Chapter 20: Invasion from the South
Garfield and Hannah returned to the northern district and made their way towards the estate that would be their new home in the capital. Hannah couldn’t understand it, but Garfield found it hilarious that he kept needing to ask people for help finding his way to his own manor. Once he got there, he would update his minimap, at least. Eventually, they arrived at the main gate.
“Halt. This is now the estate of Duke Garfield, by royal decree. You may not enter without permission.”
Garfield fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. He lay on his back staring up at the sky, wondering what he did in his previous life to receive such a curse in this one.
“H-He IS Duke Garfield!” Hannah insisted.
“Wha!?”
With that matter sorted out, Assistant Duke came out to meet him. “Duke, preparations are underway.”
“Did the gate guard give you a hard time when you first arrived as well?”
“No… Did something happen?” Assistant Duke asked Garfield. “If so, I’m dreadfully sorry for my oversight.”
“What’s the status of the people we brought back from the Empire?”
“Most of them have already moved in here, although a few should be arriving soon. I’m working to put together a verbal presentation for you which will provide background information on your domain in the south. For now, we can show you and Ms. Hannah to your rooms and send for any things you left at your inn.
“I don’t have any things back at the inn so that won’t be a problem."
“I’m staying in the same room as Sir Garfield!” Hannah decided on her own.
Assistant Duke recoiled a bit at the declaration from Hannah. It was probably less because she was making a demand that’s a bit outrageous in noble society, and more so because he harbored decades of fear towards her which hadn’t totally dissipated yet.
“Um, please assign Hannah a room close to mine. I’m sure she’ll want to visit, even if it’s just to talk about magic.”
“Very good, sir.”
“You sound more like a butler than an assistant Duke, to be honest.”
“Oh, my apologies. Please let me send for an actual butler.”
An actual butler arrived and escorted Garfield and Hannah into the manor, which was several stories tall and easily greater than 100 meters long. The property surrounding the manor house was also quite impressive, considering they were still within the walls of Bretten. Garfield understood why dozens of people would be needed to run this place.
According to the butler, most of the arriving fox-people were eager to accept jobs, even if temporarily, at the estate. The rest were being provided quarters while they figured out what they wanted to do.
Garfield stayed in his room, working to create some new clothing while Hannah watched. She really didn’t seem interested in spending much time in her own room. Eventually, the staff beckoned them to dinner. Garfield hadn’t explored the manor yet so he actually needed help finding his way there. He could have used his minimap to help, but his pride wouldn’t let him in this one case.
‘That’s an impressive dining room.’
Even though the staff would eat elsewhere, the room designated for the Duke and his family or guests was tremendous. In addition, whoever had decorated the house prior to Garfield acquiring it had done a good job. It was fancy but at the same time, tasteful.
Garfield asked the staff where the Lord would typically sit, and was directed to the head at one end of the very long table. As he sat down, Hannah wasn’t sure where she should sit. The staff clarified that she can sit wherever she likes, so she chose the seat immediately to Garfield’s right.
“I was half expecting you to try to sit in my lap.”
“Can I?”
“…No.”
The dinner was at least one full level better than anything Garfield was served back at the Bretten Sunset Inn. Tonight’s meal was something closely resembling shepherd’s pie, including brown meat, vegetables, and a few other ingredients within a well-cooked bath of mashed potatoes. In case that wasn’t enough, the staff also served an egg wrapped in breaded sausage, on the side.
After stuffing himself, Garfield explained the dietary needs of his bear cubs to the help and then retired to his room. Possibly due to the large meal, he collapsed into his bed and fell asleep early.
The next morning, he swore to himself he’d exercise more self-control going forward. Having a talented staff to cook for you was apparently a blessing and a curse. Garfield glanced over at the sleeping Hannah and wondered if there would be any consequences at all if she ate way more than any one person ought to.
Garfield dressed himself for adventuring and then followed his nose to the smell of cooked breakfast meat. While he was cutting into his first piece of ham (at least, it looked like ham), Hannah came in and joined him. While the two were still eating, a staff member approached.
“My Lord, a messenger from the castle just arrived. Would you like to meet them here or in the parlor, or perhaps shall they wait?”
“Hm, how about I go to the parlor, and you bring the messenger here? They’ll never see that one coming.”
“I… beg your pardon?”
“Oh, just bring them here.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
Hannah cracked up at that exchange. It was nice to see her smiling after all she had been through in the past. Well, the smile wasn’t visible because she kept putting her mask back up on her face, but one could imagine it. The messenger stepped into the dining room.
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“Duke, the royal palace is summoning all available nobles to discuss an incursion from the south.”
“Oh, right during our meal? This is some of the best breakfast food I’ve had since coming to this country… Okay, fine. Do you think the King will mind if I bring the rest of this with me and eat it there?”
“I… what?”
Hannah cracked up again. It’s nice to find someone who will laugh at your wacky antics.
“Okay, I received the message… What happens now?”
“I am to escort you directly to the palace… with your permission, of course,” the messenger explained.
Garfield and Hannah looked at each other.
“I know a shortcut.”
The pair stepped over to the confused messenger. “«Teleport».”
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The trio appeared just outside the main gate to the royal palace. The guards sprung to alert, then calmed down when they saw they recognized the new arrivals. Garfield’s group proceeded into the palace and the disoriented messenger went his separate way. Palace staff escorted Garfield to the large room where the hearing was recently held.
“Can you wait out here? I don’t think sidekicks are allowed into this type of meeting,” Garfield speculated.
Hannah’s face was covered but he could imagine her puffing up her cheeks, based on her other mannerisms and the noises she was making.
“I really shouldn’t spoil you so much, but fine. «Summon Item of Fancy: Summoner’s Cane».” Garfield stepped up to the entrance, leaning on his cane.
“Duke Garfield here. My back being what it is, I need my assistant to help me to my seat and stay with me.”
The guard tried to keep a straight face as he waved the two into the room. They were led to seats only one step removed in preference from where the King would sit.
“Finally, the guards are letting me go where I want without any arguing. The things I had to do to get to this point…”
The room filled up, and then the King joined them, flanked by the crown prince and first princess. Everyone took their seats as the King began speaking.
“As most of you already heard, the Tyrin Kingdom to the south has invaded our lands. Most likely, this is in response to the recent reorganization of territorial lines among domains in the Rox region.”
The King turned towards Garfield. “Duke, rest assured, these events were set into motion even before you were named as Lord over the majority of that region.”
Garfield nodded. The King continued addressing the group.
“Considering the delay in receiving messages from the southern border, the information we have might be quite outdated. The only intelligence we have is that an army of at least 25,000 soldiers, headed by a cavalry of at least 2,000, suddenly crossed the border and is marching on the provincial capital, Fork’s Crossing.”
‘It would look pretty bad if I asked the King right now whether or not that’s my city,’ Garfield figured.
“While we await further news, we need to make preparations to send out a punitive force and utterly defeat Tyrin’s expeditionary force. Count?”
Count Polonio stepped forward. “We currently have 3,000 cavalry and 10,000 soldiers readily available from Bretten and the surrounding areas. We could set out with those numbers tomorrow morning. Mustering forces from the other domains will take some time, so we can expect staggered reinforcements in the southern region.”
Garfield found listening to all the challenging logistics associated with medieval era warfare boring. He would need to avoid taking command of actual armies, somehow.
“Most likely, we will need to set up a siege around Fork’s Crossing. We should be able to hold it, even if the Tyrin Kingdom sends more forces. Of course, this depends on what reports we receive over the next day.”
The King nodded at the Count’s report.
“It seems to me we should have a force set out first thing in the morning, as Count Polonio suggested, but stop short of Fork’s Crossing. Some domains will reinforce directly to this muster location, while the distant domains will send forces directly to Fork’s Crossing to reinforce the siege. We shouldn’t risk succumbing to a counterattack by superior forces. Who should lead the main army?”
“It would be my honor to lead our forces on a mission to reclaim Duke Garfield’s city,” Count Polonio offered. Marquis Grosso spoke next.
“This is Duke Garfield’s battle, is it not? What does he think about the correct approach for repelling an assault on his territory?”
Most likely, this Marquis Grosso was not too happy about Garfield’s recent rise within the Kingdom. Surely, there were other nobles who felt similarly. Garfield didn’t want to get involved in any avoidable petty squabbling. All eyes turned to Garfield.
“Count Polonio, conservatively, how close could the enemy forces be to Fork’s Crossing right now?”
“If the cavalry stayed with the foot soldiers, I’d say they are still at least half a day out. If the cavalry went ahead, they could already be there, but even the standing forces at Fork’s Crossing should be able to buy considerable time against the cavalry.”
“I did not intend to use my unusual magic to so directly interfere in relations between this kingdom and its neighbors, but Tyrin Kingdom made the mistake of invading my domain. Frankly, I don’t want us all getting too dependent on my information-gathering abilities and the like, but I’ll make an exception today.”
Garfield turned towards Hannah and whispered, “Wait here one moment. «Teleport».”
Shouting erupted as everyone tried to figure out what had just happened. The King buried his face in his palms with a well-practiced motion. The first princess stood up and ran over to where Garfield had been sitting, mystified. Some nobles tried questioning Hannah about where the Duke went, but she just stayed quiet.
Returning about twenty seconds after departing, Garfield appeared right back in his seat. An arrow stuck out from his left shoulder. Some of the attendees gasped both at his sudden reappearance and at the presence of an obvious battle wound.
“It looks like the enemy cavalry set up an initial siege around Fork’s Crossing,” Garfield reported. “The foot soldiers are not there yet.”
“Duke, how did you take that arrow wound?” the King asked.
Garfield looked down at the arrow and pulled it out. “Friendly fire? They probably weren’t expecting their Duke to just appear like that…”
Garfield handed the arrow to Hannah. The crown prince broke into a laugh. “Yes, I imagine they weren’t!”
“Duke, are you truly okay?”
“Yes.”
The assembled group murmured at these developments. The King turned back to the Count.
“Based on that report from the Duke, what do you think we should do?”
The Count took a moment to steady his breathing after witnessing all of Garfield’s craziness. “I see no reason to revise your plan. Our next step should be to decide which domains will reinforce Fork’s Crossing and which domains will first report to the muster point north of the city.”
“Marquis Grosso, as I am new to my position, please allow me to clarify something,” said Garfield.
“Yes?”
“Who is primarily responsible for dealing with the current invasion?”
“As the Lord of that land, you are. The kingdom will provide support, as available. You must hold the lines until help arrives,” the Marquis explained.
“In that case, I will deal with this. As I said before, the Tyrin Kingdom made the mistake of terrorizing my domain.”
“Duke, what will you do?” the King asked.
“Father,” the first princess answered, “isn’t it clear he will summon creatures to repel the intruders? Isn’t that right, Duke?”
“Hm. That’s one possible solution, but I have a better idea. The Tyrin Kingdom won’t know what hit them. Literally. They won’t be able to see it.” Garfield put a hand on Hannah’s shoulder. “«Teleport».”
The instant disappearance of two people caused another small ruckus.
“Count, I’ve learned never to underestimate that man, but just in case, begin making the preparations we talked about. In the worst case, we’ll simply cancel the call to arms.”
“My King,” the Marquis interjected, “you truly believe the Duke can eliminate this threat with nothing but the standing forces at Fork’s Crossing?”
“Normally, I’d say there’s no way the Lord of Rox could do such a thing. However, I noticed that the Duke did not seem at all concerned about his chances of victory. I know not what he will do, but I’ve come to trust his judgment on what he can accomplish.”
“Even so…”
Many of the assembled nobles thought the same thing: “I envy his ability to instantly transport to and from his domain…”
“Father, it’s no accident you made Sir Garfield responsible for the territory most at risk of invasion, right?” the crown prince suggested.
The King refused to confirm the crown prince’s claim, but the corners of his mouth did tilt up slightly.
The group continued their detailed planning.