Chapter 138: Chapter 138: Commander Rhydian

“Sir.” The scout greeted as he returned to his captain. The captain could tell that the scout had found nothing otherwise he would look happier than he did.

“No sign of him from the road to Wathamalin?” The scout captain himself didn’t mind that nobody was found in that direction. He knew what it would mean if they had found their target in that direction much more clearly than his subordinates did.

“No, Sire, nothing on the road. I have informed Marquess Burgess to look out for Viscount Sharpe’s men from behind but I have not seen him on the way there or back.” The report was as the captain had expected and as he hoped. It did not mean that Viscount Sharpe was not planning to do what they expected, but it was much less likely than it had first been.

“Good, go take a rest.” The captain dismissed the man, once again settling down to wait for the rest of the scouts to return. The one that had just returned was only the first, there were still more than had been sent out in different directions to check all of the possible routes that the Viscount could have taken.

“Well that takes the most pressing possibility out of play. Let’s just hope that Viscount Sharpe is not too smart for his own good.” The scout captain was worried that Viscount Sharpe had predicted that they would look for him on the road to Wathamalin and thus taken a circuitous path to Cinar’s men. 

“Any word yet?” A voice came from the entrance to the tent that had been set up for the scout captain. As the captain looked to see who it was, he got a shock and immediately stood up to greet the new arrival.

“Sir Kelly, you did not need to come out of your way. I would have come to you with a report if there were any news.” The scout captain had not expected that the new commander of the army would come to find him so soon. There were definitely matters that he needed to attend to after just being nominated to the position, he did not think that one potentially traitorous noble would be so high on his priority. Even if that noble had offended his liege.

“This is a matter of great importance, especially if Viscount Sharpe has decided to side with Duke Ryder. I cannot be negligent about such a threat.” Rhydian responded. He knew that there might be others who felt differently about the threat that Viscount Sharpe held, but he was not going to take unnecessary risks where he did not have to.

“So far only one of my scouts has returned, Sire. If Viscount Sharpe was going to go for a fast strike then he is not particularly good at it. There was no sign of him on the road to Wathamalin and Marquess Burgess has already been informed of the potential danger.” The captain knew that it was just the priority that Rhydian held Viscount Sharpe’s matter that led him to seek out the scout captain so quickly but he could not help but feel appreciated nonetheless.

“That is good news but we cannot be complacent until we have located his army. Even if we cannot punish him for his crimes against both my liege and the crown at this time. Keep up the good work, and come to me immediately if you find him, regardless of time or setting.” Rhydian wanted to make sure that the captain knew of how much importance he viewed the matter with. If Viscount Sharpe managed to disrupt Cinar’s defences, it would be the difference between holding the line in an assault from Duke Ryder and not. And those led to vastly different outcomes.

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“Certainly, Sire.” The scout captain saluted to Rhydian as he left the tent. He had the newfound confidence that the new commander would take his report seriously. Previously, he had been worried about whether Rhydian would pay attention to a scouts’ information given his reputation for being a marauder on the battlefield.

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“I need more people like Rhydian.” Braydon muttered to himself as he learnt of the amount of tasks that Rhydian truly took care of. While he was capable of doing all of them, he found that he almost never had enough time to do all of them. And all of them were necessary.

“Thankfully, Gerald has not been met with another Viscount Sharpe then.” Steven commented as he followed Braydon from task to task. Most of Braydon’s work now consisted of making decisions that his men could not make on their own, due to lack of authority or a lack of proper education. There was only so much that Rhydian could teach them, and most of that concerned fighting rather than logistics.

“And thankfully he is forced to refrain from drinking if he wants to get anything done.” Braydon returned, alcohol and conflict were great ways to get Gerald distracted. He was just glad that Gerald had access to neither.

“You seem to be holding on well, Sire.” It was at this moment that Rhydian entered Braydon’s camp, the first time that he had since he had been nominated to command the whole army earlier that day.

“I sometimes wonder where you find the ability to do everything in a timely manner.” Braydon’s response drew a laugh from Rhydian, who knew full well that Braydon would struggle with properly commanding his own force without his aid for the first time.

“Well actual experience is the best way to learn how to lead men. And I presume that you do not want to be wholly dependent upon me.” Rhydian’s response left Braydon with nothing to come back with. Rhydian was right, he was a lord in his own right and leading his men into battle was something that he would have to learn. Especially since his territory bordered another country. 

“If you have come to me when you are so busy, I presume that there is something important?" Braydon asked. For all of his complaining, he knew that Rhydian was only going to be busier than he was.

“Indeed there is something.” Rhydian confirmed.