For King & Country | by Rebekah Bourg

General Summary

The sun shines once more on the City of Bridges, King Laird has enjoyed a miraculous restoration of mind and body, and the court has mostly coalesced under his command once more. Between hearing dispatches from the front and tending to the more mundane matters of domestic policy, King Laird spends much time in counsel with Omolade and various advisors reviewing recent events, trying to fill in his memories from his mad spell. Striped of much of her power, Lady Phoenix still haunts the castle, accompanied by her debonair new suiter, Count Everard. Little is known of this snollygoster, but few can long tolerate his presence without involuntary gagging. In order to avoid such unpleasantness, Brute, Saiylar, and Tala hasten to join their friends on the front lines. Teju elects to remain at the capital.
“I have plans,” she says quietly, indulging in a sly smile.
Shanna also remains in the capital, where she and Barlow are hard at work handing out pamphlets explaining the mission and brief history of the Order of the White Flame. Upon his return to the city, Brute brought nearly 300 potential recruits, whom he had gathered in the past few weeks, and now they all need to be vetted and all who qualify must to be inducted into the Order in an induction ceremony that must be created and arranged and held. Shanna has obtained official recognition for the Order from King Laird, as well as a grant of several acres of land on the outskirts of the city and any permits necessary to construct a house where the members will meet and where the Helm will be guarded when not in use.
After a week on the front lines, repelling unrelenting Draolian attacks with nothing but treacle to sustain his efforts, Dorian has maneuvered his recently united forces into a defensible position, but now faces the entire strength of the invading army. With Colonel Blaster harrowing the enemy on any front he very well chooses and friends newly arrived from the City of Bridges, the Ghan army poises for one more desperate battle. Dorian dispatches two elite squads of archers to flank the enemy on either side while he orders the main body into their center, dividing the Draolian army in two. The Colonel asks that troops be placed under his command because a major assault is about to begin and majors are below colonels, so it must be put down now. Four Guardian soldiers volunteer for the mission, and the small unit jogs to the location of the impending attack, where they are faced by General Greyback, a man well known as a ferocious fighter and great tactician, and who is now flanked by four of his elite soldiers and backed by a heavily-laden nano. Blaster is joined on the eve of battle by Brute, Saiylar, and Tala, who have just arrived in camp.
Howling a berserker battle cry, Blaster charges through the line and flings himself on the nano, swinging his axes wildly and to devastating effect. Greyback swings around, attacking first Blaster, then Brute. Saiylar closes with a Draolian warrior and the four Guardians each close with their man. From a safe distance, Tala levitates a warrior several yards up, then drops him on the general, leaving them stunned and shaken. Brute returns Greyback’s attack with interest. Blaster follows suit, striking Greyback and killing the nano in one smooth move. Turning back toward the others and shaking his battle axes above his head, he shouts, “Glory to the brave!” Meanwhile, back at the castle, Humphrey exercises his immunity to the nausea induced by exposure to Lady Phoenix and her suiter to great effect by partnering with Teju to spy on them. As Teju, in beetle form, stalks Phoenix, learning her habits, Humphrey has posted himself at the door of the lady’s suite, beaming at her whenever she comes by with greater adoration than Everard could ever muster. And no wonder, as Teju learns. This afternoon, thinking herself alone with Everard, Phoenix curtly orders the suave shyster to drop his pretense. “You are a horrendous suiter. Now, what to do about that wretch, Dorian? He’s supposed to be disgraced and dead right now.” Having heard enough, Teju scuttles out of the office to exchange news with Humphrey, and together they concoct a plan to get Humphrey close to the cursed couple, which they initiate immediately. Everard answers a knock at the door, but sees no one except Humphrey, who sweetly informs him that he wishes to serve the fair lady, and offers his services as a thief. Skeptical, Phoenix and Everard agree to take him up on his offer and task him with stealing a valuable trifle from the king’s room. “Nothing particular,” the Count says, twirling his mustache. “Just something that will be missed. And if you cross me,” he shakes Humphrey’s bottle, “I will cause you infinite suffering.” Being a ghost severely limits Humphrey’s mobility, so Teju transforms back into a beetle and pilfers a ring from the king’s chamber, which she passes off to Humphrey, who in turn delivers it to the Count. Duly impressed by the phantasmal felon, Everard allows Humphrey to accompany him, in his smelly satchel, as he rides out with Lady Phoenix, though he objects quite violently to playing chauffer to a beetle.
Messengers and aides sprint in and out of the command tent as Dorian orders a Guardian general to lead his forces around and attack the left half of the Draolian army from the rear, driving them forward into a narrow pass, then repeat with the right half. The general departs and as he leaves, Dorian glimpses a melee a quarter mile away, just as Saiylar crams something into her opponent’s helmet and stabs him through the visor. A banner hovers over General Greyback, but Dorian sees no pole holding it up. The others notice it, too, but are focused on the obvious threats on the ground. Brute backhands the blinded warrior, sending him sprawling. “Would you like to join the Order of the White Flame?” he asks the incapacitated soldier. “It is an organization dedicated to bringing peace through communication instead of people always resorting to war. Shanna says that’s good.”
“No,” the warrior splutters, but his refusal is drowned out by another howl of victory from Colonel Blaster, now standing over a prostrate General Greyback, who wipes the blood from his mouth and struggles to his knees. “I yield me,” the general pants. “You have bested me. By the rules of chivalry and warfare, I pray you accept my surrender.” He extends his sword, hilt first, to Blaster, who considers him through narrowed eyes, then nods and takes the sword. “We accept,” he says, and tests out the sword, which shoots a stream of fire from its point. “Huh,” he says. “Brute, do you like massive swords that shoot fire?”
“Yes, I do,” Brute replies, and accepts the sword, then picks up the general and as he extols the virtues of the Order of the White Flame, the entire group, victors and prisoners, walk to the command tent. Dorian formally accepts the surrender of Greyback, who sends word to the Draolian host ordering a ceasefire, then the injured men are taken to the hospital tent and their wounds tended to. During the walk and the conversation, Tala noticed that the banner followed the general wherever he went. Curious now, and not wanting an unknown object in the hospital tent, she uses telekinesis to pull it down. Greyback glares at the banner, then closes his eyes. He gasps, shudders, and dies. Unsure if his injuries, the banner, or the loss of the banner had killed him, Tala lights the wretched thing on fire. It shrieks, writhing in apparent pain, then flies swiftly away. Later that day, Lieutenant Greyback comes to solidify the ceasefire and collect the mortal remains of his older brother. Dorian explains the circumstances of the general’s death and offers his deepest condolences to the young man and his family. The lieutenant accepts, and they arrange for peace talks to take place as soon as possible. Blaster suspects a trap hidden behind so much speech, but everyone else seems satisfied, and Dorian sends word back to the capital.
King Laird and those with him hear the report gladly and he quickly sends for Shanna. “The Draolians have petitioned for a cessation of hostilities. We will begin peace talks as soon as we choose a time and place. Miss Northingham, is your organization prepared to oversee the peace talks? We politicians could all do with a turn wearing that helm of yours, so as to circumvent the usual circumlocution and duplicity.” “Sire,” Shanna replies, “we exist for the purpose of fostering peace. I would be honored to participate in the end of this war. Construction began this morning on a stable, so that we will be able to travel wherever and whenever we are needed.”

Report Date

18 Jun 2021