Hi Guys! I hope you enjoyed Chapter 9. As this is my 10th Chapter, I'll be doing a bit of a reflection on the past few weeks writing this story.
Updating this story will become more difficult for me as we move into the New Year. It'll become an uphill battle, but I don't intend to give up. As Christmas draws nearer, I might write a Christmas special, but I'm honestly not really sure.
There are many times when I feel like stopping, but I've strived on. Because deep down, I actually enjoy writing this story. No matter how dark my life may be over these past weeks, I have resorted to using writing to alleviate the suffering I have faced.
To be completely frank with you guys, the amount of support through reviews I have gotten is not what I imagined it should be. But there are good people out in this world whose support has kept me going. People like Gregortheunderlander1918, 4sdvzrh, XxxNennaxXRocks, DrGamePixel and Witwickety. Ideally I would like more people to review my story, but hey, I'm just glad and grateful that you guys have helped to review my work.
My story has taken me by surprise. I had an idea where my story was going at first, but it has now veered totally off course. So it will be a bumpy ride from here on, but we'll see how things go. I'm positive it will turn out well.
As per usual, although I sound like a pushy, broken recorder, I urge those who have the time to review my story. A journey of a thousand chapters begins with one review(not that I would really write a thousand chapters)
Hope you enjoy Chapter 10!
Chapter 10: The Siege of Regalia
Ripred cursed away furiously, and climbed on top of Hecate. "Overlander, follow me! Hecate, bring us to the damn wall! Mareth, lead every guard possible to the walls. Summon every creature that can fight to defend the city!" Ripred roared.
Calvin leapt onto Hecate, and she shot through the air faster than Calvin had ever experienced. All over the city was uncontrolled panic and pandemonium. It was as if hell was unleashed over the citizens. Many were fleeing to the palace, grabbing their children and valuables. Calvin noticed many soldiers, whether human, or otherwise, riding on bats headed towards the defence wall. "How the hell did the schemers get here so fast?" Ripred muttered.
Rats and mice quickly scuttled up the steps towards the wall. Even cockroaches and spiders had joined the growing army standing in defence of the city. Within a minute, Hecate landed at the wall, and so did a flurry of bats. Ripred didn't waste any time. He walked up to the nearest guard at the wall and snapped at him, "Give me an update!"
"The schemers just appeared about a few hundred metres from our wall a few minutes ago, Lord Ripred. They seem to be carrying hostages, and have placed a number of remains at our front gate," the guard replied emotionlessly.
Ripred looked over the wall and jerked backwards in surprise. "Oh no," he breathed.
The entire plain in front of Regalia was littered with corpses. Mutilated rat and mouse bodies were clumped to one side. On the other side lay the largest mass of bodies Calvin had ever seen in his life. It was a mountain of antennae, mandibles, and legs. Calvin's stomach flipped at the sight of it. "They extinguished the cutters," said Ripred bleakly, "they killed all of them. Warn the King of this sight immediately."
Suddenly, a hammering noise came from the double doors. "It's a gnawer, Lord Ripred!" a guard called out, "he's calling for us to let him in!"
Ripred analysed the distance between the foxes and Regalia, before replying, "Let him in."
The double doors were heaved open, and a bedraggled rat stumbled into the city. His fur was matted with blood, and his incisors were broken. He was dragging one of his hind legs, which was twisted in an awkward angle, and he had lost one eye. However, Ripred seemed to recognise the rat immediately. He scampered over to the rat, who collapsed onto the ground. Calvin followed quickly to find out what was happening.
"Clawsin, what happened?" Ripred asked, as he furiously gestured for medical staff to come forward.
"Lord Ripred... the schemers… they killed all the cutters… the cutters are now ext… extinct… they took us bu sur… sur… surprise… they didn't kill… kill all of us… many hostages… many dead… my mate… my pups…" Clawsin said, gasping for breath.
"How many of them, Clawsin? How many schemers are there?" Ripred pressed.
"Easily over ten thousand… twice the size of the army we were led to believe they had… they will kill hostages everyday if we don't surrender… they will… kill us all… the race of gnawers will be gone… Lord Ripred," he wheezed out, before sinking into unconsciousness.
As medical staff carried Clawsin away, Ripred was quiet for a while. Finally he turned tail and headed back towards the battlements, where Conrad and Mareth were waiting. "The most gruesome sight in my tenure as king," said Conrad simply, as Calvin and Ripred approached them.
"Not that I was particularly fond of the cutters, but… that is just brutal. Absolutely brutal," Ripred said, eyeing the plains once more.
Mareth nodded in agreement, but didn't add anything further to the conversation. They all stared at the scene quietly, before Conrad spoke up, "What are we going to do?"
"What's your plan?" Ripred asked Conrad.
Conrad shook his head, saying, "I have none as of now, general. But perhaps they do," he said pointing at the flag of truce the schemers were holding up.
Ripred stared at it for a while, before grunting, "Mareth, you flank me and bring your two best guards along. Overlander, follow me as well."
Calvin was going to ask why, but decided against it. The last thing he wanted to do was to agitate an already agitated Ripred. Mareth quickly gathered two guards, and the five of them headed towards the middle of the plain, where Brutus was waiting with another four foxes of his own. Brutus gazed at them with amusement written all over his face. However, when he saw Calvin, he shot him an icy smile instead.
"Where's your cowardly King Flavius? Tell him that if he has any guts, he should come out now and duel me to the death. Rager on rager," Ripred spat at Brutus.
Brutus sighed, and with a tinge of sarcasm, said, "Oh dear. And here I was expecting to exchange pleasantries."
"There are no pleasantries when you and your lily-livered King hold claws over the gnawers' throats," Ripred replied frostily.
"Oh, you have no need to be so dramatic, Lord Ripred. We only have a couple of thousand gnawers, and not the whole population. Throw in another couple of thousand crawlers and nibblers combined. We only kill about ten hostages a day, meaning that at the end of about a year then we would have run out of our supply. And I highly doubt your kingdom can resist our siege for a year," responded Brutus.
"Where is Flavius? I want to meet the king of the pathetic, weak-minded schemers," snarled Ripred.
"Do you think we are so weak? You arrogant fool, we have decimated the gnawer, nibbler and crawler populations outside of Regalia. We have single-handedly exterminated the cutter species. We threaten the very existence of the greatest city in the Underland. We have a weapon of mass destruction almost fully prepared to attack you. And you think us weak? What do YOU think Overlander?" he said, grinning at Calvin.
"I think I want to slice your throat, and carve your heart out with my blade," replied Calvin calmly.
"Feisty, like his father. I wonder where his father is. Oh yes, I remember, your father is dead. Killed for trying to save a city that is about to be destroyed right now. Your father died a pathetic death for a pathetic city," Brutus mocked Calvin.
Calvin felt himself simmering with anger. He reached for the hilt of his blade, but a firm hand gripped his arm. "Don't give in to provocation, Overlander," Mareth told Calvin. Eventually, Calvin slowly but surely let go of his sword.
"Easily baited I see," Brutus observed. He then stretched nonchalantly and returned his attention back to Ripred.
"Here's the deal, Lord Ripred," Brutus began, "You can choose to cower behind your battlements for a week, while we starve your population and attack your sentries once in a while during this period of time. By the end of the week, we have our weapon fully automated and we obliterate your city to rubble and dust. The other alternative is that you can surrender your city to us now, while we proceed to capture your citizens but keep them alive. This ensures the natural progression of this situation with minimal casualties. Our plan continues smoothly without a hitch, your citizens don't die. Which alternative sounds more enticing to you?"
Ripred bared his teeth into a vicious snarl. "The alternative where I get to tear your throat-"
But Mareth interrupted Ripred before he could speak any further. "We cannot make this decision here and now. It is the king and the council that makes this decision. Give us two days to discuss and deliberate, and at the end of the two days we promise we will return with our answer."
Brutus seemed to consider the request. Meanwhile, Calvin saw Ripred shoot a slight glare at Mareth, but Mareth seemed to have nerves of steel, as he totally ignored Ripred. Finally, Brutus answered, "Alright. You have two days. But we know of your quest. If your quest members attempt to leave during these days, we will attack immediately. And we will spare you from any form of mercy. Remember, you have two days." With that final warning, Brutus stalked off with the other foxes.
Mareth and Ripred both turned around and walked back to the city, a puzzled expression on their faces. "How does he know of the quest?" asked Ripred, who seemed absolutely shell-shocked.
"I have no clue," replied Mareth, "but we need to call an emergency meeting as soon as possible."
"Knowing the queen and the Council, they have already arranged a meeting to name the members of the quest. I presume they plan to take our best fighters, and the Overlander," Ripred snorted, casting a sidelong glance at Calvin.
"There is also the issue of the schemers knowing of our quest," Mareth reminded Ripred.
A sudden realisation seemed to dawn on the rat. "We have a spy within our ranks," said Ripred quietly.
Mareth seemed taken aback, but then replied weakly, "Murellus. I thought we could trust him."
"We need to kill him immediately," Ripred said simply.
They were quickly granted entry into the city and were about to board their respective fliers to head back to the palace when a guard yelled out, "General Mareth! Lord Ripred! You will want to see this!"
Ripred, Calvin and Mareth quickly made their way to the battlements, where they saw the foxes hauling half a dozen rats forward. They placed the rats next to the corpses of their friends. Ripred inhaled sharply at the sight. "They're going to be executed in front of us," he whispered.
Brutus rested his icy gaze on Ripred and smiled. He then slit the throat of the rat he was holding on to. The rat began to gurgle and choke on his own blood. The process was taking rather long, and Calvin could hear the tension on the wall beginning to heighten. Finally, the rat was killed and his body was tossed amongst his brethren.
Brutus waved his paw in the air and the other foxes ruthlessly tore the throats of the rat hostages out using their teeth. Calvin noticed some of the rats on the wall stiffening, and he even heard a rat on the wall howling out, "Deadeye! My son!" The heart-wrenching sob of that rat on the wall strung a myriad of feelings in Calvin's heart. Pity for the rat, hate for the foxes, and a sheer will to kill Brutus.
"I will kill them all," Ripred said darkly, "I will leave their corpses rotting out for the whole of the Underland to see."
"I'm sorry for the loss of your people, Ripred," Mareth said consolingly, "but we have to go now."
Ripred quickly turned to leave, but not before barking an order out, "If any schemer comes within shooting range of our walls, slay them immediately." With that, he climbed onto Hecate, and Calvin clambered up as well. Hecate began the quiet flight towards the palace.
When they landed, Ripred bounded straight for the Council room, and Calvin had to sprint to keep up with him. Ripred burst through the door, just to find Murellus standing on the centre stage, talking to the council. Without second thought, Ripred slammed his full weight into Murellus and pinned him against the wall. "Any last words, you ugly, low-life backstabber?" Ripred hissed in fury at Murellus, as he wrapped his claws around the fox's neck, strangling him.
"L-Lor-Lord… Rip-Ripred… what… have I done?" Murellus choked out as he suffocated. By now, all those assembled had exploded in a mix of confusion and shock welded together.
"Ripred, what in Sandwich are you doing? Let go of the schemer!" one council member called out. However, Ripred only tightened his grip on Murellus' neck. Murellus' body was beginning to go slack.
"Ripred, what is this madness! Let go of Murellus! We need him!" roared Conrad. Ripred paid no heed to his words and continued to strangle Murellus. Murellus looked like he was going to pass out any second.
"Guards, bring Lord Ripred down!" yelled Conrad, but Mareth raised his hand. "Stand down," he told the guards firmly. In the end, the guards were left confused and a half-hearted attempt to attack Ripred was defeated when the rat swept the guard aside with his tail.
Conrad and Mareth then began to argue with each other, and Vikus then jumped into the argument, reprimanding them both, as angry voices began to dominate the noise in the room. Ripred locked eyes with Murellus, who was now thrashing furiously, and Calvin saw him whisper to the schemer, "Die, wretch."
In the midst of all this chaos, one woman stood up and said, "Ripred, let him go."
Ripred's grip on the schemer slackened, and Murellus dropped to the ground with a yelp of pain, before the schemer passed out. The whole council then turned to face Luxa, who had ordered Ripred to stand down. "Gnawers are dying out there, Luxa," Ripred said, shaking with fury, "gnawers I promised to protect. Gnawers that are being brutally slaughtered because this schemer has been feeding us wrong information about the schemer armies and has been feeding them our plans. They know of our quest Luxa, and if it goes ahead, then they will extinguish the race of gnawers. You saw what they did to the cutters. I knew I was wrong to trust this miserable piece of trash. But I'm going to right my wrong," he said, eyes ablaze with sheer hate and anger. He turned back onto the unconscious Murellus, and reared back to sink his fangs into the fox.
"Ripred," Luxa said sharply, "leave the schemer alone. If he has done wrong, he will go through a trial, as is our customs."
Ripred spun around to face Luxa. "You do not command me, O Mighty and Gracious Queen Luxa. Not when I have gnawer parents losing their pups, not when gnawers are losing their mates, not when gnawers are losing their brothers and sisters and friends, and most certainly not when this wretch behind me has caused it."
Luxa's expression softened slightly in pity, but then hardened again. "The schemer is innocent, Lord Ripred. We have had him under secure watch throughout his stay in Regalia. There communicated with the other schemers. You have no evidence, and are merely attacking him out of anger and fear for your people's safety. For that I pardon your actions," Luxa stated firmly.
"Are you blind, Luxa? They know of the quest. They KNOW of it. They attacked with an army twice the size of one we believed they had. They know we haven't expected an attack, and have ravaged countless populations across the Underland. Who knows, they may have even taken the Fount. Susannah and York are staying there. Your uncles and aunts. Think of them! Their lives are in jeopardy if we trust this bloody schemer," Ripred snarled, as Murellus began to stir behind him.
Luxa was quiet for a while. Finally, she said, "I am not convinced he is a traitor. Remember Ripred, you were in the same position as Murellus once. Helping your sworn enemies," Luxa reminded Ripred.
Ripred gnashed his teeth furiously. "Of course you wouldn't believe me. And what can I say? You are as stubborn as a mule, Vikus and Conrad are weak at heart, and the council is full of rotten old nutheads,. Try fighting a war without me, Queen Luxa," he spat bitterly, and he stormed out of the council room.
"That went well," Murellus growled in that croaky voice of his, as he rubbed his throat.
"Silence, schemer. We are going to announce the members of the quest," said Luxa sternly. Murellus duly closed his mouth.
"First and foremost, we have established that we need an Overlander on this trip. As the only healthy Overlander left in the city, Calvin Oberton will go," Luxa announced. Calvin nodded in response.
"Next, we have chosen a number of the best warriors in Regalia and a number of delegates to go. The humans are Erik Albertson, Arthur McDouglas, Hadrian Kelt, Edward Blane, Alfred Daggard and Donegan Kallahan."
"The gnawers are Lapblood, Flickmeat, Flyfur, Sixclaw and Gnasher."
"The fliers are Queen Nike, Hecate, Demeter, Icarus, Perseus, Ariadne, Oedipus and Agamemnon."
"The nibblers are Cypher, Gradient, Apex and Vector."
"Temp will follow as a representative of the cockroaches, and Murellus will act as the guide for the quest."
Species by species Luxa announced the best fighters who would be going on the perilous mission to kill Flavius and destroy the missiles. Finally she announced, "The leader for this mission will be Lapblood, who is the most senior member of the mission. This position was originally intended for Ripred, but he will not be joining the quest."
Calvin looked up in surprise. "Are you deliberately banning Ripred from participating on this mission with us?"
Luxa regarded Calvin coldly. "Ripred must learn that his insolence and defiance will not be tolerated in a crisis such as this," she confirmed.
"That's ridiculous! He is Regalia's best fighter! We need him on that mission more than ever! Sure, he was mildly rude to you a few minutes ago. He was just concerned for the well-being of his people. As a leader of your people, would you not care for the well-being of your own people?" Calvin blustered.
"Do not question the care I have for my people," Luxa replied frostily.
"I don't. I question your rationale behind firing Ripred from a position where Regalia can benefit. I know you have a good side, Luxa. You don't have to act firm on the outside. Are you really going to ban Ripred from helping us because he acted impulsively and out of anger because his people were dying?" Calvin said patiently.
Some members of the audience began to cough and pretended to look away. Calvin had a feeling that they were not used to seeing their queen questioned so much."You heard Ripred yourself, Overlander. He walked away from his position. He demanded to see how we take the fight to the schemers without him. And we will prove that we can fight a war without our best fighter. Because till today, Regalia has not, and never will be, solely dependent on a single fighter. And don't use my occasional bouts of emotion as a form of weakness, Overlander. Exploit my 'soft side' one more time, and you will live to regret it," Luxa threatened.
This time, Calvin restrained himself from lashing out at the stupidity of Luxa. He could not afford to be on the bad side of Luxa. Seeing how angering her could sway her opinion so wildly, Calvin decided to shut up.
Just as Luxa was about to dismiss them, Nerissa came running forward to the stage. "Halt all the proceedings!" she called out, evidently struggling to strain her voice so that the whole council room could hear her. Luxa raised an eyebrow.
"What is it, cousin?" she asked, visibly annoyed.
"I have had a dream," Nerissa murmured, as if in a trance, "that the mission will fail unless we enlist the help of a certain girl."
Nerissa cleared her throat.
"That girl's name is Hero, daughter of York. Our cousin, Luxa."
Well, that's that for me. I won't be writing a Christmas special, because I'm going to spend more time with my family. They are an important driving force behind my life so far, after all.
Christmas is a time of togetherness, and happiness, and most of all, hope. I hope that all my readers be like Vikus, and treasure hope greatly, because that is, and always will be, a focal point of our existence. And there is no better time to celebrate that than during Christmas, the season of hope. Whether you are experiencing bad times or not, I hope this Christmas season inspires you to enjoy and treasure your time on earth.
With that, I would like to wish all a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!