Chapter 419 - Logistical Problems

Chris

Fort Hope

I was put on the spot and wasn't sure how to respond, so I did the first thing that came to mind. I delayed. Instead of answering right then and there, I told Ashton that I would think about it. It was neither acceptance nor refusal, and I honestly wasn't sure which answer I was leaning towards.

Sure, he'd pissed me off a few times, but he never actually did anything that bad. Nothing irredeemable, or close for that matter. He'd crossed no lines, either.

The question came down to whether I wanted him to join my Faction or not. Also, if I trusted any Oath he would swear. I didn't have anything that would prevent someone from breaking their Oaths, and I wasn't going to get one either, even if it was offered.

Forced compliance wasn't what I was after. I would be no better than Victor and Ryan if I did that.

We'd had a few members of the Oathbound quit, and renounce their Oaths, but none yet had broken them. I wasn't sure how I would respond if one ever did. It would be the ultimate betrayal, on a level I hadn't experienced yet, so I didn't know how I'd feel or respond when that time finally came.

I hoped it never did, but I knew it would.

After finishing with Ashton and telling him I would get back to him, the search of the city started. I trusted that Ashton hadn't lied, and Ryan really wasn't there, but I needed to make sure. Had to make sure.

Hal, Killian, and nearly every Oathbound with a tracking, searching, or hunting skill went to work combing up and down streets. It took hours to cover the entire city, and when it was over, no sign of Ryan was found.

As the sun was setting on a day without bloodshed, I found myself in a command tent with Elliot, Hal, Gabriel, and, surprisingly enough, Abigail.

Jon was in Flame Falls dealing with New Boston's leader, Bri, and Rachel declined participating when I asked her to come along. Not that she didn't want to or that she didn't find the cause worthy, but because she had delayed switching her Profession long enough.

She'd delayed it because I'd asked her to go to the Assembly, then delayed it again when Vanessa had called, and I wasn't about to ask her to delay it again. Twice was already enough.

So I was surrounded by the usual leadership, with the addition of my sister. Abigail's presence had, at first, been a surprise, but it made sense when I thought about it more deeply.

Frostheim wasn't going to be under attack anytime soon, and her Class could use the levels. She'd gained a few after evolving, but not nearly as much as those who'd participated in the battles.

"I see no reason to say no," Hal shrugged, "He made a few mistakes, but those were understandable in his position. He wanted to weaken us, so he didn't say anything. We just don't like it because it happened to us."

"People died because of what he did," I responded.

"Yeah, and people died for a whole lot of reasons after that. If you're looking for a reason to say no, why are we even discussing this?" Hal said back.

I sighed. He was right, I was looking for reasons to say no.

"His city is positioned well. Southeast of Frostheim and Northeast of Emberhold. Close enough that trade will be easy, but far enough away that we're right on top of each other. He has the resources we don't, with the forest in the east, and not only because of the lumber. I hear it's filled with dungeon break monsters and strong beasts." Abigail listed off.

I turned to Elliot because he hadn't said anything lately. Gabriel had already stated that he didn't care one way or the other and was just listening in.

"It will expand what techniques the Order members have available to them. We don't have many with the Light affinity, but they still need Mana and Body techniques. Not to mention the growth it will provide. We can barely field 2,000 when we call; if Ashton joins, that would grow. We saw firsthand how our numbers will be an issue going forward." He explained.

"So you think I should accept?"

"I do," Elliot said.

"Alright, it's decided then, but I want someone in the family to stay in Fort Hope until things settle down. Have Carrie or Mitchell come stay in the city. Mitchell's done enough sulking." I said.

"I think we should discuss what our plans are for this campaign," Abigail said cryptically.

"If you're asking if this is worth it, you know just as I do that it is. Even if they signed contracts with that blood and it will be a Lakeshore situation with every city. Even if we'll be forced to siege it down, kill the leaders, and incapacitate those who are being controlled. It will be worth it to halt any attempts to influence the world." I stated grimly. She knew what would happen if we allowed gods to get their roots set. We needed to pull them out while we still could.

"No, I'm not asked if this is worth it; I know that it is. I'm asking about the logistics of what we're about to do." She said, which eased some of my rising frustrations. I thought she was about to fight me about it.

"What about the logistics?"

"Well, we just annexed Fort Hope and the thirty or so thousand people who live here. That's nearly a 40% increase in our population right there. Our proximity helps, and Ashton joining willingly will make things much easier, but there will still be some transitioning issues.

"Now think about the other cities. Montreal, Quebec City, and Ottawa are the big ones, but even the smaller ones will be a challenge. Montreal alone has three times our entire population. Even if we win, we won't be able to hold it unless you want to personally stay in the city and make sure everything goes smoothly.

"Even if you stay in one of the cities, holding the rest will stretch us too thin. The Orders won't be able to protect such a large area. Traveling back and forth will take months, quelling any unrest and managing the cities will be impossible. We just don't have enough people. The only way to grab all of it is to go slow, annexing one city at a time, which will take years."

The transition to incorporate Lakeshore took months, and that was only ten thousand people, roughly. What she said made sense, and there was nothing I could say to refute it. The more important question, though, was whether I even wanted to conquer all of the land.

I was doing this to find Ryan, not take over his Faction. I was content with the two cities I already had, and now I'd just added a third. Plus, the population increase alone would be impossible to adjust to without problems.

Food, resources, dungeons, manpower, and making sure every city had enough defenders. Classes and Professions made it so every person was worth more, but even without levels, we would need more people than we had.

"How much do you think we can reasonably take?" Elliot asked while I was thinking, "The Settlement waves aren't all that bad if we plan accordingly. They only come every three months now instead of every month, which makes things easier. The Order should be able to cover two or three Small City level pylons as long as they're not too far away."

"The Waves aren't the only problem. Administering them is. With what we have and the manpower we can spare, two, maybe three, but they have to be close. Ottawa is much too large and too far away." Abigail tilted her head up in thought, "Shieldreach, Smoothrock, and St. Marie are our best bet. They're small enough and close enough to fit the bill."

There were still maps hung up that detailed our future plans, so I looked over to see where those three cities were. Smoothrock was the closest, directly southeast of Fort Hope, nearly directly between the Lakes and the southern tip of the Hudson Bay. It was through a heavily wooded forest, but it would be fine with a road.

St. Marie was the next closest, but much further south on the coast of the Lake. If we were leaving from Emberhold, it would be the closest, but we weren't. Both cities kept similar names to what they used to be. Shieldreach (Old Sudbury) was the furthest and sat a few days east of St. Marie. From Frostheim, the trip would last over a month.

Smoothrock was the smallest, at just over 10,000; St. Marie had around 30,000, and Shieldreach had a similar population to Frostheim, at 60,000.

"What do we do with the rest?" Hal asked, pointing to the dozen other points on the map marking New Canadian cities.

Abigail turned to me, putting me on the spot.

"Give them back?" I tentatively said. To which she shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Sure, right after we get done sieging their city and thoroughly search it, we'll just give it back. Leave them to clean up the mess while we move on to the next one." Her sarcasm was thick.

Technically, it was viable, but it wasn't exactly right. We had to do something, but we also couldn't stay and rule the city either.

An idea came to mind. It could totally backfire, but it was still viable. It solved all our current problems as well, without me having to sprint from city to city after we were done keeping everything from falling apart.

"Hal, get me three good messengers, please," I walked over to a desk with pen and paper, beginning to write. Hal looked curious, but left to go flag down the messengers I asked for. Abigail and Elliot were intrigued while I wrote the three messages I planned to send.

"Vanessa will pay us back sooner than she thought," I said while writing. "In her latest expansion, she already controls the Toronto area, and Ottawa isn't that far away from Flame Falls. If I let Zuri use the land around Montreal for farming, she can temporarily watch over the city as well. And after Jon finishes breaking Bri's contract, she can take charge of Quebec. I hope she speaks French."

"You'll just give them the cities?" Abigail asked, confused.

"No, not give, request that they temporarily take charge of them." I said, "With some stipulations, of course. They can take the cost for defending and administering the city out of the tax revenue, while sending what's left over to us. It'll be small, but it's still coin we can use that we don't have to do anything for. Then, when we've finished annexing Fort Hope, Shieldreach, Smoothrock, and St. Marie, we can take back the reins of the others one by one."

If that's what we end up doing. I still wasn't sure controlling all that land and that many people was a good idea. The future headaches alone didn't seem worth it, but that was a future Chris problem.

"That's mighty trusting. What if they don't hand back the city once we give it to them?" Abigail questioned. "Or fudge the numbers so we don't get any money? Or a thousand other things?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," I said, finishing up the last message. "We're already planning on conquering them once; we can do it again if we need to."

I cleaned my ring up nicely and channeled some mana into the Runes etched into the metal, before pressing it down into the wax seal on all four messages. The wax was closer to pure enchanting material than regular candle wax, and expensive to produce.

The mana I channeled into the ring began to spread as the Runes did their work. Like frost creeping along glass, glowing lines started to spread outward from the wax and covered the parchment entirely. When the lines finished connecting and covered the entirety of the folded parchment, the job was done. They were as protected as I could make them. Only Vanessa, Zuri, or Bri would be able to open them without destroying what was inside.

"Are you sure about this?" Elliot asked.

"It solves all our problems," I said, "We don't have to slow our march to a crawl and waste months every time we take a city. We don't spread ourselves too thin, and we don't leave Canada in ruins! Win, win, win!"

Hal came back with three Messengers in tow, who quickly accepted their orders and were swiftly on their way to the three Faction heads.

"What if they say no?" Hal asked after getting caught up on what was happening, "Nothing says they have to agree to do what you ask them?"

"Vanessa owes me a favor for helping in her war, Bri owes us for breaking her contract, and Zuri will do it because she needs the farmland. She might complain that she has enough problems with Empire City, but she'll do it in the end." I explained.

With no other issues, I clapped my hands happily, "Now, who wants to go conquer Canada!"