Chapter 051:

Anton knew that they would soon be arriving at the edge of Maxill. The forest had started to clear and there were marks on the ground from constant movement. He did not miss the still slightly charred grounds of the former bandit camp. What little remained of the camp had been weathered and broken over time, starting to return to the earth. Now that he saw it again a part of him wondered how much of a bandit force they really were. It even looked as if someone had rifled through the remains.

Those bandits were nothing like the Deweth Clansmen that they had to fight at the lake. They had to fight another three groups of Clansmen during their trip. Each time Kal spotted them first and were quickly dispatched. By the time they spotted the fourth group it was easier to spot their signs. He did not think he was anywhere near Kal's ability for tracking but he felt he was getting better.

Each group seemed surprised that they had gotten so close to Maxill, as if the concept that their comrades could be defeated was completely alien to them. Anton did not waste much time with the interrogation of any of the survivors. There was nothing they gave that the first clansmen had not given or they had been able to infer.

Such mental wanderings were stopped when Kal, riding on Verona's horse, pulled hard on her shoulder. Verona whistled to him to stop as well.

They were very close to Maxill now. Instead of the near silence of the forest, an occasional rustle of some leaves and chirps of strange and alien birds, he could hear something different. Faintly in the distance they could hear shouting and thumping. It was the sound of something heavy crashing into something solid. And breaking it.

“You hear that?” Verona asked.

Both Anton and Kal nodded.

“It sounds like a siege.” Kal mumbled.

She reached to her waist and pulled out a thin piece of cloth, wrapping it around her head to cover her face. A moment later it covered her Beast-kin traits. Now she looked just like the first time she arrived at Maxill.

“I've been near some sieges before. That's the sound of stone hitting wood.”

He focused on the sound and could faintly hear the splintering of wood. The enhancement prayer power was not necessary to figure out what was happening.

“Guess the Duchess is still holding out.” Anton said. “These Clansmen and Orcs seemed to have underestimated their opponents.”

“Only because you warned them.” Kal bitterly smiled.

“True. So.” he got his horse moving again. “What's the plan when we run into the back of them?”

Verona cocked her head silently as she brought herself close.

“Don't you want to do what we normally do?” Verona asked. “Just charge in there with your magic, mine in case they get close and Kal to keep an eye out and shoot them with arrows? I thought that was the plan."

Anton chuckled. “That's what we'll probably end up doing, but I wanted to check. However-”

“We can't fight tens of thousands of Orcs and Clansmen by ourselves. Even with your magic.” Kal said.

Her face was hidden but her posture was resolute, she was not going to shy away from her thoughts anymore. Verona nodded.

“That's a fair point.” she said as she continued to nod, scrunching her eyes tight in thought.

Finally she snapped her fingers. In the relative silence of the forest it seemed to travel very far.

“So...We'll use Anton's magic to force a hole through the enemy siege forces, then head straight to Maxill. The defenders will see us fighting the enemy, especially if you throw a bit more magic as we run. Hopefully they'll recognise us as friendlies and not shoot arrows at us.”

“Some of the guardsmen might remember your silver hair.” Anton said teasingly.

Verona ran her hands through her pony tail and brought it infront of her.

“Hopefully they don't think I'm one of them.”

Anton hummed. The, slightly muted, revelation that Verona had Clansmen blood in her did nothing to change his feelings about her. Nor had Verona even brought it up again. It had no bearing on her. However it might make things a bit more difficult for those that know the Deweth Clans more deeply and care about their blood. From the words of the Clansmen it sounded like they were some distance away and quite possibly on the northern side of their territory.

They continued in silence for quite some time, the sounds of a continuing siege growing ever louder. Kal stopped them again as they neared the rear of the besieging army. A sprawling mass of Orcs, with their black carapce armour, and quite a few Clansmen, with their chain mail and fur ladened bodies, emerged through the thinning trees. Their attention was directed west, towards Maxill. Discipline and order was terrible in their ranks; they had not seen them approaching.

There were not many this far away from the city walls but they became more numerous further he looked. At the edge of the forest he could see something akin to a catapult, ten of them. Numerous Orcs and Clansmen surrounded them, winding them back and readying another giant stone. There were at least ten of them that he could see, but from the noise he was sure there were many more. No matter how strong the wooden walls of Maxill were, there was no way they could hold out indefinitely against this kind of bombardment.

They had to attack now if they were to help Maxill and the Duchess.

“Once we start the attack they'll be confused for a little bit.” Kal began. “But they'll simply overwhelm us if we stay in the forest.”

“Can you see the walls?”

She stared into the distance for a few seconds.

“Yes. It's still standing but it seems to have taken some damage.”

Anton prepared fire magic within him. While he did not want to burn the forest to the ground, it was going to be the best and safest way to get through. It would also cause so much chaos that they could charge out without interference. Taking another deep breath he formed the magic within him, forming six tethered rings of flame. Using all the mental energy he could spare he pushed it as far as he could, well within the camp. The moment he released the magic, with the rush of the heaviness leaving him, he remembered how destructive this would be. They were far too close.

“Both of you, get back.” He whispered harshly.

As Verona whipped their horses backwards he saw the ground near the middle of their encampment begin to glow. A few looked to the ground in surprise, their faces quickly turning to shock and unbridled horror as the grass began to fizzle and burn. A moment later the forest exploded into a cacophony of sound and heat as the central pillar of flame erupted from the forest floor. Those caught in the middle were instantly incinerated. The rest screamed as they ran away terrified.

The heat was starting to reach them already as they moved behind a wall formed by large trees. Anton hissed at them to dismount and make the horses lie down. As soon as he feet touched the grass he felt the earth begin to rumble again. The tethered flame pillars were about to emerge, and bring so much more devastation. He grabbed them both, both were looking over to watch, and pulled them down. He quickly grabbed the reins and got the horses to lide down, with quite a burst of effort, as the world began to glow bright red.

With a roar the tethered pillars exploded into life. There were no screams this time, only the roar of the fire. Anton held them both and threw himself against the large trees as the heat seared around them. Seconds passed as the heat worked its its way through the tree. He was sure he could hear screams but the roar of the flame made it nearly impossible to tell.

Finally the roar began to die down. The horses neighed, a quick look showing they were scared but not injured. He did not want to have to think of Dana's wrath if she found out they were killed by him.

“Wow!” Verona cried out, looking up at the burning leaves falling around them.

Kal murmured something as she slowly freed herself from Anton. Her hand lingered on his arm for more than a few seconds, a twitch ran through her fingers like she did not want to let go. Verona stood up and peered around the tree to former encampment.

The sky was filled with twirling embers, of leaves and twigs, slowly descending through the thick smoke. An oppressive heat came from former camp. A quick glance around revealed it to look the same as when he had used the magic against the Yellow Goblins; several large, slightly molten and glassed craters were standing where there had once been trees, digging themselves several meters deep. Nothing had survived. Either side of the craters the trees were either burnt to a crisp or, further away, were bursting in flame.

The only thing left moving were the Orcs and Clansmen manning the siege weapons. They were out of range of the blast, but the sheer shock had stopped them firing and were now running away.

“Quickly.” he said, raising both of their horses. “Before they recover.”

“Can they even?” Verona asked as they mounted their horse.

He guessed that while the immediate enemy would take some time to recover, many more would be coming here. Those would not be too stunned to attack them. And then they would be swarmed by those reinforcements with little cover. He had also used a significant portion of his mana in the attack, he could not do it that soon and he had no idea how many more would be coming.

With their horses running as fast as they could manage, they charged out through the still burning forest. It was unbelievably hot as they ran through. They both had to keep whipping the reins of the horses to make them travel through the slightly cooler sections on the edges of the craters. It was quite a bit of effort to get them through the still burning ground but they made it through. Speed was their friend.

Shouts quickly followed them as they broke out onto the dried and burnt grass, it had not taken them long to start to regroup. No arrows followed. Only insults.

As they passed the catapults Anton let loose several small fireballs. He could manage these fine. It was quite difficult to control them while riding on a horse, but he wanted to make sure they were broken. Each burst into flames as the fire bombs touched their wooden frames.

Anton looked further to his right, towards the north, and saw even more catapults, even some giant wooden structures that looked like siege towers. He threw as many fire bombs as he could at the war machines. Most struck, the Orcs and Clansmen manning the machines shouting out in surprise as they ran for their lives.

Verona had almost covered half of the open ground before he looked at the walls. They were in a very bad state, even though it looked like they had been repaired before the siege. Most of the vertical pillars of wood were broken off halfway and a few were virtually broken off at the ground. Some of the ramparts along the top remained intact. Strangely the gate looked to be somewhat intact. The closer he got the more he was certain that he could see people hiding amongst the destroyed wall.

As he opened his mouth to yell, Verona beat him to it.

“Open the fucking gate!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. “We're on your side! We've just destroyed them, so let us in!”

He did not see any movement amongst the small specks of green and white, the colours of the Qaiviel Kingdom, peering over the wooden walls. Verona yelled again, only slowing down when she was a few dozen meters from the gate. There had been no arrows or bolts thrown at her. He hoped they were too stunned or confused to act. He quickly caught up and brought his horse next to her. Both of them looked very worried.

A face peered from the top of the gate, almost a smile on his face, then retreated as quickly as it came. Slowly one of the gate doors began to open. An anxious and dirty soldier peered his head through. Anton recognised him, one of the soldiers who manned this gate when he first arrived and tried to extort money from him.

“Y...You!” he managed to squeak out, pointing a finger at him. The soldier glanced behind him. “Quickly. I don't know why you're here, but come inside before they try to attack again. Quickly!”

Anton quickly looked back at the forest line as the soldier waved them through. The flames had spread rapidly through the forest. Shimmers of heat wafted out of the burning forest, flickers of the Orcs and Clansmen running about. Most of the siege weapons were destroyed, but that was not going to stop an army with walls in this state.

Once inside several other guards moved forward and closed the gate. All were tired and dirty, the whites of their uniform were blemished by a mixture of dirt and soot.

“Um...Anton. Yes?” the man began. “What...What are you doing here?”

“It's...it's a little difficult to explain.” he replied. “Is someone in charge here?”

He nodded. “Alfred and Duchess Belinda are in charge of the defence. They're set up just a bit back there.”

He pointed towards the centre of the village. There was something like a white and green command tent established in the centre of the first crossroad.

“Thank you.”

Anton saw that he looked quite tired and was covered in some deep scratches and cuts. He lent down and touched his metal helmet, chanting a healing prayer. The wounds began to close and his eyes recovered their strength. Anton gave him a nod and moved forward before he could respond, Verona and Kal following beside.

They only took a few paces before more soldiers began to swarm them. All looked dirty and tired. However, their weapons and armour seemed to be new underneath the accumulated grime. They lowered their weapons at them, not out of aggression but in caution.

I suppose that they wouldn't just let us in with just that. You are in a state of siege after all.

The command tent flap opened and a man emerged wearing an immaculate butlers uniform. Behind him was another Qaiviel soldier, an impressive green and white uniform. He was a little bit younger than Alfred, easily in his late fifties with a full grey beard. All the other soldiers gave them room as they approached. When Alfred, and the other soldier, came close, the frowns quickly turned into a small smile.

“Anton...” Alfred spoke lightly, he could only shake his head. “You've come at quite a difficult time.”

“It seems so.” Anton looked back at the rising pillar of smoke from the forest. “I think we've got most of their siege weapons. It looks like you're having some trouble with some Clansmen and Orcs.”

Alfred smiled. “We do. Well, since you're here....We should tell you what's happening. But not here, we'll speak more in the command tent. We have some wine and food if you wish.”

“You're not worried about them attacking again?” Verona asked, looking around at the state of the soldiers around them.

“Absolutely. But...” Alfred looked along the growing plumes of smoke coming over the wooden wall. “They won't be attacking us for the moment at least. We have soldiers on watch.”

They began to dismount. Quite a few soldiers looked oddly at Verona and Kal but did not move to stop them. Anton took the time to sneak a bite on one of the Karak fruit, his mana recovering with every bite. Verona and Kal moved close to Anton, some of the soldiers weapons clincking as they lowered their weapons.

“All three of them will be coming with us.” Alfred glared at the soldiers, they quickly averted their gaze. The tension of the siege had frayed a few nerves and minds.

The lone Qaiviel soldier, with a full grey beard, smiled at Anton. His face did feel familiar.

“Do I know you?” Anton asked non-committally.

The bearded man smiled and nodded. “We only met once. When you were being dragged off to meet the Duchess.”

Anton searched his memories as quickly as he could. Back to the first time they have arrived at Maxill, when Lester's shop was being attacked. He snapped his fingers as he remembered.

“You, and a bunch of other guardsmen, tried to stop those thugs from dragging us off.”

The man smiled.

“That we were. Never would have thought that one visit could have changed that.” he jerked his head towards the command tent. He was clearly talking about the Duchess. “Name's Hemiskr.” he offered his rough, warn and calloused hands. “It's an honour to greet you in person.”

Anton felt a little embarrassed. Having any profession of honour or gratitude towards him was quite embarrassing to him. However, especially for the upcoming meeting, he pushed it down and shook his hand.

“So, what are you doing now?” Anton asked. “Last time you didn't seem to be the Duchess's favourite.”

Hemiskr let out a hearty laugh, Verona wincing from the volume. “Now that Alfred's in charge, and not giving out favours from how much money you can steal from people, I've been able to show what sort of warriors my family has always been. My family has always been at the front-lines of-”

“Hemiskr!” Alfred yelled back from the edge of the tent.

He jumped and returned an awkward smile. “Better not wait. She still has a temper with people being late, not even Alfred can calm that part of her.”

Anton did not want to wait any longer either. Especially when it was with someone as important as the Duchess. Verona walked beside him while Kal made a concious effort to stay in his shadow and hidden from their gaze.

Inside the tent, sitting on the other side of a large wooden table, sat Duchess Belinda. Despite the state of siege, and the constant attacks up until a minute ago, she wore her best clothing; a bright red and white flamboyant Victorian styled dress. Even the white gloves had not been tarnished by the chaos of the siege. Although not even make up could hide the tiredness evident in her eyes.

“Good morning Anton.” Her voice was as smooth and calm as before. “I think that you are the last person that I expected to see today.”

She gave a curt nod to Verona and Kal as they entered, both of whom returned it.

“I didn't think that you would be dressed like that. Considering you're under siege.” Anton commented as he looked her over.

The Duchess gave a slight shrug. “If we are going to loose our lives, then I should at least look my best.”

Anton looked out at the soldiers near the wall. They certainly did not look their best. Their efforts were directed at surviving and not how well they looked.

I guess not everything can change.

“How long has it been?” Anton asked.

“A couple of days.” Alfred answered. “Though, I doubt we would have made it through to midday. They have stepped up their attacks since this morning.”

Belinda chuckled as she lent back into her chair. “Though, not for much longer. When you first showed me that you were a mage, you never even hinted that you had such powers.”

She nodded to the plumes of smoke through the gap in the tent's flaps. Anton held back a smile.

“I didn't want to destroy half the city to show it off.”

“And both your friends are with you this time.” she looked them both over. “Though, one still appears to be...wounded.”

Anton looked at Kal, whom he guessed had her eyes on him. There was more than a slim chance that they suspected something about her heritage.

We'll need to work on a more complete disguise when we head to Graterious. Still, since they haven't said anything means that either they don't know or they don't care.

“We came here today to help out our ally.” Anton said, once again not answering Belinda's statement about Kal.

Belinda waved her hand at Alfred and Hemiskr, immediately getting three chairs and placing them across the table from her. Anton was shown to the one central chair, Verona and Kal took their seats either side.

“I didn't think we had such an agreement.” she spoke with a light and slightly teasing tone. “All you've done, before today, is buy some bondsmen from me. For a very good price...But that hardly makes us allies. Although, what you've done now...”

“True.” Anton replied. “But many of those bondsmen still have friends and family here. It would be very hard to keep order and control if they found out we let them all die. Especially when we could've done something.”

“So, it's a selfish reason again?” a smirk drew on her face, even Alfred visibly relaxed. “That means that you're looking for a reward for helping us out...At least I can presume that we can trust you. ”

“That...That and you are the only person we do can business with in the whole Kingdom.”

Finally a full and hearty laugh escaped her lips, one Anton was not expecting. “So that's the reason...The same one that you used on me to convince me to let Alfred manage my territories.”

Anton glanced at Alfred. His face was completely unreadable, and Belinda's was continuing to smile. He did not know how to respond to that properly, without seemingly trying to drive a wedge between the two, so he smiled as he looked at the map.

“Very. Very sneaky and manipulative.” he heard Kal whisper, Verona heard and smiled at her. None of the others seemed to hear.

“But, you did come here to help?” She asked. “You didn't just happen to arrive at the same time as them?”

Anton nodded.

“That's a relief.” She waved at Alfred who poured her a glass of wine. Nothing was said as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the flavour of the drink.

“Duchess Belinda,” Anton began. She waved him down.

“Right, sorry. Just Belinda.” she smiled. “Forgive me for saying this but should we be having such a relaxing talk while there is still an army banging at your walls?”

A faint smile drew on her lips as she looked towards Alfred. The butler stiffened his back and looked to the wall.

“The fire magic that you unleashed, and destroying their siege weapons on your flight to the wall, has put them in complete disarray. It will take some time before they are ready to attack again.”

“You can't go and attack them now?” Verona asked, looking at the map on the table. It was of Maxill and the surrounding woods and villages. Quite a few sections of the walls were marked in red, as well as several spots in the forest.

Alfred and Hemiskr shook their heads.

“Our hunters say that the enemy has at least ten or maybe twenty thousand Clansmen and Orcs attacking us.” Alfred answered.

“Myself and the other guardsmen, and some mercenaries that Alfred managed to get just in time, bring our force up to maybe three thousand.” Hemiskr added, in his deep voice. “Oh, it'll probably give them a big surprise, but then they'll just cut us down and take the city.”

“There's sixty thousand.” Kal said quietly, drawing away all life from the tent. “Thirty thousand Deweth Clansmen and the same again of Orcs. I think you've been fighting the vanguard of their army, the rest are heading towards your Border Forts.”

Alfred sighed, Hemiskr shook his head, and even Duchess Belinda ran a hand through her ornately decorated flowing red hair.

“And how do you know that?” Alfred asked.

“We asked nicely.” Anton replied.

They were all smart enough to realise what he meant. Belinda gave a slap on the table.

“In light of that news, we can't just sit here all day.”

I imagine that's what you've been doing all day...

“On the first day we managed to get messages out, warning everyone about the Orc and Clansmen attack. Whether or not they listened is another matter. But, that doesn't help us right now.” She looked intensely into his eyes. “We need to work something out with you. How can you aid us in our plight?”

“We've come to offer our help and assistance.” Anton began, drawing an odd look from those gathered. “But, as you say we're are not official allies. Rather, we'll be assisting as mercenaries.”

Belinda leaned back into her chair as Alfred moved behind her, Hemiskr moving near the tent entrance.

“I guessed that might have been your action here.” Belinda said quietly, eyeing the three of them separately. “So, what is your price?”

That was one thing that Anton had not thought too deeply about. He had no idea of what an average pay for a normal mercenary would be, let alone a mage of his power.

I could just ask for money, I'm sure that I could earn quite a bit of money as a mercenary mage. But I'm just going to be spending it here and it'll just end up back in their pockets or in Graterious's. We've still got those crates full of gold...I should ask for something more useful to Atros. Resources and people would be good...maybe even some sort of magical items, like whatever Jonathan wanted for his forge.

“Not in gold,” Anton replied, receiving a frown in response. “Or silver.”

He glanced at Verona and Kal, who looked blankly at him. They did not seem to have an opinion on the matter; Verona knowing full well that they had chests full of gold and Kal not needing money to survive.

“So what then?” Alfred asked. He fingers began to fidget. What were they thinking he could possibly ask for? Even Belinda seemed a little anxious. Did they think he might ask for her?

“We are looking for more people and resources for Atros, to help it grow as a city.”

“You're still expanding?” Belinda asked, a weight lifted from her shoulders. “You are living in a monster and beast....infested lands. Why not just move your village to the Qaiviel Kingdom? Surely there are more opportunities for you here?”

Is she trying to 'recruit' me?

Anton shook his head.

“We like our freedom and our way of life. Without anyone telling us what we are doing is wrong, without religions and whatnot interefering.” Anton replied. “So we are going to continue to grow in safety there.”

Verona and Kal agreed, Kal doubly so.

“But at the moment, we still need people and extra resources from outside. That's what we would like to get in return.”

“In support for helping us?” Belinda asked. “And the Kingdom?”

“Yes.” Anton replied with a nod.

Belinda smiled bitterly as she looked at Alfred. He gave a non-committal shrug.

“Due to the siege...and other continuing and prevailing conditions before your arrival...” Belinda spoke very lightly. “Our support, for some time, would be rather limited.”

“I understand.” Anton replied. “A siege-”

Something flashed over Belinda's eyes. A plan had just formed in her head. She pulled on Alfred's hand and down to her face. Anton stopped and waited while they talked amongst themselves in hushed and rapid whispers. After nearly half a minute of talking rapidly they parted. Belinda looked rather pleased.

“Well, Anton.” Belinda began. “There may be a way for you to help us and yourself more than you first thought.”

“Oh?” Verona asked.

“Indeed.” Belinda waved her hand at Hemiskr, who retrieved a tea set that he handed to Alfred.

Alfred took the set and placed it on the table, taking great care to not elicit a clink from the fine pottery. Clearly he had done this many, many times. Nobody spoke until he began to pour out the purple fruity liquid.

“While the territory that I control is not great and not as wealthy as I desire, but if I had more...Then I could help you more.”

A wicked smile formed on her face. She took her cup and sipped at the purple liquid, Alfred offering one to Anton and Verona. It was clear that Kal was not going to, though she may have wanted to. She kept her body completely still, her head turning to watch him as he moved close to her. When Alfred moved back to Belinda's side she began speaking again.

“More bondsmen, talented people and specialised equipment and gear. I found out from Lester that, not only did you buy enough weapons and armour to establish a small warband, but you also bought something very specific for a forge.”

“You didn't hurt him. Did you?” Anton asked softly.

Belinda smiled and shook her head. “No. I simply had Alfred ask him what you had bought.”

Alfred kept his face flat.

“Is he still here?”

Belinda nodded. “Yes. But, I'm afraid that he's not taken the siege very well.” she said with a sigh. “His business was only starting to pick up, and now he's scared that he's going to be killed. Lester has become a very good source of revenue for me; he's already started to sell our goods beyond my borders.”

“That's good to know. I'll check in on him before we leave the Kingdom. Anyway.” Anton continued. “You were saying....”

“Yes. I do not control much, in land or riches, compared to the other royals. My previous...attitude, to management of my territories, has not helped.” She tried desperately to hold her face straight as it tried to wince. Her previous management style had been...lacking, to say the least. “Now, I have greater prestige than ever before, but if I could get more, say, for being instrumental to beating back an overwhelming offensive...I could leverage that for more territory. More people, more power and territory for me, that could also be used to help you.”

Anton was quickly guessing where this was going.

“So, you want me to be a mercenary in your employ to improve your political position. And if anyone asks who managed to acquire a mercenary mage, Blood Berserker and an expert poison archer-”

“Poison?” Alfred glanced at Kal, who held her body still.

“Yes.” Anton replied. “A few of the clansmen have found out how dangerous that is.”

Kal remained motionless, other than a slight flexing of her fingers. Belinda's head twitched, frowning at Anton.

“Wait. You also just said a Blood Berserker.” Belinda's voice wavered slightly.

Her eyes first looked at Kal, but Kal wore the bow and quiver full of arrows. Their eyes landed on Verona, who chuckled and grinned wildly back.

“That's me.” she chuckled, pointing to the red tattoos covering her hands. She even pulled down the scarf around her neck. They showed up so clearly against her white skin.

“I've never seen someone with the marks that extensive.” Alfred hummed as he looked more closely.

“How many have you seen?” Verona asked.

“Five.” he replied. “Though they only had a few marks on them. Barely the size of a hand, that's why I didn't think that they were the marks of a Blood Berserker. They were still very dangerous though. Not that I don't think you are.”

Verona laughed. “I wonder what I'm like compared to them.”

Alfred hummed and retreated his presence back to Belinda's side.

“So, you want us to say that you found and hired us, so you can increase your prestige and territory? And in return, we get more people and resources. Sounds simple enough, and one based on selfishness...so long as you can hold up your end.”

Belinda smiled and nodded.

“Indeed. Larger cities near the capital would never be reassigned in such a manner. But out this far, the word of a Knight Order Commander would be enough to get me dozens of smaller hamlets and villages. Especially if the previous ruler was gone or inept.”

“Do you know any of the ones nearby?” Anton asked.

She clicked her tongue and slowly rapped her fingers on the table.

“Most of the Orders surround the capital. To the north, one currently resides in the Border Forts. He and I...Have never got on very well. However, with the changing fortunes of my territory, and with how this attack may be dealt with by my forces, that may change his attitude of me. If you do happen to see him, do mention that I hired you to defend Qaiviel lands.”

“I'll be sure to remember that.” Anton spoke quietly. “ But, you sound like this is not going to be the only battle.”

“If what you say is true.” Alfred began, “I doubt they would commit sixty thousand soldiers to this one city. It's too many. It makes more sense for them to continue on to the Border Forts. Unless this was just a step in their plan.”

“Sixty thousand soldiers were not present in that camp.” Kal began, all looking towards the fully clothed person. “There would have been six or seven at most, I'm guessing.”

Kal trailed off at the end. Some of her confidence seemed to drop off in the presence of strangers. Kal looked to Anton, he was sure that she was smiling. “Less now.”

Alfred and Hemiskr agreed with her assessment.

“That does seem possible.” Hemiskr said. “We wouldn't be able to hold them off otherwise.”

“So, where are the rest of them?” Verona asked.

Alfred brought out another map. The same one that he had brought out in the garden, the map of the Qaiviel Kingdom. He removed the cups of tea and laid out the map.

“I've been thinking that this is the attack that you were thinking could happen.” Alfred said with a deep grumble. “If there are sixty thousand soldiers, they could carve a deep wound into the kingdom before the Knight Orders could rally. But...If they really are heading towards the Border Forts....”

His hands tracked from Maxill to the squares on the edge of the Qaiviel Kingdom and the Deweth Clans territory to the Border Forts that protected them from incursions. His attention was stuck on large dots, the same size as Maxill.

“If they attack these cities behind the forts first, then the forts themselves, and attack in force from the north, they could cut off their supplies and reinforcements. No reinforcements or help...Even with a warning I don't know if they could hold surrounded and besiged by so many. We've already sent them a warning, but I'm not sure what they could do about it, or if they actually received it, or if they took is seriously. There's no way to tell...but if it falls...”

He straightened up and sighed. “Then there would be nobody to stop them for hundreds of miles. Hemiskr?”

The elderly soldier perked up.

“Get everyone positioned on the wall to keep a watch out for any movement of forces coming out from the forest. Especially if they are heading towards the north, north west.”

“Yes Sir.” Hemiskr saluted happily and ran out the tent.

A few quick shouts and he could hear a flurry of movement. Anton turned back to Belinda.

“Do the Deweth Clans and the Orcs have enough people to even occupy the Qaiviel Kingdom?”

Alfred shook his head.

“No. But, they could cause significant damage before they are beaten back. Miles of destroyed and looted cities.”

“I suppose that's good to know.” Anton said offhandedly. He coughed and straightened his back. “But, we will agree to your proposal. We will be mercenaries in your employ until the combined Orc and Clansmen force is defeated.”

She smiled warmly. “Thank you. All of you. I will honour our agreement. I'm sure that we'll work something out to be written on paper once we are victorious.”

“I'm glad that you're so confident.” Anton said as they all began to rise from their seats.

Belinda shrugged, making her way to the tent entrance. “Why not. Now we have a formerly unknown Grand Mage on our side. And if we lose, I don't owe you anything.”

------------

Hello.

(Hopefully my grammer is a bit better this time. It probably won't though. :)

So, blasted their way through the rear of the enemy and took out their siege weapons on the way through. Everyone's very happy to see their unexpected arrival. Got a verbal contract for a future alliance and delivery of resources. So that's good.

Belinda was just afraid for a moment that he was going to ask for her hand in a marriage or something. Though she was glad that he was helping for purely practical reasons. That, I think, is a big part of her. Not trusting someone when they say they're helping out of good will.

And battle about to start...So...

Thanks for reading!