Chapter 26: Perspective
Scout Rilik was hungry. He had not eaten since yesterday morning, the orcs were moving faster, they had also started sending some scouts as well, command had sent him a message informing him, the enemy was aware they were being followed, if he ever felt in danger he should move southwest, and rendezvous with the army, which was moving in an interception course towards the orcs.
He had been surprised by the quick response of the army. The orc group had grown exponentially in the last weeks, they were close to 20,000 in number, and they were still adding tribes along their way, he had expected them to target two more tribes before they entered the borders of Loire, but they dismissed that idea and were marching straight for the border. Command was right, they knew they were being followed, still he would not leave the group. He figured, he was the only scout this close to the group, he would keep with them.
Before he and Egil, had left Svet Cilar, the easter army rounded 30,000 in numbers, he did not know how much, the number had changed, but it was a know fact that you wanted to double the orcs in number. The orc group had been increasing their numbers aggressively, they moved from tribe to tribe, either they joined, or they bled.
The leading tribe was the Sleeping Thunder, their leader was a massive orc with dark olive skin, and a magically enchanted axe. He had challenged most of the other tribes leaders and had made quick work of them. He had seen what was left of the orcs who had dared challenged him, they were not buried but left to rot.
Rilik could now identified every tribe of the large group, Egil had been thorough with his notes, and he had tried to keep them updated. His death companion had placed special interest in those tribes that had joined reluctantly, and actively opposed the leadership of the Sleeping Thunder tribe.
Other tribes had willingly joined the group, they tried to earn favors with the Sleeping Thunder tribe, and worked to be recognized by them, the Sleeping Thunder tribe was well equipped, most of its members had steel armor and weapons, that was incredibly rare for the warring hill orcs, and they even armed the tribes that obeyed them.
Egil had made an analysis on how the group was organized. They had not much supplies, so even though they tried to move fast, they had to sent hunters and gatherers for supplies. The eastern army would be able to intercept them in just a couple of days. The easter army had already chosen a spot to prepare the ambush, Rilik only had to make sure the orcs would reach the place.
Rilik had kept with his companion notes, he said they would serve the prince. He was not sure if his reports were being given to the prince, but he would continued his partner work. Besides the numbers, and fighting capabilities, Egil had focused on the tribes. There were 16 tribes among the large group of orcs. The one leader Sleeping Thunder was an old tribe, every now and then it had raided the fallen kingdom of Faerun, but their numbers were too large, almost 5000 orcs, and they all were armed with steel. Rilik had never seen a tribe with that many weapons and numbers before.
Egil also identified three tribes which were opposing the Sleeping Thunder. The Ruin Builders was the biggest of them, they had a decent number, and their orcs were well fed, they lacked weapons and armor, but they had some fierce warriors. The Sleeping Thunder had avoided them, until they had more than doubled their numbers, before engaging them. The Sleeping Thunder leader had challenged Ruin Builders' leader to a duel. It had been a close match until the Ruin Builders leader weapon broke mid fight. After the fight the Ruin Builders marched with the group, but were not pleased, nor have they accepted anything from the Sleeping Thunder orcs.
The other two, were relative smaller tribes, one of them had been the last to join their group. There members were mostly woman and children, they had fought bravely even though they had no chance, the Book Reader tribe, they were called. They had been relegated to the rear, they were treated harshly and made to work for the Sleeping Thunder tribe.
The last to oppose the main tribe were the Fire Eaters, they were a medium sized tribe, but they had shamans, and from what they had seen, were respected among the other tribes. The Fire Eaters had already been part of the group when Rilik and Egil began tailing them, so they did not know how they had been made to be part of the group, but they often clashed with the Sleeping Thunder, in how they treated the rest of the tribes.
There were a few other that were uncomfortable about their situation, but most did nothing, they all looked at the Book Reader tribe, and tried to avoid being the next to be treated that way. Egil knew a little orcish, he had even noted the names of some of the leaders, and any other information. Rilik did not understand why, but he had tried to keep the notes his companion made. He had sent every message, with the updates of the notes, he truly hoped, they were being given to the prince, and that he would make use of them.
He was tired, and hungry, but he would keep with the orcs. They would seen meet the easter army, and it was his job to follow them, 'The eyes of the empire', Rilik could not falter would not hesitate, he carried on.
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Luka was waiting for his uncle, lord Rowan Beaumont. He had always liked his uncle, he was in many ways much like his son, Percy, approachable, honest and funny, but his uncle was also sly and smart, his father had always praised him because of that, but he had also said he was the most stubborn man in all of Loire, a face Luka had never seen from his uncle, but ever since he arrived at Mont Levale yesterday, that was the only he had seen in his uncle.
He had traveled with his father and Aedrik to the palace, the royal duke met with them. They explained what was happening and confirmed there was someone or something targeting their alliance. After they convened on what needed to be done, they called for the crown army officials and explained their plan of action. Afterwards, they had sent Aedrik to the town of Kozâ, where the orcs would attack, and had sent Luka to Mont Levale.
The royal duke would notify the council of nobles, that Luka would serve as the liaison between Loire, and the imperial army. Luka was meant to inform the Beaumont dukedom, as they were the suspected target of the large orc group coming from the warring hills. His father was going to try to press the council of nobles, to allow them to move freely, and they expected the royal duke, would give permission of the Beaumonts to move accordingly to the alliance they had with the empire, and meet them to face the orcs.
"Be patient with your uncle. He is stubborn, and the Beaumonts are the only ones who will be sending their men to reinforce the empire, your uncle knows it is the best chance, but he is tired of having to bleed his dukedom. Listen to him and explain him everything" that was what his father had told him before he was teleported.
The royal duke had given him and edict with his appointment as liaison between nations, and the express necessity of sending troops to respond to their alliance with the empire. He had left the duke worried, and in a hurry to continue his surveying on Loire's nobles.
An hour later, Luka was at Château Blanche sitting with his uncle. He had been received with the usual closeness and a grand reception, but his uncle had not wanted to hear anything about the orcs, not until the morning. Luka had pushed and pressed, and in the end, his uncle had excused himself and had him, "accompanied to his room to rest". He had been going mad in the room, when he received a message form Pan, confirming the successful defense of Kozâ and that the army was ready to march at first light in the morning.
He had considered sneaking into his uncle chambers, but there was no point in it. He barely slept that night. They were wasting time, valuable time, if Aedrik's report was accurate, he was not sure if the empire could handle the orc group alone, if they lost that battle, the Beaumont dukedom would bleed, until reinforcements came from Lunebleau or more from the empire, but they could well abandon the campaign since their allies had done nothing. Luka had seldom been this nervous before, whoever their enemy was, they were pressing them hard.
As soon as light entered his room, Luka had left his room. He was informed, his uncle would meet him a bit later, since he had drank to much last night. Luka wandered Château Blanche, and noted they were preparing, their knights were already gathered within the castle, perhaps his uncle was waiting for Percy to arrive, they still needed to gather supplies, Luka coming with the edict, and pushing for the Beaumont men to move, was an imposition. The dukedom, had some of the kingdom best fortresses, they could rely on their walls to held the orcs if they prepared properly, the problem was their allies, the Fey Danan Empire, was to meet the orcs outside, on the open.
Luka had decided to head to the barracks, there was a large command room, where he had seen his uncle, try to teach Percy how to properly manage their knights and men. He greeted several knights a long the way, but they were all keeping themselves from him. For the first time in his life, he felt out of place in the Château Blanche, a place he always knew as a second home, even more than the estate a Meury.
He went straight to the command room, at the main table laid several maps. He noticed the one on top had several notes, than Percy had probably been sending, it had the reported orc numbers, and was placed, like the intended approach that Aedrik had presented for the strategy discussions.
After arguing for the whole day, most had agreed Aedrik's plan was good. They needed to engage the orcs on the open, to make the most of Loire's knights, the empire would receive the charge of the orcs, and Loire would flank them. Many nobles had placed their doubts on the table, one even had the courage to ask Aedrik if the empire would truly handle the charge of the orcs, some representatives of the Fey Danan delegation had been upset, but Aedrik calmy told him, they would. It was their plan, they were proposing the idea, and if Loire did not want to join, they had no problem with it, the empire trusted that their allies would respect them.
That alone had calmed everyone. Luka had been worried for a moment, and so had the royal duke, but Aedrik had been clear from the beginning, the empire would push inside the warring hills. They wanted a better defensive position, and a way to protect their people, they would do it, with or without Loire.
"Good morning, Luka, I see you are eager to continue our discussion" said lord Rowan Beaumont as he entered the command room. He was almost the same height as his father but chubbier, or looked that way, lord Rowan was an splendid Knight "I am guessing by your pale face, you are yet to have any breakfast, since you are so worried about everything" as his uncle spoke, a servant came into the room carrying to trays of food, one was placed in front on Luka, the other in front of his uncle as he took a seat.
"We are going to have breakfast together, Luka, otherwise your late grandmother would visit me tonight and give me nightmares" the big lord said with a smile "Listen, before you said anything else. I know your concerns and genuine, but I need you to listen to me for a while, as we eat, just for a second, would you consider another perspective?" Luka eyed his uncle, he had already began eating as soon as the food was placed in front on him, but he saw something on his uncle face, his father had always lauded the man intelligence.
"Of course, uncle, thank you for the meal" Luka said and he looked at the food with some interest. The servant left, and Luka noticed there was no one else with them.
"I have to admit, something is off with everything that's been happening lately. The idea of sharing presenting a general plan at the conference was brilliant. Judging by the response in the orcs, there is a leak of information" his uncle somehow managed to be clear, even though his mouth was full "The problem lies, with whom we should be worried about, I for one still have my reservations about the empire" Luka stopped eating "Hear me out first Luka, and eat your food"
"I have not met this prince Aedrik, and from what your mother, your aunt, your cousins, your father and you have said, it is possible he might have truly fallen in love with our sweet Frey, but that does not mean the Empire would not try to make the most out of this situation" Luka was about to argue but his uncle raised his hand.
"The empire has grown too large, too fast; even if the empire is not trying to make the most of the situation, we should look out for those who are uncomfortable, dissidents, they could very well have a hand in this. Loire for all its history has always had its own scheming imbeciles, they could be working with those within the empire… we should consider the possibilities, Luka"
"Our families are bound by blood, your father and I were friends, and his marriage with my sister, made us even closer, but we are both high nobles, dukes. Our relationship is very rare among the high nobility, and our blood bond, even though it brings us closer, it also gives us a claim for our lands. You could well take over the Beaumont territory, if something where to happen to Percy and Danielle when I am gone" Luka truly felt her appetite leaving him, his uncle was speaking as if he was talking about the weather… "The same could be said the other way, but now house Lunebleau has a bond with the Empire, does it not present a chance?"
"There are too many players in the game of power, be they from Loire or the empire, the prince could be part of somebody else game, from what you said he is also aware and watchful, who wouldn't considering how Faerun backstabbed them; all I am saying is that we should make the most of this chance, if there is a hand behind everything, why not entice them? We have every right to demand and argue against the rest of the nobles, I will argue and demand, I am already sending letters of discomfort, and I also being very vocal about how upset I am with house Lunebleau and your decision, do you understand?" his uncle had almost finished eating, Luka was still trying to understand his words, and then he saw a small wink.
"You are saying, we should let everyone know we are upset, and that we are fighting among us, because there a chance the real culprits might reach out for us?" Luka's head was racing, his uncle smiled.
"Why isn't Percy a faster thinker like you" his uncle sighed "Everyone in the kingdom knows we are close, not only because we are family, but because we have a long history together, your father and I, but we have now an opportunity Luka"
"My sister marriage with Aedrik, could be seen as something that would tip the scale of power between us" Luka said
"And being as stubborn as I am, that would take me apart from you" his uncle replied with a smile.
"That is why you have been so adamant to move your troops?" Luka was wondering, it was indeed a good idea, to leave a hole for their unknown enemy to slip through, and his uncle minor lords, had been summoned as well yesterday, they had all witnessed him and his uncle discussing, arguing.
"Yes, and no. We should make the most of this opportunity is very rare chance, but I do have my reservations regarding moving most of the dukedom troops, we have already paid a high price for it" Luka, said nothing, her aunt Liliane's husband had died defending Château Balance when it had been left undefended "I do not know if this prince is cunning, or he had a sudden moment of inspiration, the idea of taking over a piece of the warring hills will give us enough leverage for us to reconcile with our peers" Luka opened his eyes wide.
"Percy was sure you would agree with the idea, Aedrik only discussed the idea of pushing inside the warring hills with us, you say we should not talk about it, but discuss it as a result, and demand it as our involvement?" his uncle winked at him once more.
"That is, only if we manage to defeat the orcs and push inside the warring hills. I will point fingers, call the rest of the nobles cowards, you will call upon our commitment with the alliance"
"Aedrik is aware of this, and he has already discussed ceding the lands over to Loire, they would only pursue does directly east to their border, they wanted to create a defensive line on high ground. I could talk with the royal duke, he could accept the empire proposal, and he would grant them to us, we reconcile with the crown, and the rest of the nobles had no say in it"
"I like that, the royal duke is smart, old Favre is slipping, good thing his son is worthy of the crown. This is how we should work around it; can you talk with the royal duke?" his uncle asked, Luka nodded.
"Splendid, please Luka, have Percy foment a friendship with the royal duke if you can, you are one of the few who has Percy's ear" Luka raised an eyebrow at the last comment "The thing is, we should play are part properly. It is important to work with the empire, but not support them, to have our clear differences, and here is the really important detail. We need you talk with your brother-in-law to be and truly talk on how much help and when does he really needs it?"
Luka had stopped eating somewhere along his uncle explanation. He had argued publicly with him yesterday, he had him stomping all morning around Château Blanche and gossips traveled faster than message spells. His father always said he was sly, and smart, but he was trying to make the most out of everything, even trying to lay a trap for whomever was working against them…
"I'll send him a message right away"
"Remember, once we leave this room, I will delay our next meeting, perhaps some shouting it is still required, once you have a number, we prepare and send our troops, you will have to march upset and disgruntled"
"Certainly"
"Before that however, you and I will, eat and discuss here, before you set out"
"Understood"
"Now, tell me about this prince, is he good enough for Frey?" Luka smiled at his uncle, only when he asked him that, had he stopped eating.
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