Blood Shaper

Leaders and influential figures among the Crusade and the Shatterplate Order marched into the meeting room one at a time or in twos or threes. In a display of power Kay had forbidden any guards to accompany those attending the meeting which meant that the groups were allies staying together or lackeys following behind the real power in their groups. Their weren’t that many attendees, a little over a dozen from the Crusade and just over half as many from the Order, which meant that all but two of the loners were in heavier armor with Crusade markings over it. Commander Ravenhome came in followed by his entourage, which included his daughter Alice and Zeia, who’d joined the group after their arrival. Almost immediately after him came Crusader General Stonegnawer who was flanked by the High Crusader Hearthbreaker, who he’d left behind in Avalon as a hostage, and another High Crusader that Kay didn’t recognize.

Kay nodded in greeting at the people he’d met before and waiting as everyone else filed in and took a seat. The briefing he’d gotten from Isla and Amanda let Kay identify everyone as they came in, and he noted where the problematic individuals were sitting. Where people sat, the looks they gave each other, and who made small talk with whom all let him identify the balance of power inside the organizations. The two members of the Order that didn’t enter with their commander were notable because they were making themselves stand out as not being in line with Ravenhome’s plans. One of them also seemed to be quite friendly with a member of the Crusade that they’d identified as working for the Concord, which was interesting on it’s own.

Finally, all but one person was seated and waiting, and it wasn’t long until Guildmaster Gemglass form the Adventurer’s Guild appeared and took the final seat. Once she was ready Kay stood and addressed the gathering.

“As you all know, since you’ve already been formally welcomed, I’m King Kay of Avalon, your host for this little gathering. I’m sure you already all know each other as well, but we’re joined by most of the Crusader Generals of the Itarian Crusade with attendant High Crusaders and the Commander of the Shatterplate Order with his staff.” The two rebellious Order members looked displeased, but they were ignored. “Finally, one individual most of you would not have had the opportunity to meet, Guildmaster Gemglass, out local representative of the Adventurer’s Guild will also be present.”

“Why is she here?” Someone asked, interrupting Kay before he could continue. A thin elven woman in the Crusade’s colors turned toward Gemglass. “No offense Guildmaster, but I was under the impression that that we were going to discuss the…” She trailed off for a moment. “Terms that Avalon has presented out organizations. The Adventurer’s Guild didn’t participate in the battle, so why is their representative here?”

“The terms of surrender issued to the Crusade and the Order are one of the topics that will be discussed,” Kay acknowledged, “But they aren’t the only topic and the Guildmaster is present for that discussion.” He paused until the Crusader General nodded that she understood. “Were circumstances different we would immediately begin discussions of the terms and whether your organizations will accept them or resume hostilities, but things have changed since Commander Ravenhome and Crusader General Stonegnawer left Avalon. I assume that you’re all informed, but in case you are not, are there any of you that don’t know about what’s happened to Nelam and the surrounding area?”

There were some glances exchanged and a few short whispers, but no one looked surprised or uninformed. There were a few sneers that Kay wished he was surprised about, but the general reaction was stoic or unhappy looks.

One of the ones who’d sneered opened his mouth. “What does that have to do with us?”

Kay leveled a flat look at the man. He was the orcish High Crusader that had done most of the initial work stirring up fears about Kay and gathering the army that had attacked Avalon. Kay didn’t remember his name since he’d done nothing in the battle but get beaten up be Eleniah and didn’t have any power of his own. He was acting as the mouthpiece of the Crusader General he was accompanying though, which meant Kay would have to pay attention to him.

The orc was about to reply, with some idiocy most likely, when he was cut off by a Crusader General across from him, who was glaring angrily at the orc. “Of course the Crusade still exists to deal with the vampyr threat. But how does that influence the terms you’ve set?”

“They change things, because I am willing to adjust some of the terms in exchange for your services.”

Anyone who hadn’t figured out which way this was going suddenly perked up. Everyone who did just nodded along.

The Crusader General who the orc was with planted both hands on the table and leveraged himself up a bit. “You’re offering to rescind your demands,” He stressed, “In exchange for the Crusade saving you from the vampyr?” The youngest Crusader General present, a human man by the name of Jaben, looked down the table toward Kay with a smirk.

“Of course not.” Kay’s tone was even, and faintly implied that Jaben’s statement was ridiculous. “I said that I was willing to adjust the terms somewhat, not remove them entirely. Nor did I say anything about Avalon needing to be saved by you. In exchange for the services of the Itarian Crusade and the Shatterplate Order working alongside Avalon in purging the vampyr wreaking havoc where Nelam once stood, certain terms of your surrenders can be lightened or removed, but there are some terms that will remain no matter what you decide. Your organizations attacked a peaceful nation and endangered it’s citizens, my citizens, without cause or notice. You will not be let off without some form of recompense.”

Edric Ravenhome leaned forward. “Which terms would those be and how would they change?” He asked, not letting Jaben regain any momentum.

Kay waved Miri forward, and she started handing out documents with everything written out on them. “These are the new terms given under the assumption that both your groups will be assisting Avalon in taking on an enemy that you already would.”

Everyone, except Gemglass who didn’t get one, began reading them as they received a copy. Some of them went through each section line by line, some skimmed, and a few, including Jaben, flipped furiously back and forth through the three page packet, looking for specific entries.

Jaben slammed a half-curled fist into the table, crumpling his copy as he did so. “These changes say nothing about your ridiculous demands about moving our headquarters and allowing you to install oversight on us!”

Kay held back a sigh as he looked at Jaben. As much as he wished it were so, Crusader General Jaben wasn’t the person he was going to be making an example out of today. Jaben was the youngest Crusader General in many years, commanded respect among his subordinates and many of his peers, and led the most zealous of the factions among the Crusade. He was the one who’d made connections with the maniacs from the Coalition of Fangs End, the lunatics who attacked anyone they thought was a vampyr, usually on spurious or outright false evidence, and Jaben was starting to shift his own personal efforts in a similar direction. He was also the man who was spawning most of the disconcerting rumors around the Crusade sacking entire towns to get to one relatively weak vampyr and other whisperings about atrocities.

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Unfortunately Jaben was too influential and had too large a force under his command to turn into an example, even if he would leave the room totally unharmed. Even if he didn’t like the man and had no long term plans that involved him retaining any power, Kay still needed the asshole and his army to deal with the vampyr. They didn’t have unlimited time until the vampyr overcame the ongoing sabotage efforts against their ritual circles and Kay needed as powerful a force as possible hitting them as soon as possible, which meant that Jaben wouldn’t be the one getting verbally crushed into paste.

It would help if he wasn’t stealing the lines of the person I do need to lambaste! Kay thought to himself as he glanced over at said person.

Isolde Vannera was also a Crusader General, though she wasn’t a particularly notable one outside of the fact that she mostly used her army as a mercenary force while not slaying vampyr with it, and she had a large stake to lose if Avalon had oversight over the Crusade, let alone slowly took control as was the dear among the Crusader Generals. There was no chance that Kay would let a mercenary army roam about unchecked, because no sane ruler would. The only reason she’d been getting away with it in her normal hunting ground of the Bannerthrust Empire was that she could pretend that she was hunting vampyr when in reality she was taking her army down to siege an annoyed noble’s neighbors in exchange for some cash. She was the one supposed to be up in arms about not getting out from under Kay’s thumb and Jaben was supposed to be focused on killing vampyr!

“I told you that only some terms would change and that there wouldn’t be an escape from the consequences of your actions.” Kay replied to Jaben’s accusations. “The terms that were reduced or removed were those about direct compensation from your attack on my country, yes, because those are the easiest to set aside. The provisions that call for structural changes in your organizations won’t be going anywhere.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Jaben shouted, shoving himself to his feet. “Who do you think you are!?”

With things going off script, Kay had to improvise. He leaned forward, subtly shifting his clothing as he did so, turning it from regular clothing, if made of blood, into battle armor. “I am King Kay of Avalon. I am the ruler of the nation your Crusade attacked unprovoked and on the basis of false claims. I am the lord of the people who you harmed, who’s villages and towns you destroyed, who’s lives had to be rebuilt after you marched through our lands and left ruin in your wake. Do you think their suffering can be repaid in coin? The reparations paid to assuage their pain won’t be in money or material, but in ensuring that such a thing never happens at your hands again.”

“I have done no such thing!”

Kay stabbed a finger at the crest on his armor. “The Itarian Crusade did, and you are of the Crusade! The man sitting next to you is your subordinate and he not only led troops of the Crusade against my nation, he’s the one who started the battle during a parley!”

Jaben ground his teeth against each other. “There was an attack against Crusader General Stonegnawer that provoked the attack.”

“Yes, an attack deliberately done with that goal in mind carried out by the allies your people gathered on the way to attack us.” Kay rebutted instantly. “Your man did nothing to try and keep the peace or negotiate and immediately attacked at the first opportunity. He came into my lands seeking bloodshed and made sure that he found some.” Kay shot the orc a contemptuous look. “But it was his blood that was shed in the end, wasn’t it?”

The man looked away without saying anything.

“The terms being modified aren’t changing that much,” Crusader General Vannera said, finally joining the conversation. “The cost of fielding this many armies is high, and the amounts that you’re reducing certain payments aren’t enough to cover the expenses. Perhaps we can negotiate some kind of scale? Say, a greater reduction in reparations if the Crusade is able to perform better then expected.”

“I am not hiring the Crusade or the Order to act as mercenaries.” Kay put some extra disdain on the word to press the point home. “I am calling on you to join Avalon in dealing with a threat that all of you have sworn oaths to defeat! Each and every one of you are where you are because you kill vampyr. You are the Crusader Generals of the Itarian Crusade, which exists to kill vampyr. You are the Commander of the Shatterplate Order and hunters of that same group because you have sworn to hunt down andend the vampyr menace.” He swept his gaze across everyone except Guildmaster Gemglass and his own people with harsh eyes. “I should not have to buy your assistance in this, you should be doing it anyways! My modification of the terms set down for your surrender aren’t payment, they’re an acknowledgment of the importance of your duties and a demonstration that we are on the same side against an enemy that wants all of us to cease to be!”

Kay leaned forward, bracing himself with both arms against the table. “Each and every one of you should be aware, because I sent you all a full report of what my people have discovered, that the vampyr are led by one of their own that is more powerful than any encountered in memory and it is driving them to create massive ritual circles we surmise will bring even more abominations from beyond our world, like the one that arrived and ended the Shatterplate War. Both of your forces joined with me to deal with that threat, because it is against everything that we are trying to achieve, a safe world for people to live in.” He pointed forcefully at the wall. “Out there is the largest incursion of vampyr in known history, and you are in here arguing with me about money and acting like you are the wronged parties in a war you started over complete bullshit!” He glared furiously at Jaben and Vannera. “Will the Order and the Crusade be joining me and my people in killing fucking vampyr as you’ve sworn to do…!?” He looked at each of them one more time and whispered, “Or will I be doing it all myself?”

Edric Ravenhome, Commander of the Shatterplate Order stood. “The Order will be joining you, your majesty, change in terms or no. You’re completely correct. It is our duty that we willingly took up ourselves to slay vampyr, and we will join you in doing so.”

Crusader General Stonegnawer stood as well, his dwarven height leaving him peering over the edge of the table. “I will be joining as well, with or without the Crusade. I do not go back on my oaths.”

Another Crusader General stood and pleged their support, then another, and that shifted the tide. The cascading weight of more and more leaders calling their support forced more to come along or risk being left behind and losing insane amounts of face. Vannera joined in somewhere in the middle after seeing how things were going, leaving only Jaben scowling at Kay. After a few seconds he too stood.

“The Crusade is with you, your majesty.” It took visible effort from him to keep himself calm. “We will march east and rid the world of any vampyr scum.” The look he gave made it evident that he still thought that included Kay.

“Good. Now, while the Order has only a single leader, the Crusade is split between many Crusader Generals. I’ll be appointing one of you to serve as overall commander of your forces for this, in order to cut down on the chaos of having so many generals. I choose Crusader General Stonegnawer for this, as I’ve already gotten to know him and I trust him personally.”

Jaben choked with rage as Kay swiftly undercut his attempt with that “The Crusade is with you” bit. It was a blatant attempt to seize more control over the Crusade by seeming to be it’s representative, and Kay wasn’t having that. Things had already gone sideways from his planning with Jaben being too focused on Kay as an enemy and not enough on the actual vampyr, and Kay wasn’t going to let things shift any more. Jaben was too busy choking to protest and the other Crusader Generals had no leg to stand on to stop Kay from putting Stonegnawer over all of them after they’d so dramatically joined up.

Stonegnawer coughed into his fist. “Very well. I will accept temporary command over the Crusade as a whole during this campaign.”

“Good. There isn’t any time to waste. Commander Ravenhome, Crusader General Stonegnawer, if you’ll join me and my advisers we’ll began planning our advance immediately.”