Pestilence: Rise Of The Pure Undead

"What have they found out?"

"Nothing more than I initially discovered when interrogating them under the influence of the gazer’s constellation, they peeled until nothing remained"

"I see… So we have no further information on what they have prepared" Ourlst said, in spite of whatever plan Alisart Cleavster might have, by all means, the undead still held the advantage, it was simply that the simple fact that the living had already taken action was worrying, but not what concerned the left hand most, but it was that the south had received direct support from the east, and that he had not had a single clue of this exchange happening.

And since Horhir had not told him about it, the right hand and his information gatherer had not caught wind of it either, meaning that they were surprisingly stealthy to get past the surveillance of the nightbirds, who had tracked every single message sent in between regions through messenger birds, or the other option was that this trade, or trades had occurred before any sort of invasion had begun, meaning that this secondary plan had been in stock the whole time.

’Even if my operation was technically successful, I still danced in Cleavster’s palms by going through with it, that had been within his expectations’ so now, Ourlst needed to decide what to do next, encircling the main camp of the living was the logical next step, and thus, Alisart would be seeing it coming.

But would he actually be capable of doing anything about it? Knowing was one thing, but even if Alisart could predict Ourlst every move, it did not mean that the warking had the ressources or means to actually counter, the lieutenant could not know this with certainty, especially with the knowledge that the south most certainly had access to resources from other regions.

The east had probably given more of their so-called meals.

At first, Ourlst had planned to land the full assault nearly immediately after taking hold of the furthest gates, but now, he felt that he should first gather more information, he had to converse with Horhir, and would probably need to make a report to Loimos, although he had not failed anywhere yet, the left hand still felt that he had allowed the livings to get one up on him.

"Very well, Sari, Erestel, focus on fortifying your positions, strike at your own discretion if any group of livings approach"

With this order, Ourlst went on his way, checking a message written in death tongue, but also coded further, he learned that he would be able of meeting Horhir by moving back to the main platform beyond the barrier, as he was going to make a report directly to Loimos, having apparently succeeded in pushing a region out of the war, this was a tremendous achievement.

The trip was a short one, and he didn’t even need to look around for his general, stopping next to Horhir.

Loimos was seemingly congratulating some new faces, perhaps future champions of the vanguard, lieutenants that would join the battlefield or work on other projects, soon enough, both the knights were called forward. @@novelbin@@

Their general looked exactly the same as usual, the area however, had changed quite a fair bit, especially the undeads around, the minor lords had installed themselves, Fin-Limiers stood around like statues and gargoyles, and judging by the amount of rank and file, Loimoisian knights and such, a new batch of recruits had just graduated to becoming active members of the vanguard, and it was certainly a sight to behold, from the early days were Ourlst and Horhir were the only knights to now, the numbers were difficult to even fathom.

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"General Loimos, I bring good news, the north has agreed to sitting out of the war in exchange of support in the development of pyromancy, I have appealed to their warrior spirit as well, offering them a chance to total independence as livings if they were to become victorious in a duel…" the right hand was the first to speak, both of them had taken off their helms, exposing their pungent, putrescent faces to the outside.

Loimos did not yet speak, so Horhir went on.

"However, even this proposition was not enough at first… Irlke Combuscrus wished for only a single confrontation, between himself… And you, Sir Loimos" Ourlst turned to his fellow.

"You took this decision without notifying our general-?!" he reflexively shouted, Loimos softly raising one hand, palm forward.

"-My apologies"

"It is true that this sort of decision should normally be made in accord with the person of interest, I myself, see no problem with your decision, as long as the deal is secured" Horhir felt a weight lifting off his shoulders, visibly relaxing.

"But do keep in mind that such agreements should not be a common occurrence, you should have also expected the northern warking to wish to face the leader of the opposition himself, as king of his people, he is the example and trusted figure, it should have been obvious that he would neither sit out of such fights, nor would he settle for a subordinate of mine, as much as you may view I and he as in different planes, the fact is that in this war, the warlords are my direct reflection in terms of position, and they view you two as equivalent of their own most trusted agents"

"You have done well so far Horhir, but at one point, you have begun viewing them as inferior, this is the sort of mistakes that can shatter the greatest of plans" the right hand lowered his head, Loimos had said it clearly, he had made a mistake, and a big one at that, even if no consequences would follow it, he was to reflect.

The champion then signalled for Horhir to go on with his report, going over the progress of operations in the east, and the lack thereof in the west, still failing to locate the latter.

"I would also like to bring to light Tilmiel’s efficiency in dealing with an issue as I was unavailable, the nightbirds have been a precious help" the knight praised his closest allies in the veiled war efforts.

After a few minor explanations and precisions, it was Ourlst’s turn to speak.

"General Loimos, I have managed to breach three gates in the southern wall, two right at the extremities, where Sari and Erestel have been given command to build and defend fortifications of our own, although lacking in ways to gather information, I feel confident that this wall was the only one of its kind, no other form a perfect obstacle to our advance…"

"...I was planning on striking the main camp, where Alisart Cleavster and Aramap are currently residing, as soon as was possible, but I have discovered of the existence of a longstanding second plan that seemed prepared for this specific occasion, I am not willing to leave them time to prepare anything else, but also uncertain how to approach this next battle without following exactly what they are awaiting of me" Ourlst shared his concerns, even though he had been doing well, he was not yet worthy of being called a veteran or expert, warfare had appeared simple to him, but now that he encountered an unknown quantity, indecision threatened to alter his judgement.

Silence encroached for a brief instant.

"Ourlst, your wariness is only natural, and a much desired trait, I myself can not personally know what such feeling it is, I can only follow my logic and calculations, the fact that you feel it is not a sign of weakness, it is part of your instinct, as an undead that is not pure like I, you are both of instinct and reasoning"

Both knights listened attentively, when Loimos spoke at length, it was always for a good reason, Loimos was pulling their attention in because he wanted to teach them something.

"As such, you must not let one overtake the other, right now however, you are allowing instinct to dictate, Ourlst, settle down and think rationally, approach this issue by giving place to both this wariness, and logic, you have shown the capacity before, I know well that the both of you are worried that your job may not be up to my standards, but if I wanted things done my way, I would be leading the troops myself"

’Yes… Fact is that by giving us these positions, he acknowledged that we could fulfil them…’

Trust was a heavy thing to bear, but Loimos was death’s chosen champion, his trust could not possibly be misplaced, there was nothing to fear.