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Jaerdyn analysed the kerke board before him, searching the white and black pieces for an opening. Across from him, Sal wore a wide smirk, certain that he had the captain cornered. The men in the small crowd watching the kerke game whispered to each other and some men pointed at the board.
“Well Sal,” Jaerdyn sighed, “It’s not looking good.”
“You might as well cut your losses,” Sal snickered. “Say your goodbyes to Bloodletter while you can.”
“Not quite yet, you see I… Oh! What’s this? An opening?” Jaerdyn jumped his white kerke piece over three of Sal’s. “And now that my captain is behind your lines…” Jaerdyn jumped his piece again, “That’s kerke for me.”
“Fuck!” Sal pounded the table with his fist and the crowd cheered, some slapping Jaerdyn on the back proudly.
Sal scowled and handed his sword over to Jaerdyn. “Just… take good care of her for me, won’t you?”
Jaerdyn smiled as he took Sal’s sword. “She’ll serve me well, don’t you worry.”
Sal sighed. “Good game though.”
“Good game.” Jaerdyn shook Sal’s hand, then turned and left the tent that had been dedicated exclusively to kerke, a game using white and black pieces to act out a game of war.
“Captain Jaerdyn Cad!” Someone called. Jaerdyn turned to see who called him. A short, sweaty man with two swords sheathed on his back waddled up to him. Jaerdyn couldn’t remember his name.
“Captain Jaerdyn,” the man huffed, trying to catch his breath. “Lord Darghaz has summoned you to his tent.”
Jaerdyn nodded. “I’ll be there shortly,” then headed over to his tent.
The hot Walkan sun beat down on his head, causing him to soak his shirt with sweat. The other laughing dead men also had drenched their clothes from sweating profusely. Jaerdyn found his tent, opened the flap and tossed his newly acquired sword onto his sleeping mat before traversing the maze of tents over to where lord Darghaz had taken up residence.
Jaerdyn walked into Darghaz’s tent, where he was standing over a table, staring intensely at a map. He was an enormous and muscular Walkan man. Muscles and veins bulged through his shirt, which was damp with sweat.
He stood up straight. “Sir,” he said formally.
Darghaz waved him over, “Come in, come in, I need to discuss something with you.”
“What is it?”
“The Tenebrites sent me a message, we’re to proceed through Draconis and take the border,” Darghaz pointed at the map. “From there, we’ll send men to Solus island and beyond, forcing the citadel and the surrounding cities to exhaust their resources to defend them. I’m calling a captain’s meeting tomorrow to discuss how to proceed.”
Jaerdyn stiffened. “All the captains, sir?”
Darghaz nodded, “Yes, all of them. Walke is mostly ours now. Now we proceed to Alathia and take it for ourselves.”
“Alathia is much grander than Walke.”
“I have men in Zhad controlling king Obue and the rest of his government. Obue will no doubt declare war on Alathia within the week.”
“Which will give us the men we need.”
“Right. Now, I wanted to tell you before the captain’s meeting so you know what to expect,” Darghaz looked up, meeting Jaerdyn’s gaze. “I wanted your company to merge with Maron, Gilion’s… and Freak’s.”
Jaerdyn paused. “Are you sure, sir?”
“Yes. Maron and Gilion will travel through Solus and onwards to Eros, while you and Freak will move to Ferna. She’s proven to be very effective and reliable, if somewhat unconventional. Your squad and hers combined should be twice as effective for the job at hand. I will stay in Walke with the other captains while Volus, Carlus and Eddard move through the Draconic border.”
“As you command, sir.”
“Good, that is all. You may leave.”
Jaerdyn turned and left the tent, where he stood silently, absorbing the information he was just given. He took a deep breath, then bolted back to his tent. When he arrived, he found that Kurne was waiting there for him, sitting on his sleeping mat with his arms crossed and a deep frown on his face.
“I heard Darghaz was speaking with you.”
“Yeah, it’s big. Really big,” Jaerdyn panted.
Kurne stood up. “What did he say?”
“They have king Obue under their thumb. Now we’re moving to Alathia.”
“That… Is very big. Catastrophically big.” Kurne scratched the back of his neck. “Wow.”
“And I have to travel with Freak.”
Kurne shuddered. “That might be the worst part.”
“We have to send a message to the Citadel and warn them.”
“I’ll worry about that. You just keep doing your job as captain.”
“It’ll take too long to send a message, he’s having a captain’s meeting tomorrow.”
Kurne stroked his beard thoughtfully. “I’ll send the message anyway. I have to.”
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