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So the Imperial Government could be lying, the orcs could be lying and actually think they were saying the truth, ans the Legions desperately wanted that bloody war because there was nothing for them to gain while there was peace in Sherian. That was rather depressing – and frustrating on top of it. He actually considered locking the Regent, the Minister of War and the City Master of Ire up somewhere and not let them out before they had come to some kind of agreement, but after some thought he decided that it would be far more likely that there were three corpses at the end of the brightening rather than a peace agreement.
“And if we win the war and the orcs are confined to Ire, won’t that make them hate us even more? What would keep them from making a plan to kill as many of us as possible? If the orcs win, those that mourn the loss of their loved ones now will be dead as well. If nobody wins, we’ll have exactly the same situation as we have now. I have to admit none of those three possibilities make me particularly enthusiastic …”
“I want you to answer to me first and foremost, Mister Blackstream. I want you to come to me first, not to my brother, not to the Regent or the Minister of War.”
“As I said before, I need something to convince the Imperial Government not to try and attack the orcs, but whatever I have done so far has fallen upon deaf ears. They say the orcs are lying, that Narim was never rightfully theirs, that the orcs break their promises, that we must not forget all those that have died at their hands. Sometimes I think they are right, and I’m a hopeless idealist …”
“If I, if we do not find something that would convince them not to attack there will be war. The Senate has to ratify any treaty I make with Ire. If you know something that hasn’t already been tried, please tell me now. Otherwise I’ll need the Wilderness Watch more than ever. I’ll need your spies in the coming war, and I’ll need you to work together with the new provincial army that is going to be raised …”
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