i.
Riverrise
Far, far away from Omniphrax, at the top of the Great Phraxtower of Riverrise, Vartolius Xax paced back and forth angrily, his white robes swishing about in his agitation, the spike atop his cap of office quivering ominously.
"I've had enough of this," he snarled. "Enough of those upstarts in Omniphrax, who continue to oppose my rule…"
The door of Vartolius Xax's chambers burst open and a sweating gnokgoblin entered the room. "Most High Phraxguardian, sir, I…"
Vartolius Xax seized the gnokgoblin and slammed him against the wall. "How DARE you interrupt my private musings!" he roared, shaking the terrified goblin back and forth.
"I…I have a message for you," choked the gnokgoblin, quivering with fear. "Xelius Pulnix is on his way up. He s-sent me ahead to t-t-tell me of his…his imminent arrival."
Vartolius Xax seemed to calm down, though he didn't let go of the goblin. "Thank you for your message," he said. With that, he frogmarched the gnokgoblin to the balcony and hurled him over the side. The hapless goblin's terrible screams faded away as he vanished beneath the clouds. With a sigh, Vartolius Xax flopped down onto an ornately carved chair and waited for Xelius Pulnix to arrive.
A few minutes later, there came a knock at the door. "Enter," said Vartolius Xax coldly. The door swung open, and Xelius Pulnix entered the room. Tall, gangly, and brutal-faced, Xelius Pulnix inclined his head and spoke in his nasally drawl. "Greetings, Most High Phraxguardian."
"Have a seat," said Vartolius Xax, gesturing to a chair that was much smaller and harder than his own. Xelius Pulnix sat down and faced the dictator, who reached for a glass of vintage sapwine on a nearby table, pouring himself a generous amount. The Governor of Great Glade cast a covetous look at the bottle, but Vartolius Xax ignored him.
"I'll get straight to the point," said Vartolius Xax, swilling the sapwine around gently in the crystal goblet he was holding. "I'm done dealing with Omniphrax. I'm fed up with the failed attempts to seize the city. I want them finished. For good."
"Well, I can organize another attack," said Xelius Pulnix hesitantly, "But you know how the invasions go. I don't see how we can make this invasion any different."
"It just so happens that I do," replied Vartolius Xax, sipping from his goblet. A look of curiosity suffused Xelius Pulnix's features.
"The problem, as I see it," continued the dictator, "is that we have given up too easily in the past. We attack the city, those 'Twilight Marines' drive us back, and we slink away in premature defeat."
"Premature defeat?" echoed Xelius Pulnix, fighting to suppress his indignation. "Forgive me, Glorious Leader, but I never order the Great Glade Military to retreat until further attack is impossible. Those dissidents in Omniphrax aren't fools…centuries of resistance have taught them how to hold us off. First they cripple our primary weapons, and then they go for the glisterjets. If we persevered, our fleet would be destroyed. We…"
"There are all different kinds of perseverance," Vartolius Xax cut across his governor's protests, setting down his goblet with a clink. "You can persevere idiotically, as in your scenario. Or you can persevere strategically."
"Most High Phraxguardian?" said Xelius Pulnix, confused.
"It takes far shorter to recover from our losses than it takes those Omniphrax academics. We can simply enslave more Deepwooders to replace fallen troops, and, seeing as how we have most of the resources of the Edge at our fingertips, repairs are very easy to handle. But in Omniphrax, it's not that easy to replace Twilight Privates and Pirates Academic. And their phraxcannon will take a while to repair should they be damaged, and take even longer to replace should they be destroyed."
"So, how are we to use this advantage?" inquired Xelius Pulnix, his voice laden with curiosity.
"Simple," replied Vartolius Xax. "We attack Omniphrax, and when they drive us back, we immediately repair our ships, draft more Deepwooders, and attack again. They won't be expecting it, and they won't be able to defend quite so well as before. If they drive us back again, we'll repeat the process. They can't hold out against that sort of attack forever."
Xelius Pulnix's mouth curled into a wicked smile. "I love it." he cackled. "I'll set sail for Great Glade immediately. I'd say I can organize the first attack in two weeks."
"Excellent." Vartolius Xax said, seizing his goblet again and raising it above his head. "And this time, we cannot fail!"
ii.
Hive
"Ah, Mother Muleclaw," said Bloodhem Spikeflail, rising from his chair as the Roost-Mother entered his office. "Has the Mollus Leddix arrived?"
"Indeed, Warden General," replied Mother Muleclaw VIII. "Silence, Drekkel!" she snapped, rounding on her squawking shryke-mate. Instantly, the drab creature shut his beak and scuttled over to the corner of the room.
"My apologies, Warden General," clucked Mother Muleclaw. "I don't know why I even bother with him. More trouble than he's worth."
"Never mind that. You were talking of the Mollus Leddix?"
"Yes, Warden General, the Mollus Leddix docked in Hive this morning. It has brought a shipment of dissident mobgnomes, fresh from Great Glade."
"Marvelous," purred the long-haired goblin, an unpleasant smirk forming on his face. "We'll put them to work immediately. It is time for them to do something constructive for the Empire."
"I don't know about that, Warden General. This bunch seems pretty stubborn. They may not comply with our demands."
"Well, then, that just leaves one question," said Bloodhem. "Do we barrel them, or shall the shryke sisters feast on their hearts?"
"I'd suggest barrelling, Warden General. My shrykes just dealt with a colony of termagants this morning, and all that bloodoak sap in their veins has made many of the sisters ill."
"Have it your way, then," said Bloodhem lightly.
"I must greet the mobgnomes then. Good day, Warden General." With that, Mother Muleclaw clicked her beak, Drekkel hurried over to her, and the pair of them left the room.
Bloodhem walked across his office and gazed out the window of the Gyle Palace. As always, Hive was bustling with activity. The barrelling cranes were moving this way and that, and every few seconds, another barrel would drop over the Hive waterfall, taking another prisoner with it. Bloodhem gazed over to the Docks, and saw hundreds of glisterships arriving, unloading new prisoners, and departing for Great Glade. He could see the Mollus Leddix nestled between a pair of smaller ships, still unloading a large group of mobgnomes.
"Welcome to Hive." Bloodhem growled softly, and cackled.
iii.
Great Glade
"Let me see if I understand you, Lurroam," said Bruto Spleethe. "You can reveal to me the location of the City of Yodels?"
The Commander of the Great Glade Military sat in a high-backed chair in a tall, wide chamber at the top of a Free Glades government building, gazing down in contempt upon a large, black-furred, trembling beast, shackled and chained. A line of military officials stood around it, poker-straight and silent.
"Wurrah-wuh, luweera wurgh," said the banderbear.
"What does it mean?" Bruto snapped at the translator sitting beside his desk.
"Roughly translated, he said, If I can purchase my freedom with the blood of my brethren, it shall be done." replied the young fourthling hastily.
Bruto looked at Lurroam suspiciously. He had never trusted banderbears. It ran in his family. Supposedly, a banderbear had thwarted an ancient ancestor of his from taking over a sky ship during the First Age of Flight. He didn't know if this was true, but there was always something about the beasts that he had despised.
This particular banderbear had been caught poking around trash heaps near an industrial complex in Old Forest. Such sightings were quite routine, but the creatures had an infuriating habit of disappearing before they could be captured, no doubt returning to their secret city of tunnels below Great Glade. But this one hadn't been quick enough.
Bruto Spleethe had expected, indeed would have staked his life on, the banderbear defiantly refusing to give any information in the face of whatever torture it was offered. Stubbornly loyal creatures, they were. Yet it seemed that the Great Glade Military had managed to haul in the most cowardly, sniveling wretch to ever emerge from a banderbear's womb. It had immediately offered to its captors the deepest secrets of its kind in exchange for its own life.
"You are aware, Lurroam, that you could very well be condemning your race to extinction," said Bruto.
"Wurgh wuh-wurrah," Lurroam yodeled quickly.
"Tell me what it's saying, and this time, don't say it in some nonsense riddle," snarled Bruto.
"He's saying he doesn't care," said the fourthling.
"That's quite a bold statement, Lurroam. How can I trust you?"
"Wuh, Wurr…"
"I suppose I'll have to take your word for it," interrupted Bruto. "But be warned, Lurroam. If you're trying to trick me or the Great Glade Military, your death will be as horrific as it is within my power to make it. Understand?"
The banderbear nodded vigorously.
"You will sleep in the glistercraft hangars tonight, and tomorrow, you will show me the way to the City of Yodels."
Again, Lurroam nodded.
"All right then, take him away," said Bruto, waving to his officers. They pushed and shoved at the banderbear, leading the creature out of the chamber.
Bruto leaned back in his chair, smirking contentedly. How satisfying it would be to deliver to Xelius Pulnix the news that banderbears had at last gone extinct.