Sorcerer… Cyborg???

Chapter 72: Dark Counsel (2)

While the Grand Marshal of Ursten brokered an alliance with the Duke of Newport, not too far to the north, amongst the ruins of Kahrs, two men shared a drink.

Kahrs, the Jewel of Phintus, the City of Unending Fortune, was a smoldering heap. Travelers had flocked to Phintus from all corners of the Isle, even attracting royalty from the Empire far to the south, who sought the rare treasures that the merchants of Phintus managed to procure.

Kahrs had been the lynch pin in the short-lived independence of Phintus, the merchants of Kahrs had lived there for years, and soon enough they realized, that their taxed wealth was paying for the mighty ships, and guards of the Lord of Kahrs, and whilst the army of Ursten was otherwise occupied, they had cut out the middle man.

Without Kahrs, Phintus would have barely been recognized as a state at all, but people came from far and wide to marvel at the elaborate mansions of the merchants that lined the shores, and browse the stores, each of which held wares that were more bizarre and unusual than the last.

Now, the city of Kahrs was a mere shadow of its former self, the exquisite fountains that had bubbled at every street corner, where children had frolicked and played, now were cracked ruins of their former selves, dribbling water from cracked and broken spouts.

The city had burned, and the finely carved wooden beams that had crisscrossed all the merchant houses of Kahrs had been decimated, only a few remained, poking up from the rubble and ashes of the Jewel of Phintus.

The citizenry had fled to the army of the Hawk for refuge, for the magical bombardment that had decimated Kahrs had not come from the invading Ursten, rather it came from the ocean, where the fleeing ruling merchants had tasked their hired mages to bombard the city, in hopes of catching the Ursten army unaware.

Unfortunately for them, Boson and Serena had quickly turned their forces back, warned earlier by Simon of the impending threats, and had spent their efforts in evacuating the people of Kahrs.

Many of the elderly remembered benign citizens of Ursten, and had fond memories of the late king, and so had welcomed their invaders with open arms.

At this moment, amongst the ruins of one of the finest merchant houses, Boson and Simon were sharing a flagon of wine seated at a fine wooden table, that almost glowed amber, and was hewn of one massive slab of wood.

Boson had found himself a finely upholstered large, throne-like chair, that even made him look small despite his massive stature.

Meanwhile, Simon leaned back on a finely carved wooden chair that mimicked the designs of the half of a wooden beam that lay against the rubble of a nearby wall.

"So, you think the old General's off his rocker?" Boson drawled, his accent marking him as being from one of the southern villages that dotted the border with the Southern Tribes. He had removed his helmet, revealing his scarred face and squat bald head, covered in multicolored tattoos of beasts and serpents.

"Well He lost his wife, but Ophil was my sister too. And you don't see me becoming the Grand Marshal of Ursten and setting loose dozens of war hungry nobles onto our neighbors." Simon said with a hint of moisture in his eyes, still hurting from his recent loss.

"Yes, but do you think that Ursten would survive another decade without him doing that." Boson polished the head of his massive axe with a piece of a fine tapestry he had found in a corner of the room.

"No, of course, he is truly doing the best for the kingdom. But, to spend his entire life upholding Rotan's authority and decisions, no matter how spineless and moronic If this had come only a few years earlier, perhaps the battle with Kutlas could have been avoided." Simon mused, as he absentmindedly peered at the rainbow colored serpent that peeked out from behind one of Boson's ears.

"I'd have to disagree there. There was something more to their conflict, as they say, you can't have two pikes in the same pond." Boson grinned at Simon.

"Yeah, there would have had to have been something. Kultas always felt he had to prove something against Tam, I wish he hadn't, he was a great commander in his own right, and he would've been a great asset now. We'll need all the commanders we can get if we're going to wage all these wars that Tam seems to be starting." Simon frowned and poured himself another cupful of the dark, fragrant wine.

"If things go well, perhaps we'll have a fleet and another formidable warrior at our back. So long as Tam can make this alliance." Boson said, discovering a small nick in his axe's blade, and procuring a whetstone from his belt to restore his blade.

"From what I've heard, Anteris isn't exactly the picture of rationality. Well, what can go wrong? We'll have two ridiculously powerful, possibly unstable warriors leading this great nation into years of war." Simon raised his glass in a mock toast.

"I look forward to it!" Boson roared with laughter as he slammed his cup into Simon's, sending the dark red wine splattering all over the dark wood of the table, the wine staining the wood the bright scarlet of newly shed blood.

"I can wonder all I want about him, here's one thing I can say for Tam, he's always been a fine commander, and I've never seen him be cruel on the battlefield, which is more than you can say for most generals out there." Simon ran a finger through the spilled wine, lazily drawing circles.

"Hear, hear. I think we'll give those dogs from the Empire a fine walloping, should it come to it." Boson gave a dark smile as he finished putting the final touches to the blade of his axe.

"I know I don't need to say this to you, Boson, but this doesn't leave this room, if we can even call it that." Simon gestured to the destroyed structure all around them.

"Of course not! How long have you known me?" Boson put on a face of mock offense, then laughed and poured Simon another cup.

Not far away, behind a large pile of rubble, Serena stood with her arms crossed, the hood of her cloak and her dark hair concealing her face in deep shadow.