An Ending of Oaths
Copyright© 2025 by Lumpy
Chapter 25
Drayford, Dunwics Reach, Kingsheart
The week following the victory in Twyver had been hectic, to say the least. The routed Crown forces had scattered, but it wasn’t the last Crown army they would see.
Thankfully, the dual defeats in Iron Keep and on the Thunderhorn were enough to give the men his father had put in charge of their armies pause. Or at least the ones in Kingsheart. They had pulled back into Ambleton and Langmere for the time being while they reinforced the large number of losses they’d taken in the previous month, and to figure out how many of the eastern baronies had defected.
The Icelanders were not nearly as cautious, but when they first attacked they’d managed to catch the Keep unprepared, its forces scattered and easily isolated. Now, Garris had enough men to hold the line at the base of the peninsula and start his push inland.
It wasn’t a done deal but they had gotten wise, bringing in smaller ships to protect their transports, but it was not nearly as hopeless as it could have been.
As they rode into Drayford, the baronial capital of Dunwics Reach, William was happy to finally see a part of his homeland not ravaged by conflict and war. Sitting on Merchants Bay, where the Blackwater River emptied into it, the city was far enough out of the way to avoid the tribulations of both this rebellion and the Peasants’ Rebellion, and to be all but overlooked by Serwyn’s tax collectors in the intervening period.
William liked the city the moment he set eyes on it. Much simpler and more down to earth than other capitals he’d been in, he found the place almost quaint.
He’d never been here before. He’d traveled with his father to a lot of his liegemen’s capitals, but this was one of the few Edmund had never bothered to visit. He mostly stayed in the central and western baronies, since those were the wealthiest and most influential, but even when he’d come to the east, he’d avoided Dunwic. It was too rural, too far, and too poor for Edmund to care about.
Which made it exactly the kind of place William liked.
The central keep was a bustle of activity. Servants rushed about, horses were being tended, and soldiers were everywhere. He saw the livery of multiple other eastern baronies mixed together in the courtyard, which meant he and Aldric were some of the last to arrive.
They were led into the keep to a room with most of the other lords already gathered around a table.
“Your Grace. Your Highness. Your timing is excellent,” Garris Sinclair said, looking up. “We were just discussing our next moves.”
“Langmere?” William asked, guessing.
“Yes,” Newberry answered. “Edmund’s new puppet in Langmere has been pressuring Merrick and Penshaw hard. And Ambleton’s forces have joined them. It’s why Loxon and Farrow aren’t with us today. They needed to stay behind and deal with those efforts.”
“Word is, your father is ramping up recruitment across the duchy,” Garris added.
“Which is why we’ve done the same,” Aldric responded, pulling out a seat and gesturing for William to do the same. “We’ve entered a new phase of the rebellion. Edmund’s strategy has shifted. He’ll grow more aggressive now that he feels his grip slipping.”
“That much is clear,” Halbrok said. “What matters is our response to it.”
“I’ve given that much thought on the ride here. I also received a wyvern from Baron Pembroke in Rendalia, which I think holds the answer to your question.