The guard's words immediately caused a stir in the gathered people. Panicked murmurs and whispers started up and I held back the urge to glare at the guard. There were so many other ways he could have brought me the news and for some reason, he'd decided to be dramatic about it.
"Silence," Bellowed Richard to little effect. The crowd was being sent into a frenzy and if it didn't stop now then this meeting would go bad quickly.
"That's enough!" My voice boomed out like an oncoming wave and the volume of the crowd immediately quieted before fading completely. I looked around at the panicked faces of the nobles, merchants, and craftsmen. They all looked worried and frightened, especially the nobles who at the name of Biroth had given each other looks of horror. He truly must be a foul man if this is the reaction he gets.
I took in a silent breath then looked down at the guard. "Good work in bringing this news to me, head down to the palace barracks and get some food and rest, you will undoubtedly be called for soon."
The guard nodded and quickly exited the room. I turned to the gathered crowd. "You should not worry, my advisors and I were expecting something like this and I'm sure some of you were as well. We have a large army and with my personal power, we will defeat this foul fool, and be rid of another problem. I ask that you remain calm and do not spread panic within the city. My earlier words still stand. Do not see this chaos as a ladder to climb, I will not tolerate it. Now," I turned to Richard," Gather my generals we must begin panning."
Richard nodded. "I shall prepare the war room, your majesty, and Susana shall escort you there when all is ready."
"Good," I replied, turning back to the crowd. "Go and remember my words."
The crowd quickly left the room, some more relaxed than others, while some still had looks of horror on their faces. How bad was this Biroth? Was he as foul as they said? I guess I would find out soon enough.
"Your majesty?" Susana gave me a quick bow then motioned to one of the side doors. "That door will lead us to the quickest path to the war room if you would please allow me?"
"Of course, lead the way," I answered, standing from my chair. I sent a mental command to both Lilah and Domino to follow then started after Susana. We entered into the side passage and after a few minutes entered out into one of the main palace hallways. I let out a breath when we did. Servants and guards were rushing all over the place, all quickly bowing at the sight of me before they continued on. This was definitely going to test me and would be a way I would prove myself to my people.
We arrived at the room to find Richarda and few older men standing around a table with a very large and detailed map of Larra and its surrounding areas. Richard bowed followed by the other men. "Your majesty all is prepared, General Matin will explain it to you."
The youngest of the generals stepped forward and bowed low. He had greying hair and a stern face with bright green eyes which looked like they belonged on someone much younger.
"Your majesty, the enemy's plan is very simple yet could be devastating if we allow the first part to work. They've sent a force straight to Hulgate to try and take the fort there. The fort is directly above a narrow pass which is an excellent choke point. If they take it then they can use it as a ferrying point to send more troops towards the capital reliably. There aren't any reliable places to siege it either, but they won't need to. It isn't that well defended."
"And why is that?" I asked, confusion clear in my voice. I had played dozens of strategy games and I knew what Matin was talking about, and how valuable a position like the fort could be, but if so then why was it so badly defended.
Matin sighed and hung his head in shame. "One of the former royal generals sided with the princess and took most of the soldiers at the fort leaving it undermanaged and with few soldiers left."
"So, we cannot let them take the fort," I mused, looking at the map. "How long until they reach it?"
"A day at the most," Matin said, looking worried. "If we gathered a force of our own and marched we would just barely make it in time and the ensuing battle would be chaos and bloodshed as both sides fought to gain control of the fort and pass."
I nodded at his words and looked over the map. There were two small figures representing the two forces of Biroth. One to the north and the other to the east. The figure to the east was much larger as it was the main force of Biroth while the other was just a besieging force meant to take and hold the fort. That brought on on another thought.
"How many men in force to the north?" I asked, starting to get an inkling of what Biroths plan might be.
"Around two thousand, your majesty," One of the other generals said.
"It's enough soldiers to hold the fort but that's all, and since you haven't spotted any force behind them they don't want to take the fort to attack but as a distraction. Why would Biroth declare war in this way and then send only this many soldiers to the fort? It makes no sense unless he wants us to take a large portion away from the capital so it makes it easier for him. How long until he gets here?"
"three days if he keeps up his current pace," Matin said.
Three days. that's all I had to make sure the capital was ready and to figure out a way to end this as quickly as possible.
"Do we have any air cavalry?" I asked getting a sudden idea. We couldn't dedicate too many troops to the fort as we would need them at the capital, but a smaller quicker force to back up the soldiers already there, now that was very much a possibility. It's only two thousand, I thought, with my summons and my summon tokens I should be able to deal with it, with some back up of course.
"Ermm, yes we have just over a hundred talon riders. They're royal forces and non of the heirs managed to get them on their side. They answer only to the king."
"Which is now me," I said, a smile spreading across my face. "How long will it take to get them ready and mobile."
"An hour at most. The talon riders are very skilled and are trained endlessly. They are some of our best soldiers," Matin said, a thoughtful look appearing on his face. "Your majesty may I ask what the plan is."
"It's simple Matin," I replied. "I will take a force of fifty talon riders and we will fly to the fort to intercept and help the soldiers there. With my power and the talon riders, we should be able to take a force of two thousand though there will be casualties. but if they take it first and we win the war when Biroth arrives at the capital, the fort will be a problem. I won't allow enemies to live in this kingdom."
The other generals all nodded, looking impressed. The looks in their eyes slowly changed from wary to respectful. I smiled inwardly. All those years of playing strategy games were about to pay off.
"Nathan, are we all going?" Domino asked from behind me. I turned and gave her a nod. "Yes, this will be a perfect way to get more levels and there's probably a quest about to pop up anytime."
I paused and waited for the quest to pop up. When it didn't after a few seconds I grew worried but then a notification appeared causing me to smile.
[Quest received: War on Biroth: Defeat Duke Biroth and his army and secure your place as king.: 2 Summoning Token, 1 skill, 1 Unique token]