Dungeon Robotics 9 - 9

Good evening Night City! Its wednesday already, not to mention the midway point in december already. It just feels like the days are flying by. Anywho, here you guys go!

Louella

I couldn’t help staring at the report on the tablet in front of me. Thonaca was once again marshalling its forces to march on us. The spy claimed that they would be ready in less than a month, putting it right in the middle of summer. I thought they would have learned from their first failure.

“Their king must be insane,” I growled, tossing the tablet to the desk. I turned to take in the room The advisors and members discussed amongst themselves. Close to fifty people were in the convenience. I could certainly decide the fate of the country with little more than a word, but then I would be no better than the nobles before me. I wanted everyone to have a say if there was a chance it could mean a different or better path for us to take.

Finally, one of the majors spoke up from the military side of things. “You might not be far from the truth.” He looked like an intelligent man. His main feature was the glasses he wore, but I wouldn’t tell him that.

I looked at him in surprise. “I was being sarcastic. Why do you think he is insane?”

“Well… think about it. For years Thonaca Kingdom has been known to frown on the Empire for its more… questionable practices. Now all of sudden, he has thrown out all forms of diplomacy for brute force?” The major looked at the others who all nodded as if seeing the light. “Something or someone is pulling strings from behind the king.”

“I think I know.” We all turned to look at Val. “My father. Ever a close friend and advisor to the king. If anyone could pull his strings it would be him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has hands in both the church and the necromancers. Now that the necromancer threat has effectively been eliminated by the Machine Father. He would be maneuvering to make sure his name isn’t brought up. The best way for that is to crush us with the kingdom’s military might.”

“What men in power do to keep said power,” I said shaking my head in disgust.

“Exactly.”

I grabbed the tablet off the desk and pulled up a map of the Kingdom. The few scout ships that Regan lent us were watching the borders, but the Kingdom was getting help from the church. If they were brave enough to skirt the Maelstrom, they could be using an ocean route, but something told me they were using the unwatched pass in the middle of the mountains.

“Director Lucks. How are the citizens feeling? What is the general mood?”

“Very high, your highness. Many have fled from Thonaca and Lecazar and tell stories of madness and insanity. They see Vaihdetta as a bastion of hope for these strange times. The very fact that no one is going hungry seems almost a miracle to many of them that were starving even before the war started.” He fiddled with his fingers. “Myself, included. Many of your people, if not most, would follow you to Celestia and back.”

“Thank you.” I turned to Valamar. “And the forces? How are our soldiers?”

“In good condition. With the dungeon, we have continued to raise the strength of everyone. You have a standing force of fifty thousand, with just short of thirty thousand being tier two. Remarkably, you have nearly three thousand tier threes. A force like that hasn’t been seen in decades.”

“And equipment?”

“All top of the line. The Machine Father is very generous.”

I leaned forward and placed my head in my hands as I thought. My course of action was obvious, but it took a strong heart to commit. I steeled myself and stood up, sending the map of the continent onto the wall. “Its time we stopped playing defense.” I pointed to three spots. Each gaining a red circle to my happy surprise. “We are going to take the central pass, Ebonyfalls, and Melhagen. This will effectively cut the Kingdom off from the Lelune Theocracy. If this till doesn’t bring King Ataulph Vetericus Thonoca to the negotiation table, then I’m afraid that its time for him to retire.”

“The pass and Ebonyfalls are one thing, but Melhagen in the southern most port. It will be hard for us to assault that location without suffering,” Val commented taking in the map.

I turned to the gather people and looked at each of them in turn. Determination was set on each face that I observed. They would do what needed to be done to protect this haven from the darkness of the world. “I understand the risks and understand that a great deal of preparation will need to go into making this work, but I think if we want the madness to end, then we have to be the ones that end it.”

“Her majesty is right!” A major that I believed came from Thonaca. Bruce had recently promoted several people to position of rank in the military to help manage the growing numbers. Of course, I had no idea they had gotten as high as they had. He stood and took in the gather people. “For too long we’ve let people push us commoners around! When a war breaks out its never the nobles that suffer, it’s the men and women that have barely had a say in their own life. The queen might have come from nobility but she it the only one that has ever sought to bring the lowly people up. She is the first person to actually find a way to free the slaves. Thonaca was once a great kingdom, but the nobles have pushed it and its king to darkness. Its time we took them back!”

“That’s right!”

“Its time we showed them we’re more than cattle!”

More shouts went out from the former commoners among the gathered participants. While calling for war was something I hated having to do. At least the cause was a worthy one. Though, is any cause worthy of justifying the death of another. Sadly, this world worked on the might of arms.

“Does anyone have another idea?” I asked looking at everyone.

A director of the city stood up. “While war is never a good answer, I believe I agree with everyone here that it is the only one. How many of our messengers must fail to return home before we send the message again in steel? The city departments are behind this decision.”

“Thank you, director Williams. I know war strains the affairs of hearth.” Closing my eyes for a moment, I took a deep breath. “We have several advantages over the enemy, but they have the backing of the church. This could be a walk in the park, or it could turn into a slug feast with both of us walking away with regret. We need to aim for the targets with speed and precision.”

Muttering and whispers went up as they discussed various tactics with people soon breaking into groups. I knew it would take a few weeks to prepare, and it was best not to rush. The only time limit we had was the attack from Thonaca. This time they would be getting a much nastier welcome. I still couldn’t help shuddering when Regan showed me the weapons he allowed my armies to use. Coupled with the airships, it was almost a nightmare for anyone fighting against us.

“Your highness.” Turning, I found Izora waiting for me.

“Izora. How are you feeling?”

“Good. Thank you. I wish to be in command of a fourth army.”

“A fourth? What do you plan to…” I began then shook my head. “You want to take Jade Port?”

“Yes. There are thousands of my people that are cut off from us. With Jade Wind gone, I have gotten reports that their treatment has devolved to that of prisoners with them being sequestered in the city, unable to leave.”

I nodded in understanding. I had gotten the same reports. Thonaca apparently feared the gnomes would try to join with Vaihdetta due to our allegiance with their queen. A few of the darker reports claimed the soldiers were torturing the gnomes for information of their advanced magics.

Glancing at the map, Jade Port was on the west coast, a good five or six hundred kilometers from the mountains that divided the north and south parts of the continent. From there it was almost fifteen hundred kilometers to the Thonaca Capital. If we could set up a base there as well, the Capital city would essentially be surrounded. With the Port city of Blue Whisper they wouldn’t have to worry about starving and we could bring them to the table.

“Every well. I will discuss with Val about giving you a third force.”

“You don’t have to worry about using your limited airships. We still have ours from when Lord Regan teleported us to the dungeon. Mainly were damaged of course, but we’ve managed to repair and bring several of them up to Lord Regan’s standards.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “You don’t know how relived that makes me. I’ll make sure he knows.”

~~~

“So… to war?” Ezal asked holding Azar to her chest tightly.

I patted her leg as I sat on her bed. “It was inevitably, I believe. There is too much confusion that has been sowed by too many people over the centuries. Just the misinformation caused by Lelune alone could led this world to doom. We have to do something before its too late. If I thought turtling up in the valley was the best chance of survival, I would do so, but Regan’s actions tell me otherwise. We need to get out there and bring at least some of the chaos to a close.”

“I just hope the flames of war don’t end up fueling the chaos.”

I hardened my eyes and pounded a fist on my chest. “I refuse to let that happen. We have already began a campaign to warn and evacuate the villages and towns that are willing to listen. If they flee to Blue Whisper Port, they will be declared a neutral party and will not be brought into the war. Then of course, they always have the option to head here. However, until we seize Ebonyfalls, most people will be cut off from us.”

“Too bad we never managed to get that teleport matrix installed before all this went down,” Ezal said with a chuckle. Azar stirred and she was forced to start rocking him.

I stood up quickly. “Of course! I wonder if it will still work?”

“I thought teleporting was giving even Regan trouble. Our last reports stated that the ancient gates in the old cities were functioning anymore either.”

I shook my head. I knew that Regan could teleport if he needed to, it just required a massive amount of mana, and there was a small risk. Of what, I wasn’t sure. He didn’t elaborate, but I felt it was something like a person either appearing in the wrong location, such as a wall, or not appearing at all.

If we could get a small force into the city, we could take it without any bloodshed. I needed to talk to Regan as soon as possible. “I’ll be back. I knew it was a good idea to talk to you,” I said as I moved to the door.

“I just wish I could be there to help.”

I paused with my hand on the doorknob. “Azar is much more important than any stupid war. Isn’t that right, Azar?” I asked and the baby cooed at just that moment causing both Ezal and I to burst out laughing.

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