Chapter 5: Olf
"Good morning, Lord Olf! I have good news! The naval fleet will arrive in two days! The admiral Afarin assured that every vessel has been resupplied and should be able to deliver a constant barrage upon the enemies. Even if she's part Ahas, I'm sure she will meet your expectations."
The person who spoke had just arrived in the dining hall of the castle. The room was decorated with swords on the walls and shields over them, bearing the insignia of the Lord. The insignia was a long blue scaly creature that resembled a dolphin with sharp teeth, their dragon. The room was occupied by a couple of lightly dressed servants holding plates of food and a man eating alone at the table in the centre. He was the ruler of the castle and the city, he was currently busy eating food and occasionally smiled at his female servants.
The Lord was a tall man named Olf Premer. His long blond and wavy hair was covered by a silver crown with a gem the shape of a trident. He wore a brown dress and over it was a pelt surcoat dyed in purple. He wore many jewellery such as a golden necklace and silver rings at each of his fingers. An encrusted sword was hanging on his left side.
"General Merdosa Picha, it's quite a good piece of news. But judging from the ever growing size of the enemy, I doubt that the fleet will arrive on time." The Lord said as he was eating the seafood that a servant was cutting for him.
"My Lord, the garrison has enough manpower to repel any attacks until reinforcement."
"You're forgetting that the enemy has siege engines such as catapults, trebuchets, battering rams and siege towers. I'm surprised that they didn't bring sappers yet."
"My Lord, our scouts reported that an army of the Order is at a one day distance behind the enemy camp. About two hundred of heavy infantry and only five mages on horseback. The foot soldiers seem to behave unnaturally."
"Two hundred heavy infantry and only five mages? The Order isn't well known in the neighbouring kingdoms, we know nothing about their war doctrines. But they seem to be pretty wealthy nonetheless."
"Except for their mages, their army hasn't moved from their position. They stood still from dawn until dusk. Another abnormality is that they don't have a camp, they don't have cattle, they don't have any transports nor defences. They only have a medium sized tent where the mages sleep in."
"They aren't humans, then. They're probably metal golems. As of now, they aren't our enemies. But prepare a golem counter measure. If they are confident enough to bring in magically controlled beings, they must have some kind of Lord stone or some very experienced mages."
"Maybe they only intend to give only one order before they're in range."
A Lord stone was often given to royalties and lords, they were often put in a medal or a necklace to hide from thieves. Anyone who carried such treasure would be able to use their spells even within the range of a magic dispelling stone. Only a handful of people knew how to make these devices, and their identity were a mystery to those who weren't at the head of a powerful kingdom. Lord Olf was but an underling of the King Hedi of the Herik Kingdom which was one of those powerful kingdoms on the continent.
"A Lord stone… neither the lands of Ahas nor the kingdom of the Order was ever recognised to be granted any stone."
"Somehow, their lands must have gotten some, my Lord."
"Send a scribe, I'll cite a message to King Hedi that has to be delivered directly at the capital Hedicart, not Valiart where his brother could intercept it."
"Yes, my Lord! Right away!"
Let's see the bright sight of this world!