Fódlan Alternative II

{Part Two: Crimson Flower} Chapter Seventeen: Blood of the Imperial II

When the end of the month rolls around, You rise from your slumber and begin to get ready for the day. Seraphine speaks to You along the way.

Seraphine: Today is the day... We're going after House Wessin, and if all goes well, it'll be our second time defeating a noble house within the Empire. That should do us a world of good when it comes to getting closer to reclaiming the capital.

You nod and say that You hope it goes well.

Seraphine: I have to admit though... I'm somewhat worried about the fact that we're running short on allies to hold all this territory. There's only so much support that House Schlarzer can give us, and for all we know, it could all come crumbling down in an instant if we're not careful.

You tell her that You will have to worry about that after the battle is won.

Seraphine: I suppose you're right... For now, let's go see what the others are thinking. After all, we've still got a lot of fighting to do before we'll truly be free of this mess.

Seraphine's voice falls silent, and You make your way to the cardinals' room. The Black Eagles are gathered together around the map on the table as expected when You arrive.

Florence: It sounds like the emperor is starting to get a better idea of everything that we've been trying to do lately.

Hegias: As much as I hate to admit it, you're right. He's getting ready to fortify the noteworthy territories under his control to make sure we can't claim anything else.

Zelhira: If we act quickly enough though, we might be able to swoop in and take care of this mission before the full group of reinforcements arrives.

Polly: We're going to have to act as quickly as possible to make sure that our enemies aren't able to push back against us.

Tuncay: In that case, I guess we had better get going as soon as we possibly can. Every minute means a lot right now.

Callisto: Everything should be in order for us to start marching now, as a matter of fact. I did a final check before coming up here.

Aquillus: Then it's settled. Let's get ready to march in that direction and hope that our enemies aren't able to mount a defense in time.

Herwig: Regardless of if they can find reinforcements or not, we're going to be struggling a lot this time around.

Chris: I'm inclined to agree. After all, House Wessin is already known for its military might, and the fact that we already took out House Einem means that everyone knows what we're trying to do. We sent our message, and that means that the people we're up against may or may not have found the time to prepare to push back against what's going to come for them next.

Tuncay: The emperor himself might decide that it's time to step off his high horse to fight with everyone else soon too. You never know.

Callisto: That would just be a pain and a half to deal with... We've got enough problems without him marching in and ruining all that we've been working for.

Zelhira: Then we'll just have to be ready for him. I don't know how exactly we're going to do that, but we have to try it at the very least.

Polly: House Riverbane still seems to be on the verge of moving to try and learn more about us. That means that we might be able to count on reinforcements of our own.

Herwig: If they do appear, our chances of success are going to increase substantially. House Riverbane has remained neutral up to this point, but...