B10: Chapter #3 (Patreon)

“They’re bringing farmers?”

Thorn’s frown deepened, showing his anger.

“Yes,” Corvo nodded. “It’s going to be a cruel war.”

Tapping the armrest of the Wolf Throne, Thorn could not help but sigh. Corvo was right, it was going to be a truly cruel war. The fact that the other duchies were levying their farmers showed just how terribly they wanted to win. And even if the Ironhold duchy were to somehow win, they would have cut the other duchy’s farming capabilities by more than half, practically ensuring that famine would plague northern Angoril for years to come. It was clearly foolish but Thorn was also quite clear that the Devil controlled nobles who were issuing the orders did not care one bit.

“What has the duke said regarding our numbers?” Thorn asked, looking over at Hasta.

“We are to begin recruiting as fast as possible.”

“Good. Commander Del’har? How is that program we talked about?”

Standing up, the tall Wolfkin commander bowed to Thorn and smiled.

“It has been proceeding as intended, sir. There are two hundred and fifty thousand combat ready Wolfkin ready to go.”

Velin, Corvo, and Hasta’s eyes all went wide as they stared at each other and then looked at Thorn. Seeing that none of them had any idea what was going on, Thorn could not help but grin as he explained.

“Back when I left Commander Del’har in charge of the defense force, we started training some replacement troops just in case we would ever need to defend the valley again.”

“Yeah, but two hundred and fifty thousand?!” Corvo exclaimed. “Where did you hide all of them?”

“There are a lot of mountains around the valley. They were trained in battalions led by the Temple of the Moon.”

“And you were not afraid of being accused of treason again?” Velin asked, her eyes narrowed.

Meeting her glare with a guileless smile, Thorn shook his head.

“What are you talking about? They’ve never been part of my army. Their supplies and equipment come from the temple of the moon and they’re only doing their ceremonial hunting training. It’s a Wolfkin tradition to learn to hunt, after all.”

“I’m well aware,” Velin said, rolling her eyes.

Not done dropping bombs on the players, Commander Del’har spoke up again.

“I’m also pleased to announce that there are nearly three thousand Children of the Moon who have been, um, learning to hunt alongside them. All of them are ready for deployment.”

“What about the valley’s defenses?” Thorn asked.

“We have reached an agreement with her majesty, Queen Akira, and her people have agreed to help protect the valley. They have grown rapidly in the last two years and between the Ailuridae and the regular citizens of the valley, we should have more than enough support to protect the valley.”

“Great. Hasta, what are our options for recruiting players?”

“If we are opening it up, we’ll probably be able to get at least two and a half million players on relatively short notice, sir. But I think that needs to be a last resort.”

Tapping his armrest, Thorn’s eyebrows rose.

“Explain.”

“Yes, sir. We have access to a huge reserve of players, even just within Nova Luna and the Nightwalker Association. Even more if we open it up to the public. However, if we do that, I’m sure the game will open up the other forces to players as well. If that happens, well, I don’t know too many guilds that wouldn’t jump on the chance to take us down a peg.”

“Hasta is right,” Corvo nodded. “We were in the top five but adding Rakkam and the only gate into the Abyssal Lands has cemented our position as the top guild.”

“You are saying that this is a ‘tall trees catch the most wind situation’, right?” Thorn asked.

“Exactly. We are at the top of the heap, and the other guilds will not miss a chance like this to undermine us. Especially since we are already outnumbered. If we start recruiting players, it is almost guaranteed that the other armies will as well. Now, there would be nothing wrong with, say, preparing a million or so players just in case we get to the point where it doesn’t matter. You know, just in case.”

“That makes sense. I’ll leave it to you but let's proceed. Commander Hasta, you’ll be in charge of leading our troops to the south. Who is in charge of our production department?”

A quiet looking Wolfkin woman with a pair of glasses perched on her snout stood up and bowed to Thorn nervously.

“I am, sir. My name is JoyFilledFeather.”

“Oh, you were the one who developed our mobile camp walls. Congratulations on your promotion. You will be responsible for outfitting the troops, so coordinate with Commander Hasta.”

Stunned that Thorn had remembered who she was, JoyFilledFeather bowed deeply, her lips curving up as she was unable to repress her smile.

“I will be going to Stormwatch to talk to Duke Carlton before joining the army in the south. I am counting on all of you to continue watching over the valley while we are gone. Although this is shaping up to be a bitter war, we should not give in to worry or fear. As Corvo mentioned, we are currently the most powerful force in Nova Terra and we will not only get through this, but I am absolutely sure that we will come out on top.”

As he watched the administrative team leave with Commander Hasta and Commander Del’har, Thorn gestured for Corvo, Mina, and Velin to follow him into his office. Akira had run off to see her family, and Thorn was planning on leaving her at the valley to coordinate the defense while he was gone. Sitting down behind his desk, Thorn looked at the pile of papers waiting for his signature and rubbed his forehead.

“Haha, look on the bright side, Thorn. At least you have a good reason to avoid doing your paperwork,” Corvo teased, causing Mina to laugh.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten six reminders that I need to take care of it in the last two days,” Thorn said wryly. “If I leave the valley again without taking care of it, I would not be surprised if they sent Dark Moon after me. Some of those administrators look pretty fierce.”

“It wouldn’t be a terrible idea for you to clear it up before you leave,” Velin said, walking over to  the desk and ruffling the stack of papers. “I can help if you need.”

“Thanks, but you probably have more than me,” Thorn said, laughing. “Since I’m going to be doing paperwork, can you tell the admin team that if they have anything else they better get it into the pile quickly? After this I’m not going to do it again for at least two months.”

“Sure, I’m sure that will terrify them.”

Jumping up from where he was sitting next to Mina, Corvo pulled out some papers from his inventory and strode over, slapping them on the pile.

“A bunch of requisition forms and some expansion requests. It is amazing what you can do with nearly unlimited money, but unfortunately, we don’t have unlimited people so I want to train more,” Corvo said. “I need to expand the admin teams for Dark Moon and the home office. Also, there is a request for more personnel from Jora.”

“I’ll take a look at them,” Thorn nodded, picking up the top paper.

“Before you get buried in the paperwork, one question.”

Looking up, Thorn saw that Corvo was looking at him with a curious expression.

“What’s up?”

“Well, I think I know the answer to this question, but I wanted to see if I was right or not. Why are you not deploying the Stone Legion for this fight? I’m confident that if you did, the duchy would be saved. There is even a good chance the war will be over before it even begins.”

Slowly putting the paper he had picked up back down on the desk, Thorn carefully considered Corvo’s question. Corvo was right, after all. The Stone Legion had grown considerably in the few short months since he had become Stone King, and as Stone King, Thorn knew that even without the magical compulsion that the [Stone Heart] used to carry before it was purified in the Elemental Forge, he could mobilize the entire city of Rakkam for war. Unlike most societies, every single Dwarf, male or female, over the age of twenty years old was considered a warrior and when it came time for war, the entire population of the absolutely massive city could be mobilized.

Even if he only called for the Stone Legion, he could add nearly three hundred thousand soldiers to the war, which would be a huge help. Standing up, Thorn walked over to the window and looked out over the valley and the mountains beyond. From where he stood he could see the smoke rising from a village in the distance. Though the valley had already grown to accommodate the increase in population, Thorn had gotten reports that new villages were being settled as the population of the valley continued to boom. Smiling happily, he turned around to answer Corvo.

“The more diplomatic answer is that it's not the Dwarves' problem. As the Stone King, my responsibility is to protect them and the best way to do that is to keep them as far away from this war as possible. Plus, if the Dwarves join the fight, the Elves will have to join as well, and the Wolfkin might get pulled in as a race instead of as a private army. I don’t know that it matters, but just in case, I want to play it safe. Besides, it also strengthens Rakkam’s position if the empress asks for their help.”

“If?” Corvo asked, a smile on his lips. “Don’t you mean when she asks?”

“I don’t know the mind of our esteemed empress, so I can’t say when. But the Dwarves are strong allies of the Northern Angoril Empire and if she calls for help we will answer that call. Until then, I think that Rakkam will sit tight. Besides, I fear that this invasion is only the beginning and I would rather save the Dwarven Legions for when they are absolutely necessary. Though, you have reminded me that I need to have them lock down the city. I don’t want anyone sneaking into Moon Wolf Citadel through the Aether Gate in Flamespire.”

“So, what is the non-diplomatic answer?” Mina asked from the couch.

“Between us?” Thorn said, lowering his voice slightly and glancing to the sides like he was looking for someone listening. “If the Dwarves get involved right now then it is highly likely that the dukes will retreat and wait for us to attack one direction before attacking from the other. Remember, the Cloudwave Duchy has a powerful fleet. Much more powerful than ours. The Dirgehold Duchy also has a powerful navy. That means that they can harass us no matter which way we go.

“By keeping the Dwarves back, we force the attacking armies to be cautious as they move forward. Imagine what would happen if the Dirgehold army advanced without support and then Rakkam’s entire army came out and ambushed them. It would be a massacre. The duchies will be cautious about that, but as soon as we reveal the Stone Legion, they’ll be able to start countermeasures. By keeping them back, we force the three armies to commit themselves to a full fight before we smash them.”

Nodding, Corvo looked pleased.

“That is what I thought.”

Pretending to sniff and wipe a tear from under his eye, he looked proudly at Thorn.

“It’s like you are all grown up. I’m so proud.”

Laughing, Thorn looked around for something to throw but when his eyes fell on the stack of paper, Thorn saw Velin’s hand pressing down on them.

“Please leave our budding strategist alone, Corvo, he has a lot of work to do,” Velin said, shaking her head.

Returning to his desk, Thorn picked up the first paper and looked at Corvo.

“If I’m being honest, I have a really bad feeling about this. I don’t think this is, at its core, a political fight. I think that it's masquerading as political but in reality it is the Greater Devils’ latest bid to control the world. There are some big bad threats out there and they are all coming out of the woodwork. Igdrethen the Soul Eater has control of the princes and probably the three dukes. Cherserrorth is still hiding in his lair, and Arhtu the Cursed is trying to turn himself into the Aeon Dragon. Plus, even though we killed the Elemental Giants in the Great Forge, it's entirely possible that there are more hiding across Angoril. Add to that the emergence of Hev, that crazy Merfolk sorcerer and that Dark Taxidermist that we killed in Haugr? I think we’re in for a doomsday scenario.

“I think that even though we’ve been beating quests like our lives depended on it, I think that it's entirely possible that someone else missed one and we’re facing the dawn of the era of darkness, or whatever. Even worse, there might be players trying to accelerate it. Who knows. What we do know is that this world is about to go through a reforging and we’re going to need every scrap of power that we can get. The Dwarves are, in part, our backup plan. If everything hits the fan, we need a place to go and Rakkam is going to hopefully be it.”

Nodding seriously, Corvo thought for a moment and then walked to the window.

“I’m glad you are taking this seriously, Thorn. I’ve been seeing the signs as well. There are a couple things I can check on that will help us know if you are right. It will take me a few days, but it should give us a better sense of what is going on. I’ll meet you at Stormwatch.”

“Why don’t you take Mina with you?” Thorn asked, glancing at the witch, whose eyes were fixed on Corvo.

Hearing Thorn’s words, Mina bounced up, her solemn expression fleeing as her face lit up with a smile.

“That is a great idea! Thanks, Thorn! I’ll see you two at Stormwatch!”

“Sounds good to me,” Corvo agreed with a nod. “You can show me some of your fancy new moves.”

With a hop, Corvo’s body exploded into a storm of purple feathers that reformed into a crow that landed on the windowsill. Blinking, Mina pointed at Corvo and a complex spell construct appeared over her head.

[Twice Walked Path]

As the spell activated her body exploded into glimmering snowflakes that swirled together, forming a bluish white crow the color of ice. Hoping up onto the windowsill next to Corvo, Mina winked at him and spread her wings, taking off with a flap.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Corvo said, his voice coming from the beak of the purple crow.

Nodding to Velin and Thorn, he flapped his wings and flew away, chasing after Mina.