Casus Belli Ch. 02: Fortunes of War

She felt a lump in her throat, "Thank you Denora, and please thank the other girls for me too."

That got her a loving smile, and then Vala and Syldan burst into the room, and the usual getting up ritual started. They bathed her and then started dressing her, by which time Polly came in with some sandwiches and a glass of milk on a small serving tray. "Your breakfast, milady," the petite blonde smiled.

Normally breakfast was made by the cooks in one of the keep's huge kitchens, and served up by servants in her quarters' dining room. But it was way past breakfast time, and what Polly presented wasn't made by the cooks for sure. A small kitchen was part of her private chambers, but while fully equipped it was usually only used by her maidens for making tea and preparing anything that went with it, up to now at least... She lifted the top slice of bread of one of the sandwiches by its corner, and found what looked like grilled chicken on lettuce, covered with something that looked like white butter. "You made this yourself?" she asked her junior maiden, feeling doubtful.

Polly nodded proudly, and there was no way she could ask for something else. So she picked up one of the sandwiches and took a careful bite, and was pleasantly surprised. It was roasted chicken indeed, and the 'butter' tasted a bit like egg yolk. She took a second much less modest bite, it was delicious!

She looked at Polly questioningly. "It's something I learned from my grandmother," the girl beamed, "She was Lorasian, it's a Lorasian recipe. That sweet-sour sauce is called mayon, it's made from egg yolk and oil."

Cassandra took another bite and moaned softly while munching it down, "I'm going to send for my master cook, and then you're going to show her how to make this mayon stuff. It's amazing!" she managed between bites.

Polly's eyes widened at that. "Just don't get it on your dress milady," Syldan chuckled behind her while lacing her up.

"And don't get too fond of it," Vala added, "because if you do you might end up needing roomier dresses..." That remark caused a general bout of laughter, and she joined in with gusto. Laughing felt good in these troubled times.

***

The day slowly passed, and no courier showed. Her father seemed undisturbed, and she told herself that no news was good news, but the lack of information resulted in another night of tossing and turning nevertheless. The next day passed slowly too, and then, at dusk, just before dinner, the trumpets announced someone important arriving. Cassandra could only think of one thing; Brando. She flew to the southeast facing windows of her living room, and arrived just in time to witness three horsemen come in through the main gate. They were in uniform, and one of them was toting a Nigawan army banner, but even in the dwindling light she could see Brando wasn't among them. That was when she realized that, nowadays, couriers were important people too.

She hurried out of her chambers, through her quarters, and down the spiral stairs to her father's quarters one floor below. When she came bursting out of the staircase she ran into the courier, who apparently had come up the grand stairs less than thirty feet away. The lieutenant looked tired, and surprised. "Do you bring news from Windagon?" she asked without preamble.

He smiled, "Yes, but that's destined for the Kang your highness..." He hadn't stopped walking, and she fell in beside him. When they turned the corner, just a short distance away, the guards on duty opened the massive wooden doors leading into her father's quarters to let them in. Entering the quarters the courier pulled a folded piece of paper from his dusty coat, "Someone did ask me to deliver a note to the most beautiful girl in the castle. Would you happen to know who that is, Pryoness?"

She felt this enormous weight lift, and the tears came without warning. The lieutenant stopped and placed his hand on her shoulder, "He had a busy day yesterday, but he was okay when I left this morning, your highness, just a few scrapes here and there."

She blanched, and her voice trembled, "Scrapes?"

The lieutenant grinned, "We're fighting orcs milady, bruises and scrapes are part of the job." She sniffled. "Really, he was in good shape this morning," the lieutenant added, smiling encouragingly. She nodded, and they continued down the hallway, towards the guarded reception room leading into her father's chambers.

The Kang was waiting for them there, and led them to his study, where the lieutenant delivered his report. As it turned out the orcs had attacked at dawn the previous day, as expected. They had tried to take the city's eastern gate the same way they had done at Bragstone, with their flying beasts, using the rising sun to blind the archers the Drak had deployed with just such an attack in mind. It had been close, but they had still thwarted the attack, after which the orcs had switched to a more conventional approach. They had brought up these huge armored beasts, multi ton monstrosities, with the clear purpose of forcing the gate.

Their brutal assault had continued for hours, and around noon they had finally succeeded in breaching the gate, after which this huge running battle had developed in the part of the city located north of the river. "The orcs proved very strong and ferocious fighters, but we had a considerable numerical advantage, which just sort of balanced things out, so we held them," the lieutenant explained, "until night fell..."

With the diminishing light they had discovered that orcs could see rather well in the dark, much better than humans. And so the earlier balance had changed, and they had started losing men and terrain at an alarming rate. It had forced the decision to fall back behind the river, but in the chaos and the darkness a lot of units had been out of contact with headquarters. So the Drak had decided to cross the river and organize the retreat from the front. It had largely worked, and they had gotten most of the surviving forces back across the river safe, but in the final phase the orcs had caught up with them.

The engineers had already prepared both largely wooden bridges across the Rodian for torching days before the orc attack started, with oil and tar. The eastern one was going up in a hellish blaze already when the command staff, overseeing the retreat, had suddenly found themselves the rear guard protecting the western bridgehead. In the mayhem that followed the Drak had been severely wounded by an orcish arrow. "That's when Sir Boruga acquired some scrapes, Pryoness," the lieutenant addressed her. "He and his personal guard counter-charged the orcs, so the others could retrieve the wounded Drak, and evacuate him across the bridge. The western bridge went up just minutes later while the rearguard was retreating across it. It was a hell of a spectacle..."

Cassandra felt faint, 'cross my heart and hope to die,' he had said, when he promised her to be careful. I'm so going to rip him a new one when he gets back, she thought.

The lieutenant continued to explain how, with the bridges out and the Rodian being a really formidable obstacle in spring, they had noticed the orcs sending large parts of their army both east and west along the river at dawn, no doubt to look for another crossing. "There are none between Windagon and The Forks in the west, and Bagman's Crossing in the east," her father remarked.

The lieutenant nodded, "Exactly, your highness, and there are no roads along the northern banks of the river either, just swamps and marches, so it will take the orcs days to get there. With the Drak seriously wounded, Sir Boruga took command. When I left Windagon this morning he was splitting the army, with the purpose of defending both crossings. He told me that once he had the army on its way he would be heading back to Iriskan, to consult with you. If everything goes to plan he will be arriving at Bromodin around noon tomorrow."

Relief hit her, and a trembling sigh escaped her; they stopped the orcs, sort of, and Brando was safe, for now... She excused herself, declining her father's dinner invitation in the process, and managed not to open Brando's note until she was again in the privacy of her own chambers. She sat down on one of the couches in the living room to read it. Basically it told the same story the courier had, but with less words, and the part of him playing the hero, and nearly getting himself killed, was missing of course. She whimpered softly at the thought, then startled as Denora sat herself down next to her, she had neither heard nor seen her coming. "Is he okay?" her senior maiden asked, concerned.

She locked eyes with her, "Yes, he is. It was just... I found out, from the courier, that he has been playing the hero, and nearly got himself killed." She trembled, "I'm mad and relieved at the same time. Mad that he took the risk, and relieved that he survived."

Denora smiled softly, "Men will be men, especially young ones like him. And he's fighting a war, against an enemy that means you harm. You mustn't be too harsh on him, milady."

Cassandra swallowed, "You're right, he can't fight a war without taking risks. It's just... I'm so afraid something will happen to him."

Denora was just three years older, but the difference had never felt as huge as it did now, she leaned into her, "Please hold me?"

Soft arms slid around her, "You're going to get through this milady; we're all going to get through this."

They sat like that for a while, and she slowly regained her balance. When she did she straightened, and her maiden's arms slipped away from her, "Thank you Denora," she whispered.

Her maiden smiled softly, "It's what I'm here for milady, to take care of you." She answered her smile with one of her own, and Denora cocked her head, "Weren't you supposed to have dinner with your father?"

She nodded slowly, "Yes, but I excused myself. I'm not that hungry anyway."

Denora frowned, "You'll have to eat something..."

Cassandra bit her lip, "Do you think Polly could..."

Denora chuckled, "Make you a couple of those extra special sandwiches of hers?" She nodded enthusiastically, and her maiden rose form the couch, "I'll go and check with her milady, but I don't know if she'll be able to get all the ingredients..."

As it turned out Polly wasn't able to get all the needed ingredients, so she got another version of Polly's specialty, this time with smoked trout instead of grilled chicken, which tasted pretty awesome too. Afterwards she had a little gathering with all of her maidens, and a large bottle of Lorasian red, during which she told them about everything that had happened at Windagon the day before. When she came to the part of Brando's heroics the girls all held their breath, and then gasped when she told them about the 'scrapes' he apparently sustained.

She looked at Denora, "I know he's fighting a war, but I'm going to kick his butt anyway: he has other responsibilities too." She swallowed, "Like marrying a Pryoness, and getting her pregnant, for instance. He's not going to be able to do that if he gets himself killed."

There was giggling and flushed faces at that, and Syldan's melodious voice sounded softly, "After the wedding, are you going to..., immediately I mean?"

She nodded, "Yes, it's my duty." Then she giggled herself, "But I don't mind... I'm looking forward to having Brando's babies." The girls got doe-eyed looks on their faces, except for Polly, who looked uncertain. She locked eyes with her, "What's bothering you Polly?"

The petite blonde hesitated, "When you're married, and with child, you won't need maidens anymore, won't you?"

Cassandra looked at the faces surrounding her, and smiled softly, "I'm not going to do without you lot..." She shrugged, "Do you girls really think a Pryoness is going to change all those nappies herself?"

Maneuvers

Casandra slept much better that night, and when she woke her first thought concerned Brando. Her eyes darted up to the wall mounted chronometer; it was ten to eight, so at least four hours still to go, Maybe he's early... As it turned out, he wasn't, and she was climbing up the walls by the time the trumpets finally announced his arrival, at close to two. Compared to the last time she had dashed down the halls to meet up with him, the castle was empty. She met him at the stables, and her eyes checked him anxiously, finding nothing out of the ordinary "The courier said you were wounded!"

He chuckled and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her, "I got nicked by a sword on my arm, and an arrow scratched my leg, that's all, I'm okay!"

She felt her eyes moistening, "You promised to be careful!" her voice sounding strained.

He kissed the top of her head, "I was, but war isn't without risks. You want us to win, right?"

She nodded, then looked up at him, and their lips met. They kissed, gently at first, then more hungrily, one of his hands sliding down her back and grabbing a pert buttock. She pulled out of the kiss, "Brando!" while her eyes checked the surroundings, and met those of a stable boy, who quickly looked away, blushing. The hand disappeared, "Not in public!" she hissed, feeling herself getting wet.

Her lover smiled meekly, "Sorry honey, I couldn't help myself..."

She hugged him close, melting into him, "I missed you... And I was so worried..."

He nuzzled her hair, and his voice sounded apologetic, "I'll have to consult with your father now, it can't wait."

She nodded her understanding, and they walked out of the stables holding hands, then crossed the courtyard and ascended the large steps leading into the keep. They were the only way inside, and they connected to the first floor. The ground floor was windowless, and consisted mainly of storage and utility spaces, like the kitchens. They entered through the large wooden doors, which led into the vast entry hall, and there took the huge ceremonial stairs to the second floor. The south-east hallway then led them to her father's quarters.

The guards opened up the wooden doors the moment they noticed the two of them coming around the corner. They followed the hallway further down towards her father's private chambers, where another pair of guards opened another set of wooden doors for them, granting them access to the chambers' reception room. The male servant on duty rose from behind the reception desk when they entered, "Your father is in his study Pryoness."

She smiled at the man, "Thank you Gabrin," and then led Brando through the doors leading into the private hallway connecting the various chambers.

The doors into the study were open and her father looked up from behind his huge tarkan wooden desk as she entered, "Hi sweetheart, and hello Brando." He smiled, "I already expected the two of you to show up together."

They sat themselves down in the two padded armchairs in front of the desk and Brando started his report. "I'm a bit later than expected because we took the Drak with us to Iriskan, to get him to the main army hospital at the barracks. He took an arrow to the chest, and it doesn't look good. I'm afraid we're going to lose him, and even if we don't, he isn't going to lead troops in this war again."

The Kang winced, and she felt sorrow. Sir Tregan was a really nice man, and very loyal to her father. "I hope he makes it," she said, and her father nodded his agreement.

Brando sighed, "Him being out of action weakens us. The staff is very capable, but the Drak is a tactical genius." He shrugged, "I assume you already know the orcs split their army in two, and are advancing both up and downstream along the river. They left only a couple of hundred warriors behind in the part of Windagon they took. I suppose we could retake it, if there was an easy way to cross the river. But the Rodian is at its highest level currently, and the only way across would be by using the barges, but I'm not willing to risk them."

The Kang nodded, "Good call, and retaking the northern part of Windagon has no priority anyway. We have more urgent matters at hand."

Brando agreed with him, "Yes, I split up the army, sending one half downstream along the river under the command of Colonel Baldrin, and the other half upstream along the river under command of Colonel Kiran, copying the orcs' movement, to prevent them from crossing wherever they might try to do so."

The Kang stood, walked over to one of the cabinets against the walls and retrieved a large map, which he then proceeded to spread out on top his desk. Brando stood to join him, and she followed suit. The map was a topographical one, showing the northern half of Nigawa. Her father pointed at the road leading west from Windagon, along the Rodian's southern bank, all the way to The Forks, basically two river confluences close behind each other. "Baldrin will be arriving at the The Forks long before the orcs do, and the bridges' static defenses combined with the marshland surrounding them will make for a relatively easy defense."

His hand moved upstream of Windagon along the Rodian. "There's no road here, but the southern bank makes for easier travel than the marshy northern one, so Kiran should be able to reach Bagman's crossing before the orcs do. But there are no static defenses there to aid him, and it's solid ground, making for easy troop movement. This is the weak point in our defenses now." His hand moved down to Iriskan, then up along the road to Cardonan, a city at the foot of the Leviathans, which passed the Rodian at Bagman's crossing.

"An army coming up from Iriskan could easily beat both Kiran and the orcs to Bagman's crossing," he said. Then he grinned, "It could cross the Rodian and take up position in the hills just north of the crossing, out of sight of any orcs coming upstream along the river."

Brando chuckled, "And attack the orcs from the rear once they have engaged Kiran's troops defending the crossing. Good plan, but we don't have an army at Iriskan." He locked eyes with her father, "Or have we?"

Her father nodded, "After we got the news of Bragstone's demise I recalled any troops we could still siphon from the Loras and Mercandon borders to Iriskan, as a reserve. It's just three thousand men or so, but militia units from all over Nigawa have also been arriving. Those are second rate troops at best, but they increase the numbers to close to seven thousand. It should be enough to unhinge the orc attack against Kiran's forces, and then enable the combined forces to beat them."

His finger moved over the map again, traced back along the road to Iriskan, and from there along the road to The Forks. "The victorious army could then move to The Forks rapidly, to reinforce Baldrin. With the army reunited again we should have a large enough numerical advantage to launch out from the bridgehead and overwhelm the other half of the orc army. Or at least beat them back to the negotiation table..."

It looked like a great plan, and Casandra felt relieved, then her eye fell on the road leading north east from Windagon, then across the Leviathans to Cardonan, and from there south to Bagman's Crossing. She pointed at it with a slender finger, "Can't the orcs take this road?"

Her father smiled at her, "Well observed sweetheart. But with one half of the orc army moving west along the Rodian, and the other half moving east along it, there are no halves left to take this detour to Bagman's crossing. And even if there were, they would have to use Crows Pass to get across the Leviathans to Cardogan. That's a major bottleneck, especially for an army sized force."

She nodded slowly, it looked to be a difficult road indeed, and much longer than the distance from Windagon to Bagman's Crossing along the river bank. "Alright," she said, "good plan then."