Snowdrops
rivaan
Foster
WindingWay
Phase
SaltSight
Little Bird
BrokenPromise
Single Malt
Shazamrock “I suppose so. I just wish we could make sure that no one had to lose anyone to war and death.” She said with a shrug. “I guess it would be a good way of thinking, that your gods, or higher beings, would come to take you away. With that belief, you wouldn’t have to fear for your life, you might fear the pain that it would bring when you got struck by a weapon or bitten by an orc and so on, but death itself would not inflict fear upon you, it would just be, as you say, another beginning for another journey.” She said with a smile. “I like that thought, even if it’s not what the people here believe in, though maybe some of them would change their believes if they heard the stories.” She said with a small nod again, taking a sip of her red wine again. It was interesting to hear about the life that Chalsea had lived so far, also a bit sad, as she seemed to not have had the easiest life, but she was still alive and kicking and it seemed like nothing was going to bring her down. At least at the moment, it all depended on what the future would bring for them.
“Out here, we don’t get molded into living tough lives like that. What we do learn is to hunt and hide effectively. As you know and have seen, the steppes doesn’t offer much in the way of hiding and camouflage, but we have learned to use the environment to our advantage and create equipment that can let us hide from the enemy out on the steppes. Though it does take some preparations, which is why we have outposts throughout the steppes, with someone always staying at the post. Sadly though, the orcs had somehow gotten close without being noticed, which should not have been possible, but they did. Some of the outposts were destroyed in the blink of an eye, but it was thanks to another five outposts and the soldiers stationed there, that we had time to get the soldiers out of the city and engage the orcs in battle before they breached the walls. They didn’t sacrifice themselves for nothing, and for that I’m grateful.” She stated, taking another sip of her wine. “I’m not going to ask you what their intentions were, as I’m sure I can guess what they thought they could get, but I’m glad that you knew how to defend yourself and made sure that you didn’t get hurt.” She stretched her legs above the water for a moment, before moving them back into the bathtub again.
“I have to admit though, that the term ‘Dogs of War’ sounds pretty intriguing. It’s a status that lets people know what you do and what you stand for. At the same time, they know that you can hold yourself in a battle, as most mercenary groups of your size would have engaged in many different battles and jobs. It gives you respect and some probably fear you as well, but it’s still intriguing.” She smiled gently at Chalsea. “But I can understand if it can be an annoyance at times. It is a branding as much as a status as well. But if you have your honor and your pride, as you say you and your warband does, then it’s all that you are required to keep a satisfied way of living.” She smiled again. Chalsea, a mercenary leader with more stories to her life than you could guess. In many ways, they were the same, at least that’s what Adalia thought. They both had pasts that were filled with different stories and experiences. The difference was that Adalia didn’t remember her past. She wasn’t exactly sure when she started remembering things, but she knew it was before she became Queen Adalia, and she knew that it was at some point while she was in the White Stone city as a citizen, or maybe not a citizen, maybe something else, but she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she started remembering when she was in the White Stone city.
“After the funeral, we will set up long tables at the middle of the marketplace. We will move the stalls that are there, and everyone in the city is invited to come and join in. We will all gather there for drinking and eating, and don’t worry, your soldiers are more than welcome to drink there. They can also go to the bars and pubs, but the soldiers will start at the funeral before going to the bars and pubs, as they want to honor their fallen comrades before the day is over.” She stated with a nod. “I’m sorry for your loss, I didn’t have time to see if you lost any men, and I thought you didn’t take any losses. While it’s not your tradition, my men will have your two soldiers in their prayers tonight. That is not something you can take away from them.” She smiled, taking a deep breath and letting it out. Company like this was rare to come by, and it seemed that Chalsea was enjoying herself as well, which was a good thing. If Chalsea decided to stay, Adalia had a few secrets she might want to share with her, secrets that very few people in the city knew about, and that she had wanted to discuss with someone else. But for now, she would wait and see how Chalsea behaved for the next few weeks.
“Well, at least you did wake up again. But I understand that the stench and the pile of corpses probably wasn’t the best way of waking up.” She shrugged. “A bloodbath of that size would make anyone throw up I agree. The rush of battle is something everyone feels, but it’s different from person to person I believe. Some think more clearly, while others get more barbaric and doesn’t always recognize friend from foe. Luckily, my soldiers recognize each other, but we have had accidents many years ago, before the city had prospered to it’s full potential. We have made sure that would never happen again.” She sighed a little at the thought of the mistakes that had happened throughout the years before she was crowned Queen.
She nodded in understanding to those choices Chalsea had made. “Well, you won’t have to worry about that here. Everyone here is equal as I said. So you won’t have to feel like you owe something to anyone. We treat you and your men, as we would like to be treated ourselves.” She smiled at her, taking a sip of her wine glass again. It was now half-full. “As long as you are willing to try, then that’s all I can ask of you. But don’t underestimate the energy and feelings you put into my men just by training with them. Even that will make a difference in the next battle. So the fact that you train them, will already help them get better on the battlefield.” She smiled. “But I understand, and I will also make sure they train on their own to prepare themselves mentally for the death and destruction they might have to witness in the coming years. If the orcs continue their rampage and killing, then we will see many more battles in the years to come I’m afraid.”
Adalia smiled when Chalsea praised the wine that they were drinking. “Well, I’m glad you enjoy it. We make sure to get the best out of our grapes when we make the wine. Everything is measured carefully and prepared before it’s turned into wine. You are welcome to have as much of it as you would like, though just don’t empty our bottles, as it does take some time to make the wine.” She giggled a little. “We can share a bottle after the funeral if you would like. I’ll take you on a tour around the city when it’s gone quiet as well if you would like. The city has really changed over the last ten years, and it is a beautiful sight during the night. The moonlight and the starlight that shines down on the city, even if it rains, makes the white buildings look beautiful.” She smiled gently, hoping it wouldn’t rain though, but keep dry if they were going to go on a tour around the city.
“Well, I’m not sure starting training tomorrow would be a good idea, many of the men will probably be hungover from the drinking they will participate in today.” She laughed. “And I’d rather not see wobbly soldiers swing their swords, which just spells disaster from the very moment they start training.” She laughed again. “Let your soldiers and my soldiers have a few days off duty and then you can start training them. As for where to train them, I think the steppes would be a good place to train. You can also simulate real battles out there and you have a lot of room to move around. Everyone that are not on duty will be out there and train with you and your men.” She smiled with a nod. “Don’t think about it too much, for the next few days, I’d like you to relax and just enjoy life. I can see on your face and your relaxation in the bathtub that you haven’t had time to do that in a long time. I will not allow you to work in the next few days.” She smiled.
“Great! I’ll arrange a tournament then! We can have it on the second day from now, the day before you start training with my soldiers. It would be a good way for my men and your men to show off their skills before the training. You can also get an idea of what you would like to train first and so on.” She smiled. She wasn’t sure if she would participate in the tournament herself, but if it proved to be interesting she might want to. It was unusual to see a royal join a tournament, but as Adalia had proven many times already, she was one of the people in the city and she wanted to do the same thing that the people in the city were doing. This also meant joining the different games and tournaments that they did occasionally have. “We can see if your vice-captain can beat my second in command in the army. That should make for an interesting fight as well.” She smiled. “But not to the death of course, merely to one of them yields or are knocked out, and no blows to the head either if they decide that they want to fight, they might also choose another discipline if they would like.” She smiled. She then emptied the glass of wine she had and slowly got out of the bathtub again.
She went over and grabbed a towel at one of the large mirrors, wrapping it around her lower body and taking another towel, wrapping it around her upper body. Then she pulled her long thick white hair up into a bun and turned to Chalsea. Her markings were still hidden because of the towels. “Do you want to enjoy the bath a little longer or do you want to finish up now? I have a few duties I have to attend before the funeral tonight, plus the preparations for tonight as well.” She smiled. “You are more than welcome to stay here in the mansion for a while if you would like to. You can just think of it as your own while you are here, as long as you remember that you sleep in the housing with your men later on, or if you want, we can arrange for you to have the best room in one of the inns here. It’s actually a bridal suite, but it would be very comfortable for you I believe.” She smiled at her.
“Out here, we don’t get molded into living tough lives like that. What we do learn is to hunt and hide effectively. As you know and have seen, the steppes doesn’t offer much in the way of hiding and camouflage, but we have learned to use the environment to our advantage and create equipment that can let us hide from the enemy out on the steppes. Though it does take some preparations, which is why we have outposts throughout the steppes, with someone always staying at the post. Sadly though, the orcs had somehow gotten close without being noticed, which should not have been possible, but they did. Some of the outposts were destroyed in the blink of an eye, but it was thanks to another five outposts and the soldiers stationed there, that we had time to get the soldiers out of the city and engage the orcs in battle before they breached the walls. They didn’t sacrifice themselves for nothing, and for that I’m grateful.” She stated, taking another sip of her wine. “I’m not going to ask you what their intentions were, as I’m sure I can guess what they thought they could get, but I’m glad that you knew how to defend yourself and made sure that you didn’t get hurt.” She stretched her legs above the water for a moment, before moving them back into the bathtub again.
“I have to admit though, that the term ‘Dogs of War’ sounds pretty intriguing. It’s a status that lets people know what you do and what you stand for. At the same time, they know that you can hold yourself in a battle, as most mercenary groups of your size would have engaged in many different battles and jobs. It gives you respect and some probably fear you as well, but it’s still intriguing.” She smiled gently at Chalsea. “But I can understand if it can be an annoyance at times. It is a branding as much as a status as well. But if you have your honor and your pride, as you say you and your warband does, then it’s all that you are required to keep a satisfied way of living.” She smiled again. Chalsea, a mercenary leader with more stories to her life than you could guess. In many ways, they were the same, at least that’s what Adalia thought. They both had pasts that were filled with different stories and experiences. The difference was that Adalia didn’t remember her past. She wasn’t exactly sure when she started remembering things, but she knew it was before she became Queen Adalia, and she knew that it was at some point while she was in the White Stone city as a citizen, or maybe not a citizen, maybe something else, but she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she started remembering when she was in the White Stone city.
“After the funeral, we will set up long tables at the middle of the marketplace. We will move the stalls that are there, and everyone in the city is invited to come and join in. We will all gather there for drinking and eating, and don’t worry, your soldiers are more than welcome to drink there. They can also go to the bars and pubs, but the soldiers will start at the funeral before going to the bars and pubs, as they want to honor their fallen comrades before the day is over.” She stated with a nod. “I’m sorry for your loss, I didn’t have time to see if you lost any men, and I thought you didn’t take any losses. While it’s not your tradition, my men will have your two soldiers in their prayers tonight. That is not something you can take away from them.” She smiled, taking a deep breath and letting it out. Company like this was rare to come by, and it seemed that Chalsea was enjoying herself as well, which was a good thing. If Chalsea decided to stay, Adalia had a few secrets she might want to share with her, secrets that very few people in the city knew about, and that she had wanted to discuss with someone else. But for now, she would wait and see how Chalsea behaved for the next few weeks.
“Well, at least you did wake up again. But I understand that the stench and the pile of corpses probably wasn’t the best way of waking up.” She shrugged. “A bloodbath of that size would make anyone throw up I agree. The rush of battle is something everyone feels, but it’s different from person to person I believe. Some think more clearly, while others get more barbaric and doesn’t always recognize friend from foe. Luckily, my soldiers recognize each other, but we have had accidents many years ago, before the city had prospered to it’s full potential. We have made sure that would never happen again.” She sighed a little at the thought of the mistakes that had happened throughout the years before she was crowned Queen.
She nodded in understanding to those choices Chalsea had made. “Well, you won’t have to worry about that here. Everyone here is equal as I said. So you won’t have to feel like you owe something to anyone. We treat you and your men, as we would like to be treated ourselves.” She smiled at her, taking a sip of her wine glass again. It was now half-full. “As long as you are willing to try, then that’s all I can ask of you. But don’t underestimate the energy and feelings you put into my men just by training with them. Even that will make a difference in the next battle. So the fact that you train them, will already help them get better on the battlefield.” She smiled. “But I understand, and I will also make sure they train on their own to prepare themselves mentally for the death and destruction they might have to witness in the coming years. If the orcs continue their rampage and killing, then we will see many more battles in the years to come I’m afraid.”
Adalia smiled when Chalsea praised the wine that they were drinking. “Well, I’m glad you enjoy it. We make sure to get the best out of our grapes when we make the wine. Everything is measured carefully and prepared before it’s turned into wine. You are welcome to have as much of it as you would like, though just don’t empty our bottles, as it does take some time to make the wine.” She giggled a little. “We can share a bottle after the funeral if you would like. I’ll take you on a tour around the city when it’s gone quiet as well if you would like. The city has really changed over the last ten years, and it is a beautiful sight during the night. The moonlight and the starlight that shines down on the city, even if it rains, makes the white buildings look beautiful.” She smiled gently, hoping it wouldn’t rain though, but keep dry if they were going to go on a tour around the city.
“Well, I’m not sure starting training tomorrow would be a good idea, many of the men will probably be hungover from the drinking they will participate in today.” She laughed. “And I’d rather not see wobbly soldiers swing their swords, which just spells disaster from the very moment they start training.” She laughed again. “Let your soldiers and my soldiers have a few days off duty and then you can start training them. As for where to train them, I think the steppes would be a good place to train. You can also simulate real battles out there and you have a lot of room to move around. Everyone that are not on duty will be out there and train with you and your men.” She smiled with a nod. “Don’t think about it too much, for the next few days, I’d like you to relax and just enjoy life. I can see on your face and your relaxation in the bathtub that you haven’t had time to do that in a long time. I will not allow you to work in the next few days.” She smiled.
“Great! I’ll arrange a tournament then! We can have it on the second day from now, the day before you start training with my soldiers. It would be a good way for my men and your men to show off their skills before the training. You can also get an idea of what you would like to train first and so on.” She smiled. She wasn’t sure if she would participate in the tournament herself, but if it proved to be interesting she might want to. It was unusual to see a royal join a tournament, but as Adalia had proven many times already, she was one of the people in the city and she wanted to do the same thing that the people in the city were doing. This also meant joining the different games and tournaments that they did occasionally have. “We can see if your vice-captain can beat my second in command in the army. That should make for an interesting fight as well.” She smiled. “But not to the death of course, merely to one of them yields or are knocked out, and no blows to the head either if they decide that they want to fight, they might also choose another discipline if they would like.” She smiled. She then emptied the glass of wine she had and slowly got out of the bathtub again.
She went over and grabbed a towel at one of the large mirrors, wrapping it around her lower body and taking another towel, wrapping it around her upper body. Then she pulled her long thick white hair up into a bun and turned to Chalsea. Her markings were still hidden because of the towels. “Do you want to enjoy the bath a little longer or do you want to finish up now? I have a few duties I have to attend before the funeral tonight, plus the preparations for tonight as well.” She smiled. “You are more than welcome to stay here in the mansion for a while if you would like to. You can just think of it as your own while you are here, as long as you remember that you sleep in the housing with your men later on, or if you want, we can arrange for you to have the best room in one of the inns here. It’s actually a bridal suite, but it would be very comfortable for you I believe.” She smiled at her.