Authors Note
All aspects belong to AE, I just made the MC
Hello everyone! I'd like to start by saying that i cant believe how long its been since i last posted a chapter, a lot of things have happened to me in the past year. Including the deaths of two friends, my Grandfather and my Dog. I was also extremely busy with my job and other commitments in life which kept me from writing the few times I actually wanted too. Now however Im back in school and life is starting to form into a pattern again, so im hoping to get back into this story.
I wrote an extra long chapter to make up for such a long wait, this ones over 8000 words! anyways, I hope you guys enjoy, please leave a review on what you think!
Chapter 10: New Plans and Worthy Foes
Brent waved towards the Guardians that shouted their greetings to him, the light smile on his face was a genuine one as he returned their kindness. He entered Falconreach for the second time this day, though the sun had set now, and the moon was shinning in the sky. Brent wondered about his Apprentice and just what he was hoping to achieve with her. At first, he had worried about failing the young girl and unknowingly leading her to her death, but now his mind had wondered into a different direction.
His meeting with Mritha and Kara had been interesting to say the least, if he'd been asked a week ago who was the most stubborn between the three he would have said himself. Kara however had proven him wrong, and not only managed to wear him down but also convince him to her way of thinking. When Mritha had first explained the plan to attack and occupy the new Rose bases he'd been more than sceptical about how likely they would be able to succeed.
Now he understood that it was less about the chances of success and more about if they could afford to fight a war on all sides. If the surrounding territory wasn't at least contested then the Resistance would be found out and crushed by General Akanthus, meaning that there would be no one strong enough to protect the magical creatures and people of Lore. Akanthus had been ruthless so far in his campaign against magic, and it was his men that committed most of the assaults on large magical communities. While Brent had been Frozen in Ice, the General convinced King Alteon to allow the Rose to wage open warfare with the elementals surrounding the nearby territories. They killed them in droves, admittedly making the roads safer to travel, however the elemental balance was already weak after the War with Wargoth. The wild elementals soon retreated and wasn't long before Akanthus set his eyes on the rest of the magical world.
First they attacked other creatures, like the Clawkin and Dravir. Then they moved on to Doomwood and began to fight the werewolves and vampires that had plagued the forests for so long. They continued this trend in every area they entered until a dislike of magic had spread to most of the people in Swordhaven. After all, why shouldn't they be happy? So long as you're a regular human you have nothing to worry about, and the world probably seems saver than its ever been before. But if you happened to be either a mage or part of a race that had some innate magic, then you had to suddenly be careful about who you trusted. Otherwise your neighbors might wake up one morning to find out that you and your family have been forced out of town or arrested by the Rose or its supporters.
None of the Resistance leaders wanted this, both Kara and Brent knew that this kind of action would almost certainly lead to more aggressive action from the Rose. Sadly for both of them, Kara was right when she pointed out that the Rose would continue to close the noose if no offensive action was taken to stop them. Kara was by far one of the most peace orientated people that Brent had ever known, second only to Lady Celestia, so for her to suggest this kind of plan showed how desperate the Resistance was really becoming.
And now he had to address the meat of the issue, Brent was supposed to lead these attacks along with some of his allies that had proven that they were both loyal to him, and strong enough to survive against a fort full of trained Rose soldiers. Brent already knew that he could get Yashta and Aegis to come and that they wouldn't be too threatened by the Rose, they along with his dragon should be more than enough to handle the odds that they would be up against. The problem was that he didn't know if he should bring Falwynn on these missions, or if he should try and leave her with Aria. She was the newest addition to his team, and while he felt that she was trustworthy enough that she wouldn't betray them, it did not mean that she was ready to experience death on that kind of scale.
Over the years Brent had grown used to the sight of dead bodies, wondering from battle to battle isn't exactly good for a persons' mental health and he had been doing that for a decade. It hadn't all happened at once of course, otherwise he would have surely been killed a long time ago from freezing in the middle of combat. Something that Falwynn had done in almost every combat scenario he'd placed her in so far, this was acceptable behaviour for a new Apprentice but not when they were in the same situations that he ended up in on a daily basis.
No, Falwynn wasn't ready for that kind of fight yet, even he wouldn't have been back in his early years. There was a reason why most adventurers started off killing bandits and snevils after all, and it wasn't because they actually wanted too.
Having thought of those tiny, green, box stealing annoyances reminded Brent that he really needed to visit the Box Fort with his Apprentice. Perhaps putting her through a few tedious quests and she might even want to go back home to her father where it was safest.
That startling realization actually stopped Brent in his tracks just a few meters from Aria's tent, did he actually want Falwynn to leave? To go back to her family to live out her life as a blacksmith most likely? He thought about the cheerful face and the wide smile Falwynn had shown him from time to time during his "lessons". She genuinely wanted to learn from him, and after putting some more thought into it Brent couldn't picture her being happy cramped inside a forge all day.
Falwynn actually wanted to be hero, not for glory or fame, but because she wanted to be more then what she already was. A woman with that kind of drive could become anything she wanted, even Jaania for all their differences was a woman he had been willing to fight beside after only spending a few minutes with her. Of course, she had gone and ruined that by freezing him in ice for 7 years, but he still had to respect her power and the iron will that placed them on opposite sides in this war.
It was his fault that she was even here, along with Warlic and Xan the three of them managed to free Jaania after being trapped for years in magical ice. Of course, he also knew that they never would have beaten Wargoth if it wasn't for her help as well. If only she had been willing to talk from the beginning instead of lashing out after the fight when we were all exhausted, and if only he'd been faster the world could have been a much different place.
Brents mind when back to Falwynn and the up coming missions, leaving her behind wasn't an option really. After all, wasn't the point of an Apprenticeship to do as the Master does, and in this case that was to fight the Rose. That didn't mean he couldn't take more people on this attack, it couldn't hurt to find one or two more friends willing to help. A smile spread across his face as he pictured showing her off to Galanoth and Warlic, along with Robina and the Resistance.
With these happy thoughts on his mind he entered Arias tent, the first thing he noticed was that the shop was empty. Muffled laughter came from behind opposite opening leading out to the backyard, he moved through the shop and opened the flap expecting to see Falwynn and Aria.
Instead all he could see were two black eyes and the large grin of a Grizzly Bear, immediately he let out a yelp of surprise and jumped into the air. As he passed over the large animal it moved to stand up, Brent thrust out a hand towards the ground off to the side and a blue spirit chain shot out and dug deep into the dirt. The chain then retracted and pulled Brent away from the Bear before it could make any attacks, he was about to summon his soul claws so that he could fight but some laughter coming from behind the Bear.
The Bear stared at him from its standing position, making it at least 10 feet tall, but it didn't move to attack him at all. Finally a voice called out which grabbed both their attentions, "Nice job Edward! I can't believe you made him jump so high." Said Aria with a laugh. Standing beside her was Falwynn who was trying to stifle her giggles now that Brent was looking in her direction.
Beside the two young women stood Aegis and Yulgar, both with small smiles on their faces, probably enjoying his momentary fright as much as the other two had.
The Bear, which was apparently named Edward, merely sat down and look at the small red head as she ran up and began scratching his chin as a reward. The young Beastmaster turned with a glare aimed at Brent, "If you hurt him like you did Thomas I will never forgive you."
The Heroes eye went wide as he remembered one of his first quests in Falconreach, and the angry child that had kicked him in the crotch before screaming at him for killing her pet.
Yulgar then looked towards Falwynn beside him and held out his hand, "I just want to say thank you again for finding my wife's harp, you have no idea what this means to me. If theirs anything I can do to repay you just let me know, I always pay my debts."
After a quick look of surprised she took his hand and shook it, a smile replacing the previous confusion. "It wasn't a problem Yulgar, I'm just glad that I was able to help, Aria's Pridemasters did the most work when it came to actually finding it.". She suddenly looked nervous before steadying herself, "and if its not too much trouble, maybe you could show some tricks when it comes to forging weapons. My father's been teaching me ever since I was a child, but everyone knows your one of the greatest Blacksmiths on Lore."
Brent was momentarily surprised that she would ask him to teach her, but then he remembered his little speech he had given before Falwynn met Lanrete and got her new sword. The one about finding multiple teachers and learning as much as you could, a sense of pride swelled in his chest as he realized just how much potential Falwynn had. All that she needed was the opportunity to grow and increase her combat skills, then she might one day have a legend as great as his.
He was so distracted thinking about the future that he didn't notice Aria approaching him until she was already standing in front, "Hey I'm still talking to you! Don't ignore me!".
Then his world exploded in pain as her foot once again made contact with his crotch.
*Meanwhile*
Falwynn winced in sympathy as Brent collapsed to the ground in front of Aria with a high-pitched yell, she was still yelling at him for ignoring her. Edward sat down again and laid his large head on his paws and relaxed, she then turned back to a smiling Yulgar who said "I'd be happy to show you a thing or two about forging weapons and armor, who's your father? Is he a smith from Swordhaven?"
"No, my father is Doug Digg of Lymcrest. He said that the two of you used to do business together before the Rose came around and took all the ore."
Yulgar appeared surprised for a moment, no doubt because she was clearly human and my father was a well known dwarf, but it quickly went away and was replaced with another smile. "We did use to work together, though its been at least five years since we last saw each other. I hope he's doing well for himself now that Lymcrest is shut down for the most part, I should try to visit him sometime and see if he'd like to do some Collaboratory work. As for teaching you a few tricks how about I help you make another crossbow? I noticed that you only had the one, and even if its clearly been enhanced beyond a simple crossbow there is always room for improvement."
Falwynn could feel her excitement begin to build as she imagined working with the legendary smith, and she had never considered having two crossbows since she the other hand to reload. But if she had access to his materials and experience the possibilities would be endless, she couldn't wait to tell her dad about this!
She watched Yulgar leave and enter the tent, her attention turned to Brent as he finally got up off the ground with the help of Aegis. Aria had finally stopped lecturing him about what she would do if he ever hurt one of her animals again. Falwynn approach the duo with a proud smile on her face, one that the two individuals shared, even if Brents was strained because of the pain.
"I hear what he said, congratulations on the new weapon. Yulgar's given me great equipment over the years, and he's even the one who taught me how to become a blacksmith. I guess that makes us both students of his, but don't forget that I'm still your primary teacher." He said with a smile, he quickly drank a little bit of a health potion to deal with the pain Aria had inflicted on him.
Aegis laughed a little and Brent glared at him, his eyes then went back to Falwynn. "I've got some jobs for us to do, we'll be heading back to Ravenloss soon but first let's stop at the inn and see whose there. We also need to meet with Ash afterwards and find out what his informant knows, I hope your ready for a busy night." He said as a wide smile spread across his face. The three of them then left Arias shop and headed for the Inn, on their way they passed Al and Twilly sitting in their usual spots. Al had crawled out of the stable to sit beside the stump that Twilly usually sat on, he raised his large as the three came closer. His head was tilted to the side slightly in question, Brent shook his head no but did tell him that they would be leaving soon.
They continued to the Inn and noticed that Ash was gone from his usual place, Brent entered the Inn first with Falwynn behind him and Aegis bring up the rear. She took note of the odd jobs wall to the right of the second door as well as the hat rack on the left. Once they entered the main room of the Inn it was clear that most patrons were either asleep or had yet to return for the night. Most of the table were empty, except for two small groups huddled in the back by the fire.
The first table was the one closest to the fire place, sitting at it were three figures that couldn't look more different unless they were actually trying to. The most noticeable one was a woman with bronze skin and hair made out of literal fire, how it wasn't burning her clothes was a mystery, that was tucked behind her ears and went all the way down to her waist. There were also strange yellow tattoos across the visible parts of the woman's body that looked like fire, including her cheeks and chin. She wore a red cloth wrapped around her upper body almost like a robe, except it left her arms and sides bare. Across her body was an assortment of gold jewelry, such as bracelets, necklaces, and arm bands that kept the cloth in place.
Falwynn also notice a rather large red and gold grimoire chained to her waist, and an elegant golden rapier that seemed to match the rest of her colorful attire. Currently, the woman was talking to a hooded figure sitting directly across from her while waving her arms around in a cheerful manner.
The hooded figure was a lot harder to figure out, mostly because she couldn't actually see anything besides the drab and ratty brown robe they were wearing. The person was covered from head to toe by the cloth with a shadow obscuring their face, whoever they were they clearly didn't like to be seen. Besides that, the outfit looked rather disappointing when compared to the fiery woman's, like something a person might throw away before it completely fell apart.
The final figure had dark hair and was the only man of the group, he was face down on the table clearly drunk, if the multiple tankards around him were any indication. From where she was standing Falwynn could see leather armor colored green and brown much like the set she was currently wearing, as well as a quiver of arrows strapped to his back.
At the other side of the room, close to the door leading to the basement of the Inn, sate both San Robin and Roblos. Neither man needed introduction because they were both relatively famous in Falconreach, and because no one else in their right mind would wear bright orange with a slice of cheese on their chest.
Almost immediately Falwynn felt a set of hands land on her shoulders and drag her back towards the front door, along with several muttered curses coming from behind her. Just a few moments before they could make a clean get away from whatever had Brent worried there was a yell of "Hey Brent! Come on over here! Let us buy you a drink for old times sake."
Falwynn finally saw Brents face, it was scrunched up in annoyance but also in resignation. Finally a some what fake smile appeared on his face as he turned again and waved towards the table of three before walking over. "Hey guys how've you been lately? This is my Apprentice Falwynn by the way, though I suspect you've already heard of her by now."
The two conscious members each waved towards Falwynn, though the woman with flaming hair was far more energetic then her robbed friend. "Nice to meet you, if your working with Brent now your either really good, or really unlucky haha. My names Terra, the shy girl sitting across from me is Victoria, and the drunken fool behind me is Zack."
Her statement ended with a hard smack to the side of Zacks head, causing him to practically leap out of his chair with a cry of "Zombies!" followed by a hastily thrown dagger from a sash rapped around his waist. The dagger flew towards Brent in the blink of an eye, but he still managed to catch it before the weapon could do any damage. Terra's eyes closed as she laughed, apparently finding the whole thing funny, now that she could see the Zacks face properly Falwynn noticed that he was younger than his two teammates. She also noticed that he looked surprisingly similar appearance to what Brent would look like without his beard and long hair. His tanned skin showed that he'd spent a lot of time under the sun, while his short black hair brushed back exposing the rest of his face. A small goatee was the only facial hair the man had but it seemed to fit him just right, his brown eyes looked hazy from just coming out of a drunken sleep.
Zack let out a weak chuckle as he held out his hand, Brent smirked and passed the mans dagger back to him hilt first. Once it was placed back in its sheath the young man pulled out his chair and sat back down, Aegis grabbed two chairs from a nearby empty table and brought them over for Falwynn and Brent.
The two sat down while the Spirit Ally stood behind his partner and his Apprentice, Brent finally seemed to relax as he rested in his chair and accepted a tankard of Ale from Terra. Falwynn tried to look inside Victoria's hood but realized that was covered in shadow hiding her identity. She wanted to ask about it but knew that Victoria must have a reason, and she already had way too many questions for Brent.
Speaking of her teacher, Brent had just finished his drink and was placing the tankard back on the table. He seemed to stare at the three adventurers critically for a moment before a satisfied smile appeared on his face, he turned to Victoria and asked, "So what have you three been up to? Last I heard there'd been some of trouble up at the Shears."
"Nothing to dangerous, just some small battles between groups of mages and Rose warriors along the road. We only had a little bit of trouble getting here, but now we're ready to find some new work. We might even go to Ravenloss, I have a small house that the three of us could share for the mean time." replied the robbed woman, her voice was much quieter than Terra's had been. Though it was steady and almost confident, traits that one wouldn't normally associate with someone so shy that they would use magic to conceal their face.
Terra spoke with a lot of pride in her voice as she said, "I think we took down about 20 soldiers all together, and I managed to take out five of them all at once!" One of her hands came up holding a small ball of fire, it quickly shot up into the air and exploded causing everyone to flinch and move away a little. When no one seemed hurt by the fire they all calmed down and glare at the flame haired woman, whose eyes were closed and a smile on her face, making her oblivious to their anger. "Like that! You really missed out on a great explosion."
Brent seemed to be impressed by this and looked back towards Victoria with a worried expression, "None of you were hurt? What about other travellers on the road? Do you know if any are being taken?"
He seemed very concerned about this news but Victoria seemed to ease some of his worries by answering in that same quiet voice as before, "There have been a few kidnappings but Sir Leon is doing very well keeping the roads safe for magic users, though its sad to say that a few do slip through the cracks from time to time."
Falwynn almost jumped out of her chair as Terra smashed her hand down on the table, her happy mood gone now that the topic had changed to the missing mages. The flames of her hair seemed to spike as her irritation grew, and her eyes burned almost as literally as her hair. "Those bastards just come out of the woods and drag people off if they even look like they use, its disgusting how they just assume we're all evil or uncontrollable."
Falwynn looked at the other two members of the group and saw that they were also upset at the idea of people getting taken off the road. The Shears was much closer to Swordhaven then Falconreach was, so it was much more heavily patrolled, with roving bands of manahunters and other Rose troops wondering through the forest. She'd heard some stories about what happened to some of those people, along with the creatures in the area that were captured.
Some said they were kept locked in cages or drained of their magic and left to die from mana exhaustion. While there had been plenty of people with magic who had abused their power to hurt others, it was wrong to attack everyone with magic. All that did was create more people who feel that they need to fight in order to live, which causes more pain and suffering leading to a cycle of hatred that only ends once one group is dead and gone.
Brent leaned forward and said in a whisper just loud enough for the table to hear "How would you like to help me strike a blow against the Rose here in Surewould? Some friends and I are planning an attack tonight, and I know the three of you are skilled enough to hold your own." He then raised an eyebrow in question and looked at each of their eyes before leaning back in his chair, "So, are you interested?"
Terra and Victoria looked at each other first before turning to Zack who, still seeming a little drunk, gave them two thumbs up and a big smile. All together the three looked at Brent and said in unison "We're in" Then Victoria stood up and walked towards the three other heroes. As she did a large brown leather bag hanging from the back of her chair opened up, suddenly bones covered in a green glow began to fly out and surround the hooded woman.
In only a few seconds she was covered in bone armor made out rib bones, skulls, and femurs. The large bones formed around her legs like shine guards with large fanged skulls covering the kneecaps. Above that rested a belt made of curved rib bones with yet another skull centered at her navel, her arms and shoulders were the most impressive by far however. Two huge monster skulls covered in horns and spikes sat on top of thick bone plates, the middle of which was wrapped in thick hide that looked somewhat rotten. Frayed leather strips hung from the large pauldron and swayed in a wind that didn't exist, brushing against two smaller skulls with large fangs. The armor set ended in ribcage like gauntlets with smaller bones covering her hands, to finish off the look green energy began leaking through the seams of Victoria's robes. Two glowing green eyes scanned the room from the eye sockets of the spiked skulls, when its eye landed on Falwynn she couldn't supress her shutter, it was unsettling how the girl had looked so normal just moments ago.
Falwynn couldn't believe that she was looking at a real live necromancer! What was going on? And how had she seemed so normal if was willing to use such terrible magic?
she had some serious questions for Brent after this, she was in the dark about far too many things.
She watched Victoria hold out her hand and a small black and green portal appeared above the floor, from it a long black staff capped with a red Ruby Jewel. Small arcs of lightning appeared around the gem periodically, and if that wasn't enough two sets of black bat wings sprouted from her back as soon as her fingers wrapped around the staff. The first set of wings were rather small and didn't seem like they would be very effective, while the second pair were much larger and looked like they would allow her to glide at the very least.
"where do you want us to meet? And you'll have to give us more details on what kind of plan you have. There's no way we're just going to walk in through the front door."
Brent, who was completely unfazed by the necromancer in front of him, just placed a hand over his heart and gave her a fake wounded look. "Me? Charge in without a plan? Please Victoria, I thought you knew me better than that. I'll have Aegis take you to our house in Ravenloss, I'll be going to pick up another friend of mine before I meet you there."
With that said Victoria seemed to almost float away, behind her following at a steady pace was Terra, who had a large smile on her face at the thought of fighting the Rose. As well as Zack who was lagging behind since he left a big tip on the table for all the ale he'd drank.
Aegis bid the Master and Apprentice farewell as he left with the other group of Adventurers, leaving Falwynn and Brent alone. Before Brent could even think to leave Falwynn grabbed his sleeve and gave him a hard look, "I think you owe me a few explanations on our way to find Ash, like how you know a necromancer for starters. I thought you'd spent years fighting against them? What makes her different?"
*Meanwhile*
Brent couldn't help feeling anxious about answering Falwynn's question, the fact that in most situations it would be a completely reasonable one didn't help make things easier. After all, how does one tell their student that they've also not only studied necromancy but gone beyond that into a different level of evil.
A faint laughter could be heard in the back of his mind; however, he did his best to ignore it in favor of answering his Apprentice. "That is an excellent question" when he couldn't think of anything else to really say he motioned for Falwynn to follow him, hoping that he could stale for a few more seconds to think of a real answer.
By the time they reach the front door of the Inn Brent had most of what he wanted to say planned out, "I meet Victoria while I was helping Artix find the Darkness orb while infiltrating the Necropolis, she was one of the students learning there that I was paired up with during a class. I was trying to blend in so I started asking her questions, such as how long she'd been learning necromancy and what made her pick it over other kinds of magic."
As he talked the two moved towards Al who was now standing with his wings folded at his side, the drake squatted down slightly so that Brent and Falwynn could climb onto his back. With a quick wave to Twilly they took off towards Falconreach's eastern gate, as they rode Falwynn asked "So what was her answer then? I can't see any good reason for why someone would study how to raise the dead."
"Well before I tell you her reason you need to understand that Victoria comes from Doomwood, more specifically from a family of necromancers. So, to her this kind of magic wasn't anything special, the Necropolis was just a greater opportunity for her to learn and impress her parents. As for what she uses it for? Mostly alchemy and multitasking."
Brent didn't need to see Falwynn to know that she must have a confused expression on her face, after all he'd been confused too before Victoria had fully explained what she meant by "multitasking".
"She's a very gifted alchemist but was never satisfied with how long it took to properly brew certain potions, so she uses skeletons to gather ingredients and do the easier but repetitive tasks that she doesn't have time to do. Honestly, she didn't see it as anything bad, just a means to be more efficient. She was only 18 when she was in her third year of studying, which is crazy because most other students were in their mid 20's to late 30's."
As they passed the gate and the two Guardians stationed there they took a left turn into Surewould forest, "But that doesn't excuse the fact that she's bring peoples relatives back from the dead, especially if it's just to gather some plants and make things easier for herself." Said Falwynn with a bit of resentment in her tone of voice.
He'd have to stop that kind of attitude right away if they were all going to be able to work together later tonight, the last thing he needed was for Falwynn to pick a fight with Victoria in the middle of a mission. He tapped his Dragon Amulet and focused, telling Al to pull over and stop near the sign post that showed which path would lead to Warlic's tent as well as Falconreach.
While Brent couldn't turn fully to face his Apprentice he didn't have to in order to get his point across, "I'll be the first to admit that most necromancers are evil and willing to go to horrible lengths to make themselves more powerful, Avatars know I've fought enough of them to prove this. However, Victoria stood beside me for years using that very same magic to defend the people of this world from men like Sepulchure and many others over the years."
He could see out of the corner of his eye that Falwynn still wasn't convinced about Victoria, "If your still worried about her using the bodies of dead people I'd be glad to tell you that she hasn't used any since leaving the Necropolis. Victoria uses the bones of dead animals and monsters to do her bidding, it was one of her conditions for being allowed into Falconreach before The Final 13th War."
Brent stopped talking for a moment, looking around for any signs of tracks that might belong to Ash, while he looked around he continued to talk.
"The Guardians were of course suspicious at first and didn't want to let her in the city, but I manage to convince them to give her a chance. Since then she's been one of its most loyal defenders, but even with the respect she's earned over the years she still feels ashamed of how she used to think. Its one of the reasons why she always wears that hood of hers, its so that if she decides to go out in public people wont judge her when she isn't wearing her robes."
Al finally rode passed a fallen log and entered a small clearing near a small waterfall, standing in the tree to the right Brent could make out two shapes. He pulled Al into a stop near the far side of the clearing and dismounted before helping Falwynn down as well.
"Just please give her a chance, she's been a friend for a long time and I think she'll grow on you."
Brent turned and began to look for Ash, he didn't have to wait long as two figures walked out of the trees. He immediately recognized Ash and then looked at the informant beside him, it was a young man wearing Rose armor and a black cap, Cinquefoil looked back at him with a smile and said.
"It's good to see you again Brent, there's been a lot of activity at the Rose Fort recently. Magnus Hansa was moved to Swordhaven to work on a special project with Janina, and the new commander wants to expand deeper into the forest. He's brought at least 30 new soldiers with him to defend a new barricade, as well as some collared Clawkin's to serve as night guards. I'm not sure how your planning to get in but I recommend you don't go alone."
Ash had a hard look in his eyes and a grim face, "I'm not sure if I can convince any of the Guardians to attack a Rose Fort unprovoked. Cinquefoil was telling me about this new commander, his name is Ostwick and he's very skilled at using two swords. He's also the son of a minor noble from Swordhaven, so we'll have to be careful when we fight him, what's the plan Brent?"
While Ash was talking to Brent, Cinquefoil stepped towards Falwynn and her a small smile and a slight bow. "It's nice to meet you Falwynn, Ash told me that you are Brent's new Apprentice. I must admit that I'm quite curious about how you got the position, I've known him a long time and he's never had one before."
"Well, the truth is that it sort of just happened. I was asked by Sir Leon to deliver a message to Brent at the Tournament of Champions, he saved my life when Fangblade tried to kill me. A couple of days after, I found out Brent was old friends with my dad. The next thing I knew I was packing my bags and following him to Falconreach, I kind of freaked out at first because I was so excited." Falwynn said as she let out a small laugh.
Cinquefoil raised an eyebrow in interest but didn't say anything else, instead looking towards the two heroes that were still talking to each other.
Brent had his arms crossed and a big smile on his face, "Then Al swoops in and clears the walls, they wont even know what's going on until we're up close and dangerous. I'll explain more when we meet up with the other in Ravenloss, I've got to talk to Falwynn now, so I'll see you at the portal."
The two shared a quick arm shake and confident grins before Ash headed back down the trail leading to Falconreach. The Hero looked at the Spy and asked, "You wouldn't happen to have a map, or a sketch of the new defences and their weaknesses would you." This caused Cinquefoil to smile back and reach into a satchel on his hip, "I have a rough drawing of the new walls and barricade, sadly I haven't learned what the night watch shifts are yet."
He handed Brent a large folded piece of paper which he quickly opened to inspect. The drawing was of new walls made of wood extending out of the old stone walls roughly 60ft according to the scale in the corner. A few arrows had been drawn in red pointing towards towers and walls above the gate, several stick figures were drawn in places along the walls showing where they would be standing. The Hero folded it up and placed it in one of the side pockets in his coat.
"Stay save ok, if your ever discovered and need to hide come to Falconreach and look for Ash. Until then keep up the great work." Brent said with a smile on his face.
The Spy bowed his head and smiled back before turning around heading back into the forest, Brent then turned to his Apprentice and allowed the smile to slowly fall from his face. His mind hadn't strayed very far from his earlier conversation with Falwynn, she clearly hadn't been told about some of his darker adventures, and she had a right to know about some of the terrible things he'd done.
He just hoped she wouldn't be afraid of him afterwards.
Falwynn must have been able to tell something was off about him because her eyebrows were scrunched together, her eyes held an expression of worry, either for him or for what he was about to say.
*Meanwhile*
The streets of Swordhaven were bustling with activity, merchants calling out to the masses from their stands, citizens running back and forth going about their business, even children playing with wide smiles on their faces. It was an idyllic view some would say, and Akanthus couldn't help but agree, the population was happy and the soldier's moral was in high spirits with the Gala approaching. The Generals eyes moved up from the citizen down below and looked at the high walls surrounding Swordhaven. They were strong, made of the best stone on the continent and maned by some of his finest troops in his command. He had no doubt that any attacking force would break upon its walls or suffer greatly to get in, he would not lose this city as easily as the Rose tower out in the forest by the Shears Inn.
Sir Leon thought himself clever, but his spy's had discovered his location months ago. Better to let the fool knight think himself safe in his den rather than worried about intruders, meaning that he could eliminate that pocket of resistance whenever he felt like. Perhaps he would use their deaths as an example towards the Resistance hiding out by Falconreach, and once he found them this foolish war will finally be over.
Of course, his true goals would be beginning once he had crushed the Resistance. For he had his eye on a much greater prize, but to even think of achieving that he would need to unite the people on this side of Lore. Only then could he hope to invade Nieboheim with any success of defeating the Magesterium and bring the world into true peace.
Akanthus finally turned away from the window and back towards his desk, his office was a small room at the top of the castles tallest tower. From here he could survey the city and relay orders to his captains and soldiers, it was also a place that would draw an enemy's attention once he made his location known. Any enemy that comes to close to this tower would find itself surprised by the protective wards he had Jannia place into the very tower itself.
The interior was dark since there was only one window facing towards the city, but enough light came through that he could still make out the few items he kept at this location. A sturdy Oak desk that had several hidden compartments for him to store important documents, a large shelf along the back wall containing books on magic and previous wars fought over the years. Akanthus passed both of these things to walk towards a large map pinned to a mobile board with many pins and markings on it, as he closed the distance he once again looked at locations marked and pinned on the map.
The majority of them were placed in random locations that seemed to surround Falconreach and the nearby forests on either side of the rebellious fools living in that forsaken city. There were several pins to the left of Oaklore Keep but none of the scout sent in that direction claim to have found anything. However, some of these scouts say that a mysterious wind had them walking in circles, thus leading to the pins and markings.
To the north of Falconreach there was even more pins, though the rest of the map was covered in red and black ink detailing attacks and the fatality reports. This location had lead to the death of over 40 Rose agents in recent years, the only reason he had not personally gone to that area and killed the beast responsible was due to one of the surviving scouts report. He and Jannia had grown tired of sending men out and never hearing from them again, so they sent a second scout to watch his partner and report back if anything happened to him.
After two days the second scout returned with a grewsome tale of how a large black and red Drake had ambushed and devoured his partner. He only managed to escape due to the monster being distracted with its meal, what Akanthus' attention however was the description of the dragon. It matched all the reported sightings of Brents Dragon, and if it was responsible for all the previous disappearances then it was likely defending it's nest.
Meaning he knew the general location one on of his enemies most important Allies, and who knows, perhaps the beast was guarding an even greater prize. All he needed to do was narrow down the exact location of the Dragons lair, as well as whatever else might be hidden there. As he thought on this he heard a knock on his door, still looking at the map and thinking on the future he called out, "Enter."
The heavy tower door swung open and a young man of perhaps 20 years of age wearing Rose Soldier armor entered the room, his face was crestfallen, and he held an air of defeat around him. The Generals attention finally turned towards his soldier, his eyes squinted together behind his helmet as he took in the posture of the young lad.
"Report soldier, what news has you in such a state?" he said with a voice that was neither cold nor comforting.
The boy looked up at the heavily armored figure that was the physical might of the Rose Forces, he tried to school his expression but couldn't keep his voice from breaking slightly. "Scout Lemming reporting Sir, I'm here to report that my partner made it 45 feet deeper into the forest then he did last time. He signaled that he may have found something but before I could get closer he was attacked from behind and mauled by the Drake."
His eyes held back tears but he stubbornly held them in, "We thought we had hidden our scent well but it must not have been enough."
The General heard all of this and nodded his head solemnly, he then went to his desk and grabbed a red pin and black charcoal. When he stood in front of the map again he asked, "What is the number of your scouting team soldier?"
The scouts hand went into the space just below his chin and into his shirt, pulling out a metal tag on a black string with the Rose emblem on it. Below the Rose was a name and number etched into the plate, "We were scouts 177 & 178 Sir."
That new caused Akanthus to pause as his hand moved towards the numbers he had just heard, "Ah I see now what has caused you grief, you are one of the Lemming brothers, your dead partner is your brother isn't it."
The General spoke this not to be unkind, but his words caused the tears to finally fall from the young man's eyes, his voice choking as he responded, "Yes Sir, he was my younger brother Kenny. I don't know how I'm going to break the news to Ma."
Akanthus let out a tired sigh as he looked at the crying boy, War should never need to be fought by people so young, Leave it to the old and the bitter, the angry and the mad.
The tall knights' heavy boots clanked on the ground as he approached the young scout and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder, "You have my sympathies, I to have lost family in the past. The wounds never close, but know that his death goes towards our ultimate goal of uniting this land and making it safe for all of humanity. Hopefully, because of your brothers sacrifice today your children will be able to live long and happy lives in the coming future."
He bent down so that his eyes were locked with the boys, wide brown eyes that looked at him with a mix of awe and wonder. "It is your duty now to live, not just for yourself, but for your family and the ones who will not get to live in that happy future."
The young boy's lips slowly turned up into a small smile, and his eyes brightened just a bit more then they had when he entered the room. His arm and closed fist hit against his chest and shoulder, "Yes Sir! Thank you for your kind words, I won't die anytime soon General."
He then turned around and marched out of the room, his back straight and head held high.
Akanthus smiled and hoped the boy was right, it was always a shame hearing about the deaths of his men, but he knew that their sacrifice was not in vain so long as he won in the end. He walked back towards the map and found the furthest dot labelled with the numbers 177 and 178, then measured out 45 additional feet before marking the new location. A black star was drawn beside the red pin to symbolize a death, as well as a possible lead towards something in the area.
His mind once again wondered, this time to the only real threat he could see being a lasting problem. The damned Hero had been causing mayhem and killing his soldiers and agents left and right where ever he could find them, and it wouldn't be long before he got over confident and made a mistake. Akanthus knew that Brent was possibly the strongest on this continent, but he also knew that one man could not fight against a whole army. He would just need to take out the "Hero" with overwhelming force and by surprise, only then was he sure that casualties could be limited and victory still achieved.
He would need to be there himself, he would trust no one else to succeed at this. And beyond the mere fact that Brent was an obstacle in his way to true peace, Akanthus also acknowledged his power and skill, if Akanthus was going to fight the members of the Magesterium then he would first need to kill Brent.
End Notes
And there it is! everyone finally gets to hear a bit from Akanthus, and it seems like he's closing in on our heroes and his friends. And what exactly is it that Brents going to tell Falwynn? Find out! on next weeks episode of Dragonball Z!
Oh wait wrong Fandom haha