Drinking at the Green Dragon

Tanner sat drinking Olde Anglia 800 in The Green Dragon. He had arrived in Brown’s Ferry a few days back. The battle in the Whispering Woods, or rather the ambush in the Whispering Woods, had gone extremely well. No casualties, although he had handed over a Bexari wafer when Annah had been mauled by a dire-wolf. No problem with that, although Tanner was down to two wafers.

So here he was, drinking ale. He and King John had talked for awhile. King John related that the militia leaders were pretty impressed with the Salamander and Sunfire. Tanner gave credit where credit was due and brought up Hesenborg’s name. ‘Yeah, he was always an odd fellow, so it’s no wonder you two are friends. But he does good work, and is to be trusted. He hates the Red Legs as much as anyone’, said the barkeep.

‘Yeah, we compared notes on who lost more in the Rebellion. I think his family’s body count was higher. That’s bad enough. Just as bad, some family books got burned. They had to do with alchemy. He definitely lost more’, said Tanner.

‘Given enough gold and time, y’all could probably make anything you wanted to. Any ideas for the future?’, said King John.

‘Mmm, nothing definite. There is some stone, similar to tar stone, that Hesenborg thinks can be made. He has a belief that it starts out like a liquid, almost like mud, and then hardens into something like stone. Hesenborg is trying to figure out a formula for it. I’ve loaned him the books I own that deal with this. So far, no success. If we could make it, it would be a light, shapeable, strong building material. Who knows what we could build? Given enough of the material, another bridge across the Brown would not be out of the question.’ Tanner took another slug of ale.

‘Another bridge?’ I won’t say it is impossible, but I’ll have to see it to believe it’, said King John. ‘Now what can you do with Sunfire?’

‘With what we’ve got? Turn the King’s Guard into burning mass of metal and bone. I don’t think the Healers could save someone from it.’ Tanner got a sly look in his eye. ‘If we had more, well, I am not sure. But I think I could open a break point in any castle in the North. But that much Sunfire isn’t practical or safe. It’s meant to destroy armored warriors and wooden buildings. I think any Northern army’s morale would break if it saw noblemen burned to a horrible mess.’

At that point, some officers came in and King John went to speak with them. Tanner went to a chair near the fireplace and opened up The Book of Five Swords. He had been reading for awhile when King John came up to the fire place.

‘I have an announcement. King Grey is dead. It looks like consumption. Other than that, we have no firm details.’

Tanner was stunned. There many implications to this. Some of the more militant militiamen cheered. Others quietly murmured amongst themselves. Tanner’s mind began to fly at 100 leagues a day.

First off, there was the manner of Miss Macon, Annah, and that crew. There would be personal feelings on their part. Fair enough, it was family of a kind. If they grieved, he would not hold it against them. Anyone else who claimed to be a Southron would not get emotional over it.

Second, what would the coming government be like? Would it be centralized and strong, like under the previous king? That wouldn’t be good for the Frontier, at least if the new king tried to impose Crown Law on Frontier.

Would it be decentralized, with the noble families sharing power and the king being weak? Not necessarily a bad thing for the Frontier. Perhaps the best of all solutions. For once, Tanner wished The Gent, as Adhevan had been known, was around. What Tanner knew of engineering, The Gent knew as much regarding politics. The man had a natural feel for it.

But one thing was certain. In the coming months, there would be chaos in the North, as Gahanna and Evans fought for control. Bah, let ’em fight it out. Just don’t come into Wallace lands and make get the militia out.

But still, Tanner couldn’t help but feel some regret over Grey’s death. He had been a scared kid when The Couriers busted him and The Queen Regent out if Greenburg Castle. Just like kids who had seen war in the Frontier and Border Lands. War was rough on kids and women. He had learned it first hand, the hard way. May the gods rest Mother’s and Sharyn’s souls.

Sgt. Klug walked through the door and headed over to the fireplace. Tanner shook his hand warmly and ordered him ale. ‘What do you think, Tanner?’ Once the Sadler clan left town, I felt free, like I could breathe cool fresh air, and nothing would pollute it. I still feel the same, but this leaves me feeling uneasy’.

‘I have to agree with you, Klug. I think if Grey had stayed on the throne, the likelihood of military incursions would drop. It’s not like he would cross the Brown River. If someone were to be his regent, like Evans, they might try to cross the Brown, but the other political factions would try to put a stop to it. For now, I don’t see another northern Anglian military force coming across the Brown. That being said, I have some ideas on building Frontier defense forces. The Red Legs aren’t the only source of problems in the world.’

‘I think I know what you mean’, said Klug. ‘The rumors about the empire in the south? What do you know of it?’

‘If it comes to war against the Rios, we’ll need all the help we can get. They have magicks I can’t fathom. Death magic. Nothing like Tobin Thalion saw when fighting the Red Legs. It’ll take all the Frontier can muster, and even then it might not be enough. No, we’ll need some help.’

‘From who?’ said Klug. ‘The northern Anglians? I don’t think so.’

‘Well, if the Bruce and Wallace clans are next in line for a Rios assault, I can see them allying with us. Besides, the Council is friendly enough with Wallace, and Bruce, and Dancy for that matter, owes us a favor.’ Tanner grinned. ‘And I don’t think the Checot will take too kindly to someone moving against them from the south.’ Tanner drained the last of his ale and set his mug down.

‘Well, that actually makes sense.’ said Klug. ‘If ever a military analysis of a situation was in order, you’d break your leg racing to make the first one’. Klug chuckled.

‘Not the first, just the best’, grinned Tanner.

‘Okay, what do you think the Frontier Councils should do for planning purposes?’ This time, Klug ordered Tanner ale. Tanner thanked him.

‘Well, first off, there need to be a permanent command council. A group of smart, seasoned veterans from all over the Frontier that can see the big picture. We can’t just think of our own towns, we have to think of the Frontier safety and security as a whole’.

‘Second, the Frontier Councils, and, well, let’s call them the General Staff, need to decide where the strategic defense points are. Bridges on rivers, major locations on the tar stone roads, things like that. They need to decide where we can stop an invasion force.’

‘You sound like you are arguing for a standing army. No one will ever go for that’, said Klug.

‘I agree’, said Tanner. ‘ No, any sizable settlement needs to be able to defend itself. Most Frontier men don’t want to go 10 leagues from home. So every strategic community needs to have a competent body of swordsman and archers at hand, along with a good healer or two’.

‘Okay, but you know and I know that isn’t enough’. Klug sipped his ale and looked at Tanner thoughtfully.

‘Yes it isn’t enough’. The other communities need to have a select number of men who can leave for a threatened point in short order. The men all should be competent horsemen, with equal numbers of swordsmen and archers. They’ll need to be able to ride hard and fast. 15 leagues a day won’t cut it.’ Tanner drank some more of his ale. His face was wrinkled in thought.

‘What about artillery to counter magic? You’re not going to send in soldiers without fire support, are you?’

No, I wouldn’t do that. Every decent sized town needs a Copperhead or two. Maybe a Salamander to lob rocks. Something to break up infantry. But to take out a mage, I recommend the dagger in the back. The best way to fight a mage is to not fight him at all. Who want’s a fair fight? I always like the odds in my favor.’ Tanner drank some more ale.

‘Those ideas aren’t bad. Maybe they’ll ask you to implement them.’ At first Tanner thought Klug was joking, but no, he was serious.

‘Well, I think there are plenty of fine men with more experience than me. And I don’t know if some of the government types can handle my quirky personality’. Tanner and Klug both laughed. ‘But, if it comes to war, and you know I’ll be there. If it’s the Rios, we’ll give ‘em hell.’

Tags: Side Stories, Tanner Hawkwood