Chapter 431 — An Inspiring Moment
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 3
Apart from her, every southern noble who had fled here was a man, yet not one of them now dared lift his head to meet Ropeni's eyes. Watching those guilty glances slide away one by one, Ropeni Glane raised her voice. "What are you afraid of? Is there truly no courage left in you at all? Remember where you stand—this is Boulder Fortress, a fortress guarded by a magic barrier! Were you not all holding forth in the fortress banquet hall this very morning, declaring it impregnable, vowing to watch from the battlements as the Cecil were thrown into utter rout? How is it you have all forgotten now?"
"Lady Glane... Viscountess, what are we supposed to fight the Cecil with?" one southern noble finally could not hold his tongue. "If we go to the battlefield we'll only be a hindrance. Leaving here is also to keep from making trouble for the people of Boulder Fortress..."
"Nonsense!" Ropeni fixed the cowardly noble with a glare. "Is that what the rest of you think too? Have you forgotten? When you fled here, there were still a thousand men or more at your side—and to this day those loyal knights and soldiers wait in the city for your orders! They have not run. What are you running from?
"Boulder Fortress is short of hands right now—all the more reason to gather every force we have. We have stout walls and a magic barrier. Surely you can haul stones for the catapults behind that barrier? Surely you can help guard the mage towers and the arrow towers?"
Sir Marchi watched the impassioned viscountess, and beyond his astonishment a sudden light kindled in his mind. These southern nobles cast up here by misfortune... craven and feeble as most of them were, they were still a measure of strength.
Truth be told, until recently he had still harbored some hope that the Cecil would not come to attack this place—Boulder Fortress, after all, lay in theory beyond the borders of the Southland, and Duke Gaoyang Cecil had no cause to strike at it. But ever since he had learned of the deed in which "the Ancestor flouted the ancestral law," he had grown ever more regretful about taking in these useless southern nobles. Had he not seen that their purses still held a measure of gold and silver, and had they not promised him a great heap of things besides, he would likely have found a way long ago to drive most of them out.
And now...
Now the Cecil were truly coming, and these useless southern nobles ought to pay some price for the protection they had accepted.
He looked at Viscountess Ropeni, striving to rouse the southern nobles to take up arms and defend the fortress—the one southern noble, Viscount Carroll aside, for whom he had any real regard. And now this lady had just had everything torn from her by the Cecil; her will to vengeance was unshakable, which would make her a most useful ally.
So he rose to his feet and spoke. "My lady—will you help me defend this fortress?"
Ropeni turned, a feverish glint in her eyes. "Yes, my lord, of course I will—so long as it means defeating the Cecil, I will spare no effort!"
At this point Viscount Carroll, who had stood silent all the while, rose in timely fashion. He looked around at the southern nobles, each of them wavering, and lifted both hands. "Gentlemen, you ought to be ashamed. Your courage combined does not equal that of the Viscountess Glane. Do not forget that we are under the protection of Boulder Fortress—and when the fortress is in peril, it is our duty to stand forward. I will answer the viscountess's call. Though I have only two knights and a few dozen soldiers left, I too will mount the walls and defend this fortress to the last!"