Chapter 38: This Means War
Bandit led the man away from the Upper Gordu Dungeon, using the succubus like a leash. Never entering the man’s vision, she didn’t expect her identity to get revealed. After all, she was going to release the guy unharmed; she didn’t want him describing her appearance to half of the Union’s army.
Was Bandit even justified in questioning this guy? He hadn’t entered the Holy State after all. All the Union had done so far was send an army into a dungeon within their own territory. It would be a different matter if the Union’s Guild requested support from the Twin Cities, but to Bandit’s knowledge that was not the case here. She was simply collecting information because her branch was interested. Under scrutiny, perhaps she wasn’t at all justified. Oh well. All the more reason for her not to get caught.
Once safely away, she had her succubus compel the man to answer her questions which she spoke from a point behind him while using a disguised voice. He was all too happy to comply.
Bandit started with questioning why the army had occupied the Upper Gordu Dungeon. As she feared, the rank-and-file soldiers were not entirely in the know either. Still, he gave her some information. The Union was preparing to push further. Occupying the dungeon was part of a plan to prevent enemy intrusion into their rear. From that perspective, their actions actually made sense.
The scout didn’t know how far they would push, or when. At a minimum, learning that the Union did plan to move further south was a success. If nothing else, Bandit could report that result to the Guild Master and call it a day. Of course, she’d ask a few more questions first.
Next, Bandit asked the guy to report what he was told to watch out for. He explained that the scouts weren’t expected to encounter much in the way of resistance this early in the mission. At most, they’d have to react to foolish adventurers pushing north from the Holy State to train in the Upper Gordu Dungeon. The scout’s role was simply to report any such sightings and let them pass through. He didn’t know if they would be detained, killed, or simply turned around.
Finally, the man speculated what the Union’s plans were. Although he had no particular basis, he assumed they would occupy the Lower Gordu Forest and then make a decision whether or not to capture the Twin Cities based on the results of scouting and any other available intelligence. The man did not know what forms of information might be utilized.
This scout was all too happy to admit that he was hoping to be part of the forces which sacked the Twin Cities. The chaos following an invasion was when accountability was at a minimum, after all. Eventually, rules would set in and whoever was in charge would cave to international pressure and call for humane acts. Once that happened, the smart move was to extricate oneself from the occupied city and return home, leaving the babysitting to someone else.
Bandit didn’t really understand some of this, but she hoped DM was observing closely. He’d know what to do with this new information. Her responsibility was only to report back what she learned to the Guild. In theory, she could withhold some information so that DM had an advantage over the Guild and the Twin Cities. Not really understanding the significance of what the scout had told her, she realized it would be too difficult to pull that off. With the Union potentially invading the Holy State, she should probably share everything she learned with her employer.
Deciding her interrogation was over, Bandit had her succubus guide the scout back in the direction of his allies. Once the guy was out of view, she dismissed the succubus and retreated back towards the Lower Gordu Forest, careful to avoid any Holy State scouts she might encounter along the way.
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Vera was having trouble finding Olivia. Lately, the Guild was chaotic, although she didn’t know why. The Church was pressuring her to get back in touch with DM again and continue her various lessons. Not wanting to disappoint them, she decided to just visit the dungeon on her own for a change. She was quite familiar with the route and was strong enough to hold her own against the few minor monsters she might encounter along the way.
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After observing Bandit’s interrogation of the Union scout, he sent a bat to spy on the forces to the north. He noticed several Holy State scouts just south of the border, patrolling and keeping an eye out for any intrusion. Pressing north, the bat identified several scouts around the area where Bandit had made them earlier.
As the bat patrolled west and east, DM noticed activity. The scouts were receiving new orders, although he couldn’t hear them from this distance. Approaching trained scouts was overly risky.
Turning his attention to the Upper Gordu Dungeon, he noticed the Union withdrawing about half of their forces. Most likely, the people who exited the dungeon would supplement any ground forces already moving south through the forest. If DM wanted to, he could probably retake the dungeon and cause chaos in the forest, but it was still too soon for that.
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All at once, the scouts proceeded south towards the border. More numerous foot soldiers were marching behind them, making a mess of the forest as they went. DM was surprised to see them travel along such a rough path. He’d expect the army to use roads as much as possible, even if it meant giving up the element of surprise slightly earlier. Perhaps separate forces were moving along the road. The Twin Cities Lord would have to worry about that one.
DM didn’t have much experience with old-fashioned conflicts like this, so he wondered how the opposing scouts would behave. The Union likely wanted to prevent the Holy State scouts from sending a runner back to the Twin Cities with word of the approaching army. In contrast, the scouts monitoring the border from the south would take every precaution to ensure their report made it back to the commander without fail. Honestly, it seemed like the Twin Cities had the advantage here.
It didn’t end up mattering. Once the ground forces were all positioned, they boldly crossed the border into the Lower Gordu Forest, all but forcing the Holy State scouts south. By the time the Lord received the report, the army would be well beyond the border.
DM needed to decide where his red line was. He’d already accepted the occupation of the Upper Gordu Dungeon, but this dungeon was another matter. Whether or not DM would proffer aid to the Twin Cities and the Holy State was a separate issue. He would defend himself.
With the little time he had left to figure this all out, he checked in on Vulp. Fortunately, she was still sitting in on the Lord’s briefings for whatever reason.
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“Lord Davidson, a scout has returned!”
“Have them come straight here.”
The attendant ran off to make the arrangements.
For whatever reason, the Lord turned to look at Vulp. “Exciting, isn’t it?”
“Y‑Yes…”
He turned back towards his other advisors. “What does this timing indicate?”
“Either they witnessed something unexpected or alternately an invasion is already underway.”
“How soon can we mobilize everyone if we need to?”
“Half a day, my Lord.”
“That should be enough time if worst comes to worst. What about an answer from the capital and the other territories regarding their readiness to mobilize if needed?”
“It’s too soon to have heard back from anyone. The messenger birds likely haven’t even arrived at the capital and more distant locations yet.”
“Bah, we need to come up with high-speed communication methods. Anyone have any ideas?”
Before any of them could respond, an exhausted man jogged into the room, leather armor drenched with sweat. “Reporting!”
“Go ahead.”
With the Lord’s permission, he gave his report. An army of indeterminate size crossed the border from the vicinity of the dungeon in the Upper Gordu Forest. At their current pace, even a direct route to the Twin Cities would take more than a day, for sure. Most likely, they would stop somewhere along the way. The scouts did not have any information about how far the encroachment would continue, but other scouts were doing their best to monitor the Union’s progress.
“So you’re absolutely sure the Union army crossed the border into our territory?”
“Yes, my Lord. Without a doubt. Saw it with my own eyes. Thousands of soldiers in Union-style armor. Aint even trying to hide it.”
“Very well.” The Lord turned back to his advisors. “General Emergency. Begin the complete mobilization we were just talking about. Send follow-up messages to each Lord and the capital with news of a confirmed invasion and a request for aid. Send separate runners to the surrounding areas in preparation for a siege.”
A military advisor acknowledged the Lord’s orders but then addressed the scout. “Show me what you saw of their route on this map.”
The scout did the best he could to indicate where the army crossed the border and what their heading was at that time.
“As I thought…”
“What is it?” the Lord asked his military advisor.
“They seem to be heading right for the dungeon in the Lower Gordu Forest.”
“What do you think their goal is?”
“My Lord, I can only imagine they will occupy the dungeon like they did further north. The good news is that will slow their approach to our central lands.”
“Yes,” the Lord acknowledged. “But how will that dungeon master respond?”
“I‑I don’t know. I must admit, dungeons are not something I normally worry about. I’m sure the monsters will battle the soldiers, but I can’t see monsters, who barely challenge small parties of adventurers, holding their own against an organized army.”
“Hmm?” The Lord didn’t look convinced as he turned back to Vulp. “You’re an adventurer. What do you think?”
“Um, I think that dungeon master is much smarter than the ones at other dungeons. He’ll probably use traps.”
“Oh-ho. So we can expect him to be quite a thorn in the Union’s side?”
“I think so.” It wasn’t the most reassuring answer in a meeting like this, but everyone did recognize that it was coming from a young girl.
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Well, that wasn’t much help, DM thought to himself. All he really learned was that the Twin Cities was mobilizing and requesting aid from the rest of the country. The Lord wasn’t panicking, which was good, but the extent to which he seemed to be enjoying this situation was disturbing.
It seemed like the Lord was hoping for DM to help split up the Union’s forces so they couldn’t fully commit to a siege of the Twin Cities. Given that these events were most likely triggered by DM’s actions, he decided not to complain. While taking control of the Upper Gordu Dungeon shouldn’t have led to a war in any sane world, DM would need to address this crisis head-on.
He frantically adjusted the dungeon, at least to the maximum extent allowed by the governing system. His overarching objective for how to lay out floors was now different. Before, the goal had been either to deter would-be aggressors or to simply provide a fair challenge without getting hostile. In the case of the Union’s soldiers bearing down on DM’s home, this meant war.