Rise of Kings

Chapitre Un

"There is someone in my army who I think has the skills necessary," Skrilliant commented. Memorian's ears pricked in interest.

"Who?" he asked.

"Admiral Shara. She has close ties with Greely, and the motives to do her job well. I think she's the one we should entrust with his capture," Skrilliant said. Memorian nodded, pondering the idea.

"I'll keep that in mind, but for now," he said, turning back to the map, "I think we need to find a suitable place to hold him, as well as a few hundred phantoms to guard in case anything goes wrong."

"And after that?" Skrilliant asked.

"After that, we try reasoning with the citizens of Jamaa, with perhaps a few bribes if necessary. If that doesn't work, then we take over Jamaa by force." Memorian said with a gleam in his eye. I like the idea, Skrilliant thought. Suspicion sneaked into his thoughts after a few seconds of pondering, however, and he eyed Memorian as he stared at the map.

"After we take over, what will you do?" he asked.

Memorian thought for a moment, then replied, "Y'know, I don't think I really want anything out of this. I've had my share of ruling, and I think I'll leave it to the younger generation this time around." he winked. Skrilliant laid his ears back in surprise.

"You mean, you want nothing out of this?"

Memorian smiled and nodded. He stopped midway through a nod and opened his eyes as a new idea struck him. He then said slowly, "Unless... Perhaps you could leave Mira's custody to me?"

Skrilliant was surprised by the question. "Why?" he asked, trying to mask the suspicion in his voice.

Memorian shrugged. "No reason. I mean, if you want her, I don't mind."

"Why would I want custody of Mira?" Skrillian asked, taken slightly aback. Memorian just shrugged once more in reply. I don't see how it could cause any harm... Skrilliant thought. "Well, I suppose, if you want her custody, you may take it."

Memorian tried to conceal a smile by looking hard at the map. He cleared his throat, "So, erm, after that, we command the phantom army from here," he pointed to a spot west of the forbidden mountains, "down to here," he pointed to Jamaa Township. "Then we move east to the ocean." He said, seemingly satisfied.

"What of the Lost Temple? That's the Shaman's stronghold; we'll never be able to break through the defenses without considerable loss," Skrilliant said, exposing a loophole in Memorian's plan.

He scratched his chin, considering other options. Another idea came to him as he looked at the map closer. "There's another tunnel leading here from the Zios statue, right?" Skrilliant nodded once more. "Well, we can lead another faction of the army into the Temple from there, which will get their attention and cause them to focus on the Southern border... From there we can bring the other faction down and attack from the North. By then, assuming our timing is right, we'll have Greely captured and the Shamans incapacitated." He smiled and looked at Skrilliant, who was still deep in thought. "Whaddya say, kid?" Memorian asked.

"It's a good plan... But I still have doubts on the capture of Greely... And what if Mira or the citizens interfere?"

"Then we'll have to attack them to get through to the Shamans. But from as much as I know about the Shamans, they're proud, and would never use the citizens as a shield. Mira, on the other hand, is kind of a wildcard..." Memorian said, his voice trailing off in thought. After about a minute of pondering silence, he said quietly, "I don't think we'll have to worry about her though, as long as your army is competent enough to handle themselves without my guidance, and you can lead without falling apart," his words directed at Skrilliant.