The Gembound: The Price of Keeping Chapter 100: Volume 4: Chapter 92 – The Plan

Read chapter 100 of The Gembound: The Price of Keeping by Taliorn on NovelPedia.

Volume 4: Chapter 92 – The Plan Night fell slowly over the camp, each tent lit from within like muted lanterns. Fires crackled in staggered rings, the smell of broth and damp wool replacing the iron tang of the battlefield. Yara assembled the council in the command tent—Bruno, Scythe, Raptor, Slash, Spark, Face, Index, Eliza, Gayle, Renn, and Harry. Sam waited outside, his bulk causing faint tremors along the guy lines whenever he breathed. Not overwhelming, simply present, unignorable. Daryl sat on a crate, kicking his heels like a child forced to attend a very serious sermon. Petra lay curled behind him, ever-watchful; Corvin sat beside her, eyes sharp and patient. Yara stood at the head of the table, looking down at the map of Eldania. Its walls were marked with charcoal lines showing Theodric’s spellwork, reinforced beams, and watch rotations. Bruno spoke first. “We hit the gate with a siege-elk and a charge of Enhanced. We didn’t make a crack. We try again, we’ll lose twice as many.” Spark ran a hand through her hair, leaving a streak of soot. “He’s using some reinforcing spell on the inner braces. When the elk hit, the wood didn’t flex—it pulled back into place. I’ve only seen that in collapsing-ward spells meant to keep tunnels from killing miners.” “Modified,” Raptor added. “And layered too closely. Too fresh. That’s Theodric’s signature—overbuilt, reckless, and unsustainable.” “And dangerous,” Eliza said. “If he’s shoring up walls that hard, he’s running the magic too hot. It’ll blow if something cracks.” “Which means we don’t need brute force,” Scythe murmured. “We need pressure. Focused. In the right place.” Yara waited. Weaver's thread touched Yara's mind. "The four inside have been mapping. There are options below." Scythe tapped the map. "There's another way in." Raptor nodded, already anticipating: “Below?” “Below,” Scythe confirmed. “Ferric cities have predictable construction. I served under three architects during campaigns. The sewers follow a lattice of old stone, new reinforcements. Eldania is older than any of them, which means the oldest tunnels are deeper… and forgotten.” Daryl perked up. “Forgotten sounds good. Forgotten sounds fun.” “Forgotten sounds unstable ,” Bruno snapped. Daryl shrugged. “Fun and unstable are kind of my thing.” Scythe ignored them both. “We’ve had four Scars and the shadow scouts in the city for days. They’ve been mapping from the inside what they can, anyway. We don’t have a full schematic, but Weaver’s interior threads confirm several collapsed access points. And one not collapsed.” “Where?” Yara asked. Scythe pointed to a tiny square on the eastern side of Eldania’s lower ward. “Here. An old storm drain. Rusted bars. Not watched. It opens into a main runoff chamber that leads to maintenance tunnels under Theodric’s tower. From there: access to the gatehouse’s underside.” Raptor leaned in. “That gets us close enough to sabotage the braces.” Face added, “And maybe slip the lock on the inner murder-holes.” Spark’s eyes gleamed. “And if I can plant something inside the brace anchors? I can make the entire gatehouse forget how to stand upright.” Bruno cleared his throat, voice heavy. “This is suicide.” “No,” Scythe said. “It is precise.” “You just described being buried alive in a rat-hole!” Bruno argued. “That’s not precise. That’s stupid.” Daryl leapt off his crate. “I volunteer!” Bruno closed his eyes. “Of course you do.” “No, really,” Daryl said. “Tight spaces, fast movement, unpredictable enemies, collapsing architecture? I excel at that.” “You excel at making me want to strangle you,” Bruno muttered. Renn whispered to Gayle, “Is he always like this?” Gayle didn’t look up from the row of poultices he was preparing for the infiltration team. “Imagine a thunderstorm with legs.” Renn nodded. “Got it.” Scythe looked Daryl over, expression unreadable. “You’re undisciplined.” “I’m motivated, ” Daryl countered. “There’s a difference.” Scythe’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “Motivation