Recover the relic

"My king, The Impenetrable Keep has fallen, and the tabaxi have entered our borders. From what our spies have discovered, they are led by a wildling being called Tamorga, one of the strongest warriors of the savage tribes." The court sorceress updates King Jerold II of the outcome of the siege of the fort commanded by Vestija.

"Mhh this is a problem, but it won't change our plans. Did Vestija survive?" Jerold strokes his short beard, it's a question from the state of Vestija.

"She Yes, but she was captured by the enemy, most likely they will collect information on our forces and our possessions. But a large number of survivors managed to escape, to be precise, they were let go." The sorceress continues to update the king, clarifying every issue. "From what the soldiers say, Tamorga challenged Vestija to a duel, he won, but in exchange he let the soldiers go."

"Do we know where these barbarians are going?" Jerold's eyes widen, knowing that the fortress was very close to a place that is very important to him.

"Yes, it's as we both fear, Tamorga is heading towards the city of Marienburg, they know where the relic is." Jerold closes his eyes, having had the answer to his fears. "How shall we proceed, my king?" The sorceress asks the king what they should do.

"Send Leria to intercept Tamorga's forces, have him lead the surviving soldiers of the fort, they failed to defend the kingdom's border, surrendering the fortress to the enemy. So they must restore their honor, fighting again with the enemy who defeated them ." Jerold immediately made a decision.

"My king, Leria is busy searching for and eliminating the skaven who are destroying and raiding villages and smaller towns in the region east of Grendel, even entering the region of Lindel." The sorceress reminds the king that this Leria is already busy with other business.

"It doesn't matter, our priority at the moment is this Tamorga, and his brutes, we need the intervention of the army commander to counter this threat. Send Captain Bors to take care of the extermination of those rats, he is the second in command, after Leria, he will be fine." Jerold is firm on his decision, and decides to send the army's second in command to deal with the Skaven. "And also, send my daughter, Elisia, to retrieve the relic, we will accept Kraven's arrangements, we have no more time to think about it." Jerold seems very impatient, he wants to obtain this relic at all costs, and to do so, he will also accept the conditions that this Kraven has asked for.

"My king, are you sure? This way we will greatly empty the kingdom's coffers, and moreover we would have to respond to the second condition posed by Kraven." The sorceress asks the king if he is sure of his decision.

"Okay, citizens will work harder to replenish our coffers, in times of war, there is a need for sacrifices, more and more." At these sentences, the sorceress seems to change her mood for a moment, as if these sentences bother her, but she immediately composes herself, returning to her normal state. "And for the second condition that Kraven set, give him the eldest Floga daughter, they are now a house in decline, and therefore they are not very useful to the kingdom. If Kraven wants a woman of noble blood and talent, he will have her."

"As you command, my king. Is there anything else?" The sorceress asks if the king wants to order something else.

"Did my son return from his mission? Did he manage to complete it?" Jerold asks if his son has finished his duty.

"Yes, Prince Elix completed his mission successfully, he is currently returning from his mission. Apparently cultists had settled in the city of Drolbane, but the prince's party managed to foil their machinations. " The sorceress informs the king that Elix has completed his mission.

"Excellent! When he returns, I will have to send him somewhere else, he must get busy if he wants to inherit the throne." Jerold still has many things to do for his son, and he needs him to act impeccably for the kingdom.

"Then if you allow me, I will immediately contact the commander, his daughter, to send his orders to them." The sorceress bows slightly to the king and leaves with calm and graceful steps.

'Soon my love...it won't be long, and I'll have you here next to me again, be patient a little longer.' King Jerold seems to be lost in thought of him, imagining the figure of a woman in his mind.

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In an area of the large castle, groups of soldiers are training, facing each other with wooden swords. These soldiers are supervised by a young woman, in her twenties, with long, flowing red hair. This girl is called Victoria Floga, Zaria's sister, she is the eldest daughter of the Floga family.

Unlike her sister, she is not a sorceress, but a swordsman who uses fire-based magic, therefore fighting with a sword and spells. Victoria does not have the talent to use large or complex spells, but on the other hand, she is a talented swordsman.

Victoria is so skilled, that she was recognized by the dizziness of the rengo, and was placed as one of the captains of the army. She also has a platoon of soldiers under her command, and the latter is responsible for protecting the princess, acting as her escort.

"Victoria, here you are, I found you." A voice catches Victoria's attention, causing her gaze to wander towards the source of her voice. "A messenger has sent me orders that come from the king himself." The voice belongs to another girl, Elisia the Princess of Rengo, Elix's sister. Elisia is a girl slightly younger than Victoria, and the two have been together for a long time, establishing a friendship that almost reaches sisterhood.

"Princess Elisia, which order are you talking about?" Victoria bows slightly, is very inclined towards good manners, and is strict in respecting members of the royal family.

"How many times have I told you not to be so formal with me when we are alone." Elisia doesn't want Victoria to refer to her with these formalities, after all they have been friends for a long time. "Your soldiers are busy training, they won't mind us, relax."

"Okay, so what do you want to talk to me about, Elisia?" Victoria easily gives in to Elisia's words and asks again what the princess needs.

"Apparently we are sent to Marienburg, we have to recover a certain object that requires absolute priority. Don't ask me what object it is, because I have no idea, I only know that Kraven, the hunter, has it in his custody." Elisia informs her friend of their mission.

"Kraven?? Why are we dealing with that guy? He's a mercenary who only thinks about his own profits and takes advantage of his clients." Victoria does not understand how the king makes deals with this Kraven.

"I don't know either, I only know that my father requested Kraven's service, but the latter changed the agreements, and we have to bring the mercenary what he wants." Elisia doesn't know the details of the mission, she only knows that she has to deliver a large amount of gold, it's also a second thing, but she doesn't know what it is, only when I get to the city will she know what it is. "I'm also not very convinced by this agreement, but apparently the tabaxis are heading to Marienburg, and we have to hurry up and recover this relic."

"Are the tabaxis heading to Marienburg? Precisely where we need to recover the object. Now I understand the urgency of this mission, it's why we were sent." Victoria tries to put the pieces of this issue in the middle.

"We have some time, Leria will have our back, she has been sent to intercept the tabaxi forces. This way she will give us some time to finish the agreements." Elisia informs Victoria that the commander of all the Rengo forces is also participating in this mission.

"Commander Leria? Your aunt will also be part of the mission, incredible. But if I remember correctly, she wasn't busy with anything else?" Victoria can't believe that the commander herself will also participate in this mission.

"True, but she will be replaced by Bors, once our mission is over, she will return to her duties." Elisia is happy that her aunt will also participate in the mission, with her covering their backs, she is confident that she can complete this mission without a hitch.

"I understand...Elisia, speaking of something else, has my sister's location been discovered by any chance?" Victoria would like to know about the status of her little sister, changing her conversation.

"I'm sorry Victoria, but we still don't know anything. Since that event in Strath, we still haven't been able to trace Zaria's location." Elisia seems sorry that she hasn't been able to find Zaria yet. "I'm sure she's still alive, she's fighting with all her strength right now, I'm sure of it, Victoria, after all, the blood of the Floga flows in your veins, a great family that has served the kingdom for many years."

"A family in decline, it seems." Victoria still seems in a bad mood, due to the fall of her family.

"I will double the efforts of the researchers, and I promise I will do everything I can, Victoria, so please believe in me." Elisia promises to find Victoria's missing sister, clasping her hands over hers. "And once these problems are over, we'll resurrect your family, okay?" Elisia looks into Victoria's eyes.

"Yes, we will, thank you very much Elisia. Right now you are the only person I can trust, I am grateful for everything you are doing for me." Victoria brings a small smile to her lips, happy that Elisia is there with her.

"You're my friend, it's natural to do all this." Elisia responds to her friend with another smile.

After these happy moments, the two girls separate, each preparing as they see fit for the mission to be carried out.

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In a camp, far from the capital of the kingdom, a messenger arrives in a hurry, with his horse.

"Stop! Who are you and what do you want?" One of the soldiers, guarding the entrance to the camp, stops the messenger, asking for information.

"I am a messenger from the king, and I have an order to bring to the commander, it is an urgent matter." The messenger shows the royal seal, earning the green light from the soldier.

In a large tent, in the center of the camp, a dignified woman is doing some paperwork, filled to the brim with problems and emergencies. "Commander, there is a messenger for you." A soldier warns the commander that a messenger has arrived.

"Let him in." Leria doesn't think much about letting the messenger in. A man in modest clothes enters the tent, kneeling down, announcing his letter. "What do you have for me, messenger? Hurry, I don't have much time." Leria wants to get this matter done quickly.

"An order from the king himself, my lady. He wants you to abandon this position of yours momentarily, leaving the extermination of the enemy to the second in command, is to head towards Marienburg. Apparently the tabaxis that have crossed the borders of the rengo, are heading there, she must face them with the soldiers who survived the destruction of the fortress. She is not obliged to defeat their commander, she just has to buy enough time to allow the princess to take an important object from the city. This is the order that has been sent, is there anything else I can do for you?" The messenger asks if she can leave.

"No, I understand the situation, you can go and tell the king that I will mobilize immediately." Leria accepts the king's order without question. "Can you tell me the location of these troops I will be leading?"

"I have written the position of the soldiers here, they are already waiting for you, with your permission, my lady, I am leaving." The messenger leaves a letter to the commander, writing the position of the troops who survived the destruction of the fortress.

'That damned brother of mine is ready to do anything to get his queen well. He even sent his daughter on this dangerous mission, in doing so, he forced me to accept without question. Since his wife has been in that state, I no longer recognize him, he has changed, he is for the worse. If the kingdom finds out about his change and his weakness, Alterac will fall into chaos and it will be the end of this kingdom.' Apparently Leria knows a lot, and is aware of the status of the king and queen. 'I must act now, before Alterac falls into ruin.' Leria looks inside the letter and understands where the soldiers of the fallen fortress have settled.