Gary^The^Procrastinator
Rewards and Regrets, Lenfald LC8 Entry
A story from Lands of Classic Castle.
“Sir Caelan Munro, Duke Cartney will see you now.” The clerk nodded at the young knight for him to come in to the duke’s study. The duke was the senior leader of Durrough and his study showed it. The spacious room was elaborately decorated, with the duke’s heraldry prominently displayed on the fireplace mantle. On the polished wooden floor was a bright blue and yellow embroidered rug, a now well-known gift from leaders in Garheim which they called an “Alliance Rug”.
“Well Caelan, welcome home from the war,” the duke began as he snatched up an enticing sealed envelope from his desk and rose to meet him. The duke was known as a bit of a fop, generally overdressed for every occasion, but he had a firm handshake. This was their first meeting, Caelan being fairly unknown prior to the war, but the duke lived up to all the rumors--tall, thin, overly-groomed and clean, but a respected and highly capable leader nonetheless. “You’ve done a bit with these archers of yours haven’t you? Scout Snipers, you call them, yes?”
“Yes sir, they’re all deadly shots to the man.”
“So I’ve heard. Your reports stated you inflicted over one hundred casualties on the Loreesi, including some war elephants amazingly…”
Caelan immediately thought of Flannery and his tree-crunching, elephant-smashing tactic. “Three of them, sir.”
“Most remarkable. And you held on to Mitah’s tower despite a full assault by Fazeel’s bunch too. Tell me, how many casualties did you take?”
“Twelve sir. Three will recover and fight again, but three probably will never draw bow again and…” he thought of the men he would never see once more and stopped mid-sentence, growing somber over the loss.
“And six died for their country,” Cartney finished his sentence. “No decent Lenfald commander enjoys that part but we must accept what we cannot change. How many effectives do you have now?”
“Twenty-six, sir.” The feeling of regret continued within him, as he had started the war with thirty-eight, plus his friend Tavish.
“And have you dismissed them yet?”
Caelan suddenly went from a deep feeling of regret, to one of great alarm. “Uh..sir no, I had hoped…”
Duke Cartney interrupted in a correcting tone, “Now Caelan you must know that only Barons and above can have standing forces in Lenfald during peacetime, yes?”
Caelan’s heart sank like a stone. All that training, fighting and his mens' sacrifice…
“So,” Cartney suddenly changed his tone, “we must correct this infraction of the rules.” He handed the envelope to Caelan stating with satisfaction, “From High Lord Triphian himself.”
Caelan broke the seal and read quickly. His heart suddenly shot back into place again. “A baroncy!!” he exclaimed before he could prevent his emotions from rising.
“Congratulations Baron Munro. And there’s more.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a note, “Give this to Durrough’s exchequer.”
Caelan did a double-take at the sum. “1000 draken!”
Cartney smiled, “Not for you of course. The baroncy’s all you need to woo that Lady of yours, Kensie I believe her name is yes...no, it’s for you to raise, train and maintain one hundred Scout Snipers as soon as possible.”
His head swimming, Caelan blinked and the meaning came clear. “You believe this peace won’t last.”
Cartney smiled a joyless smile. “This peace is about as stable as a one-legged man hopping a tight rope across the Aines River. And I am certain we will soon need lots of young men who are dead shots, to the man.” He nodded, walked back to his desk and waived over his shoulder, “Congratulations again Caelan, now off to the exchequer with you.”
That apparently was the end of their meeting, but as Caelan turned to go a thought stopped him and he asked the duke, now with his back to him, “Sir, how could you possibly know of my interest in Lady Kensie?”
The duke gave him a clever look and stated, “You are not the only one with scouts, young Caelan.” And he waved him away.
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Previous Caelan stories:
Lenfald Scout Snipers Taking Down A War Elephant
Rewards and Regrets, Lenfald LC8 Entry
A story from Lands of Classic Castle.
“Sir Caelan Munro, Duke Cartney will see you now.” The clerk nodded at the young knight for him to come in to the duke’s study. The duke was the senior leader of Durrough and his study showed it. The spacious room was elaborately decorated, with the duke’s heraldry prominently displayed on the fireplace mantle. On the polished wooden floor was a bright blue and yellow embroidered rug, a now well-known gift from leaders in Garheim which they called an “Alliance Rug”.
“Well Caelan, welcome home from the war,” the duke began as he snatched up an enticing sealed envelope from his desk and rose to meet him. The duke was known as a bit of a fop, generally overdressed for every occasion, but he had a firm handshake. This was their first meeting, Caelan being fairly unknown prior to the war, but the duke lived up to all the rumors--tall, thin, overly-groomed and clean, but a respected and highly capable leader nonetheless. “You’ve done a bit with these archers of yours haven’t you? Scout Snipers, you call them, yes?”
“Yes sir, they’re all deadly shots to the man.”
“So I’ve heard. Your reports stated you inflicted over one hundred casualties on the Loreesi, including some war elephants amazingly…”
Caelan immediately thought of Flannery and his tree-crunching, elephant-smashing tactic. “Three of them, sir.”
“Most remarkable. And you held on to Mitah’s tower despite a full assault by Fazeel’s bunch too. Tell me, how many casualties did you take?”
“Twelve sir. Three will recover and fight again, but three probably will never draw bow again and…” he thought of the men he would never see once more and stopped mid-sentence, growing somber over the loss.
“And six died for their country,” Cartney finished his sentence. “No decent Lenfald commander enjoys that part but we must accept what we cannot change. How many effectives do you have now?”
“Twenty-six, sir.” The feeling of regret continued within him, as he had started the war with thirty-eight, plus his friend Tavish.
“And have you dismissed them yet?”
Caelan suddenly went from a deep feeling of regret, to one of great alarm. “Uh..sir no, I had hoped…”
Duke Cartney interrupted in a correcting tone, “Now Caelan you must know that only Barons and above can have standing forces in Lenfald during peacetime, yes?”
Caelan’s heart sank like a stone. All that training, fighting and his mens' sacrifice…
“So,” Cartney suddenly changed his tone, “we must correct this infraction of the rules.” He handed the envelope to Caelan stating with satisfaction, “From High Lord Triphian himself.”
Caelan broke the seal and read quickly. His heart suddenly shot back into place again. “A baroncy!!” he exclaimed before he could prevent his emotions from rising.
“Congratulations Baron Munro. And there’s more.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a note, “Give this to Durrough’s exchequer.”
Caelan did a double-take at the sum. “1000 draken!”
Cartney smiled, “Not for you of course. The baroncy’s all you need to woo that Lady of yours, Kensie I believe her name is yes...no, it’s for you to raise, train and maintain one hundred Scout Snipers as soon as possible.”
His head swimming, Caelan blinked and the meaning came clear. “You believe this peace won’t last.”
Cartney smiled a joyless smile. “This peace is about as stable as a one-legged man hopping a tight rope across the Aines River. And I am certain we will soon need lots of young men who are dead shots, to the man.” He nodded, walked back to his desk and waived over his shoulder, “Congratulations again Caelan, now off to the exchequer with you.”
That apparently was the end of their meeting, but as Caelan turned to go a thought stopped him and he asked the duke, now with his back to him, “Sir, how could you possibly know of my interest in Lady Kensie?”
The duke gave him a clever look and stated, “You are not the only one with scouts, young Caelan.” And he waved him away.
-----------
Previous Caelan stories:
Lenfald Scout Snipers Taking Down A War Elephant