Jonathan Chess (01) - Pawn to Andorra

 

   Jon Chess - Agent of Cheese  

The first thing that the fellow commonly known as Jon Chess noticed when led his mule through the East Gate road from the village of Escaldes was the taint in the air - not that  he was not accustomed to the scents of an active, vibrant town. The smell of hides scraped and tanning, the fertilizer in the fields, the scent of dead fish in various stages of decomposition - useful as plant nutrient when no longer fit nor safe for human consumption. He was even accustomed to the odor of a forge; steam, the air itself burnt by hot iron, and the stale sweat of the blacksmith and his apprentices. That might not be such a bad job, given the location. His nose would even forgive burned incense and scented candles from the local Church of the Holy Light. 

No, this was a taint of Darkness, of the antithesis of everything the Church of the Holy Light stood for, even those Churches in Andorra which had fallen into error when the Grand Empire had been forcibly ejected by the Right Hand of Darkness, a vampire who had afterwards taken the name Valdemar, first Duke of Andorra.

Having done that, the creature had become recluse, not to be seen. He appointed civic officials, organized a military, and bought the cooperation of the local Abbots of the Andorran village Churches, but had effectively vanished.

Naturally, the Primate of the Church of the Holy Light had been… concerned. First the Primate, and then his successor, had spent a small fortune trying to find out what had actually happened, and more importantly, how they could reverse it. How to restore the rule of the Grand Empire to Andorra.

According to the Church, Andorra itself was of little value, except for two thing; Andorra occupied one of the few viable passes for the transport and supply of a substantial military force, and the Empire had set its sights on making the wealthy, resource-rich, and heretical Emirate of Basra a large Imperial province. They had just begun the conflict when Duke Valdemar had risen from the Darkness, and in a week the locals called the Nights of Blood had virtually single-handedly  stopped the invasion of Basra by the Grand Empire,

The Grand Empire had failed to gain anything of significance in the years since the Nights of Blood, but had tried to reconquer Andorra several times, without success. Finally, the Emperor had cut a deal; the Order of the Temple Knights were allowed to refurbish the old Grand Empire base at Castlemount, and establish an ambassador in Andorra La Vella.  The Grand Empire and Andorra settled into an armed peace, with both sides understanding that if Andorra Showed weakness, the Grand Empire would be over the border like a wolf on a wounded rabbit.

The Church of the Holy Light in Andorra had proven recalcitrant to gather information on behalf of the Grand Empire, instead decided to walk a path of strict neutrality between their ecclesiastical and temporal masters, 

The current Primate, upon being elevated to the Holy See, had pondered. He had spoken to Cardinal Barris, who handled information-gathering for His Holiness. Cardinal Barris had spoken to someone, who had spoken to someone, who had spoken to someone. Eventually someone had spoken to Jon’s boss, and Jon had been sent to Andorra to gather intelligence, Jon suspected that at the end of his intelligence report, that Jon would  get another set of orders. Besides being a spy, Jon was also an assassin.

Most of the people who knew Jonathan Chess knew him only as a merchant’s agent for the London-based company, the Barrington Cheese Imports and Exports Company, Limited. On paper, Jonathan Chess was a merchant factor, who traveled extensively, establishing new customers, took orders, and delivered cheeses collected from the four corners of the globe, 

Where Jon Chess went, the cheese flowed and death followed.

Now Jon had come to Andorra La Vella, under the taint of unholy Darkness

The gates of the East Gate were wide open, and looked as if they had not been closed in an eternity. "Impossible... even this Darkness-benighted country has to close the gates at night," Jon pondered, even has he noted that each of the East Gate's towers held only one guard each. He made a mental note to include it in his report.

He entered the town, leading his pack mule, and made his way to his destination; the Cheese Shop run by his friend and correspondent, a fellow named Jordi Bosc, whose family had run the cheese shop for generations. Unfortunately, the Bosc family had fallen upon hard times after the Nights of Blood, as they had deep ties in the Grand Empire, and customers had shied away from their association with the "foreigners". The Bosc family had almost lost the shop, but the wealthy merchant Aral family had interceded with their creditors, and walked away with a controlling interest.

Jon looked at the sign, which delineated what cheeses they had in stock; many of them were imports from Basra.

Jordi looked up from behind the counter, where he had been working. "May I help you?" Jordi asked, an ingratiating smile on his face.

"You may, if you are Jordi Bosc," Jon replied. While they had corresponded in the past, this was Jon's first visit to Andorra, and had never met Jordi in person before. "My name is Jon Chess."

Jordi's face lit up with enthusiasm as he beheld his colleague. Jon had worn his travel leathers, a working set of utilitarian gray. At first glance, Jordi had assumed the fellow before him to be older than he was; Jon's hair was a silver-white, and cut short. Jordi's eyes narrowed as he saw that Jon carried several knives; one was obviously utilitarian, but two others were broad-double edged affairs, the sort one might expect from a street thug or bravo.

Jon noticed that Jordi's eyes were focused on his weapons, and said "I must look like one of those Hidati bandits up around Soldeu, what with all of this ironmongery. The roads aren't safe for travelers who are not visibly armed."

Jon's explanation but Jordi at ease. "No doubt! No doubt! Have you come a long way?" asked Jordi.

"I came straight from London, stopping at Avignon just long enough to restock some cheeses; they, and my flintlocks, are on the mule outside."

"Have you now? That was very thoughtful of you," said Jordi.

"Well, the bosses at Barrington wanted me to look for new customers and suppliers in Basra, so I thought that anything you don't want I can use as samples of what we can offer in trade, but it seemed a waste of a trip to not see if I could help you restock somewhat," Jon said.

"Well, I can certainly use a goodly resupply," said Jordi.

"Good, good. And when we are done with a little business, perhaps you might recommend a decent inn? I am tired of sleeping rough." Jon was no stranger to the hardships of the road, including sleeping with half an eye open for disturbance or danger.

The two of them spent a pleasant hour dickering over price for Jon's supply of Montbrison from d Auvergne, Munster from Alsace monasteries, and Neufchatel from Normandy. Naturally, this involved a tasting of each cheese, and more than a glass of the sour wine from Sant Julia. By the time they had finished, the pack mule was almost empty.

(WIP)

Jon Chess