Looking at the both of them, I said "I know that this is the losing side. But that is exactly why we should take it." Father Conrad looked at me as if I were crazy. Sir Gifford looked at me with the skeptical eyes of a tactician. "Go on and explain." he said, devoid of any emotion. I ran my finger on the map from the place where the village was to the border of Igniso Kingdom. "This is all conquered land. As were were promised by Archbishop Holger, to the paladins before the journey, we will be given land and status among the nobility. We actually need to hold land for the Church to assess and parcel out. If we "liberated" this swath of land from Igniso and saved all of the green Likins on the way from certain subjugation and death, we could convert them as well." Father Conrad looked over to the green village chief and his sons. This time it was with curiosity. "Also using the village as our base will give us area and land to start building in relative peace while we get our bearings on this land." I concluded. It was up to them. "What you're are proposing is a holy war. Is it truly wise so soon after arriving?" the priest asked.
Sir Gifford leaned back in his chair. "There is some truth in what you say. There certainly will be no land or treasure to reward us with if we do not first seize and claim it. I knew this from the beginning. Times of war certainly do lead to factions rising and falling everywhere. It would not be too hard for a foreign force to exploit the chaos of this campaign and take settlements of our own from Igniso. However, this is not just a war for land. Our only casus belli is the right of conquest. No one will take a claim of "liberation" that does not result in reinstituting the old lords to power seriously." I deflated a bit. The plan was a bust. He just smirked however. "A holy war for the western half of Verdantis? That at least is a plausible casus belli. It does mean only those that convert to our faith will be our allies." Turning to the priest, he asked "Do we have any good preachers that can spread our word around among us?" Father Conrad huffed and said "Of course there is. There are a dozen among the pilgrims. All fresh from the best seminary, so they will be a bit green when it comes to a wartime sermon."
Under most circumstances, this was near insurmountable odds. We had several Players and a pair of Devils on our side. I was sure that we could manage if we played it smart. The chief cleared his throat and we all turned to look at him. "My village is open to you and you are welcome to build more if you need more. I can't pay for anything, so don't ask." We just nodded. He then glanced at his sons before he continued. "On the subject of an alliance with us, I'll need something to seal the deal. A marriage with one of my sons. If you are serious about this, you're going to need a face to help you get others on your side. Why not one of my sons?" he pitched. His sons were more surprised than we were. The chief silenced them both with a glare. Father Conrad, Sir Gifford and I looked at each other. "I already am married." I said before Gifford could say anything. The chief said "Say no more. Since we are Bonded with the whole village, we can take aspects of them for our own. If a female is what is needed, they can handle that." "As a man of the cloth, I can't get married!" Father Conrad said.
Very quickly, the attention of the tent focused in on Sir Gifford. "Unfortunately, I have been betrothed to a noblewoman back home. So I must decline this offer." he said. I did not know that. Since none of us were willing to bit the bullet, I had an idea. I looked over at my party. "As you know, I am the commander of the cavalry. I can promise you a good match from my men." I looked at my party and they instantly got what I was laying down. Almost instantly, they all pointed to Doran. He just blinked as he was stunned by the betrayal. "Me, commander?" he asked. Doran was a quiet, rather sullen looking young man. His hair was black and he had dark purple eyes. "Only if you would accept the high honor, Sir Doran." He looked at the sons. Both of them had curly hair. "Which one am I taking as my... spouse?" he asked. "Whichever one you choose. I suppose that you should spend time with them both to find which one best suits you." I said. The older of the pair stomped his foot. "There is no way we will be compatible. I doubt we can even Bond!" Doran stepped up and said "You're welcome to try it."
