Freidheim and Farenda's Campaign: Assault on Pagul: Freidheim and Farenda's Campaign, #4

By S. C. Coleman

Following the events of the Glass Empires, Age of the Third Arcon, and Populla's Shadow, Dawn of the Sun Panther, and the Pinnacle of the Winged Serpent, this book charts the course of familiar champions; thoughout their struggles across the Greater Continent, and beyond. Here, they will compete against many rival forces, all while attempting to keep the shadows at bay. This book charts a continuation of the stories of the Molinese General Farenda, the Crown Prince of the Hohen, the crystal ship from the Pinnacle of the Winged Serpent, and another special guest to join in their combined cause. Who will prevail, and who will succumb? Read further to find out…

• Language: English
• Publisher: S. C. Coleman
• Release date: Jan 11, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224831128

Book preview

Summary:

Following the events of the Glass Empires, Age of the Third Arcon, and Populla’s Shadow, Dawn of the Sun Panther, and the Pinnacle of the Winged Serpent, this book charts the course of familiar champions; thoughout their struggles across the Greater Continent, and beyond. Here, they will compete against many rival forces, all while attempting to keep the shadows at bay. This book charts a continuation of the stories of the Molinese General Farenda, the Crown Prince of the Hohen, the crystal ship from the Pinnacle of the Winged Serpent, and another special guest to join in their combined cause. Who will prevail, and who will succumb? Read further to find out...

Chapter One

Tales of Turncoats

The notorious General Farenda, of the infamous Molinese ruling House, had arrived at the Three Points. The General had already been disgraced and disowned by her sister, the Queen; after a writ was signed to remove Farenda from her House name. Yet, the General did not recognize the legitimacy of the writ, nor did any of her inner core of soliders; the veterans of the Protectorate. However, Farenda knew that not all others shared the same unbending loyalty, but none would dare question the position of the Red and Grey General; in front of her face, nor in front of her veterans, for fear of physical repercussion. However, Farenda’s army had grown significantly, since her stay at Lunskar. While she could trust her veterans of the long fallen Protectorate, she knew that her men were now greatly outnumbered by their apparent allies. Any quantity of the extra additions to her force could be harboring bad intentions; against herself and her veterans. Still, Farenda refused to become a paranoid recluse, and she trusted her loyal veterans to sniff out any plots that were brewing against her. On the other hand, Farenda understood that she now appeared frightened and cowed, due to her selection of headquarters. 

Farenda had taken to finding a good tavern for her planning and preparations. Here, the one that was selected was in a basement. While the tavern at Lunskar had been found at the base of the tower, this one was a resplendent chamber that was unfortunately situated underground. Therefore, her enemies had taken to constructing humorous names at her expense, but the worst was the moniker of the Mole Tavern Wench; as it was said that she pleasured her men with drink by day, and with herself by night. Of course, none that were near to her put any stock in these claims, and Farenda wasn’t entirely worried about the damage to her own reputation. She was a military commander, for as long as she could remember, and she knew that such rumors were meant to bring damage to the reputation of her veterans. The position of herself and her veterans precariously rested on the fear that others felt for their capabilities. Should the fear of Farenda’s veterans become diminished, then her men would be hard pressed to retain order, stave off assassination, and defend others within the settlement. In fact, the Three Points, a city that rested between Klorn, Pagul, and Hohenburg, had been extremely easy to occupy. The whole place had become a ghost town, devoid of all visible life, while the remnants of a brutal carnage remained.

Just in the streets outside, a butcher’s shop had large gashes in its oak door, and puncture holes, as well as dents from a ram. Worse still, dented and scarred weapons lay throughout the streets, telling of a bygone struggle that had removed the inhabitants. In the state that they were in, few in Farenda’s company cared for the truth behind such tell-tale circumstances. Still, Farenda had requested that all be on the lookout, for anything that could shed light on what had eliminated the populace. On the other hand, such a request was mostly futile, since everyone already knew what had happened here. Farenda’s reason for leveraging to the charge of discovery was a tactical meneuvre, since she did not want rumors spreading that a similar fate awaited her, and her men. Instead, Farenda chose to attempt to direct attention away from the awefulness that had swept across this region, laying Klorn and the Three Points barren. Still, she knew that tarrying in this place would be folley. Already, talk of the Three Points curse was beginning to fester among the many ranks of auxiliary conscripts and volunteers.

While Farenda waited under the low ceiling of this basement tavern, which had space enough to fit thousands, she stood in front of one of its many blazing hearths. Along the walls of the tavern, numerous fire places could be found, elegantly constructed from stone and decorated with gold inlay. Unfortunately, at the places that jewels had been placed, only hollow outlines could be found, signs that previous wealth had been stripped from this estabilishment. At least, all things of value that could be easily had were gone from the Three Points. Oddly, Farenda would’ve prized those precious stones that had been stolen, more than she did the crystal amulet around her neck. Given to her by the Gardeners of Torburgen, at Lunskar, Farenda turned the amulet over in her hand; staring down at the wire frame, which housed a number of different crystals. Each of the crystals retained little monetary value, but Farenda wasn’t about to insult her allies by removing it. All of these crystals had been bound up into the shape of the tree, and were retained together with strips of copper wire. It was a cheap ornament, but Farenda valued the amulet for its symbol and gesture; since such a thing would be recognized by any of Torburgen. Despite the lack of any other significance, or use, as Farenda could tell; she kept it around her neck, and never took it off, as was requested by them, her allies. On the other hand, she felt a bit silly for doing so, almost like this amulet had taken a position of supersticion in her mind; and she always attempted to push such things away, knowing the damage that illogical fantasies could cause to any battle plan, tactic, or strategy.

Suddenly, the General was interrupted in her musings, when the door to the tavern opened. A group that Farenda recognized stepped into the light of the fires. Many of the faces belonged to her auxiliary captains. Command of the auxiliary was a title that had been provided to newly appointed Hohen commanders. The majority of these volunteer commanders were ineffectual and lacking in experience. On the other hand, many of her own veteran commanders accompanied this group, while two of her veterans dragged a beaten and bloodied soldier between them. The soldier, being dragged, wore the uniform of the Star Mercenaries, and this one was clothed in the blue hue, which represented that particular sect of the Blue Star. Additionally, this group that entered the tavern numbered fifteen, and Farenda knew that something unpleasant was about to greet her. This was apparent on the faces of her men, the captains of the auxiliary, and her veteran commanders; since they had already inflicted a bloody fate upon the captive that they had brought. It was strange, Farenda knew, to see a mercenary treated this way; in her new model army. Since she had welcomed any turncoat Star Mercenaries to her ranks, after a large number of them had been expelled from Hohenburg. However, Pagul was still their headquarters and stronghold, and she knew the time had come to address that particular issue. Still, she did her best to retain what few fleeting moments of calm that she could muster, by taking one last look at the roaring hearth, and the crystal tree trinket around her neck.

Shadows greet thee, our glorious general, and may the crystal moon ever remain at our backs. Commander Rulino winced at the last part of the greeting, an addition that few had become accustomed to, but Farenda insisted on its use. Such was done for the effort of welcoming foreign cultures that did not share the same reverence for