Next Capable Kingdom Preview

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Fall of Provent

- Four days after the Navarran invasion -

King Ferdinand of Provent was sitting in his study, looking out the window at his capital city, Marsae. In the distance, he could see it was surrounded by the armies of Navar, their campfires lighting up the nearby countryside. They had beaten back an assault on the walls today, but it had been a bloody fight, and they wouldn't be able to survive many more.

Should I just surrender in exchange for letting my men live? Although, who knows if those bastard Navarrans will even hold up their end of the bargain...

He shook his head and walked over to his war council table. Technically, a War Council was in session, but those few that were left were busy. Some of the people who would be important members, like Gabriella, his former adjutant, was currently a diplomatic hostage in Ositania and her father, his younger brother, had mostly likely fallen in battle a few days prior.

When the Navarrans invaded out of nowhere, they had only a day to gather as many troops as possible before they ventured out to meet them. They had been outnumbered by them two-to-one though, and despite defending valiantly, they had only really bought enough time for civilians to take shelter. Many had come here, and the city was overflowing with them at the moment.

He looked at the two letters sitting on his desk. Both of them written by him, and they were for the same person. However, they had slight differences in what they said, depending on how the situation developed.

There was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” he said gruffly.

The door opened, and his adjutant, and older Provental man, came in. “Sire!”

“What's the news?” Ferdinand asked, sitting and sighing.

“It looks like they aren't going to attack again soon. They may be settling in for a long siege.”

Ferdinand leaned forward, interested. “Really? I was afraid they rebuild their ladders and rams to attack again.”

The adjutant shook his head. “They may in the future but we see nothing right now. It's possible they are waiting until reinforcements arrive.”

Ferdinand nodded. “Were you able to arrange a meeting with King Lavon?”

“No, sire, the messenger said he doesn't wish to talk with you. They only reiterated the demand for the surrender of all of Provent.”

Ferdinand furrowed his brow. Is he ashamed of what he's done and doesn't want to talk? Or does he just think he's above talking to me? Or does he just think there's no point to negotiation? As these thoughts ran through his mind, he shook his head. It doesn't really matter, does it. “Are my wife and child safely out of the country?”

“We have not heard back yet, but they should be. We have yet to receive any word about where the rest of the Navarran army is.”

Ferdinand nodded. He knew, roughly, that the army Navar could muster should be larger than the one they had by at least half again, if not more. Why would he leave it at home, when he could secure victory easier with it? We would not have held today if their whole number was bearing down on us instead of just half, or whatever this is. At he was mulling this over, a realization hit him, That must be it! Grabbing one of the letters, he threw it into his fireplace to burn.

The captain raised an eyebrow. “Sire?”

Ferdinand took the other letter, grabbed something from his desk, put it in and sealed it, and handed it over. “Make sure this gets to Princess Gabriella. And ready my horse.”

“Are we to sortie out under cover of night?” the adjutant asked, a bit suspicious.

“No, I am leaving to join with my wife and kid.”

The adjutant started to get angry. “You...you intend to abandon your kingdom, sire?”

He shook his head. “No, I've just exhausted everything I can do for it.”

Time

- Eight days after the Navarran invasion -

Mac watched as the catapults launched another barrage at the Navarrans, smashing up the remains of their old camp.

Over the course of the last week, more and more of the metal catapults made their way up to the Ledge (as Mac thought of it), and more and more stones rained down on the camp. The Navarrans had ignored it at first, and he saw a few had magic to defend themselves with, but eventually they started hastily moving farther and farther away, until finally everyone was out of the catapult range. They still fired volleys regularly whenever some of the Navarrans went picking through tents in the abandoned section, to remind them they were still there, watching.

Mac and Miss Amiry sat near the edge of the Ledge, with Mac looking at the catapult results through Lord Cartegna's binoculars. They had not used their magic in a couple days, as the Navarrans seemed to have gotten fed up with their rams constantly being destroyed.

“Sire, do you see that?” Miss Amiry asked, pointing.

Mac moved his binoculars around. “See what?”

“There, behind their camp,” she said, snapping shut her fan and pointing with it.

Mac followed the camp back, and saw what she was pointing too. They were building some sort of structure. It looked similar to the battering rams they had used, but quite a bit larger. If he was judging properly, probably over a hundred men could stand in it, maybe more if they squeezed together. Are they just building a big ram? It almost looks more like a siege tower, but that doesn't make any sense, there isn't a wall to go over. “I'm impressed you could see that with just yours eyes.”

“Elves, even half-elves like me, have very good eyesight. It helps with the archery. Or long distance groundshaping,” Miss Amiry explained.

Mac gave a wry smile. Miss Amiry had been indispensable the last week, having smashed up multiple rams the Navarrans had tried to bring up to the gate of Stromvurk. Several scouts that had tried to sneak up closer to the mountain had gotten their legs shattered as well. “You've been a really big help this week,” he decided to tell her.

Miss Amiry gave a sly smile, flipping out her fan again. “I'm glad, sire. Though, I think this...catapult...technology of yours proved to be the most indispensable thing for us. They basically can't attack us for fear of them.”

Mac nodded. Hopefully they buy us enough time.

“We're running out of time, dammit!” shouted King Lavon as he pounded his fist into his War Council table, sending several splinters flying. The table itself was barely still standing, having been slammed many times over the past week.

Lord Oran nodded. “I have no idea how they managed to muster so quickly.”

King Lavon turned on him. “You said we would have weeks! It's barely been one and they're almost here!”

They had received multiple reports that several armies were forming near them, merging together and marching towards Stomvurk. Included amongst them was one made entirely of dwarves, which was baring down on them imminently, probably arriving in only a day or two. Of course, they might wait to attack with the others, but their anger at having one of their cities attacked may have caused them to lose reason.

A new scout came into the war council tent. “Sire, reporting in!”

King Lavon turned on him, “Dammit, what is it now? Do the Spirits themselves march against us?”

“No, sire. Or at least, I don't think they are spirits...” the scout trailed off.

King Lavon briefly forgot his anger in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Well, they were...blue. A whole army of blue people.”

King Lavon walked up, getting in his face. “Is this some sort of joke, scout? Blue people? Are you drinking on the job?” He turned to his adjutant, “Have this scout executed for-”

Lord Oran held up his hand. “No, he might be telling the truth. It could be the...seafolk.”

King Lavon turned to him. “Seafolk?

Lord Oran looked grim. “I've never actually seen one myself, but I've heard tales from some of the soldiers who used to be stationed on the northern coast. They're tall and blue. I don't know why they'd be this far inland, though...”

King Lavon nodded. “Could they be taking the opportunity to attack Ositania while they're being invaded? Maybe they'll try to capture Pearie.”

The scout shook his head. “They were heading directly here, sire!”

King Lavon rubbed his goatee. “Send my messenger to them. See if we can strike some sort of deal with them.”

After the scout left, Lord Oran said, “Do you still intend to stay? I still believe our best option is to meet up with our forces in Provent. The messenger yesterday said the siege was uncontested and they would be able to win eventually. If we leave now with minimal losses, we can capture Marsae, then use it as a staging point to attack Ositania from the south, where we can-”

“Enough!” King Lavon shouted, pounding the table so hard this time a large crack formed. “King Mac is right there” he said, pointing out the tent towards the mountain. “I will not leave until he's either in chains, or his head is on a spike.”

Interrogation

- Three days after the Navarran invasion -

Maria walked down to the stairs to the dungeon, holding her stomach. While she wasn't really showing yet (according to Tillie she was between two or three months along) she kept feeling an unconscious desire to protect her and Mac's baby at all costs, even just from slightly shaking on the steps.

When she got to the bottom, she headed down the hall to the only cell currently in use. The guards saluted her as she approached, then walked down the hall.

“Finally come to visit me?” asked the person in the cell.

Marie smirked. “I can't say I was too interested in talking to you, Lord Arpitan. Or I guess I should just call you by your first name, now, Gren. You probably realized this, but you were stripped of all your titles and holdings.

The former Lord Arpitan, Gren, sighed, “As expected. You didn't come all this way just to tell me that, though, right?”

Marie stared at him, trying not to give anything away. “Who were you working with? I know you were helping foreign actors.”

Gren laughed. “Foreign actors? Whatever could you mean?”

Marie stared at him coldly. “I know what you were using those gold bars for. I just want to know with whom.”

“Maybe I just like gold? Why do you think I was giving it to anyone?”

Marie sighed, then started walking away.

“Leaving already?” Gren asked, trying to act smug.

Marie detected a slight bit of concern in his voice. “It's fine, we'll defeat them even without you giving us info.”

She heard nothing else come from behind her, so she continued walking up the steps.

As she was about back at her office, she saw Melissandra waddling down the hall towards her.

“Mel, are you sure it's okay to be walking around so much? I know Tillie recommended it, but...”

Melissandra walked up to her. “Marie, where is my husband?”

Marie forced herself to keep her voice even. “What do you mean? He's not due back for a few more days.”

Melissandra wrung her hands together. “Marie, I know you're lying to me...”

Marie started growing red.

“Did you think I wouldn't notice Gabriella leaving with half the guard!? Or all the maids murmuring about something happening?”

Marie blushed, “I...Mac told me not to tell you, for fear of stressing you out too much during your pregnancy. I...I agreed, so I...”

Melissandra started crying, “Dammit Marie, he's my husband! He'll be your husband! What's going on?”

Marie hugged her. “Sorry, I...let's gather everyone together, and I'll explain.”

They gathered all the wives and fiances currently in the palace into the council chamber, where Marie read off Mac's letter (including the part about not saying anything).

Felicia smirked, “Well, you didn't follow that last part.”

Emma looked at her, “Fe, how can you joke at a time like this!?”

Felicia shook her head, biting her lip. “Mac didn't want us to worry, so I'm not going to worry.”

Marie shook her head, “No, I'm sorry, I wanted to follow his directions, but I shouldn't have...”

Eleanor, who was crying a bit, came up and hugged Marie. “It's okay.”

Marie started crying, too, hugging Eleanor back.

Kay stood up, gently slapping the table. “No, Felicia has the right idea. I know we're all sad, but...we can't let this affect us so much. Not just for the babies, but for Mac. He didn't want us to worry, so we need to not worry. Mac will get himself and the others out of this.”

Fawna, who had been bawling softly, wiped her face and stood up holding up her fists. “Yeah, we need to keep doing what we're doing, and trust Mac.”

Melissandra took a deep breath, then stood up, forcing herself to smile. “That's right. Let's do what we can here, and make sure everything is ready for Mac's return.”

Making a Decision

- Six days after the Navarran invasion -

Gabriella was sharpening her blade again. However, today was different. Instead of just passing the time, she needed to be ready to use it soon. And instead of being stuck in her room in the palace at Pearie, she was in her personal tent.

She had been taking the Royal Guards, traveling a circuitous route and joining up with mobilized armies from cities in the south of the country, their numbers swelling to the point it was overwhelming. Since she was leading the Royal Guards, most of the other commanders were deferring to her, at least for the time being. Most of them didn't seem to know who she was, exactly, just that she was leading the guards in lieu of La Hire for the time being, which she felt was probably to her advantage.

When she had received the letter from La Hire about leading the royal guards, she had been surprised at the contents. Every fiber of her being wanted to ride straight to Provent to join the defense there, but she knew he was right – she would be of more use here, helping out Ositania for the time being. Then, she just had to convince Mac to help out Provent.

She knew this might mean agreeing to some sort of marriage, or maybe just becoming his concubine, but she had steeled herself for that day anyway. And after her recent conversations with Melissandra, she realized it wouldn't bother her anymore. Or at least, she didn't think it would. No, I won't let it.

Her only consternation now was realizing she would somehow need to win their trust back, since she hadn't done a good job for the few months she'd been there.

As she was thinking about the situation, she heard someone stop outside her tent.

“Lady Gabriella, a letter has come for you!”

Gabriella squinted her eyes. From who? Surely La Hire or Marie would have used that ...spirit...Rhea, again, right? Actually, wait, that sounded like a Provental accent! She quickly opened the tent flap and exited, to see a courier with the light-olive skin and armor of Provent. Several guards were behind him, seemingly keeping an eye on him.

She saw the seal of Provent on the cover, and immediately grabbed the letter, noticing it seemed rather heavy for a letter. Is it word from Uncle? Maybe they've beaten back the Navarrans!

“Hold for a response,” she said to the courier, her adjutant days kicking in reflexively. She slipped back inside, and quickly unsealed the letter. Taking out the paper, her eyes started blinking. She re-read it multiple times to make sure she understood the short letter properly. It read:

I, King Ferdinand II of Provent hereby abdicate the throne and renounce any claims to such. I also on behalf of my son Callus and wife Isabella renounce any claims to such. As my last action as King, I hereby bequeath my throne to my niece, now Queen Gabriella I of Provent.

Underneath this was the royal stamp of Provent.

Wait, the envelope... she turned the still-weighted envelope over, and out rolled a stamper. The same one that had been used in the letter in her other hand.

Gabriella took a deep breath, trying to comprehend what was going on. He...why would he give the throne to me!? When I'm a hostage in Ositania! Even if he's giving up, my Father would not... Her train of thought hit a brick wall when she realized. Father must have... A tear came to her eye. Dammit Father! Why didn't you do something about me being here! I could have...

She shook her head to reset her thoughts. No, blaming Father is useless. Why did Uncle abdicate instead of just surrendering? He must...that must be it...

Her uncle had realized the same thing she, La Hire, and maybe King Mac had – Ositania's troops were needed if Provent had any hope of winning their part of the war.

Gabriella quickly wrote a letter, using her stamp on the bottom, before sealing the letter inside an envelope. She carefully put the seal in her personal chest, then headed back outside, the Provental courier still waiting as ordered.

“Give this to whoever is leading the defense of Marsae,” Gabriella explained, handing it to him.

“You mean...King Ferdinand?” the courier asked, confused.

Gabriella smirked, “If he's still leading it, then yes.”

Relief Preparations

- Nine days after the Navarran invasion -

The Ositanian War Council was convening in Lord Harald's study again for it's daily report. Today's was more eventful than the last few, as Rhea had returned.

“The dwarf army north of here is probably a day away at their current rate. There's a lot of humans with them too, although they're having trouble keeping up with the dwarves. They barely even rest,” Rhea recited. She had a small little piece of paper with notes written on it.

Lord Harald laughed. “Haha! I knew my brothers would make all haste to get here.”

Lord Cartegna pointed to the map. “It's actually a problem. If they attack before the rest of the armies get here, they'd be suicidal.”

Lord Harald nodded. “Aye. Enough dwarf blood has been spilled to last a lifetime.” He looked at Rhea, “Can you tell them to wait for others, little Miss Spirit?”

Rhea seemed unsure. “I could, but I don't know if it will go over well.”

Lord Harald's adjutant nodded. “I agree. I think I should try and sneak out later to coordinate with them.”

Lord Harald nodded.

Since no one said anything else, Rhea continued, “There's a whole bunch of people like Saphoa coming from the east. Like, a lot of them. Probably more than the dwarves.”

Saphoa smiled and nodded approvingly. She looked at Mac, “My love, I must go and lead the forces of Arkanta.”

Mac shook his head. “No, it's too dangerous. We can't let anything-”

He was cut off by Saphoa giving him a kiss.

Lord Cartegna and Lord Harald started laughing, while La Hire blushed.

“I am glad you are so concerned for me, but I do not intend on dying. My people do not know any of you, so I must be the one to talk with them.”

Lord Cartegna nodded. “She has a point, it might be an issue if we just send a random courier.”

Mac sighed, before nodding and looking at Rhea.

“The elves are also just a day away. They aren't going quite as fast as they do a lot of scouting ahead, but they're still making good progress.”

Sophia, who had been standing behind Lord Harald, nodded with a smile. “As they should. They won't barrel into a trap like a bunch of angry dwarves would,” she said, squeezing Lord Harald's shoulders.

“Haha, true. We should still send someone to coordinate with them, though.”

Sophia nodded. “I don't want to send Charlotte, so I guess it must be me.”

“We could just send another dwarf...”

Sophia gave Lord Harald wry smile. “Not all elves are like Charlotte and I, yet. There might be...complications...”

The noise of a fan closing came from the corner. “If you need an elf, I can go. Or is a half-elf not good enough?” Miss Amiry stepped out of the corner. Mac had been inviting her, despite her not having much to say (although she did get a bit of a fright from Rhea the first time they'd met), but he viewed her as an essential part of their defense strategy and wanted her aware of everything going on.

Sophia shook her head. “I...think that should be fine. If anyone says something to you about your heritage...let me know, and I will punish them,” Sophia said, averting her eyes.

Two weeks ago Mac would have been confused at this conversation, but over the last week he had gotten to know Miss Amiry a bit on their watches from the Ledge. Just a bit, as Miss Amiry was not eager to talk about herself much.

One thing he had learned, was that half-elves were generally not welcomed into elven society. Some did, of course, but many sent their half-elf children away. While half-elves could live for a few hundred years, it was much less than full-blooded elves, and many did not wish to see their children grow old and die before them.

Mac had never even considered the issue. He and Charlotte would have half-elf kids, who would far outlive the rest of his children, and she would far outlive them herself, but she had not shown any such concern.

Lord Harald nodded at Miss Amiry. “Alright then.”

Rhea took the closure as her cue to continue. “There are a bunch of mixed forces who are all smaller and farther away. The largest is a big force a couple days to the south-east. They're going slow since they're so big. They're also led by that one mean lady you don't get along with.”

Mac gave a small chuckle, “You can just call her Gabriella.”

La Hire motioned, “I'll go then, since the royal guards will be there.”

Lord Cartegna grabbed his shoulder and stepped forward. “I'm not letting you risk yourself like that when you have two kids on the way. I'll go to them. My forces are a part of them as well, and I'm the most expendable of all of us.”

La Hire blushed slightly and nodded. Mac shook his head. “Don't say that. Eleanor and I want you alive. And I'm sure Marie's mother would object...”

Lord Cartegna blushed slightly, brushing his mustache. “So you heard about that, eh? I guess you're right...but even so, I'm the most reasonable option.”

Lord Harald nodded. “We'll have our guides take you to the edge of the mountain pass emergency exit tonight. From there, Miss Spirit here should be able to guide you all.”

- At the same time, at the Arkantan army camp -

Lord Pegog walked out in front of his army, listening to a man with a funny mustache and gaudy outfit talk.

The Arkantan's did not have tents, so the camp behind him was just thousands of Arkantan's milling about, making beds of leaves or grass to sleep on later. His adjutant had just called for him, saying that some landfolk had showed up, wanting to speak with their leader.

“Ah, you seem to the be tallest. Are you the leader of this...'army'?” the messenger in the gaudy outfit asked.

Lord Pegog nodded.

“Errmm...do you understand what I am saying?”

Lord Pegog frowned, “Yes, I can understand. What do you want?”

“Ah, good, straight to business, just as I like. I am the envoy of King Lavon of Navar. He wishes to...ask you to let him have the western, inland area of Ositania. He presumes you would be happier with the coastal regions, given your...sea-based inclinations...” the messenger trailed off. “We would, of course, ask for one port to use for trading, but that is all. Would these terms be agreeable?”

What the spirits is he on about!? After thinking a bit, Lord Pegog ignored what he had been talking about, and asked, “Do you know Saphoa? Do you have her with you?” Finding her is our first priority, then defending our ally.

Lord Pegog was one of Queen Haliya's husbands, although not Saphoa's father.

The pompous messenger seemed confused. “Saphoa? I do not know a woman by that name. Is she one of the Ositanian King's myriad women? She's either in the capital, if you want to go there as suggested...” he paused for a moment to emphasize his point. “Or else she's trapped in Stromvurk by our army. If part of the terms is her being handed over to you, then I'm sure we can arrange handing over one woman. Can you describe her appearance?”

Lord Pegog gripped his spear. He's part of the besieging force!? “Like us.”

The messenger smirked. “Alright.”

Lord Pegog continued, “If a hair of our Princess's head has been touched, we will smash your entire country into bits of sand.”

The messenger smiled like Lord Pegog might be joking, but then realized he wasn't. “Bah. You're just a bunch of savages. Your 'Princess' is probably already dead...” he said coldly, before turning his horse around to leave.

Lord Pegog hefted his spear, throwing it directly at the messenger, flying straight through his heart and lodging halfway out.

The soldiers around Lord Pegog threw their spears as well, taking out the troops accompanying him.

Lord Pegog turned around. “We march through the night. Every one of these...'Navar'...will die by our spears, until Princess Saphoa is safe. If she is not safe, then we will make it so there is no more 'Navar'.”

The troops behind him started cheering, which soon spread amongst the whole army, until a thundering war cry echoed across the countryside.

Courier by Night

- Ten days after the Navarran invasion -

Rhea floated above the people walking below her, scanning the countryside around her. Since she could sense Children from a ways away, she made for an excellent lookout.

It looks like the others left. Some dwarves had led the group of four to the end of the a mountain pass that led down from one of the lifts. Since no one who didn't know about her was still there, she floated down towards them, alighting on Saphoa's head.

The four of them were walking, as horses might be too noticeable. They had also left behind their armor, bringing only their weapons.

“Miss Spirit, I do not mind, but should you not be flying above us?” Saphoa asked, looking up.

Rhea leaned over her forehead. “I can sense them if they get close. I'll fly up later to help guide us, but we should be on the right path.”

They were heading to the army coming from the north first. While a mix of races, it was largely comprised of dwarves that kept running ahead, unable to contain their anger and wanting to liberate Stromvurk as quickly as possible.

As they were traveling, Rhea's thoughts wandered. I wonder how mad the other spirits will be. I'm assuming they'll find out eventually. It's not like I killed anyone myself, but I definitely helped out. Or maybe no one will notice? It's not like I've seen anyone besides Celestina in ages. Even Rodran has been away forever. And none of them bothered to come help when I was stuck in that box.

Rhea, suddenly, had a realization. Wait a minute, why did none of them help me? Celestina was too far away, but the others should have at least realized... Rhea felt an emotion she had been feeling often lately...anger. I was so happy with Mac that I didn't even think about why no one else did. If they do come to try and do anything about it, I'll give them a piece of my mind!

“Miss Spirit, are you okay? You are tugging at my hair.”

Rhea blushed slightly, realizing in her anger she had accidentally grabbed some of the hair she was lying in. Trying to cover herself, “Sorry...it's just so soft!”

Saphoa was surprised, “Really? I have been told it is the same consistency as seaweed.”

Miss Amiry laughed, “My hair is extremely soft.”

Rhea, her prior thoughts gone, wafted over into Miss Amiry's bun. “Ooooh, this is soft!”

Lord Cartegna chuckled, “Sorry, I don't have anything for you to test,” he said, rubbing his balding head with a few gray hairs combed over it.

Lord Harald's adjutant, Drenven, chuckled. “Haha, if you want soft, try out my beard,” he stroked.

Rhea flew over and settled inside. “Wow, this is the softest yet!”

After a few hours, they ran into a dwarf scout.

“Aye, you there!” Drenven called out to him (since he had a forewarning from Rhea).

“Lieutenant Drenven!? Is that you?”

“Haha, I'm Captain now, but it's me!”

The scout ran over, then clasped arms with Drenven. He briefly glanced at Amiry, then nodded at Lord Cartegna.

“Hmmm...I was hoping dwarves from other cities might look different,” Saphoa said.

The scout jumped up scared as Saphoa leaned down towards him.

Drenven seemed offended. “There are differences, my lady. As you can see, we Stromvurk dwarves have better beards.”

The scout was too scared to rebut. “Who...”

“Ah, this is Lady Saphoa, one of our King's many women,” Drenven chuckled.

“She's...blue...”

“Very astute of you,” Lord Cartegna laughed.

Drenven grabbed the scouts shoulders. “How far to camp?”

This seemed to bring the scout back to the present. “Ah...there is no camp right now. We're marching through the night.”

Drenven sighed. “Bring me to the leaders immediately. I have orders from King Mac himself to coordinate with the other armies.”

The scout nodded. “Of course, let's go.”

Drenven turned to the rest. “Stay safe,” then turned and followed after the scout.

They then headed towards the group of elves. This group was getting close too, if moving slightly slower and more methodically.

Despite his comments, Rhea was sitting cross-legged on top of Lord Cartegna's head now.

“To what do I deserve the honor, Miss Spirit?” he chuckled as they continued briskly walking through the dark.

“What do you mean? You married one of my sister's descendants, right? We're family.”

Lord Cartegna seemed to think for a bit, then grinned, “Haha, I guess you're right!”

After a while of traveling, Rhea sensed elves ahead. “They're getting close.”

A couple minutes later, they were walking through some trees, when an arrow landed in front of them.

“Why do they attack us?” Sapoha ashed, raising her spear. “I thought these were allies?”

Lord Cartegna nodded, “Don't worry, if they wanted to hit you, they would have. They probably just wanted us to stop.”

A few moments later, and a dozen elves came out of the forest. They all held bows, although they were pointed at the ground.

Most of them were staring at Saphoa, when one of them, who seemed to be wearing a captain insignia, saw Lord Cartegna and walked over, pulling off his hood, to shake his hand. “Lord Cartegna, I'm glad to see you in good health.”

Lord Cartegna nodded. “I thought I recognized you from the bandit subjugation. Glad to see you too, son. Ah...sorry, you're probably older than even me, haha.”

Miss Amiry walked forward. “I'm here with a message from Lady Sophia and King Mac. I am to help you coordinate with the other armies.”

The elves all looked at her, some with confusion, and others with contempt.

“She sent a half-elf?” one of them said with disgust.

The captain got angry and started walking towards him. “Are you really-”

However, the man who had spoken had already been grabbed by the cuffs and held up by Saphoa. The other elves didn't seem to know what to do, a couple pointing their bows half-heartedly, while the others were in awe of her speed.

“You apologize to Miss Amiry now, or I will force you,” she said coldly.

Miss Amiry, a bit taken aback, walked up. “It's okay, Saphoa, I appreciate it but you don't-”

“I'm-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!” he said, starting to cry slightly.

Saphoa let him down, and he prostrated in front of her.

“I'm so sorry...”

Miss Amiry held up a hand. “It's...it's fine, I'm used to it...”

The captain grabbed the prostrating elf and pulled him up. “If you're sorry then run back to camp immediately and start having a tent set up for the Lady here.”

Miss Amiry shook her head, “I'm not a Lady, just Miss Amiry is fine.”

The captain smiled and nodded. “Regardless, we'll get you all to camp safely.”

Saphoa shook her head. “No, we have others to go to.”

After saying goodbye, the remaining three continued on.

Rhea was now sitting in Saphoa's hair again, although she had gotten a bit tangled up.

“You really need to comb your hair! It's all knotty.”

Saphoa said, “There is no-...” but then paused. “Do you believe Mac would be happy if I combed my hair?”

Rhea leaned over and nodded. “Of course! I bet he would love to run his hand's through it after you gave it a nice brushing. He does with mine...”

Saphoa nodded, rocking Rhea back and forth. “I may need to learn how, then.”

An hour later, and Saphoa asked. “Are we getting close to my people?”

Rhea nodded. “Yes, they don't seem to be sending others up ahead like the last two.”

Saphoa nodded. “We are not used to the ways of fighting on land. It is good I have seen some fighting and been at these War Councils, the Arktanans have much to learn of warfare.”

Eventually, they got close, and Saphoa called out. “By the grace of our ancestors, who approaches?”

“Saphoa!? Is that you Saphoa!?” a voice shouted back.

“That is not the proper response,” Saphoa said, but smiled and ran over.

Lord Pegog set down his spear, hugging Saphoa. “Saphoa, you are alright?”

Saphoa nodded and smiled. “I am.”

Lord Pegog walked over. “Is this your future husband?”

Lord Cartegna laughed, “Haha, no, I'm his father-in-law, actually.”

Lord Pegog nodded, then came over and clasped his hand. “Thank you for protecting my niece.”

Lord Cartegna chuckled, “I think she's done more protecting me then I have her.”

After appraising them of the situation, they parted ways, and Lord Cartegna and Rhea continued on.

They went for an hour, when Lord Cartegna seemed to be struggling, unable to walk as fast.

“Are you okay?” Rhea asked, sitting in his chest pocket.

Lord Cartegna wheezed a bit. “Just my age catching up with me...” he said, stopping and catching his breath. “Is there anyone nearby?”

Rhea nodded. “Yes, but they are still a ways away.”

“But no Navrarrans?”

Rhea shook her head.

Lord Cartegna nodded, then produced a small horn from his pocket. “Can you fly up a bit and blow through this? They should come running.”

Rhea was intrigued. “How does it work?”

Lord Cartegna took it, then blowed softly into the horn, making a funny sound.

“Haha, that seems fun. How will they hear me though?”

Lord Cartegna shook his head. “Blow as hard as you can into it.”

Rhea nodded, then flew up a few hundred meters into the air. Taking a deep breath, she blew into as hard as she could.

A majestic sound started echoing through the hills they were in. Since she was in the air, the sound bounced around everywhere. Anyone for miles around would hear. This is so cool! She sensed around, and several scouts were now barreling towards their location at top speed, so Rhea flew back down to Lord Cartegna.

“Wonderfully done!” he said as she handed the horn back. “That's the greatest sound that's ever come from the Marshal Horn.”

After a few minutes, they heard horses approaching. When they got close, the soldiers recognized him instantly. “Lord Cartegna! It's Lord Cartegna!”

The lead one got off his horse when he was near, running up. “Are you okay? Did something happen?”

Lord Cartegna shook his head. “Everything is as well as it could be. Better, actually, given the circumstances. I slipped out with some others to help coordinate the armies.”

The soldier nodded. “Let's go.”

Lord Cartegna got on the horse with the soldier, and they started galloping back to their camp.

Now that all the coordinators were safely with their armies, Rhea was now onto her second, secret mission given to her by Mac.

That was, namely, to check on Gabriella, and see what she was doing.

Rhea flew above Lord Cartegna as they came to the camp, and started looking for Gabriella. However, this was not necessary, as Gabriella came up to meet Lord Cartegna.

“Lord Cartegna!? How did you get here?” Gabriella asked, surprised to see him.

“Haha, I snuck out with some others on orders of King Mac. I had some help, of course,” he said, thinking of Rhea.

Gabriella nodded.

“What is the situation here, Lady Gabriella?”

“Just Gab-...nevermind. I've brought the royal guards as dictated by Captain La Hire. I...didn't intend on it, but the other armies mustering started following ours, and I became the de facto leader. I was planning on turning it over to La Hire when he arrived, but I can give to you instead.”

Lord Cartegna laughed, “Haha, I think you can continue. You've led soldiers before, have you not?”

Gabriella bit her lip. “I was adjutant...”

Lord Cartegna laughed, “Haha, half the time the adjutant's really the one running the army anyway! Actually, my son ordered me to be the coordinator, so I'll be more of your adjutant.”

Gabriella smiled a sigh of relief. “That's good to hear you'll be helping, at least.”

Lord Cartegna smiled back, “You should smile more, it suits you.”

Gabriella blushed slightly. “Anyway, your forces are over there, I'm sure they'll be happy to see you,” she explained, pointing to one side.

Lord Cartegna nodded, “I will. We can talk in the morning, but I'd like to get at least a couple hours sleep tonight,” he said.

It was probably only a few hours until dawn at that point, even in the long nights of the cold season.

They both nodded and went their separate ways.

Rhea kept following Gabriella, who walked for a bit, before going into a tent. Rhea recognized the guards she was around, since they were ones she saw outside the palace on patrols when she was hanging out with some of the trees.

Gabriella went into a large tent in the middle. Rhea snuck inside, hanging out near the top. Gabriella was looking over some maps by lantern light, then also looking over some papers and occasionally putting a pin in the map or moving them around.

This continued on for a while, until Rhea almost fell asleep. However, she was brought back to attention as Gabriella took off her armor, before laying on a rough bed.

She's really pretty. It's a shame she and Mac don't get along.

Rhea noticed that Gabriella seemed to be looking up at her.

“Um...is that you Rhea? Do you have something for me?”

Rhea blinked a few times, Oh yeah, I forgot I revealed myself to her! She could see me the whole time if she just looked up! Blushing, she floated down, trying to come up with an excuse. “Uh, sorry, I thought you seemed busy...”

Gabriella sat up on her bed. “No, it's okay. If you have something for me, I'm sure it's important.”

Rhea wasn't sure how to respond. Mac wanted me to see what she was doing...but I'm not sure he would want to reveal that to her. Actually, that's not that bad, right? As long as I word it properly. “Yeah, Mac just wanted to see how you were doing.”

Gabriella blushed a bit. “He did?”

Rhea smiled and nodded. “Yeah, he seemed really concerned.”

Gabriella blushed a bit more, looking away. “Well, I am...fine.”

Rhea nodded. “That's good.”

Gabriella bit her lip for a moment, then asked “Could...could you take a message to him? Are you returning to Stromvurk?”

Rhea nodded. “Yeah he wanted me to come back once everyone was safe.”

Gabriella nodded, then went back over her desk. Rhea was curious what she was writing, but Gabriella was going at it quickly, and she didn't want to distract her. After a few minutes, she stamped the letter, before handing it over. “Please give this to him directly if you can.”

Rhea saluted, then quickly flew out and back towards Stromvurk.

Gabriella sighed as she watched Rhea fly out the tent. Hopefully he understands.