Fable - Ask The Baron of Stonewatch

[Keia Merrenia]

Her last comment caught him off guard. After renewing his threat to kill her the last thing he expected was for her to confess her love. But now she had left and he was alone with his thoughts. What did she mean by "love"? He's seen lots of definitions over the years... Familial, lust, friendship, unconditional, conditional, romantic, arrogant, selfish, selfless... Twisted... There was any number of ways that single word could be interpreted and he was almost unwilling to try to guess with her. He knew she couldn't get enough of the pain he could inflict on her, she was a full blown masochist, she derived erotic satisfaction from him destroying her senses and beating her within an inch of her life so her version of love could be just as twisted as her version of pleasure.

Her version of love was not as twisted as it could have been. She gave herself to him in that tree because she owed him something and she had nothing else to give, but also because she genuinely found him attractive and she knew that he would be able to give her an experience that she would never forget. Her loyalty when they were attacked on their way was because she owed it to him. But she had grown to love him not because of what he gave her physically, not because he satisfied her masochistic desires, not because he fed her, not because he gave her a home, but because he accepted her how she was. He didn't judge her based on how she was or her practices, he tells her when she's wrong yes, but by being his slave she was in many way freed. That was why she loved him, and now she knew that he genuinely cares, and that served to only strengthen the sense of love that she felt for him.

 

[Keia Merrenia]

The men stood beside their horses and a stable hand held a horse for Bruce and a horse for Keia.

Bruce was dressed in simple leather armor with his dark coat over it. He had a sword at his hip but as always had his knives hidden on his body as his main form of attack.
Wordlessly he took the reins of his horse and regarded the group of twenty men.
Not much, but they would do.

Keia had slept on and off throughout the night, waking up when her concern that his returning emotions would lead to her abandonment, and sleeping again when her hope that he might grow to love her back was brought to her thoughts.

The following morning she had dressed herself in her usual garments, topped off with a long green cloak. She took the horse from the stable hand and she rode beside and behind her lord and master with the fifty some newly-trained guards riding behind them.

She had excluded the insertions from the previous day, with her master's permission of course, so that she might avoid any lethal distractions during this siege.

 

[Keia Merrenia]

( Christian Vide )​

 

[Christian Vide]

They rode out as soon as everyone was present. A respectable fighting force armed to the teeth trotted out of the front gate and plunged down the forest road, following the path his scouts had picked out to reach the first fortress.
Bruce rode at the head of the column of horsemen with Keia close by. According to the reports this first fortress was merely a camp set up amid the ruins of walls, but no real walls to speak of that would prevent his cavalry from trampling the camp into the dust. If Keia's monsters did their part they didn't have to worry about their victims sending word or warning to the other fortresses.

After a while the company left the road to follow the path the scouts had chosen that their horses could pass through. While they rode Bruce spoke to Keia.
"What magic do you plan to use during our attack? If they have magic users what's your plan to deal with them?"

 

[Keia Merrenia]

After a while the company left the road to follow the path the scouts had chosen that their horses could pass through. While they rode Bruce spoke to Keia.
"What magic do you plan to use during our attack? If they have magic users what's your plan to deal with them?"

“You remember the swordcasting spell I used with the lieutenants? I intend to use that more than anything, and any mages will need to contend with my projectiles. Other than that’s I might use the firewall again, but mostly to defend our soldiers, not to trap the bandits, we have a safeguard in place to keep them from getting too far.” She said to him with a smile.

She had twelve quartz crystals this time, and it was these that would form the swords.

 

[Christian Vide]

"A good plan. I don't foresee this first one to be much of a problem, our cavalry should be able to ride over any who oppose us with ease. But once we start attacking the other forts with actual walls is where we'll have to get creative..."
A thought occurred to him. He was prepared to wipe out all of the bandits to the last man, but that approach required more temperance.
"We'll have to grant mercy to any who surrender. I regret to say that we cannot simply kill the way we used to, our lives got significantly more complicated the moment the opinions of those around us began to matter."

He guided his horse around a tree. It can be done, but it's going to take a lot of time and effort to reform the people and these soldiers into obedient subjects.

 

[Keia Merrenia]

"A good plan. I don't foresee this first one to be much of a problem, our cavalry should be able to ride over any who oppose us with ease. But once we start attacking the other forts with actual walls is where we'll have to get creative..."

"Very true Master." She said happily. "Fret not, I am nothing if not creative. We'll not want for ideas."

"We'll have to grant mercy to any who surrender. I regret to say that we cannot simply kill the way we used to, our lives got significantly more complicated the moment the opinions of those around us began to matter."

He guided his horse around a tree. It can be done, but it's going to take a lot of time and effort to reform the people and these soldiers into obedient subjects.

"Perhaps not mercy, simply, leniency. Be less harsh in punishment, maybe a few years of required service to the state as town guards. Those who resist and are taken alive are to be put through our, shall we say, program? If it please you, my lord." She suggested.

Things had indeed gotten more complicated since they now had to worry about public standing and opinion. And she knew that her master had little experience with such a thing, and frankly neither did she, so it was difficult. But she wasn't without brains, and she was clever. She wasn't the best politician around but she knew enough to keep herself and her master on their feet.

 

[Christian Vide]

Spoiler

Sorry for the delay. Been busy job hunting and other whatnot. I won't be very consistent but I'll try to keep up!

Optimism, good advice. Everything about their new life was a full time balancing act, full of nuance and temperament and they had to watch each other. Every plan they put in place had to be perfectly disguised as to evade detection under the doubtless scrutiny it would face.
Being blameless before the people so that they could achieve their goals won't be easy.

They finally came upon the enemy camp and formed up the cavalry. Christian looked impassively at the bandits that were gathering, lightly defended, more like a tent city. He drew his sword and held it in the air for a moment before he sliced forward in the signal to charge as he rode forward with them to crash through the camp.

 

[Keia Merrenia]

Spoiler

No worries friend. Get yourself situated IRL first and foremost, then worry about RPing.

Blameless seemed a little too unrealistic to her. If there was one thing that Sir Eberwolf had shown, it was his ability to hold the respect of the people. And he did not hide his flaws, he accepted them and actively tried to change them in view of everyone, it was his acceptance of responsibility that gave him his people’s respect despite his numerous and visible flaws.

But regardless, they had a job to do. Keia’s eyes lit up and the areas behind the camp erupted in green flames, while numerous ethereal swords, as before with cores of quartz, revolved around her ready to defend.

 

[Christian Vide]

Spoiler

Should we skip some of the combat? I'm not sure what they'll be up against with these attacks.

They rode through the camp like a hot knife through butter, cutting down any resistance and quickly began routing them against the wall of flames. A few were desperate enough to try and jump through the fire wall to safety, but the remaining bandits began throwing down their arms in surrender.
Christian rode around the camp as he wiped his sword down, having bloodied it on many enemies in the initial charge.
He kicked through some of the tents and investigated through some meager belongings. For being the closest to the road they didn't seem to be very successful in their looting... Unless there was another story to be told here...

At the lieutenants tent he dismounted and stepped through the flap. A simple wooden table, a chair, a small chest, and a bed.
"Seems to me that these bandits aren't as united as we thought... I wager that the true leader levied a heavy tax or toll on his fellows, perhaps the heaviest being on the weakest link of the chain."
He picked the lock on the chest and disarmed a poison needle trap before opening the lid to examine the contents.
A large bag of gold, a few odd trinkets of some value.

He stood and brushed the dust from his knees.
"What do our scouts know about the other camps? We should take this opportunity to reassess our strategy and see about our own needs."

 

[Keia Merrenia]

Spoiler

sure

The bandits were bested swiftly and with minimal effort. Her magic hadn't been necessary and she let the flames die once she was sure that they'd be secure. And she followed her lord and master through the camp, her magic always ready to be used in defence.

He stood and brushed the dust from his knees.
"What do our scouts know about the other camps? We should take this opportunity to reassess our strategy and see about our own needs."

Their guard captain spoke up. "Our scouts report a great deal of variety in the state of each fort. One such fort is actually, as far as we've gathered, completely female-run. The women have their own division, and enslaved a few nearby villages, forcing most of the women to join them. They are a little tougher than a few others, but the toughest by far has to be the group that took over Erdeschloss, an older castle in the hills. Other than those two, they're mostly comparable to this."

 

[Christian Vide]

Christian quickly worked out their options and came up with an impromptu plan to deal with the women bandits. This wasn't a hostage situation, it was worse... They had to break their fighting spirit as quickly as possible with as little death as possible. As with any hostage or slave army you could break its back by removing their motivation to fight... Fear...

Removing fear in the context of a battle is no easy feat, but in this case the fear came from a core group that forced weapons into the hands of these non-combatants.
This was his area of expertise... Quietly eliminating the chains of bondage so that when the time comes to do battle there is nothing and no one to give them a reason to fight, and only initial resistance would be expected... But there were still variables and he wanted to get rid of as many variables as possible before they actually faced the amazonian camp...

"What is the current situation of those enslaved villages? Send scouts if you're unsure. Are they heavily defended? What do they hold over their recruits to keep them loyal? Before we face them I want to know everything about them; their setup, how they divide their spoils, what they eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, how they maintain their weapons and armor, where they get water for the camp, leave nothing out."

He dismissed the captain and motioned for Keia to approach.
"Tell me how your creatures are doing, how many have they captured so far?"

 

[Keia Merrenia]

He dismissed the captain and motioned for Keia to approach.
"Tell me how your creatures are doing, how many have they captured so far?"

She answered saying, "fourteen captured sir. They've killed two who resisted too strongly for capture, but everyone else they've encountered has been taken alive. They've only to bring them back to me, which is no issue at all."

The Amazonian camp was a bit of a predicament, but she couldn't imagine that the men are easy to control. They either have a way of ensuring obedience or they're constantly having to beat them down. Either way, it was only a matter of time before the pressure became too strong for the container.

 

[Christian Vide]

"Good. I've yet to decide if it would be wise to take them back with us and add them to the rest of our prisoners at the end of this. Perhaps we could make use of one of these ruins in place of your workshop back at the castle?"
He tucked a lock of her dark hair behind her ear and slid his thumb along her jaw and absently caressed her cheek.
"Now that I think about it... These ruins can be restored, we can use them for expansion once we truly begin to grow."

He continued to glide his fingers across her fair skin as he stared at the wall of the tent in mesmerized thoughtfulness.
"But for right now I don't want us to get drawn into a siege if our enemies are heavily fortified, we don't have the manpower for a drawn out fight. Perhaps when it comes down to it we can introduce the captains to the idea of necromancy as a force for good and utilize the dead as fodder for wearing down fortified defenses..."
He looked back at her, his fingers still lingering on her skin, "As always, I value your opinion. Please feel free to speak your mind."

 

[Keia Merrenia]

"Good. I've yet to decide if it would be wise to take them back with us and add them to the rest of our prisoners at the end of this. Perhaps we could make use of one of these ruins in place of your workshop back at the castle?"

“Hmm, that sounds interesting. A place where I can do my less publicly sound work. And where i have access to more than one type of creature. Hmmmm.” She said thoughtfully, right before he started touching her.

He tucked a lock of her dark hair behind her ear and slid his thumb along her jaw and absently caressed her cheek.
"Now that I think about it... These ruins can be restored, we can use them for expansion once we truly begin to grow.

“Why don’t we animate a few of these corpses and have them start working? We’ll need a detailed build plan so that I can give them the right instructions but it can be done.” She shuddered as he touched her. “And while that’s being done we can have the guard focus on the other groups, and the worker-corpses can work as a garrison too.”

He continued to glide his fingers across her fair skin as he stared at the wall of the tent in mesmerized thoughtfulness.
"But for right now I don't want us to get drawn into a siege if our enemies are heavily fortified, we don't have the manpower for a drawn out fight. Perhaps when it comes down to it we can introduce the captains to the idea of necromancy as a force for good and utilize the dead as fodder for wearing down fortified defenses..."

“No, for right now we need to take out the lesser camps and grow our own forces. And once the captains are convinced we can start using my creatures. Or we can use them secretly, or perhaps as a special forces type deal. I know those centipede creatures I made will be able to get under or over a castle’s walls, useful for sapping or opening the postern.” She said, her body rigid with his wandering touch.

He looked back at her, his fingers still lingering on her skin, "As always, I value your opinion. Please feel free to speak your mind."

“I feel you wish to hear it, then I advise that we push both fronts. We can work away at the castle without risking lives, we simply need to besiege them and starve them out, that being the main purpose of a siege, which in turn will allow us to deprive any outside bandit forces from receiving reinforcements from the castle. And as for necromancy goes, if it is seen doing good things, or is used in a desperate situation to achieve a good goal, then the people and the captains may be more open to the idea.”

 

[Christian Vide]

He lifted her chin and kissed her on the lips, "Thank you... I'm hardly a soldier no matter how good I can pretend, your insight is invaluable to me."
He slid his hand down her throat and reached around to hold the back of her neck underneath her hair, he gently squeezed and massaged the muscles in her neck while his other hand found her shoulder.
"I do have a few strategies for the siege... But ultimately I'm grateful for you, Keia."

"Until proper plans can be made just raise the dead and have them clear the area in preparation for the restoration."
He leaned his forehead against hers and drew her to him.
"We still have daylight and the element of surprise, we should push onwards and see about taking the next camp..."
But he made no move to budge from that spot or to release her as he wrapped his arms around her small body and covered her protectively with his larger mass.

He didn't feel tired... But he felt a need for closeness and touch. He couldn't justify it or deny it.
"Damn... I'm feeling again... I have no drive to move from this spot with you in my arms."

 

[Keia Merrenia]

He lifted her chin and kissed her on the lips, "Thank you... I'm hardly a soldier no matter how good I can pretend, your insight is invaluable to me."

His kiss was met wholeheartedly by the meek woman. There was something different about it, it seemed more... complete than all those previous. He seemed like this time, he meant it.

He slid his hand down her throat and reached around to hold the back of her neck underneath her hair, he gently squeezed and massaged the muscles in her neck while his other hand found her shoulder.
"I do have a few strategies for the siege... But ultimately I'm grateful for you, Keia."

"Until proper plans can be made just raise the dead and have them clear the area in preparation for the restoration."
He leaned his forehead against hers and drew her to him.

His hands crossed the enchanted steel of her collar as they had so many times before, and his touch tended to her, loosening the muscles beneath her hair, just above the steel band. Meanwhile her shoulder was touched too, and she couldn't stop herself from wrapping her arms around his neck. And he gave her distracted instructions, to which she answered, "as you wish, Master."

"We still have daylight and the element of surprise, we should push onwards and see about taking the next camp..."
But he made no move to budge from that spot or to release her as he wrapped his arms around her small body and covered her protectively with his larger mass.

He didn't feel tired... But he felt a need for closeness and touch. He couldn't justify it or deny it.
"Damn... I'm feeling again... I have no drive to move from this spot with you in my arms."

She was pulled close and a single tear, a tear of joy dropped from her cheek as she rested her head on his chest. "Don't be so disappointed Master. It isn't a bad thing that you're feeling again. Besides, we can cuddle once night falls."

 

[Christian Vide]

Sometimes he could forget how small she was compared to him, but when he could hold her like this it was brought to the forefront about how petite she was. When she worked her magic and destroyed their enemies she seemed larger than life, more intimidating to lesser men... But realizing how attractive she was, how small she was when strong arms embraced her frame...

"But I am disappointed, Keia. There's still so much to do and all I have the will to do is hold you tighter and complain that my self control is lacking when faced with a strong emotion like desire..."
He squeezed her against his leather armored chest like he was trying to feel her body on his through the thick protective hide while he buried his face in her hair.

His voice was muffled as he spoke through her hair.
"We have to rally the men and move on to the next camp. How do you pursue the greater priority when such a powerful force like emotion pulls you to do something else?"
He sighed, breathing in the scent of her hair before he finally managed to slowly release his hold on her... His desire conquered at least for the moment.

He gazed down at her and his fingers played with the edge of her collar before he drew back.
"Mark my words... Only death could free you from me now, Keia Merrenia..."

 

[Keia Merrenia]

"But I am disappointed, Keia. There's still so much to do and all I have the will to do is hold you tighter and complain that my self control is lacking when faced with a strong emotion like desire..."
He squeezed her against his leather armored chest like he was trying to feel her body on his through the thick protective hide while he buried his face in her hair.

His voice was muffled as he spoke through her hair.
"We have to rally the men and move on to the next camp. How do you pursue the greater priority when such a powerful force like emotion pulls you to do something else?"

She smiled, his words threatening to force more tears of joy from her eyes. She hugged him tighter just as he did. "Because I know that it will be even better if I wait. And I know that what I must do, I must do for you. And I know that there will always be time to quench my thirst once our business is concluded."

He sighed, breathing in the scent of her hair before he finally managed to slowly release his hold on her... His desire conquered at least for the moment.

He gazed down at her and his fingers played with the edge of her collar before he drew back.
"Mark my words... Only death could free you from me now, Keia Merrenia..."

His words and his touch drew a meek whimper from her. "Yes Master. I'd have it no other way."

 

[Christian Vide]

He had the urge to grab her again but swallowed it down as his emotionless state took over once more.
"Good... Your consent is not required, but it does make things easier. Let's go rally the men and move on, I want at least two more camps wiped out before nightfall. Once we're cleared of this location I want the dead working."

With that he walked past her and out of the tent to find the captain and began issuing orders.
The soldiers rallied and mounted up while they herded their prisoners along. Once again Christian rode at the head of the column and led the way through the forest. It wasn't long before the camp was completely abandoned save by the dead.

 

[Keia Merrenia]

She didn't hear him object to her suggestion that the dead be used to rebuild in secret. But they didn't yet have a detailed plan and they didn't have time to write one up.

So she mounted her own horse and followed him, they swept through the area, slaying and capturing criminals at every turn. Before sunset, as decreed, they had seventy three prisoners, and two hundred corpses.

Keia rode with her master back to the castle. Where she asked his permission to continue her experiments, half hoping he'd refuse and drag her to his chambers on her leash.

 

[Christian Vide]

The hunt for bandits went well and they covered a lot of ground the rest of that day, but on the journey back they took an alternate rout so that they didn't come upon the working dead. At least three more camps had fallen to their onslaught and the returning raiding party was bloodied and battle-weary. A train of prisoners was led to the keep while the tired guardsmen went to their homes or the barracks to rest.

Christian himself was breathing hard and the blood of his enemies covered his body and weapons. He was not accustomed to head on battle and while he didn't suffer a single scratch he was still more exhausted than he had been in a very long time.

They had just entered the main hall of the castle and Keia asked permission to continue her experiments. He pierced her with his eyes, in spite of his exhaustion his stare was just as bright and sharp as ever.
"No. Tonight you tend to me, first in the bath and then in my bed."
He went to his chambers, not checking to see if she would follow. A bath had already been prepared for his return and as soon as he entered his room he began peeling off the blood covered leather and clothing leaving them where they fell as he walked straight to the steaming pool of water in the spacious bath.
He stepped into the water and slowly lowered himself into the depths with a longsuffering sigh as he allowed the heat to loosen his fatigued muscles.

 

[Keia Merrenia]

The hunt for bandits went well and they covered a lot of ground the rest of that day, but on the journey back they took an alternate rout so that they didn't come upon the working dead. At least three more camps had fallen to their onslaught and the returning raiding party was bloodied and battle-weary. A train of prisoners was led to the keep while the tired guardsmen went to their homes or the barracks to rest.

Christian himself was breathing hard and the blood of his enemies covered his body and weapons. He was not accustomed to head on battle and while he didn't suffer a single scratch he was still more exhausted than he had been in a very long time.

Her part hadn’t been quite as physically taxing as his, though she was definitely tired. Her energy for physical activity had been preserved by her relying largely on magically charged quartz to power her magic. Even so, she rode back a little less dirty than he, and still quite tired.

They had just entered the main hall of the castle and Keia asked permission to continue her experiments. He pierced her with his eyes, in spite of his exhaustion his stare was just as bright and sharp as ever.
"No. Tonight you tend to me, first in the bath and then in my bed."

She couldn’t suppress the smile that split her face, “yes master.”

She followed him in, and removed her clothes as he had, and immediately got to work, massaging his tired muscles and helping wipe the blood away. She cleaned herself off too, albeit in a more teasing way.

 

[Christian Vide]

He closed his eyes and groaned as her fingers pressed into his supple muscles and she squeezed away the traces of tension in his shoulders. He relaxed against the side of the tub as she scrubbed away the blood and gore dried on his skin and he watched her do the same to herself, putting on a show for him.
He watched her impassively at first, but soon her motions and actions of touching herself began to stir his desire once more.

As the water began to turn red and cloudy he stood up and grabbed his towel to dry off, but she could see that she had pleased him.
As he toweled himself off he instructed her,
"Dry yourself and wait in my bed. I will join you shortly."
He then collected his weapons from the floor then went and used the remaining water to clean them and care for them properly.

 

[Keia Merrenia]

He closed his eyes and groaned as her fingers pressed into his supple muscles and she squeezed away the traces of tension in his shoulders. He relaxed against the side of the tub as she scrubbed away the blood and gore dried on his skin and he watched her do the same to herself, putting on a show for him.
He watched her impassively at first, but soon her motions and actions of touching herself began to stir his desire once more.

He was enjoying the attention and the show. If what she felt against her lower back was any indication. She smiled and kept going.

As the water began to turn red and cloudy he stood up and grabbed his towel to dry off, but she could see that she had pleased him.
As he toweled himself off he instructed her,
"Dry yourself and wait in my bed. I will join you shortly."
He then collected his weapons from the floor then went and used the remaining water to clean them and care for them properly.

She obeyed without hesitation, drying herself off before dropping the towel and waiting for him in his bed. She made sure to be as vulnerable as possible for him when he came in.