134. Embattled

Despite Siobhan's concerns, the knights didn't cause us any problems. They were here to keep an eye on us, but that just meant twice a day one or two of them came riding around the Duma to look at us, then they turned around and rode back to their camp.

Apparently they were just keeping an eye on our numbers, to make sure we didn't have more reserves showing up while we waited. We also found out they were confused by our lack of horses. They assumed we must have rode here with friends who then led the horses away again. The knights speculated that was so we didn't have to spend time looking after horses, and didn't need to have food and water here for them.

We got all this information courtesy the pixies of course. Their small size combined with being able to fly and turn invisible meant they were excellent spies. They could just fly into the knights' camp and hang around for hours at a time listening to everything the men said to each other.

Whenever the local pixies had news for us it was delivered by one of King Greenleaf's children. Usually one of the older ones. I wasn't sure but I found it hard to believe the king let his children do the actual spying. I assumed he was sending them to deliver the reports rather than a soldier or whatever, as a sign of respect.

And regardless which of his children actually delivered the news, Petunia almost always accompanied them. She rarely spoke but was always there to exchange looks and smiles with Merryweather. The two of them were adorably awkward and I was positive they both thought they were being completely discreet and keeping their little 'affair' secret.

The latest news was delivered by the eldest daughter Rosebud, who arrived in the evening while Laoise was preparing our dinner. The pixie princess looked and sounded serious as she gave us the latest update, while her younger sister hovered nearby making eyes at our enby ambassador.

"The knights haven't spoken of any specific numbers, but they were overheard discussing the column that is approaching in the company of their king," Rosebud told us. "They made mention of an army of mounted soldiers, and they believe this army will have numbers to overwhelm any reinforcements you have waiting nearby. They also indicated the king has several powerful mages with him, and they believe the mages will be able to neutralize any magical advantage you might have."

She added, "The conversation came up in context of the men placing wagers with each other on the outcome of the encounter. In the end no wagers were placed, they all believe you and your friends will be quickly defeated."

"Thank you Rosebud," I replied. "That's good to know."

The red-haired pixie looked confused, "It's good? Why is that good?"

I smiled, "If they're all convinced of an easy victory, they'll be more relaxed. They won't be as careful or cautious."

"I see," she was still frowning slightly. Then she bid us all a good evening. She and her sister retreated back up the Duma as Laoise served up dinner.

So we weren't too worried about the trio of knights on the far side of the Duma, and we were confident the local pixies would warn us when the king or his army arrived.

Still, we knew better than to relax or lower our guard. We mostly kept to our own camp, and if we did leave we went in groups of two or three.

Siobhan and Laoise made a point of going up onto the Duma together every day. They'd go up there for an hour or so, and I came to the conclusion they were praying. I figured Siobhan didn't want to say anything because it was personal and private, which was fine with me.

I went up each day as well, accompanied by Kelly and Keira. I was still examining the Duma. Despite my breakthrough on our second day here, it felt like I still had more to learn about the place and its magical interactions.

And to be honest, I did a little praying of my own. I thanked Taralynn for her guidance and the information she gave me. And I prayed to The Dagda and The Morrigan, to thank them for letting us visit their home. I also apologized to them in advance for what I was planning on doing. There weren't any answers to my prayers, which was perhaps for the best. I really wasn't looking for any divine encounters.

Kelly and Keira and I were atop the Duma again at about mid-day. We'd been here almost a week and the king was due any day now, and the three of us were anxious. We were standing in the middle of the plateau as usual and I'd just started to do my 'meditation' when Keira said "Pixies incoming."

I opened my eyes in time to see three sparks of light moving to us at speed. They resolved into Nettlesting Heathgreen and Lavender. The two younger siblings had wide eyes and looked nervous. Nettlesting was frowning and looked uneasy.

"Lady Tegan, an army approaches from the east."

I took a deep breath then said "Thank you Nettlesting. Would you mind informing my friends, and ask them to join us up here?"

He replied, "Of course."

I thanked him again as he and his younger siblings took off to the west. I got to my feet and said to my girlfriends, "Let's go take a look."

Kelly and Keira were both anxious, and so was I. The three of us walked slowly towards the eastern edge of the plateau. We didn't go right to the edge, we just moved near enough to get a look.

"Oh shit," Keira whispered softly. "They weren't kidding."

'Army' was no exaggeration. I didn't know the military terms, but a phalanx or whatever of mounted soldiers was approaching. The lines were formed of ten soldiers across, and they were at least twenty lines deep, so a minimum of two hundred soldiers on horseback. From what I could see they were armed with spears, I saw bows slung over their shoulders. And I could see swords on the ones in the front row.

Among the forest of raised spears, about a dozen of them had pennants flying. I assumed they were the king's standard, they depicted a red dragon on its hind legs, inside a white circle, on a gold background.

Behind the army we could see a couple horse-drawn carriages, which I figured probably held the king and whatever other important people he was bringing. Each carriage had that same pennant flying from a pole at the front.

Beyond that were several horse-drawn wagons, then even more people on horseback. They were too far back to tell if they were soldiers or servants or whatever.

That was maybe the most awesome detail in fact. The king brought so many people with him, we had trouble seeing the folks at the back of the column because they were so far away from the front of the column.

I heard footfalls and turned in time to see Siobhan Laoise and Padraig arrive. All three were breathing hard, they'd come running once Nettlesting contacted them. Merryweather was there too, they buzzed in and landed on my shoulder.

The seven of us stood there and watched as the king's army arrived.

The mounted soldiers sort of broke up into groups of ten and spread out around the plain, while the three carriages came to a stop in the middle. We could now see there were a dozen wagons, each fully loaded with supplies.

We continued to watch quietly as the enemy started setting up their camp. They all moved with precision, everyone seemed to know what to do.

Three rather large tents were quickly set up in the middle of the site, then a dozen medium-sized tents were set up around them. Towards the back of the site a few more large tents started going up. The wagons and carriages were moved about as gear was unloaded, then pulled back out of the way.

"Each unit of ten troops will have one sergeant in charge and one corporal as second," Siobhan explained as we watched. "There'll be two or three officers in charge of the whole army. The units will all camp together, probably two tents, five men in a tent. They're already organizing themselves to form a protective perimeter around the whole site."

The captain continued, "The three largest tents in the middle will house the king and whatever courtiers he's brought. The dozen big tents around that will be for the officers and any other VIPs. His mages I suppose."

Laoise added, "Those tents towards the back will probably be kitchens and mess tents for the troops. The bearers and servants will be housed in there too."

I asked, "Would they have done this every night? It's a wonder they got here at all, never mind being a few days late."

Siobhan smiled "I doubt they did all this every night. The king and the important people would have had fancy sleeping arrangements each night, and the soldiers would have set up like they're doing. But the bearers and servants would have slept under the wagons or under the stars, they wouldn't have bothered with kitchen and mess tents. Each unit of troops would have been responsible for their own meals while travelling. All this is because they're here and expect to stay a few days, I think."

Padraig looked a little pale as he remarked, "There's over two hundred soldiers, and another fifty servants and bearers. Another dozen officers, and probably a dozen mages and nobles, a half dozen knights..."

"So probably close to three hundred of them in total," Laoise said in a half-whisper.

Kelly looked at me and said, "Against just seven of us."

I turned and looked at my companions, then gave them all a little smile. "Sounds about even."

Kelly and Keira both rolled their eyes, and Keira asked "Didn't you say something to Rosebud about overconfidence?"

"Yeah good point," I blushed. "I don't know if it'd make you all feel better or worse though, knowing how nervous I really am."

From the looks on their faces, I figured that revelation didn't really improve their mood after all.

"Someone's coming," Merryweather pointed out.

Sure enough a half dozen fae had left their camp and were heading towards the Duma. They were on foot, and from what I could tell four of them were soldiers. I wasn't sure if the other two were mages or courtiers or whatever.

Siobhan said, "They're probably coming to initiate contact and establish terms of the engagement. So when the king wants to meet you, that sort of thing."

Still, we were all on alert as the six fae ascended the slope. I had us all move back towards the centre of the plateau so we were out of sight from the large encampment.

When the group of six reached the top they continued to approach us. I let out an unhappy sigh as I recognized one of them. I didn't know the other five. Four were definitely soldiers, they wore chain armour and carried longbows. They had swords and daggers hanging from their belts. The one I recognized was Sir Colm, who just kept turning up everywhere.

The sixth was an attractive woman. She was tall, maybe an inch shorter than Kelly and Keira. Her hair was a rich golden blonde and was styled in a single long ponytail. She was dressed in travel-gear, but it was rather fancy. Leather pants, leather jacket, boots. What her clothes revealed of her figure suggested she was strong and athletic. There was a sword at her left hip and a knife at her right hip.

I figured she was a knight, her outfit wasn't that different from Colm's. She was a lot younger than him though, so probably a junior knight or maybe she was his apprentice or something. I'd guess her age at about two hundred, or in human terms she'd be in her early twenties.

The group came to a halt about five meters away from where my companions and I were standing. The soldiers looked wary, Sir Colm looked at me with thinly-veiled hatred, and the blonde woman just sort of studied me and my friends for a few moments.

Finally the blonde fixed her eyes on me and announced, "Lady Tegan Vale of Clann Brádaigh, I am Princess Áine. My father will meet you here on this spot tomorrow at mid-day."

She paused just a moment then added, "A word of warning, Lady Tegan. My father is very displeased with you, and very unhappy to have been dragged all this way to see you. And he can be quite vindictive when he doesn't get his way. He will dictate terms of your surrender. Unless you are prepared for a violent and bloody war, I do suggest you accept his terms."

It took me a few seconds to get over my surprise, she was nothing like I imagined a fae princess would be. I finally nodded, "Thank you Princess Áine. We will be here at mid-day tomorrow."

The princess watched me for another moment or two, then turned away. She and her guards headed back towards their camp. Colm glared at me for another second or so before he followed the princess.

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