Chapter 91: Chapter 91: Battlefield of Cloak and Dagger

“They are still unaware?” Duke Ryder asked once again, he could not help it. If what he was planning was found out beforehand, it was pretty much over for him. He was not worried that the King would have found out, but the King was not the only person that he had to keep his guard up against. He had spent several decades making sure that any royal spies among his confidants were removed, spanning back before the current king was even crowned. He could not say that with the same certainty about spies from the other dukes, even Earl Blake had managed to place spies in his midst. 

“They have not retreated from the border at least, though the King has placed some of his more competent allies in the border castles rather than on the field.” His attendant replied, starting his report.

“Ha! That fool probably thinks that he can have an easy ride. He’s just letting Duke Oakley take all of the damage to counter the glory he would have got from winning. Not that he is going to win anymore. What about the weather vane?” The Duke chuckled to himself as he remembered the smug face that Duke Oakley had when he said that he would send his troops to take part in a war with Casburland for once. His only concern was that Duke Burn might have found something out. If he was not taken care of this time, then he would become even harder to remove the next time that he tried.

“He has not made any large moves, he is to be situated on the right flank with most of his allies, opposite the king on the left flank. It seems that they are planning to split the field based on factional allegiance, likely to not get in the way of each other.” This was not exactly like Duke Oakley had predicted but was not outside of the scope of reason. Normally, the flanks and the centre would be lined up in order of strength with the strongest on one side and the weakest on the other, but this was not the case here. Duke Oakley obviously had the stronger force but was in the centre, he had predicted that it would be the King in the centre. Especially with the King placing some of his strongest allies in the nearby castles.

“Are they saying that Duke Burn has the strongest force or is this another one of Oakley’s ploys?” With his strongest allies not on the field, it was obvious that the King’s was the weakest group, but Duke Oakley should be the one with the strongest army. Why else would he make such bold statements at court?

“It could have something to do with those crossbows that he got his hands on.” The attendant offered a possible explanation which drew the agreement of the Duke.

“You could be right. Well, keep an eye on them, I do not want any last minute surprises.” With Duke Ryder’s words, the attendant’s report was over. The attendant bowed before he left, leaving Duke Ryder alone in the tent.

“Only two more days now, then we will be in place to strike.” The Duke muttered to himself in anticipation. He had spent his whole life on this pursuit; now that it was so close, he could hardly wait.

“So long as you uphold your end of the deal, we will uphold ours.” A voice came from a dark corner in the Duke’s tent, a figure stepping out of the shadows soon after.

“Of course I will, do you think I would leave the battlefield without the heads of both Kings? I want to rule this kingdom for more than a few months.” Duke Ryder looked dismissively at the figure, he might be bold but he knew that he would only stand a chance if King Marek also died on the battlefield. Otherwise Casburland would just carry on marching south, and with no Duke Oakley to stop them.

“Good.” The figure said before stepping back into the shadows leaving the tent empty once more, as if he had never been stood there at all.

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“When Duke Ryder’s men arrive on the battlefield, make sure that you order your men to disengage and pull to the side. I have received word that he is in place and waiting for the battle to start before he shows himself.” The King said to his allies, making sure that they would follow the plan when battle started. Of course he had not received word of that but if he said anything different, Duke Ryder would hear about it within hours. The various lords nodded in agreement, they would be more than happy to disengage early and spare their men. Especially so if it meant an easier win against the enemy.

“Good then you may all rest, the battle will likely happen in the coming few days.” Once he was happy that they all got the plan, Aled dismissed them  before letting out a relieved sigh after he was alone in his tent.

His first action was to once again take out the report that he had received from a spy in Duke Burn’s camp. He once again read over the contents of the letter with seriousness. If Duke Ryder truly did go through with what he had planned, it would mean that Fiveria would soon be in chaos. ‘I’m glad that Burn managed to get a spy among Ryder’s people.’ Aled thought to himself as he read. It was second hand information, which was not ideal, but he could at least be sure that it was true. If he had been told directly by Duke Burn about this, Aled was sure that he would not have believed him. After all, Duke Burn was known for wanting conflict between his rivals.

“I hope those three understand why I chose them to defend the castles.” The King quietly spoke to himself. He had little worry that Fornton and Burgess would be unhappy with the arrangement, they would both be more than happy to sit out a battle that gained them nothing. But Braydon was a different matter, he might not have had much of a reputation before becoming a viscount but after he had the King had looked into his past. Knowing what kind of people his subjects were was important. The one thing that he had learned was that Braydon loved the battlefield. Once the whole situation played out, he was sure that Braydon would understand, but if he tried to join the battle before it did? Things would get complicated.