Steel Wolf

Help Arrives

The Blood Shadows had appropriated a two-story house across from the park. A few elves had volunteered to stand watch as they slept, foremost among them was Shalindra Dragonspring. The Royal Guard and subsequently the Blood Guard had earned a life debt from her when they had saved her from certain death in the tunnels beneath Ouranos Village. Although the death of Alderus had seriously abated the troll threat, the brief fight had taken practically all of the Blood Shadows' energies.

Tanaya pulled Shalindra aside, briefly telling her what she might see during the vigil. If any of the Blood Shadows showed signs of disturbance in their sleep, they were to be awoken immediately...preferably from a distance. She was to watch the healer, Giselle Rivers, almost exclusively.

"Giselle," called Tanaya, "do you need your moon shard?"

"Yes please, Commander," said the young woman. "With Shalindra watching over me, I don't think it'll be a problem. I should be ready to go when we wake up this afternoon."

"The Grass moon is two nights away," reminded Agrim. "We were warned not to wear them that night."

"Correct, good sir," replied Tanaya. "We'll need to move from the park at that time since we don't know what effect it will have on us. I'll ask Rance to hold them while we're gone. For now, everyone needs rest. A lot of rest. I've informed Shalindra to wake us immediately if she senses any changes in us. Sleep well, Blood Shadows. Unto Death."

-o0o-

Sometime during the day, two full regiments of Regular Military troops arrived and set up outside the city walls. Their healers, blacksmiths, and alchemical mages got immediately to work on the troops of the city, giving the Royal Guards a very welcome break.

Half of the first regiment on-scene surrounded the park shoulder-to-shoulder as the Royal Guards collapsed from exhaustion.

A squad of privates had been sent to retrieve the Queen Consort for debriefing. They were met by several elves bearing wicked looking bows and told in no uncertain terms that she and her squad were not to be disturbed.

Next came a squad of sergeants, led by a lieutenant. The lieutenant tried to bargain with the elves, stating the great need to speak with Her Highness regarding the present situation.

No dice.

Two majors showed up on horseback and were quickly sent away with arrows protruding from the sides of their helms. Precise shots by the elves made the unaided removal of the helms impossible. The helmets had to be cut off.

General Esk Registon finally had the sense to find Rance in his command tent, and ask to speak to Tanaya, eyeing the grotesque head on a spear as he did so.

"Let's put this together, General Registon," said Rance, a fresh bandage on the stump of his leg. "Her Highness left Pathwood Keep several days after your troops. Her squad traveled all this way, unaided, arriving early in the evening yesterday. I remind the general that's almost a full day ahead of you and your troops. Now, General, eleven people immediately went to work planning an operation to destroy the Arch Second of the Hand of Five. An operation that would take your best intelligence officers a good month to plan and both of your regiments to pull off. Then, sir, under their own power and initiative, without any form of support, those same eleven people carried out their plan of attack. They accomplished their mission with but a single loss. Less than eight hours after their arrival here. Let that sink in for a minute, sir. Then, let me know if you still wish to wake the queen consort for a chat."

"Just tell her to speak with me the moment she awakens," ordered the general.

"This is the queen consort we're talking about, General," Rance replied coolly. "In case the general missed the memo on it, the queen consort is the wife of Queen Serenna Newlander. I don't know or care what that means to you, but to me, it means that Her Highness does things in her own time. Not yours. Not mine. I will be more than happy to relay your request for a conference, but I refuse to tell her to do anything." He inhaled deeply to signal a change of subject. "On a different note, sir, thank you for resupplying my troops and augmenting the perimeter. It's very much appreciated. My own troops had to resort to foraging in abandoned homes for food. There are many residents still living here. They'll need help rebuilding this city, but I'm sure it will not be as active as it once was."