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[Shootandrun]

Look for alchemists who are talented, quiet, and who sell poison

A few days later...

At noon, a messenger was sent to Nikephoros, carrying a message saying that Kathos wanted to talk to him in the Council Room. The message precised that the council of three wouldn't be called, since Kathos did not think that he needed advice from them at the moment.

[Ardas]

Nikephoros went to the room straight away. He actually was looking forward to talk with Kathos. there were plenty of things to sort out.
He entered the chamber.

"Kathos, its good to see you. I actually wanted to talk with you, but since you summoned me, you go first."

[Shootandrun]

"Right."

Kathos was looking at a map that he had placed on the council table. It was a large, very detailed map - and it was apparently made of dozens of small maps, not all by the same person. Together, they showed the Storm Coast, the known territories of the Uddanese High Kingdom and of the two Empires, as well as other lands, south of the Green Empire. In one place, there was a bay painted in green by the artist, and surrounded by seven burnt marks. The name of the region was written in another language. However, the Lord Chancellor's attention seemed to be focused on the Storm Coast.

"I wanted to talk about plans for the future of this nation, Nikephoros. Firstly, how familiar are you with naval warfare? Have you ever lead a fleet into battle?"

[Ardas]

"Honestly? No. I am a trooper, my place is on land. Why do you ask?

As for plans... You know what I want: entire peninsula under our full control, with Shola and Mileth as our direct provinces.
By the way, have you given thought to dealing with Laythe somehow?"

[Shootandrun]

"I'll talk about Laythe's matter later... For now, let's talk about the Storm Coast."

Kathos drew a dagger. He pointed Ligoria, Polca and Lechem, and spoke with a smile.

"This is Ligoria - us. This is Polca - ruled by William, who is in theory our vassal... And this is Lechem. Together, they form a triangle that covers most of the ligorian bay. If we can gain control of Lechem, these waters are ours. You may not be aware of Lechem's political situation - to make things short, they're rich, they have a powerful navy, and a very weak military. The bay these three cities could control is small and has only one thing that we could possibly want - this river."

He pointed the Fiumefurt river with his dagger.

"Trading ships from Fiumefurt use this river to access the sea and trade with other nations. Fiumefurt is possibly the richest nation in this part of the world, and they are one of the few who have access to the precious metals of the mountains. If we control the ligorian bay, we have not only one of the great naval powers in our hands, but we can tax the wealthiest trading ships of the Storm Coast. This will also give us absolute military power over the river - if we send our warships on it, crossing will be impossible for any potential enemy. With that river, taking Fiumefurt would be remarkably easy."

His dagger went to Dalannor.

"This is Dalannor. They are the only naval power greater than Lechem. It's actually two independant nations on the same island. If we gain the control of that island, we are the masters of the sea. No power will be able to challenge our naval might - not even the republics of the west. If we have Lechem, we can gain Fiumefurt, and if we have Dalannor as well, we can gain the entire sea. What's more, if we place Fiumefurt under our power, we can probably claim all the lands west of Mileth and east of the river. These lands will be nearly impossible to invade from the west, since the Fiumefurt river will allow our warships to guard the borders. If we can manage to do that, we have cut the Storm Coast in two. In the west stands Galam, and beyond Galam sits the Old moldavi empire and the great republics, but in the east there are only weak city states - city states that cannot resist the might of Fiumefurt, Polca, Dalannor, Lechem and the ligorian peninsula. The only way for these city states to receive help in case of war would be from the sea - and in that situation, the sea would be ours."

Kathos smiled and looked at Nikephoros.

"For these reasons, I think Lechem and Dalannor would be a welcome addition to Ligoria, and to get them we need a fleet. As the Lord Protector of Ligoria, you have authority over our fleets... So I would like to get the authorisation to raise ligorian fleets. I'll need atleast five ships, and the more I can get, the better."

[Ardas]

"Hmm....  You seem to have worked this out pretty well. I myself was pretty pre-occupied with the mundane matters of the campaign, so I am glad that you took the timeto plan ahead this far.
If Ligoria is to grow with trade, we need navy to protect our shipping and you seem to have further plans for that. Very well. You can raise the ships. Even better, you have the temporary authority over the navy for the Lechem campaign. I am no sailor and you seem to be enthusiastic over this.

Nikephoros glanced at the map, and pointed at Polca.

"What about him? I would like to trust him, but I know little of the man, even though we have helped him out. What do you think?"

[Shootandrun]

"I... Think we can trust William, for now. However, he's power hungry, and I don't know if he'll stay loyal forever. For now, however, he's our best ally. What di you want to talk about?"

[Ardas]

"I was simply wondering if I could request his assistance and forces to help out with De Plume... I'm waiting for information from my man, and once I have that I was hoping for a two-pronged move against her to prevent escape or reinfocements form reaching her. We also have to return his land that I took for Laythe on her order."

[Shootandrun]

Kathos frowned, and he said nothing for a long time. He was starting to wonder about Nikephoros' talent - this was the second time he requested more money and support from the Lord Chancellor to deal with some low bandits with no military experience and no training.

"I am told William is trained at using guerilla tactics. He might be the man you're looking for. As for additionnal forces... Perhaps we should wait for your man's report, to know exactly what we're dealing with."

[Ardas]

"If you are worried about my requests Kathos, don't be. I want to strike at Mileth directly after I captrue De Plume without returing to Ligoria. The entire peninsula will fall in one fell swoop. Only Shola will stand against us, but i will hold off from attacking them for now. One enemy at the time."

[Shootandrun]

Kathos' frown grew deeper.

"Exactly how many men do you want to have when you attack Mileth?"

[Ardas]

"Well, we recruited 3 fresh regiments in winter, and in spring we will recruit 3 more. By then I should have info on De Plume.
I predict about 9 regiuments of army marching with me, and with Will's help that should be at least 10. Oh, and my man should have another troop, so that would be at least 11 regiments sieging Mileth. I will be leaving behind 4 regiments to defend the city, and with your unit that would be 5.

I believe that those numbers are satisfactory?"

[Shootandrun]

"I would not assume that Mileth has not upgraded its defenses since our last encounter, Nikephoros. Attacking the city blindly could be dangerous... Why do you want to get it so much?"

[Ardas]

"Because they will cause more problmes the longer this goes on. Besides, the siege last time, our victory was stolen from us by that stupid girl. I do not let go of such things lightly.
Besides, think of the taxes and manpower that we will aquire."

[Shootandrun]

Kathos was starting to look uneasy. He was still frowning.

"Laythe 'stole' our victory? Attacking a city should never be a matter of glory or trying to restore your reputation, Nikephoros... I know that well. Besides, we have no reason to think that they will cause problems. We came to free them from the Dragon Empire, and we walked away. They have no reason to hate us."