side, you have to tell me, if on the Queen side, I will buy you some candies —deal?"
The girl nodded and waiting him to throw up. It landed perfectly on the King side—always. With the fact she never knows that coin never have Queen side.
The girl seems saddened, she slowly talk : It's Kriz, and one beautiful lady—have a white hair, they going to sun—."
Wulfric thinking. "You means they going West of the camp.". The girl nodded quietly.
""Right now, there might be a flea market there, Your Majesty. They could have gone," the guard spoke up, his voice low but urgent.
Wulfric standing up, he gave small little girls a basket full of fruits and candy for her, she smiled in happiness , then he stepped out of the tent. "Well—time to bring my lady home"