Alexander bowed his head slightly.
"Duke Kas trusts me and my judgments. When the war with Orud began in the spring, there were some fragmentary reports that they wanted to attack the duchy through the passes. I convinced His Eminence that this was foolishness. And His Eminence convinced His Majesty, and as evidence of his confidence, the duke sent half of his retinue and all the militia subordinate to him to reinforce the royal army."
"Well, well, how interesting! The baron wants to keep his head in such circumstances!"
"As you understand, sir, even with the duke's troops, it's impossible to defend Savoyardi, and most likely Kas will fall too. Delaying the city army at the passes will change nothing. And when you reported the destruction of the vanguard, I was truly upset. I had a chance to lay down my head in battle and avoid shame. But now I am disgraced, and even my death will change nothing."
Alexander understood this. Such things were not forgiven. And the realization of his own mistake only exacerbated the situation in this case.
"Well, haven't you changed your mind about founding a settlement on my land?"
"No, Your Grace. We really like the North. At least for now."
"And are you not afraid of the city army... By the way, do you happen to know its numbers?"
"Just approximately, Your Grace. About five thousand men."
"And how many mages?" - asking about the mages, the baron looked strangely at Alexander.
"I don't know how many mages are with the city army (no one in the vanguard knew this, as the soldiers set out significantly earlier than the expeditionary army was fully formed). But I do know for sure that there is a company of royal paladins among them."
The baron's face turned pale. Mages, who possessed only personal power, were treated with slight disdain. Except for paladins. Warriors who could enhance their strikes, deflect enemy mage spells, accelerate themselves, and heal their own wounds were very dangerous. Vampires had personally witnessed this. The blood of the paladin they captured in battle elevated their military prowess to an entirely new level.
"A company of royal paladins, Most Enlightened!" he muttered in shock. "There are probably barons among their command?"
"Two barons, Your Grace."
The kingdoms of Orod and Elur were not only ancient enemies but also had slightly different forms of government. Elur was a classic feudal state, "a vassal of my vassal is not my vassal," and so on. The king did not have absolute power, was not "first among equals," but was endowed with significant powers in certain areas. The lands of the kingdom were divided between the king and his vassals - dukes, each of whom had their own vassals. The main territorial unit of the kingdom was, as you might guess, the baronies. Barons were the foundation of everything. Orod, on the other hand, was a kingdom of absolute monarchies. All the lands of the kingdom belonged to the king, and only secondarily to his vassals. The main territorial unit was the counties. And the counts had knights as their vassals. Less than twenty families in the entire kingdom bore the title of baron. And all their possessions were concentrated around the capital.
A baron in Elur was like a "working horse" of the noble titled class. A baron in Orod was the king's guard - a special unit close to the monarch. Almost each of them was somehow related to the ruling dynasty. And, by the way, in Orod, there was only one duke - this title was held by the heir to the throne. Therefore, in the expanses of the kingdom, you could easily meet a count, but you would never see a baron in your entire life. In Elur, it was the other way around.
Two barons in the army invading the North spoke of the king's most serious plans.
"Alright, let's not dwell on the sad things. Let's get back to our agreement, sir."
Alexander bowed his head once again.
"Damn, now I won't even have to do gymnastics."
The baron, on the other hand, approached the cabinet, took out a scroll, and unrolled it on the table. It turned out to be a very detailed map of the barony with a good scale. Securing the edges so that the map wouldn't roll up, the baron looked at it and moved away to the window.
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