“What the fuck is this?” Bjorn groaned as he peered at a makeshift fortress in the distance.
“Whatever it is, it doesn’t look good.” Fjora sighed as she glanced at Ania standing in front of them.
Ania edged her horse forward a few steps before turning to look at both of them. ‘I can’t send someone to check on it. This isn’t here by accident.’ Ania groaned before her eyes landed on Skalr. He gazed at the fortress with an aloof expression from atop his horse.
‘If I didn’t know better, I’d say he’s trying to draw attention to himself.’ Ania sighed as she stared at the old Runelord off to the side of the army. ‘We still don’t know anything about him.’
“Skalr?” Ania said as she waved at him to come forward.
“Yes, princess?”
“Do you have a way to find out what’s going on?” Ania asked as she searched his expression.
“Yes, I do,” Skalr chuckled as he returned Ania’s gaze. The latter’s eyes went wide as Skalr pulled a runestone from his cloak. “This is a farsight rune. When I activate it, we’ll be able to see what’s going on.”
“You always have something, don’t you?” Ania asked as she shook her head. “Let’s do it.”
Skalr nodded as he activated the magic contained within the runestone before placing it on the ground. A golden sphere that depicted the army appeared in the air over the runestone. Skalr took a deep breath as he placed his palms on the sphere.
Bjorn cocked an eyebrow that showed his interest as he studied the glowing rune. Skalr ran his palms over the sphere, and the image moved to display a wooden fortress. Cloaked figures watched from its walls as others patrolled the forest on either side. “What do you think? Bandits?” Fjora asked as a grim expression appeared on her face when she counted their numbers.
“There are too many for that,” Bjorn grumbled.
“They’re elves.” Skalr hummed as he manipulated the image to get a look at a face hidden by a hood. “This is bad.”
“Damn right it is!” Ania cursed as Skalr zoomed out on the image before moving it to the forest. “Why’d you do that?”
“Because this fortress is nothing more than a lookout post.” Skalr sighed as he glanced sideways at Ania. “It’s enough to protect a hundred or so elves until the main camp can get to them.”
“What do you mean?” Bjorn asked as his focus moved to the sphere. “How many of them are out there?”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out. But it seems like we have a bigger problem.” Skalr replied while shaking his head. “There are dark elves here too. Which means you have too different elven races invading Skardia.”
Ania frowned when she heard that. Until that moment, they had believed it was just a matter of a religious invasion. However, the fortress and significant presence of elves confirmed they were paving the way for a full-on invasion.
‘What the hell is going on?’ Ania chewed on her lower lip as she considered her options. ‘This is going to get ugly real fast. If there are too many of them, all I can do is retreat and gather a larger army. But, if I do that, it gives them more time to prepare. What if we return and more of them have arrived?’
“Princess, we need to put an end to this now,” Bjorn grunted as he turned to face her. “They only have a small foothold. We can’t let them gain more ground. Not after the war with Sommerdan. We can’t always be on the defensive.”
“What would you have me do?” Ania asked as she returned Bjorn’s gaze.
“I say we kill them all.” Bjorn shrugged as he glanced at Fjora. “We have to send a clear message that Skardia belongs to us.”
Ania sighed as she shook her head. “We were supposed to make this go away quietly. Not start a war. We can’t afford it right now.”
“I know, princess.” Bjorn smiled as he placed his hand on her shoulder. “But we didn’t start this. They’ve invaded our lands, and turned our people against our gods. We can’t let it go on. Give the order.”
“Do you agree?” Ania asked as she looked at Fjora and then Skalr. Both of whom nodded.
‘Damn it!’ Ania cursed as she glanced at the members of Fenrir. ‘A lot of us are going to die.’
“Do it!” Ania grunted as she clenched her jaw before drawing her spear. Meanwhile, a golden light descended on the coast of Skardia. As the light faded, Parthus glanced around with a frown on his face. His gaze settled on Mikari, who bowed his head.
“I must say, I expected you to call on me at some point. But this is earlier than I anticipated.” Parthus said as he cocked his eyebrow. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Mikari replied with a smile. “I’ve admired you for a long time.”
“Really?” Parthus hummed as he studied Mikari. “After the war, I thought you had some kind of grudge against me. Once I found out who was the mastermind, I did some digging. We’ve never gone head-to-head before.”
“That’s true,” Mikari chuckled. “I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Especially when it meant helping my brother at the same time.”
“Well, it was masterfully done.” Parthus replied as he held out his hand. “So, tell me, what am I doing here?”
“Of course, but I have to ask that this remains between only us gods,” Mikari replied as he glanced at Randa.
Parthus frowned as he looked at his hero. He let out a long sigh before gesturing to Randa to give them some privacy. Parthus stroked his neatly trimmed beard before he turned his gaze back on Mikari.
“Ok, what’s this about?”
“I’m here to propose deepening the relationship between our people,” Mikari said. “I want to open our borders to each other. Let our players take on each other’s races.”
Parthus’ eyes went wide as he mulled over Mikari’s statement. “You’ll allow Sommerdan players to be worshipped in Skardia?”
“We will if you allow the same.” “What’s this really about?” Parthus asked as his eyes narrowed. “Opening your monopoly to an outside competitor is a risky move. I know you’re not dumb, which means something bigger is going on here.”
“You’re right. We’re expecting a war with the elves soon.” Mikari sighed as he glanced at the sky. “Something is going on, and we don’t have the full picture yet. I know in my gut that something big is coming, and I want to be ready for it. I figured you could understand that.”
“I see. We’re already allied for now. You want the relationship to go deeper, so you don’t expose your rear whenever it comes.” Parthus nodded. “You must have more to offer. I wouldn’t come to an old enemy that understands the situation with just this.”
“You’re right,” Mikari grinned. “We’ve just sealed an alliance of sorts with a powerful Warbeast Pantheon. I was thinking of creating a single alliance between the three of us. We can take on other members down the line, but I think it would be good to have each other’s backs. When the war comes, we want your people and the Warbeasts to have a stake in it.”
“That’s not a great deal for my people.” Parthus sighed. “We have to cross the sea to get here. Even if we get a foothold on this continent, we can’t defend it.”
“That’s why I’m suggesting economic and resource support on your end. When we’re done, we’ll provide Sommerdan with resources from our territories at a reduced rate.” “Tempting,” Parthus chuckled. “But I need more to sell this. If we create this alliance, I’ll need your help to conquer more land on my continent.”
“Let me guess. Your neighbours are closely guarding their borders to prevent you from gaining to their races?”
“Exactly. Everyone with half a brain knows the secret to getting ahead is bringing other races under their banner. But the best results come from doing that before increasing your Tier.”
“But your neighbours won’t allow it since they already see you as a threat. I get it. I’m authorised to give you Ragnarok’s support, but we need to talk to Laskia to see if she’ll agree to these terms.”
“So, you brought this to me first since I’d be the hardest to get on board. You needed to know my price before you could bring it Laskia,” Parthus chuckled as he studied Mikari. “You’re more devious than I thought. If you can get this Laskia on board, then I’m in. Everyone is stabilising what they already have. I need to go on the offensive before my neighbours decide to team up to pick me apart.”
“In other words, we need to get this done as soon as possible.” Mikari sighed as he rubbed his hands together. “And wars are never quick. So I’m guessing you need our support at the same time we need yours?”
“Yeah, that about sums it up. As I said, I need this to happen soon.”
“Ok, I’ll bring this up with Exile and arrange a sit down with Laskia. Midas will be here soon. It would help if you could talk to him and get exact numbers for resources down in a contract. I’d like to be armed when I meet with Laskia.”
“Well, let’s hope we all get what we want. I guarantee that if you’ve thought about this, so have others.”
“Like you, you mean. The only reason you’re agreeing is that you’ve already approached other Pantheons, and they turned you down.” Mikari chuckled.
“I like you,” Parthus grinned. “We should do this more often. In the meantime, get the ball rolling. Sommerdan is ready to support you.”