“I’m not gonna tell you all-polite and proper that we’re doing a good and justified bloody thing for this campaign, that the deities themselves be telling us to do this, no. I’ll lay it down to you all straight and proper.
This is a bloody landgrab, that and us getting rid of that one neighbor you’ve never liked, is all. The whole point of this expedition is to take their nice, fertile farmlands and cities for ourselves, and get rid of the racist bigots next door as a bonus.
Now that you know what’s up, I only ask you this. Are you with me!?” - Crown Prince Aethelbald Stahlfaust III, a speech during the gathering of troops for the foray into the Holy Kingdom, circa 2 FP.
Three days after the execution, while the army recuperated in Norouz, Reinhardt was summoned to a staff meeting by one of the Crown Prince’s aides, and was told to bring Elfriede and Lars with him.
When he arrived, he saw the usual dwarven commanders, though besides Graf Harscape was an old man who judging from his lighter skin tone was a local. The old man seemed nervous to be in the presence of so many higher-ups, though the Graf patted his back gently in a reassuring gesture.
“Glad everyone could make it,” greeted the Crown Prince from his seat behind the desk without preamble. “I had asked you all to gather here to discuss some recent developments in this region.”
“This letter arrived last night by messenger bird,” he continued as he waved a folded letter in his bulky fingers. “News from the forces of Sevral and Galastine, that claimed that they had breached the Holy City of Nu-Gu’od’s defenses, but that the God-King and his closest retainers were nowhere to be seen.”
“Had they escaped?” asked Graf harscape with an equally surprised voice as the others. Clearly the Crown Prince had not briefed even his other advisors of the news yet.
“The Sevrals were no fool. They had completely encircled the Holy City before they struck,” replied the Crown Prince. “Which meant that the God-King either used a secret passage they failed to detect… or…”
“Or that they had fled the city before the encirclement was even completed,” said Reinhardt, completing his thought for him, to which the Crown Prince gave a graceful nod. “Were the God-King’s personal guards accounted for?”
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“They have seen neither hair nor hide of them throughout the battle. Similarly, many of the valuables from the treasuries were missing,” said the Crown Prince with a shake of his head. “The Sevrals had beseeched us and the Ezramites both to be vigilant and to help catch the God-King should we find him. They don’t care what we do to him or whatever he has on him as long as we help offer proof that he’s dead and gone.”
“So that’s why you wanted us here as well,” commented Elfriede from her seat next to Reinhardt. “You want people who know the in and outs of this region to find possible escape routes.”
“Precisely so, Mrs. Edelstein,” replied the Crown Prince with a satisfied nod. “I have already sent a missive to Graf McBaine in Zefirous to work with Mayor Creussens and patrol the area, and will send around half our troops over to aid with the work. For this region, I would like to ask if any of you have any knowledge of possible routes an escapee like the God-King might take.”
“My- my family descended from hunters, Your Highness. We know quite a few trails in the forests and hills, I can point them out on the map immediately,” said the nervous old man, who Reinhardt learned was the elected Mayor of Norouz for the time being. The man spoke in broken and badly accented, but understandable common.
“I’m afraid I’m not much help for this region. Not that I know much about the surroundings even in Zefirous anyway,” said Elfriede, who made a point to wave her hand over her eyes. As she was blind naturally she was not familiar with maps and the likes.
“I do not presume to know the region that well, that is likely Mr. Mayor’s jurisdiction,” said Lars honestly, which made sense as he lived his life in the south. “That said, logically if the God-King made his escape, he would most likely flee southwest, right towards us.”
“Oh? How do you deduce that?” asked one of the dwarven commanders.
“North is a poor choice. The Ezramites are still sieging Eganiz, and thus on high alert with their whole army in the region. It would be folly to head that way,” explained Lars confidently. “Same applied to the East, as the forces of Sevral and Galastine infested the areas. More importantly though, even if the God-King managed to pass through the troops in those regions, further beyond lay only enemy territory.”
“South would be the same since it led directly into Knallzog,” commented Graf Harscape as he mused about the possibilities. “Aha, I see your point, young man.”
“Yes, Posuin to the west, while it’s embroiled in its own civil war, is the only neutral neighbor the Holy Kingdom had. It was the best choice for high-ranking escapees from here,” said Lars. “The nobles there were also famously corrupt so bribes would go a long way to buy security, doubly so if the God-King still has his personal guards with him.”
“A fair assessment. Harscape, you get the map annotated with the mayor,” commanded the Crown Prince after a moment of thought. “The rest of you, I want you to organize patrols around the further paths, in groups of at least three hundred. The God-King’s personal guard supposedly number five hundred or so, so your task should you encounter them is to delay until help arrives,”
“Understood, Your Majesty!” replied the military commanders in the room.
“Whichever group discovered and caught the God-King will be granted a share from whatever he brought with him from Nu-Gu’od. This applies to our regulars and the mercenaries both,” added the Crown Prince. “Five hundred gold in cash for the so-called God-King’s head itself.”