The Iron Wedding: Book Four of the Adventures of Baron Von Monocle by Jon Del Arroz

Author:Jon Del Arroz [Del Arroz, Jon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781925645422
Publisher: Superversive Press
Published: 2019-10-16T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

At the camp, First Sergeant Wright gave me a blanket to cover my shoulders and a warm cup of tea. He said it wasn’t the best, but the boiled water was the cleanest to drink while on the lines. The warmth of the fire made me happy. I enjoyed the comradery of sitting on the logs with the other Rislandian soldiers.

Despite my relative contentment, the soldiers around me looked drained, with far too many frowns amongst. Their morale had dropped to new lows, even compared to what I’d seen in the worst of the fighting. They’d lost their will to fight.

I did my best to lighten their moods by introducing myself, thanking them for their service. I’d had some practice at morale building in recent months, while I had been trapped dirtside.

A group of soldiers stayed near me, and we exchanged stories. Most of them wanted to know how my life had been. They’d heard I was traded to the Wyranth in exchange for help with the airship. Their unit had a plan to bust through the lines to rescue me.

I laughed. “I don’t need rescuing. It was my own decision.”

“Why?” One of the men asked.

I looked him in the eye.

“Sometimes, a person has to make sacrifices for the greater good. My going to the Wyranth Empire will allow Rislandia’s airship to fly again. That’s an advantage I can’t let go to waste,” I said.

“Hear hear,” a man said, holding a canteen which he drank from. Even from where I sat, the pungent smell of his drink wafted over to me. The man smiled. “I don’t know if you remember me. Corporal Tyson. I helped you and your father secure a bomb from Rislandia City’s industrial district.”

I returned the smile. “I remember you. Thank you very much for your assistance.”

Tyson nodded. “I like what you’re sayin’ about sacrifice. Lot of us here have sacrificed a lot, and it’s nice to hear the nobles have the same sentiment, even in these times.”

The others muttered agreements around me.

I’d gotten good at saying the right thing in front of the men, making sure they kept their morale up. It’s not that I was trying to manipulate them, but if I could help them feel better about their fight, it would go a long way.

“Not sure it’ll do a lick of good against these machine men, though,” Tyson said.

I frowned. “That’ll be the second part of what I’m doing. I’ll have the ear of the Iron Emperor. I made them stop firing tonight.”

Tyson glanced behind him, toward the infantry line. He listened intently. “You’re right. There’s no more fighting. Huh.”

“He going to give our lands back?” Sergeant Wright asked.

“I’m working on it,” I said, taking another sip of tea. “This ceasefire is the first of it. I’m hoping I can get him to pull back his people from Loveridge.”

“What if he doesn’t listen to you?” Tyson asked.

I shrugged. “All I can do is try.”

“S’pose you’re right,” Tyson said.

Silence lingered, the fire flickering in front of us.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.