Marquess Grimvale
There was a silence in the room; nobody dared to breathe loudly, much less speak.
"Dasir," I said, looking at my most trusted adviser. "It was my fault; I bear the complete responsibility for this," he replied with eyes down.
I had handed the responsibility of Mirador Hold to him.
It was his job to make sure that we got the fortress. He failed. Silver had got it, but how long he will be able to keep it is another question.
"We will discuss the blame later. First, we have to manage the situation; things are far from over, and doing this, Silver might have given us an advantage." I said, with a smile appearing on my face.
"Connect me to Dane,"
…
Harrison Dane
I released my hand from the mage after talking with Grimvale.
My army is standing in the middle of the wasteland, my soldiers looking at me for the orders.
It had been forty minutes since we had stopped. Right after, I revealed the news that Lawson betrayed me, the very man I had trusted the most.
I never in my dreams had I thought him capable of doing that. Betray me and to Silver, no less; he truly hates that young man.
It is likely why I had not expected him to do that, but I forgot. Those types of people would make a deal with their mortal enemies if there were enough benefits.
"What is our plan, Lord Commander?" asked Bray finally.
There are three options in front of me. First, I could go to the Baronies, as I was doing initially, but now I do not have a base.
If I failed, I would not be able to retreat. I am confident I won't fail, but that doesn't solve the problem.
I would need supplies, fresh men, and other things that I could not get without a base. Silver and the others will stop me from getting things; they have locked me in.
Grimvale had suggested that I should not do this. If I did, he would move his army toward me.
The southern barons are in his favor, and he will help them against me, Silver's minister has said that much earlier. He was the first person I had talked to.
The second option is to merge my army with Grimvale's, as he suggested.
His army is currently racing for the fort with Silver's army. He plans to stop them by reaching the fort before them or attacking them on the way.
He asked me to join him to defeat Silver's army, but his actual target is the fortress.
The third is to leave. Summerfield, Zanav, Haldraven, and many in the mainland had asked me to join them, but I will not leave the region.
Once I do, I will become nothing more than a tool in a noble's hand. I will not be that again.
"We are joining with Grimvale," I announced finally, and a minute later, we were marching back to the fortress.
Both of us want to deal with Silver, and we will; he will not stand a chance against such force, but what will happen after that, no one could say. But I will say one thing.
I have a bigger army, and that matters a lot when it comes to holding the prize.
…
Baron Homer
I opened the door of my office, and my wife was there.
"I heard Dane is going back to the fort," she said with a big smile, but a moment later. The smile on her face dimmed when she saw my expression.
"Is it not a good thing?" she asked. "It could be a terrible thing for us," I replied, shaking.
"Dane had messed up the whole thing. It would have been fine if he had attacked, but now with Silver seizing the fort, things could go very bad for us." I said.
I wanted to sit down and close my eyes, but I couldn't. I have to think of a way out of it, or we will be in big trouble.
"How?" she asked.
"If Dane had attacked us, we would have defeated him or kept him contained in a small area and finished him later, after we dealt with the monsters."
"But with Silver taking control of the fort, things had changed. Dane is going back; he will likely group up with Grimvales and go against Silver."
"If they catch, Silver's army, they will fight it. Silver's army will lose under the combined strength of Grimvale and Dane's armies."
"Then they will move on the fort, and with such victory, Dane might not have a problem in taking back his fort from Silver. As there are only five of Silver's people in there,"
"Once the fort is under their control, which I believe will be Grimvales,"
"If he did this quickly enough, then he would have an army and time to come at us, while Baroness Silver and Baron Harrods are busy with the monsters," I explained, and by then her expression had transformed; understanding dawning on her face.
"Lockridge is already allied with Grimvale, and he will move to take control of the baronies," she finished in a barely audible voice.
"The same thing will happen if Grimvale is not able to take the fort."
"He will combine the army, I am sure. He will be able to sway, Dane, to join him since he has already lost the fort. And with Lockridge, the three of their armies combined, conquering the baronies would be no challenge to them," I stated, and her expression turned bad.
"Lockridge has no love for us," she stated, and I nodded. "If he gets Nakar, things will be terrible for us," I replied.
Lockridge had never hidden his ambition, and most of the force he had taken south is loyal to him and his allies.
There is General Jarvis, but he wouldn't be able to do much with most of the army in Lockridge's control.
"Can we survive it?" she asked, taking my hand.
It pains me to see her like this. It was just a few hours ago that I thought we were safe, but in a few hours, things have changed drastically.
"I don't know," I replied. I really don't, and the worst thing is, I don't see any hope.
The silence descended in the office as we both tried to think of a way out of this mess, but no plan I could come up with is without flaws; there is no perfect way out. I have to choose the best from the worst.
"What do you plan to do?" she asked finally. "Talk to Baroness Leila and Harrods first, then Silver," I replied.
I hope things I am thinking wouldn't happen, but I have to prepare for the worst.
...
Leila Silver
"This is bad," said Baron Harrods as he took his hands away from mine, as we finished talking with Baron Homer.
"Do you think Lockridge will do it?" I asked. "He will, if he gets the support from Grimvale," he replied, and I sighed. I shouldn't have even asked about it; it's obvious.
"He even has a loyal army," he added, and I smiled mirthlessly.
The 33,000 men Lockridge has are all human. Most of them are loyal to him and his allies; they would not resist his orders.
It was a deal we made to get more men here on the northern front to deal with the monster tide.
They will come by dawn, and until we deal with it, we cannot move, not only because of the pressure from merchants, but also because of our territories, which lie on the border.
If they did not stop them, the monsters would be released into their territories.
"We have to do something. If he acted, there would be nothing left for us," I said to him.
"What do you have in mind?" he asked, turning to me.
"I will talk to Ignatius first, before calling my brother," I replied, and without wasting any moment, stepped out of the office and walked toward the merchant's side of the fort.
…
"Congratulations, Lord Silver," said the middle-aged man. "Thank you, Viscount Savfort," I replied.
Hundreds of people congratulated me, crowding around as I moved.
I needed a few minutes to get out.
I may have got the fort, but it was the easiest thing. Now, the difficult things begin. Keeping the fort and managing affairs in the Baronies.
"What is Grimvale's adviser saying?" I asked as I entered my office. "He will not pull back unless you give him the fortress and promise to stay out of Baronies." Replied Valentina.
That's not going to happen. I am not going to give him the fortress nor the baronies. It is out of the question.
I don't want to make him any more powerful than he already is.
I sat down in my seat and turned to Zela to talk to a few people, while Robin talked to Dane. He has a good relationship with him.
Dane hates everyone from Greltheaven, but not Robin.
He finally finished and turned to me. "He is livid," he replied. "So, no?" I asked, and Robin shook his head.
I have asked Dane to submit, and I offered a pretty good deal, but the man has declined it, which is no surprise. If he had such political acumen, he would have submitted to me or Grimvale months ago.
It might have let him cut a sweet deal, like remaining the commander of the fortress or being the Governor of a city.
"How is the army?" I asked. "Moving fast". Replied Zela. I had asked them to do that. Once I got the news from Carla that the fort is under our control.
I need them to reach the fort as soon as possible, before Grimvale's force.
Both Greltheaven and Brimbale are around the same distance from the Mirador Hold.
A month ago, I had moved around the units. Now, except for those in training, all the people in the army based in Greltheaven are trained and experienced.
Many with army skills, who would let them move the army fast.
The combination was intentional, planned for this moment, as I knew it would happen. Dane was desperate due to the growing strength of baronies; he needed to attack before they became too strong.
I am not the only one; Grimvale had also made such preparations.
His army is moving as fast as mine. Things would be bad if he reached the hold first, and there was also Dane.
I don't know what he will do, but I hope he will continue toward Baronies as he was.
Time passed, and I spoke with many people, including General Azalia. Things are becoming trickier, and it might make many of our enemies act.
"Dane is moving toward the Fortress," replied Zela.
"Fuck!" cursed Valentina. She is not the one to curse openly, but when she does, it is bad. "This means he will likely meet up with Grimvale's forces," added Robin.
If he does, it will increase the pressure on my army further and jeopardize my hold on the fortress.
There is also Lockridge standing there in Nakar Forest, and he will not get such an opportunity, especially if he gets support from the Grimvale.
I need to take every step carefully, or it will all collapse like a house of cards.
"Connect me to my sister," I said to Zela. I had talked to her earlier, but this time, it will be more official; there will be a deal.