Curse the Knights of the Abyss! Curse them to... well, the Abyss.

Lartaynior was in his command tent in the middle of his army's encampment outside the western gates of Almaria. He had bypassed Dharmon and Blosk and was now trying to negotiate with Stannwyk, the mayor of Almaria. After abandoning the two western cities, he had received an urgent message from Renlo, the mayor of Blosk asking for his help. The Knights of the Abyss were making him quite nervous. He dug his own hole. Let's see him get out of it. At least Roband hasn't come crying to me. Of course Dharmon is one of the most defensible cities in all of Ermarian, above or below.

He had made a tactical decision to move on to Almaria in the hope of garnering more support before attempting to take on these ruffians from the Abyss. I'm not afraid of these uncivilized wretches, but I'll lose a sizeable amount of men trying to dispatch them. His 34,000 men were a sizable force, but compared to the almost inexaustable supply of men that the Knights of the Abyss could field. For every man we kill, two more brigands will take their place. These dregs of society have ruined all my well-laid plans.

A voice came from outside the tent. "Sire? Mayor Stannwick is here to speak with you."

"Thank you, Meryn, send him in."

The tent flap was pulled back, a tall, thin man in his 50's with gray hair and a very solemn face stepped in and immediately got down on one knee. "Your grace, I pledge my fealty to you as the rightful king of Avernum. I realize that I gain nothing by resisting you. Almaria, the surrounds, and the garrison 1,500-strong is yours."

"I don't suppose this change of heart would have anything to do with the army I have outside you gates, would it?"

"Are you questioning my valor, sir?" said Stannwick in a prickly tone. He was a very serious man of the sort that considered honor to be the most important thing.

"Certainly not. A jest, in bad taste perhaps."

"This is no laughing matter, sire."

"Of course not, I apologize."

"In that case, the matter is forgotten."

This man has one huge mushroom up his arse. I'll have to be carefull what I say about him. All the same, I finally have one of the great cities under my rule, and another 1,500 fighting men.Most importantly, he had access to the only bridge across the river running through Great Cave. Now he could move eastward and hopefully gather more support.