Fate Online...
Surface- Jagged Coast Region
Kingdom of Rolling Sands- City of Sholand
Ailis slowly woke up and smiled as she checked her mail. Her sister was fine but freaking out after her quest updated. On the other hand, she did not like the 'no pain filter' and had her brain scrambled by a Spirit. That little tidbit made Ailis laugh as she responded to her messages and then closed out her interface to slowly stand and stretch her muscles. When they had logged in, it had been near mid day. In other words the middle of the night for Ailis, so she had immediately gone to bed to get some sleep. Now the sun was starting to set, the Curse would no longer affect her, and she could start her work.
She had to keep an eye out on any possible troop movements and the possibility that the Mage-King would push south into the Dark Lands. The only good thing was a few independent cities still stood between the Kingdom of Rolling Sands and the Dark Lands. If they stood up too him, they could slow or stop their invasion by land. If they joined the Rolling Sands though, nothing would stand in the Mage-Kings way.
Ailis had been briefed on the guy though. The Mage-King was smart and planned ahead. He did not make any moves without thinking everything through including his enemies' responses. Jacob had made it plain as day to the Mage-Kings Ambassadors, if he pushed south into the Dark Lands, it would be considered an act of war against the Empire of Night. The Empire's northern border was protected by the Southern Orc Tribes and the former Free Cities that were now part of the Empire. The few remaining Free Cities under the Slavers Union, stood little chance if the Mage-King pushed west.
To the Rolling Sands north were the Dwarves of Dark Iron Thiag, the Orcs of Blackfang Hold, and the High-Elves of Duran'thia. While the Orcs and Dwarves were almost at war with each other and the High-Elves were poorly led, they would all put aside their differences if the Mage-King pushed northwards. The few small independent Human kingdoms and Beast-Kin states were falling almost daily to the Mage-King. Few were fighting, and those few when conquered were treated poorly. Their soldiers were executed, people were conscripted and taxed heavily, that was the price of fighting the Mage-King based on all reports Ailis had read.
Unlike the Empire, Rolling Sands did not outlaw slavery. In fact, much like the Romans of earth, people could sell themselves into slavery to pay off debts. On the other hand, the Mage-King and the Kingdom of Rolling Sands were similar to Earth's ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire. Some even said that the Mage-King was the god Ra, in Mortal form, although that was pure rumor and speculation. Either way, the Mage-King had absolute power in his kingdom and did not suffer fools as advisors. Any advisor that gave him bad advice ended up dead from what she had determined. However, has favor could assure almost unlimited power within the Kingdom.
The Mage-King did learn one thing from Jacob, he placed one person in power in every Region he had a foothold or controlled. These men and women were the absolute power within those Regions. They were coveted positions, but if you screwed up, you were executed for your mistakes. Two of those people had been executed in the last month. Ailis had not figured out why though, only the who, where, and when.
Ailis had been trying to get any dirt or intel on the Shah of the Jagged Coast Region, but the man was perfect and did not screw up. Yes, he had vices like all men in power, but he kept them in check and did nothing to embarrass the Mage-King. Shah Dontella Sallim was studious in collecting taxes and conscripts for the Mage-King. He followed his orders to the letter and was not overly ambitious. So how exactly did he get into his position Ailis wondered because the guy was borderline boring for a man with so much political and military power at his command.
The shipyards were not building anything new or extensive for the military, they were used to maintain what was currently built. New fishing vessels were being completed almost daily though. Ailis had sent that up to her superiors. The vessels although small could be used to scout and move small forces. Very few were staying within the harbor, they always left heading north or south along the coastline.
So, Ailis checked her weapons and armor before heading out. First, she would go by the Pickled Egg and check the Assassins Board for anything new or interesting before heading to the nearby bars where the soldiers would hang out and drink their worries away. She could sniff out any rumors and any complaints. Ailis smiled, it didn't matter what country you were in, soldiers would complain about everything if you bought them a beer and were willing to listen. After she made her rounds at the bars, she would head outside the city to a small fortified camp the army kept outside the city walls. Ailis wanted to see if she could infiltrate the camp and get copies of the orders of patrol routes, supply movements, and if lucky troop movements. The most exciting part of her night, in other words.
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The Stuck Pig was a nice bar and inn where soldiers could go to play card games, get a good meal, and drink without worrying about the owners fleecing their money. In other words, it was stuffed to the rafters unless the soldiers were ordered to take a rest from having fun and enjoying themselves. That rarely happened while on garrison duty. "So let me get this strait. Unless the majority of your unit requests to be posted somewhere else, your unit does not move unless orders come down from the top. Well, that sucks. Do you at least get leave to go see your family on occasion?" Ailis asked as she took a sip of her cup. Wine was the most popular drink with these soldiers.
"Nope. We get one day every two months. However, our conscription lasts only two years once our training is done. So...in the short term we don't see our families a lot, but long term. Once we are done, we can choose to stay in the army for another two years. If we do that, we can get paid to get out. One hundred gold after four years. It's enough to start over in one of the small villages. Start a farm or a small store." the Soldier replied.
"True, but from what I heard no one is going to muster out for a while. Rumor has it the Mage-King is going to make a major push towards the west, take the whole desert under his banner." Ailis told the soldier as she slightly slipped out of her chair and stumbled into him. The man laughed and pushed her back into her chair.
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"Women, two things. One, you can't hold your alcohol so go home and two, no way would push west. The desert rats are bending over faster than a whore on a discount night." the soldiers around them laughed loudly causing Ailis to blush.
"Well, I heard it from a Sergeant from the Fourth Spear Battalion. A Sergeant...Alim Salih...I don't know. He has a big scar on his cheek. He said west. So I might not know how to hold my drink, but my ears work fine." Ailis stated firmly as she swayed 'drunkenly' for the soldiers around her.
"I'm telling you we are not heading west into the desert. I am the highest-ranked Sergeant in my Battalion. If we had received orders to push west, I would know. My people are skirmishers and scouts, we would be the first to leave." Ailis looked and the soldier and giggled before pulling a silver mark from her inventory and placing it on the table.
"I am betting we go find my friend, he says otherwise. One Silver Sergeant." Ailis responded earning a huge smile from Sergeant who placed his own Silver on the table and fished out a piece of paper.
"Read that, then I want my money." the Sergeant said before he gulped down his glass. Ailis acted like she had a hard time reading it but she took several pics of it as she swayed. The jist of the orders was for the Sergeants unit to pull supplies for a two-week scouting expedition to the south against the few cities remaining independent. The orders were already in effect and they would be leaving in two days. Ailis did quick mental math, it was a two-week round trip, so in just over a month they would have a scouting report of the few remaining cities.
"Ok...I think it said. Whats this word?" Ailis asked the Sergeant as she handed the paper back too him earning a laugh.
"You are done girl and I am taking the silver I won fair and square. Go home and get some rest." Ailis scoffed like she didn't want to go, but let the soldiers push her out off the Inn. Ailis 'stumbled' for a few blocks until she was sure she was not being followed before climbing up and onto a nearby rooftop. After scoping out her backtrail for any Stealthed Rogues or patrols. After another ten minutes, Ailis dropped into Stealth and made her way back to the Bloody Thorns. The small inn on the outskirts of the city was cheap and well kept. The owners were good people and did not ask questions when a customer paid upfront by the week. Time to report in and see what her superiors want her to do.
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"So in summary, the Mage-King could be pushing south in as little as six to seven weeks. I expect to see a buildup within three weeks of supplies and new soldiers. The Image crystal will be going out in the next Merchants train heading west tomorrow. Do you have any further orders?" Ailis asked her contact.
"Wait one, the Master wishes to speak to you." the voice responded causing Ailis to freeze in surprise. This was supposed to be a long term assignment. Ezekial should not want to speak to her unless something had gone wrong.
"We need you back in the capital as soon as you can get away. This is an emergency. Come back and stay in the Middle City at the inn called the Gilded Dice. Make contact when you have checked in. You have twenty-four hours to finish up anything, then be there. Any questions?" Ezekial asked after he finished telling her the new orders.
"Did I mess up or something? I have been doing my job, I have not done anything to compromise or betray the Emperor." Ailis responded quickly.
Ezekial laughed, "I know that. If I thought you had betrayed our Order or the Emperor, you would be dead and we would keep killing you until you were level 1 again. No, I want you back in the city because I trust you and you have proven that you can think on your feet if you are cut off from command. A situation is developing here and I need someone that I trust and can think here in the city."
"Ok, but Darren will not like it," Ailis responded as she started to think of everything she had to do to get out clean.
"He is the one that suggested you. Enough Emperors Fang, you have your orders." Ezekial replied before cutting the line and leaving Ailis stunned. What had happened that Darren was asking for her.