And he's probably getting more and more nervous about the developing situation. Both inside and outside his country.
Omake: Between the Talon and Beak
To say that Duke Talonuelli had been having a bad few years was an understatement. On the upside Discord (may his name be cursed for all time) was somehow defeated. This meant that no-one had to worry anymore about the laws of reality being bent, broken and outright mangled daily for the monster's amusement. On the downside with the removal of said monster, Wingbardy's.....neighbors were beginning to flex their wings once again. He had already gotten word of Aquileia raising a naval force and Griffonia rapidly mobilizing the same in response. If things descended into outright war, his people would be ground between the two as they fought back and forth over the resulting ruins of Wingbardy.
Not to mention that by the kingdoms securing their lands, all the various monsters and raiders turned to a softer target; Wingbardy. Garibaldi and all his subjects knew that Wingbardy's only reason for existence was as a mere buffer state between the two powers; but it didn't mean that the fact didn't rankle in their crops. And because of said buffer state condition, he simply didn't have the standing forces to effectively defend his people as the sacked and burning villages across his land showed. Worse yet, all the good mercenaries had long term contracts with the Feathersians meaning he couldn't hire any talons that were worth the gold.
And so here he was, caught in the claws of an impossible choice: consolidate his forces to keep the most vital settlements and farms intact or spread their wings thin trying to stamp out all the fires. The former would be a betrayal of his people while the latter would likely lead to the destruction or maiming of the entire army. Asking the either of the two larger nations for help was right out of course because whichever said 'yes' would probably want to take as many beak-fulls of territory as possible without setting off their rival.
Maybe see if the Feathersians would be willing to lend some of their mercenary groups? Of course they would undoubtedly know the barrel he was over and squeeze every coin they could out of the deal, probably in the flavor of long-term 'loans'. Would probably near-bankrupt the kingdom but better that then being wiped out.
"M'lord?" A voice pried him from his ruminations. It seemed that lady Bronzebeak was trying to get his attention, a letter in her claw and a somewhat conflicted look on her face.
"More bad news I take it?" Not exactly the proper tone for a ruling duke but right now he didn't care for formality. Besides, Bronzebeak had been working for him for almost ten years now and most of the time they left formality aside when not in court.
"Potentially not sir. The missive is from Griffonia and if we play our cards correctly, not only should at least some of our raider problems get solved, Aquileia won't lose their minds over it."
"Sounds too good to be true, what's the catch?
"Well sir...."
Word count: 503
AN: As the action was labeled 'An Offer They Can't Refuse' and the rumor section, Windbardy is in a very bad spot right now. And they n doubt know they are the unclaimed gem sitting between two diamond dogs. Ergo they are going to be very careful about any deals they make with us/Aquileia.
...No! Wait! That's an Alicorn!
