>>5933589>>5933704>>5933719>>5933719>>5933792>>5933700The Rex sets about commanding his troops to begin establishing a new forward operating base here, and to begin construction on a fort of our own. A contingent of able-bodied men are given supplies and sent to the north to establish a fort on the northern side of the river there, in the land of orichalcum deposits and wild peas. Here, a fort will be constructed on the opposite side of the river.
The wounded are gathered, brought across the river on simple crafts, and attended to by the priests in a more central and defended location, along with the wounded dragon Velox. Around them, defensive positions begin to be created.
The Rex stands on an elevated position overlooking the area. Alongside him is the dragonblooded sorceress, and alongside them are Avitus. The Rex considers sending the dragons to burn out the nearest outpost, but hesitates; twice now the enemy has revealed a counter-tactic in response to their movements, so maintaining and fortifying their current position seems best.
It is in the early evening when a mysterious figure flanked by some guards begins to approach the area from the northwest. Spotted by scouts and quickly surrounded, he claims to have valuable information in regards to the enemy, and desires to speak with the Rex.
The Rex cautiously decides to hear him out, but keeps the sorceress and elder dragon alongside him. The man reveals himself to be a mage, a very powerful one, nominally the ruler/overseer of the northern village of the western empire.
He has come to betray the Emperor to us. As he explains it, the kingdom of the west was once prosperous, but his ancestor developed a weapon, a staff of mind-control, and presented it to the current Emperor's forebears. Using this staff, they have taken control of the people as well as beasts (the chimeric mustelids and wyverns) and have run the kingdom into the dirt, rampantly overconsuming resources and breeding in order to build up an army that requires even more resources to maintain. They have conquered several smaller settlements, absorbing their people into their collective, and the current regime inherited and continued by the current Emperor has turned into a self-perpetuating machine of growth only through conquest. There was a time when people lived in peace and harmony with the land; he would see a return to those days of quiet and calm.
This great mage was the one who led the efforts in divining a people worthy of conquest: yours, but in so doing hoped that the empire would suffer its first significant defeat on the field of battle, which it now has. With your people having proven capable, he is here to negotiate terms on the destruction and dismantling of the western empire, and can provide intelligence, all for his own safety and the safety of his northern village where his family and friends reside.
What say us?
