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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Emperor Valerian" data-source="post: 1467513" data-attributes="member: 15043">In the words of the wise sages called Monty Python, "And Now for Something Completely Different!"At the request of some of the party, I’ve also written a narrative of Lucius, Elenya, Quin, and Xanadu as to what they were doing whilst the PCs were further north.  So... consider this an exta story. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />  I'll put the titles of these sections in red, and the text in yellow, to differentiate them from the main story..A Boy Takes CommandMeanwhile...Lucius was strong... he managed to hold himself together until Siabrey left the room, before he let his tears fall... tears or loneliness, and most importantly, tears of fear.Siabrey... I’m already scared, he thought as he finished donning his armor.  I’ve never done anything like this before!  I played soldier with my friends as a boy... but never any real battles!  Silently, he sank onto the still unmade bed, and buried his face in his hands.  “It’s too much,” he mumbled aloud, “too much!”  The Empress hates me, they tried to kill my love, and my own mother wants to destroy all I love... it’s all too much!  His sobbing was loud enough he did not hear a soft knocking at the door a few hours later, or notice the door opening and a tall half elf walk beside him.  A kind hand touched his shoulder, as Xanadu’s sigh filled the room.“It’s... it’s ok,” the dragon said quietly, sitting down next to Luke.  “You shall see her again... and you shall do fine tomorrow and in the coming days.”  He is alone in his mind. Xanadu pulled the young man close and gave him a fatherly hug, “I trust you... Siabrey trusts you, we all do.  If I didn’t,” he pulled back, pushing Lucius’ tear streaked face up so he could look into his green eyes, “I would have insisted on commanding myself.”  He gave a grin, and his heart jumped a little when Lucius’ worn face gave a slight grin in matching.“Good,” Xanadu looked at him, before pulling a kerchief out of his pocket.  “Here... dry off your face.  You have to meet your soldiers soon.”  Lucius stiffened, noticeably, and began quickly cleaning the tears from his face.“Can’t let them see me like this,” he said nervously.  “I don’t want them to think they’re lead by a bawling fool.”  Xanadu gave a short laugh, and stood up, pulling Lucius up with him.“You’re not a bawling fool, boy,” he smiled, taking the same kerchief to wipe off dust and grit from Luke’s armor.  “You’re a Count... a noble within the Holy Santoric Empire, and commander of two score thousand men.  Whenever you get scared, remember that,” Xanadu pointed. “What if that is what scares me?” Lucius asked as the two began leaving the room.  “What if I mess up?  What if I fail?”  His voice began to get wobbly again, and Xanadu spun around, and grabbed both his shoulders.  The wizard pulled Lucius down an inch or two until their eyes were completely level, and his brassy orbs bored directly through Lucius’ green eyes until they found his very soul.“You must never think about that!” Xanadu said quietly, forcefully, as he shook Lucius slightly.  “Your soldiers gain their confidence, their will to victory... from you!  Not some abstract concept of ‘duty’ or ‘Empire,’ but you!  If you show fear in front of them, they will think they should be afraid!” he hissed.  Xanadu relaxed his grip on Lucius’ shoulders.“It is okay for you to personally be afraid... I would fear for the sanity of any man who wasn’t afraid in times like these,” Xanadu’s voice, still quiet, said much more calmly.  “But you must never show it... not in front of them!  The courage of an invincible army is a weak facade, and like glass, with the slightest disturbance it can be easily broken.”  Lucius swallowed hard, and cleared his throat.  I must act confident... I must act as if I know what I am doing...It was about an hour later when Lucius was finally set up in his command tent.  The army camps were barely thirty minutes away, it just took another thirty minutes to bring the relevant supplies and apportionments in as well.  Rather than a heavy and ornate desk as several Imperial officers had suggested, Luke had asked for a very basic, light one that could be easily broken down and carried.  In one corner sat a small bed...little more than a cot, once again at Lucius’ insistence.  A chest of personal belongings lay beside the bed, including a few changes of clothes, a backup set of books, a spyglass (courtesy of a commander in the army from Iskeldrun... he thought it was a novelty, Lucius immediately seized on its possibilities), and most dear to him, the small and large magical books that Xanadu had given him and his beloved.  These lay in front of him as he sat behind his desk, pondering.Xanny said I can’t write in them yet... he needs to confirm if they’re working.  How long will that take?! Lucius groaned.  I want to hear from my love!  She’s going north, with barely 5 people! He gave a sigh of annoyance, and pulled out again the papers he was supposed to be looking at: the force strengths of the troops under his command.  Deciding perusing this would be a better way for him to work out that nervous energy, he began to read, noting a long and ever growing list of noble’s and retainers whom he did not recognize... till the third page...Lord Thanteus Holgren... never heard of him...  Sir San... Sir Santac? his mind jumped, remembering the kindly, older knight they helped defend Mephys with.  Hmm... 559 spearmen, 15 mounted (various), 45 archers, 4 spellcasters (apprentice) he read, scrawled in a dutiful secretarial pen next to the noble’s name.  He’s a veteran... if I have questions, I can always ask him as well...A throat being cleared interrupted his thoughts, and Lucius looked up to see the tall form of Degedar, one of his attendants assigned by teh Empress, standing in the tent entrance, another form behind him.“My Lord,” Degedar’s low tenor began with some annoyance, “there is a man here that says he knows you, and he will not leave till he has a chance to speak with you.  He says he wants to be a body...”“LUKE!” a familiar voice came from over the dour attendant’s shoulder, and Lucius chuckled as Quin Keldare shoved the man aside, holding out his arms expectantly.“Quin, good man!” Luke was up, and dashed forward, giving the man a hug.  He had liked Quin, and hadn’t seen him since the incident in the tavern in Obash.  “Nice to see the Hieroneous people patched you up!  What brings you here?”“Oh... nothing,” Quin grinned, looking down.  He brought his face back up, a full smile on it.  “Just wanted to see if by chance you wanted to have a bodyguard on you.  Your woman is kinda overprotective, y’know, so I thought she might appreciate it.”  As he finished, Quin gave a rather confident pose, which caused Lucius to chuckle.“Well, Tess has said you are an expert bodyguard, despite your lack of common sense, as she would say,” Luke grinned, “but an extra sword doesn’t hurt.”  He leaned close to Quin, “but don’t go being reckless on me... If you die no one will be left to guard me against your vengeful sister!”  Quin laughed.“True... true,” Quin agreed.  “But don’t worry about that... I don’t fall for pretty lasses swinging swords at me!”Lucius thought of a quick, sharp rejoinder, but blocked himself from saying it.  Too close to him still, I bet, he thought before the remark exited his lips.  “Well, I also need a staff person also... someone to keep people orderly outside my tent... make sure only as many come in at a time as I want.  You’ll do that too, m’kay?”“Ah... crowd control.  Something I bet every army commander wants.”Several hours later, Xanadu finally came back to the tent, looking a mixture of relieved and annoyed.“Hmmm?” Lucius asked, looking away from Quin and interrupting their rather ribald conversation about women.“Well,” Xanadu sat down, “I’ve talked to some of the Imperial commanders... they agree tomorrow would be a good time for me to show myself to the troops...”“As a dragon?” Quin asked, and Xanadu nodded.  “Sweet Sune, I bet some of them are going to crap their pants!” he laughed.“Well,” Lucius said after chuckling himself, “I’d rather they soil themselves here than when Xanadu does it on the battlefield.  Xanny, are you going to wait to do this until after I have a chance to meet with the Imperial commanders?”  The dragon nodded his half elven head.“Very much so.  Did you make some rounds like I asked you?” Xanadu said in a very fatherly tone.  “It’d be better if the soldiers saw their commander before tomorrow arrives with a dragon in tow...”“Yes,” Lucius groaned like a teen being grilled as to which tavern he’d visited, “I visited the northern and western parts of the camp... I’m guessing I managed to travel through half of the warbands.  Maybe a little more.  They’ve seen me at least, in full armor with a bodyguard in tow...” Lucius nodded to Quin.“Ah... so you’re healthy and have a purpose?” Xanadu raised an eyebrow at Quin.  “Well then.  I’m going to test your message books and see how well they work.”  Xanadu pulled another set of hte books from his cloak, and set them next to the ones that Lucius had been nervously eyeing most of the day.  Unlike the one’s he used to communicate with Siabrey, these books were not black, they were green, with the mark and seal of hte Imperial Army on the front cover.  Xanadu flipped open the army ones, and began scrawling... while Luke’s heart jumped into his chest with anticipation... and impatience.  He walked up nervously beside the half elf as he poured out a message asking if the message was received.“Um... Xanny... could you... um... hurry up and check the other one?” Lucius asked quietly, and Quin burst out laughing as he came over.“Lucius, excuse me... m’lord,” he gave a graceful mock bow, “forgive me for saying this, but you’re whipped!”Much later that night, Lucius stared at the simple black book still on his desk, and looked at the small message that his love would be receiving... “This is Xanadu.  I want to make sure this works properly.  Send a reply when you can.”  It’d been two hours since the dragon had scrawled that in pen, and left Lucius with the strong instructions of, “Do not write in it until I have checked the reply!”But why?  What harm could a simple message I send of, ‘I love you hon,’ be?  I mean really? he fumed.  He glanced over at the quill still rising out of the wet inkwell.  I should just write a message... just a short one.  If she gets that, but no word from me, Siabrey will panic!  But Xanny said I shouldn’t.... but if she’s panicking, he wouldn’t want that, would he? Lucius reasoned, grabbing the inkpen and scrawling his own message in ink underneath.It was much longer than Xanadu’s but much shorter than he wanted to write.  Other than a simple greetings, it had an update that as far as he knew, Alexander and the Empress were having words over what had happened the day before;  It was a rumor, he couldn’t substantiate it, but he knew it would set Siabrey, Shaun, and Tess at ease.  He also mentioned the Imperial commanders meeting for the first time, and finished the note with his signature.There!  A nice short note so they know I’m doing fine! he thought proudly, giving a yawn.  He glanced over towards the bed, hearing it calling for him... and the bed reminded him of something else.I miss Siabrey... her mind murmured sadly.  I miss her smell... her smile... her touch...  Within a few minutes, he had delved into a new squalor of despair, and nearly started crying for his love when he looked down at his hands... and the memory of a conversation they’d had rose in his mind...”Hon... I know how to write magic... and you can detect it.” he had murmured into her ear while they laid side by side the previous night.  ”I’ll write my love notes in magic... so only your lovely eyes can read them,” he’d purred, and his mind gleefully brought back the memory of the feeling of her cheek on his lips, and the smile and laugh she gave after his statement.  It was not hard for her sultry response to come up from within his memory, ”And as I have the book... I write all the replies.  None of them shall see them... so be as... descriptive... as you want.”  A flood of rather intense and happy memories flowed through his mind of the events immediately following the conversation, and he quickly pulled a few mundane items from his spell-pouch, which was stacked with his armor.Dashing back over to the desk, he put a glob of the mess combined with his spittle on his index finger, and the end of his finger tingled with magical energy as the glob disappeared.  He made incantations to detect magic, and was rewarded with seeing his fingertip glow marginally.  Using it as a quill, he began to write another, far more personal message.  He tossed in all of the feelings of love he had stacked in his heart...  He glanced around his tent, and noticing it was bare of any portraits, he closed his eyes and imagined a portrait of his wife by the chest and smiled.  That fell into the private letter as well.  After he was finished (it was far longer than the official letter from him, and the writing stretched up into the margins and along the sides of the pager), he signed it, “Your love, A Truly Lucky Man.”  Now satisfied, he made sure the ink was dry, and then closed the book for the evening.  Sleep came with difficulty, as he was eagerly expecting the reply he thought would be inside in the morning...</blockquote>

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