A.N.: Yo, me is back with another chapter. I am currently working on another (original) story as well so everything had been kinda squished together in a very messy way. I no longer can predict when I can post, but I will try for once or twice a week if possible.
I present to you:
Chapter 9: The Ally
Opening the trap door to the roof, the brunet inhaled the fresh air. He eased himself up and closed the door behind him. The roof had become his sanctuary lately. Whenever he was free, he found himself up there, watching the mountains in the distance or the sun slowly descending. It made him calm down and emptying his mind of unnecessary things. Whenever he was up there, the only thing he could think of was the air, the tree, and nature. And for that, he was glad.
But today, it was different. His thoughts were disturbed by the shouting and hollering of the Skandians below, pumping the troops' morale up. Will watched from the roof as Erak rallied his troops, giving orders across the field. There must be close to five thousand Skandians gathered in the field, all armed and dangerous. Learning from last time, the Skandians had their own trained archers, as well as the current batch of Araluen archers that were stationed here after the treaty was established. Even with the addition of the archers, the brunet realized, their army was still smaller, comparing to the massive troops he had seen earlier yesterday.
Gilan, Halt, and Horace were busy gathering their troops and being the captain of their given section. They didn't have time to look for him, and he was glad. First, because he wasn't in the mood right now to join in another argument and second, they seemed to be busy and the immediate defense is their top priority right now.
Leaning against the fence, he tried to look for any hints of the Temujai. He glanced at the sun and estimated it to be somewhere close to noon. The Temujai are arriving tomorrow evening. The thought alone made him grimaced and his stomach churned unpleasantly. Their purpose was probably the same as last time, conquering Skandia before reaching the rest of the world. But he could sense, he didn't know how, another purpose behind their attack this time. Halt. He blinked as his conscious whispered and the realization hit him. They would be looking out for Halt. Halt will be in danger if the Temujai has their eyes set on him. He hoped not. But Halt might be placed in grave danger nonetheless. He promised himself that he would look out for the old ranger, even if the subject didn't want it. He sighed. Halt wasn't getting any younger and he knew that.
The sun slowly raised until it was right above them. It was then he realized that Gilan was calling for him. He frowned and leaned out the fence in confusion. The Skandians were still down there, though they were resting and eating. It must have been lunch time, he thought absently. The light brown haired ranger strode between the Skandians, calling his name loudly and searching for him.
"I am here." He called back down.
Hearing his voice, the ranger looked up and motioned for him to come back down inside and meet back inside the Oberjarl's chamber. Noting the serious look on the tall ranger's face, Will knew that it wouldn't be about what happened earlier and instead, about something more serious in the moment.
He hurriedly climbed down through the trapdoor and walked to the chamber. Halt, Gilan, Horace, and Erak were present already and he seated himself at the very back of the room, away from them yet being able to hear.
"I have good news." The Oberjarl began after sparing a glance to the brunet, "I believe you have heard of the newly created group called Aisenos?"
The two rangers and the warrior shook their head. Will wanted to nod but he didn't want to draw attention to himself so he remained still.
"They are experts in fighting, whether it is close combat or long range combats. When it comes to fights, I believe they might be on the same level as you rangers. I personally have not seen them in a real fight, but the rumors were spread pretty far and I have seen their mock combats myself."
"Your point is?" Horace asked.
"I managed to construct a deal with them." Erak said grimly, "They will be given a piece of land in a part of Skandia, if we win the battle. In return, they lend us their full support for this battle. They will be joining our ranks. Our troops will be separated into three parts. One will be theirs, as in the deal, the second will be the archers, under the ranger's command, and the last will be our own Skandian troops. I will say there are around a hundred of them in the first group. Though the number might be small, with each of them having skills that rival yours, I believe it is still very important to our rank and might even raise our morals."
Gilan nodded in approval, "I agree. When will we be meeting them?"
"I have called the leader here today to meet with you," Erak said.
As if on cue, the door opened softly and three men walked in. Their footsteps were soft yet elegant as if they were walking on water. But Will's attention wasn't on their postures, instead, it was on the first man, the one who looked like he had the highest authority among his people. The three of them stopped right before Erak's desk and turned to the seated.
"Greetings." The man's voice was soft but they caught his every word, "I am the leader of the Aisenos group. I look forward to working with you all."
The seated people, besides the Oberjarl, stood and introduced themselves hurriedly.
"Name is Halt." The ranger said.
"Gilan, nice to meet you."
"My name is Horace." The warrior's voice was full of awe yet polite at the same time.
All gaze landed on Will, who shifted uncomfortably. The man's eyes widened ever so slightly and a smile reached his lips.
"Liam." The man uttered softly. It was too soft for the rangers to hear, but the brunet caught it.
A smile started to appear until he was grinning like an idiot. Or so he would have except the man sent him a warning glance. He smoothed his posture quickly.
"My name is Will." Liam. The boy said, bowing slightly to the man, "It is my honor to meet you." Again.
"My name is K." The man said after the present were all introduced, "And my companions are R and S."
Will chuckled, finally understanding the meanings behind the lettered names. The letters stood for more than just the initial of their name, it also stood for their rank in alphabetical order. He would have to ask Arch later about his, though. He watched as the other three frowned at the abnormal name but accepting them nonetheless.
"Even though we are working together," K continued, "I must warn you to not step within our boundary. We have agreed to lend you our power, but there are certain rules you must keep. We do things on our own even though we have a common goal. We will fight for what we think is the best way. We will not take any orders from anyone besides us. In case you are worrying, we won't sacrifice our allies for any causes, we are not that barbaric."
"That is acceptable." Halt nodded, "We the rangers will accept your proposal. But if you need our help, you are w-"
"I have one more condition." K cut in, completely ignoring the old ranger. This time, his gaze was aimed straight at Will, "I want him to work with us."
He was having his morning tea in his tent when his second in command walked in with his permission. Placing his half full cup back on the made shift low table in front of him, General Haz'Kam turned toward Maz'Kan.
"Good morning, General." The man greeted as he poured himself a cup of tea.
The general's eyes watched as the water flowed down the pot and into the small cup. The man's hands were trembling just so slightly though he caught it perfectly well. The man was nervous.
"What is it?"
Maz'Kan jerked in surprise, nearly spilling the tea. He gently placed it back down, still refusing to make eye contact with the General. True, he had important information, but he knew that if the information, no matter how true it might be, does not please Haz'Kam, his life will be hanging by a thread. Literally or not, he wasn't sure.
"Um," He stuttered then gave in, knowing that since he had disturbed the man's rest, he better get on with it, "I have received information. Our targets seemed to have acquired the help of a group of excellent fighters by the name of Aisenos."
"Explain." The man took a sip and smacked his lips in appreciation.
"Aisenos are a group of newly formed fighters in Skandia that specialized in both close combat and long-range combat. Our scouts have seen them in action. They might prove to be a difficult opponent, this time, General."
The general merely laughed, "Difficult or not, I will wipe them out in a matter of seconds. How about the small ranger? Was he sighted?"
"Yes, in a matter of fact, he was seen with another boy and two other rangers. One of them was the old one, the scouts were sure of it."
"It is my lucky day." The General grinned and the second-in-command tried his best not to throw up at the sudden smell of rotten food, "I will have them all in my grasp. Ah, wait, I have something better. I will get the small one first. I will cut him, piece by piece, and send them back in warning of what will happen if they oppose me. I will keep him alive, though. They will be terrified, and Skandia will be mine once and for all. No, wait. I have an even better idea for that wretched boy…"
The general rumbled on and even the skilled second-in-command's face went pale at the things the man had sprouted out of his mouth. He was almost sympathetic with the small boy and the horror of his awaiting future.
"Anything else?" The general asked, jerking him out of his momentary thoughts.
"No, general, that was all."
"Good. Go get the rest of the troops up and pull down the tents. I wish them to be ready in five minutes. Anyone late will be subject to the usual."
"Understood." He hurriedly tossed back the drink in one go and exited the tent, not wanting to spend another moment in the smelly and evil filling tent with that man.
God, I seriously don't know where that horrible idea of that General's thought came from... I just have no idea. Maybe I watched too many horror movies. I am so sorry!
Maddie Altman: Don't worry, it will get better. I promise I will make this a very happy happy ending. Haha. At least I will try.
evanlyncassandraaltman/Cassandra Altman: I had initially wanted to make Will run away. But then I realized that Will was that type of strong willed person(haha, choice of words), so I think running away won't suit him, especially since he had got his memory back. Besides, making Will run away will only cause ME more trouble, if not more than Halt's troubles. Haha. Anyways, thanks for dropping your reviews and hi to you too!
Strikestar: ^ ^ *SMILES* wait, I don't even know how my smile looks like...Okay, *EMOJI SMILES* there. Thanks for your encouragement and review! And I really appreciate them...*Scratch that, it was too polite...*
Guest 2: No it is okay. You don't needa apologize. Everyone have that mind blowing time too. Even me. For examples, two minutes ago I was close to erupting because I accidently ripped my homework in half. Luckily I only wrote about three sentences. And besides, posting and receiving a review is what I am looking forward to the most! ^ ^ *Grins*
Ranger McAleer: Thanks for your review! It really made me feel better! ^ ^
Little Wishlet: Just say 'hi' next time if you don't have time, even that I will be happy. ^ ^. Hope your days are getting better.
Wild Horse Annie: Here goes another chapter! Think I gotta set a count-down clock for my readers. Because you see *serious teacher mode* staring at the computer all day long is not good for your help, kids. You must learn to spend your time wisely and not using it on your mail every single day. *AHEM* anyways, thanks for the encouragement. I will try my best to write everyday!
Well then, have a great day, people!
Kawazoe Kumiko
P.S. this is completely random, but I am thinking that my (second) pen name should be S.G. Kumiko. Cuz it is somehow related to my real , that was just completely random. DO ignore it. ^ ^ Bye!