Confederation strategy(2)

When Alvarie first saw his bodyguards—the thirty well-paid men he had hired to ensure his safety—kneel to the ground and raise their empty hands in surrender, his mind struggled to process what he was witnessing. These were the men he had chosen with care, paying more coin than he cared to admit . And yet, here they were, throwing down their weapons without so much as a fight.

For a brief, desperate moment, he thought he might be imagining it, that perhaps the exhaustion of the journey or some unaccounted-for wine had clouded his mind. But as the sharp tang of salt air filled his lungs and the distant cries of gulls pierced the quiet tension, reality settled in.

He hadn't been betrayed by his senses.But instead by his men.

And, of course, when imagination faltered and cold reasoning took hold, only then did the storm of emotions erupt.