Onwards to Phebis.

On a normal day, the royal carriage would be prepared, with a modest escort of mounted soldiers at the ready. However, with the military expedition to Phebis looming, there is no royal carriage being prepared. Instead, a few stablehands finish preparing your warhorse--a tall, stocky dark bay horse--being wrapped in chainmail, with plate pieces on the horse's chest, and parts of its head. Your advisors, dressed for battle, stand next to their own horses, surrounded by a combined arms **** of about 4,000 soldiers & 1,000 support staff. All of them salute you, and you salute back. Then you mount up, with the advisors doing the same, say a few traditional things, then lead the way, with a small contingent of soldiers providing escort.

Your people salute you as you ride East through the capital, past the gates, where the garrison posted there also salute. As you ride out into the countryside, you can see how lush the flatlands of Itheria is, with groves of trees separating farmlands & the handful of serf-based jurisdictions under your domain. Any farmers & villagers waive to you as you ride past, yelling "Love live the king!" to you. The small, farming village of Senna also drop everything to salute you, as you ride past its relatively narrow trade road.

A range of forested hills provide a natural border between Itheria & the tiny kingdom of Phebis, but so far, no wall has been built. It is there that an escort of Phebian militiamen greet you, and join your lead contingent of soldiers, guiding the way to the Phebian capital. By now, the sun is starting to set, and about an hour of riding passes before the capital is reached. Phebis may be a tiny kingdom, but its lone, vast city is its capital, about the same size as the Itherian capital. The landscape of the Phebian coastline allows for both a natural harbor & bay, and coastal defenses that have likely **** the raiding Amazons to land somewhere else. The inner part of the city has enough space to accommodate your expedition, and that is where you ride into.

The Phebian king is a man in his 50's, reflected in the wrinkles on his face, and the graying strands of hair. Next to him is his wife, who is also in her 50's, and their three children. The oldest and heir to the throne is in his mid 20's now, fit and ready to help defend Phebis. The 2nd oldest child is a young man in his late teens, who looks a little more frail than his older brother, but more than fit to fight. The youngest child is a girl in her early teens, who seems to already have the body of a dancer, given the way her gown hugs her body. It is unclear of how happy the ongoing marriage is, but it does look like the bloodlines are secure enough going into the forthcoming battle, and the oldest child looks fit and ready to rule, when the royal couple abdicate the thrones when they hit 60. Should that happen, then they would later act as Phebis's ambassadors to your kingdom.

After a formal greeting outside the keep, you & your advisors walk inside the keep, while your armies settle in. A change out of your armor and a rather quick bath follow, and then a hearty dinner. After that, you & your advisors walk into the private study, where the Phebian royals start to brief you on the Amazon raiders.

"They were likely deterred by our defensive walls and towers guarding the bay." The Phebian king tells you. "So they landed further East, where the few fishing and farming villages that we have, are more ****. We did not know they have sailed in, until our tax collectors came back with no taxes collected from them, only letters of warning from their queen about not attacking them."

"Do you have a copy of the letter?" You ask the Phebian king."

"Aye, I do." He tells you, and hands you the rolled-up letter. Taking it, you unroll it, and read it carefully.

To the King of Phebis:

Thanks to a...kind...trader from the distant realms to the East, we have learned, then discovered your fair city. We, the Thessian Tribes of the Amazon Islands, have taken the opportunity to exercise our periodical journey to distant lands, in the search for riches, knowledge, and most importantly, young men. Your villages attempted to defend themselves, and when they wounded one of my sisters, we fought back tenfold. Unfortunately, we have slain most of your people that fought back, and are working to take whatever we can bring back to our home islands. I leave you with your only warning. We may be small in numbers, but the power of our goddess flow within us. Do not try to attack us with your forces, or that of your allies. Failure to comply may result in your trade routes being cut off for a long period of time, or an outright siege of your city.

Signed,

Cielina, Queen of the Thessian Amazons

-----

"So they want young men, as well as riches?" You ask the Phebian King.

"That is what we have observed, so far." He tells you. "They have already demanded tolls from the caravans, and raided some of the merchant boats. Now that you have arrived with your army, we stand a chance at pushing them back out to sea."

"Were your scouts able to determine how many of them are to the East?" You ask him.

"The numbers vary, King Bryce." The Phebian King tells you. "One scout puts it at 200, while another puts it at 400."

"Do they have any magicians?" You ask him.

"We do not know." He tells you. "The scouts did report sightings of what appear to be shamans or seers among them."

"And what of this Queen Cielina?" You ask him. "Have they been able to identify her?"

"So far," he tells you, "they haven't. One scout tried to get in real close to try to and identify the queen. He came back, cut into pieces, and placed in a handbasket."

"Perhaps my spies will have better luck." You tell him. "It may be wise to hit them back, before they become well entrenched."

"Or we could see how much more they will demand before they leave." Lord Gilbert speaks out. "Perhaps this Queen Cielina wants something, if they have gone this far north. They tend to stay close to their home islands, taking ships that get too close."

"This seems like a delicate task." You tell both Lord Gilbert, and the Phebian King. "Regardless, we must learn as much about these Amazons, as we can, before we can take up a proper course of action."

You finish your drink, long after the meal was done, and stand up, bidding your advisors and the Phebian royal family goodnight. You walk to the spare room that has been prepared as your royal quarters for the length of the expedition, and move inside. As you start to unwind, and slip into your nighttime clothes, you hear a knock on the door. Walking over to it, you open the rectangular slot in the door, looking to see who it is.