The Violet Flamberge

Inferno Flamberge: Chapter 20

A/N: Remember, I still need reviews on The Crimson Claymore and The Chronicles of Starlyn on Amazon & Goodreads. If you get a chance, please leave me a review, I'd appreciate it. Thanks for reading, and as always, if you catch any mistakes in this chapter, or any improvements needed, please let me know. Thanks (:

Chapter 20

Arria limped into Guerettos, hand resting on the hilt of her flamberge. Bandages covered her arms and legs. Pain throbbed through her body with each step. She paused as Adnevia strode toward her.

"How did we do, captain?"

"We have taken Guerettos completely. Everyone has surrendered. All the men are in chains, and all the women are being worked to clean up the villages."

"And the one-handed man?"

Adnevia's head drooped. "We never found him."

Arria frowned. "I see."

"During your absence, we have taken over Wesiet as well."

Arria smiled. "That is good news."

"We now have the northern villages. All of them." Adnevia smiled.

"We will need to rest," Arria said. "Then we will take over the southern cities."

"Excellent," Adnevia said

"Gather the Ikchani leaders. We will have a meeting to discuss our plans for taking over the South."

Adnevia nodded, turned, and strode away, her cape fluttering in the wind behind her.

Arria walked over to her dragon. The beast was healing up nicely, much swifter than her. His wound was already closed up, but the scales were still soft. Arria reached her hand out and stroked the magnificent beast. A low rumble came from the beast, a sound of pleasure. Arria smiled.

Clanking metal echoed in Arria's ears. She turned around to find five women bowing to her. Arria motioned to the table she had prepared. Everyone sat, Arria finding her seat last at the head of the table.

First, Arria glanced at the dark-skinned Nyeverra. "Well done today, Nyeverra. I heard you struck down the kheshlarn leader."

Nyeverra shifted, her brown leather armor making a sound as she dipped her head forward. "It was my pleasure."

Arria grinned at her statement . "I know man y of you had a large part in our effort, and I appreciate each one of you. Adnevia, you did a wonderful job leading the charge. Nyeverra, your archery is superb, as is your leadership with our long range warriors. Elainya, you did a fantastic job infiltrating them, as well as fighting them today. You did not let your guard down, despite how tired you must feel. Viero, you fought well, crafting spells left and right, as well as using your dagger to strike down many men. I am grateful for each one of you. But, this is only the beginning. I know many of you have been plotting for years to take over this land. The north was easy. We lost many Ikchani here, but this was still easy. They do not have a solid army here. The south will be hard. I will need more from each one of you."

They all nodded.

"As I've said, you all have been planning this far longer than I have. I am open for ideas, if they are good. What do you all think? What do you think is the best way to infiltrate Legain?"

Adnevia coughed into her hand.

"Yes, Adnevia?" Arria asked.

"The last time we brought chaos to Legain, it was done subtly. We did not storm in with weapons. We slipped into the city and attended a ball. While there, we distracted several of the nobles as we shifted documents and trinkets. It brought confusion to the hierarchy to Legain for several years."

Arria clenched her teeth. "We need to take over the south ... not confuse them. What you're talking about will take time. "

"Yes. We have been slow to action while we build. It is better we take a careful step rather than rush in. That is why men will fail at rule. They are not cautious. They are not careful. Fools rush in."

"We do not want to be foolish, but we don't want to take several years to take over the south either. We have the force now to do it."

"Still ... we need to be careful," Adnevia paused. "Elainya, do you still have those letters?"

Elainya bit her lip. "They are back at camp."

"We will need to return to camp anyway to bring more Ikchani with us. We cannot hope to defeat the south with our force. We will need everyone."

"What letters?" Arria asked.

"Several years ago, when we brought chaos to Legain, we stole dozens of documents from the king. A few we let slip through the city to bring further chaos, but others, we kept. There are a lot of good information. Some of them are love letters from the king to various women who he should not be involved with. Married women from high noble houses. Others are contracts, very skewed ones in his favor, many contradictory to others he made with other families. If these documents get loose, it could create a bit of chaos before we arrive with our force."

Arria raised a brow.

"Isn't the king dead?" Viero asked.

Adnevia bit her lip. "Yes. It won't stir as much as it would have, but that may also tip the hat in our favor. This new king is very new. He was the duke ... and only because the previous duke conveniently disappeared."

Elainya stifled a laugh.

"Before he was a duke, he was a captain," Adnevia continued. "In fact, if I remember correctly, Viero; you have met him before."

Viero lifted her eyebrows in question.

"His name is Noraes. His brother, Searon, was the captain of Legain, but I believe he was absent the night we infiltrated Legain. His brother, Noraes, stood in his place."

Vireo's eyes lit up. "Yes ... I do remember meeting him. I definitely wouldn't forget that night."

"Perhaps you can pay him a visit after we send the letters out. The letters should distract him plenty, especially when several dozen farmers and nobles demand his attention after receiving contracts of the previous king offering another the same thing they offered them. They will demand he explain why they've been betrayed. But, you could bring even more distraction to him right before we strike. Perhaps ... you could even silence him for good ... if you get the chance."

Viero smiled. "It would be my pleasure."

"Let's draft a few more ideas and bring to them to Divinity at camp and see what she has to say."

"Divinity is no longer your leader. I am," Arria said.

Adnevia tilted her head. "We understand, Arria. But there is a reason we trust Divinity. For one, she has led us for years, and we have grown quite a bit because of it. For two, she was the duke's daughter, and knows a lot about the politics in Legain. Her insight could be invaluable."

Arria sighed. "All right. We will have another counsel meeting when we arrive back at camp. But we shouldn't take long. Let's place a few Ikchani women in charge of these northern villages, and be off. We should not delay."

"Who should we put in charge?" Adnevia asked.

"I will leave that up to you, Adnevia. Find capable women, but not our best. We will need all of our best with us for our attack of Leagin."

"What about our injured?" Adnevia asked.

"Have Elainya and Viero heal them the best they can, but leave them behind. If they need time to heal, they can help keep the north in order. We don't need them slowing us down. They can be useful here."

"Agreed," Adnevia said.

"Let's get to work," Arria said.

A/N: Remember, I still need reviews on The Crimson Claymore and The Chronicles of Starlyn on Amazon & Goodreads. If you get a chance, please leave me a review, I'd appreciate it. Thanks for reading, and as always, if you catch any mistakes in this chapter, or any improvements needed, please let me know. Thanks (: