“This is perfect!” Vaxavius watched as Retvik paced up and down. “This could not be better! The perfect opportunity has appeared!”
“Should you not be up there, planning for the big gathering?” Trismit asked, munching his way through a packet of dried meat jerky. “I mean, your regular visits are very nice, but is this not a massive event?”
Vaxavius tutted. “I did this every year for the last decade, and this year, I have an almost infinite budget. The xenan leaders will be fine. Better than fine, because Kenon will be on his best behaviour, wanting to show how big and strong and honourable he is.”
Trismit seemed unsure. He finished the packet of jerky then reached down the side of the bed he was lying on and pulled out a second packet. “So how does this help with the Retvik plan? I thought you wanted this to happen when the General was weak and distracted?”
“But he WILL be distracted and weakened. Kenon cannot back down from an open challenge and he will have no choice but to agree to Retvik’s demands. He is far too proud to back down from what he probably considers a non-threat.”
Swiftly making his way through the second bag of jerky, Trismit still wasn’t convinced. “He could just dismiss the challenge outright. Tell everyone that he will deal with the issue later and then just crush Retvik in his spare time? He could do that.”
“He will not. He is too proud. I should know, I have to put up with him every single damn day.”
“Well, what does Retvik think?”
Vaxavius turned to Retvik, who was still pacing up and down. Much to his dismay, Retvik seemed… not particularly healthy. He looked tired, exhausted even. As he paced up and down, Vaxavius noted how Retvik had gained weight, and how the armour on his arms, the natural plating that was supposed to have been healing, had been picked at. Clearly, Retvik was incredibly stressed.
“Retvik?”
Retvik grunted. “I see your points, but I need to think about this. Preferably in private. Away from you both.”
“How comes?” Trismit asked. Normally Retvik seemed completely fine having Trismit around, but Trismit was also seeing these cracks in what was normally impenetrable armour.
“I need some privacy.”
“What for?” Vaxavius asked too, edging closer to Retvik. “Is something wrong? Do you want to change your mind and not go through with this?”
Retvik stopped pacing and finally sat himself down. “If this plan works, great, not a problem. Sure, I will suddenly be High General after defeating a god, but it is all for the greater good. If the plan does not work… well, then I die. And I need to sit down and plan for that. Get my head together. Accept that fate. I have to do this… in private…”
“That is totally fair…” Trismit and Vaxavius both muttered. Vaxavius in particular felt ashamed that he had not considered this scenario himself.
“May I have some privacy? A couple of hours? A day would be best, but I understand that we have limited resources to work on.”
Vaxavius nodded, getting up and heading to the door. “I will see what I can do, Retvik. Whatever you need.”
Retvik bowed. “Thank you…”