— Right on the border of my domains and His Majesty's domains, where the Accursed River flows. At the place where the Great Northern Road crosses it, a bridge is built. Around this bridge, the soil is very rocky, extending about a league around. The terrain there is uneven, with hills and protruding cliffs. It was there, as I was informed, that the battle with the townsmen's detachment took place.
The Duke stood up from the table.
— Show me the map.
When after some time the requested map was unfolded on the table, he studied it silently for several minutes. The Baron stood nearby and did not interfere. The idea of going out into open fields and fighting there never appealed to him. And to fight in these mountains and forests...
Being a local, he understood well that goblins could appear at any moment, and once they sensed weakness, they would never leave. These creatures despised weakness and never refused food. It was because of the goblins that he was so certain the townsmen's army wouldn't cross the passes. The passes themselves were quite passable, as his grandfather had told him.
But the main problem of these mountains wasn't their height but their population. Goblins didn't like to leave their caves for long. But they would never miss a chance to prey on anything passing by their caves. How the King of Orod, Henry, decided on such a thing, the Baron couldn't understand at all. He sent an army to certain death, and it was a miracle that it somehow managed to cross the passes. Tell him about this, and he would never believe it. And now, to go out to meet these people who had faced death for several weeks...
And with whom to go out? The city and peasant militia? A company of paladins would cut through them like a hot knife through butter and leave heaps of corpses behind. Knightly militia? And where to use cavalry on those rocks?
That's assuming there are no goblin ambushes along the way, and all the horses make it to the destination. Only barons whose lands bordered the mountains had infantry, while others preferred armored cavalry. Thus, a thousand mercenaries, half a thousand of the duke's retinue, and another hundred from other barons were all the forces one could count on.
The Duke looked away from studying the map.
— I want to speak with the commander of those who defeated the townsmen.
The Baron's messenger arrived towards nightfall. After listening to him, Alexander cursed quietly to himself. The messenger assured him that he understood the Baron's request and would fulfill it, after which he tried to see him off. The messenger just snorted at the clear hint to leave and asked to stay overnight. To ride through these forests at night? Look for fools!
After settling him in a separate tent, they began to ponder what to do next. Night was the vampires' day, and that's when everything began for them. There was a lot of noise ahead from construction. How could they explain it? Stop work for a whole night? Are you kidding? Olga will eat them all alive; she's already behind schedule by a third of a day!
— Knock him out, choke him, make it seem like he was never here.
— Semen, I understand your desire to gain another prisoner from whom we can periodically extract blood, but do you really think they'll look for a messenger who passed through the Sands in our lands? — Eugene's speech dripped with bitterness.
The situation was resolved by Konstantin, who approached.
— Send the maid to him with food and feminine tenderness. Maria should have some sleeping potion. Let Stefania caress and feed him. He'll sleep like a log, and in the morning, let him head back.
The count's maid, taken along with them on the campaign, had indeed become comfortable among the vampires. They fed her well and didn't mistreat her. She lived in the main building they had already constructed, where she also served, performing her usual tasks, though she didn't warm the beds for the new masters.
Having called Stefania, they explained the task to her. The girl simply nodded, showing she understood, and went to the kitchen for food, then quietly slipped into the messenger's tent. For ten minutes, the whole camp listened to their commotion. Afterward, the young lady crawled out of the tent and adjusted her dress. She curtsied, indicating the task was completed, and calmly went back to her place.
— If he leaves us, how far will he go? — Eugene chuckled at this.
Sergey, standing next to her, remained silent, thoughtfully stroking his cheek with his index finger.
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