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“Coincidence remains possible.”
Joran gives me a flat look.
“I did not say it was likely.”
I trace the blue line eastward. The affected routes supply two minor houses that supported my fortification proposals before the king’s council. If their merchants lose enough profit, those houses will either demand concessions from me or seek cheaper arrangements with Varrus.
Economic pressure rarely looks heroic in court histories. It conquers just as efficiently as an army.
“Can we redirect the caravans?” Joran asks.
“Through the southern valley.”
“That adds eleven days.”
“Twelve in winter.”
“They’ll lose more in provisions than they pay in tolls.”
“Precisely.”
He folds his arms. “Then Varrus has chosen his ground.”
“He believes he has.”
I bring the trade routes closer. One branch crosses House Varrus territory because a bridge farther north collapsed last spring. Repairs were delayed after the Miou engineer overseeing them died.
A new bridge would cost less than six months of inflated tolls.
I mark the location.
“Send a surveyor here,” I say. “Neptherium supports. Broad enough for two wagons to pass.”
“Varrus will hear of it.”
“He is intended to.”
“An expensive answer.”
“A permanent one.”
Joran inclines his head. “I’ll find a surveyor.”
He leaves the war room, taking the clerk with him.
I remain at the table.
Chaos hums through the neptherium beneath my hand. It seeks alternate shapes, offering possibilities without judgment. Roads shift. Bridges form. Mountain walls open, then close. Each change could be made real with sufficient labor, coin, and blood.
No ruler possesses enough of any of them.
I reduce the ridge to its central pass.
Vesper’s Peak appears beneath Morwen’thir Stronghold as a collection of small grey structures. Lowtown occupies the least protected ground, where wind descends from the ridge and winter runoff turns the lanes to mud.
The human settlement is poorly placed for comfort and ideally placed for labor.
Miners, haulers, farmers, and craftspeople live close enough to serve the stronghold and maintain the trade road. Their survival supports Morwen’thir revenue. Their loyalty, if such a word can apply to people with no meaningful choice, depends upon the house remaining more tolerable than whatever power might replace it.
