Planning

Turning his undivided attention to Cassius to dismiss his concerns he paused, but what would he do?

Elric tried to think about the question; he had never thought for a moment that the bandits would just stay hidden if they caught wind of his heavy patrol.

"We can.. We can hire hunters who know the local area to help us track them?" Elric stated, proud that he solved the riddle.

"And what if the locals are secretly supporting the bandits? If the locals themselves are a part of their group, or the bandits are supporting their families with their loot, wouldn't you just be inviting yourself into an ambush?" Cassius asked, continuing his line of questioning.

"That… shouldn't be possible, right? They would be putting their entire village at risk if we caught them!" Elric stated unsteadily, he might have been suited for a battlefield, but such guerilla tactics seemed to be outside of his realm of comfort.

"Normally, yes. But think about it like this; most villages have had a bad harvest and to avoid desolation, they could be relying on the income provided by banditry to keep themselves alive."

Elric didn't know what to do now, if he didn't kill the bandits, trade would suffer, if he killed the bandits and they were in fact supporting the locals, then he could be dooming hundreds of people to starvation.

"The way I see it, you have a few options brother." Cassius said, as he began to tap his chin, ruminating on what he could do in his brother's position.

"What I would do, is visit the local villages and see the situation for yourself, if you can offer supplies or even propose tax relief until the next harvest, you would be earning their trust and faith in you and the Stenfall household"

"You could also send your 'supplies' ahead of you as a lone caravan to lure out the bandits to strike at it, while either keeping your cavalry sat back to defend, or hide the bulk of your men within the tarped caravans in ambush, should you take that route."

"Finally; if all else fails and they're too large of a risk, you hire the hunter to discover where they are hiding, and if its a forested area… you torch it and kill them all."

Elric was immediately taken aback, three perfectly simple strategies with three various obvious ramifications and opportunities.

If he earned the respect and support of the local villages, his reputation would soar with the common folk, and could potentially end the bandits without ever having to draw blood… or at least he could dent the locals sympathies towards the bandits.

The ambush… he could see the merit behind it, he would earn great merit with the merchants, and Hektor and his gyld even promised to pay him handsomely if he brought them to heel…

And the final option… the ramifications of that made him pale. His father greatly valued the forest land, and thousands of people relied on it for food, shelter, fuel, and income. The merchants and common folk alike would demand his head, and he thought that he would likely gain a reputation as a mad man for this.

The area the bandits were suspected to reside was infact a heavily forested area that broke before the fertile lands of Stennsmark… if the fire spread to the fields as well….

Elric's face quickly paled as he looked at Cassius, who had simply given him three possible options.

"Why would you even suggest the third option, Cass?" Elric asked, a mortified scowl replacing his surprise and disgust.

"I never said you should do it, however if it was an entire rebellion, or enemy force hiding within the forest in ambush, you could easily wipe them out, or severely deplete them should an open battle be to your severe disadvantage."

"In this situation however… It is simply an option that is not worth considering, but an option I felt you should be aware of anyway."

Elrics supporter quickly caught onto his meaning, he was educating him for the future, sometimes fighting the enemy in the field is the worst possible option… and stratagems sometimes had to be invented to bring victory. If a large enough Cross Army ever breached into the lands… he could very well see the Margrave torching hundreds of thousands of acres to roast his enemies alive if it meant he never had to sacrifice a single one of his people to repel them.

Elric, although mostly a brute who enjoyed stories of honourable duels, and large field battles had a moment of pure clarity, he would not be able to solve this bandit problem with brute force. Not unless he was willing to burn forests, and torch villages. Something the honour bound youth was hard pressed to even think about.

His inner thoughts however were completely dumbfounded how his younger brother had changed so much overnight, there was a tiny part of his mind that was immediately on alert over this change, warning him that if he let his brother grow, he could become a threat to his heirdom.

But he quickly silenced that part, although he felt immense pressure at inheriting his fathers territory, he could never bring them to harm to his younger brothers over something like his. His honour could never permit that to pass.

Cassius however, was genuinely concerned about his brother and his success, his memories of him were vague, but fond. He had met his brother a few short times before, and he was nothing but caring, if not a little dismissive and unsure about how to interact with him.

Plus, the look on his face when he initially approached him was not the look of a man who had just ordered his death the night prior.

Either way, a stronger and smarter Elric was a stronger, and more stable Stenfall in the long run.

Elric eventually finished his internal monologue, debating the strategies proposed by Cassius, and just shrugged in resignation. He saw the wisdom he proposed and briefly chided himself for not following his advisors well, advice.

"Could I not do both the first and second option?" Elric asked, the two plans sounded like he could potentially kill two birds with one stone.

Cassius wasn't about to feed him answers though, and posed his own question.

"You could, but how do you think the villagers would respond after you kill their family members, and then present them with your 'mercy'?"

Elric paused, yeah… he couldn't imagine them being pleased with that.

"Then… What if we ambush them, and force them to surrender without bloodshed? If we imprison them for their crimes, or make them work their sentence over…" Elric's eyes quickly sparkled, he had something that could work!

Cassius smiled in response, it was the harder of the two options, but if he could pull it off successfully then he would reap the most benefits.

"Aye, it will be difficult but as long as you show the villagers that you're not cruel, nor merciless, they might even thank you for sparing their lives."

Elric looked to his advisor for confirmation about his new course of action, and saw the older knight nod his head in approval with a look of confusion on his face.

"Also… If you're willing, I overheard your conversation at the start there."

Elric raised an eyebrow, signalling that he was waiting for more information.

Taking this as confirmation, Cassius continued, "When you arrive in these villages and offer relief—assuming they need it—you should bring extra food to sustain them. Also, it would be wise to seek Father's approval beforehand and discuss your plan with him; he might be able to help refine it."

"And finally," Cassius said, glancing at the forty or so people scattered in various states of preparation, "you might want to add more carts to your convoy to carry all these goods."

Elric was momentarily reminded of the need to secure his father's or at least the Viscount's permission to reduce the villages' taxes until either the harvest improved or the next year's harvest. Additionally, if he had to feed these people, he would need to organise more caravans and ensure enough food was brought to last until relief arrived.

Elric's gaze sharpened as he observed his brother. 'His mind is frighteningly sharp,' he thought. 'When I inherit territory, I will need him as my advisor.'

He was convinced that Cassius's support would be invaluable in the future. His brother was addressing issues he struggled with effortlessly.

"Cassius," Elric said with determined resolve, "when I return from this patrol, I want to speak with you in private."

Elric was determined to make his first field experience a success. After thanking Cassius and apologizing to his aide, he set off to find his father.