Ember

He spent all day hunched over old maps.

"Bossman, I'm bored," I complained, swinging my legs. I sat on his desk, but the horned beastman wouldn't even look at me. "Hey, Bullhead, come on, you promised me something fun to do."

"I told you, Ember, don't call me bossman... It's Captain Gorgon." He rolled his eyes, finally a reaction at least. He was a rare beastfolk and got his name after mythical beasts. He grew bull horns that weren't just for looks and had the tail of an ox too. I found both fascinating.

"You could have been the boss of that tribe if you didn't come here, Bullhead." I shrugged, jumping off the desk. His ceremonial armor looked nice on him at least. I liked My red tunic too, but I had to ensure my tail didn't lift it. I preferred showing off my legs, but not all of them. Whoever made the clothes for the New Order, I just loved them. I just fired off a few spells, and they were head over heels for me. "What's in it for you, joining the Demon Lord's army anyway? You ain't no magician."

"I'm the deputy chief of staff, Ember, that is quite high up." He claimed and kept working like a tryhard, but I liked how he said my name. Slightly annoyed, just like I wanted him to be. I never got tired of that. "It's my job to update these maps according to the latest reports, give the orders, and decide what supplies go where. I only answer to Dioneras and the Demon Lord."

"Is that such a big deal?" I shrugged, walking around in his large office. I noticed his goblin lieutenant stealing glances at my legs, and I shot a seductive grin back. My big pointy hat still needed some stitching so I couldn't wait to put it on, but my cat ears were also cute so I could live without the headwear. "The mighty bull of a beastmen working for a goblin of the same rank. And those reports are outdated by the time they get here, aren't they? Crows are so slow..."

"Not everyone can use telepathy, like you do..." He looked up and noticed his lieutenant as well. "Grim, go and prepare a shipment to the north. Avalon's company is using way too many birds again."

"Aye, Captain Gorgon." The goblin jumped to salute, and off he went. It made me giggle, and I flashed him just a little more of my thighs before he left. I swished my tail around too, and he almost bumped the doorframe. It was so easy to play with these paper pushers.

"Our logistics are becoming untenable..." The Bullhead mumbled to himself. "We barely have enough wyverns to keep replenishing crows..."

"What's the point? Just have them fly back, duh." I walked to the goblin's desk and picked up a piece of parchment.

"It's not that easy." The bossman said with a sigh, and I felt his educational speech incoming. "Messenger birds can't fly to any address, people in Ghell fortress have to raise hundreds of crows and distribute them between commanders in other places. Then they can send messages here but nowhere else."

"So they also raise their own? And wyverns have to bring them here first?" I asked, dropping the parchment. "What a pain, so lame."

"Well, that's just how it works..." He shrugged. "But this Avalon pisses me off. At the end of each message, he should indicate how many crows he has left, so that we know if a bird was lost or if they need new ones."

"What. A. Pain," I repeated, pacing back and forth. It must have bored those birds to sit in their cages all day waiting for that one message they had to carry, but that's how I felt too. "I couldn't be bothered."

"That's the problem... He doesn't either." Gorgon said, raising a message. "Damned Avalon disregards all regulations."

"Go, tell on him to Dio, haha," I suggested laughing. It sounded such a petty issue for someone claiming to be leading armies. "Your goblin daddy will surely deal with that big bad... Wait, he's a goblin too right?"

"Both of them are, yes. And no can do." He claimed, scratching his head. He was certainly frustrated. "Dioneras is away, I have to deal with his work too and can't just go to the Demon Lord with some trivial crap like this. I'll transfer him to be someone else's problem."

"Didn't you say the entire army is your problem?" I asked to tease him a little bit more. "Avalon's company operates on the fringes, right?"

"Yes, in the old Appenon Kingdom. It's all deserted now, so we moved in, but there isn't much for us." He dropped his quill. "Okay, this map is done, and well, I could still recommend him to join the Champions."

"Honestly, you'd be a much better fit." I probed him. "I feel like you are wasted here, I'll probably join them too, the moment a seat is freed up. Maybe that's why the Demon Lord summoned me here today."

"Sure, sure, but who would deal with all this mess then?" He asked the rhetorical question. He liked his numbers and maps at the end of the day, I knew him well enough to understand. "This peninsula will be the end of me though, no sailing through the Sea of Storms, climbing the mountains is out of the question, and we lack enough wyverns to cover our logistics."

"I bet it wouldn't be better in the north either." I shrugged. As far as I was concerned, it was just deserts and hills surrounded by more deserts and mountains. "Not even you can solve everything from here."

"This is why the armies operate independently." The goblin lieutenant joined in. He just got back, and I winked at him. "Companies take care of their food, weapons, and supplies. All the less we have to worry about."

"They still get their orders from here," Gorgon noted, shaking his head. "And crows take time to fly back and forth."

"So if they get attacked and call for reinforcements..." I started.

"Exactly. By the time we'd get their report and send an order to someone, it would be too late." The captain claimed. "That's why the Collapse came so fast, nobody realized how huge this continent is."

"Then just move the headquarters closer to the borders." I shrugged, but I was in for another educational speech. He was so annoying.

"The words of the Demon Lord are absolute." He started, raising another message. "He has to know about everything and can overrule any decision. But the Inquisitorias might banish him if he leaves Ghell..."

"Sooo, then have a forward operating base for the chief of staff, and keep him posted with a telepath." I rolled my eyes, then it suddenly hit me. "Waaait a second. Is this why he summoned me here?"

"Well, I certainly can't use telepathy..." The Bullhead shrugged, rolling up the map. "But I hear it gets difficult over longer distances. I wonder if you could even pull it off? Maybe that's what he wants to know."

"Oh no, I hope not... I don't want to be some kind of lame messenger." I protested, and he was about to say something when we got interrupted by the knocking on the door. The goblin lieutenant rushed to open it, and an elderly kobold stood in the corridor.

"The Twelve Champions returned." He told us out of breath. "You are requested in the throne room, Captain Gorgon, Ember. Bring a map."

"Oh, this is big news," I noted. They set out a week ago, but we heard nothing since. We rushed to the throneroom immediately.

The champions were already there, except half of them were missing. No sign of their commander, or their witch, just a few beat-up fighters from the rearguard. This looked like a total disaster.

"Report." The Demon Lord demanded, his voice echoing menacingly, and his eyes glowed red when he heard how their captain got grounded and the witch refused to help. When they described how a single human defeated the rest, his face became distorted.

Gorgon unrolled the map to mark the relevant places, but to my surprise, they weren't immediately executed. The champions lost the entire vanguard, the rearguard's commander, five wyverns, and at least three confirmed dead, with another four missing. The Demon Lord silently listened for a long time.

"Gorgon, you take over as Our chief of staff." He started, then dismissed the champions with a single wave. "Send a search party into the mountains and bring Dioneras back if he's alive."

"Yes, my Lord." He bowed his head, rolling up the map.

"Contact Our informant as well. We want an explanation." He wasn't finished. "Tell Us who was that human attacker, and send a force to investigate. Which company is stationed the closest?"

"Umm... We don't have forces nearby, but the northernmost company belongs to Avalon." Bullhead reported but couldn't hide his disgust.

"Name your deputy and set out to meet with Avalon's company." The Demon Lord ordered, standing up. "Take one of the high shamans and Ember too. Investigate the area and eliminate all resistance."

"M-my Lord..." The captain tried to protest, but a single flash of the Lord's eyes made him reconsider. To me, it sounded like fun. Better than becoming a messenger... I kneeled and bowed my head.

"What is the strength of Avalon's company?" The Demon Lord asked.

"It is a standard company, my Lord. A little less than two hundred men." Gorgon crunched the numbers. "A hundred and twenty orcs, sixty goblins, and a goblin shaman. Their vanguard is reinforced with ogres and hobgoblins and they should have two wyverns as well..."

"Send out a new company of similar strength that will eventually take their place." We heard the order, but he continued. "Send them a message to set out north immediately and catch up with them underway. How long will it take to reach the old capital if they march as fast as possible?"

"On foot?" He sounded shocked. "It's nearly two thousand miles from here, barely a few hundred less from where they are. Three to four months if we follow the roads and meet no enemies."

"Too long, We want answers as soon as possible." The Demon Lord declared. "A single month is already too much, get there faster."

"It... It might be possible, to get there in a month for a mounted company, but they are just light infantry. They can't ride and don't have enough wagons or pack animals either." He argued and seemed to be lost in thought. "That distance would take multiple days even for a crow to fly and half a week on wyvernback... But we don't have nearly enough."

"We don't care what method you use, but We want answers." The Lord repeated adamantly. "Get there fast, and don't let yourself be defeated like the Champions. Don't dare to fail Us."