Dungeon Robotics 9 - 12

Good Morning!


Louella

I had to tell everyone to leave me alone for an hour before I was in any shape to deal with anything. I was happy to have Wrakras here. He was a surprisingly good listener. He kept the people away while I collected myself.

The spirits were in their room down in the dungeon. We only became aware of it recently, but they required a fair amount of mana to maintain their forms. I about had a panic attack when I found one of them collapsed in my room a few days ago. Now there was this. It made me wish they could communicate easier.

Wrakras handed me a cup of tea. It was strange at times to see him without his old mask, but his face was fairly handsome. “I’m sure we can put off the planning for the rest of the day. Grief should not be dismissed.”

“No. I’m alright. Having something to do will be a good distraction.”

“While I’m probably the last person that should tell you this. You should rest.”

I gave Wrakras a smile. “Thank you, but don’t worry. Please.” He sighed but finally nodded. I didn’t want to be stubborn, but I did not want to be alone at the moment. I was speaking the truth when I thought it would be a good distraction. Rubbing my face, I turned back to my desk and the tablet and the various displays above it.

The plans for attacking Thonaca Kingdom were moving along quickly. Of course, we were planning with the mindset of avoiding collateral damage. I knew that it was unlikely to fully go as planned but the more we thought about the situations the more contingency we can have ready to go.

The last thing I wanted was for the commoners to suffer. They would still be recovering from the harsh winter we had. Another war was not something that I willing put on their plate. My hope was that the nobles would see reason and surrender quickly. Along with the king.

While reading the reports and plans, night fell before I even realized it. I leaned back rubbing my eyes. Even at tier four, it appeared mental fatigue was still going to be a problem when dealing with this amount of desk work. I had to keep my mana so suppressed not to overwhelm everyone in the area that it inadvertently put a strain on me.

“Its close to midnight. Surely now you can take a break?” Wrakras asked.

“Oh very well. Since you insist,” I said relenting. Just as I was about to leave the room, an object appeared on my desk. It was an orb made from a blue crystal with several disks floating freely around it. I could feel the dense mana without even sending my senses over it.

I suddenly heard Regan’s voice in my ear. “This should let a small group to teleport to Ebonyfalls. I will warn you though that everyday you prolong might cause it to cease functioning.”

“Looks like it is time for the war to start,” I said with a glance to Wrakras.

“Creating peace is never a bloodless task. Only the brave or the foolish attempt to do so. I would like to believe you are the former,” he commented with a bow.

“Let us hope.”

~~

“All forces form up! We leave in an hour!”

“Those supplies better be secured! If I find a single cord out of place, you’ll be scrubbing the deck for a month!”

Similar shouts went out all around me as I stood in the staging area. Nearly forty airships in three groups were a hive of activity as supplies were loaded and secured. Soldiers moved with control precision as they moved to their assigned positions. It was a marvel that it had only been a year since this valley was only a tiny village.

In the distance, I could barely make out similar preparations being done with Izora’s fleet that would be heading to take Jade Port. She had mustered a force of almost three thousand of nearly all gnomes. It showed how much the gnomes supported their new queen.

Making my way to the command tower, everyone inside was a flurry of activity as well as they made sure all the magical systems were calibrated correctly. The magic engineers of the gnomes, smiths of the dwarves, and the mages had come together and created an imitation of some of Regan’s creation. It was all still prototyping, but it would allow my army to be one of the most coordinated in recent history.

“How’s it looking, General Valamar?”

Val stood from where he was examining a battle map and saluted me along with the other officers in the room. “Everything is on schedule, your highness. All forces will be ready to move in an hour!”

“Good. That means the strike force will move in nine hours.” It would be an hour before midnight. We hoped to take out all the guards and the fortress in under an hour. If everything went according to plan then it should be a mostly bloodless victory to start this campaign. Something I would be most happy about.

“Must you really lead the force? There are plenty…”

I raised my hand to cut him off. “I have the best understanding of how this works having done it before. I’ll have no more discussion on the matter.”

“As you wish,” Valamar said with gritted teeth.

I couldn’t blame him. Leaders generally didn’t rush into danger willingly. However, what I said was the truth. I had teleported quite often before the dampening starting interfering. Rather than risk everyone’s lives by letting a novice teleport everyone, it was best to just perform the task myself.

Moving to the window, I watched as the final perparations were made. I just prayed to Regan that I wasn’t making a mistake by taking this war to our agressors. In what felt like a blink of an eye, the operators began relaying that all fleets were ready. On all the decks in my sight, the soldiers were lined up in orderly ranks and saluting.

I held my hand out and an officer handed me the microphone, a nifty devices that my mages created with knowledge from the library. Magic screens appeared over the control tower that displayed my image to all the fleets. Smaller screens inside the airship made sure that everyone was watching. I closed my eyes as I cleared my mind.

“Men and women of Vaihdetta! We march to war! We march to protect our loved ones, our friends, and families. We march to stop the madness that is overtaking the world before the entire continent is plunged into darkness and flames.”

I paused as I took a breath.

“We did not ask for this war. Not a single time have we turned outside our valley walls seeking to take what wasn’t ours. Instead we reached out to those stricken by the undead and offered our hand in aid. What did the church of Lelune do?!” I demanded with a sweeping gesture. “They accused us of heresy! Of causing the undead scar and the destruction!”

A roar of anger went up from the airship that even I could hear from inside the control tower. I waited a solid minute before I continued. “The Machine Father, Lord Regan has protected us and helped us asking for nothing in return! Just look at all the advancements in magic around the city! Whereas Lelune and the countries she controls have been stuck for over a thousand years. What has improved under their watch?”

“Slavery! War! Poverty! Oppression! A continuing cycle of sadness and death! Whenever something rises against it, the church strikes it down! Not this time! This time the forces of good have a weapon that no manner of magic or steel will break. The forces of good have you! All of you! Each and everyone of you will usher in a new age where people are born equal and die equal. The deeds you preform in life will earn your place rather than the blood flowing through your veins.”

A cheer shook the air and the sound of weapons being slammed on shields echoed. I raised my hand to calm them though. “This is a trail. Put before us by something greater than even the gods. We will show them that we can rise to the occasion and surpass it. We march to war but it’s the goal of peace that drives our spears! The promise of compassion that will speed our bullets. The threat of evil that will strengthen our arms to shield our brothers in arms!”

“May Lord Regan be with you! Let the war begin!”

The soldiers yelled and cheered as the airships started to rise. They began to head out over the valley walls at a rapid pace as if the very wind around them pushed to along. When the last airship was out of sight, I turned from the window to take in the control room.

“Very well done, your highness,” Valamar said with a salute.

“Words can be found easily. Let’s hope they all come home.”

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