B4 – Chapter 33: Planning for war

“Krik, head to the council chamber,” Tristan said. His voice boomed out across the Fey Realm. He strode into the council chamber and took his seat at the head. After a few minutes, Felicity came in with Dorni trailing behind her. “Good day to you, Underboss.”

Dorni had a little bit of a twinkle in his eye as he hoisted himself up to his seat. “We’ve been busy, but the armories are completely filled out, the market stalls overflow with goods, and we have begun delving into the earth once more.” He taped his foot on the floor. “The Fey Realm holds many treasures; not that we need them. But, well, the gnomes are a bit bored.”

“What did you do in Zeltana’s time?” Tristan asked.

“Repaired weapons and armor.”

“Well . . . you may be at work outfitting allies soon enough.” Tristan looked over to the door as Thallia, and then Krik entered the room. Both took their seats, and Tristan spoke. “Thanks for coming here. I have secured pacts with three of the Demon Houses. Now comes the hard part. Thallia,” he turned to face her. “I need your diplomatic corps heading there. I’ll take a group out with me, and we’ll head to the inter-realm market, the Elemental Realm of Fire, and then from there head over to the Dalphatroux House holdings. A means to enter the Demon Realm.”

She looked to Felicity. “The bangles have been distributed?”

“It’s in progress,” she replied as she swapped to her Elfanoid form and took a seat on Tristan’s arm rest. She grabbed his hand and pulled it up to rest on her thigh.

“Then yes, Lord Tristan, we can do that. When did you want to leave?”

“Whenever you give me the go ahead. I imagine that we will have a full season to prepare between your cohorts beginning to coordinate, and the actual uprising and assault itself. Speaking of.” Tristan turned to Dorni. “We have allies in the Demon Realm. It would be prudent to outfit them. Once Thallia has ensured lines of communication are established, then we will field equipment orders. Remember, the gracious Lord Winterbloom is offering his assistance in this uprising.”

“Of course.”

“And,” Tristan continued. “I will need you to help me with a personal project later.”

“Happy to do that.”

Last, Tristan faced Krik. “Warmaster, I have uncovered something in the fifth vault.” He produced the branch from his belt and placed it on the table, as well as the scroll which he placed alongside it. “I have the means to grow Spriggan to the size of siege weapons. This changes things.”

“In what way, forest father?”

“We can look at being a bit more overt. Here’s my idea. We foment the uprising with the allied Demon Houses, but we also have our own army mass in the north.” He shifted his gaze over the table as a whole. “The Mericlau House in the north is the main military faction. Uprisings in the east and west, and their military training camps under assault in the north? Duberceix would be spread thin. He would never expect another force to then strike at the heart of his Realm.”

“A sound plan. We will need staging grounds.”

“Easy enough,” Felicity said as she draped a hand across Tristan’s shoulder and the back of his neck. “The Dalphatroux House’s holdings are the closest, and we can get there through the Elemental Realm of Fire.”

Thallia spoke. “Will the Citadel be okay with us using their inter-realm market for war?”

“. . . Probably not,” Tristan replied. He spoke with the voice of the realm. “Matriarch, please attend me in the council chamber. In fact, let’s just get everyone here.”

Thallia used the interim time to explain her plans with the various Demon Houses based upon Eloise’s information, Tristan’s firsthand experience, and Felicity’s observations. “We’ll start by getting an emissary group to the Demon Realm. Once the bangles have been used to establish communication, we’ll coordinate the uprising and provide logistical support. We’ll need to dedicate a few extra members to that emissary group. I’ll hash out all the details with Prish.”

The unicorn entered, followed quickly by The Matriarch in her Elfanoid form, and the half-breed Broxtar jeweler, Beatrice. She took her place at the end, and gave Tristan a little wave.

“You were elected to represent the residents,” Tristan stated.

“Yes, Lord Tristan.” She dipped her head. “After Dorothy’s . . . incident, I was rapidly voted in.”

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“And she’s been doing marvelously,” Prish added. “Now, for what purpose is the Fey Court summoned?”

Thallia quickly re-explained everything that Tristan had said, and the conversation they had just concluded in a rapid flurry that was perfectly precise. No extra fluff or nonsense; just a brief recap that was to the point. As she spoke, fairy dragons flew in with mugs of clearcool. Tristan took a sip as Thallia concluded.

The Matriarch looked over to Tristan. “You are considering going to war?”

“Not the way Zeltana once did,” Tristan replied. “We would be staging an army, perhaps engaging in a skirmish, but not fomenting an all-out assault on the Mericlau land. We aren’t there to cause undue suffering, just to put down the Demon King and end the threat to my life for good.”