[Thane's Office] An Envoy arrives

[Eyvind Redbeard]

1st Brightening of the Third Cycle of the Month of Melora in the season of Spring; Era II of the Celestine Mandate, Era XIV Post Fractum.

The Vagaran followed a guard from the City Gates to the building where the Thane's Office was located. The Senior Legionnaire didn't say a word during the way. Upon reaching the said building he unmounted. Still in silence Eyvind handed the bridle to the guard and left both his spear and shield leaning against the wall of the building.

"Take care of these with your life."

He said with a rather stony voice. He was on an Official mission and he wanted to follow the proccedure. With his helmet under his arm he entered. Upon reaching the building's entrance room he spoke to the first person he found.

"I am an Envoy of the Imperial Minister of War, where can I meet the Lord Thane of Mystique?"

[Aviator]

An aide was rushing by when the soldier entered the building. In an obvious hurry, the relatively young elf looked quite annoyed when he was stopped and asked where the Thane was. Looking around quickly, the elf finally responded, "There's a desk up there. Good luck walking in and seeing him, though." It was as kind as he could be considering his frantic pace. He sped off quickly and through the crowd was lost almost immediately.

Approaching the counter, the human woman smiled and greeted the soldier first, "Serale, sir. How may I help you?" Of course, Eyvind would let her know who he needed to speak with and she would reply, "Why, is this something you can get an answer for at the military offices? I mean, I would be glad to make an appointment for you, but I'd want to point you in the right direction first." She smiled and her thirty one years of life seemed to diminish to only twenty in that same instant.

[Eyvind Redbeard]

With a short nod to the elf before he disappeared Eyvind walked to the said counter. The first question from the woman behind the counter made the Vagaran feel sorry for her. Spending all her day making the same dull questions.

"I am here to see the Lord Thane of this city."

Why did these people had to make so many questions? The Senior Legionnaire wasn't a person of bureaucracies, he was a direact man. Straight to the point.

"I have been sent from Aelyria Prime by His Excellency the Imperial Minister of War to see the Lord Thane of Mystique."

Eyvind showed her the sygil in letter he had been given back in Aelyria Prime by the Provost Imperatis of Midpoint.

"Will the Lord Thane receive me in his office?"

[Aviator]

The clerk frowned. She wanted to simply let the Legionnaire in to the see the Thane, but considering the current circumstances, she knew that unless the business was extremely pressing, the young soldier would need to wait. And since he seemed to be only a young man without much rank, she assumed that it would not be of the utmost importance. "Sir, may I ask what the issue is that you need to speak to the Thane about? This is simply a very inopportune time as he is very busy and trying to sort a lot out. If I know what your business is I can be much more helpful for you." She forced a smile through her stressed and busy demeanor.

[Eyvind Redbeard]

The Vagaran shook his head. He could believe this was happening to him after an eleven Brightenings long journey.

"I could use my rank and tell you I am a Daekin in the Imperial Legion, but nevermind. Just let Lord Thane know he missed an Envoy of His most Excellency the Imperial Minister of War."

With this he turned around and walked away.

Mounting his horse Eyvind decided to head directly to the source. The HeadQuarters of the 8th Legion. He rided the streets of Mystique until he reached the gate to the military compound. Unmounting and giving his horse to a soldier nearby he walked to the guard and showed his visa and a letter with the Imperial Warbird, sygil of the Imperial Minister of War. With a nod he entered. Walking to the Office of the Commanding Officer the Vagaran found a desk with a Shield Daekin behind it.

"How can I help you?"

The man asked.

"I am an Envoy of His most Excellency the Imperial Minister of War. I would like to request a meeting with the Commander of this Legion."

Eyvind showed the Imperial Warbird once more to make sure he wouldn't be delayed.

[Aviator]

The city government was in shambles at the moment and the clerk which tried to assist the soldier was rudely responded to. If only he knew what was even going on, she thought as he turned on his heel and headed off in the opposite direction. It was people like that soldier who gave the Legions a bad name around here and after this interaction, she would be much less willing to give the military a good word when she spoke to the current, interim Thane and would make sure she explained the ordeal to the next permanent Thane. Brushing the thoughts away from her mind, she started once more on the mound of work that required attending at the moment.

Eyvind traveled through the military gates and found the Headquarters easily. The 8th Imperial Legion was not large and the small military district that was set aside was certainly easy to navigate. Having been put off earlier in the brightening, the Daekin was agitated and got straight to the point when he approached the aide.

Dutifully, the Shield Daekin stood from his desk and went through a door to the soldier's right. He was gone only for a few seconds before returning and telling him, "Imperatis Tel'Quer would be able to see you now." He nodded slightly as Eyvind passed by before returning to work.

Entering the office, Eyvind noticed the large, dark wooden desk which stretched longer than the Imperatis actually needed the room for. Regardless, it was full of papers and small items he had picked up throughout his career that he wished to display to not only remind himself of past times and events but to show others what he had experienced. The officer sat expectantly in his large, tall-backed chair as the Daekin entered his office.

[Eyvind Redbeard]

Eyvind nodded to the Shield Daekin to thank him for his effecience and then entered the Office of the Imperatis. The first thing he saw was the impressive large dark wooden desk full of papers. "Bureacracy" he thought. After saluting to his superior ranking Officer the Daekin closed the door behind him and approached the desk.

"Serale, Sir. I have been sent here by the Imperial Minister of War to carry out these orders."

The Vagaran handed Tel'Quer the letter he had received back in the Military District of Aelyria Prime.

Secrets : Ministry of War, 13th of Ponutius, in the Second Era of the Reign of the Regent, His Most Imperial Excellency the Lord L'Evienne. Ministry Directive By the Minister of War. To Whom these Presents Come, Greeting. I do hereby require and direct you to observe and obey the same, and to take care that the several Officers and others who shall be placed under your command also pay the most strict attention and obedience thereto. 1. You shall take whatever equipment and provisions you may deem necessary from the local armory and stables, and henceforth make haste to Mystique in the Lylles Kingdom of Lauryl by the fastest means possible, and on proceeding there, to report to the Thane or such senior civil and military officers present, and make inquiry and ascertain of the state and condition of the following. a. The size of Imperial Legions forces in the area b. The quality of their weapons, fortifications and armor c. The quality of their training and their fitness for battle 2. You shall likewise make inquiries as to what their main threats in the immediate area are, be they bandits, brigands, or such other foreign or domestic enemies as can be ascertained. You will, to the best of your ability, ascertain the numbers, quality, and fierceness of said threat, by any means possible, not to compromise your life or your mission. 3. You shall deliver a short written report of your findings to the Thane of Mystique or to the Governor of the Lylles Kingdom of Lauryl, and henceforth proceed to present yourself to the Ministry of War at Aelyria Prime. 4. You shall accomplish this no later than the 50th of Melora, reporting to the Ministry of War by Cryxatum the 11th at the very latest. Given by by my hand and seal this 13th of Ponutius, in the Beginning of the Second Era of the Reign of the Regent, His Most Imperial Excellency the Lord L'Evienne. By the Minister of War's Command: Johanas Saunder, Cencoris. Adjutant to the Minister of War.

[Aviator]

Tel'Quer read the note and leaned back in his chair, reading again the parts which concerned him the most. It seemed simple enough, but the Commander rolled his eyes as he realized that the higher ups in the capital apparently knew nothing of the happenings of the Empire. It was a large Empire, however, and Tel'Quer gave the more senior officers the benefit of the doubt.

"Well, young soldier, the eighth Imperial Legion is made up of about 15,000 men. Most are trained through what they got in Aelyria Prime, but not much more. Sure, there are some experienced, skilled soldiers in there, but most are not fit to mount any sort of war." The Commander's voice sounded weary, but he continued on regardless. "Our equipment and fortifications are run of the mill. They are plain and absolutely decent in nature. Nothing to brag about, but they have done the job so far. However, we do not really have much in the way of a threat around here, and if we ever did, the druids would help out to defend the city of Mystique."

He answered the questions quickly and without much more depth than what was needed. Tel'Quer, though appreciative of those who supported the Legions, seemed irritated that his time was being wasted here. This sort of information had to be aquired, yet it should have been known long before now. Shaking his head at the thought, the Imperatis asked, "Is there anything else I can help you with this brightening?"

[Eyvind Redbeard]

The Vagaran listened to what the Imperatis had to say. His behaviour and the way he spoke didn't seem fit to a Legion Commander, but Eyvind wasn't here to judge the man, he was he to gather information to the Minister of War.

"Sir. I would like to know the exact numbers and the type of units in this Legion. A complete report must include all this. And the number of experienced soldiers as well. The Minister of War needs accurate informations so he can make the right decisions."

As he spoke Eyvind took a small notepad and write every detail of this conversation. Number of men, what their Commander thought them capable of, available equipment and the comment about the help from the druids.

[Ouoo'Graw]

Tel'Qer then simply rambled off teh following information like any good commander could about his men waiting for the young soldier to finish one piece before he continued to the next peice.

"8th Legion: Mystique (Constantine's Reckoners)

Militia make-up

Total of 15,500 armed troops.

5 000 trained career soldiers, skill with gladius & shield and shortbow, armoured with chainmail.

The Soldiers are of the following mixes:

Light Infantry: 1,000

Medium Infantry: 1,350

Heavy Infantry: 1,000

Light Calvary: 550

Heavy Calvary: 400

Light Archers: 500

Medium Archers:200

10 000 non-career militiamen, largely untrained and armed with shaudy weaponry and armour. I stress there equipment is substandard and somtimes consists of pots and pans as well as stove doors for armor. These are volunteers that we can call up that have soime military training.

The Soldiers are of the following mixes:

Light Infantry: 4,250

Medium Infantry: 1,250

Light Archers: 4,250

Medium Archers:1,250

Mage Corps consisting of 500 mages ranging from Apprentice to Master level training.

The Soldiers are of the following mixes:

Sorecerers 100
Druids 230
Thaumaturgists 100
Mystics 20
Rune Mages 10
Elemenatlists 40

In the event of the army being fielded there are three full Battalions worth of support troops (cooks, smiths, horse masters, siege engineers, etc.).

Will that suffice for your duties or do i need to go and look things up for you while you spend the night?"

The Old Soldier waited for his response and regardless of what he said would dissmiss him at that point either to get some research done into his questions or to get back to his regular duties.

[Eyvind Redbeard]

The Vagaran frowned as he heard and wrote what the Imperatis was saying in his notepad. Pots and pans. That was no way for an Imperial Legion to be equipped. With a quick nod Eyvind returned the notepad to his belt's pounch.

"I think this should be all, Imperatis. Thank you for your time. Serale."

The Daekin stood to his seven feet in height and saluted to the man behind the desk. He wouldn't disrespect him only because he didn't behave properly for his rank. With that he left the Office.