“Sire, we cannot out run them any longer. The men are barely standing as it is.” He knew that. He knew that very well. But it was not like he could stop. 

“And what would you do?” Duke Ryder asked in return. It was a question with no correct answers but he asked it anyway. To run would mean being caught with an army that could not fight. To stay would be to fight a battle with an enemy that outnumbered him whilst his men were exhausted.

“If I may be candid, Sire?” Duke Ryder’s knight was beyond the point of caring if he pissed his liege off with something that he said. It was not like it would improve the man’s mood any.

“Go ahead.” Any other circumstances may have seen him scoff at such a comment. 

“I would not want the King to see me so low as to have my own men desert me, at the very least I would want a chance at getting at him.” His knight was very clear about what he thought would happen. Ryder was inclined to agree. If he continued pushing his men, it was likely that they would just desert him. And then there would be no chance for him even if he made it back to his lands. He may have a navy but he did not want to become a pirate. There was a reason why southern Ezaes no longer had any pirates, Emperor Kailum had made sure of that. 

“Then we stand and fight, damn the consequences.” Duke Ryder was almost as surprised with himself as the knight who had offered the idea. Neither of them could recall the last time that the Duke had made such a momentous decision based on his emotions. The last time was probably his decision to oppose the previous King, and even then it had been partly due to personal gain.

“So he really did stop running.” Braydon commented once they were able to see Duke Ryder’s army in the distance. The scouts had reported it already but he was of half a mind to think that Duke Ryder would not really do something so self destructive.

“Is it really that unbelievable?” Gerald asked. 

“Not everyone is like us.” Braydon could name any number of nobles that would rather throw away their entire army than be caught when in the position that the Duke was in. Duke Burn being example number one. Rather Braydon’s more aggressive tendencies were not widely adopted in Fiveria. Only in the northeast, where battle was much more common did many of the lords have more martial leanings.

“Now that’s an understatement.” 

“Oh? You are not busy, you have an army to lead.” Braydon turned to Rhydian and asked. He had not noticed when he had approached them but it was obvious that he had been there for more than a few moments. 

“Do you think that I do not know how to delegate?” Rhydian looked and Braydon as if he was stupid.

“You could have fooled me.” Braydon could not think of a time that Rhydian was not working or thinking of working. Down time for Rhydian consisted of waking up early to train whichever troops were closest to where he was staying. He was not a man that Braydon would imagine even knew how to spell delegating.

“Well even I enjoy battles.” Rhydian shook his head. Apparently it had been too long since he had been on the battlefield. Even his liege was forgetting that he was a renowned warrior. That kind of reputation did not come about by being a commander who stayed at the back.

“You think this is going to be a battle?” Braydon had his doubts about that. With how exhausted Ryder’s men should be, half a day’s rest should not have been enough to recuperate from a week of forced marching and a battle.

“Maybe not for the majority of the Duke’s men but there should be some professionals among his men. All I have to do is find them. Then I can have my fun.” Rhydian was not wrong, there was no way that the entirety of Duke Ryder’s army was peasant conscripts. Not with his wealth and the amount of subjects that he had. 

“Then make sure to take me with you when you find them.” He was not about to let Rhydian have all of the fun. Regardless of how the situation with Duke Burn turned out, he was going to be busy for a long while. Be that trying to dislodge Duke Burn or managing a territory that he had effectively neglected for several months whilst entertaining the King and his allies.

“I’ll make sure to call you over once I have had my fun.” Rhydian made a promise that was not a promise. Him having his fun would mean that the battle would already be over by the time he ‘remembered’ to call Braydon over. Not that he was going to mention that.

“So I will have to find the fun part of the battle myself.” Uncharacteristically quick on the uptake, Braydon could tell what Rhydian was thinking the moment he made his ‘promise’. And he was having none of it. 

“Make sure you do not lead your men out of formation.” Rhydian was back to his serious work mode as if nothing had ever happened, eliciting a sight from Braydon. He knew that he could not lead his men out of formation. Even if this battle was almost certainly one sided, that did not mean that he would actively try to throw away his men. He was not that much of a battle nut.

“Speak for yourself, I am not the one leading this army.” Braydon shot back. It was at times like this that he really appreciated Rhydian’s company. The man said enough to get a rise out of him and keep it entertaining at the same time. Not that he would ever say it out loud.

Darkwood

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