End it all in one fell swoop

After I was certain the priest and his procession were a significant distance away, I crawled out from under the counter and got to my feet. After thanking Arthur for his help and quickly dropping by the smithy to check in on Eleanor (who was unsurprisingly very relieved when I told her the priest had bought the story), I returned to the inn where Alice was waiting patiently in her room. Thankfully she had done exactly as I’d asked and returned to the inn immediately upon leaving my side.

“I see… þen ‘twas þy kwick þinking þat haþ saved me once again. Were’t not for þee, I ekspect my desepshon would have crumbled sooner or later,” she said after I recounted the events from when we split.

“I wouldn’t say we’re out of the woods yet. The whole lie hinges on them believing Arthur’s word, so the second that comes into question it’ll all tumble down. Still, it was the best I could manage with so little time.” In truth, my worries weren’t assuaged in the slightest. The priest obvious had his suspicions about Arthur, so I didn’t doubt for a second he’d be carefully scrutinised from now on. But it kept the heat off our back for a little while, which was enough to earn us some breathing room.

Not wanting to dwell further on an issue I currently couldn't solve, I changed the subject.

“So… the document. You look into it yet?” I asked. Alice wordlessly produced the document from her inside pocket and handed it over to me.

“Myne initial reading was only half correct. ‘Tis not only a bill of sale, but a manifesto. A manifesto for a shipment, coming in from þe continent. ‘Tis not merely slaves þey bring, eiþer. ‘Twill be a shipment of weppons for þe slavers to keep þeir indenchured in line. þree hundred slaves. Twenty muskets. Enough black powder to sunder a small island. ‘Tis þe larjest slave ship I have ever had þe displeashure of hearing about.”

Three hundred slaves, packed into a ship with weapons meant to be used against them… it was enough to make me sick to my stomach. That being said…

“If it’s an overseas shipment, is it possible we could intercept it and free all of ‘em at once? Snag the guns and powder while we’re at it? Seems like a big opportunity to let go to waste.” In all honesty, it was a total game changer. In terms of morale, sending a message and bolstering our numbers, freeing three hundred slaves in one fell swoop would be an enormous win for us.

Of course, fate isn’t that kind.

“‘Tis… not kwyte so simple. Such a larje shipment wilt be overseen by a larje number of Edelweiss forces, as well as what ever gards are already on þe vessel. Even wiþ þy… revolver, was it? 'Twould be suicide to launch an assault on such a well-guarded transfer. Not to mention þe lojistics of rendering 300 freed men homeless. ‘Twould be impossible to loj þem wiþout þe auþority of my house. ‘Tis possible we would not free þem but doom þem to deaþ. 'Twould be truly grate if such an operæshon were feasible, but I cannot say we have any such chance in our current state.”

My spirits were crushed as quickly as my hopes. A win that big would finally put us on track to making a real difference, but Alice was right. With just she, Eleanor and I as combatants, no weapon would even the playing field against an entire escort unit. Even if Elis and Alces were involved, there’s little that five of us could do.

Five of us…

“Alice… when is that shipment set to come in?” I asked.

“Ah- þe date should be… here,” she said, pointing to a string of 8 digits near the bottom right corner. I didn’t recognise it at first because it wasn’t spaced with dots or dashes, but it definitely resembled a date.

“25-05-1497. What’s the date today, remind me?”

“‘Tis þe twenty þird of Shiluna, þe fourþ monþ. þere be'þ 32 days before þe twenty fifþ of Goluna, and ‘tis a þree day ryde on horseback. A week's walk on foot.”

Just under a month… that’s a lot of time if used wisely. If we planned properly, we could almost certainly get a lot done in that time. I wasn’t sure how long it would take Arthur to ready the first revolver, but if we began raiding as soon as it became available to us…

“I believe I know what þou art þinking, and ‘tis a very risky þing. þe more people we free, þe more attenshon is drawn to us and anti-slavery sentiment. We may end up achieving nautt but self sabotaje if we act so rashly.” Alice said, completely seeing through me.

“We’re unlikely to ever get a chance like this again, though, right? The longer this cause goes on, the more likely you are to get assassinated or somethin'. We needs to take decisive action quickly if we wants a chance to win this conflict, and this might just be our only opportunity. If we can bolster our numbers in advance with raids, we might have a real shot at taking that ship. We can end this all in one fell swoop before your dad even realises what’s hit him. Ain't that exactly the chance we’re lookin' for?”

Alice breathed and bit her lip, not answering straight away. She seemed to be thinking on her answer carefully, her expression wavering several times before she eventually continued with a sigh.

“…if, and þis be’þ a very larje if, if we manaje to attane a fighting force strong enough wiþin þe next monþ, I will reconsider myne objecshons. I cannot deny as þou sayest: þis truly may be our only opporchunity so grand. But it also be þe possible graund for þe end of us. We must consider our opshons carefully, and not allau ourselves to be carried away by fanatic zeal. I, too, wish to see þose men and women free of þeir shackles. But I do not wish to die an early deaþ, nor to see þose I love face þe same fate. þus, I cannot uncondishonally assent to such a danjerous course of akshon. But, if þou provest to me þat it be’þ a feasible and realistic goal, þou wilt have my full support,” she said softly. Even when speaking on topics like these, her calming voice could set me at ease. And her challenge stoked my motivation.

“I won’t let you down. With blood, toil, tears and sweat, I’ll make sure I see this through to the end. Depend on that.”

“I truly believe in þee, Barry Mackay. Show me þat my faiþ be’þ not misplaced.”