Path of Valor 14
A/N: So, the general opinion I've been getting from a few long time readers is that some characters are getting derailed and things are moving too fast. The last part confuses me, because I personally feel like this story is going really slow, but you guys know best. Regarding the derailing...
...Well, I'll keep working on that, starting with this here flashback. Also, do remember that Mia has no reason not to trust us, as she's technically the newest member. That's my justification and I'm sticking to it.
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Motherfucking son of a cock-dick-bitch-shit-fuckbag! I knew this would happen eventually, I knew Daniel's concerns were totally valid, I knew the Devil Axe had a habit of killing you in very anti-climactic ways, but FUCK. ME.
For those of you not up to speed, Cain was just killed by The Devil Axe. For those of you really not up to speed, Cain is the only one of my soldiers I can count on not to trip over an anthill and not have to be commanded to get back up. While we're on the subject of spectacular fails of dexterity, I'm down to four Abelites by my own negligence. Although, I don't think I'm the only one at fault when a zombie falls down, says nothing, and gets hopelessly left behind. Nope, not my fault at all.
Speaking of things that are totally not my fault, I think Daein knows where we are. There was a bit of miscalculation involved with the fight at the compound some time ago, and probably during the engagement when we were picking up Mia as well.
Mainly, we left survivors.
On reflection, we really didn't have a choice in ether case. There's no way we had the strength of arms to kill every single one of them in any battle we've fought so far, mainly because morale breaks very quickly once your former friends are now trying to kill you, and begin to outnumber you.This, in turn, leads to a lot of enemy soldiers back at camp who have time to lick their wounds and get really pissed off at you.
Why am I bringing this up? Well, earlier today, we ran into a scouting party. Two archers and three soldiers, to be specific. We were coming out of a forest pass into a more open plains area when we spotted them on the path in front of us, some ways away. Naturally, as this was broad daylight, they saw us too. Unfortunately, these soldiers were taught some survival instincts and bolted as soon as they caught a glimpse of our commander's chiseled-in-slate visage. This does not bode well for a peaceful journey.
Currently, we are all camped for lunch off to the side of the road in the plains area I was talking about earlier. After chatting with Daniel and Mia for a bit, Mist came over to us and said Greil wanted to talk to everybody. So here I am, walking over to a quickly-forming circle, about to discuss strategy for a battle that never happened in-game. Oh what a happy, happy day this has been so far.
Greil was the first to open up the festivities, standing in the center of the circle and glowering at all of us, clearly not pleased. "I trust all of you are up to speed regarding this morning's events?"
Everyone nodded.
Greil continues with his face like thunder, "Then you all realize there's a high chance of a confrontation sometime in the near future?"
As I nod, I'm looking around at the assembled party. The usual suspects are here of course, and naturally I'm waiting on half-bated breath for Soren's input, but it seems our fair Princess Crimea has decided to join us as well. This probably shouldn't surprise me as much as it does, but at this stage in character development it's hard to believe she'd stomach the rather brutally effective tactics mercenaries tend to employ. Then again, she's probably a lot stronger internally than I give her credit for.
Back in the conversation at hand, Greil nods, "Then I'm willing to take suggestions about our next course of action." He says, leaving an open invitation for anyone to interject ideas. It would be a little awkward to jump in first, so I wait for someone else to say something.
Eventually, someone does. "Can't we roll back into the forest and make an ambush?" Boyd asks, with a surprisingly serious demeanor.
Equally surprising is when Soren jumped in to answer instead of Greil, "Not exactly. It's highly likely the scouting party we encountered is going to bring the army remnants down in full force. The advantage of an ambush would be to thin out an army, yet this one is would already be many times the strength of our own even if such an action were to succeed."
Greil nods, "We'll table it. There's always a chance we could go back in and hide, if the Daeins believed we had moved forward and try to cut us off. Any others?" His gaze meets mine for a moment, compelling me to speak up.
"Are-Are there any towns or cities nearby?" I ask, a little unsure of myself. For the first time in, like, ever, given that my ego is barely contained by the whole continent.
Greil only raises a single eyebrow, perhaps confused as to where I'm going with this, "There's a town not far from here by the riverside called Trenton, why?"
I lay my idea plain, "Why not take refuge there?"
Greil shakes his head no immediately, "Absolutely not. Daein has no respect for civilians, and I'm not putting their lives in unnecessary danger. If Daein finds us, they'll slaughter the town indiscriminately till they find us."
Soren interjects again, thankfully not totally against me, "That's not necessarily true. If Daein catches us, we could very easily slip out unnoticed in the ensuing pandemonium. We could even choose to stand and fight, considering the locals are likely to take arms with us if they had the ability. Add that to our...ability to call upon more allies as the battle progresses," Soren gives me a look. I don't know whether to feel a chill or beam with pride, so I just nervously glance at the ground.
"...then we might stand a chance in a toe-to-toe engagement. Not without casualties, though." Soren admits.
Greil nods again, "Exactly, which is what we need to avoid so far away from the Gallian border. Titania, what do you think?" He asks, turning to his faithful deputy. She only looks back at him, grim-faced.
"I think that hurrying to town, getting some rest and supplies and setting off again as soon as possible is the best we can hope for. It's true those civilians are in danger if we enter Trenton, but if the Daeins come looking for us they might be inclined to sack the city anyway. At least if we're in town we have a chance to come to their defense."
Soren peers over to our green-haired escortee, her face impassive. "If the common folk see the princess riding to their defense, morale may be at such a level that they're willing to die for their country. And I'm betting since most of the Daeins already ran once they're more inclined to do it again."
I realize that Soren's reasoning pokes a few holes in why we can't go and prepare and ambush. As I am about to speak up though, Soren and I lock eyes once more. In that moment, I compare options. If we roll back and make an ambush with the intent to make the rout once more, there's no guarantee that they won't get arrogant with their strength of numbers and fight to the last man. But if they try and lay siege to a town who is also fighting to the death, they might find their position hopeless and run away with their tails between their legs. Again.
So I be a good little boy and stay silent. Soren smirks, and I can't help but feeling she knows what just happened in my mind. That's...a little creepy, but really cool and kinda hot-MOVING ON.
Greil nods, not exactly pleased with the fact we're agreeing to a plan he doesn't like. Being a seasoned military commander probably instills you with a good amount of flexibility, though. "Alright," Greil says, glancing off into the distance in the direction I assume Trenton lies and frowning, "...Everybody, how does taking refuge in Trenton sound to you all?"
Now that I think about it, everyone else is kind of a wildcard. This is the first time I actually considered there were other people besides Mia, Daniel, Soren, Ike and Greil, truth be told. Looking to those people in particular, a variety of emotions are playing (or not playing, in some cases) across their faces. Greil and Dan wore much the same expression, though they meant opposite things. Greil was worried about the people, while Daniel was worried about the actual town, it's infrastructure and it's impact on the overall economy. He was concerned less about the individual loss of life, caring more about the farther reaching implications of just their livelihoods getting destroyed. Which is a million times more concerned with human life than I am, if I'm being completely honest.
You seem to have been de-sensitized to death. Perhaps dealing with death by trade has numbed your concept of life?
Maybe. I do know Necromancers tend to slide down to a point were death literally has no meaning in their eyes, but I intend not to go that far. Just far enough to roflstomp any enemies we encounter and prevent casualties to my list of precious people.
On a more interesting note, Soren and Mia's facial expressions are opposite as well. Mia looks concerned; whether it also be about the potential loss of life or merely if she or someone else she knows might not come back, it's hard to say. Though, given how Mia has been acting so far, I'm willing to put money down on the former being true. Soren, on the other hand, has an easily readable face and equally easily readable motivation. All she wants is to get the enemy off our backs, and ether rallying the citizens of Trenton or simply laying low seems like the best courses of action. As she turns her head slightly, I see a glint in her eye that tells me she knows I think the same. Which I would hope I do, as the last time we locked eyes she practically brainwashed me.
Not in the least bit amusing, my eyes meet Ike's. He nods at me in what I assume is a late greeting, being that I don't make it a habit to hang out with him often. Even assuming that I could, I wouldn't. Even though Ike could conservatively be called an absolute badass and an all around great leader, he just...rubs me the wrong way. I know I have no logical reason to dislike this guy, but maybe I'm just jealous. Come to think of it, there's a pretty good chance of that.
Briefly meeting Boyd's eyes, I can see the fire of someone who wants to kick ass behind them, despite the fact he wanted to prepare what some would call a cowardly tactic initially. Rhys and Oscar were standing together, with the former wearing his discomfort plainly on his face. Shinon and Gatrie are looking haggard, even if Gatrie tries his damnedest to keep up his boisterous persona.
Eventually, The Heart decides to interject his own idea, "Is it at all possible to evacuate Trenton? If we can get the supplies and also save the people..." Rhys trails off, looking around the group. I glance at Soren, and catch her eyes with mine again. In that look, I could already tell how this conversation would end, whether I was here or not.
Soren looked at Rhys and frowned, not out of malice but exasperation, "Where would we take them? Assuming the town is more then a few dozen people, herding them to some form of safety would be a logistical nightmare at best."
Sensing an opportunity to be more than a bump on a log, I pose my own question, "Are there any nearby settlements that could provide adequate defenses for the people of Trenton?"
Greil shakes his head, "Not for a great many miles."
Soren relaxes, pausing to move some wayward strands of hair from her face as she goes in for the kill, "Then moving the people of Trenton would put them in even more danger. I'll reiterate: I propose we go to the town and train any willing people as a makeshift militia. Everyone else can be free to seek shelter as they see fit."
Coming from anyone else, that probably would have been really pushy. But Greil, Ike, hell the whole damn company knows that Soren is nearly a tactical mastermind, so when she says she has a plan everyone is inclined to listen. Which really helps if you want the same reputation, and are willing to piggyback off someone else's. Especially when they steal your ideas!
We would hardly call that stealing. She no doubt had a similar plan and was just supporting Yours out of convenance.
...Not much of a romantic, are you?
We get enough of that from Your thoughts. We thought We would do Our job as character foil better, at any rate.
Are you implying the evil version of me from Space-Mordor might be my character foil?
Yes. We see that We must take the role of the intellectual one as well, it seems.
Shhh, I can't understand you, I don't speak idiot. Besides, I can still say cool stuff!
"If the defense goes according to plan, we can turn the Princess into a heroine, and someone worthy of respect and reverence." I finish, crossing my arms and smirking. In the space of a few seconds I see the fruits of my efforts come in.
Soren looks at me with ever-so-slightly raised eyebrows and nods, giving me my first gesture of approval. Everyone else ether disregard my comment or look vaguely interested. Everyone but the Princess, that is. She appears to frown and make an effort to open her mouth, but I guess she couldn't find the right words and ended up saying nothing.
Regardless, as he didn't even see the Princess's dilemma, Greil moves to end the meeting, "While I might not like it, Soren brings up good points. We'll set for Trenton immediately, and should be there before sundown. Everyone gather your things, we're leaving in just a few minutes."
As the group was breaking apart, he shouts one last order, "And keep your weapons on hand, in case we run into Daein early again!" We all shout our assent and clean up the temporary camp.
You know, walking for several hours really kills your feet. A good way to distract yourself is daydreaming while you walk. I think I'll indulge in a bit of that.
I had just tied Daniel in how many of Greil's test questions answered. He had just asked us to show undeniable proof of what we just told him (his death), so it was time for a co-op effort. As Daniel explained to him how we both knew Volke was lurking in the shadows somewhere to kill him if he ever touched Lehran's Medallion, I checked the YouTube App on my Droid for that one cutscene where Greil gets skewered.
Eventually I ended up finding it, right about the time Daniel finished explaining what Volke would do for Ike in the upcoming years. After I had shown him the video, he slumped back into his chair, haggard.
He looked me dead in the eye with a tired finality, "What's the name I gave my axe?"
I returned his gaze, "Urvan."
He looked at Daniel, "My protege's name was?"
Daniel's own gaze was unwavering, "Zelgius, of the Daein Central Army. Moonlights as The Black Knight, one of the Four Riders of Daein."
I chimed in helpfully, "And your killer."
Greil looked at me, then at Daniel, then down at his desk with a sigh I could practically feel weighing on my shoulders. Now, I'm pretty sure Greil isn't that old of a man, but at this moment he could have passed for the oldest man in the world. It was...disquieting.
Greil looked at us both, "What do you boys want?"
Daniel looked at me at the same time I did him, and we both had a few things on our mind."Ideally, we want to travel with you guys and try to keep everyone we can alive."
Greil nodded, and began to go over the rules if we were to join his company. We were so excited then. So very excited.
Eventually, something or another snaps me out of my reverie, very rudely. I would learn later than it's rather odd for someone to walk in a perfectly straight line for two hours, looking down and not saying anything. At the same time I would also learn Daniel realized this phenomenon in me, and decided to see how long I'd keep going until I snap out of it, not letting anyone wake me from my trance.
...Why yes, Daniel did just watch me walk right off the road and into a patch of tall grass. And yes, I tripped. And yes indeed, the four idiot zombies with me followed right in step and crumpled onto the grass with confused groans, right ON FUCKING TOP OF ME.
As I scramble to tell my zombies to get the fuck off, I hear fits of laughter from people not currently getting crushed. Deep, manly tones and well as light girlish ones tells me Daniel and Mia are laughing right over me. I can't hear all that well with all this flesh scrambling and struggling above me, but I'm pretty sure a few GMs were laughing at me as well.
Being a sneaky bastard, I decide to make the best of the situation. As the Abelites on top manage to regain their footing by nothing short of a Christmas miracle, the mass of bodies on top of me gradually lifts to the point where I can see Daniel's legs. Putting operation 'Kooky Spooks' into operation, I silently command for the Abelite standing by Daniel to lock him in place while the Abelite just getting off of me to roll at Daniel. Since Daniel could no longer get away, he was sweeped to the ground when my zombie crashed full-force into him.
With one of two targets down, I get to my feet as elegantly as I could. As I had previously thought, Mia was with Daniel, and is presently trying very hard to contain a fit of giggles.
I face her and smile, "That was pretty good, huh?"
She only nods and lets loose a few very high-pitched giggles.
My grin turns feral, "Then you'll love this."
A moment too late, Mia realizes what is just about to happen. I swear, you should have seen the look on her face or the surprised shout she gave as the other Abelite that was standing next to her suddenly wrapped her in a gigantic bear hug and took her to the ground.
Of course, I could only have my fun for so long. Eventually, Greil walked over to where two of his soldiers were attempting in vain to break free of their fleshy restraints, with a third only looking along in merriment. Clearing his throat in the most threatening way I've even seen someone do that in my life, my zombies immediately sprang up to attention, helping their former captives as well.
Greil nodded, not pleased but not overly angry, "Right, shall we be going?"
The seven of us nodded in sync and fell back into line, not daring to speak another word until we reached the town.