Turiyos listened with satisfaction to the bustle of the garrison. It was long after nightfall and yet the soldiers labored on. Since the Harudish had arrived on the banks it had been a great deal easier to assign fatigue duties to the troops. Fortifications that had been decaying for want of simple maintenance were once again being renovated and reoccupied. It had been a monumental struggle just to keep the surly border guards to the watch schedules, let alone the work details needed to keep the ancient fortresses in repair.
Turiyos snarled, remembering the frustration of trying to get even an ounce of work out of the surly border guards. Most of them were local barbarians themselves, or half-mongrel bastards without the virtue of true imperial citizens. Thankfully that seemed to change with the presence of the Harudish tribes in sight across the river. Suddenly repairing the bastions and watchtowers became a greater priority than drinking and dicing with the oppressive presence of a horde of foreigners, even one so pathetic as the Harudish.
"They are disgusting, aren't they?"
"Who, the rabble across the river, or the one out in the yard?"
"Yes, truly they are beneath you. A man of your stature should have a position that better suits you. Perhaps you will be named Warden here by the council?"
Turiyos snorted with disdain, "The council, they are fools every one of them. They don't understand that a strong leader is needed in times such as these. They are too busy bankrupting the treasury and buggering elf-children to do anything worthwhile."
"Perhaps a strong man might take matters into his own hands? A great leader would not want for permission from lesser men. He would have the strength to do what was needed for the greater good."
Turiyos eyed his companion warily. "That is treason you speak. I fear that our leaders lack the virtues that made our people masters of the known world, but part of that greatness was the holy regard given us by adherence to our republican principles. A rebel has never known the patronage of Surt or Belann."
"Truly? What good has the approval of such beings done for your lords and masters, what has it gotten you? You mouth pious words, but in your heart you know the truth. Your gods have abandoned you, whether for your sins or for their own amusement matters not. You know that no matter what happens here, you are all alone."
The slender man in the corner of the room smiled, his yellow eyes glinting in the firelight, and a forked tongue darted out to taste the air. He could smell the fear and weakness of the man before him. He knew that the time was nigh to begin the next step.
"But it does not need to be that way. There are other gods, gods who would not abandon you in your time of need. They have watched you for many years. They, unlike your benighted councilors have seen the measure of your worth and they know that it is you and you alone who can save the empire from its own decadence."
Turiyos stared into the small fire at the center of his chamber, lost in thought. He was not an evil man and in his heart of hearts he recognized this for what it was. The strangers honeyed words floated through his mind back and forth, and the fact that he recognized the manipulation behind them did nothing to lessen their power over him. For he was an ambitious man, and more damning, he truly did believe that he could save the empire if only given the chance.
Finally, he spoke in a voice like a freshly dug grave.
"What do I need to do?"
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