Chapter 24 - Kor

I've always enjoyed battle and usually the travel to a fight never bothered me. But that was when it was close by or I could fly there on my own without needing to match the speed of other. Marching with human soldiers on horseback is another matter entirely not to mention the absence of my mates, sure Bel is with but Lilas and Emmy are getting further away by the hour. And we've not even completed a full day of travel yet although we will be making camp soon.

Gods I'd give anything to be able to return to Hadlau already but that's not possible. At least not until Rhistel is defeated and, if I get my hands on him, dead. While I'm sure that many would want to show mercy to him but I don't want to take the risk of him escaping or even managing to amass more followers from prison which would likely result in another war. And that would take me away from my mates again so if I get the chance Rhistel is dead.

"What you thinking about?" Bel asks from where he's riding next to me. "You look like you're plotting something."

"Rhistel's death." I grunt back knowing that he'll understand and probably wants him dead as much as I do. Like me Bel is already missing Lilas and Kitten, he's actually been quiet since we left Hadlau which only happens every hundred years or so. Other than that he only goes quiet when something is bothering him.

"Ah, yes. Maybe if we're lucky enough he'll drop dead and we can head home sooner. If not I'm looking forward to the day that I can rip his head off." He growls out making his horse panic slightly, he's quick to calm the horse though so he doesn't go running off ahead of the rest of us.

"Good thoughts. Cut him in half with my sword." We content ourselves trading ideas back and forth as to what we'd like to do to Rhistel if we ever get our hands on him, all fitting punishments for starting this war. Around us I notice the guards within ear shot of us turning slightly green as we're talking so we're clearly freaking them out but when you've been alive as long as us you get very creative.

"I miss them already." Bel admits as we finish debate the pros and cons of extending Rhistel's pain by torturing him. I'd rather kill him than draw out his death, he shouldn't take up more of our time together than he already has.

"Me too." I return although he likely already knows, "Get this over with as quick as possible."

"Yes and then we can get home to Lilas and Emmy. Just hold them close and maybe a bit more…" He trails off smirking, his thoughts likely going back to the last few days. It had been an amazing few days spent locked away in our bedroom together. Just thinking about it is making me hard, not the most comfortable thing while riding.

"Enough of that." I bark at him not wanting to be teased any more. Hopefully if he shuts up then my hard on will go away and I can ride without any discomfort. He chuckles in response but does go quiet for a bit likely knowing the problem I was having and maybe experiencing the same one.

"Your Majesties." Astaroth says as he rides up next to us, "The scouts have returned and it seems we're not far from a river so it might be best to set up camp here. With your permission I think we should call a halt for the night." Nodding I survey our surroundings seeing the benefits of stopping here. There's plenty of space for tents to be set up plus a forest nearby for a bit of hunting so that we don't have to dip too far into our food supplies just yet.

"HALT!" I roar out raising a fist to signal the halt as well. "Make camp." Immediately the march stops and they scatter to begin setting up camp. When we'd been stationed at Hadlau I'd run them through drills several times just for setting up camp, making sure that we can get set up quickly so that they can rest and eat with as much time as possible. Plus we'd be setting out at dawn in the morning to take advantage of the daylight to get as much travel done as possible.

In very little time there are tents set up as far as the eye can see and already the smell of cooking food is drifting through the air. Bel and I are joined by Astaroth in our tent as we review our maps determining how far we've travelled today and trying to figure out the best route to take tomorrow. So far we've made good time which puts in a good position especially if the weather turns on us in the future, something that is likely as we get closer to winter.

"I think we've got the plan for tomorrow then." Bel comments as we all finally come into agreement on the plan for tomorrow. It's taken us a few hours to confirm the plan as there is a river we'll need to cross in a few days' time and we want to position our approach of the river for the best place to cross. As we get closer scouts will be sent out to assess the river properly but for now we're going off the information on the map trying to aim for where the river isn't as wide.

"Yes, I'd say that's the best we can do for now until we get more information. And after we've crossed the river we should meet up with General Hasan Rowe and his men so long as everything goes to plan. They should be camped waiting for us not far from the river." Astaroth informs us before standing, "Now I'll go spread the plans to the commanders so they'll have their men ready and leave you two alone. Good night." Nodding we bid goodnight to him.

Now that we're alone we get changed into clean tunics as servants bring in our dinner. Settling ourselves down on some cushions on the floor we near enough inhale the food, lunch had only been what we could eat on a brief break from the march so it hadn't been very filling. I'm almost envious of Bel and the other vampires marching with us who can drink blood whenever they need to.

"What do you think Lilas and Emmy are up to right now?" Bel asks leaning back against my chest where I'm playing with his hair.

"Sleeping." I reply imagining them fast asleep cuddled together in our bed. It's a nice image but it would be better if we could be there as well. "We should do the same."

"Hmm. Not moving." Bel hums turning himself towards me throwing an arm over my chest. Not really wanting to move either we settle down further into the pillows and going to sleep, it might not be as comfortable as the bed but it'll do. It takes me a while to fall to sleep feeling like something is missing not having Lilas and Emmy next to us as we try to sleep.

By the time dawn breaks the whole camp has been disassembled and we're marching on. Bel and I are riding at the front of the army again surrounded by our guard, something that the Council has insisted we need but I think it's a waste of resources. We're not near danger yet and even if we were Bel and I are both experienced enough to be difficult to kill.

The endless marching is mind numbing especially as there isn't much to look at. There is only so much time I can spend going over battle plans in my mind before I run out of scenarios to think over. Having Bel next to me is a welcome distraction as we start discussing our first letter back to Lilas and Emmy, we're planning to write it tonight when we've stopped for the night. Hopefully it can be sent to Hadlau sometime soon, there is a town nearby that might be able to send the letter if not then we'll keep hold of it until we can send it even if we have to send a bundle of letters to them at the same time.

"There isn't much we can really write about at the moment. Nothing's happened." Bel complains as though he's praying something exciting will happen just so we can write about.

"We're missing them." I reply giving him an option for the letter. It's the only thing I can really think to write about at the moment, letting them know that we miss them already and want to back home with them. "Week at the castle."

"Yeah, that'll be good. A whole week away from Hadlau just the four of us alone in the castle." He stares off into the distance his mind drifting off to dreaming of that week at the castle. It'll likely be a long time off before it happens though. When it does though I'll fly Bel and myself to Hadlau rest for a night then the four of us will go straight to the castle. Fuck what the Council might say, that's the plan.

After that we return to silent mind-numbing riding only occasionally broken by short conversations about our surroundings. It's a relief when we stop to make camp a few hours before sunset because at least then we have something to do rather than mindlessly riding forward. Only day two and I'm frustrated with the march already, I wish that I could just fly there but that's not a possibility. As large as my dragon form is I can't carry that many people and still fly, not that I really want people other than my mates riding my dragon form.

We spend the next few hours trying to write our letter to Lilas and Emmy. It's more difficult than I thought it would be words have never been my thing I prefer actions instead so writing the letter falls more on Bel. After a few drafts we're happy with the final results and seal it before putting it away for safe keeping until we can find a way to send it back to them. Gods only know how we'll get letters from them hopefully with the reports being sent to Hadlau about our movements will allow Lilas to work out a way to write to us in return.

Knowing that we'll need to keep morale up we spend a few hours walking around camp meeting and talking with the soldiers. They're already familiar with me after attending the training I'd been doing before we'd left the city but it's different walking among them and talking to them like this. Bel has great fun playing a few rounds of cards with some of the soldiers, he ends up winning but gives the money back to them as we have more than enough. Plus playing cards with Bel is always tricky because he can hear their heartbeats and know when they don't have a good hand so it wasn't entirely fair.

Returning to our tent we find Astaroth waiting for us with a handful of paper which are probably the reports from the scouts we'd sent out to survey the river to determine where we'll crossing the day after tomorrow. Although we'd made good time today it'll could still take us most of tomorrow to reach the river and we're not going to try crossing it unless we've got plenty of sunlight. Instead we'll spend the rest of the day organising everything, determining how many men cross at a time and the safest way for them to cross plus how to get the supply wagons across without losing the supplies.

After another night of restless sleep together with Bel we're up and moving again at dawn. The early mornings are draining but at least today we'll be stopping early to prepare for tomorrow's river crossing. Too much marching and not enough rest will exhaust our soldiers before we even get to the border and that's without the possibility of having to fight earlier.

So far we'd had no reports of Rhistel having followers in Rialria but he'd been clever before in Nerkise not letting them know what was happening until it was already over. While he doesn't have quite the same element of surprise now there could still be followers hidden in Rialria waiting for his command to cause problems. The sooner we reach the border and re-claim Nerkise for their Council the better.

Knowing that we'd have to cross several rivers on our journey north I'd had the soldiers practise preparing the supply carts to be floated across the river. Having drilled them so often it doesn't take them long to organise the carts when we stop not far from the river. Once that's finished I gather the commanders and we start determining where to cross, we're at the shallowest parts of the river but there could still be problems crossing in certain areas.

The only way we can sure on the safety of where we cross is to get someone to cross it. Bel gladly rides back and forth across the river narrowing our choices down based on what he finds then we send a few soldiers to walk across it. Not all of our soldiers are mounted so those travelling on foot have to be able to cross as well. It takes us a few hours to determine and mark the correct place to cross that will hopefully allow us to cross without any casualties.

Needing the light before we cross we start moving out later than the previous couple of days. Rather than moving out at dawn we wake and pack up the camp at dawn so in the few hours it takes to finish deconstructing camp the sun has risen. Half of the army will cross then the carts followed by the remainder of the army so once we can see the crossing properly Bel and I are some of the first across together with our guards. Asaroth will be staying on the other side overseeing the soldiers waiting to cross while we keep command of those who have crossed.

Getting everyone and all the carts across take most of the day but we get it done with minimal loss of life or supplies. The only men that ended up getting swept away by the river were those that didn't follow orders and tried to cross in a different area of the river, we'd ruled that area out yesterday due to a sudden trench in the middle of the river that is just deep enough for a person to lose their footing. That's exactly what happened to the three soldiers who defied orders and tried to cross there, the ground disappeared out from under their feet and before anything could be done they had been swept away by the river.

That's the first river over and done with but we've still got a long way to go. We'll camp on this side of the river tonight giving everyone a chance to rest after today's crossing and set off early again in the morning to hopefully meet up with General Rowe tomorrow if we make good time. From there we'll continue our march north meeting up along the way with more men, all prepared to do whatever it takes to reclaim Nerkise and end Rhistel's reign.