Chapter 3 - Battles, councils, and weddings
The next morning, I woke to the glorious sensation of my wife's full lips wrapped around my engorged morning hardness... something she did often. She was well into the act when I peered down at her head bobbing up and down, my thick haft sliding into her throat.
"Mmmmm, good morning my love," I said in a moan of pleasure.
She looked up at me with her big beautiful blue eyes, her puckered lips sucking hard on my nob. Sliding her mouth off me, she smiled. "Good morning, husband," she purred before proceeding to take me back into her mouth. I did not last long. Soon I grunted and unleashed my seed into her mouth, which she swallowed without hesitation. It was a wonderful way to start what would be a very serious and busy day.
She gently smacked my thigh, "There you go, my love, now go save my family."
The day's tasks were focused on multiple fronts: burying the dead, repairs to the castle wall, preparations for the march to Reapers Rock, and contacting our bannermen who had not joined our host before the siege at Harvest Hall. I would have answers as to why they had been delayed.
The answer was soon established. Through the south of Val'Loren ran the large Indroval River. Its nourishing waters fed the farms of the entire Tor'Ruk Valley. It also was a substantial barrier between the lands of Harvest Hall and the baronies that comprised the rest of Val'Loren. There were three Baronies: Val'Othlen, ruled by Baron Darthon Don'Toral; Val'Pural, ruled by Baroness Talia Van'Troth; and Val'Gorth, ruled by Baron Dannis Tra'Vell. All three of my vassals were on the other side of the river.
The river Indroval had three crossings in the entire Duchy and only one in Val'Loren. The sheer size of the river required expansive works of engineering to construct large stone bridges that could span the substantial width of the river.
The bastard lord Porshy had damaged a large section of the bridge, delaying the forces of my bannermen from aiding in the battle at Harvest Hall. They arrived the second day after the battle with a force of over six thousand armored peasants, men at arms, and knights.
After the formal greetings and the remorseful apologies for their late arrival, they bent the knee and swore oaths of fealty anew to me as their new Earl and liege lord.
With Val'Loren's full might assembled, the army numbered more than twelve thousand, including nine hundred knights, three thousand men-at-arms, and the remaining number made up of conscripted levies that varied between lightly armored spearmen, billmen, axe men, swordsmen, and archers.
News from Raven's Rock was dire. Several assaults had so far been repulsed, but the number of defenders was dwindling. Furthermore, the other earls of the Duchy, with the heads of their houses either dead or captured, were bogged down in skirmishes with several mercenary companies employed to keep them occupied and unable to assist the duke's family. The Earls had apparently gained ground and were pushing the mercenaries back, but the delays resulted in their complete absence from the battle to come.
News from Raven's Rock placed the enemy numbers near eight thousand, but they were entrenched and would be difficult to claw out. Here my enhanced mental abilities again proved invaluable. I was able to recall every battle I had ever read, half-read, or discussed in passing with perfect recall. My additional processing capacity allowed me to take those historical tactics, make adjustments, and apply them to my picture-perfect memory of the land around Reapers Rock. All of this allowed me to create an effective strategic plan to oust Lord Harven and his would-be usurper wife, Lady Harla.
What I knew about Lord Harven was that his arrogance dwarfed his ability as both a lord and general. I was going to use this information to my advantage. Around Reapers Rock, the terrain was much hillier, with heavy-horsed knights at a disadvantage. The plan was to flank his army and draw him out by harassing his supply train for the besieging force, which was supplying the materials for the siege engines, food for his soldiers, and ammunition for his archers, all of which were being expended due to repeated repelled assaults. During our assaults on the baggage train I would only engage with my peasant levies and light horses, giving the illusion of a large but poor quality force.
The most important part of my ruse was using the banners of Baron Lo'Tullin, Earl Harven's bannerman, who had refused to participate in the rebellion. This would both anger the earl and make him under-estimate our forces.
Lord Harven, the arrogant man that he was, would dispatch his knights and other horsemen to chase down the "peasant" force. This is where crossbowmen and archers supported by light infantry would use the terrain to ambush and destroy the heavily armored force. I had, of course, contingencies in case the Lord was not as predictable as I had thought.
The ambush took place, as I anticipated, a week after my host set out for Reapers Rock. Lord's Harven's knights and horsemen were caught unaware and were soon decimated, with much of his army captured, routed, or slain. Some of the captives were Baron Harvord Ty'Or and his three sons, Baronness Liuetta Ko'Hul and her two sons, and Baron Ottell Bar'Fur and his two sons. They were taken prisoner, as were the surviving knights. The levies, however, were given two choices: bend the knee to the Tor'Ael banner or be executed. Peasants, as a rule, valued their lives over loyalty to rebellious lords. All the peasant soldiers joined our ranks.
When my great host arrived at Reapers Rock, with my enemy's bannermen in chains, Lord Harven and Lady Harla were smart enough to know their short rebellion was over. I set up a tent between the two forces and offered them terms for their surrender.
The crimes were dire. They rebelled against their rightful liege and played a large part in the ambush of Gleaming Pass, which resulted in the deaths of Duke Lourell, Earl Marsden, and my father. However, their queen had ordered them to do so. The families of the dead would demand a blood price. Whether that would be paid in gold, status, or the immediate execution of the lord and lady would determine whether they agreed to my demands.
My demands included the immediate return of all hostages, namely Earl Varry and Countess Cyrell, the complete end to the siege, and the arms and armor of the army forfeited. Lord Harven and his co-conspiring vassals would lose land, face additional taxes, and extreme limits placed on their standing military forces. They would also be required to pay damages to the Tor'Ael household for the destruction caused to Reapers Rock and the surrounding countryside. Finally, every child of every house involved that was older than nine, including the direct heirs, would be held as a hostage. The hostages were to be shared among Houses Tor'Ael, Tor'Rikken, Di'Shar, Dir'Athon, and Tyr'Shin. All parental rights of the hostages would be given over to their caretakers.
The terms were terrible and humiliating for house Tyr'Shal. To be expected, the Lady Harla did not take it well.
"You must be a blighted fool if you think we will agree to such ridiculous terms." The lady yelled.
Harven did not hold back either, "The taxes alone would ruin our household! You cannot be foolish enough to think I would agree to this!"
The accompanying barons scoffed at the offer as well.
I smiled viciously, "Honestly, Lord Harven, I sincerely hope you and your traitorous vassals don't take this offer."
The older man was taken aback, "Then why, by the gods even offer terms?"
I gave him a baleful stare, "Your actions led to the death of your duke and two of your fellow earls! One of them, my father!" I rose to my feet, my tall frame trembling in anger, made them all lean back in their chairs. "By rights, I could take your heads! Strip your households of both lands and titles and sell your offspring as slaves to the eastern barbarian tribes! Lest you forget: what your army is doing here and what they did at Gleaming Pass was and is REBELLION! You have broken oaths and slain your liege lord!"
The lords and ladies quivered in fear at my rage, "We have hostages!" Lord Harven barked in a pathetic act of defiance.
"Lady Cyrell and Lord Verry are the only reason I am offering you terms to begin with! Without them, all your lives would be forfeit! Believe this - I will use every legal authority I have to make sure your executions are as drawn out, painful, and humiliating as possible. There will be no headsman's axe for traitors."
The noblemen and women looked at each other nervously before the astute Lady Luitta spoke, "Of the lands that will be confiscated...there is an argument, Lord Dorian, that they could account for some of the value of the reparations. Surely the value of those lands can be counted towards the debt of the damages owed?"
I almost broke my scowl and smiled; there was a brain amongst these traitors after all. "That is true, Lady Luitta. The agreement can indeed make allowances for the value of the land against the proposed tax penalties. I will even add a stipulation that after the extent of the damages has been repaid, the lands will be returned to their original owners...once your heirs have taken over lordship of their households, titles and lands."
The men and women looked at each other. The terms were harsh and would drastically weaken their positions by several generations, but they were preferable to destruction.
Lord Harven spat, "We accept."
I nodded, "There is one last stipulation."
The older man looked like he would explode, "There is more?"
I ignored the man and focused on his scowling if not beautiful wife, "Lady Harla, you will, right now, before witnesses and by signature of a declaration, renounce all claims to the Ducal seat of Tur'Ruk Valley Duchy. Refuse and your head will be on a pike regardless of whether or not my terms are accepted."
