-Two days before the battle-
The Peslir Kingdom’s soldiers had set up camp not a mile south of Venite City, in an open plain, in plain view from the walls of Venite City.
Clearly, they didn’t care much for the rebels who’d seized control of the city. And why would they? After all, they were fifteen-thousand strong, with five thousand more arriving in two days by sea.
For the soldiers, and even the officers, this wasn’t the war they cared about - just a side distraction. This clearly showed in their actions - they barely spared a glance at their surroundings before setting up camp, and even then, their guards observed their surroundings with glassy eyes.
It was in the midst of hustle and bustle setting up camp, that a small squad, dressed in Peslir Kingdom colors, rose out of the ground, and surreptitiously made their way towards the center of the camp.
There were two areas of note near the center of the camp. The first was the “war room”, the tent in which officers met to discuss their battle plans.
The second, was the “cooks’ camp” - where the army’s rations were cooked and served.
These were the insurgents’ targets. But, before they could make any moves, they had to scout the area out to ensure the highest chance of success. They would strike later, during the night.
At the same time, Rojan and Wren had arrived, at all places, a tailor shop.
The two walked in with a few soldiers in tow.
The shop owner swallowed in nervousness at the site, but quickly put on a smile and addressed the two.
“Hello, esteemed customers! How can I help you?”
Rojan stepped forward and patted the man’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’re not here to hurt you or anything. We have some Peslir Kingdom uniforms, but they’re for foot soldiers. We’d like you to convert them to the Peslir Kingdom’s naval uniforms.
The uniforms were from Venite City’s previous soldiers.
“Er...sir.” The shop owner paused, then cleared his throat. “This is...fine, but do you have a drawing or perhaps even a navy uniform for me to see and work from? I’ve not seen one in a while, so I would not be able to help without something to work off of.”
“No worries.” Rojan looked at Wren, who unfolded a piece of parchment, then handed it to the shop owner.
Seeing the parchment, the shop owner’s eyes dilated. Not only did they have a drawing of a Peslir Kingdom naval uniform, they even had specific details - with this kind of information, he wouldn’t be creating a fake copy of a Peslir Kingdom naval uniform.
He would be creating a
real
Peslir Kingdom naval uniform.
He swallowed again, hard, then sighed. “How many uniforms do you need?”
“50.”
…
Later that day, the Peslir Kingdom’s officers gathered in the command tnet.
“So, Commander Fahler. What’s the plan?”
A strong-jawed, middle-aged man wearing a full set of armour with a longsword hanging at his waist replied. “The usual. March the soldiers within a thousand yards of the city, then send a messenger to the gate, demanding their surrender.”
“And if they’re foolish enough to decline?”
“Then we attack the city when the navy gets here. Goddamn, we discussed the plan on the way here. Are you just asking me so the readers can get some exposition?”
“I… what?”
…
As the officers chatted amongst themselves in the war tent, the army’s chefs were preparing dinner.
Huge pots of meats and grains gave rise to a rather mixed smell, and the food didn’t look much better than the smell.
But, it was sustenance, and the soldiers had long grown used to it.
As the chefs prepared this food, an officer, flanked by several soldiers, walked up to the chefs.
“How goes the work?”
One of the chefs yelled at the officer in response. “Get out of here! Shoo, scram!”
The officer, who was actually one of Rojan’s friends in disguise, was taken aback by this reaction, but stood his ground.
“I’m here to inspect the food for safety. Let my men conduct the test, or I’ll have the commander know you disobeyed a direct order.
“...Fucking hell, fine, go ahead. But don’t get into my peoples’ way, or I swear to god if any of the soldiers have to go hungry because YOU wasted our time, they’ll be told YOU were the one responsible for their empty stomachs.”
“Yeah, yeah. Men, proceed!”
The soldiers behind him fanned out, and pretended to taste the food cooking in the various pots while sneakily dropping small vials of liquid into the boiling pots.
After a few moments, they lined up behind the “officer”.
“Seems that everything is under control. I will leave you to it, then.”
With that, he and the “soldiers” sauntered off, leaving the head chef staring daggers into their backs.
“Fucking foot soldiers.”
After a bit more grumbling, he turned to yell at his underlings.
“Get your goddamn asses in gear! Dinner is in less than an hour! Chop chop, or its YOUR ass that we’re going to cook tomorrow!”
…
Meanwhile, the Peslir forces had formed ranks and were standing just out of bow range for Venite City’s defenders.
Fifteen-thousand strong, they proudly stood motionless, their mere presence brought a stifling atmosphere into Venite City.
A lone horseman rode to the city’s gates, then shouted toward Rojan, Wren, and Adam, who was standing in full armor.
“The King demands your immediate and unconditional surrender! Throw down your arms, and your deaths shall be swift and painless!”
Rojan chuckled. “That’s not a very persuasive call for surrender.”
Adam frowned. “I don’t think it was meant to be.”
He looked at an archer to his left. “Give me your bow.”
“Yes, sir.”
Adam took the man’s bow, then strung it. A split second later, an arrow sprouted from the messenger’s chest.
“That should get our message across.”
After a few moments, the Peslir armies returned to their campsite - they would prepare to attack when their navy arrived.
But, because they were content to wait to make their move, didn’t mean that nothing happened that night.
That night, Rojan and Wren stood atop the city walls, gazing towards the Peslir camp to the south.
While they couldn’t clearly see what was going on in the camp, they could hear it - the cries, moans, and screaming from the thousands of soldiers they’d successfully poisoned.
Wren sighed. “It’s quite terrifying to hear, isn’t it?”
“Yep.”
Despite wanting to turn away, the two stayed atop the city walls, taking in the horrors of the night.
For the unification of the Blair Continent, they would have to climb a mountain of corpses. The least they could do was not turn a blind eye to it.
The very least.