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| Infinity's Blades; A Tale of the Infinite Sea | |
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| Topic Started: Aug 4 2008, 10:28 AM (13,043 Views) | |
| Cataphrak | Feb 17 2010, 06:32 PM Post #1426 |
The day needs my saving expertise.
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Warburton looked sidelong at Cunaris, who seemed more than a little annoyed. "Well old man, they aren't going to be bloody neutral for long are they?" The only thing the older nobleman could do was frown in disapproval. Caius couldn't blame him for being worried, after all, if anyone, Cunaris was the one who had seen so many of Caius' actions cross the figurative line for the sake of getting things done. The Duke of Wulfram couldn't help but feel just a little bit sorry for his former mentor. Cunaris was the relic of an earlier age, when wars were won by cavalry charges and spectacular mage duels, not by weight of fire and political projections. Waging war had become all so impersonal, and Caius couldn't help but feel that the old man lacked the fire that he once had, riding at the head of the Royal Dragoons on the frozen plains of Antar not so long ago. Granted, the man was getting old, but healing magic and exercise had kept him fit and healthy even into his fifties. No, it was his mind that was ageing, losing its edge and rusting itself into obsolescence. Before anyone else could comment Caius stepped forward, seizing the initiative that his erstwhile ally had so easily handed him. "Now we've proof that Emperor William is moving against us. We all know what happened the last time the Takarans tried to meddle in Tierran affairs. We lost many good men - my predecessor included, because of it. Now shall we let them have a free hand to do so again? With all due respect your majesty, we may have been lulled into thinking that we had humbled them the last time, but it is now painfully clear that they have failed to learn their lesson. They are coming again, for your kingdom, for your throne and for everything that we have managed to accomplish these last few glorious years. This time they will not send spies, but whole battalions." There were angry rumblings in the small gathering now. Marcus had been with them in the civil war, he had fought side-by-side with Caius' sister to secure the Northern Keep, even as Warburton have fought a secret campaign of his own, even as Cunaris and Caius himself led the charge against Sept and his conspirators. They all remembered what had happened "the last time". Only Cunaris remained quiet, for he remembered the best of all. Caius could see the angry expression the old man wore. It was cruel, indeed, to taunt the old man with the loss of his favourite daughter and her husband so, especially as Caius now wore the fox fur of that same favourite son-in-law's duchy, but it had to be done, if anything, it would silence his objections long enough. The Queen stepped forward, and silence the mutterings with but a shift of her hand. "Enough. Wulfram, we have heard too many of your speeches to be swayed by your melodramas again. What do you wish from us? Speak plainly!" Caius stepped forward, kneeling at his sovereign's feet, head bowed in humility. "I would only need your permission and not a pence more, to set my plan in train. Give me this, and I promise that in the space of three months, I will humble Takara to the extent that they would not be able to trouble us for as long as I live." Isobel's hand curled into a balled fist. How many times had she listened to the impudent and slim nobleman in front of her, only for him to make himself out the hero, and her the fool? Then again, how many times had he ever broken his promises? Her hand relaxed. She too had a grudge with the Takarans. Slowly, the queen of Tierra lifted the Duke to his feet and placed her hands over his broad shoulders. It would be done, the consequences would be dealt with later. She gave Caius a smile, a grim and hollow thing, the smile of a friend who did not wholly approve of what her accomplice was doing. "Then we should hope you live a very, very long time. The word is given." |
Spambot Kills: x143 | |
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| Chaz Natlo | Feb 17 2010, 10:15 PM Post #1427 |
Something witty...
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"Well, if you need me I'll probably be on the grounds." Richard said, this time accompanied by a much more flourished bow than his earlier bow. "I'll probably begin flirting with someones wife. I'll try to make sure it's not anyone important." He finished, walking off. |
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| Cataphrak | Feb 17 2010, 11:55 PM Post #1428 |
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The day needs my saving expertise.
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"Not quite yet." Warburton stopped his subordinate with an upraised index finger, striding towards the door. With one swift movement, he clamped on hand on the redheaded spy's shoulder. "You haven't been dismissed yet, which means you still have to follow my orders. And my standing order is that none of my officers get into some lucky young countess' corset before I do." He turned back and gave a jaunty wave to the others before turning back for the door. It took some time for Caius to note the resigned expression on his monarch's face, but that was only because he had a hard time seeing it through the hand clamped over said face in a gesture of pure frustration. Having thus been acknowledged, Emil Harris-Eduria, Duke of Warburton strode out into the corridor, hands folded behind his back. As he did, he tossed an order - more like a remark - over his shoulder, one that would forever be immortalized as a sign of the new reality of gunpowder warfare and eternally considered the bane of wingmen and best friends alike. "Lethain, cover me, I'm going in." |
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| Another Random Geek | Feb 25 2010, 07:48 PM Post #1429 |
Emperor's Faithful
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Mikhail stared blankly at the slip of paper the perky-breasted blonde killer had handed to him. “But this is over nine-thousand rubles… But Natasha… That can’t be right!” “You get what you pay for, m‘lord.” she said sweetly. “It was a thousand rubles for each magnate, and I have a buy nine, get one free policy.” “Fine…” sighed Mikhail, “I’ve got the equivalent in gold bars stashed away somewhere in my treasury. I’ll pay you for all ten Magnates if you’ll do me one additional favor. “Which would be what, exactly?” Mikhail told her. Natasha Petrova gave Mikhail her sweetest smile. “Why, the opportunity to sleep outside of the species without getting blood stains on my nice bed-clothes? I’m afraid this one’s on me, my dear magnate…’ -4 days later- Mikhail watched from atop his horse as his militia troops underwent their combat drills. “Most impressive, Iosif,” he said to Iosif Tolstoy, his senior military commander, who had accompanied his magnate on horseback to brief him. “I take it this lot of rabble will be sufficiently trained when Holt arrives?” “Yessir,” responded Tolstoy, “I’ve taken the liberty of sorting our veterans into demonstration units to impress our visitors. The new men are hard workers, but hardly of the quality you’d want to show to a foreign dignitary.” “Excellent work,” complimented Mikhail, “I take it the local factories have been tooled to Holt’s specifications?” “As much as possible sir. While we’ve recruited the best in Antar for the job, somehow I doubt they hold a candle to Holt’s industrialists.” “I can ask for no more,” sighed Mikhail. In six to nine days the viceroy would arrive. It was going to be a long week. Edited by Another Random Geek, Feb 25 2010, 07:57 PM.
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| "War without fire is like sausages without mustard" – Jean Juvénal des Ursins on Henry V's firing of Meaux in 1421 | |
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6:23 AM Jul 29
