The Fall of Cadoria: After War Comes Betrayal

Chapter 4

"What do you mean it all hasn't been finished yet!?" Tyrran screamed in fury at the young junior logistics officer whose face had gone deathly shade of white in the face of Tyrran's anger. His two superior commanders watched on grim-faced yet unwilling to get involved. They had received the same treatment and used their rank to avoid Prince Tyrran's wrath.

"Erm, as I, Erm..." the junior officer began hesitantly.

"Come on, out with it! Or do you want to explain yourself to the Thargoẑans?" Tyrran interrupted impatiently. "Or perhaps to my head that they will kindly mount outside the city walls?" the officer's superiors murmured their agreement.

"Erm, as I, erm, told the colonel, we had problems finding sufficient ore in such a short space of time to give to the blacksmiths, Your Highness. We now have the ore," the officer nervously tried to explain, glancing briefly to his superior for help and receiving none.

"Which blacksmiths in Cadora have you sent the ore to?" Tyrran demanded, his fury subsiding slightly.

"Well, the ore isn't actually in Cadora. It wouldn't have arrived for another three days," the officer said with a monumental amount of trepidation. He closed his eyes and waited for Tyrran's onslaught.

Tyrran turned around and took his frustration out on a barrel by kicking hard, knocking it over with a crash as he did so, before asking with quiet fury through gritted teeth, "So where is it!? You just told me you had them!" Tyrran was getting more and more irate. They should have left that day, but a shortage of arrows had delayed them.

"Well, I thought that if the ore cannot get here in time, then I had them supplied to blacksmiths in towns and villages on route to Heldwr and we would pick them up on the way," the officer said timidly knowing he was in a huge amount of trouble.

"So, you're telling me that the arrows will be picked up on the way?" Tyrran's voice softened, and his eyes narrowed as he considered the young officer's simple solution to what potentially could have been a major problem.

"Yes, Your Highness," the officer replied, hopeful now that he had talked himself out of a punishment which probably would have involved a beating, possibly from Prince Tyrran himself.

"Excellent, good work! If you survive the invasion, you will get a promotion," Tyrran said happily, his anger disappearing. Turning towards the officer's superiors he said as he slapped the young officer on the back, "That is the kind of thinking on your feet I want! You two could learn from this man," and he walked off he ordered, "We are leaving tomorrow!"

The young officer's heavy sigh of relief stopped in his throat as he saw his superiors glaring at him not appreciating being made to look bad in front of their commander-in-chief by their subordinate.

As commanded by Tyrran the Cadorian army marched out of Cadora the following day. Priests of the god Cador led the soldiers in prayer for his protection before a visibly calm and confident-looking Prince Tyrran rose in his saddle and shouted "Forward" waving his arm towards the city gates as he did so. Excited crowds lined the streets watching them as they began their journey south to Heldwr Fort. The cries of "Glory to Cadoria" filled the air. Expectation was high of another victory. The army made of men, horses and steel made a rhythmic noise as it marched out of Cadora, blue and yellow flags fluttering above it.

At the sound of the Cadorian army approaching, Cadorians living in the villages on the road to Heldwr Fort lined the roads. Ordinary Cadorians, as was custom, brought out baskets of food to give the brave soldiers going to defend their country. The Cadorian army was fortunate that Thargoẑa had decided to invade in autumn because the harvest had already been brought in and there was plenty of food to spare. Prince Tyrran dropped back from the head of the column to talk to and personally thank some of the villagers.