"I'll be damned," Midori muttered as she looked out onto the river plain with a telescope, "the bastard is really doing it." She passed the device over to Laur'ien, their mistress having already taken a look. "How many do you think?" the Dutchess Jantha asked, her blonde hair glittering as she looked at her close friend and bodyguard. "At least a thousand men encamped on the river plane outside the city," Midori frowned, her short black hair falling forward as she scowled down at the city bellow them, "and if what I saw in the hills is accurate, more troops are coming." "Is the king of Xiang a total fool?" Laur'ien wondered, the tawny haired woman warrior sweeping the looking glass over their assembled foes, "He knows that Edo is just waiting for a sign of weakness to strike!" Jantha sighed, "A fool he may very well be." She drew her cloak around her to ward off a chill as they left the battlements, "He deludes himself into thinking he can take us quickly, then just refortify his eastern border." "Midori," Laur'ien looked at her as they passed into the dark hallway within the wall, "what do you think Edo will do?" 'Indeed,' Jantha thought, peering at the handsome woman's profile in the torchlight, 'I'd pay to know what you're thinking.' "The Shogun probably already has forces on their boarder ready to move out," Midori said, opening the door ahead of them and warily checking both ways before they moved on, "they'll move out quickly, drive into Xiang and grab as much land as they can hold or until they hit something tough enough to stop them..." Jantha paused as they went down another set of stairs as she thoughtfully said, "Xiang isn't terribly well known for it's fortifications or even construction... there's not much there to stop the Empire of Edo." "Exactly," Midori agreed with her grimly, "but until he notices Edo is invading, we're stuck with him." Laur'ien looked amused, "And as a messenger has to get over a mountain from eastern Xiang to here, it could be awhile." They descended again, reaching the ground level as restless guards nodded to them worriedly. Commander Hudson strode up with a grim look on his face, "Why were you up on the walls? It's dangerous." "Good to see you too, commander," Jantha looked amused. Hudson actually blushed, "Well..." "Sorry, sir," Laur'ien looked a little sheepish, "she threatened to go up there alone if we didn't cooperate." Midori looked thoughtful, "An' I rather thought Queen Gwen'd be upset if I knocked her out with my staff." "You wouldn't," Jantha turned to look at Midori indignantly. Midori gave her a steady glance as she said, "If I thought it was needed to save yer life? Yes, I would." Hudson cleared his throat, "Ladies, could we please get back to the palace? The Queen wants to seal the city..." "That might be unhealthy for the homes and businesses outside the walls," Jantha noted with a deadpan expression. "Too bad there's no way we can hold the whole city," Laur'ien said pointedly, "our defensive line would be unacceptably thin." "We're going to be hard stretched to defend as it is," Hudson said with a sigh. As a group they hurried through the streets, the city filled with the usual business along with a certain amount of panicked preperation. While the initial arrival of troops a few weeks ago had been taken rather calmly, the rapidly building forces had begun to fill the people with fear. Now people were fleeing up and down the coast or away by boat, not considering what would happen if the city did fall. The palace itself was busy as nobles hurried to and fro, more than the usual numbers watching things with steely eyes. They were led past the throne room to one of the private meeting rooms, where they were ushered in with a certain degree of bowing and scraping. Gwen turned from where she had been waiting by the fireplace, the flames providing a cheery note to the usually dank room. "Took you long enough," Gwen said crossly, but then the green clad blonde hugged her cousin. "Sorry," Jantha hugged her back even as she took in the others in the room. Taking up a position by Jantha's seat, Midori swept the room with her eyes. Richard, the Queen's viceroy and confidant sat in one chair, Hudson and another officer took two, Jantha another and surprisingly the Countess Hazan was there, the black haired woman dressed as usual in her men's trousers and a matching shirt, while her lover Ra'hel sat beside her, dressed as innocently as the former streetwalker could manage. "Countess," Jantha nodded to her, a bit of frost in her tone as she tucked her dress under her and sat down. Hazan's smile was wry as she looked across the table at her, "Hello, Duchess. Nice to see you looking so well." "Lieutenant," Laur'ien nodded to the intense looking redhead beside the commander. The woman smiled suddenly, softening her appearance a great deal as she said, "I thought I asked you to call me Jo." 'Well ain't that interesting,' Midori thought. "Midori, Laur'ien, you don't need to hover," Gwen said briskly as she sat down at the head of the table, "there are chairs for you too." "I'd rather stand," Midori said, "just in case." Gwen gave her a withering look, "And I'd rather not tilt my head to speak to you." She pointed forcefully, "Sit!" "Aye, my Queen," Midori conceded as she sat. "Roll over," Laur'ien muttered, "play dead." "Shut up," Midori scowled. Gwen hid a smile, then forcefully brought her mind back on business. "Commander," she turned to him, "what's the state of the army?" "Much less than I'd like," Hudson admitted, "the Queen's guard numbers less than a thousand, and we're having difficulty mustering the personal guards of the noblemen in the city and beyond." "No one wants to surrender any troops in case the capital falls and they have to fend for themselves," Jantha mused. Richard looked pained as he said, "But if they don't surrender their troops to our defense, we're more likely to fall." "Lovely," Gwen growled. Hazan smiled wryly, "I'll put my associates in noble circles to work, they may be able to pry some troops loose." "We'd appreciate it," Jo said as she studied documents. "We've already tentatively contacted the mercenary guild, with their assistance we can muster a additional three hundred troops," she reported. "My budget," Richard winced. "They won't fleece you too bad," Midori noted, "their lives are on the line, too." She looked at Hazan, "You might want to get together your female swordswomen too." "Do our best," Ra'hel nodded gravely, taking notes for her lover. "Is it worth the trouble to arm the common people?" Laur'ien wondered, looking first at Gwen then over at Hudson and Jo. "Former soldiers, maybe," Gwen mused. Hudson nodded grimly, "Or merchants with fighting experience. My experiences with untrained fighters in battle haven't been good ones." "A pike is a relatively forgiving weapon," Midori noted thoughtfully, "if they come at the walls, I'd not mind a few volunteers with them on the walls." Jo made a note, "Good point. I'll have to see what we have in stock..." "I'm sorry to say I have no guards," Jantha sighed, "or I'd donate them to the cause." Midori found herself wondering why Jantha didn't have guards, but resolved to ask later. "Are we going to launch attacks against his forces," she asked, "or is this going to be a purely defensive action?" "Attack," Hudson started to say... ...even as Gwen said firmly, "Defensive." She and Hudson looked at each other as she continued, "Once the king discovers his kingdom is being chewed up by Edo, he'll go back to defend it. We just have to hold out till he goes." "Or," Hudson sounded oddly grandfatherly, "he might gamble on taking us and trying to hold off Edo's army from here." "Oh dear," Richard sighed, "I need a drink." "I too," Laur'ien agreed. "No drinking on duty," Jo chided. Laur'ien gave her a charming smile as she added, "I said I needed one, not that I was going to have one."
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