Pepin stared with distaste at the fog surrounding the ship. The bloody stuff had been omnipresent since they left Calais. The captain, fearing for the safety of his illustrious passenger, had been obliged to travel slowly as a result, and so the voyage had taken far longer than expected. For much of that time, the Emperor had been afflicted with sea sickness, and his mood had been terrible. However, just a moment ago he had seemed to notice a break in the fog and brightened. As time passed, it became apparent that the fog was, at last, breaking. As it cleared, Pepin caught sight of a smudge on the horizon. As they approached, it resolved itself into a massive settlement, with many piers protruding into the sea and many ships coming and going. As they came closer still, Pepin was able to distinguish the original small settlement with its single pier, now swallowed up by the massive armed camp. They approached a pier, and the sailors swung into action, doing the thousand incomprehensible things that sailors do to bring a ship into port. Almost before they had come to a stop, Pepin jumped down on to the dock. There was a small party of military men there to greet him. One of them stepped forward. “Odo,” Pepin said in greeting. Odo bowed, “Your majesty, welcome to Trelleborg.”
“And it looks a delightful place,” Pepin replied breezily, “Where is Alcuin?”
“He is away, inspecting a section of the front. I imagine that you want begin your own inspection?”
“Yes, that might be a good idea,” Pepin said, and he and the rest of generals moved into the town.
Trelleborg had been a sleepy little fishing village before the war. When the Celto-Danish army arrived in Skane, they had needed an port to bring in supplies. Originally, it had been expected that Malmo would serve, but that city's stubborn refusal to fall had necessitated a change in plans. By some arcane logic known only to the army's quartermasters, Trelleborg had been selected as a replacement. In short order, a veritable army of engineers had descended on it and now Trelleborg housed possibly the greatest concentration of military supplies anywhere in the world. Dozens of Allied ships deposited their cargo daily, and the streets were clogged with wagons moving weapons and food. Pepin walked through the frenzied activity with Odo and the rest of the Allied high commanders.
“So as you can see, your majesty,” Odo said, “the supply situation has been stabilized. If necessary, we can sit here for fifty years.”
“I certainly hope it won't come to that, Odo,” said Pepin jocularly, “It is very impressive, seeing these stockpiles. But these vast quantities of supplies beg the question,” Pepin's voice hardened and Odo braced himself, “if we have more men and more supplies than the enemy, why are we still sitting here at the tip of Svearland?” The commanders shifted in discomfort. “Well,” Pepin barked, “can't one of you answer?”
Odo spoke, “Simply put, your majesty, Malmo. The fortifications are huge. We are grinding them down and doing the best we can, but no army could take that city quickly.”
“Well then, perhaps we need a new strategy, eh? That is why I am here, after all, to inspect the situation, see what changes need to be made.” Pepin paused for a moment, “On that note, I think I want to see the siege.”
“Excuse me, your majesty?”
“I want to see the siege. See exactly what kind of defenses we are up against.”
Some of the generals groaned softly. They spent enough of their time staring at those walls, and didn't relish the prospect of doing any more than absolutely necessary. But the Emperor wanted to see the front, so Odo gave a few quick orders and away they went, heavily guarded.
A short time later, the group arrived at the front lines of the army. Pepin sharply drew in his breath when he saw the walls of Malmo. Huge earthen constructions, stretching from the edge of the sea for as far as the eye could see. If he strained himself, Pepin could just make out the tiny figures of Svear soldiers, on top of the wall, dwarfed by the sheer size of the fortifications. As impressive as the fortifications were, at their base Pepin saw rubble, evidence that the siege had not been entirely without effect. As he looked out to sea, he saw white sails, the allied fleet maintaining the blockade.
“I see what you mean,” Pepin said, “the reports don't really do it justice.” He pointed to the ships, “Ours?”
“Danish, this week.” Odo replied, “It is big, isn't it? Our siege weapons,” he gestured towards a group of spidery contraptions a few hundred yards away, “barely touch it, though we are making some progress, as you see. The real problem is maintaining a secure siege.”
“Yes, a change in strategy is definitely required. How are the men holding up in the face of that?” Pepin said, waving a hand in the general direction of Malmo.
“Morale is generally high, mostly because of the good rations, but there are some traces of defeatism starting to creep in. The other commanders and I are taking steps to eradicate it before it becomes a problem.”
“Good, good. What...” Pepin stopped and turned around. “Never mind, I'll ask them myself,” he said, and bolted off. The generals were stunned for a moment, but then trotted off after him. Pepin pulled to a halt in a camp near the siege weapons and accosted a soldier passing by. “Hello,” he said cheerfully, “What's your name, my good man?” The soldier was momentarily stunned by Pepin's sudden arrival. He looked around wildly and saw the generals running up. He didn't recognize Pepin, but he did recognize Odo et al. and was distinctly alarmed by so many higher ups surrounding him. He turned in desperation to Odo and opened his mouth to ask what he had done wrong. Before he could say anything, Odo panted, “This is the Emperor.” The soldier turned back to Pepin, and if he had been alarmed before now he was terrified. “Come now,” Pepin said good-naturedly, “what is your name?”
“Arno, sir,” the soldier said in a barely audible voice.
“And where is your home, Arno?”
“Paris”
“Paris!” Pepin exclaimed, “Wonderful to meet a fellow Parisian out here. Do you have any children Arno?” Arno replied that he had a ten year old son. “Really!” Pepin said enthusiastically, “My son is nine.” Pepin continued, asked Arno about his son, how he liked army life, what he did at home. As Pepin talked, Arno began to relax until he was talking freely. After nearly half an hour Pepin politely moved on, leaving a charmed Arno. Pepin then moved through the camp, accosting every soldier he saw. The generals waited with increasing impatience as Pepin displayed a seemingly limitless interest in the minute details of the soldiers' lives. Finally, after more than three hours spent in the camp, Pepin departed, leaving awed soldiers behind. As they left, Odo walked alongside the Emperor and asked “What was the point of all that, sir?”
Pepin smiled, “I think it is a good thing to talk to the common soldiers from time to time, don't you Odo? You sometimes learn things that the generals don't know. Besides, it does the men good to know that their Emperor takes an interest in them.”
“As you say,” replied Odo impassively.
Pepin continued on his inspection of the lines. It was nightfall by the time the Emperor and his entourage returned to Trelleborg. The commanders were generally exhausted and wanted nothing more than to find a bed. The Emperor, on the other hand, was positively brimming with energy. As he talked of the things that he wanted to do, the generals realized with horror that he did not intend to sleep anytime soon, and that he expected them to stay awake as well. They were rescued from that fate, however, by the appearance of a man as they entered the camp. Upon sighting this man, Pepin called out a greeting, “Alcuin! I'm glad you are back today. We have a great deal to discuss.” He then turned to the generals and dismissed them, whereupon they gladly departed. He then jogged up to Alcuin. “Hello. How do you deal with those people day in and day out?”
“It can be trying at times, your majesty” Alcuin said wryly. In many ways, Alcuin was a strange man to lead the Celtic armies. For one thing, he was English. He had been born in York and only emigrated to the Empire in his early twenties. For another, he was not a noble. By sheer ability he had worked his way to the heights. And perhaps strangest of all, he was a priest by training. He had been educated in the cathedral school at York, where he excelled at his studies and been generally agreed to be on the path to an early bishopric. So it had come as a surprise when he had left the church to be soldier. His friends had generally been of the opinion that Alcuin had gone mad. Few people held that opinion any more.
Pepin and Alcuin moved into Alcuin's quarters. Pepin sat down and said “Give me a straight answer, Alcuin. How exactly are things going?”
Alcuin sighed, “Not as well as I would like. What have Odo and company been telling you?”
“Oh! They are fairly optimistic. The men tell a slightly different story. But you know what they think. I want to hear what you think.”
Alcuin sighed again “We are winning, but slowly. Give it another year, and we will have Malmo. But...” He trailed off.
“But what?” Pepin inquired.
“But it's all too predictable!” Alcuin cried, “We sit here grinding down the walls and when they are gone we will move north and grind down the fortifications there and so on all the way to Stockholm. All of our men know it, so you can bet that the Svear know exactly what we will do and will be waiting for us.”
“What do you propose we do?”
Alcuin paused for a moment and then said carefully, “Well, I have an idea.”
Pepin sat up straighter. Alcuin's ideas were often something special. “A good one?” he asked.
“I think so, but slightly risky.”
“Well what are you waiting for? Let's hear it!” Pepin exclaimed impatiently.
Alcuin explained his idea. The explanation took some time, and when it was finished Pepin was impressed. “That is one of your better ones,” he said, “but what about...” and proceeded to ask a slew of questions. They stayed awake for the rest of the night, discussing Alcuin's plan.
***********
OOC: It appears that Svearland's -1 Confidence was accidentally applied to Denmark.