Tyranny of Steel

Nearly a week had passed from the fateful battle in which the Austrian Army under the command of Duke Wilmar was horrendously defeated by the Bavarians. Count Otto had maintained his army's march back to Graz, where he intended to defend his home and family until death. As for the result of the battle, Count Otto had dispatched messengers and carrier pigeons to all corners of Austria, informing the realm of their Liege's death and the results of the catastrophic battle.

When Berengar finally received the news, he was sitting on his seat of power, with Linde on his lap, where he was in the process of teasing her. He indeed had no shame as he continued to grope her exquisitely proportioned figure through her velvet dress, which caused her to flush with arousal. Truthfully this entire public display of intimacy was her idea, and Berengar was her Lord, and Master would not decline an opportunity to show off his dominance; as such, The young Count entertained himself with the voluptuous body of his lover. That is until a messenger came rushing into the Great Hall and witnessed the erotic scene.

Upon witnessing the intruder, Linde quickly became overwhelmed with embarrassment and hid her charming face with her hands. Nevertheless, Berengar continued to play with her ample bosom despite the new arrival. While behaving so shamelessly in public, Berengar shouted at the messenger who had just arrived.

"Do you have something important to tell me? If not, get out! as you can see, I am currently preoccupied."

Not knowing how to react to the bold scene in front of him, the messenger stammered as he tried to discuss the letter which had arrived, containing the seal of House von Graz.

"Y.. your excellency, Count Otto von Graz sends an urgent message, I am here to deliver it!"

Berengar's hand, which was latched to one of Linde's large breasts, immediately stopped what it was doing and released its grip. Shortly thereafter, a sigh escaped from his lips as he demanded the messenger pass the letter to him.

"Hand it over!"

The messenger quickly bowed before walking up to Berengar and Linde, where he handed it to the young Count whose arm was still wrapped firmly around his lover's waist, preventing her from fleeing the scene. After the man handed Berengar the letter, he quickly absconded from the spot; after all, watching Berengar openly play with Linde on his seat of power was not something to which one would normally stick around to see.

It was only after the man had left that Linde released her hands from blocking her gorgeous face, where she began to pout. She truly only had herself to blame, as she was the one who suggested such an open display of intimacy. Nevertheless, she still felt Berengar had gone too far by not immediately stopping his actions with the arrival of a third party.

Ignoring Linde's cute reactions, Berengar opened up the letter and read its contents, which caused his eyes to spread open with shock before settling into a grave expression. Seeing his reaction, Linde could not help but pry into his business; after all, she was his spymaster, and as such, she quickly voiced her concerns.

"I know that look... Something serious has happened, has it not?"

Berengar nodded his head before announcing the results of the Battle outside Passau.

"The Duke is dead, his army was crushed in Passau, only Count Otto and his forces have returned from the battlefield. The Lords of Austria are either dead or captured. I'm sorry, love, but I have more important things to attend to at the moment; I will have to play with you again some other time..."

Linde once more began to pout as Berengar forced her up from his lap and began to head to his study. They had only just begun their fun, and yet already he was leaving. She began to believe that such news always presented itself at the worst timing. She sighed to herself as she watched Berengar leave the scene. However, it could not be helped; he had to make preparations for the likelihood of a Bavarian invasion into Tyrol; as such, she decided she would spend her free time feeding her child.

Berengar, on the other hand, quickly got to work; though star forts had begun construction across Tyrol, he had always made a priority on the construction of forts in the border regions and within Kufstein. As such, the borders were adequately defended, at least in terms of fortifications. However, he now needed to transfer more forces to their garrisons after all the Bavarians were likely to invade through Tyrol with at least one army.

By now, Eckhard had already returned to Berengar's court, as his Field Marshal, Berengar liked to have him nearby to advise on strategies and tactics. As such, Berengar quickly called for Eckhard to meet him in his study, where the man arrived in a timely manner. Initially, Eckhard thought Berengar wanted to have a mid-day drink; after all, the two men had become close friends throughout the vast amount of time they spent together; however, after noticing the grave expression on Berengar's face, Eckhard's professionalism immediately took over.

"Your excellency, what has happened?"

Berengar immediately relayed the news he had become privy to.

"The Duke is dead, and the Austrian host was shattered, only a few thousand troops made it out of the battle, and they returned to Graz with Count Otto. Vienna is left poorly defended after Lothar's rebellion, and it will not stand for long if the Bavarians decide to invade!"

Hearing such disastrous news, Eckhard frowned; by now, he knew where Berengar was headed with this train of thought; as such, he asked Berengar the question on his mind.

"Yet you do not plan to provide relief to the new Duke?"

Berengar grinned as he heard Eckhard's response; the man knew him too well.

"Of course not, though the Bavarians may send an army into Vienna, they will undoubtedly also send one into our lands as well; after all, Tyrol exists along the southern border of Bavaria, and I doubt they plan to leave us out of their conquests. We must properly defend ourselves!"

Eckhard nodded; the situation of the Duchy of Austria did not bode too well. However, as the Count of Tyrol, Berengar's first and foremost responsibility was to protect his own lands, which was the wisest course of action in such uncertain times. However, an idea popped into Eckhard's head as he thought about what would happen to Austria.

"What if the armies march on Steiermark? Will you leave your little fiancee to her fate?"

Berengar scoffed at Eckhard's suggestion and immediately retorted

"If those Bavarian bastards dare to think about laying a hand on Adela, I will bring the might of steel and shot upon their feudal armies! I will never allow harm to come to a single strand upon either of my women's heads!"

Eckhard stared at the conviction in Berengar's eyes and knew the young Count was serious. Despite Steiermark being a rather distant County of Austria, at least relative to Tyrol. The grizzled veteran did not doubt for a second that Berengar would break any siege that took place in Graz and forcefully take his fiancee with him back to Kufstein, where she would be safe. With that in mind, the man had decided on the best course of actions in which Berengar's army would take and pointed to the map of Tyrol.

"We will split the field army into two forces; as you know, we have mostly replenished our losses from the battle with the Teutonic Order, and as such, our numbers are back to their peak. 7,500 men will march up to Reutte with Arnolf as their commander, where they will be stationed as a rapid-response force to any invasion through our Northwest Borders. As for the other 7,500 men they will be stationed in Kitzbühel, where I will lead them. If the Bavarians even dare to attack our North-Eastern border, I will crush them! As for any attacks on our allies in Steiermark, we will be able to more swiftly get to their aid by having our troops stationed in Kitzbühel."

It was a good plan, and Berengar immediately agreed with it. As such, he complimented Eckhard before ordering him to put it into action as soon as possible.

"Excellent work Marshal Eckhard! With this strategy, we should be able to defend our borders from any incursion adequately! Relay this information to the army and have it enacted as quickly as you can!"

Eckhard nodded with a smile on his face before saluting Berengar

"Of course, your excellency! I will dispatch the army at once!"

Afterward, the man exited from Berengar's office and began to enact the plans promptly. Berengar's defenses were rather solid, and though most of the star forts were still under construction and would be for years to come, the border defenses were at least partially completed. As such, he did not fear the Bavarians seizing his land.