“We have found him.” Rhydian said. And Braydon didn’t need anything more than that to know what Rhydian was talking about. There was only one person that they needed to find and Braydon was the most invested in wanting to see Viscount Sharpe caught. Though the King was a close second.

“And since you have come to me so soon, there must be something that can be done about it.” Braydon both liked and disliked where the conversation was going. It would mean that he would likely be able to fight on the battlefield. But it would also mean that Cinar was in danger of being attacked from both sides if he did not manage to get there in time.

“How far from Cinar is he?” Braydon needed to ask. If Sharpe had gotten too close, there was no use in sending a small contingent to try and catch him, the whole army would be a better choice. But if he was quite far away, then only a small contingent was necessary. And that was the key difference, Duke Ryder would surely try to take advantage of any over commitment or under commitment that they made. And he would have the information, Viscount Sharpe was definitely not the only spy that he had in their camp. Not after all of the northeastern lords joined their side.

“He took a roundabout path to try and avoid detection, but our scouts have still managed to find him. That means we have the ability to overtake him if we take the road directly to Wathamalin.” Rhydian smiled mirthlessly at Viscount Sharpe’s attempt to avoid detection.

“Then I presume that you are giving me first blood?” Rhydian would have brought it up to the King first if he did not intend for Braydon to be the one reining in the runaway viscount.

“That is my intention. After all, this did start because of your conflict with him, I do not think that anyone would disagree.” Rhydian said that but they both knew that capturing or killing Viscount Sharpe was more than just a matter of personal honour for Braydon at this point. It was a matter of treason and getting the upper hand in the civil war. And that would bring far more honour to Braydon than defeating a man who slighted him.

“Well then, it would seem like I will have to drop what I am doing and prepare my men to march.” Braydon was more than happy about that. A good half of his tasks were just dealing with other lords in the army camp, something that he was more than glad to leave behind.

“And I shall go and inform the King, And I will also be sending out a contingent to protect from attacks across the river further south. For all we know this could just be a diversion that Duke Ryder is trying to set up.” Rhydian said as he turned to leave, letting Braydon get on with preparing his men to march out. Everyone knew that Duke Ryder was not above abandoning pawns if it meant that he could gain more of an advantage, Viscount Sharpe was not the first and would likely not be the last.

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“You hear that boys! We are moving out. Get a move on. I want to be ready to leave as soon as possible. We have an enemy to catch.” Braydon shouted, setting the troops in his camp into motion. The sooner that they would move out, the sooner he could be on the battlefield and away from the menial jobs that he needed to do.

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“So you want Braydon to go and deal with him?” King Aled could tell that Rhydian was playing favourites but he had nothing to complain about. Either way Viscount Sharpe needed to be caught, and so long as it was done he was happy. Even better if it was someone from his faction.

“Exactly. Though I also intend to have a couple thousand men guarding the river further south still.” Rhydian said, fully intent on following through with the suggestion that Nela made. Since he had said that they needed to prepare for all possible outcomes, he would do exactly that.

“That all seems fine enough, but whom should we choose to lead them?” The Kind would be more than happy to have someone from their faction lead this group but there would certainly be objections from the northeastern lords if they did. Considering that it was people from the royal faction in charge of both the main army and the defence of the bridge, they would need to choose someone from the northeast. The problem was who to choose.

“Would it be a bit on the nose to suggest Earl Downs?” Rhydian asked. He knew that the earl had been opposed to sending men to protect the river but Earl Downs was one of the best choices from the northeastern lords.

“You would have to ask him yourself, I do not think that forcing him to take the role would do us any good. It would definitely damage morale if he was opposed to it.” The King saw how thorny such a selection could be. If there were a good second option he would prefer it, but the independent minded nature of many of the lords from the region meant that they did not interact much with those from elsewhere in the Kingdom. Not to mention that they rarely took up commanding roles in any of the wars that Fiveria had been involved in.

“I will go and ask him. If he refuses I may have one or two people in mind but I am not sure about their ability to lead a few thousand men effectively.” Rhydian knew that Braydon had positive relations with a couple of the northeastern lords that he could possibly choose, but he would rather go for known competence over good relations.

“And I presume that you have already informed your liege about Viscount Sharpe?” The King did not have to have been told to know as much. It was obvious that Rhydian would have gone to tell Braydon about Viscount Sharpe’s whereabouts if he wanted Braydon to be the one to chase him down.

“He is already preparing.” Rhydian smiled.

“Then you may go and seek out Earl Downs, I want to know who will be leading our men by the Harmony as soon as possible.” The King dismissed Rhydian to let him get on with his tasks.

“Certainly, Your Majesty.” Rhydian bowed before he left to go find Earl Downs.