Chapter 112 – Procession
On 12th Telvast, we set out from Windwater Towne, on our procession along the east road to the Crownlands of Dascora, and Coldpeak. Of course, a formal procession could not move at the same speed that a team of adventurers could, and even the column of men-at-arms I’d led the first time I ventured to Stonebreak moved swifter than we did. After all a Baroness had to keep up appearances when traveling officially, outside of a military scenario.
For this procession, six of my household guards accompanied me, along with my party, and ten men-at-arms from the Barony’s garrison. Ideally, I would have had carriages and the like. The old Baron certainly liked his luxuries, including two carriages that were dripping in gold, but the Mhyrsha before I woke up had the things broken down and sold off, both as a separation from the old regime, and to ensure she had the ready funds to repair some of the damage he’d caused. Well, officially. Unofficially, part of that gold had ‘disappeared’ until it was time to hire the bandits that got the women needed for the ritual that kicked off my adventures in this world.
Thankfully, my party all had horses, as did my household guards and the men-at-arms. If we’d wanted, we could have made it to Stonebreak in a day, but instead, we stopped at the hamlet of Greengrass, home to just under forty souls. It was a small farming community, and served as a waystation for traveling merchants with their wagons. They were understandably happy for the extra coin as we passed through, and even happier that we were just passing through. Swelling the hamlet to half again its normal size was not something that they could support for long, after all.
The second night, we rested at Stonebreak, where we were much more highly received. The headwoman, Katelyn, had apparently decided that one of the buildings next to the Church of Yton that had been gutted by fires would be rebuilt as a residence for myself and my people. This not only solved the problem of where I, or any officials I might send, would stay while conducting business in the village, but also gave Elincia and Izett a roof over their heads without dispossessing anyone else.
Bringing a Dire Hellhound, Lesser Dragon, and Angel into the town, and not to mention Astruth now being a Lesser Balor thanks to going up in Tier, caused a good deal of commotion, as one might expect. However, it wasn’t like the people were surprised. My return to Windwater hadn’t been subtle, after all, and people liked to talk. Plus, two of my new pets had been stationed here, and so would have spread some of my story. So, it was more interest at seeing their heroine return as a Tier 2 with her strange companions, rather than anything else.
Actually, my stock in the village skyrocketed with the display. An entire party of Tier 2 creatures, as well as one of them being the Baroness? In this country? That meant they could count on any future Goblin Lords having a much harder fight than the one that had come close to taking Stonebreak had. My power meant that their safety was better assured than it had been in years. And since I had two of my own in the village, they knew they’d be listened to, if there were problems. Suffice to say, I was very popular in Stonebreak right now.
Of course, I couldn’t linger. The next morning, 14th Telvast, we left, and made our way along the road, heading up into the mountains, where Cliffwatch Fort stood, at the border of Windwater Barony. The fort was a relic of the pre-unification days, before Windwater had joined Dascora. The garrison was only fifteen soldiers, but there was room for a hundred, at need. Thankfully, even the former baron had never skimped on keeping the border fort in order, though his reason was to keep up appearances and ensure that he could collect tolls on those passing through, rather than actually protecting the barony.
Considering the fort, and its garrison, one might ask, if it was less than a day from Stonebreak, why not bring them in to help against the Goblin Lord? The answer was simple. First off, sending a message to Cliffwatch and then getting the soldiers to ride out? They wouldn’t have arrived before I sealed the gate, and may not have gotten there until just as the goblin scouts arrived, or later.
More importantly, it wouldn’t have mattered. Only fifteen more soldiers would not have made enough of a difference to matter at Stonebreak. If the village had fallen, then any survivors may have made their way to the fort, if they did not feel they could make it to Windwater Towne. Even if no survivors made it there, the small garrison would have been more effective at Cliffwatch where the geography limited how many goblins could come to them at once.
The fort occupied one end of the Stoneway Span, a bridge two hundred meters long, five meters wide, and crossing a chasm four hundred meters deep that marked the boundary between Windwater Barony and the Crownlands. The fort itself was nothing too spectacular, a wall on three sides, against the side of the mountain, with most of the living and storage space cut into the rock face. The space inside the walls was enough for ten wagons to rest, in rows of two, but not much more.
Lieutenant Mare, a Level 20 Fighter / Weaponmaster, met us at the gate on the Dascora side. “My Lady,” she bowed. Her eyes gleamed as she looked over at Frostmaw, in his reduced form. “It is good to see you. I see that the rumors we’ve heard from Stonebreak are not unfounded.”
“Gossip is the one thing that flies faster than the Voice of the World’s notifications, in my experience,” I laughed. “So, Lieutenant. I hope your posting has been boring? Gods know that when things get ‘exciting’ at a fort, it is never a good thing.”
“Cineas knows that’s true,” Mare nodded. “And no, my Lady. Things have been quiet, for the most part. A few avian monsters come by now and then, and we make regular patrols to keep the mountain trolls away from the road. They’re weak to fire, and know we carry oil, so they tend to find goats better eating and less risky fare than merchants, unless we go too long without showing ourselves.”
“That’s good. And no trouble from Skeleton Stand?” I motioned towards the far wall, and the matching fort on the other side of the Stoneway Span.
“Nay, my Lady. Just the usual friendly jibes and rivalry between soldiers. Every fourthnight and seventhnight, we do a bit of an exchange. Three of ours cross over and spend the night at the Stand, and three of theirs come over here. Allows us to mix rations, share stories, and so on. Though, we were waiting to see if you approved before signaling for tonight’s exchange.”
“How did this tradition come to be?”
“Well, on our side, it started in the old baron’s time, as a way to trade for supplies off the books. Since then, well, deployments at the forts are three months long, and having some regular entertainment helps keep those three months from making men not all the way right in the head, if you catch my meaning. It’s a duty that needs doing, and an honorable one, but it isn’t like in town, where one can visit the local tavern, or seek some companionship without the whole garrison watching you in the act. Much the same on the Stand’s side, too, though without the old baron’s reign causing trouble for them, obviously.”
“Very good, Lieutenant. Have it marked in the standing orders that I approve of this tradition, provided you keep the celebration to reasonable levels. Keep a limit on the drink, and on how much the men can spend on these trades, or any games of chance that might spring up. If anyone is falling far enough into debt at these meetings that they may look the other way on things for extra coin, or is too drunk in the morning to safely walk the Span back to their fort, then I will be forced to reconsider my decision, understand?”
“Of course, my Lady. We already have such rules as standard practice that anyone who goes on the ‘exchange’, for both sides. Another holdover from the old baron’s days, where any ‘accidents’ might draw too much scrutiny. But the rules made sense, even without that, so we kept them after your reign began.”
“Fair enough. Might as well send the signal, then, Lieutenant. We’re stopping here for the night, but I don’t mind letting soldiers have their fun, when it isn’t hurting anything.”
The Lieutenant nodded, and turned to whistle to one of the men still up on the wall. “Send the signal, Walter!” The man blew a horn, and an answering note came from across the Span. Mare looked at three of her soldiers as the gate on the Span side opened. “Hob, Hewelet, Elyzabeth, you three are our ‘sacrificial victims’ tonight. And don’t any of you give me lip about it! You shouldn’t have been making plans where anyone could hear them! Now, get moving!”
The two men and one woman grumbled, but set off across the span. I could see three others walking from the other side already. I pitched my voice low enough to not be heard too easily by any listening ears. Not that any of the soldiers were deliberately eavesdropping, but I was the center of attention right now. “Do I need to know about the plans those three were making, Lieutenant?”
The Lieutenant sighed, and shook her head. “The kind of stupid that privates always get up to, if they think they can get away with it. Hob and Hewelet were hoping that a bit of seduction could get them assigned as part of your household guard, if not better, and Elyzabeth was talking about getting the ‘Dragonlayer’ title. I could have ignored it, so long as they didn’t actually do anything, but they were talking up these plans in the middle of chow, not even a meter from me. So, as punishment, they get to go to the other fort for the night, and word has already been passed to Lieutenant Jamys, in the Stand. He’ll ensure that those staying in the Stand tell them how lucky they are, as they ensure those three wake up far drunker and poorer than they might normally be.”
I actually laughed at that. “Well, when they get back tomorrow morning, make sure to tell Hob and Hewelet that unless they have the Well-Endowed title, neither of them can possibly measure up to what I already have. And tell Elyzabeth that she should start with Drakes, before trying for Dragons, because a Lesser Dragon is sized to make even a prize stallion look dainty in comparison. Best tell them in front of the whole company, to ensure it sticks.”
Lieutenant Mare smiled. “Between the fleecing they’re going to get, the hangover they’ll wake up with, and that? I’d say they are going to learn their lesson. Especially since I know for a fact that neither of those men are so ‘gifted’.” When I raised an eyebrow, she just shrugged. “Only so much space in this fort, and the showers aren’t split by gender. Part of the reason no one goes for ‘companionship’ with the others in the barracks.”
A call came out from the gate. “Hail there, Mare. This our guest of honor?”
I turned to see three soldiers, wearing the crown’s livery, with one of them a lieutenant. Human, male, good looking, in the rugged sort of way. A gnome male and elven female walked a step behind him.
“Lieutenant Jamys, I didn’t expect you to be one of tonight’s sacrifices,” Mare grinned, before she made introductions. Jamys commanded Skeleton Stand, and was a Level 21 Fighter / Chef, and with him were Sergeant Myrrh Yllarona, the elven woman (Level 15 Necromancer / Scholar), and Private Jemin Dinggul (Level 10 Rogue / Artificer). An interesting mix, all told.
“Well, I wasn’t on the schedule, but I traded with Sergeant Walt for my spot on seventhday. Didn’t even need to ask too hard, when he saw that Elyzabeth was on the card. He’s been sweet on her for a month.” Then, Jamys turned to me, and said, “And I had to take this chance to meet with the woman who has caused the Voice of the World to speak to everyone in the world more in three months than it has in the last thirty years. Plus, my dad would kill me if I had the chance to see a Lesser Dragon up close, without risking my hide, and didn’t take it.”
“Excellent,” I said. “Now, why don’t we see about getting some food going, and seeing what kind of tales you all might have to share with a few simple travelers on the road.” That got a laugh from everyone, as intended, and people got to work.