Chapter Two; Sneak Peek #1

Chapter Two picks up ten days after where the first leaves off. Its current (working) title is "The Winstead Affair". The ultimate end of the chapter is the reunion between the Janowitz siblings and the Marshal, but should the chapter balloon out of control, I might have to split it into two pieces.

The general structure is as follows:

1. Ten days pass and a general prose-only recap of the mostly pleasant march

2. Return to present; set camp and speak with surviving characters

3. Reach the small city of Winstead, where the titular "affair" occurs, resulting in massive casualties and delays for the royal forces (more details coming later)

4. Escape Winstead, continue on to Tanta

5. Arrive just in time to relieve the beleaguered defenders

6. Reunite with the Janowitz siblings; romantic scenes

7. Form the armies together; establish defenses and wait for the vassal troops to arrive

I plan to have a slight alteration to the existing army system. The forces of major vassals will not be directly added to your army, instead having their number/health tracked separately. This will allow for drama, forcing you to consider the commander of the host you are dispatching as well as the numbers themselves. Milon Janowitz will be in control of his army, the F/F RO will be in control of hers, etc.

Here is a brief snippet of the Marshal's internal monologue. It's a delicate balance to maintain, allowing for enough thoughts and angst without falling into the overly-repetitive self-loathing of early drafts of ITFO:

Out in the east, ${ro_RomanceRoute} waits for aid. You don't know how much longer they can hold. You don't even fully know where their city is. You don't even know if they're under siege. Perhaps by the time you arrive, they'll have slain Rade on their own, and your meeting will be nothing but joy and peace.

You never even notice that you're smiling, but it falls from your face soon enough.

Are the Janowtiz twins even still alive? It's a thought that physically chills you--and one you force out of your head. A part of you wants to ride off, drive your army to keep moving through the night, and to run until you make it.

Such an action would be as foolish as Belos's doomed sally and lead to an even more terrible slaughter. But what can you do now? Sit and wait? Try and sleep, knowing that ${ro_RomanceRoute} is under attack?

There is no greater agony, you decide, than knowing your loved one is in danger and being too far away to help. Perhaps that's what Darin always felt.

With your thoughts in a blur, you wheel back to camp and go about setting up your pavilion.

I'll have more to provide soon. I'm also going to spend some time touching up some passages and adding new content to chapter one, but chapter two takes priority.