Chapter XXVIII

The Argument

That night, after returning from his discussion on the ramparts with Doraghek, he stowed the gem back in th safe and headed towards his room, as he got into his bed, he noticed that he wasn’t alone. A skinny man with greying brown hair was standing by the wall looking at him in a smile on his face.

It takes Dmitri a moment to recognise the man, he hadn’t after all seen him since that fateful day at the medical clinic when he was eleven. But he was certain that he was correct in his guess.

“Uncle Ray?” Dmitri asked hesitantly, he had been very close to his uncle, who along with his mother had raised him before the incident. Ray Jones only smiled at his nephew, who looked confusedly at his uncle.

“You’ve done well for yourself I see.” Uncle Ray said as he continued to lean against the wall, watching as his nephew got up and walked over to him.

“I’m sorry I ran. I should have waited, like you told me to.” Dmitri said, he had thought about what would have happened if he had remained in the waiting area. He wouldn’t have been kidnapped for starters, but there was also the fact that he wouldn’t have put the man in front of him through so much pain as well.

“It’s alright son, you lost your mum. I would have done the same in your position.” Uncle Ray said, absolving his nephew of his perceived sin, before continuing. “But there are more important things to discuss, as there are others in the same position as you were. Others who are relying on you to help them.” Uncle Ray finished in all seriousness, this brought Dmitri back down to earth, as he knew what his uncle was talking about.

“I don’t know where else to look. We’ve been over the sight and its surrounding for the past month and have found nothing.” Dmitri replied.

“This is no time for defeatism. You brought everything you need with you. And if you should fail, those kids will be worse than dead.” Uncle Ray said. “I never gave up in the search for you. You must now do the same.” This gave Dmitri, pause and he wondered what his uncle meant, had he really brought something with him that would be of use. If that was the case, then all of this could have been made a whole load easier. The only thing that he had brought was the folder of his old records relating to the answer, but he still wasn’t a hundred percent sure on that theory.

“You think it might help. My old research?” Dmitri asked, wanting the conformation of the man who had been more of a father than his real father, not that he had ever know the fucker. His uncle only nodded before fading away, which was a pity as he wanted to speak to him more, to have just a few more minutes with him. But it was not to be, so he ended the pity party and headed for the safe

It took a while, but eventually, Dmitri found what he was looking for, a small folder he had managed to take from the vaults back at the manor. Whilst he was unsure as to whether or not the king had any information on the group that kidnapped him, he doubted that even if he did, that he would be allowed to access it. The chief advisor would probably see to it personally that those vaults remained off limits to him, no matter how desperately he needed them.

Taking his mind off this matter he returned to what little research that was at his disposal and began to read. It took him a while to find anything that could be of use, as when he had written up the report, he had believed that the group had been slaughtered, or at least, weakened to the state that they would no longer pose a threat to them.

He chuckled to himself at this thought, oh how naïve he had been back then, when times seemed so much simpler than they did now. Then returned to the piece of paper in his hand, it was a list of potential sites and their coordinates that he had narrowed down when he began his search all those years ago.

-Ironfist Institute

-Oakcreek Citadel

-Respondem Temple

-Broken Mountain Institute

-Silverwater Fortress

And so, the list went on, down a list that stretched halfway down the page. Some had lines through indicating that they had been searched or were known to have been destroyed just by looking at satellite photos of the locations.

Taking a look at the large map that hung in a frame inside his room, he checked the coordinates of each of the locations, it took him a while, manually going through each one, and then double checking his results.

Stepping back, he noticed a pattern that had started to emerge. All of these locations were located on mountains or on other difficult to access terrain, meaning that they couldn’t just walk up to the front gates, they would need to be airlifted in, at the very least if they wanted to perform a raid.

He sighed deeply at this fact, they had three choppers, but very little fuel, perhaps enough for a round trip to one of these locations, and that was it. If they were wrong and Martin wasn’t located inside their target location, the whole mission would be a failure and the kid’s fate would be sealed.

It was a start though, he may be wrong, but he was certain that the kid, along with countless others were being held at one of these locations and could now proceed in the next stage of his plan, notifying Doraghek who might be able to convince his father to extend the search, both in time and distance, as another thing these locations had in common, was that they were all outside the dwarven kingdom.

“Alright laddie. What’s this about?” Doraghek said, it was the following morning after Dmitri’s vision and subsequent delve into the records, it was early, so much so that the dwarf still had deep shadows between his eyes and thick beard.

“I think I’ve found something, not much but it’s something at least.” Dmitri said as he gestured over to the map, as the dwarf followed his gaze and looked up and down the mountain line, where Dmitri had made small circles around inhospitable locations.

“What am I looking at?” Doraghek said as he stared at the map.

“Back when I was dealing with this group the first time, I had a list of potential locations to hit, and these are them, all of them.” Dmitri replied, he had been amazed as to the number that he had found locations for, and had spent much of the night, double checking his results.

“These are, not good places, they’ll be difficult to assault.” Doraghek said as he drew closer to the map, examining each one in detail, making a count of the terrain, the local access to the place, as well as it’s distance from the mountain. None of which added up to a good result. “You realise that we have just enough fuel to attack one of these places at most. And the places further south would be a complete no go.” Doraghek finished. It had been as Dmitri had initially suspected.

“Do you have any kind of information on these places, as I was unable to save anymore of my research beyond just the names and locations.” Dmitri asked, he now realised that he should have prioritised it more, but what with the manor crumbling around him, and the successive flight to Brutus’ residence, he had only managed to get this much here.

“We might.” Doraghek said as he scratched his chin in contemplation. “But you should know that this information will not be enough to convince my father to keep up the searches.” Doraghek finished as he leaned on the double handed battle axe that he always carried around.

“I know.” Dmitri said, he had guessed that much too. Even though he didn’t like it, the fact that the councillors had the king’s ear more oft than not, made it almost impossible for him to offer anything of worth when they were around.

“Nor will I be able to make any progress with this intel, it’s a start don’t get me wrong, but you can get a more defined location, there is little I can do.” Doraghek continued, hoping to cut of the former captain’s next question. Whilst he personally thought that this was a very good lead and that they should be investigating it further, his personal opinions meant little when wayed against the king’s councillors seemingly wiser advice.

“Will you at least mention that we have a lead on the matter.” Dmitri asked, he had been hoping for that at least, it may not be enough to convince the king to continue, but it may soften him up for further action in the future. Doraghek thought about this for a moment as he tugged his beard.

“I will.” Doraghek said, mostly to aid the group who he had grown rather fond of over the past month or so. but a part of him would also like to stick it to the councillors that he despised so much and had been casting doubt in Fierhand’s mind for far too long. The dwarf nodded at the former captain and left the room, which left Dmitri feeling a lot better than he had done in weeks. They were finally starting to make some progress.

His good mood however was short lived as, after a few minutes of Doraghek’s departure, he heard the sound of a fresh argument brewing between Codsworth and Vernon. Sighing he got up and walked into the living area where the largest fight he had ever seen between the two was taking place.

“Well maybe if you stayed with the boy, then none of this would have happened!” Codsworth bellowed at the red-faced butler, he too was angry but not at the danger point just yet by Dmitri guess.

“You told him to run. And it never crossed your mind that it was a trap. You’re a commander aren’t you, isn’t it your job to think things through.” Vernon replied, not as loud as the commander, but with enough vitriol to make even the bravest person squirm.

As Dmitri observed the room, he could see that the pairs shouting match was attracting a lot of attention. Barca and Bruce had come out to observe the scene, with Dave and Nick were watching on from the corner.

“What’s this one about?” Dmitri said quietly to Barca.

“The old man just got word that the king is going to be suspending the search parties soon. He’s blaming old Codsworth for not having anything to show in all that time.” Barca replied as he leaned up against the wall. Dmitri only nodded and wondered whether Doraghek had told Vernon about the king’s decision. And whether he should feel guilty for bringing the dwarf here in the first place.

“Tell me Codsworth, why is it whenever you make a mistake, members of my family tend to get hurt. Jack’s eye, Dave in that helicopter crash and now Martin kidnapped. How long before your mistakes cost one of them their lives?” Vernon asked, this seemed to enrage the commander more than the insult on his command.

At this comment there was silence, Dave looked visibly uncomfortable at having been brought into the argument, he uncomfortably felt his side where the faint line reminded him of his injury. The teen wasn’t the only one who looked embarrassed however, as Dmitri was also feeling very uncomfortable, sure the sons of Alan Wolfrick had suffered since Codsworth had come into their lives, but both Jack and Dave had volunteered in the fights that gave them their battle scars.

“You’re right Vernon. They have, but you too share that responsibility, you okayed both Jack and Dave fighting on the front lines.” Codsworth responded. “I have a lot to answer for in my time butler. And I am ready to face that judgement, are you?” Codsworth asked, and Dmitri noted how the commander’s hand was hovering over his pistol. He seemed to realise what he had just done however, as he quickly took the hand away from the holster and put it behind his back. “Because old man, I know your history, and you’ve got a lot more to answer for than I have.” Codsworth continued once his hand was away from the weapon, and the hostilities resumed again. Dmitri sighed and made his way towards the exit. Intending to take Doraghek’s advise and get more defined intel.

As Dmitri walked out of the quarters, with Vernon and Codsworth still at each other’s throats, the two boys; Dave and Nick, made to follow him out, no doubt wanting to go out on the search with him. Whilst normally he may have accepted their offer of company, today was different, and he shook his head at them. He watched as the disappointed brothers went back to their rooms, and he turned back to the door, and headed straight out of it.