Raff had begun an evening patrol but half his mind was on the abrupt overnight changes in the schedule. Had it been something as simple as one name change on the roster, he wouldn't have given it a second thought. But the morning shift was to be in doubles like a Royal Event putting him with Keller, a strong witch with sharp skills. Not to mention the location patrols were passing-which would normally be redundant unless they were expecting trouble. 

Well if he was supposed to know, they'd tell him. He stroked his beard and continued his patrol in a steady pace, the cadence of his step soothing in itself. Just before midnight, the temperature was much more comfortable and Raff preferred night time anyway. Crickets chirped and the sky held up a million stars in a background of violet velvet. The problem would work itself out he was sure. If he'd learned anything in life, it was to adapt to changes and that's what he'd do. 

A measured tread of someone approximately the same size and stride approached and Raff had to look carefully to discern who it was that moved toward him in the darkness. Cambria was hotter than a hooker's ass on shore leave so no one was wearing any obvious rank patches or indicators. So if you didn't know your chain of command, you might just mouth off to the wrong person if you weren't paying attention. With everyone dressed literally the exact same way, you had to fight against the urge to simply dismiss passersby in an us or them mentality. 

He turned to see Captain @warren walking directly toward him and he nodded respectfully at the approach. 

"Captain Woodwick. Everything and everyone are what and where they should be at, sir. All this open area makes sounds carry further so it's easier to hear things from a distance. Things are looking calm, quiet and prepared Sir." Terach answered quietly in both summation and caution.  

Warren wasn't like many of the higher ups in rank and title in Nevermere. While they thought secrecy was above all else, Warren felt like certain people needed and deserved to know information that would help them in the performance of their duties. This was a problem, at least it had been when he'd been put on probation. Telling the soldiers who would be fighting the Eldouir and their Dresmondi soldiers what to expect from the Eldouir and their Dresmondi soldiers had, apparently, been the wrong move. And now, he was likely going to make that mistake again. He was just glad that Vesper Delvaux hadn't followed him all the way to Cambria.

In his eyes, Lieutenant Terach deserved to know the information because as the only other leader among the soldiers, he couldn't properly give them orders without knowing what they were up against. The two men had to work together to ensure that any possible loss of life over the next twenty-four hours was limited to as few as possible. It might have been easy for people to say 'the soldiers knew what they were signing up for' and yes, they had accepted the possibility of death when agreeing to become a soldier. But possibility was not probability. It was their leaders jobs to make that possibility as few and far between as possible. Risking life was not the same as wasting it.

"Good, thank you for making sure that everyone is where they're supposed to be," he said, tying his hands together behind his back. On the way to find Terach, he'd instructed a few soldiers to go ahead and pair up with those already out on patrol, and he'd grabbed his scheduling papers as well. "I'd like to speak with you about some updates to the schedule, and what we'll be preparing for in the next twenty-four hours. If everything is fine out here for the time being, let's go inside somewhere we can speak more privately. Your room is near the barracks, isn't it? Let's go there."

Talking anywhere near the barracks would ensure that, at least, the sound of chatty soldiers not yet asleep or preparing for patrols would help to drown out the sound of a quiet conversation.

Raff's blue eyes roamed to the papers in Warren's  hands and he knew something was about to be said. Taking up his hint of a change in venue, the Captain had it already well in hand. And that was why guys like him were made Captain-they earned it. Gesturing swiftly with an arm up and out, he called over a patrolling pair to take over his walk and gave a polite yes sir to Woodwick. 

"My quarters are just over here in the northeast sector of the barracks Captain." 

The Lieutenant appreciated hard working people like him and he led the way to his modest sized place with just enough room for four people-if two of them were standing. The desk was clean if rough edged and though the two chairs weren't built for comfort, they were sturdy enough to take his weight. Terach motioned for the Captain to precede him and he closed the door firmly behind them.

While no one knew exactly what had been said that day a while back when Warren was called into the Captain Commander's office, that shadow right afterward had been an almost sinister clue that something not so good was going on with it. It made Raff glad that Delvaux was nowhere to be seen here in Cambria. 

"Please have a seat Sir, and we can begin." 

It was a small room but it was quiet and their privacy was assured, which made him grateful that the Captain was taking the time to make sure he wasn't blindsided by the higher ups' over-caution. Sometimes they didn't make the phrase 'need to know' as transparent as it should be. Taking an arrow in the line of duty was a possibility sure, but being told there were incoming arrows in the area, was a definite need to know for everyone involved. 

Lieutenant Terach folded his hands on the desk and sat attentively, looking at the papers the other man held in his hands. 

Warren nodded to the soldiers who Raff called over to take his spot for the time being. Their meeting wouldn't be long, but it was necessary. Calling over the soldiers to take over his route was best protocol, and he expected no less from the Lieutenant. He was an experienced soldier himself, after all, and Warren was glad to have him here. Being the only officer over so many soldiers would have only made things more difficult.

They proceeded to Raff's small room by the barracks and Warren entered first. When offered a seat, he took it. None of the rooms were particularly roomy, and Raff made the room seem even smaller with his sheer size. It was a shame there was no paired witch to accompany him. They could probably use the backup.

Sitting the papers out in front of the Lieutenant, Warren gave him a moment to review them before he spoke. "I'm sure you've seen some of the changes already being made, but this is my finalized update to the schedule. For now, this is just for the remainder of the night, and the entirety of the day tomorrow. We may have to make these more permanent depending on how this announcement goes tomorrow."

The schedule had been marked over, erased, rewritten. It was a mess, one Warren had made in the very short amount of time between his meeting with Regan and this meeting now. "Anyone who might have patrolled throughout the day today or late last night will be given tonight off to rest. We have plenty of soldiers to spare, so I want all fresh faces through tomorrow night. All soldiers will be paired, preferably one witch and one swordsman. I don't care if it's for those surveying single areas or those following routes, all will be paired."

Normally, single soldiers would be enough in certain areas or certain times of the day. They hadn't had much trouble out of the Cambrians for a while, not outward violence anyway, so the old schedule, one more or less copied from the last season, was all but thrown out.

"Tonight I want a few more eyes leveled around Isolde's residence, and her second's residence, as well as the sanctuary. The soldiers are to keep a close eye on those places, and should gently deter any civilians from meandering. They should be in their homes anyway. If they hear any sounds, they should be alert, but they shouldn't interfere unless there's a visible struggle that would draw the attention of others."

He took a breath, trying to remember everything. "Should anything happen, we'll need to set up a quick perimeter. The soldiers closest to the conflict will aid us, and the rest should keep any other Cambrians from getting involved, at all costs. I intend to be around as well, so don't concern yourself with notifying me." Scratching his jaw, he glanced up at Raff and spoke quietly. "Two of ours will be attempting to take Isolde tonight. I've just learned of this myself, and if it all goes as planned, it will be quick and quiet. These measures are just in case something goes wrong."

That was only the half of it.

Looking at the two men was a fair sample of Nevermere soldiers. With the Captain at 5'11 and Raff only an inch taller, Warren had a weight advantage but they were fairly matched in general. The Captain was older but still in good shape and their similitude was enough to make them seem nearly identical, physically. But the way they put both shoulders into their work and leadership roles, were one hundred percent effort all the way. Terach tremendously respected Woodwick not just as an officer, but as a good man who did the right thing. Which made Raff wonder even more why the older man looked like he was gonna give a sitrep at this hour. Something big must be about to happen then, because need to know didn't usually extend to lowly Lieutenants when they were in the field. 

He listened in silence but when he raised his eyebrows in reaction, Raff made his surprise known at the heads up for the prospective turning pairs needed at the morning meeting. Things must be happening a lot faster toward their goal than was what they'd originally planned before deployment. Raff shuffled around the papers, taking note of some of the more skilled pairs within the roster, nodding in agreement. They were the best, strongest and most disciplined of their soldiers so there was no argument on those choices. 

"I see." he answered simply, looking over at the Captain. "That's some pretty short notice Sir, thanks for letting me know. Are there any further details I should be apprised of Captain?"

 

"It is short notice," Warren agreed, still mentally preparing himself to be up for the duration of the night and morning. "I wish I'd known sooner, too, but we'll work with what we've got." It wasn't the time or space to complain about what he was given. He could do that later, if and when he returned home and hadn't been demoted.

"There's more, yes," he continued, looking over the notes he'd made in the margins of his personal copy of the schedule in the short time he'd had to write them down. Most of it remained in his mind instead of on paper. "Tomorrow's announcement will most likely be to introduce Odina as governor. Assuming everything goes smoothly tonight, Isolde will be gone, but that doesn't mean we should assume everyone will simply accept the new Chieftess. We have to be ready for anything, so here's my thoughts." He laid pulled another piece of parchment to the top, with a rough diagram of where the announcement would be held and an equally rough outline of the village around it.

"The paired up soldiers will be placed at equal intervals around the crowd that gathers for the announcement. I'll be in front to keep an eye on things." He pointed to the paper as he spoke, his finger tracing the rough lines. "I want those not guarding the area around the announcement making regular, overlapping routes throughout the city. No two pairs should be too close for too long, we don't want to make ourselves easier targets. The more experienced soldiers should be near the crowd, continuing like that to end with the least experienced soldiers furthest away attempting to deter the Cambrians on the outskirts from getting involved should any fights break out."

He leaned back, looking at Raff for a moment, before back to the papers. "I believe the Ambassador, Lady Carter, will be involved in the announcement. She spoke nothing of it to me when I last saw her, but I think she may believe I've already been told. I had assumed she also knew nothing, until just tonight." Equally as frustrating was that this had all happened so quickly, he hadn't gotten the chance to speak with Norah one on one. If he had, maybe he could have cleared this all up rather quickly. Instead, they were scrambling.

"I'd like to quell any outrage as swiftly and gently as possible. Odina will be their Chief whether they like it or not, but they will like it even less if there is bloodshed on the day she is appointed."

It was a lot to take in on short notice, but if it was hard for him, he imagined it must've been a double insult directly on Warren's own head. The guy was a Captain but it looked like they were making him the last in the know. How was he supposed to do his job and properly recon a mission when they were treating Woodwick this way?! It was rude and Terach had a feeling that the Captain Commander must be purposely dicking with the guy. Come to think of it, Vesper had started tailing the older man around the same time the Captain was shunted from there to here and not given the common decency of priority situation reports beforehand! He had no idea how the guy had pissed off Hadrian, but somehow, it looked like that was definitely the case. Well, regardless, Raff had Warren's back, a hundred percent. 

He looked at the papers, memorizing the Captain's words and listening intently to the briefing. When he took out the diagram, Raff studied it, nodding his head as he got the idea. Keeping two moving lines of soldiers in pairs would guarantee a circling, ever-changing, readied group of guards so that nothing remained static. It was a solid idea to have them on the move so any new situation could be quickly quelled at less than a moment's notice. 

Not one to back down from his duty, he tapped the paper to the right side of the stage, directly closest to the Captain's planned position to note his own support position. Terach would take an arrow to the chest or wolf out for Warren without a doubt. His loyalty would remain unquestioned and Raff didn't need to voice his fealty aloud to the guy. He already knew that he could count on Raff's unswerving dedication. 

The next statement had Raff working not to show how startled he was. Instead, he gestured to the room temperature black tea on the left side of the table to offer it up. Ambassador Carter was doing this to him too? Or was she also scrambling in reaction to last minute adjustments where the left hand had no idea what the right hand was doing? Either way, it sucked and made Woodwick look bad as he tried to tie all the ends together. But Raff would do everything in his limited power to make sure it was seen to down to the smallest detail.

"Agreed Sir. The best we can do is assess and adapt to this intel as quickly as we can. It's a good plan and I'll carry through on my end. You've got my full support Captain and my word that my soldiers will be there and ready." 

Terach poured out a cup of black tea and made sure Warren could reach for it if he wanted one too. 
"it's not booze or coffee, but it's what we got to work with. We've both been through much worse and we'll get through this Sir."

Nodding his appreciation, Warren leaned forward and took a cup of the tea for himself. As he sat back in his chair and sipped it, a slow, deep breath exhaled through his nose. The man he sat with now was his only fellow leadership in Cambria, and depending on when Warren left for Zulu Carr, Raff might be the only person in charge for some time, before they were rotated out.

Although Raff was much younger than Warren - closer to Regan's age, he couldn't help but think - the man had proved himself to be a loyal and good leader. Like Warren, he took what he was given and made the best of it. He hadn't spent much time getting to know the Lieutenant personally, but he knew enough about him to trust him. "Good, thank you Lieutenant," Warren said, raising his cup in a pitiful excuse for a toast before drinking some more of it. "I know this is frustrating, but between the two of us, we'll be able to handle it. And I appreciate your support. This would all be a lot harder for me without your help."

Still, if Warren was going to trust him further, he had to know that he and Raff were on the same page not just regarding their orders, but regarding the Cambrians in general. "I know that you went to Coheed on assignment once before. It's very different from Cambria. We haven't had a lot of time to mingle with the women here, but what do you think of it so far? And what do you think of Odina?"

"Just doing my job Captain." Raff replied quietly, taking out a bottle of whiskey from his desk drawer to set on the table. "I got some good whiskey here if ya wanna take the edge off." 

Was Woodwick thanking him for doing his job? He was a little confused on that. When you signed that blank check to the army, it was a given that your life was on the line automatically. Didn't everyone do that? Raff wasn't doing anything different from anyone else in a legion of other hundreds of Nevermere soldiers. That's why they were there--to serve king and kingdom, no questions asked. You didn't have to agree with the policies, just obey and enforce them. 

"I'm not worried with the situation in your hands sir. The fact that yer scramblin at midnight right here with me ta get things handled, just shows yer doin what ya should. That's why yer Captain." He grinned wryly, but Terach was humbled that the man before him had taken the time to even mention them both doing the jobs they were expected to. 

Then Warren dropped a pair of big fat loaded questions chock full of politics, opinions and slippery slopes. Maybe a drop of whiskey wouldn't hurt too much. Raff poured a small measure into his cup before setting down the bottle between them. Taking a sip, he thought and replied quietly, carefully and honestly.

"I think there seems to be a small but fervent group that's very against anything not Cambrian. However, a larger majority are good people sir. They value tradition as long as it's paired with integrity and honor, and have open minds in regards to dealing with our presence on Cambrian soil." 

Raff sipped at the whiskey, glad that it was worth the money for his trip here. 

"Odina's got the makings of a good leader sir, however, she still has some Nevermere 'stink' on her, which will automatically make some people rebel just because that's their way. Instating her could be bumpy, if it's not done in short, small, quick doses. She's one of them, a Mother, a sister so she'll start with a respect that a total Nevermerean couldn't Captain." he answered, taking in Warren's expression and features. Raff wasn't sure about volunteering an opinion on the situation, but every person was valuable in the military. In life. And right now, everyone in this army needed all the help they could get, just following orders. 

Warren watched the other man pull the whiskey from his drawer. At first he thought to reject the offer. They all needed their wits about them going forward, but one glass wasn't going to intoxicate him, not even close. So he finished the tea in his cup off in two swallows, and offered the cup up to Raff for a pour of the whiskey. Once it was there, he took a drink, closed his eyes, and sighed. It wasn't the best he'd ever had, but he was probably biased about that bottle Regan had given him.

"You know, Lieutenant," he said, in a moment of candid honesty as he looked down into his cup. "I don't like to take for granted those who work hard. It doesn't matter the title or rank, what matters is whether or not you stop trying once you've gotten there. I'm hard on my soldiers because I know they can be better, do better. They have to, because if they don't, they die. Officers, though, you're not all the same. Some continue to work hard, some are driven for the right reasons, some decide to rest on their laurels. And some have no sense of loyalty except to themselves." He took another drink of the whiskey, and another breath as it burned it's way down his throat. "So on the occasion that I'm assigned to work with someone that I feel has the same integrity that I do, I appreciate that. You may think you're just doing your job, but trust me, you're doing more than that and in a thankless line of work like ours, it's worth it to spit the words out every once in a while."

Putting it lightly, a lot of people just followed orders. Did what was strictly necessary to move forward. Not everyone did it with clean intent. "But, enough of that," he said, waving his hand. It wasn't often Warren got into those kinds of emotions, but the night had been very up and down for him, and he was just glad to be around someone level-headed and simply driven, like he was.

Hearing Raff's thoughts on Cambria reassured him about the man. He knew, roughly, that Raff had multiple siblings he took care of. A lot of commoners had to care for their siblings, so it wasn't uncommon. The Cambrian's were like that in a way. All of them helping to take care of one another. At least until Isolde began to divide them.

Warren didn't react much as Raff spoke, instead he stored the thoughts in his mind and went over them piece by piece. He agreed with everything the Lieutenant was saying. He could only hope that the other soldiers, those at least who had given it any thought, felt the same. "I agree," he admitted when the man was done. He took another drink of the whiskey and looked around the room. "A sudden announcement that shoves her in their faces is not how I wanted to install her. It's too forceful. Too masculine a tactic. It would have been better if we'd had more time, so she could work on ingratiating herself among them after being away for so long."

Sitting his cup down on the desk, he reached up and scratched at the stubble along his jaws and considered their new, fewer, options. "But we have what we've got. I think we should use their terms going forward - refer to her as Chieftess instead of Governess, show her proper respect. I believe she'll be reinstating the role of Witch Doctor, rather than claiming it for herself, so that should endear her to them. Make sure everyone knows that they should be referring to the Cambrian's by their terms. I don't want to give them any reason to dislike us more."

Reaching out, he took the cup again, though he didn't drink yet. It was an idle reach, something to keep his hands busy while he thought out loud. "We shouldn't engage with them unless absolutely necessary, and no extreme shows of force. If the witches can use curses to halt any fighting, long enough for people to calm down, I'd prefer that. We should exhaust all other options before turning to outright violence."

With little else to say, he pulled the cup to his lips and finished off the whiskey inside, pushing the empty cup away from him and holding a hand up to make clear he was done.

Raff was glad that his beard and the downward motion of his head covered what was surely a blush of embarrassment. He'd only blushed one other time in his entire life so the most he could do was attempt to hide it. Terach exhaled quietly and shoved aside the cup to have something to do with his hands for a moment. 

"Thank you sir." he answered quietly in acknowledgement. Occupied territory was the last place to express sentiment or get too deep into anything personal. 

The captain's next words surprised him a little but he neither said nor revealed anything about it. While he personally thought it was overreaching and power-hungry of the king to shove his rule into every kingdom in Terra Nova, it wasn't his place to even hint it aloud--not when Terach was in his Majesty's army. Woodwick had subtly insinuated his own sympathizer position. Warren had overtly paired 'too masculine a tactic' with aggression? From the short time here, he'd been bullied by one Cambrian woman and then a second one had rushed to her side for back up against his passively eating, sitting, merely existing self!

Terach nodded at the Captain's words but kept his thoughts closely to himself. If anything it was the opposite--the women here were highly bellicose at the mere presence of any and all men-strangely excepting only Stormcrest. Being too aggressive here, was definitely a feminine trait in every observable way. The Nevermeran witches were for the most part, simply ignored by the Cambrians. But every male soldier here, including himself, had been super careful to behave extra submissively to the Cambrians so as not to provoke their unwarranted belligerence of rampant misandry. He'd been a door matt while eating and still got picked at for daring to be in Cambria and seen. Although, he did agree that Nevermere should be nowhere near other kingdoms and trying to govern them. Ironically, the Nevermere ambassador walked around just fine with a huge intimidating dire wolf that would make anyone wet themselves-but that behavior wasn't considered aggressive because she was a woman. Like the rest, all he could do was accept the prejudice and wait for the mission to be done. 

"Yes sir. So it's Chieftess Odina then. My soldiers will be apprised quickly. I'm still uncertain how to address the others that approach me, so I say ma'am. Is there any term in particular I should call them?" he asked. Raff hung the Captain's cup on the bucket for washing later and put away the bottle back in the drawer. 

It was certainly a complicated dynamic. One that Warren hadn't quite mastered himself. But shoving Odina in their faces and giving them no other options, or not even the facade of a choice, was typical for Nevermere, where men dominated even in a society where every woman was born with more power than the men could hope to have. That was what Warren had hoped to give them, originally. The illusion of a choice. More subtle tactics were often adapted by women because they have little other choice, at least in their home kingdom. Now it was the soldiers, and their Lieutenant and Captain, that had no other choice.

Trusting that Raff understood, Warren nodded. "I've been referring to them as miss or ma'am as well. If you should run into any women of considerable age, they should be called elders. I wish I knew more, especially about those within their religion, but I haven't had the time to study them yet. Hopefully, if everything goes smoothly during this announcement, I'll be able to speak with Ambassador Carter and she can give me more information on that. It'll make things easier going forward. Isolde may have used their All-Mother to manipulate some of them, or as an excuse to hurt some of them, but many of them seem to be devout outside of that group. Their religion is not the problem."

That reminded him, though. He hadn't told Raff exactly what Isolde had been doing. "Isolde's crimes were actually far worse than I thought. She's been branding the women who have chosen to procreate with Nevermeran's. I'm not sure of the number, but the intention is clear. Those who choose to combine Cambrian and Nevermeran blood will be punished and ostracized. I can only hope the children have not met with the same fate, but if she were allowed to continue, surely they would be ostracized as well."