Pervalia-Dather Border, Two Months after the Goblin Warren Incident

Pervalia as a nation has been shocked and relieved by the early discovery of a Goblin Warren. The news of how close they had been to disaster caused dissatisfaction amongst nobles and commoners alike. However the King of Pervalia and his Council had issues a decree that boosted funding to Mage Wardens, promising squads of Knights to accompany them in their journey's to ensure that they were able to discover and destroy warren's effectively. This was further reinforced when the Council of Dukes and the Brotherhood of Chivalric Orders met to issue a join proclamation that any regions that denied Mage Wardens access would be invaded by a joint army of all seven duchies and eradicated.

Following the event's, the Kings council issued several writs of tribal execution, freeing Ducal hands to begin the wholesale slaughter of tribal settlements that dared claim domain and sovereignty over the more mountainous regions of the Kingdom. The wilderness dwelling populations of Pervalia who had traditionally enjoyed relative freedom from sovereign power were issued a simple warning: Submit to ducal power or be eradicated. This writ would eventually lead to the total destruction of fifteen tribes across the breadth and width of Pervalia, while all other tribes were subsumed by ducal power, losing their freedoms and culture in the process as they were forcefully integrated into Pervalian culture.

With the crisis of the warren hole dealt with, and the murmurings of rebellion thoroughly squashed, the Pervalian War Council convened and the muster of Pervalia's invading armies continued apace, having never really slowed. The Army itself grew from the predicted three hundred thousand total soldiers to almost four hundred thousand as the seven brother dukes of Pervalia summoned more musters in the face of the warren hole incident. The King of Pervalia took advantage of the additional muster and happily added them to his invasion plan, angering the Dukes who could not do much about it due to the structure of constitutional law which allowed the King of Pervalia to conscript any mustered forces.

Now the First Offensive Grand Army of Pervalia, as it was dubbed by the King, had broke camp and made for the eastern borders, splitting into several smaller forces. Count Murdet and Gerald found themselves assigned to the Central Offensive Army of Pervalia.

Pennants, flags, and standards fluttered in the wind as thunder rolled across the grassy plains, the smell of ozone in the air promising heavy rains guaranteed by dark and angry clouds rolling in from the east. The Pervalian central offensive army was encamped in a massive circle, nearly seventy thousand men undergoing the rigors of army camp life. Patrols were maintained and watches changed. The encampment was laid out in orderly rows as a massive square with palisade walls surrounding all sides. Overall command of the army was awarded to Duke Thrain, who had elected to join the army in the field. Duke Thrain, who is the suzerain overlord of the Duchy of Iron the eastern most duchy of Pervalia, had a vested interest in this war. Any territorial gains that came from the invasion of Dather would eventually find their way into Duke Thrain's greedy fists.

The assignment of Hexenguard forces to the Duchy of Iron's whims was not ideal for those from Hexenguard, as the two brother dukes shared a deeper dislike for each other than was normal. Duke Jarold and Duke Thrain hated each other. It was this situation that drew Count Murdet's council together as they discussed what to expect from the invasion plans, and how Duke Thrain's hatred of Hexenguard would play into the dangers they already faced in open warfare.

"This is not an ideal situation to find ourselves in," Gerald commented idly, chewing on the end of his pipe. He was seated around a folding table with Count Murdet and the rest of the general officers of the Hexenguard force. "He can't outright order us into suicidal charges, the Kingdoms laws prevent that, but there are very creative ways to whittle down Hexenguard's forces and reputation without being seen to do so purposefully."

"The entire situation is fucked sideways actually," Murdet countered wearily. "The Central Offensive Army has some of the toughest terrain and hardest fortresses to overcome. I think we can expect Thrain to place his men in the best positions, earning glory through easy slaughter, while Hexenguard is placed in precarious situations that could end in our forces being routed."

"Much depends on the Dather defense. Their historical war doctrine is centered entirely around their mountain fortresses, and after the invasion of Hurra, it is likely that they are well stocked. Some of those fortresses could take years to crack open and all the while we will bleed manpower to raids and disease..." Kayer added from the other side of the table.

"I think the core of their strategy will rely on the Black Mountains that cuts their country in half," Gerald traced a range of mountains named for the basalt they were made from. "It is a mighty wall that nature provides them, and I do not think we will be seeing an invasion of the Capital in our life time. Not with the manpower and mages we have available. Even with Master Scholar Theresa we will be pressured to defend against their sorceries since they outnumber our mages."

"Do you think there is any danger to Theresa from Thrain?" Murdet asked Gerald who paused to consider the question.

"No... I should think not.. Thrain has a mighty duchy but using the Scholars as a political tool is a surefire way to piss off every mage in the Kingdom as well as the King AND her father in Hexenguard. Thrain would not want to anger an Archmage, especially since the mage population of the Iron Duchy is rather low when compared to any other Duchy." Murdet conceded the point and allowed the topic to lapse back into the more mundane.

"There is not much we can plan for right now. I will have to play each situation by ear and this council will meet regularly to consider course of action to preserve our lives as well as the honor and reputation of the Hexenguard Duchy." Murdet concluded the meeting quickly. He and Gerald had a war-council to attend...

Five Weeks Later, outside of Fort Swamphill

Fort Swamphill was a motte and bailey style castle with concentric stone walls that overlooked ditch works and a marshy plain. It was the first fortification that controlled access to the region beyond via it's domineering position overlooking the only reliable road. The constant deluge of water in the region combined with the abysmal drainage made this land a fetid nightmare for the invading army. Every single person was splattered with mud while the horses and oxen they used to ride and pull cargo struggled with the treacherous footing and lack of purchase. The castle itself was supported by a town roughly a mile away that provided the serf labor and income needed to maintain the keep. By occupying the only hill, Fort Swamphill had an amazing overlook that allowed them perfect dominance over the area... Or it did, before the army of Pervalia arrived.

"God's it stinks like shit," Murdet complained as he rode knee-to-knee with Gerald. Fort Swamphill burned in the distance as the two men observed the massive black cloud. Swamphill had stood against many invasions, and had only fallen or surrendered a few times through out it's history. The Pervalians managed, with the aid of the Sacred Arts their Mages provided, to crush all resistance in the region in a mere week. Even from this distance Gerald could see the faint outline of the Lord of the Castles body swinging from the wrecked gatehouse by it's neck.

"It was an easy conquest, but a very distasteful one," Gerald commented as he drew on his pipe. He found the air more pleasant when it was filtered through the tobacco he preferred. "Maybe Thrain was hoping we would find it harder due to the weather and how gods damned wet everything is... Idiot should have accounted for Theresa. She can make fire burn under a foot of water - ive seen her do it."

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Murdet guffawed and kicked his horse forward, trotting down to the front lines where his son Daniel was bringing forth the family seal of the deceased owner of Fort Swamphill.

Three Months Later

Daniel, Kayer, and Murdet stood just inside the gatehouse of a manor that had been commandeered by the invading forces. The manor in question was a mountain holding with a wooden palisade that offered excellent protection as it stood at the top of a plateau. The forces of Pervalia had made rapid progress through Dather but eventually they had met the kind of resistance expected as Dather suddenly stiffened its resistance and met Pervalia on treacherous mountain passes and in narrow valleys where men fought and died. The Central Pervalian Army was currently encamped around the fortress known as Mountain-hold, a brutal construction holding six thousand men.

The Central army of Pervalia could not safely leave such a large force at it's back for fear of being cut off from supplies or flanked during a critical battle, and so Duke Thrain had ordered the army to encamp and dig in. Siege weapons had been constructed and over the two months they had been there they had managed to create three breaches in the outermost bailey, but progress had slowed and they were still no closer to capitulating the men inside. Even with Theresa and her circle of mages they struggled to simply counter the enemy mages, who outnumbered Pervalia's magical augments two-to-one.

Several plans were in motion to force the issue, but Gerald had shared privately with Murdet that he believed the stalemate would not end until the reinforcements arrived from the Eastern Pervalian Offensive Army in the form of an additional fifty mages and a company of siege engineers. Until that day, which would take another two weeks or more, they simply choked the fortress off from resupply and made due with burning and pillaging the outlying villages - all abandoned - and settled in to wait. The general mood of the army was that it was better to wait for the mages and crack the castle like an egg than to lose a third of the entire force storming the walls.

"The tally is in, Count" Kayer was saying, "Total losses since the beginning of the campaign is 2,543 with 139 desertions. 2,031 levies, 408 men-at-arms 102 knights and 2 mages. With the reinforcements we received from Duke Hexenguard our current total standing force is just shy of 30,000. Our supply lines occupy roughly 4,000 of those men with an additional 2,000 utilized for patrols and pickets bringing our standing army to 24,000 total. Supplies are lasting, sickness is minor thanks to the mages, and morale is good. Compared to the rest of the combined forces of the Central Army of Pervalia, Hexenguard makes up roughly a third of total forces by itself, as our forces continue to grow while everyone else's continues to diminish," Kayer finished his report.

Daniel sighed and commented, "It seems like Duke Hexenguard anticipated Thrain's general attitude. Our Duke continues to supply us with additional manpower to ensure that we are too important and too successful for Thrain to get us killed easily. He wouldn't want to explain to King Eddard how he managed to lose 30,000 or more of his brothers men while maintaining his own forces."

"It's not just that. Only Hexenguard and the Iron Duchy are reinforcing regularly. Between the two Duchies, we equal more than half the total invading forces of the Central army. Duke Hexenguard is ensuring that we are large enough to constitute a threat to the Iron Duchy, giving us a lot of leeway in how we execute missions. We cannot turn them down, but with our forces we can insist on coming up with and executing our own plans. Duke Thrain can now only set the general policy, he can no longer directly order our plans since we possess the raw strength to rebel, not counting the fact that a good two thirds of the mages in the Central Army are from Hexenguard,"

The three men considered this silently.

Gerald, Mountain-hold, Front Lines

"We've spotted the runners Lord Hart," Michael informed him, riding up to Gerald on his own destrier. Michael was a middling-age man, Gerald would probably put his age in the late thirties, and he was covered in dust from the road. Gerald held out his wine skin and Michael took it gratefully, rinsing the dust from his throat before continuing."They are attempting to bypass the easternmost fortifications with a resupply run. It isn't much, barely a force of two hundred mounted riders, but they have donkeys with them that seem to have plenty of food and water."

"Did they come through where I suspected?" asked Gerald as he began to trot east along the hard packed dirt.

"Aye, it seems there is something there that is allowing them to circumvent the forces at the mouth of the valley," Michael confirmed for Gerald, awed once again by the man's ability to sniff our enemy designs and counter them.

"Are my riders formed?"

"Aye, three hundred Hexenguard Knights await your lordship about a mile away. The Knight Captain in charge intends to encounter the enemy within sight of the castle walls. The heavy infantry force is already moving into position behind the caravan and will cut off their ability to retreat while our force converges. Captain Joseph intends to meet them head-on while Knight Captain Jones will initiate a delayed charge into their sides,"

"Excellent," Gerald smiled grimly. They would ride this caravan down and confiscate the goods and animals for themselves. No need to inform Duke Thrain and have the spoils of battle taken directly from their mouths.

Forty Seven Minutes Later

Gerald relished the feeling of raw power as his massive horse delivered him into the fray once more. He couched his lance and delivered a deadly blow that shattered the enemy knight - and his lance - in one mighty blow, unhorsing the man and throwing him to the ground where Gerald's horse finished the argument by trampling him. Gerald winced slightly - he would have liked to recover the armor intact - but not much could be done about that now. Gerald dropped the lance and drew a large cavalry sabre from it's sheath at his side, leaning down in his saddle and sweeping the slightly curved blade through the neck of a dismounted levy before breaking through the battle lines and exiting on the other side.

Gerald wheeled his horse about and prepared to re-enter the battle and noted with satisfaction that his forces were doing extremely well - so well that the enemy forces began to throw down their weapons and surrender. Excellent. Knights and Men-at-arms who lived were worth more in ransom, and their armor and arms would be intact, increasing their value. Not to mention the donkeys and oxen that pulled supplies. The men of Hexenguard would eat very well for a while...

Seven Weeks Later

"Sire, the Mages have finally arrived!" Gerald called into the tent as a group of mud-splattered and bloody mages rode into camp and dismounted, seemingly winded but no worse for the ware.

"Fucking Finally!" Murdet called back as his son heaved him out of his chair. The pair headed outside, gathering Murdet, Kayer, Michael and several others in their wake and made for the group of Mages. From across the camp Gerald could see Theresa had been roused and was also hurrying in their direction, a look of concern on her timeless face.

"What happened?" Gerald asked just as they came upon the mages, a question echoed by Theresa at nearly the same time. Theresa smiled awkwardly at Gerald and he just chuckled.

"My lady Archmage, we were waylaid on the road. You have a force approaching from the north. We have already made Duke Thrain's men aware and they are preparing to meet them, along with the mages stationed in that region. The force is decently large, around 2,000 men, but presents no real danger now that we know about them," the man replied, bowing low to the assembled nobility.

"Yeah, and now that we reduced them by about 200," chuckled a cowled mage darkly. He wore the standard uniform of the Scholars of War - a black robe with metal plates sewn in lined in royal red thread with gold linking the edge of the cowl and sleeves.

Murdet and Gerald chuckled too, "Yeah, that'll do it. I assume you breached their line?" Gerald asked the war mage.

"Not as such my lord. We shadowed them for awhile to ensure they did not pick up any dangerous reinforcements. The presence of enemy mages meant we had to keep our own presence a secret and so we could not afford to send a message ahead without going very far out of the way. The land on that side of the mountain opens up a little, and we made a dash to get ahead of them only to encounter a roving company. It was a few hot minutes of work, but they lacked magical support on that end so we managed alright. It was more tiring than dangerous" the war mage informed Gerald.

"Hah. Poor bastards" Daniel said in admiration. "Come, lets get you quartered fed and rested. We have work to do on the morrow, and a castle to crack,"

"Finally" muttered Theresa, who had long since grown sick of mud and the smell of shit and piss that wafted in from the latrines whenever their magical wards expired. She shot a shy look to Gerald, who pretended not to notice, before gathering the assembled mages up and heading in the direction of their encampment.

"That one has eyes for you" Murdet commented quietly to Gerald.

"Yeah. But her father is my retainer, and an archmage to boot, and I would like to keep my body in one piece" Gerald laughed, causing the men around him - even Kayer - to chuckle with mirth.