The march of the Dragon's guard was steady in its pace as Arlus moved at the front of them on a gray horse, his gaze overlooking the path they took as he readjusted a gauntlet on his hand. They had started the march at morning, and had taken a small break at noon before they arrived to the wide expanse of the plains north of Emerial. Now they were taking the path that rested just before the mountains, their gazes seeing the various danger beasts which lived in the area without a care for them as the troops marched. "So then, how do you feel about this path, my prince," came a voice beside him, making him turn to see a man with a similar armor style to Darius, though his build was smaller to where it fit a regular person. "Different from your books, I can imagine."
"In a sense," Arlus spoke as he turned back to the path they took, his gaze overlooking the plains. As he did, he noticed one of the flying types landing to graze in the area with a few other herbivore types, its eyes looking over to the troops as the men marched in unison. "I never expected to see this many beasts remaining around us while we take to our march, though I'm not sure what I should've expected otherwise."
"The creatures in this particular path are fairly docile so long as you keep to the roads, with the main exceptions coming from any carnivorous types that hunt in the plains." The soldier responded as he looked to the creatures as they kept their distance. "However, they rarely show up near an army of this strength due to the fact of it being equivalent to suicide to attack a massive force."
"Interesting to note," Arlus responded as he moved his gaze ahead, looking over the road as he finished adjusting his gauntlet. Outside of the horse, his outfit was now that of a set of armor with the emblem of Emerial in gold on the right pauldron, a symbol for the royal family members that wouldn't immediately discern them to their enemies. On his left shoulder was the symbol of a white falcon, a symbol representing the generals of the army which he had gained from his own actions with their movements through the map. His gaze then moved towards the mountains they were heading towards, a trip that would probably take two days to make while also cutting the time which they would need to travel to reach Putolu.
"So how does the master of tactics feel being at the head of a military force for once," the soldier continued, making the prince chuckle as he looked back to the troops behind him. "Despite the tactics that you've given us from time to time, I don't think I've heard or seen you ever leave the capital outside of diplomatic events or the like."
"Which you'd be correct, this is the first time I've truly led a force of this magnitude and this closely without having a map and letters keeping me apart from them," Arlus responded as he looked beyond, seeing two dragon-type danger beasts watching the army warily as they marched on. "How many days till we reach Putolu if it's by this route?"
"If we go by the road itself and take few breaks, around six days," came the other man's response, looking over to the troops that followed the two. "However, I don't see this group doing well with such a tight schedule to arrive by, given it will force us to have to force march till we arrive to a moderate distance."
"And I would agree on that, Marius," Arlus responded as they continued their pace. His gaze then moved to an area further down the road, where an arrow with a white cloth was stuck to the ground. This was a sign from the scouts he had sent ahead to ensure that the path they were moving on was clear of any trouble, though it put the scouts themselves in trouble due to the dangers in this particular plain. "With a forced march we could make it in three days, while our own pace at the moment will be a total of six. However, we can't hope for the army to be completely prepared in the event that an ambush may be taking place further ahead."
"You'd think that an ambush would occur here, with an army of this size marching together," came the man as he looked at the prince, his confusion clear in his voice as Arlus looked over to him. "What makes you think they'd be capable of that."
"There's several areas which turn this path into a narrower route, for one," Arlus responded as he looked to the road they continued through. "Each of them would be an ideal location for an ambush simply due to the lack of movement that people would have."
"Either way, I doubt they would try to attack a full marching army in an area like that," the commander responded as he looked back to the troops. "Not unless they were lacking in reasoning."
"Or they're desperate," Arlus added. "The Western kingdom tends to push their own citizens out at the moment with how they treat the bordering people there, I wouldn't be surprised if any of those refugees or people who had been harmed by their influx would cause a disturbance."
"It just shows how much they loath any areas that share trade with Emerial," the commander confirmed, shaking his head. "Thinking it over, I'm honestly surprised we haven't seen any roaming the areas around the city yet with what's happened recently."
"What's come about this time," Arlus asked, turning his head to the commander as they finished passing through the plains, now seeing a mountainous region ahead of them. "Does it have to do with their new leader?"
"Indeed," the commander responded, his gaze overlooking the mountains as it seemed to darken. "I've heard that they've started forcing pressure on the territories close to our borders at the moment due to how newly integrated into the kingdom they are, while their troops mobilize for war instead of using the money for food."
"They are, in a sense," Arlus responded, making the man turn back to the prince. "My spies tell me that they've bought food from areas but are making them into rations for the military, meaning they're getting ready for a big campaign itself."
"Do you think they plan on attacking Emerial at the same time as Olares," Marius asked, looking back towards the way they had come from.
"It's what I would do, at the moment I would have an entourage of mercenaries around the area of the capital of my rival kingdom," Arlus responded as he kept his gaze forward, his voice calm as he went through the steps. "Forcing my enemies to forsake their capital in hopes to fight against me as I hire a large force of mercenaries to deal with their own capital, while also placing rings controlling the leaders to ensure that my plan can come to fruition. All in all, a fair plan given the items they have at their disposal, as well as with the actions of current events."
"If that's the case, then why did you agree to move out of the castle with us," the commander continued, watching Arlus as he looked up to the sky. "Wouldn't it have been best to have stayed with us?"
"I can't disobey an order from my father in this matter," Arlus responded as he kept his gaze to the sky, gripping his reins lightly as he watched the clouds move above. "Besides, this gives me leeway to enact some countermeasures from my scope over the area to Putolu to see if it is correct, particularly with the ambush that we should be seeing."
"Wait, what countermeasures do you mean," Marius asked, but by the time he looked at Arlus the man had already closed his eyes and adjusted himself into a resting position. "And isn't the ambush you're thinking of from the western kingdoms?"
"The Western Kingdom will take the advantage if the East prevails in its assault, but what we should be facing before reaching the border are those who are western refugees," Arlus spoke as he kept his eyes closed, wrapping his arms with the reins so as to keep himself in place as he rested. "However, the bigger strength I'm hoping to attain before I reach Putolu should be along the path I laid out."
"What strength is that," Marius asked as he looked to the prince, only to see the man finally finish adjusting himself in his saddle. "My prince?"
"We'll talk more about it when we reach the area that we'll see the intended ambush," Arlus simply responded, his body slouching forward as he gave himself to sleep, the mix of the horses reins and saddle being more than enough to hold him in place as Marius looked at him confused.
-The Dragon's Heart, Training area-
The sounds of steel on steel rang clear as Oliver faced off with Elia, this time with a pair of gauntlets as she swung with the same practice katana she had used during their last fight. The two had been at this for over an hour now, with their only breaks being for water as they went through it. At other times, Elia was reading the books Oliver had given her to help with tactics and had questions over several things that involved the odds. It was actually after this last fight that another question came up.
"So then, who do you think would win in a large scale battle in a narrow area," Oliver asked as he sat back during their current break, his arm resting on a jug of water that Ksalso had brought in to them. "A large force of highly experienced troops, or a small group of inexperienced ones with heavy armor."
"It would be smaller since they would be better defended, wouldn't it," Elia asked, making Oliver smirk as he waved his hand towards the orb in the center of the room. This caused the mist around it to come out again before it rolled under the two, forming what looked to be a valley with opposing forces in the same form he had described. Sure enough, Elia watched as the large forces moved against the smaller, being held back as the group stayed in place.
"If they were experienced in combat of this range, yes, as well as if they could take the enemy on one at a time," Oliver spoke as the two watched the smaller force slowly wilt away before being overrun. "However, with a large force that's highly experienced for the battlefield, the inexperience group would soon grow tired due to the armor they have and be overrun."
"Then what if you put some on the mountains above the valley to rain shots down on the incoming force," Elia asked as she looked around, soon seeing what she had stated as there was a force on it.
"It can work quite well, can even bring down the large force if they have a leader who doesn't know the battlefield," Oliver responded as a pair of boulders rolled down from the mountains, slamming into the large force and dealing heavy damage to their numbers as Oliver kept his gaze on it. "But that's only if their leader doesn't have the mind of a natural leader, which you see in many lackluster generals. Even more so, if they don't know how their opponents fights."
-Arlus, Valley of the Tyrant-
Arlus had opened his eyes several minutes before their arrival to the valley, his own thoughts finished processing in his head as he had went over on his father's decision. 'The entire Dragon Guard is with me save for Darius' personal force who are staying with my father,' Arlus thought to himself as he looked over to the entrance of the valley, seeing the old claw marks of it's namesake still etched at the entrance: the Tyrant. His mind went over the location as he noticed a horseman riding out of the area and towards the army. 'It's said that there's several empty tunnels that the Danger Beast had made that have been abandoned over the decades it has grown. If I was desperate enough for food or supplies to sell, I would have an ambush in a place like this simply due to the simplicity of hiding within.'
"My lord, trouble up ahead," came the man as he rode up to Arlus, his horse coming to a halt as Arlus raised his hand for the army to stop their march. "We've detected a large group along the path that's armed, potentially either bandits or any of the mercenaries that had been reported."
"As I expected, though it's too early for us to see anyone from the plans of the eastern kingdom," Arlus muttered as he looked to Marius. "given how we're about to face a force of either bandits or otherwise, what do you think is the best option?"
"Why are you asking me about that," Marius asked, making Arlus simply wave his hand as if telling him to give him an answer. The man then sighed as he looked to the path ahead, his mind turning over the current situation. "Given I don't know the size of the army we're approaching, I would say to keep the troops in a ready position to deal with any opposition we may face along the route."
"As would be sound, if given normal circumstances." Arlus responded, looking to the path ahead as his mind went through the maps he had read through back in the castle. "If I remember right, however, there's several areas with slopes on both sides of the valley, ideal for raining down either arrows or debris on a major force if you want to succeed in an ambush with little resistance"
With that spoken, Arlus looked up at the clawmarks on the wall, many of which that had eroded over time. "The first sloped area should be a fair distance away, but we can make some preparations for just in case." Arlus continued as he turned his head to Marius and the scout. "Search for any ropes that may be along the edges of the walls ahead, and inform Marius of any findings. When he does, commander, send several archers and infantry up the cliffs to follow over us while keeping watch of anything along the upper areas. They may try to use the slopes to their advantage for an ambush."
"What makes you think they would try that," Marius began before Arlus stared him down, his gaze sharp as Marius felt the pressure from it. "I'll make sure to do so if he finds anything."
"That'll be appreciated," Arlus spoke as he turned back to the valley. "I'll take point at the front of the group, you should be in the middle in case such things do happen. If there's a manageable path that can be taken to go up the valley walls then take it, but use the people who are the best at climbing so we don't take any major risks in the matter. Even if they don't use that advantage when we find them, that doesn't mean we can't use it in their place."
"Understood," Marius responded, his mind encircling around the thought process that Arlus had shown as the prince moved forward. "But are you sure that we should take that many measures on it?"
"Of course, if this is who I think it is," Arlus responded as he kept his gaze forward, the troops soon moving past Marius as the prince looked back to him. "Simply having sights on the destination doesn't mean we should walk into every potential problem unprepared, after all. Speaking of, make sure you stay with me for a bit longer, I'd like to see if we can't make any more preparations for facing them."
-o~o~o-
Arlus had been leading the group for a while, his gaze overlooking the valley walls before they had come across what looked to be a makeshift hill. At the top of it stood a single man who stared down at Arlus and the rest, a smirk playing on the man's face as he slid down to meet the group. "Well then, looks as though we have an army here," the man spoke as he looked behind the Prince, seeing each insignia before he looked back up to Arlus. "So tell me, what brings a noble so far with only a group of a hundred men with him."
"Troubles on the road, turns out bandits have taken them over," Arlus responded, looking at the area surrounding the hill. As he did, he noticed glints of light coming from several holes as he set his hand on his blade. "I don't suppose you know where they could be located, would you?"
"Afraid I do, and that you brought too few men to deal with them," the man spoke as he waved his hand up, causing more men to come out of the holes surrounding the group, many carrying bows as the troops set up a defensive line towards the sides. "I'll make this simple; hand over your armor and weapons and we'll allow you to be on your merry way, otherwise-"
"We won't leave in one piece, correct," Arlus spoke as he looked at the man, a smirk on his lips as he saw the aggravation within the man's eyes as he soon looked towards the men surrounding the area. "So then, I guess you've pulled this stunt on people more than once for it to be clockwork for all of you. That shows its own form of organization to a good degree in how your men can hide till a given command, which would make them good soldiers in themselves if given the incentive, and far too organized for simple bandits."
"We've had to in order to survive in this place, otherwise we would be taken out by the beasts that live in the holes," the man responded as he looked over the prince. "We don't want to end up in a fight right now, but don't expect the fact that you're a noble will keep us from dealing with you."
"I don't expect any form of status to stop you from doing what you need to in order to survive," Arlus responded as he looked up in the sky. "I expect the fact of what's above us to keep us all from any unnecessary bloodshed. It is a beautiful day today, afterall."
"I don't see what that has to do with anything," the man responded before Arlus raised his hand, causing an arrow to fly from the cliffs above and land at the man's feet as the prince got off his horse. "What the-"
"Now, it looks like we're at an impasse," Arlus spoke as he walked up to the man, several more arrows landing near the entrances to the holes as the men who came out of them took a defensive stance. "You could kill my men and escape from this at the moment, but not before the men above us deal a with what I can assume is a good portion of your men here out in the open. To add to that, you would have even more trouble with even killing the men behind me due to the fact that they are among the most elite soldiers of Emerial, but I don't expect them to come out completely unscathed."
"I see," the man spoke, his gaze looking up to the cliffs as he noticed the glints of light above as the prince stopped directly in front of him. "You don't expect me to let you leave either, do you?"
"No, but I also know that you don't want that much unnecessary bloodshed on your hands either, so we should come to a compromise here," Arlus spoke as he rested his arm on his blade. "The leaders of both sides, you and me, fight in single combat to see who will win. The loser must agree to the others demands, if that is alright with you."
"Prince Arlus, are you sure that's wise," Marius spoke as he moved out of the group, looking to the prince as the man looked over at the sound of the name. "We could easily deal with these brigands if we wished to."
"At the expense of good lives on both sides, which we shouldn't do given the fact that we need every man we have here," Arlus responded as he kept his gaze on the bandit in front of him, his eyes and presence seeming to bear a large atmosphere that encompassed the area, making everyone but the man in front of him back up slightly. "So then, do we have a deal, sir…"
"…Dorales," the man spoke as he pulled his own weapon off his back, a large axe that seemed to be of a massive size. "And I can agree to that, given that it will allow less lives to be lost."
"Fantastic," Arlus spoke as he motioned for the men behind him to take several steps back, Dorales doing the same to his own as he looked up to find the glints on the cliffs vanishing, though he bet they were still there. "So then, any set rules that you wish to place here?"
"Only that we should fight to the best of our abilities, Prince, and that we shouldn't go to the death since I'd rather not have a kingdom after me," Dorales spoke as he waved over to his men he took an attack stance, Arlus himself drawing his blade as he took his own. In comparison to the weapon that Dorales held with both hands, Arlus' own was a slim rapier that was of a green hue that shined in the sunlight. Dorales' eyes caught the color of the blade as he took a several steps back. "An orichalcum rapier, then? I didn't even know there was anyone who could forge them in the central kingdom."
"There isn't, this particular blade was forged by a travelling blacksmith years ago along with a blade my sister uses," Arlus spoke as he took his own stance, the two soon standing still as the men around them were quiet with anticipation. Arlus then turned his head over to the lieutenant as he kept his blade pointed at Dorales. "Give the signal to start when you feel it's necessary."
"I still don't like this," Marius spoke as he raised his hand, looking at the two. As he did, he noticed the way that Arlus had his stance, seeming to be a well-trained form that he wouldn't have expected from a man who had kept to his books for most of his life. 'We'll see how this goes then,' Marius thought as he swung his hand down, signaling the two to start with their fight.
The moment his hand went down, the two jumped forward, Arlus moving with a speed that none of the soldiers expected as he move towards Dorales, the larger man swinging down the axe in a large arc as the prince moved to the side. 'So fast,' was all Marius could think as Arlus went for a strike, only for the man to lift the axe handle up to knock the rapiers attack up over him before the prince jumped back.
"Good, you know when you can't move in," Dorales spoke as he kicked the axe out of the ground and into a spin, forcing Arlus to jump back as the man began spinning the large weapon around him in a flurry. As it started to get close to reaching Arlus, however, the prince jumped forward during a gap in the swing and into a strike, forcing the other to stop their swing and go to block the weapon in an almost lightning fast pace. Before Dorales could manage it, however, Arlus' blades thrust immediately changed into a swing, cutting the wooden handle of the axe in half before he redirected the swing into smacking Dorales' head with the blunt side of the blade. Staggering, Dorales attempted to regain his footing before Arlus spun into a low kick, knocking the larger man down as the crowd watched in stunned silence, Dorales soon moving to try to get up before he felt the cold blade now resting on his neck. Dorales just looked in between the blade and the man holding it, his head processing the short span of events as his own men started to move in. Before they could, however, he held up his own hand to stop them. "Not gonna lie, I should've expected an orichalcum rapier to cut through my weapons handle that easily. I shouldn't have blocked that that end."
"No one really knows how sharp or durable orichalcum can be until they use it first hand, though the way you blocked would've stopped any other blade," Arlus spoke as he kept his blade to the man's throat. "I suppose this means you yield, then?"
"Not much else for me to do, is there," Dorales responded as he moved to lay back on the ground, allowing Arlus to sheath his weapon almost fluently as he looked up in the sky. "Where on earth did you learn to fight like that? From what I heard in the west, you're supposed to be the bookworm of the kingdom."
"A mind is not any good without a fit body," Arlus responded as he looked over to the men behind him, their gazes clearly shocked by how quick the prince had defeated the man before them. "While my sister and brothers have their own teachers, I was personally taught by both my father and the Dragon General himself. However, I'm pretty sure you should've already known that, given your actual name and reputation."
"What," came Marius as he moved up beside the prince, looking between the two as Dorales's gaze turned far more serious as Arlus continued.
"If I recall correctly, it was ten years back when I had traveled to the Western Kingdom of Balthas as an envoy of Emerial," Arlus spoke as he walked beside Dorales, the man watching the prince with hard eyes as he moved up to a sitting position. "We had both entered an annual tournament under masks so as to hide our identities, and ended up facing each other in the ring. Though our fight ended in a draw, we conceded that if the other ever needed help, we would come to their aid. Perhaps that rings a better bell?"
"…So you remember that promise then," Dorales sighed, closing his eyes as he rested his free hand on his head. "So how long did it take you to realize that it was me here?"
"Last month, during the same time the reports of refugees moving specifically to here started," Arlus responded as Marius looked at the prince, only to see the man hold out his hand to the other before Dorales took it and pulled himself up. "It's good to see you again, Urdas. I'm guessing you had a good reason for attacking traders in this area?"
"If you mean my oath to you, then yes," Dorales responded to the name, making Marius look even more confused as the man pointed the remains of his axe to the holes. "A majority of them were taking bombs from the West to place around the area, with the intention of causing a mass fire in the forest around your city, though gods know why. From my own group, we found out that the majority were to be sent through here, so we've been hitting any shady group since. I've managed to stockpile them within the caverns the holes lead-"
"Wait, can someone tell me what's going on," Marius spoke as Arlus looked over to him, a smirk playing on his face as the other man. "Weren't you expecting an ambush from the Western Kingdom?"
"I was expecting one from those pushed out by the west, I never stated that it would be the western kingdom itself dealing with the ambush," Arlus responded calmly, his smirk still playing as he turned his head over to Urdas. "I suppose that introductions are in order, then. This is Urdas, also known as the Rioting General and one of my informants of the west, while also being the man who would've been regent after the death of the last ruler. Part of the reason I was still adamant despite knowing of a potential ambush was that my scouts brought me a letter telling me that he was in this area, letting me put the pieces together."
"Though it's former general, given I lost that title when the tyrant took the western territory near Emerial from my liege," Urdas responded as he rested the broken piece of the axe on his shoulder. "My original goal was to wait for the son of our lord to take over after he came of age, but that sadly failed when the Western Kingdom took over and forced the remains of the royal family to flee. I personally saw to the escape of the prince before coming here."
"We can talk more on that along the way, but for now we should get both our sides assembled," Arlus spoke as he waved his hand up in a specific pattern, causing one of the archers within his forces to fire an arrow with a green smoke flying off it as a cloud momentarily covered the sun. "it's time for my actual plan to go in motion."
-Elia-
"Having once received His Majesty's commission to be the general of his forces, there are certain commands of His Majesty which, acting in that capacity, I am unable to accept." Elia spoke to herself, reading over the introduction of The Art of War again as she went over the previous conversation, Oliver not too far away from her training in his forms as the sand sifted under the two. Then, with a sigh she closed the book, looking back up to the man as he lifted his foot up high into the air, slamming it into the ground and causing the sand under it to spread out in a small puff. "Hey, I have a question on something you said while we were going over those battle scenarios."
"Of course," Oliver spoke as he stopped his form, looking over to Elia as he did so. "What did you need to know?"
"When you were talking about the scenarios you also talked about how a general would need the mind of a natural leader," Elia spoke as she walked over to a table sat at the side by Ksalso, putting the book with the set that Oliver had given her. "What would you do in that situation then, if given the chance?"
"When facing a force of inexperienced troops compared to my own, it would depend on what I know of them," Oliver responded as he took a stance again, soon moving into regular basic kicks as he started moving around the arena, focusing on his footing over power. "Are they here of their own volition despite their inexperience, are they simply trying to find a way to make ends meet, or are they believing that I'm the only thing in the way of their country having peace? If the first and last ones the reasons for them being there, then I would aim to cut through them as fast as possible while maintaining the least amount of casualties on both sides. Otherwise, I would try to recruit them if this was the only thing they could do to ensure a better life for themselves or their family."
"You would recruit your enemy?" Elia asked, looking at Oliver in confusion. "Even if they barred your way?"
"If they gave me the chance to, I don't see why not," Oliver responded as he stopped his foot up in the air, holding it up as he looked back to Elia. "Death and bloodshed may make up most parts remembered in war, but the people who are caught in it are the ones who suffer the most. Therefore, if you offer your enemies a boon and show proper examples of enacting it, then they are more tended to turn towards the kinder face of the two sides in the long term."
"So offering a hand to the battered and a blade to the attacker," Elia muttered, Oliver lowering his kick as he kept his gaze on her. "It's similar to a saying that Master Yamada told me during my training under him."
"Let me guess, 'Always keep an open hand to others, but with a blade in arms length,' right?" Oliver asked, making Elia look at him confused. "It's the same thing he told me when he and my dad were training me in combat. He always kept to it back then, too. Why, I remember one time a guy aimed to attack him and my dad at a party, and Derek took the side of a chair and-"
"My lord, we'll be crossing over the mountains looking over the area we'll be heading for soon," Ksalso's voice interrupted, booming into the area as Elia looked around surprised. As she looked up, she soon found the form of a pair of red eyes looking at them from the roof of the area, a small chuckle coming from their direction before they turned to Oliver. "If you wish, you can be able to view it from the viewing area in the lower levels."
"That'll be perfect, Ksalso," Oliver spoke as he looked up at the pair of eyes, soon hearing a noise of confirmation as they vanished. Then, with a sigh, he turned his head back to Elia, who kept looking at the area Ksalso looked at them from before she shook her head, leaning back into the floor as Oliver walked up to her, holding out a hand to her. "No passing out from the surprise this time. Don't tell me that you're already used to the Dragon's Heart after a day now, are you?
"I highly doubt I'm going to ever get used to the fact that we're inside of this dragon," Elia muttered as she took his hand, pulling herself up as she held her book. Then, patting off her clothes, she sighed. "But, it's nothing compared to the fright of being above the clouds at this height and learning about it."
"I do suppose that does affect people when it's a type of travel they've never seen before," Oliver responded as he looked to Elia with a smile, soon walking out. "Well, how about I fix your initial meeting with air travel by the view of the area we're passing over? I promise it won't be as big of a surprise as last time."
"I'll pass for now, I like thinking this place is on the ground at the moment better than it being in the air," Elia responded, making it Oliver's turn to sigh before he waved his hand to her, walking off. "I'm expecting you to finish that story about Master Yamada after you look at the area!"
"Count on it," Oliver simply responded as his body started to shape into shadow, falling into the ground as Elia watched. As soon as the dark pool vanished, she sighed.
'Care free about matters in one instance, serious in the next, definitely different from the calm calculated style of Arlus,' Elia thought to herself as she started walking to the exit of the area, opening her book again. 'If he ended up in that same scenario that Oliver talked about, I bet he'd probably agree on recruiting his opponents, especially if he kept up with his training father and the Darius gave him…'
-Arlus-
Arlus kept himself sat on the hill as Urdus and Marius stood in front of him, the three looking over a map as the entire force of both men were now out in the open. However, while both sides were conversing with each other over the fight they saw, what caught Marius' attention the most was the sheer size of both sides. Marius just looked at the size of the two forces in confusion as he tried to make out how far of a distance both forces had made. 'You can't even see an actual end to this army size,' Marius thought to himself as he looked over the area, the troops simply sitting around and talking as if they were allies from the start. 'If we had ended up fighting each other, which side would've actually come out in the end…'
"So mercenaries under the command of the east, huh," Urdas spoke, snapping Marius out of his thoughts as he looked back to the map, several locations shown by Arlus now on it as the two had listened to his explanation. Then, with a chuckle Urdas took out three of the marks on the map. "Well that explains these groups we met who had gone after some refugees fleeing from the west. You won't be able to see them again and despite the age of the information, I can confirm that the areas are more than likely still holed up majorly. We went to try to find more on them when we hit the third camp, but we couldn't make heads or tails out of the coded lettering, and that's saying a lot since I've learned most of the languages of the Plains."
"We were mainly able to learn the code thanks to a wandering hunter who settled in the kingdom," Arlus spoke as he kept his gaze on the map, soon nodding before he looked to Urdas. "If it's not too much trouble, can I ask you and your forces to work on dealing with the camps around Emerial before the day of the intended attack? I can't guarantee we can pay your forces for the efforts, but-"
"All you need to do is make sure the refugees who are fleeing into Emerial are getting proper homes," Urdas spoke as he picked himself up, resting his axe on his shoulder as he looked over the map. "I don't expect you to aid me in reclaiming the west now that we've met up again, but you need a better lord out here than the one that's been in place. His current actions have been harming both the people and refugees, and if it keeps up you may very well have an uprising in those lands."
"I'm well aware, and have been working on finding suitable candidates for the position," Arlus spoke, nodding as he looked to the entrance of the valley he had come from. "However, I can't do anything proper until I'm given the power to do so by my father. Until that happens, however, I'm forced to head to Putolu and aid them."
"A nearly impossible goal," Urdas muttered, looking back to the map. "Putolu has been in a drought for the last few months, and Balthas has forces slowly making their way to there as we speak. However, if you could manage to deal with both situations, then it would easily be a great asset on a strategic scale, placing a buffer between the west and North in the event that Balthas and the Eastern Kingdom might be working together."
"The same thing I was thinking, which was why I wanted a joint effort between my forces and your own on this event, after the troubles from the East are dealt with," Arlus spoke, making Urdas nod as he looked to the map. "We also have a direct connection to Emerial at the moment in the form of a soldier, so with hope I can provide a potential replacement for the lord during the time we're in the field, but if the corruption of the lord at the western border is to be believed then we'll need to keep it at a low profile till his replacement can be able to make his way to there."
"Knowing your antics and how well your network was when I could get a hold of it, I wouldn't be surprised if you could message them immediately here," Urdas spoke as he looked back up to the area, looking over the force. "The majority of my guys here are all former soldiers of the west, with several other packets throughout the western regions of Emerial and other areas. In total, the force could end up rivaling the mercenary forces you're dealing with, but I won't send all of my people to fight another kingdom's war when they're treated unfairly by it."
"Now hold on just a second, didn't you already-" Marius began before Arlus raised his hand, nodding to Urdas to continue.
"Me and my troops here make up roughly three thousand and seven hundred men," Urdas continued, looking to the group below them with a proud smile. "And while it's not that much compared to the scattered pockets of mercenaries in the regions, we are still a trained military force despite having fled east. Just give us the locations and we can work our best at aiding the fight against these guys, so long as you can aid in helping our people in the west. Once the conditions are met, I'll have the rest of my forces move in to aid you with Putolu."
"Then it's agreed," Arlus responded, nodding before he looked to Marius. "Have the men provide some banners to note Urdas is on our side for this time. We'll also take this chance to have a meal with them so that the men can get to know each other. Afterwards, however, we'll be making a forced march the rest of the day since we've spent time marching here."
"As you command, my prince," Marius spoke, bowing to the prince as he allowed himself to process the situation. 'We've only been marching for almost a day and the prince has doubled his forces,' Marius thought to himself as he straightened himself, moving down the hill to the troops. 'Not only that, but he's now dealing with a problem he wanted to deal with before he was ordered to march, something which was on his mind when he was moving out. And this all came from a prince who had never left the castle and focused on his studies…'
Marius then shook his head, focusing on the matter as he stepped toward his soldiers, shouting for their attention. Regardless of the events of today, one thing was for certain for him: The mind of the prince was well beyond that of a normal king, even that of the tales of Indras in his youth. Because of that alone, Marius was anticipating the task which was placed upon Arlus even more now, and to see how far this prince would be able to go in his first campaign.
