Meeting the Northern Lords

Over the next week their neighbouring lords gather at Aesica castle. Once they'd all arrived they met together to discuss their plan.

"Thank you all for coming, lords and lady." Marcus addresses the assembled lords and singular lady. "As my letter mentioned, the orcs are organising. I've written to the emperor but it will be too long before he can send aid." He summarises. Everyone there knows the emperor is unlikely to act, not until the mines are affected and even if he did, help would take too long to arrive to help them.

"Are you sure about this?" A lord asks. "These orcs have never been more than a nuisance. They're simply incapable of organising on a grand level."

"Very. I've had more of my scouts investigate. They all agree, this horde grows larger by the day." Marcus confirms.

"Ha! This is clearly an attempt by young lord Marcus to trick us into emptying our garrisons for some power play." A fat old lord laughs as though he'd seen through some grand scheme.

A few others gathered murmur in agreement.

Lady Aine stood up. "Lord Marcus speaks the truth. My own scouts confirmed it. Maybe if some of you did your job as lords instead of gorging on your own excess, you might also have known."

Aine was different from the other lords. She was the heir of the dynasty that used to rule the area as queens before being annexed by the empire four centuries ago. They were allowed to continue, ruling only their final holdout fort. They were the only native noble dynasty remaining of the area. She had copper hair, bright green eyes and a pale complexion.

"Leave matters of war to us, Lady Aine. Your people never were good at it." A third lord sneers.

"Oh? So will you be joining us then, my lord?" Marcus asks him.

He looks away, muttering something too quietly to hear.

"Let me be clear, lords. You are in your positions on behalf of our empire, to protect our border and our citizens. You think I want to plot to take over this backwater shithole? For what? To be crushed by a legion as I crushed my cousin? If I wanted wealth and power I'd be grovelling in the capital like my cousins in the Imperial Court. You can do your jobs and help or you can cower in your homes while your people die, your castles crumble and your daughters taken to breed more orcs. The choice is yours, the consequences will be yours."

The words linger in the silence of the room. After a moment, Marcus turns to Aine.

"Lady Aine. Thank you for being so proactive. I take it you are willing to commit to this effort."

"I am. My people have fought the orcs for millenia. We have stories of them gathering like this. It's rare but it is nothing to turn your nose up at. We need to snuff this out before it begins."

"Good. Any others?" Marcus asks the room. A couple other lords stand in agreement, one an old veteran named Lucius, another a young and eager man named Octavius.

"Thank you, lords. We'll discuss the details in the other room. Please go ahead and wait, I'll be there soon."

Aine, Lucius and Octavius leave through a side door along with their aides.

"The rest of you..." He says to the remaining lords. Some looked nervous, others with disdian, and a few with boredom. "I can't say your inaction surprises me, but I can say it disgusts me. When the orcs are driven back, I will turn back and, if you haven't been killed by orcs as your family are ****, I will personally come and end your entire bloodlines. So, unless you've changed your minds, get the fuck out of my castle. You are no longer welcome here."

He allows a moment for any to change their minds before he orders his guards to escort them out.

He exits to the side door to meet Aine, Lucius and Octavius. Amelia is also there, waiting.

"So this is all of us?" Aine asks, clearly disappointed.

"It is." Marcus replies in frustration. "And it's not enough..."

"Are you sure? Surely no amount of orcs can stand up to the Empire's finest." Young Octavius proclaims confidently. The rest share uneasy looks.

"Do not underestimate them." Marcus says. "They're stupid but if there's one thing they like and are good at, its fighting."

"Agreed. Don't let the propaganda blind you boy." Lucius says sternly. "The Empire has enough empty heads in leadership. We need a plan, we won't have the forces for a pitched battle."

"Not even close." Marcus says. "We need more men, a guerrilla war would be too long, everything we're fighting for would be lost before our victory."

"What about the dwarves?" Aine asks. "In ancient times, they fought with my people against a few great orc hordes."

"Hmm, they'd be incredible allies. There are no finer warriors but..." Marcus says.

"They don't leave their tunnels." Lucius completes his thought. "Without their monarch's permission they're considered tainted if they've seen the sky and not allowed to return. Queen Kozzala is the closest and good luck getting her to agree to anything while they have goblins infesting half their old empire."

"Queen Kozzala? What happened to King Hekil?" Marcus asks.

"Dwarf politics." Lucius replies with a sigh telling them all they need to know.

Amelia steps close to Marcus and asks for a private word. He excuses himself and follows her.

"You can do it." She says. "Your gift from the gods, she'll be more likely to listen to you if she feels... attracted to you." She says, clearly a little uncomfortable suggesting it.

Marcus can't help but feel unsure. Lust can make people irrational but declaring war over it? Surely not. Then again, they need allies to survive.

"I doubt we'll convince her but..." He replies thinking. "If we get the 16th back together, we could promise our aid pushing back the goblins after the orcs are dealt with."

"YES!" Amelia lights up at the potential of a new campaign.

The Dwarven deep roads would be full of forgotten treasures he could pay the legion with. First he had to get their queen to agree...