Lightstar Family/Adaria/Roleplay 20
Trouble in Leod
The duke sent a messenger ahead to Taop with a missive addressed to his cousin:
Help them, Ada. With Thain on the move from Haul, I do not need to ask C'thonia to know that they intend to make a stand, foolish as that will be with barely any archers on their side. I will arrive in either Pates or Taop by tomorrow night, depending on what the roads will allow me.
Help them, and then withdraw to Azros.
~Xarne
Some time later, the same courier returned with Adaria's response:
Maybe they'll retreat sensibly back to their city instead of staying to fight? I don't think I can arrive in time for the fight anyway, since it's going to take me the better part of a day for the journey. Wouldn't it be better to just wait for everyone to gather together?
It just seems kinda pointless to participate in such a lopsided battle...
~Ada
Thanking the Aenil that he had a horse to ride, the man made his way back to Taop with another note; he fervently hoped that he would get a break after this third trip:
The outcome of the battle may not change with the addition of your men; however, your unit may very well wound several of the enemy's nobles. In addition, you may even capture Conan, as I did when I made my stand with Rebbec and Kenshue!
I would say that possibility is worth the risk. But worry not, dear Adaria! You can wait for us if you would like. Although, waiting is not something that I would do...
~Xarne
The girl's frown turned into a pout as she came to the end of the letter. Why did he have to put in that last statement after saying that she could just stay put? Probably because he knew that she looked up to him and was subtly using that against her, Adaria mused. Well, it worked, humph!
She had come to admire her cousin, even though she thought he was a bad influence on Kenshue. Come to think of it, where was Kenshue? Hopefully he was coming with the others, for it had been a while since they last talked. Pushing such silly thoughts aside for the moment, Adaria took a deep breath to calm herself.
Then, she dismissed the messenger and looked for her captain. On the bright side, if the battle actually happened before they arrived, then she could just order her men to withdraw back to Taop. If not, then maybe she could really make a difference, as Xarnelf seemed to think...
"M'lady!" the returning messenger panted, clearly out of breath from his long run into Leod. "I'm sorry..."
Furrowing her brow in consternation, Adaria waited for the man to explain himself. She had sent him forwards to persuade Rebbec to delay her arrival, since her last scouting had shown that some enemy units were staying in the area. Did he fail to do so?
"I couldn't reach--by the time I arrived... the fight had already begun." He shook his head sadly before adding, "Even Sir Kenshue's timely arrival to aid Lady Rebbec failed to even the odds."
The girl immediately snapped her gaze, which had dropped to the ground, back up to stare incredulously at the messenger. After only a moment of silent hesitation, she called out new orders to her captain, "Turn them back around! We go to Leod!"
"But milady, we have already turned back and back and back around from Leod to Taop to Leod to Taop again and again! The men will not stand for this indecision any longer..."
Biting her lip with a frown, she made up her mind and nodded to the thoroughly flustered captain.
"To Leod."
