Serpentlord (Rise To Omniscience Book 9), page 8
“This is worse than I thought,” he said, after just a couple of minutes of silence.
“What is?” Sarah asked.
She’d been sitting silently next to him, blessedly giving him the chance to order his thoughts.
“We need to head back to the war room,” Morgan said, already reaching for Sarah. “Now.”
“If I were the one in charge of the enemy force and had deployed soldiers to attack the main headquarters of the enemy command already knowing that I would lose, I would take the chance to do something else as well,” Morgan said.
“I would position troops in key locations to intercept all scouts, reinforcements, and supplies. As I’ve already shown interest in taking villagers, I would also use this opportunity to clear out any civilians in the area.
“This would also be my chance to test how my enemy would react. How their soldiers move, how their command structure works, the strength of my strongest enemies… I would take a hostage to ensure my stronghold wasn’t simply wiped out by an enemy combatant strong enough to do so and set up several nasty surprises set on a timer.”
Morgan waved his hand, and several hundred small shining cylinders fell on the floor of the war room.
“I’ve already deactivated them so that they won’t be going off. I found these set up all along the base of the palace walls. In your storerooms, staff quarters, and littered all about the grounds where anyone could have set them off. This wouldn’t be enough to kill anyone especially powerful, but bringing down the palace would have killed many innocents.”
Morgan paused for a moment, then extended a hand, connecting a portal to the outside and pulling through a very confused-looking dwarf.
“Tell everyone here what you saw,” Morgan said, directing the man’s attention.
The dwarf looked to Morgan and then to all of the leaders gathered there.
“We were wiped out,” the dwarf said, looking a bit dazed. “Our entire scouting party was killed. I only survived by sheer dumb luck. Slipped on a patch of mud and tumbled downhill, away from the fighting. By the time I got back, they were all dead.”
“But that isn’t all, is it?” Morgan asked.
The dwarf shook his head.
“Entire villages were gone. Camps of dwarves set up in the forest were completely empty and all their supplies along with them.”
“From which direction did you come?” Ragnar asked.
“Where the tremors are worst,” the scout replied. “Where the last of our kind were retreating.”
“Thank you,” Morgan said, releasing the dwarf. “You can go now. Get some food and rest.”
He turned to address the room at large.
“As you can see, we can no longer remain here. We need to leave and take the fight to the enemy. They have prepared, schemed, and planned. They’re winning. We can have as many fighters as we want, but if all the civilians, children, and elderly are taken, you lose the very people you’re fighting for.”
“But this is our home,” Elyssa said, sounding a bit heated. “It might be easy for you to suggest leaving, but it wouldn’t be your home that you’re abandoning.”
“I left my home long ago,” Morgan said. “When it comes to survival, you can always find another. We’re also faced with a huge problem, and fortunately, there’s a simple solution. We have no leader, just a collection of rulers. You can still feel free to weigh in with your opinions on military matters, but the ultimate decision-making needs to fall to a single person.”
“And I’m assuming that’s going to be you?!”
Morgan turned to see that an elf had separated himself from the crowd and was eyeing him with obvious distaste.
“No,” Morgan said. “I have no interest in leading anyone.”
“So, what? Give us all orders then back away and claim you’re not making the decisions?” the elf asked, stepping closer and sneering openly. “I’ve seen your kind before, thinking you’re better than everyone else with nothing to back it up. Well, I won’t have it, and neither will the rest of us!”
There was a general muttering from several of the commanders, all of which, Morgan noticed, were dressed in floral finery that was clearly not made for fighting.
“And who might you be to be making such sweeping statements and decisions for your entire race and the other races gathered here?” Morgan asked.
The elf’s smugness seemed to go down a few notches as he took a quick look around, as though only now realizing that his queen and the chosen rulers of the other races were present. However, common sense was quickly overridden by the opportunist, who turned to address the dissenters.
“I am Duke Florian of the noble house of…”
“No one cares. Shut the hell up, Florian, or I’ll personally throw you from the top of this tower.”
The duke, cut off before he could begin his glorious speech, whirled in place, only to find himself facing his queen, Elyssa. However, if seeing her intimidated him, he didn’t show it.
“I always knew you would bring this country to ruin, little girl,” Florian sneered, taking a stance. “Inviting strangers into our homes. Leading World Beasts to our very doorstep. Letting cultists run amok in your palace grounds. It’s a disgrace, and we’ve had it! You are no longer fit to rule!”
“And you are?” Elyssa asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, he is!” another elf, this one a woman, said, stepping up to Florian’s side.
“Anyone else think that Florian would make a better leader than me?” Elyssa asked, seeming oddly calm, despite the uprising.
Several more nobles stepped forward, taking a stance against her.
“Well, I can hardly say I’m surprised,” Elyssa said as the last elf stepped forward. “What a shock it is to see each and every noble who covets the throne stepping up to proclaim that I am unworthy.”
Morgan took a step forward, preparing to destroy the dissenters and prevent their already tenuous peace from shattering, but to his surprise, Elyssa held up a hand to stop him.
“Smart move,” Florian said, his grin as wide and smug as Morgan had ever seen on a person. “Now, are you going to step aside, or will we have to remove you?”
“Sure,” Elyssa said, stunning everyone present. “I’ll step aside. This palace and everything in it is yours.”
11
“Wait, what? You’re not going to fight me on this?” exclaimed Florian dumbfoundedly.
“No,” Elyssa replied, getting up off her throne and stepping aside. “This chair is all yours.”
No one so much as moved, as they had no idea what the hell the elven queen was thinking.
Florian took a tentative step forward, his eyes flicking to all of the other rulers as he tried to find the trap. However, when none of them moved to block him, he started to become more confident. His shuffling walk turned into a swagger, and with a flourish of his colorful robes, the pompous elf sat down in Elyssa’s vacated throne and proceeded to kick his feet up on the table.
“Well, then, you’re the new ruler,” Elyssa said, taking a couple of steps back. “What are your orders?”
Florian looked between the obviously gleeful nobles who’d sided with him, then, to the still-shocked military commanders and royal guards flanking the walls.
“As my first act as king of the elves,” Florian said, his voice dripping with obvious pleasure, “I want you to kill this pretender!”
All of the guards turned to Elyssa, who still stood calmly just a few feet from the self-proclaimed king, then back to Florian.
The elf’s smug attitude began to fade as none of them moved to follow his orders.
“What the hell are you waiting for?” Florian demanded. “I am your king! Either do as I command or be gone from my presence!”
The guards hesitated for a few more moments, then shrugged.
“As you command,” one of them said.
Then, they promptly turned and left the room. Florian watched in outrage as all the others turned to follow, ignoring his shouts and red-faced threats as they did. Within half a minute, there wasn’t a single elf remaining besides Elyssa and the traitorous nobles.
“Well,” Elyssa said, looking to the other rulers and commanders. “I think I’ll be following Morgan’s advice and leaving this place. It is just a building, after all. We can always make a new home for ourselves somewhere else.”
With that said, Elyssa turned and followed her commanders out, leaving a stunned Florian still sitting on his throne. It didn’t take the man long to compose himself, though, quickly turning to the other leaders and trying to salvage the situation.
“Well, that’s fine,” he said. “We don’t need someone like her in my castle anyway. You can all…Hey, where do you think you’re going?”
“Last I checked, the leader of the elves has no say over what any of us do,” Ragnar said, giving Florian a dead stare. “I’ll be leaving and taking my soldiers with me. Have fun defending this castle on your own.”
“Oh, wow, she’s smart,” Sarah whispered as the other rulers all stood and began filing out, ignoring the threats and screams from Florian and the other nobility. “She prevents a civil war and brings everyone firmly onto her side. I like her.”
“So do I,” Morgan said, a small smile curling the corners of his lips before moving to follow the procession leaving the room.
It was only once they were outside, in the courtyard and heading to the main gates, that Florian emerged from the castle, followed by the other defectors.
“Where do you all think you’re going?” roared the elf. “Did I give you permission to leave?”
Everyone stopped, all turning to face the outraged elf.
“Like I said,” Elyssa said, stepping out to the front of the group. “You’re free to sit on the throne. Free to have this castle. Free to claim your right to rule over our people. But if no one will listen to you, that’s hardly my fault. Now, I’ve made my intentions of leaving clear. If the people choose to follow me…well, that’s their choice.
“As for all the other rulers here, they’re free to do whatever the hell they want. So, have fun playing in your castle, Florian. You and all the other nobility can rule to your hearts’ content.”
Elyssa turned then, tossing her mane of long silvery-blue hair and continuing on to the gate.
“That was very well done, my lady,” Gilderon said in an undertone as she walked past him.
“Thanks, I think it was,” Elyssa said, a small smirk playing around the corners of her mouth.
The procession turned to follow her, all heading to the gates once more. No one tried to stop them from opening them, nor did anyone stand in their way as they left. What Elyssa had said was true. Florian was free to rule over the castle and the entire elven nation, and whether or not anyone stayed to listen was up to them.
“I think we can all agree that Elyssa put on a marvelous display of intelligence, wit, and political acumen back there,” Ragnar said.
It was about an hour later, and their war council had been reconvened, this time, in the center of their war camp twenty miles from the elven capital. Unsurprisingly, not a single one of the nobles who’d chosen to join Florien had followed. Also, unsurprisingly, not a single elf had chosen to remain behind with their new ‘king,’ other than those who’d defected.
“A good way to root out traitors and assure a unified front,” Malachi said, nodding his head.
“Then I propose we do as Morgan suggested and appoint Elyssa as the leader of our armies,” Ragnar said, not even trying to hide the look of pride on his face. “She displayed marvelous cunning in how she handled that situation. That, and how she managed to pull this alliance together in the first place, shows that she is more than qualified.”
“I agree,” Malachi said almost immediately. “While we will still retain individual control over our people, I will be satisfied to allow the elven queen to make decisions regarding the movements of our armies. Although I will still be offering my counsel.”
Everyone turned to Katherine and Beatrice, both of whom shrugged.
“I don’t mind,” Beatrice said.
“This is your homeland you’re fighting for,” Katherine said. “It wouldn’t be right for any of us to try and claim leadership here. You will have my troops at your disposal.”
Elyssa, contrary to what most would have expected, didn’t seem at all surprised by the appointment.
“I thank you for placing your trust in me,” she said, bowing her head. “For those who have already lost their homes, I promise that once this war is over and the World Beasts have passed, I will do everything I can to rebuild.”
Although he wanted to say something about that, Morgan kept his mouth shut. None of them yet seemed to grasp the extent of the destruction wreaked by the World Beasts. In all likelihood, the continent would fall apart, sinking beneath the waves, before they retook their destroyed homes. But he kept that to himself. It wouldn’t do to contradict Elyssa right after she’d been chosen as their leader.
“So, commander,” Ragnar said. “What’s our first move?”
Elyssa leaned forward against the table, looking to the spots on the map where villagers had disappeared, as well as places where scouts had been sent and never returned.
“The first thing we need to do is retrieve all the civilian camps, whether they be elf, dwarf, or beastman. Right now, they’re positioned here, here, and here,” she said, pointing to three separate spaces on the map.
They were spread in about a fifty-mile radius, with the beastman camp being closest to where a missing scout group was sent.
“What we need to do is send fighters who cannot be easily beaten to each one of these locations, both to gather intel and get the civilians moving. Malachi, Ragnar, and Gilderon, choose five of your most powerful fighters and get to those camps quickly. While you’re moving on ahead, we’ll send a thousand middle-rank soldiers after each of you to assure a safe escort back here.
“While they’re doing that, I want you, Katherine, to take your Garrison Blue and move on ahead to the Brutal Bayou. I want you to find the enemy supply lines, their bases, and travel routes. Don’t do anything just yet, but note down all their positions…”
The ground shook then, the poles of the tent ratting and banging together as another tremor rocked their camp.
“Morgan, I would like you and Sarah to head west and check on the progress of the World Beasts. I want an accurate estimation of how fast they’re moving and what we need to do to stay ahead of them. By my estimates, it’ll take about a week just to get all of the civilians here, so if we don’t even have that much time, I need to know.”
“And what about me?” Beatrice asked, examining her nails.
“I want you to take as many elite troops as you can gather and spread out in a line. I want to know if any cultists, gnomes, or trolls are sneaking up on our flanks. As soon as Morgan returns, I’ll send him and Sarah to join you.
“While everyone is working on their assignments, I’ll start drawing up battle plans. The time of hiding behind our walls is over. We’re taking the fight to Shedra and his ilk, and we’re going to make them pay dearly for breaking our peace!”
A collective cheer went up at that proclamation, and everyone moved to begin carrying out their orders, despite the early hour. No one had gotten any sleep, and now that the sun would be rising in just a few hours, they would be pushing straight through to the next.
“Wait here,” Morgan said to Sarah as everyone broke into their separate groups and began heading their own directions. “I need to talk to Katherine.”
Sarah nodded her understanding, though she looked at him worriedly.
“Please be careful with what you say. I know the feeling of a broken heart all too well, and Katherine is still coming to terms with hers.”
Morgan nodded, then rushed after the queen’s retreating back.
He caught up with her just as she was leaving the tent, falling into step beside her.
“Would you mind if I walked with you?” he asked as she looked at him through the corner of her eye.
“Do I have a choice?” Katherine asked, sounding more than a little bitter.
The two of them left the tent, walking into the darkness of the bustling camp. It was maybe two in the morning, and yet, it seemed to be smack in middle of the day as far as everyone here was concerned.
Despite wanting to start speaking right away, Morgan allowed silence to drag out, at least until they were out of earshot of most of the people who’d been in the war room.
“Do you hate me?” he finally asked as they left the ring of tents surrounding the war tent and began heading for Garrison Blue’s barracks.
“If only it were that easy,” Katherine said with a snort. “Hate, I can handle. After all, I lived with it for most of my life. Growing up the way I did, I think it’s a miracle I didn’t end up being a total psychopath like my father.”
“You do know I still love you, right?” Morgan said, forcing himself to say the words, despite wanting to take the easy way out.
“I know,” Katherine said. “But that just makes it harder.”
The two of them were silent, their boots crunching through dry twigs and leaves.
“Are you happy now that she’s back?” Katherine asked.
“It feels like a part of me has returned from the dead,” Morgan replied. “I’m happier than I’ve been since the day she died.”
Silence again.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Katherine asked, her voice finally cracking as she stopped and turned to face him.
He’d grown taller since his advancement and only now stood eye to eye with Katherine.
“I couldn’t,” Morgan said, seeing the moonlight reflecting off her bright violet eyes, which now contained a double set of crimson rings.
He remembered the first time they’d met, back when he’d still been completely oblivious to the charms of women. She was very special to him, and no matter how much he’d tried to deny it, he knew he loved her. But he loved Sarah as well and a choice had to be made.
