Part Nine: The Threat
Chapter Twenty-Six
TITUS
I'd always considered myself the foremost connoisseur of humanoid creatures on Tenvalia. I'd had every kind there was to have, and indeed, I'd developed something of a food pyramid to rank them. Yes, much like grades of meat in the butcher shop, there was a hierarchy when it came to quality of species. Bottom-shelf varieties included: orc, goblin, troll, and ogre. Orcs were too salty, goblins were too lean, trolls were too tough, and ogres were downright disgusting. Then there were the value-pack cuts: mermaid, centaurs, fauns, dwarves and nymphs. Mermaids were too fishy, centaurs and fauns were too gamey, dwarves drank so much their blood was slightly fermented, and nymphs would only suit a vampire going on a vegan diet. Next were the quality cuts: humans, pixies, incubi, succubi and valkyries. Humans were savory creatures, but their shear multitude and availability somewhat cheapened their standing in my eyes; pixies were like candy, but their small size didn't make for much of a meal; incubi and succubi were scrumptious treats, but were more akin to a drug than actual food; and while valkyries were extremely rare, their rarity was somewhat diminished when you realized the winged beauties tasted too much like chicken. Then, at the tippy-top of the pyramid, were the elves. Dawn-elves were rich with herbal undertones, and were a delicacy of the highest order, but high-elves were something truly special. Their blood was decadent and sweet, the texture like velvet on the tongue, and the old lineages gave them an aged quality like fine wine. Yavara, being the only dark-elf I'd ever tasted, was somewhat of a disappointment. There was high-elf, yes, but it was marred with succubi, orc, and a touch of incubi.
There were campfires as far as the eye could see. To me, they were like little suns burning upon the earth, blinding me from the figures that surrounded them. It wasn't that they were too bright; just too hot. The elven bodies that mulled about the camp were magnitudes cooler, and so shone dully to my thermal lenses. I would have to get closer to properly distinguish them with my eyes, but my nose had never failed me. I took a deep inhale, and my mind ignited with the myriad of flavors, a veritable buffet of high-elf soldier. I licked my lips.
"Do you see how they're set up?" Zander whispered, pointing to the map, then gesturing to the encampment, "Each sector forms a web with the command post in the center. And at the very center of everything is high-command."
I glanced at the map, switching to nocturnal vision. "Eighty regiments of a thousand, eight division of ten-thousand. Eighty generals, eight of which are division commanders, and one field marshal."
"And that's where the structure ends." Zander smiled, "Everything below that is a shitshow. We just need to cut the head off the snake."
I sniffed the air again, noting the slight burn in my nostrils. "Nadi wood." I muttered.
Zander nodded. "They cut down every Nadi tree in the royal arboretum, but their munitions are sparse."
There was a flash of green, and Ivanka and Tiffany stepped from the portal. "Zander, we got your message, and we're quite irritated with you."
"Our queen was throwing one hell of a party at Castle Thorum, and we're missing it." Tiffany lamented.
"I do believe the nymphs performed the single greatest loss of virginity in history." Ivanka added.
"Not to mention the largest incestuous orgy." Tiffany tittered.
"There was also a tasteful amount of rape."
"And a touch of gender reassignment. Her Highness is an aficionado of debauchery; I do hope she lets us taste her new hybrid."
"Oh, she looked absolutely
decadent.
" Ivanka rolled her eyes in longing.
"Speaking of which..." Tiffany stepped onto the cliff's edge, and peered out at the vast army.
"That's a lot of tasty treats." Ivanka whispered.
"The Ten?" Zander inquired.
"We made sure to bring them with us. We dropped them off at Glacier Lake before we found your church ruins."
"A fat, slobbering bunch of inbreds, the lot of them." Ivanka added with a sneer, "Our queen would be wise to dispose of them as soon as she can."
"If they represent the best of their people, then Brock and his Terdini are the only orcs worth continuing; the rest should be turned to steers and used as feed."
"Directed evolution." Ivanka said with a nod.
"Directed evolution indeed." Tiffany smiled at me.
"Vampires." Zander snorted.
I turned my attention to him. "How many of my children will you need for this, Fredeon?"
"All of them."
I nodded. "We'll shadow the army until they get to the marshlands, then we'll attack."
"I'll ingratiate myself with them in the meantime." Zander said, "When the time comes, cause as much chaos as you can before you leave. Poison the water, stampede the horses, light everything on fire. You'll only have one chance, so make it count. Everything little extra thing you do here buys us hours, days, maybe even weeks."
"Every little extra thing will cost me more of my children's lives."
"It is war, Titus." Zander grunted, "Life is always the cost."
YAVARA
"You don't think I can hit him from here?" I laughed at Rose. Arbor had detected a ranger spying on us from the Great Forest. He was about three-hundred yards off, but I could just make out his cowl from the edge of the tree line. Though I hadn't slept for nearly a week, my vision remained keen. I notched the arrow as I gazed from the top of Castle Thorum's tower.
"There's no way you're making that shot." Rose said.
"Adrianna," I said to the hybrid woman formerly known as Thomas Adarian, "tell Rose about the shots I made at the bowman's tourney."
"She shot three arrows shaft-to-shaft-to-shaft into a bullseye at two-hundred feet." Adrianna said, "My queen, please spare him."
"What will you do to keep me from shooting?"
"Do you want me to humiliate myself?" She asked angrily, "Haven't you done enough to me?!"
"I think you know the answer to that." I muttered, drawing the bow and gauging the wind.
"I'll capture him." Adrianna insisted, "I'll bring him to you so that you can change him."
