Chapter 20

Settled

Audrey

The front riders slowed down to a stop and the rest of the cavalry followed. A few spread around as lookouts.

Audrey had led her cavalry to the far west. Here, the Korelia plains and the Great Lowlandia plains connected seamlessly. After making sure the area was safe, she opened her visor and dismounted

Stopping next to her were two riders who shared a horse. The squire boy dismounted first and helped after the second rider.

“Are we sticking to the plan?” the second rider, a female in blue brigandine asked.

“My plan, not Lans’," Audrey answered as she patted the head of her prized warhorse.

“Yeah, I meant that... So where are the men that’ll follow me?" she asked again while rummaging the saddlebag for a water flask.

“Andre, Dietrich," Audrey turned to her men and called her two lieutenants.

A ruckus was heard and then two showed up with smiles on their faces. One even offered a handful of wildflowers and spoke. “For the good Captain!”

“You damn know well that I can’t eat them, Dietrich.” Audrey roasted the man.

She garnered laughter from the men. Dietrich retracted the flowers and feigned heartbroken.

“Listen, we're going to split up. You and your riders are going with her. You know what to do, don’t ya?” Audrey asked.

The two gave a solid ‘Hooah’ confirmation.

"Good, let the men rest a little before you reorganize them," she ended her instruction.

The two returned to their units.

“They’re either the bravest I've got or the stupidest," Audrey commented and the two females chuckled.

There was no tree in sight, so they sat beneath the shadows of their horses. They quench their thirst, discarded their helmet, and wiped off their sweats.

“You looked worried, Capt?” the female rider inquired Audrey.

“Heh, just a little bit," she confessed.

“Look, I’ll help cover you from Lans when this is over.”

“I'll be counting on you then," Audrey replied with a grin.

Before the two had a professional relationship. However, living in a small castle and sharing a room closen them together.

Since last winter, the two were already as close as sisters and were the prime troublemaker in Korelia castle. They dabbled into food experiments, snow warfare, and making a uniform for the castle staff.

Now, the two rascals as Lansius called them obviously behind their back, had planned something. It was risky, but it was their way to return the favor to Lansius.

As they waited, only the breeze offered some respite against the scorching summer sun. To their east, they saw black smoke billowing into the sky.

A shouting attracted the two. A rider came galloping.

“Captain, carts on the horizon," he reported as he reined in his horse.

“This is faster- No matter, we'll give chase." Audrey decided and then turned to her friend. “I’ll depart first then.”

“Faire bonne chasse," her friend wished.

“I hope it’s a good wish," Audrey commented.

That drew her friend's giggle.

She then mounted her horse and quickly departed with fifty horsemen.

“What should we do then, My Lady?" the squire asked.

“Time for us to leave as well," the female replied.

Afterward, she and fifty horsemen rode eastward.

***

Baron Omin

The vast Lowlandia plains were flat. Hiding would be easy because they didn't have to follow the main road.

The convoy had built up enough distance from galloping non-stop. However, horses could only maintain such speed briefly.

Right now, they were slowing down as heat and exhaustion began to take a toll.

They just had split up the convoy when things went awry. Hidden by the trail of dust from the carts' wake, one by one the carts were subjugated by Korelians riders.

Omin was furious, the pursuer was so efficient that when they took notice, one of the split-up convoys had been captured completely.

“My Lord, the Korelians are chasing us," the Nicopolan bodyguard warned.

“I know. Damnit! Why are their horses so resilient?” Omin watched how easily the Korelians jumped from the last convoy to his one. It was as if their horses were fresh.

“What should we do, My Lord? Our horses are tired," his lieutenant asked in a panic.

“Get the escort to intercept! Their horses should be as tired as ours.” Omin pressed his lieutenant to lead the cavalry.

Twenty horsemen detached from the convoy. They turned around and wait for the opponent's arrival. They were mostly officers and not expert cavalrymen.

Omin and the convoy pushed forward, but many lagged as their horses' stamina was nearly spent.

From afar they witnessed their twenty horsemen fought in a brief but one-sided fight.

Now, everybody's faces were grim.

“My Lord, we must escape," the bodyguard said gravely.

Omin gave up. They steered wide and abandoned their allies.

Watching their Lord escape was the last string for the coachmen. They slowed down their carts and accepted captured.

Few who continued their escape fired crossbows and split further to dissuade their pursuer. They put up a fierce fight before getting subjugated.

Ironically, their struggle to escape bought precious time for their Lord to escape unnoticed.

Audrey’s cavalry remained in the dark about Omin and the third convoy's existence until it was too late.

They had assumed that Omin rode one of those carts, but they were proven wrong.

Now, they were too far, many were wounded, and their horses had spent their stamina chasing the lone individual carts.

Furiously, Audrey slammed one of the carts with her fist as she acknowledge her failure. The perpetrator of this war escaped.

Had only she didn’t split her forces, then this would be preventable.

“Erryaahh!" She let out her pent-up anger.

Only after her rage subsided did she take the cavalry and the recently captured convoy eastward. She grew worried about her friend and the remainder of her men.

***

The Encampment

The camp for the six-thousand was swallowed by thick black smoke. Fire encroached from the southern side and getting closer by the minute.

Out of nowhere, fifty horsemen appeared.

They had crossed a path of blackened burnt grass to reach there. The raging flame couldn’t reach them. An unseen barrier that even kept the smoke away surrounded them.

Nobody knew what exactly happened, but they knew that the Lady in blue brigandine was responsible. She had been repeating the same verse slowly like singing.

Inside the glass-like spherical barrier, the wind was unnaturally directed from above and launched forward as if guided by an unseen hand.

While it couldn’t extinguish the flame completely, it kept it down to a manageable level.

The riders were watching her in great reverence. They had never seen a Mage before and to watch one in action was a blessing.

The blonde Mage rode alone. Oscar was handling the horse reins on foot to keep Lady Hannei as comfortable as possible.

Under her protection, they reached the outer layer of the encampment. They speed up once they crossed the fiery landscape into terra firma.

Fire was yet to reach the inner part but the place was fully deserted, not even an animal was in sight.

There were signs of looting; gears and supplies littered everywhere.

Some of the carts were ready to be used, but many more were still neatly tied.

“I will enlarge the barrier, but you must work quickly," Hannei said to one of the lieutenants.

“You heard, the Lady! Split up and ready the carts.”

“Disregard the carts with water barrels! We don’t need them. Get the carts with the grain, the armor, and the weapons." Andre and Dietrich ordered the men.

“What about salted meat, boss?” one jested.

“Fuck them," answered Andre which drew laughter from the men. Korelia produced a record amount of salted meat last winter and it was no longer a premium.

The enlarged barrier was sending more air downward but it was far from perfect. Smoke and soot got mixed in. Everybody started to get blackened.

Three riders braved the smoke to ensure the exit route.

Coughing and with eyes reddened from smoke, the men hastily prepared the carts and attached their horses.

One by one, even with only one horse, the supply carts were underway.

***

The Korelians

Lansius cavalry had patrolled far to prevent the Coalition from regrouping. The fire was still raging when he found the remnants of Lord Jorge’s cavalry.

The situation grew tense, but Lansius finally met with Lord Jorge. He tried to convince the Viscount to be his guest.

He openly ordered his knights not to surround and not to show aggression.

The two talked to find a common ground. Lansius showed no demand on his part, he only begged Lord Jorge to let him prepare a carriage for the long journey ahead.

Jorge found Lansius to be very different than what he envisioned. Riding with part of his armor exposed, likely due to combat, he gained Jorge’s respect.

Taken by the promise of safety, Jorge finally swayed.

Bloodshed averted as the two reached an agreement.

The two Houses ceased all hostilities. Lord Jorge and his closest retainers were to be provided a safe ground in an abandoned village to the north.

His retainers were free to gather their wounded and stragglers.

Lansius would provide basic supplies, tents, and other materials. In return, Lord Jorge forfeited any gear and supplies left behind, to be confiscated as war indemnity.

They traded two persons as liaisons and went their separate way in peace.

Midday had passed.

Lansius rode west accompanied by seventy riders. The rest was sent to inform Calub, Korelia castle, and the town about the new situation.

Behind them, the Korelia plains were smoldering. Almost a third of the plains were blackened.

The ashes were picked up by the wind and painted the landscape grey.

***

Lansius

“My Lord, we found them," one of the riders reported.

“Finally, guide us in," I ordered. Things were going better than planned and I hoped it end well.

“They’re stopping?” I blurted out when I spotted unmoving carriages and horses from afar.

“It seemed that way, My Lord," Sir Renz answered.

In absence of Sir Callahan and Thomson, Renz became my temporary aide.

We rode straight while showing our banner high.

“Unbelievable, so many carts! Must be close to a hundred," Renz commented with a wide grin.

Indeed the result was even wilder than my expectations.

We rode straight and Audrey’s cavalry noticed our approach. The riders stood with their backs straight as we arrived.

“My Lord, the victory is yours!” They started to clamor as they saw me.

It was embarrassing. They also hailed me as Great Victor and praised me to high heaven. I used all my facial strength to appear stoic, but a smile formed on my lips.

As I passed the riders, they were touching my gauntlet and greaves as if those were charms or amulets. Their devotion-like attitude unnerved me somewhat.

Among the cheering crowd, I spotted Audrey who appeared blackened. Not all, just her arms and one side of her cheek.

“Why are you blackened?”

“What’s happened with your breastplate?”

We asked at the same time. She was on foot while I was on the horse.

“I’m first," I exclaimed.

“Oh, erm…. “ Audrey fidgeted.

Then somebody even more blackened came forward. “My Lord, I can explain.”

A female voice. Her face and attire were blackened but her blond hair stood out.

“Hannei?” I asked with suspicion.

“My Lord, I asked Captain Audrey to allow me to ride with her-“ Hannei started her explanation.

“But you can’t ride," I remarked.

“Ermm… Oscar helped me a bit on that matter.”

“Oh, please no,” I groaned. I never allowed the younger squires into war.

“My Lord, please listen…” Hannei’s tone was polite, but her eyes were sharp as knives.

I may be a Lord, but she could be as wrathful as Saruman or Morgan le Fay. So I nodded and listened intently.

“We split our forces and I went to the encampment. There’s little danger from the fire because…. well you know. And we successfully captured a few dozens of supply carts." Hannei ended her story while clearly omitting the dangerous part.

She seemed pleased and indeed it was a great achievement.

However…

“Lady Hannei, I applaud your courage. However, military discipline is not to be trifled with," I said sternly.

Hannei seemed to give me a face, hinting to let this slide, but I couldn’t.

Audrey came forward with her back straight, helmet carried in hand at breast level. She knew the drill. She had been a squire for most of her teens.

“Are you able to capture Baron Omin?” I asked.

The crowd went silent.

“I’m unable to find him, My Lord," she replied.

I exhaled deeply. “Capturing him is a secondary objective. I don't blame you for that. Still, you violated direct order, endanger the life of my guest, and put your men into unnecessary danger. Do you have anything to say?”

She knelt. Her face was bitter as she spoke. “No, My Lord, I… humbly ask for your pardon.”

Around me, the men's faces looked sour. Nobody was satisfied by this.

“In deference to our victory and your great result, then I shall sentence a lighter punishment. Half pay for the rest of this year.” I dropped the punishment.

“My Lord, please, I beg your forgiveness!”

“Have mercy on our captain," the men cried to ask forgiveness for their loved captain.

Hannei looked composed beside Audrey, but I imagined she too was wrathful.

I’m so dead… I usually avoid this kind of situation, but I must uphold military law.

“Order, order!" Sir Renz rode forward.

The knights behind me assumed formation to show support. But it was unnecessary, there was never a threat to begin with, just discontent.

“Military laws are strict for a purpose," I began my reasoning. “Failure to follow a command may ruin an army and the country. If such were to happen then everybody is paying the price.”

I paused to gauge their attention.

“This time the result is bountiful, but next time who can guarantee? Do you want to gamble your wife and children against servitude?"

That seemed to pacify them.

"Squire," I called.

“Y-yes, My Lord.” As expected a blackened Oscar appeared.

“Write my punishment for Captain Audrey! Half pay for the rest of this year.”

“At once, My Lord," Oscar replied albeit weakly.

With the punishment dealt with. Now, it was time for the reward. “Oscar, while you’re here. Let’s distribute the loot. How many carts are there?”

The words 'loot' and 'distribution' gathered everyone’s attention.

“There are a total of ninety-two carts, My Lord. Comprised of-“

“No, let’s do the ones that Lady Hannei captured,” I told the squire.

“There are fifty carts captured, My Lord. They are filled with grains, clothing, and weapons.” Oscar filled me in while getting ready with a piece of wood for writing. He didn't bring parchment or ink.

“Ten carts should go for Hugo’s men for their sacrifices. Five for Calub’s men as they bleed much. Another five for the heavy cavalry as they lost horses and gears. That's twenty, correct?”

“Indeed, My Lord," Oscar replied while jotting down the wooden board with his knife.

“Five should go for future military expenses to capture Baron Omin. Another five should go to the militia,” I stated.

The riders around me grew weary. They worked the hardest for this and hadn’t been mentioned.

“Twenty carts left, My Lord," Oscar informed the tally.

“Five should go to Lady Hannei for her gallantry. Five should go to the light cavalry and the rest should go to Captain Audrey," I concluded.

“Oooh! Five carts," the riders shouted in pure joy.

It probably felt like getting a five-fold increase on a yearly bonus.

In front of me, Audrey poked Oscar. “Hey, how many are my share?” She asked curiously.

Mental math was uncommon in this world.

“Please wait a moment, Captain," Oscar replied while facing me and spoke. “My Lord, there seems to be a slight mistake. You haven’t taken your share?”

The crowd went silent.

“No, this is purely their hard work. Besides, Captain Audrey has taken full responsibility. So, I shall claim none from the fifty carts," I explained lightly.

This evoked something amongst the men who murmured amongst themselves.

Undisturbed by this, Audrey pressed Oscar for an answer. “Well?”

“Ten carts, Captain. You got ten,” Oscar grinned as he said it.

Audrey punched a fist into the air while the men rushed to congratulate her. She was well-loved.

Nearby, Hannei let out a smirk and nodded approvingly at me.

I let Audrey bask in the limelight. After all, she earned her prize.

When the commotion was over, I rode closer. “Audrey.”

“Yes," she replied with a wide smile.

“Sorry for the harsh words.”

“That’s okay. You also give me ten carts," she grinned.

“I think it's only fair," I replied.

And then she smiled at me so innocently that made my heart race.

I have to tell her.

“Audrey... ever since five years ago, I’ve met with many ladies-”

I started as she stood there listening.

“-but none understand me better than you. Audrey, would you marry me?”

That shushed the entire crowd. People got their eyes widened. Many were grinning like mad. Even the usually stoic knights were smirking and giggling like little girls.

Audrey blushed and spoke, “No.”

Despite amnesia, there was a pang in my heart from rejection. My brain went overdrive to control the emotional damage.

Of course, she rejects you dumbass! You just cut her pay and rebuke her openly!

Logic took over and bludgeoned reason into my sense. Somehow on the outside, I remained calm.

Before I could react further, Audrey stepped upon my stirrup, grabbed the saddle with her hand, and pulled herself up. She stood so close.

“Wha-“ my word was left unfinished as our lips met.

“WOAAHHH!" The crowds went crazy with wolf-whistling, clapping, and shouting of approval.

“But you said no?” I’m still dazzled. Her arms wrapped around me.

“Lans, I can't marry you, but maybe a concubine is alright," Audrey replied with a reddened face.

“W-who give you the idea?”

“Mm, Hannei, but mostly Felis…”

“Oh, yeah... Umm… Well, can’t have you as that, how about consort?” I asked.

Audrey shyly nodded her head.

“Then it’s settled," I exclaimed as I pulled her closer to share a ride.

The crowd with hoarse voices from so many succession of cheering gave their loudest support for us.

Oscar readily removed a few pieces of the horse's armor and removed the saddlebag. We were in armor and a horse could only carry so much.

We ended up removing big pieces of our armor to make it comfortable.

“Hail to the Lord and the Captain Consort," someone yelled and a burst of laughter followed.

I got to admit that was quite funny.

“Lans, are you sure it’s okay?” my soon-to-be consort asked cutely.

Braving the cheering and the merry laughter, I cuddled her from behind while pulling the horse’s reins to the side. “Come, let’s head home. Korelia is waiting!”

The men looked at me in deference. They cheerfully obliged and our entire cavalry along with the captured convoy headed home.

The battle of Korelia was finally over.

***