“So,” the Duke continued, “it would seem that the Revenant forces willing to fight are merely one-tenth of what we had hoped for.”
“You have my apologies, my lord,” Mander said diplomatically. “If it were up to us, we would have sent soldiers and not civilians.”
Duke Edwin stood there with his eyes closed and his nose pinched between his index finger and thumb for several long seconds. With his eyes still closed, the Duke sighed and said, “Our plan does not change significantly, then. The Revenants are still able to fight, though many are unwilling. Major General Dogwood will still be put in charge of the Revenant forces,” the Duke gestured to the man standing next to him. “Mander of Trebizond, could you tell me your current strategy for the defense of the Gates?”
“Yes, sir,” Mander said with a smile. “Last night, we decided to place an equal number of our greatest soldiers at each of the Gates. Clock, Trismegistus, and I will be placed at the East Gate. FullDan, GatorKing, and Tantalus will be placed at the West Gate. Ashcroft, Emile, and Mozaic will be placed at the North Gate.”
“Ah, yes,” the Duke said darkly, “the North Gate.” Out of the corner of his eye, Tantalus saw Ashcroft place his hand firmly on his sidearm. “I suppose the tall man with long hair is Ashcroft.”
“Aye,” Ashcroft answered with an uncharacteristically brief utterance.
“My first official action of this meeting,” the Duke began, “is to grant Sir Ashcroft of the Knights of Ashes a stay of prosecution until the siege is over."
Unsuppressed shock showed on Ashcroft’s face, which was soon replaced by several emotions in quick succession. Happiness that the Duke had used his favored title, annoyance that he would not get to kill some more NPCs, and respect at the Duke’s political shrewdness. This was a smart move. Perhaps, Tantalus thought, it was the only one that could lead to a victory for Duke Edwin. This action would help Revenant-NPC relations and show the Duke’s forgiving character. Also, more notably, the Duke had said “until the siege is over,” meaning that the government of Osiris would absolutely try to prosecute Ashcroft after the siege was broken.
“I have heard that several of my knights have challenged you, Sir Ashcroft, to a duel to the death. This reprieve should prevent most of those challenges, though I cannot fully control the actions of my vassals,” Duke Edwin said.
“Thanks,” Ashcroft said with a forced smile.
“On to my second official act of this meeting,” Duke Edwin continued. “I hereby grant Mander, Cordelia Brooks, John Tantalus, and Ashcroft the rank of Captain. In addition, these four shall have the right to grant brevet ranks up to Lieutenant.”
Tantalus raised his eyebrows in surprise at the Duke’s words. It was as if Duke Edwin had seen into his mind. Tantalus was going to enforce a hierarchy at the West Gate either way, but it was good to have the blessing of the standing government.
“Captain Mander,” Duke Edwin addressed the middle-aged British man, “I would have you speak on your plans for the deployment of our Revenant troops.”
“Right,” Mander said, hesitating for a moment at his unforeseen promotion. “Our plan is to deploy thirty permanent troops to each Gate. These thirty will be split into six squads of five. All other Revenant soldiers will be organized in a militia force, which can be called on in the event of an incursion.”
“A standing force to guard the Gates,” the Duke said, “a prudent decision. How many Revenants do you believe will join this militia group?”
“Anywhere from four to eight hundred,” Mander said without hesitation. Tantalus was glad that he had spent an hour the previous night coaching Mander on the questions that Duke Edwin would likely ask. Of course, Mander was an excellent student, Tantalus thought, he was a philosopher after all.
The Duke was about to open his mouth, but Mander cut him off. “Please excuse me. I have just a single question before we continue. If it would not be improper, may I ask that question now?”
“Of course,” the Duke said. Duke Edwin seemed annoyed for a moment, but his anger turned to satisfaction as he heard Mander’s polite request. Mander was a veteran of Ninth Oasis. He knew how to talk to noble NPCs. Even a seemingly rational noble like Duke Edwin would be weak to flattery.
“Supply lines,” Mander said. “We would like to know the nature of how we are to be supplied with guns, bullets, and food. It is our understanding that non-Revenants cannot touch firearms, yet you are the ones supplying us with said firearms. Considering that this city is currently under siege, we would like to know precisely where these three things come from.”
The Duke became thoughtful for a moment before turning to Colonel Maria Feldrast who promptly began ordering some of the other officers to find documents on logistics. Within two minutes, someone in the room produced several binders filled with documents written in Iron Script and placed them in front of Duke Edwin. He then picked up one of the binders and stared to hand it to Mander.
Mander raised one of his hands as if in surrender and said, “I’m afraid we cannot read your language, sir.”
“Right,” Duke Edwin said. “I had forgotten. You all speak our language so clearly. It is difficult for me to comprehend how you cannot read it.” Tantalus had spoken to enough noblemen in Ninth Oasis to know that this was a lie. Duke Edwin’s lie was well-hidden, but it was easy to pierce when you had experience. NPC nobles all lied the same way. Whenever they lied, it was a lie that made them appear less powerful than they actually were. The lie would also act to subtly undermine an adversary. Tantalus knew that every S-rank present immediately saw through the noble’s words.
“We’re working on it,” Mander laughed the statement off. “We’ll have a working cipher in a day or two. Unfortunately, someone else will have to read the logistics report out loud.”
One of the other officers in the room, a Colonel under Maria Feldrast’s command, read the report out loud. Essentially, there were several underground caches throughout the City that held guns, bullets, and food.
Whenever moving guns or bullets, NPCs would utilize thick leather gloves so as not to breach the Edict. These gloves were likely completely unnecessary, Tantalus thought. If Ashcroft’s experiments at the North Gate were to be believed, the Edict would only be activated by firing the gun. The NPCs could handle the guns as much as they wanted.
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The report also stated the total number of guns, bullets, and food in the City’s stockpile. Before the Revenants arrived, the report claimed, there were twenty thousand (20k) rifles and twenty thousand (20k) pistols. Each firearm came with three clips or magazines. In terms of ammunition, there were three hundred thousand (300k) rounds of .30-06 and four hundred twenty thousand (420k) rounds of .45 ACP. The officer speaking then got to the specifics of food production, but Tantalus mostly tuned that out. Apparently, there was enough food for several months. Tantalus was much more interested in their weapon supply. Assuming that a thousand Revenants ultimately volunteer to defend Osiris, they would have three hundred rifle rounds per person. After a day of heavy fighting, Tantalus had used fifty rifle rounds.
They had enough bullets to fight a few battles, but they could not afford to be wasteful. Overall, the City was very well supplied, but it was concerning that the means to create more guns was not within Osiris.
As the Colonel began to wind down, Tantalus cleared his throat and spoke for the first time, “We’ll need more guns later. I’d like to know where they’re made.”
“I’m sorry, I’m afraid we haven’t met,” the Duke said, smiling. “Who are you?”
“I’m John Tantalus,” he said quickly. “Eh…” he briefly recalled that you were supposed to give your titles in such a situation, “Captain of the West Gate.”
“Oh, yes, Tantalus,” Duke Edwin said. The Duke’s inability to immediately recognize Tantalus was another lie. Maria Feldrast would have described him to the Duke. In that crowd, Tantalus stuck out like a sore thumb. He was half a foot shorter than all of the other men in the group. “We had expected you to play a much more significant role in our dialogue.”
“I’m not much of a diplomat,” Tantalus said.
“As for your question,” the Duke said, “the only people who construct firemakers are followers of the God of Machines. The Cognoscenti are strictly prohibited within Greater Osiris, so they can only be found in Sondrith, Etronia, or the Island of Merkopia.”
“Thank you for answering my question,” Tantalus said.
“Next on the docket,” Duke Edwin said, “is a matter of harm mitigation. It has been brought to my attention that Captain Ashcroft has temporarily incarcerated several dozen civilians at the North Gate. I am certain that this military action was carried out for security reasons, but it will stop immediately, and those held will be released.”
“Yes, sir,” Ashcroft said. He bowed deeply and said, “They will be released within an hour.”
“Good,” the Duke clapped his hands together. “I’m glad we could clear up that misunderstanding. Now, the final item on the agenda.” Duke Edwin stopped briefly to prepare himself for the next statement. “Four days from now, the combined forces of Greater Osiris will launch an assault on the Deluvians. The goal of this assault will be to reestablish contact with the Duchy of New Arcadia, our greatest ally. Any Revenant not necessary for the defense of the City will be required to contribute to the assault. This military operation will be titled 'Operation Reunion.'"
There was a general reaction of anger and offense by the crowd of Revenants. The Knights were offended that the Duke would give them such a direct order. All nine S-ranks grumbled quietly at this but said nothing. Cordelia, on the other hand, spoke.
“I just said that most of the Revenants are civilians. Did you forget about them?” Cordelia asked loudly.
“Not at all,” the Duke said calmly. “The Revenants were created for military reasons. The Duchy of Greater Osiris does not need nine thousand workers; it needs nine thousand soldiers.” At that point, the Duke was speaking with a commanding tone that was a complete departure from the casual way he spoke earlier. “Whatever all of you think is irrelevant. Whether your world exists or not is irrelevant. This is the world you are living in, and in this world you were created to fight for Osiris. Am I just supposed to accept a ninety percent desertion rate? As the leader of Osiris, I am obligated to punish deserters! On the day after the assault, I will cast an Edict of Ostracism and mark any Revenants within the City who do not contribute to the assault with the Mark of the Outlaw. Their faces shall forever bear the evidence of their crime.”
Cordelia bit her lip at the Duke’s outburst. All of the Revenants present reacted with quiet anger, except for Ashcroft and Tantalus. Ashcroft smiled as the Duke spoke, and Tantalus bore a look of thoughtful consideration. Duke Edwin had been very forgiving to Ashcroft, a mass murderer, though he was very unforgiving of any deserters.
“If you have nothing more to say, you’re dismissed,” the Duke ordered. “Major General Dogwood will speak with the Revenant Captains over the next few days to finalize our strategy for the assault.”
The Revenants turned and left. Cordelia stood there, fuming, for several seconds before ScaryClock lightly pulled on her shoulder. Clock whispered a few unheard words to Cordelia before they began walking to the door.
As Tantalus passed close by Ashcroft, he could hear Ashcroft say, “I’ve never heard a nobleman talk like that. He’s… interesting.”
Wordlessly, the delegation of Revenants exited the Ducal Palace. They passed through several heavy doors. As they walked, they saw ornate arches and dozens of marble statues. Most of the statues portrayed grim-looking nobles, but one centrally located statue portrayed a large, winged dragon. The second room they traveled through was a long hallway that was lined by statues of people adorned in noble regalia. Mozaic began to say something as they walked through the hallway with statues, but Ashcroft gestured for silence.
It was only after they had reentered the underground parking garage that they spoke.
“What the Hell was that!?” Cordelia shouted as soon as they were out of earshot of the crowd of NPCs.
“We knew he was going to force us to launch an assault.” Ashcroft said. “That’s just how nobles operate. If you ask me, we’re lucky that we were given four days to teach the new guys how to shoot straight.”
“Sure,” Cordelia said, “but nobody guessed that he would force us at gunpoint to fight on the front lines! We need to do something about this!”
“We will,” Tantalus said firmly. “For now, Cordelia, I want you to tell everyone in Osiris what happened during the meeting.”
“Okay,” Cordelia said. “Tantalus, do you have a plan to deal with this?”
“Not yet,” Tantalus said, “but we’ll figure something out.”
Following Tantalus’s recommendations, the delegation of Revenants broke and returned to their respective Gates. Tantalus drove GatorKing and FullDan back to the West Gate. The sky was a dark orange color, and the sun had just started to rise over the horizon. As they drove through the dimly lit Osirian streets, GatorKing complained about the Duke giving them orders, though he did also admit that Duke Edwin’s actions helped them out ultimately. By forcing the Revenants to fight, they would have more soldiers to utilize in the days to come.
Tantalus pulled his car into the West Gate parking deck. When walking past the car pileup, the three Revenants saw a tow truck pulling cars away from the pileup. Several dozen people had gathered at the West Gate. Unlike the crowd at the North Gate, however, Tantalus was happy to see this large group of players.