Gate of Dimensions

[Act 2] Chapter 4: Battle against Fate

"You mean the army currently running away from a simple German patrol? How many times have you witnessed that in just three months? You'd be lucky if this isn't a scouting party for a larger army."

Mordred almost lost his composure. The emperors of Arthur aren't meant to listen to borderline disrespect. "The Germans aren't attacking, they never have. They haven't been attacking in three months. They stopped at the western border and aren't moving."

"They aren't just sitting on their behinds doing nothing. It's obvious they are calling in reinforcements, which I am sure you'd know."

"I think I understand that by now."

Mordred sighed. He knew better than he did before that they were planning something that could spell their doom in due time. The only question was 'What were they waiting for.' His response was to demand they keep it up so they can at least have a break.

"How did you manage to get the weapon in the first place?" Mordred asked. "Even if you can magically appear, I'm certain they'd have spotted you somehow, and then the deck would've been burnt."

"Don't underestimate our talents," Cain demanded. "We've been in the shadows for thousands of years. Don't assume we haven't been inside every empire within that time in one way or another."

"Then why didn't you take control?" The emperor wondered.

"We never had a willing ally as powerful enough to make it so."

But before Mordred could respond, a well-dressed servant came up to the emperor and said, "The representative from the dwarves has arrived, my Emperor. They say they are at the other end and will arrive in ten minutes."

Mordred nodded before turning to Cain and asking him, "Can you teleport us there?"

"I feel like walking, Mordred," Cain told with a slight chuckle in his voice.

Even when the High Priest's face was turned away from him, the Emperor could tell he was grinning.

"Very well then," Mordred said, hiding his deep resentment.

Mordred and Cain walked separately but in the same direction past the stakes, past the watch towers, across easily moveable bridges above dirt mounds and past the gaps in the palisades before getting into the main encampment.

The encampment stretched far; it was dangerously far. The Emperor managed to bring a quarter of a million men into the deep forests since setting up enormous camps outside open cities wasn't an option anymore. Luckily, the dark forests stretched so far that they connected to many different forests, making them perfect for hiding anything. It was either abandoning the cities with the hope the Germans won't bomb a city with a small garrison or face annihilation.

Mordred never thought he'd adopt the same tactics the dark elf tribes used before to fight his invasion: hiding like a rat until driven out. He just hoped that the Germans aren't willing to start a forest fire just to kill them; the same tactic he used against the elves. The last thing he wanted was to become the founder of a very diverse forest tribe.

Mordred stopped right outside his tent. He could hear talking from inside; everyone was there. He preferred to wait to hear what his people thought of him. Caster once gave him the idea. He peered through the gap in the linen to get a good look at the inside. Caster, his wife and several other kings were in there, drinking wine and laughing amongst themselves. He knew it was a ploy to distract themselves from seeing the truth, even when the guns have stopped killing their men.

"Tell me something, Caster," Caroline said, giving Caster a smug look. "How many illegitimate children have you fathered in your time?"

"Certainly more than how many heirs you have given your Emperor-Husband, Dragon Queen," Caster sniggered. "It would seem you still have a lot more to do in that regard. Tell me, do you love him?"