SEASON OF SPRING, 485 - FORTRESS-AENDRIETZ , THE ISLE
In a large fortress, several men awaited in the room, as they made talk with each other. Soon, an older man came into the room, and all the others stood up and saluted.
"Good day. I have gathered you all today for a meeting of great import. There is news of the Vraekkir launching raids on our eastern coasts once more, after their attacks on the southern coasts."
There was tension in the room, as several armored men looked at the map splayed out before them on the table. The man in the far right of the table spoke, breaking the silence that had come.
"Fortress-Mitschaelle has fallen to the always damnable Vraekkir. Unfortunately, Skirmen-Kummandaent Zilraeckt fon Saelvingen has probably been either captured or killed, and the garrison of the fort have perished. I sincerely hope it is the former as I know all of you know who he is." The man spoke, as the other men frowned and were in shock.
"Huchkummandaent¹ Mathius' brother?! That Zilraeckt?!" One of the men exclaimed in shock, as the others had grim expressions on their faces.
A younger man slammed his hands on the table in outrage, "We should not accept this humiliation lying down! As we are speaking, those damned raiders are gonna pillage the nearby towns, and we cannot let that happen! I say we send a relief force to deal with them, and to rescue Zilraeckt!" The man argued with fervor, as some of the attendees murmured in both agreement and disagreement.
"He is right. We should not let those raiders trample all over us!" One of the men exclaimed as Laeusz finished with his point.
A man older than the young man who spoke rebuked the latter's argument. "Let us not be too hasty, Laeusz. I agree, we will and shall not accept this audacious raid by the Vraekkir, but we do not even know their numbers, and we do not even know if Huchkummandaent Mathius' brother is still even in the Isle, nor if we even know he is alive!" The man started as the young man, Laeusz, glared slightly at him, but the former ignored him as he continued.
"For all we know, an entire fleet of them have landed in the Isle, and we will just be sending any relief force to their deaths. We should send scouts to probe the Vraekkir, then we shall take action. Please, Raegionaelkummandaent² Heizieg, consider this option." He finished as he looked at the man, as the muttering between the others intensified.
However, Laeusz, not conceding his argument, shot back. "Naerckt, you speak of nonsense and foolishness! You are gonna let more innocent folk die because of your inaction! Raegionaelkummandaent, we should deal with the Vraekkir as soon as possible!" He said out loudly as some of the other men voiced their agreement with him. Naerckt only glared at the younger man, as he responded in kind.
"Watch your tongue, boy. Control that hotheadedness of yours, lest it burns you up. Are we really gonna do battle whilst we know nothing of the foe we face? It is folly of the highest order to do so! Please, do not consider the words of a foolish young man who does not know better, Raegionaelkummandaent." The older man said, as a expression of fury appeared on Laeusz's face. "Why, you! I shall cut you down here for your words!"
"I would like to see you try, boy." Naerckt responded with narrowed eyes, as he gripped his sheathed sword, ready to draw it. "That is enough, you two." The deep, baritone voice broke through the bickering, as he glared at the two, as they quieted down.
"We are slashing at each other, while the Vraekkir need slashing harder! Have you lot no shame? Especially you, Raetskummandaent³ fon Sielte, watch what comes out of that mouth of yours." The man, Heizieg, said as he glared at Laeusz, the latter keeping his head down and staying quiet. "Good. At least you lot still have sense. I agree with Raetskummandaent fon Purzmaenn, we shall send scouts to probe Vraekkir movements. If they shall move against one of the nearby villages, we will mobilize our forces to do battle with them." The man said, as his voice permeated through the room.
"But Raegionaelkumman-" Laeusz tried to start speaking but was swiftly cut off by Heizieg. "But nothing, Raetskummandaent. My decision here is final, here and now. Do I make myself clear?" He glared at the younger man as the latter shrunk back, and a chorus of agreement sounded forth in the room.
"You," Heizieg called out to the guard, who stood straight as he was called. "Get the map from my office." He commanded, to which the guard saluted and exited.
"Now that we all are in agreement, let us talk about the more specific details about our plans of action. Now, there are many places the raiders can target, I doubt they will just raid Fortress-Mitschaelle only. A greedy lot, they are." Heizieg started as he looked around the room, seeing the serious expressions of the attendees.
Soon, the guard returned, with a rolled up piece of parchment in his hand, he gave it to Heizieg, who nodded. "You may go back to your post." He spoke as he unfurled the parchment, laying it down on the table. The guard saluted, and returned to where he was posted. Heizieg looked at the map in thought. Soon, he spoke once more. "The closest settlements that the Vraekkir may attack are Fiegaeln and Haernuev. Both are reinforced with more garrisons, as they have both been the site of previous raids. They will give the Vraekkir a good fight before any reinforcements to aid them arrive. Though, Haernuev is much closer to Fortress-Mitschaelle, making them an easier town to raid." The man said as he pointed to two dots on the map with labels on them.
"Should Haernuev fall, other towns south of Fortress-Mitschaelle shall be exposed, as they have less defenders, and it will be the same case with Fiegaeln, with towns west of Fortress-Mitschaelle will be similarly exposed.. Raetskummandaent fon Purzmaenn, I will put you up to the task of sending scouts to probe their movements." Heizieg said as Naerckt nodded to his orders.
"We shall send some men to reinforce Fiegaeln and Haernuev further and insulate them from any assaults. What number do you lot suggest we send to defend the towns?" Heizieg asked as he looked around the room, seeing the men ponder at his question.
"I say we send a hundred men to both towns. They shall be more than enough to defend them from the Vraekkir." A rough-sounding, mustached man said as murmurs broke out, some in agreement and otherwise.
"We cannot afford to commit too many forces to one single location! Lest we forget, those damned Baumaenschaen are still active to our north, and many of our forces have been sent there to keep those savages at bay! I say we send forty men, not one man off." Another man rebutted as he stood and suggested.
The attendees continued to discuss and argue with each other, as a plan was finally made...
SEASON OF SPRING, 485 - OUTSIDE FORTRESS-MITSCHAELLE, THE ISLE
The loud noises of men screaming and hollering rang loudly throughout the ransacked fortress. A bearded man with specks of white in his hair, clad in chainmail armor, sat on a chair in the stronghold's solar, looking at a map splayed out before him. " Let us see... This.. Fiegaeln may be a good location for our raid. He thought as he looked at the map. He turned to another point in the parchment, a twinkle of curiosity in his eyes. Haernuey is much closer to our camp, though. I shall ask the Koernil for his opinion on this matter later. He thought to himself as the door before him suddenly burst open.
A stubbled younger man, also clad in chainmail, stumbled forward, coming inside the solar. "V-Viruuumm..." The man slurred out, clearly intoxicated. The older man just sighed. "Koernil Hagarr. What brings you here? " Virumm asked, raising an eyebrow as a drunken smile appeared on Hagarr's face. "C-come on, you old dog, be with uus! We have wenches, and r-reeeeal preetty ones tooo!" He said with a laugh, as Virumm sighed.
"I am afraid that the days of bedding unwilling young lasses are far behind me now, Hagarr. And it seems you are drunk, from how you smell like a latrine." The older man spoke with mock-sorrow. "A-alwaaays the dull one, y-yoou were... Viruumm... Fiine, fiiine! D-do whateveer it iis you were dooing... A-and I doo not smell liike thaaat!" The younger man begrudgingly said as he stumbled out the room. Virum just smiled, as he looked back to the map. His eyes widened as he heard a yelp, knowing whom it came from. Gods have mercy on me... The older man thought to himself as he palmed his head, going outside to pick the younger man up.
The Next Day...
In a large tent in the middle of a camp, a young man rested, as he soon awoke, groaning in agony. "Ach... Fuck..." The young man groaned out in pain, and another man, sitting in a chair, in the tent spoke. "You are awake, good." The man said, as he stood up, coming closer to the younger man. "E-eh? Who're you?" The latter tensed as he narrowed his eyes, and soon calmed down, seeing who the man was. "Oh... It is just you.. Virumm." He mumbled out as he rubbed his head. "Yes, yes. Now, get up, Hagarr. I have something of great import to discuss with you." Virumm said as he helped Hagarr up.
The two men walked out of the tent, as Virumm and Hagarr got out of the tent, the latter suddenly vomited on the grass, as Virumm sighed. "Are you done?" The older man asked as Hagarr finished. "What is it you were gonna be talking about, old man?" The latter said as he wiped his face. "I will assume you are done. I have two targets that we can raid, Fiegaeln and Haernuey. Haernuey is closer, but I assume the good people we have raided will have more men stationed there. Fiegaeln will be farther away, but will likely get less reinforcing." Virumm spoke as Hagarr nodded.
"In my opinion, Fiegaeln is the better target, as it is not much further away from here, and it is likely less defended than Haernuey, but it is your call, Hagarr." Virumm finished. "I say... we go with your plan! I am sure the men have enough patience after their fun last knight!" Hagarr laughed as Virumm let out a smile, stroking his whitening beard. "I am glad you have taken my advice to heart." Virumm spoke. "Come on, old man! Let us eat!" Hagarr exclaimed as he and Virumm came to the center of the camp to break their fast.