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[filiusenox]

Need some more training.
...Yes I do. Could have been bad luck.
Luck is there to be manipulated.

"Heh...They'll be fine." To accent the point he held his gloved hand up and wiggled all of his fingers. He didn't wince when pain flared through his hand.

"Well at least I’m not serving under a fop who can't handle himself in personal combat. It will be a pleasure working for you Lord Chancellor Kathos."

William rubbed his hand, and attached the sheathe back to the dull crimson belt it came with. He unsnapped the chains, before turning and facing Kathos once again. He grinned at Kathos.
"Say, would you like to go get a drink? I'll buy, since you won."

[Shootandrun]

Kathos hesitated for a while. Drinks were never a really good idea, but it had been a long day. He could use a drink, or two.

"A drink wouldn't hurt. I know a place... The Prince's Rest. It's the best inn in the city, and they won't ask questions if we go there."

[Taricus]

"Questions like that, are mighty dangerous. Why you looking?"

"Depends, but rest assured, I'm no witch-hunter, despite the armour."

[filiusenox]

"Nice..."

William gets Kathos drunk, while drinking watered down beer himself. He starts up a string of topics, when Kathos is sober they are mostly mundane, taking cities, weather, how this city needs a bit of cleanup, so on. When he's drunk enough, William will ask discreetly about Laythe, the coup and Marlax.

[Ardas]

Couple days after the wedding...

Soldiers were ready and so was Nikephoros, sitting on the horse in the middle of the plaza, regiments standing in full marching order. He did not see Tala yet, but he assumed that she was still in bed. A short honeymoon, but it did not take a wizard to know that she and her husband already "knew" each other pretty well. He would wait a bit longer.

The Republican Army was not the greatest sight, and Nikephoros did worry. They were men that he knew well and fought with him at Mileth, but their numbers were small. Too small. He had to make up with skill what he could not in sheer force, although he was certain that his skills would carry the day. What were four pathetic landowners after all?
Their lands were nominally Ligorian, but they haven't paid taxes in over several generations and treated themselves as free region. They probably would be able to organise themselves a regiment of cavalry out of their retainers and couple of regiments of peasants, but not more than that. And swift march would disarm them before they even got the whiff of him. The other option was to send Tala ahead to talk, but that would be a total loss of surpise factor. But that decision would be taken when they set up camp at the border.

After Tala joins him, Nikephoros leaves Talama for border with:
     Talama Guard (Heavy I, Disciplined)
     Pikemen Regiment (Heavy I, Pike/Reach)
     Heavy Infantry Centuria/Cohort (Heavy I, Tactician)
     Vandire's Tercio (Pike/Reach, Hand cannons)

Remaining troops are assigend as previously decided.

[Terenos]

"Nice..."

William gets Kathos drunk, while drinking watered down beer himself. He starts up a string of topics, when Kathos is sober they are mostly mundane, taking cities, weather, how this city needs a bit of cleanup, so on. When he's drunk enough, William will ask discreetly about Laythe, the coup and Marlax.

[6,6] It appears the barman misunderstood your signals. Rather than water down your beer, he has steadily supplied you both with the strongest beer he stocks, spiked liberally with a few other high alcohol content brews. Before long you are both merrily drunk.

[Dwarmin]

A short honeymoon indeed, Tala thought to herself. She walked down to the streets of Talama, Vespius and Veritas behind, having re-donned her campaign armor and weapons.

It had been actually painful to separate herself from Pasha this morning, but life had to go on, anyway. Tala didn't know if she could change anything in the upcoming campaign, or if she would just tend to the wounded and maimed. But this was her home now. In lieu of orders...she would do everything in her power to ensure security and stability.

She saw Nikephoros in the plaza ahead. Time for business.

Tala saluted, grinning slightly. Smiling had come easier lately. So had laughter. It felt good to be in the light, for once.

"I hope you didn't hold up the entire army on my account, Marshall Nikephoros. Diplomatic Envoy Tala Alanis, reporting for duty."

In any case, some field action would do her well-she was still learning the finer arts of strategy.

Action: Tala spends the upcoming campaign tutoring tactics with Nikephoros.

[Shootandrun]

Kathos was drunk. It was not an usual sight. In general, he did not drink much, and when he did, he could finish two bottles of wine before starting to feel slightly dizzy. But right now, he was not worried about that. Life was good. He talked merrily to William about plenty of things. At that moment, the conversation was about Marlax.

"...Was hired by the Lowlands to save their asses... B-but they gave me f-few men, and Marlax had... More men. I decided to burn down the bridges that would let him get to the Lowlands, b-because men in armor don't swim well and... And... His men were in armor. So, the only thing the sorry fella could do was to cross the b-borders by going through the marshes... And I... I... I attacked his forces when his main army was ahead of the other one, trying to get through the marshes... They were slow because as I said, men in armor don't swim well..."

He paused for a few seconds, because his drink had arrived and he was thirsty.

"I destroyed his main force... Killed them all, I did... By flanking them while they were walking in deep mud... Marlax fled to his secondary force, but I had more men than them and I destroyed them too..."

He paused again, trying to remember the story.

"I spoke to him there... I told him he had lost, and he had, you know... But he told me he knew who I was... And he knew my history... And he said that I was w-worse than him. Called me the King of Ashes. It made me angry, very angry, but he shot Adrian in the shoulder and then he fled... Poor Adrian... Still has a mark on his shoulder..."

Kathos seemed to become aware that he was more talking to himself than to William now, and he turned towards him.

"What was the question... About?"

[filiusenox]

William was watching a red-headed waitress make the rounds, letting his eyes wander over her, he had a feeling she was teasing him after he complimented her, and he wandered what was preventing him from taking her to a room or, barring that, a closet or suitable back alley. Part of him- namely the part who would torture someone for no reason- was  yelling at him to sober up, or at the very least pay attention to the man beside him. Kathos asking him a question snapped him out of his revere. He blunk and stared at the man, trying to remember what the hell he had just said.

  "What-t? Oh...v'e were t-talk-king about...er...Ashes...and Kings thereof, I thin-k? Like ain't you the Sarl…I mean king…of...Lugiara...Lagora...Lig-or-ia, now? "

[Shootandrun]

"I'm no King... I was never a k-king... K-king of aaashes was... An insult... Some old joke... Mar... Marlax said it, bu-but it wasn't the truth, you know... It was... Sarcasssss."

Kathos sighed and drank again.

"B-but now I'm one of t-the lords of... Ligoria. Not King. L-lord. Laythe went down and n-now we r-rule... B-but... We're not absolute... Leaders. We're wor-working f-for the good of Ligoria... B-because Lay... Lay... Laythe was a t-terrible leader... Un-unlike us."

He smiled, proud of himself.

[filiusenox]

William chuckled and nodded.
"You seem like better...queens, I...mean rulers...then Laythe...A crab would've been b-better Sarl then him."

William held his half empty cup in the air unsteadily, almost spilling the contents all over the table.

"Lifi lığveldiğ!? Ha?"

[Shootandrun]

"A c-crab would be better... And I t-think I'm better than a crab t-too... S-so I'm twice as be... Be... Better as Layyte, I think..."

Then William shouted something in another language. Kathos didn't understand, but he decided that he would join him in his shout. When he spoke, he used Mirish, the language of his father.

"Ipse vivat!"

[filiusenox]

"Y-yeah!"

William clinked his tankard against Kathos's and downed the stinging beverage in a few gulps. A few seconds later he hiccupped. Then resumed looking a the waitress.

"T-that girl...hair looks a little, like R-ala...I mean T-Tala's woman. A fine one t-oo. She is...Chironas is better, though, in my…public…opinion."

[SeriousConcentrate]

Pasha led Tala down the aisle of people, green petals floating in the wind past them. Their vows exchanged, their "I do"s said, and a pair of golden bands on their fingers, they walked hand in hand through the crowd, stopping here to exchange a greeting or an affectionate hug, stopping there to shake a dignitary's hand. There were a lot of broken hearts in the crowd, for who did not at one time or another fancy the baroness of the Alanis lands? But even with that there were many congratulations as well. Pasha didn't think the smile would ever leave his face as they entered the carriage waiting to take them back to the Alanis estate, flanked by the royal cavalry.

Once there, he carried her inside and up the stairs. "Pasha and Tala Alanis..." he mused as he stepped over the threshold. "I love you. I could die tomorrow and die happy knowing that even for such a short time, I was yours." He set her down and kissed her gently. "I'll not let anything come between us. Ever."


Some days later

Tala had left to ride out with Nikephoros. Pasha had agreed to stay behind for two reasons: one, he had promised William information, and two, he was now the baron Alanis and with the absence of Nikephoros and Tala (and Hugo's mysterious disappearance) that meant he and Kathos were the only politicians in Ligoria. He spend most of the day in his study, acquainting himself with the ledgers and holdings of House Alanis while also writing down everything he remembered about Kothitas for William.

Pasha writes down a lot of various information for William, to be filled in at the GM's discretion. He also checks to see what is available to House Alanis in terms of ducats, industries, land, etc.

[Terenos]

"Questions like that, are mighty dangerous. Why you looking?"

"Depends, but rest assured, I'm no witch-hunter, despite the armour."

"Don't much care if you are. You ain't precisely stealthy. So if there were mages round these parts, and if they took offense, you'd be dead already. So what exactly is it you're looking for?"
The barkeep seems relaxed, for the most part.