Aphonion Tales (New posts 6/13, 6/15, 6/19)

[Cerebral Paladin]

Marcus approached Jet, Kit, and Dame Brionna upon his return to the apartment. "I think you should all know that someone just hired me to plant a magic device near Alistair."

Dame Brionna looked deeply concerned, but Kit just asked, "What would the device do? And where is it now?"

"I don't rightly know. They claimed that it would allow scrying, but I didn't confirm that. I don't actually know where it is. I had an unseen servant hide it, along with the payment they gave me, by the river, without telling me where. I can send the unseen servant to recover it if we want it."

Dame Brionna glared sternly at Marcus. "What I don't understand is why you agreed in the first place."

"As long as they think I'm working for them, they have a reason to keep me alive. If I said no, I go from being a useful asset in their eyes to being an enemy who knows who one of their agents is. I prefer them to think I'm useful."

She nodded grudgingly. "I suppose that makes sense. Any idea who they were?"

"The man I talked to seemed human, but he paid me in strange black coins with an elf's face on it."

"That sounds like the Noldar," Kit said. "In which case, I know exactly who we should talk to."

The grandmaster of psionics on the elven valar that had transported the group from the edge of the Archduchy to Canberry City greeted Kit warmly. "I hope that your studies go well."

"They do," Kit replied, "but that's not why I asked to speak with you. My friend Marcus was asked to plant an amulet near Alistair and was paid in black metal coins with an elven face on them. Dame Brionna determined that the amulet wasn't evil, but it has some sort of psychokinetic power in it. I thought that the coins might be from the Noldar and hoped you would be able to deal with the amulet."

The grandmaster nodded. "A wise choice. Do you have the amulet with you? May I see it? We have wards here that should keep us safe."

Marcus reached into a pouch and drew out the large ornate disk, along with the four coins. The grandmaster barely glanced at the coins, but carefully examined the amulet, turning it over several times before looking up.

"It was well that you did not deliver this as you were instructed. It would produce a powerful psychokinetic blast-- a Grand Concussion-- upon being within three yards of Alistair."

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Dame Brionna glared at the amulet. "Can you disarm it?"

"Oh, that's simple enough. You could break it with an ordinary hammer and the psionic charge would dissipate harmlessly. If you wish, I will destroy it."

"Can you tell who made it?" Kit asked.

"Indeed. Based on the psionic signature and certain design details, it was manufactured by the Drow of House Hetland. They are one of the houses that routinely trades with the surface world. Still, you were right to suspect Noldar involvement. Those coins are Noldar horde coins. Each is made from adamantium, and they are worth a fortune in the surface realm. That implies that House Hetland is a cadet branch of the accursed Moriquendarim, one of the Noldar great houses."

"Are the Moriquendarim connected to the Zorplona-Argoni?"

The elf nodded. "The Moriquendarim have complete control over Zorplona-Argoni's Region Six, which includes the area surrounding Canberry. Region Six is the wealthiest region in decades-- they would be very willing to use its resources to pursue their house's goals."

"Thank you. This information is very helpful."

"A few more things before you leave. Young man, you accepted these coins?" Marcus nodded. "Have you been checked for an enchantment since then?"

Marcus quickly detected magic and then grimaced. "I seem to be under some sort of divination effect. It's extremely powerful-- probably beyond my ability to dispel."

"I thought you might be."

Dame Brionna said, "Then they know everything we learned in this meeting."

The elf smiled. "Fortunately, we take precautions against our fallen cousins scrying upon us. This conversation should be safe. However, I suggest you have a competent mage examine that scrying soon. I do not specialize in magical arts, but a skilled human mage should be able to handle it. It will be easier if you go to your court mages rather than one of my cousins here.

"That should handle all of the unpleasant business. On a happier note, I have a gift for my former pupil." The elf drew out a small, unusual looking plant. "While we worked together, I sensed your strong feelings for your friend. I know that such things come more easily for humans, but I thought you might still benefit from some of the arts my people have had to cultivate if we wanted to have any children at all. If you eat any of the leaves of this plant, or drink a tea brewed from them, it will make you much more likely to conceive quickly."

Kit covered her startlement quickly. "Umm, thank you. For all your help, and for this gift..."

"You are most welcome. Now, I should get back to my studies, and you should deal with his enchantment."

As they walked out, Jet nodded at the plant. "A fertility herb, huh?"

Kit's face tightened. "It wasn't my idea. But I didn't want to refuse it."

"Just don't take it while it would create inconvenient potential heirs," Dame Brionna said. "The Archduchy will be so much better off if the next succession is smooth."

"Don't worry," Kit replied a bit sharply. "I won't be taking any of this plant for a long time. Can we please concentrate on the issues that matter right now?"

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Upon returning to the palace, most of the group headed directly to the chambers of the Royal Coven. Lady Constance Deepingwell, the archmaga who leads the Coven, waived the group in, past several barbed devils. As soon as the group saw the devils, Dame Brionna placed her hand on her sword, eliciting a chuckle from the Archmaga. "You needn't worry, Dame Brionna-- they are thoroughly bound, and I am properly licensed to have summoned them."

"Very well, then," Dame Brionna replied guardedly. "Can we speak freely here? We have many enemies who would wish to spy on us."

"I pity anyone foolish enough to scry on this coven in our own chambers," Lady Constance replied.

"Some sort of divination has been placed on me," Marcus said, "and we hoped that you could remove it. Preferably in some way that would not make it obvious that it had been dispelled."

"Let me see... Interesting. Quite a powerful curse this-- as you suspected, a clairaudience effect. And both divine and arcane components. Very tricky. Do you know who placed this curse?"

"We believe that it was the Drow of House Hetland, working for the Noldar."

"Ah. That would make sense-- there is a certain flavor to drow magic. They must have made this a high priority; both the Matron Mother of the House and the Archmagus must have worked together on this enchantment. No doubt to conceal the actual involvement of the Noldar, which even I cannot detect directly... as I said, very clever." The Archmaga examined the dweomer, gently manipulating its magic, and finally nodded. "It would be relatively simple for me to unravel the enchantment. Transferring it to another subject would be more challenging, but I should be able to. I could summon an infernal creature, transfer the enchantment, and then dismiss the creature. That should conceal your actions; as far as they will be able to tell, the young man will simply have fled the plane to escape their revenge."

"I think that would be best," Marcus said. "If at all possible, I'd prefer to avoid groups of drowish assassins looking to punish me for my treachery."

"Very well. Let's prepare the summoning, then."

The transfer was more difficult than anticipated, but after a few tense moments, Lady Constance nodded with satisfaction and dismissed the imp with a flick of her wrist. "The transfer is complete. There was a trap waiting for any who tried to dispell the curse, but I was able to avoid discharging it." She carefully checked the summoning circle before deliberately erasing it. "Still, you should be careful. Based on what you've told me, I have no doubt that the Noldar were behind this, and they will continue in pursuing their goals."

Dame Brionna nodded. "We fear that this is a plot of House Moriquendarim."

"Quite likely. But not all of the Moriquendarim will be directly involved. They are usually divided between the Aragoni slavers and the rest of the House, and all of the plots I have become aware of smack of the Aragoni." Lady Constance looked thoughtfully at Dame Brionna. "How are your preparations for more direct assaults on the Archduchess's grandson?"

"We have prepared as well as we can, and my troops and I stand ready to give our lives to defend him. Still, it is difficult to tell if the guard has been infiltrated."

"Hmm. Perhaps I should assign several devils to join in the defense. I could easily place a glamour upon them that would make them seem to be regular servants."

Dame Brionna gritted her teeth and answered relying purely on determination and duty rather than her gut. "That would be most appreciated, your ladyship. In these troubled times, the more reliable the defenses are, the better off we will be. Will the devils obey my commands?"

"After I'm done instructing them, they will do whatever you tell them. I think I shall give them orders to obey young Alistair as well, but to follow your orders above his. That's probably the safest approach."

"Thank you, your ladyship."

[There was a whole humorous sequence here where Marcus and Lady Constance covered up any suspicions about their contact by deliberately creating a rumor that Marcus was Lady Constance's boytoy, evoking a great deal of pity (and just a hint of jealousy) from the archducal guard. I can't remember enough details to include this directly.]

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Meanwhile, Kit gathered information about the ratmen. The only new information that she learned was that a new variety of ratmen has been spotted. The new ratmen were large and black, where most of the skaven that had been seen before were small and grey. Comparing these descriptions to the skaven that the group fought on the way into Canberry, Kit concluded that the new skaven must be the "Gutterrunners."

The group gathered in Alistair's apartments and shared their information. Alistair frowned. "Mother Honore's information only makes my meetings with the Field Marshals more important. He could go either way, but things will be much easier if he can be convinced to side with the Archduchy. But there are still a lot of other matters we need to deal with."

Kit nodded. "The rest of us can do some more checking on the rest of your half-brothers. We know that Frederick and Caithan are loyal, as well as your half-sister, and they've already arrested Luca. But that still leaves Clarence, Dridall, and Bartlet as possible threats."

"I'd concentrate on Clarence, because he had actually declared that he believed he was my father's rightful heir, and Dridall. Dridall isn't fully human, but I'm not certain on the details. Either of them could be a pawn of one of the forces trying to destroy the Archduchy."

"Right. We'll check them both out, and then Bartlet just to be on the safe side."

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Since today's update was so short, I figure this would be a good time to include a little campaign background. Wondering what the major nobles of Canberry are, or for a little bit more history? Wonder no longer. This is the document that the DM gave us just prior to the session I'm currently detailing. There are many interesting little tidbits scattered through it that helped guide our characters' priorities.

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

A few minutes later, Field Marshal Manning Broadfields, the most senior officer in the Federated Army, joined Lord Alistair and Dame Brionna in a conference room. Alistair had already laid out a large map of Canberry and the surrounding areas and placed markers for each of Canberry's legions and for suspected dispositions of foreign troops.
"Thank you for coming, Field Marshal. I wanted to speak with you about our strategic position," Lord Alistair began, gesturing at the map.

"Of course, your highness," the elderly but still vigorous officer responded. He glanced about at the map, shaking his head slightly at a few of the placements. "Some of your information seems a little inaccurate."

"We'll cover that as we talk about each area. Why don't you begin by describing the strategic situation as you see it? If you could discuss each of the potential threats we face in turn, I would appreciate."

"Very good, your highness. The Empire... I mean of course the Archduchy... does not face severe imminent threats, but has medium term concerns in every direction except the north. To the north, the only serious concern is whichever country wins when Hanal and Masque finally battle, but it will be at least a generation before they threaten the Empire. To the East, barbarians are the greatest threat. Their tribes have become more organized and militant lately and will probably resume attacks on our settlements within the next two to three months. In all likelihood, the barbarians will only be raiding, but we will still need to defend our towns and villages.

"In the south, it will be two to three years before the refugees begin seriously pressing in on the Empire. To the west, the humanoids are still badly rebuffed by Field Marshal Brightspan's defense of Westmarch. The Duchy of Westmarch is incapable of defending itself without the support of the Federated Army. Westmarch could benefit from more farmers, and Tusslefield would be happy to supply some of its excess population, but fear of the humanoids drives some of the native Westmarchers off their lands and few want to move to a place where they might face orc raids."

"What of the threats to the refugees in the south? Do we have the forces to protect them from the skaven?"

"We currently have two field armies deployed south of the Archduchy, your highness," the field marshal replied, while adjusting some of the markers on the map to more accurate positions. "That's about ten thousand line troops, with perhaps half again as many auxiliaries. We should have deployed four field armies, but we would not have enough troops to adequately defend the Empire itself if we deployed an additional two among the refugees."

"Could we strengthen Westmarch's own defenses? If we could take the pressure off the Federated Army there, we could redeploy additional troops to the south."

"It could be done, your highness, although it would not be fast or easy. The army of Westreach is four field armies of irregulars, but much less powerful than a similar size force of properly trained and equipped soldiers. Westreach's army could be made more powerful, but that would require extensive training and organization. Westreach also has a few mages, but they would need to be required to make more regular military service."

Dame Brionna gestured at the skaven markers to the south of the refugee settlements. "What of the threat from the skaven? Will two field armies be sufficient to drive them back? We've heard reports that they have begun major slaving operations, perhaps to resume heavy farming in the south."

Broadfields grimaced. "The ratmen will be a difficult, dangerous foe. Skaven are brutal combatants, except for Clan Skree, which is willing to negotiate. Clan Skree might serve willingly as scouts, but only if you could convince their leaders that it was in their best interest. They have no interest in wealth as we know it, so you would need to offer them other incentives if you wanted to reach some sort of agreement. Clan Skree also serves a Lord of Chaos, but they have more self-interest. The skaven could be taking slaves to build up their fields, but it might also be to prepare a slave army-- they've been known to do terrible things with prisoners. If that is their plan, it will make defending against them much more dangerous. The skaven are probably the most serious threat that the Empire will face within the next generation."

Alistair nodded appreciatively, suppressing a smile at the Field Marshal's repeated references to "the Empire" rather than to the "Archduchy." "If that covers the major strategic concerns, I would like your opinion on the general officers of the Federated Army. If you could begin with an assessment of the other field marshals and then proceed on to the generals."

"Field Marshal Brightspan is a very good officer, but deeply conflicted about his loyalties. He is also all aggression and conflict, not the least bit diplomatic. There's none better in a field campaign, but you wouldn't want to put him in a position where he needed to build support with allies or the like. Field Marshal Greening, in contrast, is a solid, defensive officer. He's very cautious about wasting men, which makes him less effective on the offensive. But he has a keen understanding of fortifications and defensive tactics.

"Turning to the generals, the top tier of generals, such as most of the major generals in command of field armies, are very good. The next tier of generals, unfortunately, has many political appointees, chosen more for their family connections than for their ability. A few of them are able, but there are many weak generals who are not up to their duties, such as commanding individual legions. The subordinate officers are by and large better."

"I see. Improving the quality of the junior generals will need to be a major priority," Alistair responded. "What other recommendations do you have for improving our security, both internally and externally?"

"Well, your highness, I suggest that you begin by binding the Duchy of Brightspan in as quickly as you can. Marry the Duke's daughter, if necessary; it's what the father wants and will ensure peace. The rest of the duchies are loyal, and if you handle Brightspan well, it will eliminate any risk of civil war. Looking beyond the Empire, ask the refugees to join us. Once most of their settlements have joined, simply annex the rest. By fortifying their areas and ending the ability of the skaven to draw strength from raiding the refugee, we can keep the Empire safe from the skaven attacks."

"What about the human barbarians to the east? Should we raise and deploy more troops?"

"That would be wise. If the treasury will support it, I would suggest raising a total of four additional field armies, leaving two to be deployed in the south for defensive operations protecting the refugees and two to augment our forces in the east. If we strike a heavy blow against the barbarians when they first begin raiding, we can probably deter further aggression for at least a generation--that's why they have been so quiet for the last twenty years after our previous clash."

"Thank you, Field Marshal. If that covers the matters you think I should be informed about, that will be all."

"Your highness." Field Marshal Broadfields braced to attention and departed.

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Field Marshal Greening, a large, powerfully built man in late middle age, reported shortly after Broadfields departed. Greening was a plain-spoken man, whose accent still reflected his lower class origins. Over the course of many years, he worked his way up through the ranks through competence, hard work, and shear determination. His overall assessment was quite similar to Broadfields's, but with a higher emphasis on the threats. Where Broadfields had described the skaven in the south as a meaningful threat and Hanal as a possible enemy many years in the future, to Greening the skaven are a great concern that could destroy the Archduchy, while Hanal is an inevitable enemy that will arrive within only a few short years. Greening advocated adopting a solid defensive posture, and then hunkering down and resisting skaven advances until they exhaust themselves.

"What of the refugees?" Dame Brionna asked.

"To the extent we can afford to aid them, we clearly should, both because it would be a strategically sound decision but also because it would be the right thing to do. Indeed, the more weapons we can send south to them to arm the refugees, the better off we will be. They would have no reason to be a threat to us, and their strength would help keep the skaven away from our borders. To do it right, we should also provide as much training as we can manage, as well, and provide them with rations and other logistical support. But I would be hesitant to commit heavy troops, at least without raising substantial additional armies; we simply can't afford to weaken the defenses of the Archduchy itself."

"Thank you for your strategic assessment," Alistair said. "Turning to a more delicate issue. What are your opinions of the other general officers?"

Field Marshal Greening looked slightly uncomfortable. "I can't say I like being asked to comment on the other field marshals, your highness, but I guess you need me to give you my best thoughts so you can give us our marching orders. About Field Marshal Broadfields, at least, I have nought but good things to say. He's without a doubt the best officer in his generation, well-suited to all aspects of command. Field Marshal Brightspan, now... he's hot-headed, that one. I don't deny his ability. But I can't approve of his methods. He's abandoned fortified positions to launch assaults on foes that outnumbered his troops! Sir Derrick is tactically brilliant, but we can't afford the types of casualties he incurs. Hanal will come for the Archduchy after they attack Masque--it's only a matter of years, and not many at that. And when Hanal comes, we need everyone we can find alive, able-bodied and in armor, to have a hope of beating them off. As for the rest of the general officers, most of the field army commanders are skilled, proven officers. The legion generals, though; begging your pardon, your highness, but we'd be in better shape if more of them came up from the ranks and less of them came straight in as generals to please their noble parents."

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Kit, Mother Honore, Marcus, and Jet met briefly with Alistair's loyal half-siblings, and then went to meet with Clarence. Clarence, the only sibling besides Alistair who had explicitly asserted a claim to be heir-apparent of the Archduchy, maintained a small townhouse near the palace district. Mother Honore rapped on the door, and a thin, furtive looking young man in his twenties answered the door. His eyes widened as he looked at Mother Honore. "You don't go into the bloody room, do you?"

Mother Honore paused. "Uh, no. May we speak with Lord Clarence?"

"Yes, yes, of course. Come in, come in. I am Lord Clarence."

Kit's eyebrows raised at Clarence opening his own door, but the group followed Lord Clarence into his sitting room. "We wanted to speak with you about your decision to declare yourself as the Archduchess's heir."

Clarence nodded. "I had to. They told me to, and it seemed best."

"They told you to? Who are they?"

"The rat people, the white rat people who appear out of nowhere. Have you met them, Mother?"

"No, I haven't. Why do you ask?"

"When I talked with the new priest at Glor'diadel of the Fields, he knew about the ratmen. We talked for a while and he said I would be a good Archduke and should announce that after my father's death I was next in line. So since you're a priest, I thought you might also know about the ratmen."

"I see. No, I can't say that I've met any of the ratmen. What did you mean when you asked about the bloody room?"

"When I met the new priest, I could see that there was blood in the room beyond the sanctuary, where the black ratmen were. I didn't like the black ratmen... they weren't nice like the white ones that talk with me. But the priest told me not to worry about the black ratmen. He said they weren"

"The new priest?"

Clarence nodded. "I hadn't met him before we had that nice talk."

Kit concentrated and sensed the contours of his mind. In a low voice, she said, "He's definitely remembering that bloody room and the rats. He's addled, and I wouldn't put delusions past him, but that isn't one."

Mother Honore nodded. "Thank you, Lord Clarence. It would be best if you stayed in here. Things could be a little dangerous for the next few days. I think I need to have a conversation with my colleague at Glor'diadel of the Fields."

The group headed quickly over to the temple. As they approached, Mother Honore cast a quick spell and frowned. "The hallowed ground has been defiled. The church isn't properly sanctified."

"All the more reason to speak with the priest then."

The priest of the small temple nodded at Mother Honore as she came in. "Good day, Mother. How may I help you?" The priest had a thin, somewhat sinister looking face and a coldness to his smile.

"I wanted to talk with you about one of your parishioners. I believe his name is Lord Clarence?"

"Ah, yes. Clarence. Such a troubled young man."

"Yes, we're worried about him. He said that you were new here?"

"Indeed. The old priest was reassigned out of the city. I think Clarence took his departure hard. The young man had been discussing his problems with the prior parish priest, and it's always a hard transition when a new priest has to take over a matter like that."

"I understand. Where was your previous assignment?"

"In the Diocese of Caldra, out in the east. I didn't have any parishioners with problems like his back there. He keeps seeing strange things."

"You think they're just visions, then?"

"What else could they be? The poor young man is just not well. I've tried to convince him that his visions don't make any sense, but I'm not sure he even understands everything I'm saying. How did you become interested in young Clarence, Mother Honore?"

Honore paused. She hadn't mentioned her name... How much did the priest know? "I'm just trying to help out Lord Clarence. The Archbishop was concerned for his welfare after his erratic behavior since declaring his intention to inherit. I'm hoping that I can help him recover."

The priest nodded. "I hope that you can. I fear that I have not been making much progress."

"Let's head back to the palace. I think we should discuss our next step." Mother Honore said.

"Do you think he knows what we're investigating?"

"I'm not sure. He recognized me, and I suspect he knows we're from Lord Alistair's household. But I think he believed that we were just trying to help Lord Clarence. Still, he must be working with the skaven. It's the only thing that explains his different responses when talking to Lord Clarence and us, the defiled temple, and whatever the bloody room Clarence saw was."

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

About a third of the way back to the palace, two black-furred ratmen leapt out from either side of the roadway. One of the ratmen charged directly at Mother Honore, crying "Die, servant of light!" and hacked at her brutally with a small but viciously jagged sword. The other ratman called for them to yield to the Horned Lord while it swung its blade at Jet. Our heroes fought back, but the fight was going badly. The advantage of surprise allowed the ratmen to quickly cut down Mother Honore and Jet. Marcus and Kit fought on, hoping that if they won quickly, they would still be able to save their friends' lives. The battle was close, but Marcus and Kit had the advantage of fighting in a city filled with humans. Bystanders, initially stunned by the violence, soon started calling for the guard. Within a minute, a passing mage began casting magic missiles and acid arrows at the skaven. Between his attacks, the creatures Marcus summoned, and Kit's attacks, one of the two ratmen finally collapsed.

At that point, a drow emerged from the expansive townhouse outside of which the battle raged, and with a glare unleashed a powerful psionic concussive blast that shattered the body of the remaining skaven. While Kit and Marcus bandaged their friends, the drow psionicist approached. "I'm terribly sorry that you were menaced outside my establishment. You have the apologies of my House."

Marcus looked up at the psionicist. "What house might that be?"

"I have the honor of being the Canberry factor for the House of Hetland."

"Oh, really?" Kit replied. "I think then you should speak with the head of our household."

"Of course. Who would that be?"

"Lord Alistair, the Lord Regent of Canberry."

The dark skin of the drow tends to maintain an even tone regardless of mood, but even so, a certain pallor on the factor's face was unmistakeable.

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Field Marshal Sir Derrick Brightspan, the commander of the Third Federated Field Army, entered Lord Alistair's conference room. "You wished to see me, your highness?"

"Indeed." Alistair fixed Sir Derrick with a calm look. "As you have likely realized, my grandmother has been hesitant to deploy the Third to locations where it would be exposed to heavy combat, especially after your injury fighting the orcs. She judged the wrath of your father if you were killed too great a risk to run." Alistair paused. "As you can see and surely know, we face too many possible risks to leave one of our best field armies safely away from danger. Between the skaven and the eastern barbarians, Canberry needs all of our armies ready. I can't have a commander who I cannot commit to action for political reasons. So I need to know: Are you an officer of the Federated Army who I can rely on, regardless of the peril you may face, or should I treat you as just the son of one of the great nobles of the realm?"

"I am a soldier and an officer, sir. If you command me into battle, I will go willingly." Sir Derrick smiled self-consciously. "I have enough understanding of politics to know that my appointment was intended as a sop to my family, in the same way that many of the generals under me were appointed to please their families. But I have served as best as I can, and I believe I have proved that I am capable and unafraid of battle."

"No one doubts your bravery, Sir Derrick. I simply needed to be sure I could rely on you to serve Canberry fully. I can't be serving both Canberry and the desires of your father when I make assignments."

"Then serve Canberry, your highness, and I will as well. I had heard many worrisome things about you, I must admit. But I should have known that you would focus on protecting the realm. Your father was a heroic leader, especially with his efforts in protecting the refugees in the south, and I should have known that some of his determination would live on through you."

"Thank you, Sir Derrick. The loss of my father weighs heavily on all of us, but we must press on. I'm glad to hear that I can rely on you. In a few minutes, I'll give you an important assignment. But first, I would like your opinion of the other general officers."

"Field Marshal Broadfields is an outstanding commander. Field Marshal Greening is too timid. I know that some think that I'm overly aggressive, but Greening is unwilling to take any chances and will throw away opportunities to win decisive victories because some people will die. Soldiers die in warfare. It's regretable, but also unavoidable, and when you try to not lose any troops, more people die eventually. Still, he has a fine understanding of defensive tactics. There is no general I would less want to face if I were called on to assault a fortification, and he can wage brilliant defensive campaigns. As for the other generals-- as I said, there are many political appointees. Some of them, like myself, turn out to be able. Others are flatly incompetent. We need to promote from the more junior officers, and rapidly, to build a completely solid core of general officers."

"Thank you, Sir Derrick. How would you respond to our strategic situation?" Alistair asked.

"And do you have any thoughts on who Lord Alistair should marry?" added Dame Brionna, ignoring the slightly irritated look that provoked from Alistair.

"There are two pressing concerns. The skaven in the south must be dealt with, and when the eastern barbarians attack we must strike back hard to deter further aggression. You should raise ten field armies, and dispatch four south. Annex the refugee settlements, and they will provide a defensive buffer. Send the rest of the new field armies to the east to meet the barbarians. To find officers for the new field armies, promote from the ranks rapidly. Some officers will fail, but we do not have enough able young generals to be able to work more carefully."

"I'm considering assigning Greening to command the field armies in the south, and sending you to the east. Thoughts?"

"Greening is perfect for the southern command. It's necessarily a defensive operation, which capitalizes on his strengths. And I lack the diplomatic skills to be effective at organizing an annexation. Fighting the barbarians, in turn, is perfect for my skills. As for your question," Sir Derrick nodded to Dame Brionna, "there are only three reasonable matches. My sister; the sister of the King of the Cities of the Gates, who is young, but that is acceptable for a marriage of state; and the daughter of the Queen of Hanal. If you have other ways to extend the Archduchy, my sister is the wisest choice. She would secure my father's support and settle the internal politics of the Archduchy, while binding my family to your house permanently."

"Thank you for your advice. Here are your orders. I want you to head directly to the Duchy of Tusslefields with enough officers from your current command to form the nucleus of four new field armies. Raise the new armies, promoting new generals to command their legions and head to the east. You will need to drill them rapidly; in two to three months time, you will need to be ready to fight the barbarians. I want a quick, decisive victory that breaks their will to fight without wasting too many lives or permitting them to raid. I will be sending the remainder of the Third south with another field army to reinforce the two already in position to meet the skaven, under the overall command of Field Marshal Greening. Broadfields will remain in Canberry with the balance of the Federated Army as a reserve against other threats. Will two months be enough time to ready your new troops?"

"It should be, and the Duke of Tusslefields will be happy to have good slots to place his young men in. My only concern... the second ranking general in the Third is flatly incompetent. Shall I challenge him to a duel or try to quietly convince him to resign? He cannot be allowed to assume command."

"Do you have proof of his incompetence?"

"Ample."

"Then court-martial him publicly and break him. We'll use him as a signal to other generals who have only family connections, not ability, that they should retire honorably, and soon."

"Very good, your highness. I will take care of that before I depart. If you will excuse me, I need to begin preparations." Sir Derrick began heading towards the exit and then paused. "One last thing. Some of my troops have reported seeing skaven creeping through the sewer system. I haven't yet had the time to deal with the threat properly, but you should be aware of the dangers."