Theodore looked back to the castle one last time before turning away.
"Let's head out!" He ordered.
Erling had already gathered his men and left for his destination earlier today, but Theodore took more time preparing, since their trip would be quite short.
They made short time to the town, the road helped immensely and they were still somewhat rested when they finally saw the small settlement on the horizon.
He could see the sail-less ships of nagas in the ocean, those miscreants don't need ships, and only use them to carry slaves and loot.
They were met by a small procession at the gate, they had pitchforks and all sorts of improvised weapons in their hands, and had seemingly relaxed once they saw their signature steeds.
The man sent by them to inform their lord had already approached ahead of them, speaking heatedly with the man at the front.
"Hail, good men. We come to help with the crisis." Theodore said.
The man glanced at their baggage, noting their numbers. "Is this all?" The man was clearly afraid, but he asked nonetheless. Theo could respect such bravery.
"Yes." Theodore chuckled. "But don't worry, we're all aura knights and the footmen are experienced veterans, I assure you, we'll be enough." The man seemed pacified, and turned in order to let them in.
"I'm Marcus, the mayor of this town. We've been dealing with the nagas for more than a fortnight. They have taken some our women and killed more of our men, if it weren't for those soldiers from the navy then I fear we may not have survived." He spoke.
"About that, where are those imperial soldiers?" Theo asked.
"At the port, Sir. They thought it would be better to keep constant watch on the enemy while expanding our facilities, their ships are still intact, but the port was too small to receive most of them. Their captain has been getting their men to get the place to order."
"I want to meet their leader." Theo informed the man.
"Of course, we're headed there right now."
Theodore dismissed most of the men, as they led the horses to the stables and were led by one of the men to their quarters.
Theodore followed the mayor closer to the shore, and it wasn't long before they reached their port.
It was a flurry of activity, people were constantly working while armored men patrolled the area, most prominent of them was a woman in full uniform ordering her men around.
She turned and her eyes lit up at the sight of Theo, but kept her composure and acted with discipline.
"Sir, this is Captain Aubrey Nott from the 13th regiment. Ma'am, this is Sir.." "Theodore." "Sir Theodore of the Order of the Shining Beacon, they are our reinforcement from Lord Agis."
Theo shook hands with the woman. "Well met, Sir. I have to admit your arrival was godsent; we are getting hammered by those snakes. May I ask, what sort of reinforcements should we expect?"
Theo gave a nod. "The lord's numbers are sadly depleted, but we brought two hundred knights, all aura capable, and five hundred footmen."
Her eyebrows rose in surprise. "The numbers can be better, but your skills should be more than enough." She mentioned to the ships in the distance. "Those are the enemy ships, even though the Nagas don't actually live there we can assume by their number that they number roughly 800 men and 20 females. All 800 men are mundane, but their women have a natural affinity with water magic so all of them –except their leader- are apprentice mages."
The ocean is the nagas natural element, Theo is glade that they're fighting a defensive battle, since trying to attack the amphibious creatures in an ocean without at least a Master magic user is suicide.
The nagas come from a matriarchal society; they live in what is called the sunken cities, an archipelago far into the Irearith Sea that used to be a rich country renowned for flesh peddling. Some 250 years ago, they were considered slaves of that kingdom, before a few of their members devised a ritual that sunk the islands and killed their slavers. And they lived in the fallen cities of that kingdom ever since.
Over the years, their society turned to be more and more exploitative, and they became a replica of their previous oppressors. They maintained a sizable merchant fleet that traded in slaves and stolen goods, and are hated by most people that met them.
"Their leader, named Catalina, is a semi-famous journeyman mage with considerable skill in water magic. Our battalion was sent directly by the prince in order to deal with her, and the last thing I heard from command is that there was a civil war going on." She looked at Theo. "The townspeople do not know much, what is the state of the kingdom? Did the Prince win the civil war?"
"Uh…" Theodore felt déjà vu. "Ma'am, I have grave news…"
_________________________________________________________________________________
It was only at the next morn' that they reached their destination. The exclusion of footmen meant that they could head faster than usual, and the speed of their steeds allowed them to shorten a two day trip into one.
They weren't greeted by anyone special, apart from two men guarding the gate in decent weapons, they didn't see anyone else roaming the village either.
It was uncommon for a normal village to have such weapons, but this was a mining village, and so it was to be expected.
"Sir, you'll find that the village is empty of men." Said one of the guards in favor of greetings. "The chief just led a group of our soldiers into the mountains to recover the captives, only a dozen men were left to defend the village." He finished.
"Where did they go?" Erling asked.
"Southeast of the village, Sir." The guard answered. "I can lead you there, if you want?"
Erling wordlessly lifted the man by the scruff of his neck and put his on the back of horse.
"Lead the way, soldier."
The guard was speechless for a moment, before he wordlessly mentioned toward a direction.
He led them into the mouth of a cave, so Erling dismounted and ordered 20 knights to watch the horses, before both he and the rest headed inside, the guard in tow.
"The Kog'zul liked to use the mines to set up traps for our men, but we knew these parts better than anyone, and it backfired for them severely." The guard's voice echoed in the damp cave. "So they got desperate, they led raids into our village at night and stole some of our women, every night they would take more and more. But the village chief decided to wait for you sirs. He said we couldn't take them on alone."
"Wise words." Erling commented.
"Wise man, he was a veteran of the old wars, and a Journeyman aura swordsman of his own right."
"And what did finally push his hand?" Erling asked.
"The Kog'zul managed to get into the shelter, they weren't able to take many people before we repelled them, but they managed to catch his wife and daughter, Sir. The chief couldn't wait anymore when his family was concerned, so he led the best of our men here in order to save them." He explained. "I hope we catch them before something happens, wouldn't want to see anyone hurt."
And as if proclaimed by god, they suddenly heard a loud canopy of noise from deep into the cave, the sound of battle was an old friend to Erling's ears.
"Men, make sure not to lose each other!" Ordered Erling before he sped up, closely followed by his subordinates.
After a while, his enhanced senses could clearly see in the relative darkness. The Kog'zul have set up a makeshift camp in a big natural cave, and the few scattered torches lit up the scenes of the battle ongoing, at its center, a grizzled old man clashing with a menacing Kog'zul.
The Kog'zul are humanoid beings that towered over many humans, they were often compared as giants and would have been considered such if it weren't for the snow white fur covering their bodies.
They only covered the bare necessities with cloth, and had the appearance and the behavior of barbarians.
They originated from the northern reaches of the Makragh Mountains, both women and men were the same size and were treated similarly, they had strong physiques that required a lot more sustenance than normal people, so whatever resources available in the icy north weren't enough for their needs, and they often resorted to cannibalism in order to survive.
Their magic users were mainly ice mages and necromancers; they had rituals that would preserve the bodies of their strongest warriors in ice, while their necromancers would revive them in times of need.
They were warlike, savage beings, and it was only after the rise of Duke Gunther that they started getting pushed further into the north.
Erling didn't think for a second before he charged into the fray, his pure white aura was bright enough to light up the cave, and before they knew it, the outnumbered and outmatched humans found themselves winning again.
The grizzled old man took advantage of the situation to retreat, he was skilled, and Erling felt Aura held taut in his body like wrought steel, but his opponent was clearly covered by a grey Aura shield of his own, denoting him as a master user.
So Erling decided to get rid of the primary threat, surging through the battlefield like an arrow, his sword collided with his opponent's armored fists like a comet.
The enemy master collided with the cave's wall, creating a Kog'zul sized crater.
Erling noted the trembling of the ground. 'We should save our allies and disengage, we can't risk a cave in' He thought.
He turned to the old man. "Where are the captives? We have to get them and retreat!"
The village chief pointed at his back, where a couple of unarmored women and children stood.
Erling felt even more respect for the old man, to infiltrate a stronger enemy's base and come out with their captives is a great achievement, he couldn't wait to hear how he did it.
"Good! My men will hold them off, you head out with the civilians!" He ordered.
The old man nodded, before he turned around and informed his men. They quickly led the saved captives into one of the caverns, while Erling turned around toward their enemy.
His men had already pushed the Kog'zul away from the others, and the savages had already retreated next to their leader, as he finally stood up from his prone position.
"HOOMAN STRONK!" The yeti spoke in guttural common. "I SMASH STRONK HUMAN!"
The monkey's jump carried him all across the room, the force of it imprinting his feet into the stony floor.
A punch the size of Erling's head attempted to crush his chest, but he easily managed to dodge it sideways.
While moving away from his opponent's strike, Erling struck his neck with blinding speed, sending a burst of air that slightly cut though the walls from the simple strength of it.
But the Kog'zul's bodies were made of sterner stuff, and in addition with his aura shield, the yeti leader managed to barely survive the blow.
'Another and he's dead.' Thought Erling.
But their battle caused the cave's structure to destabilize, and sensing that the whole mountain may collapse on them, he wisely ordered his men to retreat.
"HOOMAN STRONK! CHIEF KIKTUZAK TAKE CARE OF YOU! GREAT TRIBE WILL SMASH YOU!" Screamed the angry Kog'zul from the other side, holding onto his bleeding neck with both hands.
Erling realized the implication of the man's words, and the expression on his face turned great.
'If I'm not mistaken, a Great tribe means a grandmaster at least, the situation may be worse than we thought.' He mused. 'We should head back and warn Lord Vedas, we can't get blindsided in this.'
"Alright people, roll out!" He ordered.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, Vedas was handling the boring stuff, filling up paperwork, brainstorming business ideas, and preparing for possible issues that may come up.
To do that, he needed to understand the situation at large in the Irearith region.
"So, Duke Gunther has it all figured out on our northeast borders, so we don't have to care about that. We've got Count Jevius to our west side, but the Silverblight forest creates a natural barrier between our lands, since we have a whole ocean to the north, all that leaves is the south, no?"
"Indeed, my Lord." Richard answered.
"From what I remember, we got the crownlands to our southeast, and the Felton's, was it? To our southwest?"
"That was the case, before the war, at least." Drawled the butler. "Now the Griffin Lord had managed to take advantage of his mobility to conquer a significant amount of land, including several minor noble houses, but most importantly, the capital."
"So the capital is in his hands, and he didn't declare himself King?" Vedas asked.
"That was the thought of many people. Although your late father often had a negative view of the Griffin Lord, he used the expression 'Pompous cunt' once, if I remember correctly." He answered. "I believe that the man may be looking for the missing princess in order to get legitimacy, before declaring himself King. Or at least to confirm her demise."
Vedas let out a sigh. "At least Jevius was honest in his greed." He commented. "On the bright side though, I don't have to deal with the man."
Richard had a strange expression at Vedas' last words.
"What is it?" Vedas asked.
"I was not sure how to approach this, my Lord, but before the coup your brother received a letter from the man." He said. "It turns out that all recovered cadaver recovered from the King's campaign were sent back to the capital, including the Late Lord and your brother Ebras."
Vedas' face morphed in shock. His Mother's and Oxius' bodies were desecrated by the Madras, and so Vedas had to opt for ceremonial graves instead of the real thing. He always assumed that both his father's and his eldest brother's bodies were not recovered, so the news really surprised him.
"The letters demanded all nobles second in line go to the capital in order to receive the bodies and to renew their oaths to the royal family, all in order to "assure stability" in the realm. And that there may be consequences if they were not to do so." Richard continued.
"Give me the communication crystal." Vedas ordered.
"Yes sir."
A couple of minutes later, and stared at an aging old man through the glass, a stereotypical mage if there ever was one.
Before they could represent themselves, Vedas began talking. "This is Vedas Agis, Marquis of Agis and Archwizard of Stars, please be a dear and get me the Griffin Lord, will you?"
The old man opened his mouth, and then closed it again, he continued the cycle for a few more times before he just shrugged and left for somewhere else.
They kept Vedas waiting for quite a while, and it was only moments before he began throwing a fuss that another face entered the screen.
His appearance was entirely in tune with Vedas' expectations; regal eyes with a well-groomed blonde hair, the man on the other side had a stoic façade that he'd bet a million gold is just an act.
"Greetings, Lord Vedas. To what do I owe the… pleasure?" He asked, his voice was deliberately made deeper than it actually is, and the man was clearly trying to create an image of himself.
"I came to discuss the issue of my Father and brother's cadavers, I need them, and I'm much too busy to receive them myself." Said Vedas. "I will send a couple of my finest knights to the capital do so as soon as possible."
"I'm afraid I cannot do that, all next of kin shall have to come personally to the capital, and are to renew their oaths to the royal family."
"Let me guess, you shall do that in the Princess stead?"
"Naturally, I am the next highest authority of the land, and until the Princess resurfaces, it is only right that I am the one to manage the royal families duties in her absence."
"Lord Gunther is the next Highest authority of the land, though." He answered.
"Uh… Well, Lord Gunther seems adamant to not leave the Iron Wall, and for good reason." His mask of stoicism almost broke for a second. "So I'm afraid I should see you in the capital, Lord Agis."
Vedas roughly held the crystal ball in his hand, holding it next to his face, a raging expression painted on it. "Listen to me you sanctimonious little shit, I just came back from the other side of the world in order to avenge my mother and brother, only to realize that their bodies weren't intact enough for me to give them a proper grave."
Shock colored the other man's face at the sudden outburst. "Now see here, I-"
"No! Shut the fuck up! Now open your goddamn ears and open them wide, a contingent of my knights are going to visit the capital within the week, they shall politely ask for my father and brother's cadaver, and you will allow them to do so. They will leave the capital for my lands without any obstruction, and I'll never have to see your face again."
The so called Griffin Lord's face reddened from anger, and was clearly about to answer with his own heated words, but Vedas beat him to the punch.
"Or!" He said. "Or I could visit the capital like you said, alone. But instead of coming with smiles and sunshine, I'm going to burn your fucking house to the bedrock, there won't be a man who will recognize your name after I'm done with you. So make your fucking choice, and think! Think reaaally carefully about who you're speaking with."
"You have an hour to decide."
Vedas then ended the communication.
An hour later, a red-faced Griffin Lord reluctantly agreed to hand over the bodies.
"Fucking asshole." Vedas commented. "Now, about the mining settlement…"