| Gabe |
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| Gabe looked about, puzzled with his situation. To what end does this bring us? he thought silently. It had taken him days to convince Luin, Duke of Tridell, that his cause was great enough. Considering that Gabe and Luin were on a first name basis, it had taken an amount of considerable time to make Luin see logic. Gabe again took an inventory, making sure he didn�t forget anything. Let�s see, he thought. Rations: check. Sleeping roll: check. Warm clothing: check. Enough bark for tea to last a few months, rope, horse and accessories, sword, and daggers. Check. Gabe had taken a mental recount of everything he brought, and should have, or shouldn�t have brought, about a dozen times now. It was little Gabriel�s first post as a commanding officer in battle. Luin had always kept him in the lower ranks, because he cared for Gabe so much and didn�t want him to lead a charge. Gabe, being almost twenty, thought this childish since Luin was only a couple of years older than him. Sure, he was nervous, not having Luin around during a battle. Don�t feel mad at him, Gabe told himself. He had to stay at his Keep to deal with all the pillaging his hired mercenaries had done. Gabe had finally convinced Luin that it would be best to have farmers and merchants fighting for their homes and futures, than old fighters on the highest paying side of the situation. Which wouldn�t be Tridell for very much longer if this kept going on. �Gabe,� a distinctly male voice says from beside him. �Gabe, m�lord, are you in there? We need direction. Wake up, m�lord.� Gabe knew before he turned that it was the armsmaster , and his friend, Rodref. Rod was the only one that would speak to him like that, besides Luin, because Rod understood that, if he had a choice, he would be armsmaster himself. It didn�t feel right when people fell over themselves to bow to him. �I�m here, Rod, just taking inventory. Direction? You know more about this than I do. Why ask me?� Gabriel�s face creased into a frown, as Rod�s broke into a smile. �Because, Gabe, the village-folk would think me disrespectful otherwise. M�lord.� Rod responded pertly. �I�m giving battle command over to you, Rod. I�m the strategist here, you�ve always been the one to yell �charge.�� What Gabe was saying was the truth, but there was more. Rodref was incredibly charismatic. He could convince a mouse to chase a cat, and a cat to chase a dog. The villagers didn�t need much convincing, though, since they all believed in what they were fighting for. �Yes, sir. Archers line up, cavalry in front of archers, and foot in the very front.� The archers and cavalry were of Luin�s army, but the foot soldiers were all from the surrounding towns and villages, defending their home. Gabe had faith in them, unlike most of Luin's court. He believed that they would defeat the enemy because of the foot soldiers, not in spite of them like most nobles tended to think. |