Halkegenia Online - Chapter 13 - Part 1
The town of Wallsend had once been exactly what its name implied. In an earlier era, the route to Newcastle had been fortified by an outer wall stretching in a rough semi circle almost ten leagues from the port, turning the entire peninsula into a sort of immense fortress keeping out the marauders and savage war bands. Wallsend had originally been the site of a 'league fort' constructed along the wall to provide housing for the garrison, anchoring the northernmost end of the peninsula on which Newcastle stood. But that had been long ago.
As the Kingdom of Albion had gradually become more tightly unified and siege technology improved, the wall had become obsolete and unnecessary. It had been gradually dismantled, its stones becoming the building material for a trio of outer fortifications that ringed Newcastle proper. An attacker would have been forced to reduce these castles in turn or else risk harassment from the rear while moving on to siege the city itself.
The castles too had fallen by the wayside with time. Two had been completely demolished in previous conflicts and uprisings. Their high stone walls built to resist trebuchet and ballista had been no match for cannon. They lived on now in Newcastle's modern fortifications, supplemented with brick to absorb the impact of cannon shot. Ironically, the advent of cannons had also sparred the last castle, after a fashion.
Gunpowder had first been brought to the continent by traders from Rhub Al Khali. The recipe for producing the most effective mixtures, the exact ratio of sulfur, to saltpeter, to charcoal, and the optimal size and shape of the powder grains, had all been a closely held secret for a time, but only a time. The Kingdoms of Halkegenia had seen the utility of gunpowder for themselves and had wasted little time in replicating the far eastern Kingdom's advanced weapons. In concert with magic, it was a powerful new tool for siege and naval warfare. In fact, it had been the advent of shipboard cannons that had spurred confidence for the second to last crusade.
A modern war demanded large quantities of gunpowder. More than could readily be produced by an army in the field, making its manufacture, storage, and transport essential to a campaign. Gunpowder production was dangerous, requiring skill to prevent sparking while producing a high quality product that would ignite reliably and with a degree of consistency in power to be made useful in gunnery. An accident in production could not be allowed to spread or a whole powder mill could be destroyed in a matter of moments.
The Castle at Wallsend had found new life, its walls reinforced with fire wards and turned to the task of holding destructive forces in rather than weathering them from without. The stone of its keep and turrets had been recycled to construct the mill buildings, and its dungeons and cellars had been converted into powder storage.
Despite all that, it was still a castle, built to keep people out. Getting in undetected would not be easy. Not for normal humans anyways. Fortunately, they weren't normal. It was questionable whether half of them were even human. In the dimness it was impossible to tell the mages from the Faeries, all were garbed in deep blue cloaks meant to conceal them and break up their profiles in the dark of the night.
Slipping free from Newcastle had proven half the challenge. The Rebel forces had the city encircled just outside of cannon range, but they were reluctant to approach the fortress walls as long as the Royalists could still use their own cannons. Newcastle had been a Naval Port and there had been ample cannon shot stocked before the siege had started. In fact, the only thing they were short on was gunpowder.
Moving through the ruins of the city under the cover of twilight, they had made use of an old underground canal to make their way out into the marshland beyond the siege. From there, their small group of trained mages and blooded Fae had managed to slip away without being spotted. But there had still been close calls. The Rebel patrols might have been unwilling to approach the Fortress, but they were diligent in their sweeps of the surrounding countryside.
The journey to Wallsend had taken the better part of an hour on foot. The Faeries had natural speed and endurance while the mages utilized a wind speed buff to keep pace, allowing them to make good time even over broken ground. They had arrived at the edge of the forest overlooking the town and its attendant castle just as the sun completely set.
The castle wasn't very big. A squarish set of walls surrounding an inner courtyard and rectangular keep. Even in its prime it would only have been able to house a small contingent. And by now, with its outer walls partially dismantled and much of the interior taken up by storage and the milling equipment, there wasn't much space left for accommodations. The responsibility for housing the local garrison had been transferred to a more modern Fort built on the far side of the town.
Asuna blinked, feeling her vision returning to normal with a slight sense of disorientation, like she'd been starring at a computer monitor for a bit too long. At her side, Prince Wales lowered his spy glass.
"No sign of extra dragon patrols." The Prince observed. "It is as we expected. The Rebels have grown complacent."
"Yeah, well, I'd probably be pretty complacent too if I knew all my enemies were bottled up or dead." Caramella whispered at Asuna's side.
"Don't get too confident." Asuna warned, recalling the information that had been given to her by Wales' subordinates. "The troops here at Wallsend are front line forces."
"And traitors to King and Country!" The young mage knight Lucane spat at the ground at his feet.
"That may be." Wales agreed. "But this is not the time for vengeance. Ending the lives of traitors is not our goal tonight." The Prince's eyes narrowed. "Am I understood Lucane?"
The Knight placed a hand to the hilt of his sword-wand. "Of course, my Prince." He said reluctantly.
"Good." Wales said. "Now then. The castle only has a light garrison. Most will be quartered in the new Fort. If the castle guards are alerted we may still be able to complete our mission, but if they alert the Fort . . . That cannot be allowed."
There would be killing tonight. Guards would have to be taken by surprise and eliminated before they could sound the alarm. Cold blooded murder. But that wasn't what they were here for. Asuna looked over her shoulder. There were twenty four of them in total. Twelve Faeries and twelve of the Royalists' surviving Mages. All of the Faeries had seen battle and all of the mages were of at least line class.
"Lady Asuna, take Lydel and his men with you." Wales said to Asuna. Though they had planned the mission together. Once the operation had begun, there could be only one leader. Asuna and the other Faeries had agreed to subordinate themselves under the Prince for the duration. Wales turned to a sullen looking mage who's clothing was festooned in small pouches. "Lydel, take your men, go with Lady Asuna and destroy the stores as we planned. The rest of you, with me."
"Yes Sir." Lydel nodded softly.
The mage and three of his fellows came to stand at Asuna's side. Lydel and the others were 'sappers', combat engineers. Their job on this mission was to make sure that the powder stores were completely destroyed, and the mill along with them. The task of protecting the sappers while they worked had been left to Asuna and three of the other Knights of Blood, Caramella, Ivan and Shio. The rest would go with Wales. There task was two fold, to eliminate the patrolling guards and any unexpected arrivals, and see to the mill's stocks of sulfure.
"Lydel, Bartholomew, Lucane. Start your time pieces now. We have seventy minutes to complete our tasks and return here." The gathered mages each removed a hefty pocket watch and did as instructed. The watches apparently weren't very accurate, but they could at least be expected to keep reasonable time for a little over an hour.
"Good luck, Kino." Caramella gave her partner a wave as she followed after Asuna.
Sweeping in from the forest, moving in a crouch through the grass, the walls of the old castle, the powder mill, rose up above them. It was a dark and almost moonless night. They would be almost invisible, but the guards would also be on high alert for any suspicious signs. This was the most dangerous part of the mission. Before they were inside the walls. The guards had the high ground and could sound an alert that would be heard by the main garrison forces stationed on the opposite side of the town. The only advantage they had was the element of surprise.
"Stop!" Asuna whispered, raising a hand. The hiss of her voice didn't travel far before it was swallowed up by the sounds of water gurgling in the mill run. A pair of massive water wheels, used to power the mills, sprouted from the old stone defensive walls.
The water wheels were motionless in the run, the mill was closed for the night. Up above on the walls, a pair of guardsmen paced, stopping from time to time to look out over the wall before resuming their patrol. Just as they turned to begin back down the wall a bird call echoed across the the field. Wale's detachment swept in, sixteen blue blurs racing across the no man's land between the forest and castle walls.
They reached the mill run, and as one, they jumped, vaulting the five meter channel and nearly bouncing from the stone wall of the castle. But the walls were old and weathered, and provided plenty of foot and hand holds to the climbers. Clinging like spiders, they moved vertically almost as fast they had across the flat ground, the Faeries standing out as they moved slightly faster than the mages. They climbed the ten meters to the top of the wall in the blink of an eye before slipping over the edge.
Asuna held her breath. There were so many things that could go wrong at this very instant. But no alarm was sounded. There was no noise, no signs of struggle. Finally, the signal they had been hoping for arrived. A long coil of rope spilled over the edge of the wall and Asuna gestured to advance. They made it to the wall and up the side in the space of a few heartbeats. Looking around, Asuna immediately spotted the bodies of the two guards, she swallowed. The others were nowhere in sight. They'd have already move on in their sweep.
Asuna's eyes swept across the top of the castle. She caught sight of the other bodies and briefly glimpsed a quartet of hooded figures sinking back into the shadows as the final guard fell to the ground, a hole the size of a thumb blasted into his temple by a wind needle.
If Wales' intelligence was correct, there would be sixteen guards assigned to the mill at night, rotated continuously, one at a time, so that there was never a vulnerable point in the guard rotation. All sixteen guards would have to be removed and then the men in the barracks within the castle, another thirty two men, incapacitated. While Asuna had grown to be able to stomach killing a soldier who was facing her and threatening her life, the idea of killing men in their sleep still made her skin crawl.
She shook her head. There was no time for that, if she hesitated, she'd put them all in danger. Looking around, Asuna matched the layout of the castle courtyard with the one she had committed to memory. Standing on the eastern wall. The main courtyard was laid out below her. The building in the far North West corner was the castle's keep, or what was left of it in any case. The highest floors had been dismantled and used to reinforce the building directly beneath her feet. Those would be the mill houses where the grinding mills were located. That was their first stop.
"Caramella." Asuna whispered to the other swordswoman as she helped the last of Lydels men up the rope. "Keep watch here with Ivan until we're done, Shio, you're with me."
"Right." Caramella said, giving a small nod to Ivan. With the naturally enhanced night vision granted by their observation skills, the two of them would be able to spot any signs of trouble.
A stairway along the inside of the wall granted access to the courtyard and Asuna, Shio, and the four mages soon were standing before the doors to the mill. That was when they encountered their first problem.
"This door is warded." Lydel reported as he examined the chain and heavy padlock holding the iron door shut. "Not just fire wards to contain an explosion either. They really don't want this door opened."
"Guess we didn't catch them completely unprepared." Shio muttered.
"Can you break through?" Asuna glanced over her shoulder.
The mage offered her a look of disgust. "Its warded against transmutation and this lock won't budge for any spell that I know."
"I don't suppose you brought any lock picks?" Shio quirked an eyebrow.
The mage rolled his eyes."As if a mage lock would be susceptible to some commoner craft . . . but there are ways." The mage placed his wand to the lock and began to chant.
"I thought you said it was warded . . . " Shio trailed off.
A thin stream of water had been conjured from the tip of Lydel's wand and was now directed across the surface of the lock. Lydel's chanting changed and the waters began to frost over, turning to ice. A faint creaking -pop- came from within the padlock. Another whispered chant caused the ice to once again revert to water.
Lydel gave the lock a stiff yank and frowned when it didn't budge. "This usually works." He muttered.
"Just needs a little elbow grease." Shio said, "May I?"
The mage backed away and watched quietly as the Faery swordsman got a good grip on the lock and pulled. The lock creaked then gave way, snapping open. The chain was pulled free from the door and Shio gestured for the mage to lead the way.
"I guess Faeries are good for something." Lydel said. In the dim light, his expression appeared amused.
The inside of the mill was pitch black, even Asuna's night vision ability didn't help when there was almost no light at all. The skylights above had been shuttered and nobody sane would have left an open flame in a place like this. After closing the door behind them, Lydel and one of his men magically conjured up a source of light.
Before them, outlined in dark shadows, stood a quartet of mills. Each of the four grinding mills was attached to a thick wooden axle that led to an overhead system of gears, pinions, and belts that provided power from the water wheels. The whole arrangement reminded Asuna a little of the grinding wheel in her friend Lisbeth's weapons shop back in Aincrad.
After looking things over, Lydel gave a small snort. "This should be simple enough. Look, they've left the last load of powder out to dry. By the Founder, we hardly need to help them destroy this place. Bart, Miles, help me load all of this lovely powder the Rebels have left us back into the mills, then we'll set the timer.
Asuna watched the mages work. For people proficient in magic and openly disdainful of 'commoners' they seemed to know quite a lot about gunpowder. She would have though they would viewed it the same as they did swords and crossbows. "We're sappers, milady." The man named Bartholomew explained. "Fortification, siege works, demolitions, there be no time for us to discard any tool that helps us with our work."
Their 'work' was soon finished and Lydel retrieved a small device of polished brass from his pocket. It had the appearance of a large pocket watch, but there was only a single hand on its surface and the back appeared to consist of the same sort of mechanism that Asuna had seen on the more advanced handguns. Lydel had been all to happy explain his 'ingenious' device to anyone who would listen. It had apparently taken him the better part of a year to devise and refine.
What it was, was a time bomb without the bomb. The clockwork timer could be wound and set for any period of time from instantaneously to up to an hour. When the timer finished its countdown, it would trigger the wheel lock mechanism. Lydel's igniters allowed a saboteur to get well clear before their tampering was unpleasantly, and often quite fatally, discovered. Combined with a charge of gunpowder, it represented a magicless, almost undetectable device for mayhem.
Given the size of the mill and the need to escape after completing their mission, it had been deemed impractical, not to mention dangerous, to simply destroy the powder stores one at a time. Instead, a dozen of Lydels timers would be used to detonate them almost simultaneously. With any luck, they would be on their way back to Newcastle before the Rebels realized what was happening.
Lydel inspected his handiwork with a glint in his eye. "All set. Bart, check your pocket watch. The first timer is set for sixty minutes."
Kino felt his breathing slow and steady as he kept watch outside the guardhouse. After neutralizing the guards . . . after killing the men up on the walls . . . he and Wales had moved on quickly to their next task.
Kino looked down at his hands. They were clean, at least, they looked clean. His knife skills were good, the man hadn't suffered, he had died almost instantly in fact. It still made Kino feel dirty. But it was better this than letting something happen to Caramella, or Asuna, or any of the others for that matter. He had this skill, so he had to use it when necessary so that others wouldn't have to. That didn't make it any nicer, but he could live with it that way.
Wales had seen the way he had hesitated when they approached the guard house. The building held the dining and barracks facilities for the guards on this side of the town. There would be at least twenty or thirty of them inside at this time of night. They had to kill them all to make sure the alarm wouldn't be sounded.
"Kino, I want you and the rest of the Fae to stand guard out here." Wales instructed. "Keep watch for anyone returning."
"I . . . " Kino hesitated when he saw the kind look in the Prince's eyes. Wales was trying to spare them, at least this little bit. "Understood." He couldn't help but sound a little defeated.
Wales and the other had gathered at the doors of the guardhouse, crouching beneath windows lit by flickering candle light. With a single gesture from Wales, the doors were opened, four of the mages entering through the front, and four more through the side. The candles in the windows were blown out instantly, plunging the guardhouse into darkness. Kino heard the sounds of fighting, a few muffled shouts, and then the noise as one by one, the men within fell. The fighting itself lasted only a matter of seconds. The rest would be cleanup, executing the remaining men in their sleep. It took all of three minutes, and when it was over, their mage allies filed out of the building one by one. Wales' expression was neutral, but there was a look of cruel satisfaction in the eyes of Lucane as the Knight emerged behind him.
"We'll post sentries here in case we missed anyone." Wales instructed, gesturing for two of the mages to brake off and wait behind the castle gates. If anyone else arrived, they would ambush them to prevent an alarm being raised. "The rest of you, lets move on to the warehouses. The sulfur needs to be disposed of. And then we need to make quickly away from this place. Lucane, how much time?"
"Fifty minutes left." Lucane said as he checked a pocket watch.
"Then we have forty minutes to get the sulfur into the river. Quickly now!" Wales took the lead, Kino falling in behind him. The warehouses sat on the opposite bank of the mill run, where the run waters returned to the river. A wooden dock had been constructed along the edge of the Tyne where barges could dock to offload supplies and take on gunpowder for delivery to the Rebel forces.
There were more men here, three guards on the opposite bank of the run. Two were conversing among themselves, a third stood on the wooden docks, Kino squinted, he was smoking a cigarette. Wales tapped Kino gently on the shoulder and they broke off from the others, slipping down to the bank of the run and into the cold river water before scaling up the opposite side.
"We'll have to take the first two together." Wales whispered. "Leave the last to me. On three." Kino nodded, hand slipping another throwing dart from the pouch on his belt, a dark smooth torpedo of black iron that tapered to a point at each end. Relying so much on his disposable weapons, Kino had been grateful to learn that the weapon's smiths among the SAO survivors had been able to make use of the tools in Newcastle to practice their craft. The darts were difficult to use without a high thrown weapons skill, but in the hands of a master thrown weapon user like Kino, they were deadly at close range.
Wales mouthed the count silently and then as one they rose over the lip of the bank. Kino's dart left his hand just as Wales raised his wand. The dart struck the first guard at the base of the skull, the speed and weight of the impact severing the vertebrate and killing him instantly. Wales' own attack struck with a muffled hiss of compressed air. The second guard was thrown forward onto the ground, blood flowing from his nose and mouth. Turning swiftly, Wales reached out with his cane-wand.
As the last guard threw his cigarette into the river and turned back towards the warehouses, a blade of wind covered the distance between him and the Prince. The man's body fell onto the deck, his head fell into the Tyne.
Seeing the deed was done, the others crossed over the run via a footbridge and spread through the warehouses, eliminating any remaining guards and seeking out what they had come fort.
It had happened that sulfur was a rare commodity for the Rebels, and even rarer for the Royalists. Wallsend was probably the biggest stockpile in this part of Albion. If removing it from the hands of the Rebels was good, arranging for it to fall into the laps of the Royalists was even better.
It had, of all people, been Kino who had mentioned it while looking over the maps of Wallsend and Newcastle and realizing that the names of two rivers matched. A major river, the Tyne, ran past Wallsend on its way towards Newcastle. In fact, the water wheels that powered the mill were driven by a mill run that flowed from and back into the Tyne.
Rather than throwing the sulfur away, they could deliver it right into Royalist hands by dumping the shipping casks into the river and allowing them to float their way towards Newcastle under the cover of night. Within the limits of the ruined city, volunteers would be waiting with nets to hall up their catch and transport it into the Fortress to feed the Royalists' own powder mill.
"This is it!." Lucane announced, swatting the side of a sturdy looking wooden cask marked with a series of Halkegenian symbols and some sort of shipping logo. "The bastards! They're being supplied by Gallia."
"We already knew that." Wales muttered. "But you're right, it's shameful to think this would be tolerated. Reconqista is a threat to all of the Royal families of Halkegenia. Joseph truly is the Mad King as they say. Lets get the casks in the water."
There were two warehouses along the dockside. One was a quarter filled with saltpeter, the other was half filled with casks of sulfur. It was more than could be moved readily in the time they had, but whatever they couldn't throw into the river, they would burn when they fled. With only thirty minutes to work they would be lucky to get even half of the sulfur.
"Heh, reminds me of my job IRL." A former ninja build player by the name of Schneider grunted as he pushed his tenth cask into the water. Between the enhanced strength of the Faeries and the magic of the mages, they were making good time. Maybe they could even get more than half.
"This is IRL." Kino said as he pushed the cask away from the dock with a pole. The center of the river ran deep and swift from here to the port. Wales said that if they could get them away from the shore, few of the casks would get caught on the riverside before they made it to Newcastle.
"Yeah, I mean the IRL with electricity, indoor plumbing, and easy access to porn." Schneider observed, receiving a roll of the eyes from his fellow Faeries and looks of polite confusion from the mages."
"Lucane, how much time do we have left?" Wales asked
"Twenty minutes until time. Ten more minutes here." The man sounded anxious. No one wanted to be here when the time reached zero.
As Lucane, Schneider and the others vanished back into the warehouse and Kino worked at the casks with the barge pole, Wales swept the vicinity for any sign that they were being watched. But the only signs of life were a few faint torch lights from the direction of the Town and the chirping of the spring insects.
Without looking up from his work, Kino spoke. "Hey, Wales . . . Thanks for back there . . . And, you know, everything else . . ."
Wales quirked a brow. "Whatever for?"
Kino struggled to explain it. "The Royalists. They aren't doing too well. All you have left is Newcastle and the Eagle, right?" Wales winced. "You're really going out of your way to help us."
The Prince shook his head softly. "Please, Kino, I don't deserve your thanks. The truth is I am using you." The Prince smiled sadly. "Such despicable conduct on my part, isn't it?"
"I don't think so." Kino said as he pushed another cask clear of the dock. "I mean, your responsible to your people first, right? It's noble that you'll help us at all."
"That may be." Wales admitted, though he looked unsatisfied with the conclusion. "But truthfully that is little excuse." Taking a breath, the Prince sighed. "I will be gone before too long, and the remaining Royalists with me."
Kino stayed quiet. It wasn't that he hadn't known. Wales had never lied to them about the circumstances that the Royalists found themselves in. But it wasn't something he liked to linger on.
"Even with their gunpowder curtailed and this sulfur to supply us. It's only a matter of time before the Rebels defeat us. Either they'll starve us out, or they'll accept the losses to storm the Fortress." Wales smiled coldly. "I rather hope for the latter so that we might have our last act of defiance." Shaking his head again. "If I was truly as noble as you claimed, I would be able to ask nothing for your passage to the Continent and keep a clear conscience before my men."
Kino shook his head. "Couldn't you run? I mean . . . There's a lot of people in Newcastle but Halkegenia isn't too far away. And people like Captain Thorn would have helped if you asked . . . So why?"
Wales chuckled softly. "Why would we fight to the last? If only it were so simple Kino . . . The truth is, I can't run, no matter how much I might wish to." His expression softened. "I am as much as symbol as a man, Kino. To run would be to offer evidence of everything the Rebels claim about the Royalty. My men and I will fight to the last. But we aren't so vainglorious as to drag bystanders down with us. When the time comes, the Eagle will depart Newcastle one last time with our women and children. I can only hope that Tristain will offer them refuge."
"That's where you're sending us, right?" Kino asked as the last cask was pushed away. Wales nodded.
The Royalists at Newcastle still received intermittent messages by means of carrier birds, many of them the familiars of the wind mages that resided within the Fortress. The news they had received about happenings on the continent was as bewildering to the Royalists as it was encouraging to the Faeries. There were Faerie's in Tristain, thousands of them. Not only that, the Kingdom of Tristain had entered peaceful negotiations with the Fae within their borders. If the SAO survivors could make it to Tristain, they would be safe, at least for a while longer.
Schneider and the others were returning with the next load. A dozen mages and Fae using their strength and magic to lift or role the casks down to the edge of the dock and into the water. They were working up a good tempo now and hardly paused to spare Wales or Kino a glance before trotting back to the warehouse, Lukane offering a muttered warning. "Eight minutes."
Kino and Wales had fallen silent. There really wasn't anything else to say. The peace was shattered by an odd rattling at the far side of the dock. Both of them were suddenly on guard. Kino dropped his barge pole and drew a knife as Wales raised his cane-wand. A trio of narrow, rectangular wooden structures sat off to one side of the dock. As they watched, the door to one swung open.
A man, a burly looking guard, stepped out, still buttoning his trousers. The man saw the two cloaked figures on the dock, then he saw the corpses of the other guards. The Guard starred at Wales and Kino, Wales and Kino starred back.
'Oh you have got to be kidding me!' Kino thought in a very Caramella like fashion.
The silence was broken as the guard dropped a partially defaced almanac and turned to run. Wales was already casting a wind bullet like the one he had used earlier but to his bad luck, the man's unfastened trousers fell down around his ankles, causing him to trip. The blast of bone shattering concussive force washed cleanly over the man's head, blowing a melon sized hole in the out house behind him.
"Attack! Attack! We're under attack!" The man shouted as he grabbed at his pants with one hand and snatched up a torch hanging at the end of the dock with another. He was making a straight line for a wooden stand a short distance from the end of the dock. Three long wooden tubes were lined up and angled so that they would fire over the river. Flares!
"Kino!" Wale's barked, snapping the young knife user from his mystified state.
Without a second thought, a throwing dart flitted from Kino's hand. It didn't connect. Though his aim was true, Wales had just cast a wind spell, the same one he had used to trip up Kino in York. The guard stumbled, falling once more to ground and striking his jaw against the cobblestones hard enough to crack teeth. The torch in his free hand tumbled away, rolling across the dock and coming to a halt a few paces from a palette of shipping casks.
"What's going on out there?" Schneider shouted as he appeared in the wide doors of the far warehouse.
Wales advanced calmly on the man, cane-wand at his side. A look of clear annoyance crossing the Prince's face. The guard fumbled for a pistol on his belt raising it just as Wales blasted it from his head with another air bullet. The Guard screamed as his hand was shattered.
"W-Wales!" Kino stuttered.
"Kino, put out that torch before it starts a fire." Wales said calmly. "You don't need to see this."
Kino nodded and turned slowly towards the fallen torch, and then went pale. He didn't know how long he was frozen for. He suspected it was one of those moments that only seemed long but had really been very short. He recognized the logo on the casks sitting here on the dock. It was the same one he had seen back in York. As he watched, the flames licked against the side of one of the barrels with a sparking hiss.
"Get clear!" Kino screamed, turning on the balls of his feet and breaking into a run for the edge of the dock. He almost broke Wales' neck as he grabbed the Prince by the collar of his cloak and dragged him along with all of his strength, leaving the hapless guard to his fate. Just as he and Wales struck the water, all hell broke loose.
"What was that?" Asuna asked as the castle trembled faintly.
Lydel looked up from his work, suddenly growing tense. "Sounded like gunpowder."
"Did one of your igniters go off?" Shio asked cautiously.
"No . . . That sounded too far away." Lydel decided quickly.
Asuna was suddenly worried, she knew in her bones that something had finally gone wrong. "Are you sure?"
Lydel gave her a look of mild disbelief. "If it was one of ours, trust me, we would know."
"Either way, we need to get going." Asuna said, "If we felt it all the way down here, then they definitely heard it at the Fort." And reinforcements might be racing for the castle even now. They needed to get above ground and see what was happening. Wales and the others might need their help.
"Fine." Lydel said as he stood and wiped his hands on his pants. They were standing in the last of twelve store rooms built into castle's cellars. Reinforced by the castle foundations, the thick stone walls were meant to compartmentalize an explosion in case of an accident. It had taken the better part of their remaining time to break open the locks on each room and place the igniters.
"It won't do them much good either way. We're done here." Bartholomew observed as he stepped gingerly over the corpse of a guard. "Maybe if we're lucky, they'll get caught in the blast when this place goes up."
"Wait, it's going to be that big?" Shio growled as he followed the first sapper out the door.
The Royal Engineer gave a small shrug, a glint of delight in his eye. "This place was rebuilt to contain an explosion, but it wasn't designed to hold twelve simultaneous explosions. At very least, the concusive force is going to crack the castle's foundations and bring the whole thing tumbling down, and that's only if the store room walls don't start to break up and we get sympathetic explosions."
"You could have explained that in the briefing!" The swordsman hissed.
"Why? If something went wrong, we'd never know." Lydel snorted as he raced quickly after them.
"Never mind that." Asuna said, she really didn't want to think about it now that it had been brought up. "We've completed our mission. We won't have the head start we hoped for, but this was always part of the worst case scenario." They just all needed to stay calm and everything would be fine, she thought.
Reaching the entrance to the castle keep, Asuna looked up to see Caramella standing on wall above them. The swordswoman seemed preoccupied staring off to the north.
"Caramella, what's happening?" Asuna shouted. "Have reinforcements already arrived?"
"Whatever it was, it wasn't me! It came from the direction of the barge dock." Asuna could see the concern writ large on the other woman's face.
"Lydel, how much time do we have left?"
The Royal Engineer checked his timepiece. "Sixteen minutes remaining until time."
Coming to a decision, Asuna started to snap off orders. "Shio, Lydel, Caramella, do a sweep of the castle and gather up anyone from Wales' group that was left behind, then get out of here, head back to the rendezvous, do you understand?"
"Hey wait a minute, what about Kino and Blondie?" Caramella snapped. "That blast . . . They need our help!"
"I'll go find them myself." Asuna said. "Caramella, please, I'm trusting you with this."
Asuna could see the conflict in Caramella's eyes. Knowing the other woman, the odds were good that she wanted to say 'no'. After all, Kino was with Wales, and Caramella didn't really trust anyone else to look out for him. Instead, blowing air through her teeth, the older swordswoman nodded. Putting hands on hips she started shouting like a drill instructor from her perch. "Alright, what're you all waiting for? Shio, you've got five minutes, take one of the mages and make sure everyone is out. I'll go with Ivan and check the wall, we'll gather at the rendezvous. Now move it!"
Asuna was already racing off in the direction of the castle gate and the docks beyond as the group scattered to obey their instructions. Racing up the the half lowered draw bridge and landing lightly on the opposite side of the mill run, Asuna looked up as she heard the first blood chilling cry. Dark, now familiar shapes were approaching in the skies above, and she felt her stomach twisting up as she remembered the night almost a week ago. It only caused her to run faster.
When she saw the docks, she let out a small gasp. Half of the wooden barge dock had been reduced to kindling, and of the two warehouses fronting the water, one had partially collapsed while the other was already beginning to burn. She saw a handful cloaked figures emerging from the collapsed warehouse, coughing and stumbling forward.
"Schneider, Lucane!" Asuna shouted to the Faerie and Mage. "What happened."
Lucane leaned Schneider against what was left of a warehouse wall. The Faerie didn't look too badly hurt, his cloak was torn and stained with blood, but judging by the way he moved, his injuries were mostly superficial. At least, that was what Asuna hoped.
"We missed a guard." Schneider wheezed. "He tried to sound the alarm, Prince Wales stopped him . . . but the idiot . . . he set off some gunpowder on the dock. Just . . . our luck, eh?"
"Powder in a powder mill." Lukane cursed. "Who would have thought?"
Schneider snickered, wincing in pain. "You've been hanging around us too long. Caramella's snark is rubbing off on you."
"Where are Kino and Wales now?" Asuna demanded.
"I . . . I don't know." Schneider panted.
Lucane's expression grew dark. "The Prince was on the docks right before the gunpowder was set off. But I saw young Kino dragging him off the edge with not a moment to spare. Quickly, Lady Asuna we must find the Prince!" The young knight made to take a step forward and then nearly fell, clutching at his side. Probing beneath his cloak, the Knight's hand came away covered in blood. "It's but a flesh wound." Lukane offered weakly.
Asuna batted the Knight's hand aside and pulled his cloak open. She grimaced. She didn't know much about medicine, the fact that he could still stand was probably a good sign, but he had been hurt, his side sprayed with wood splinters. He needed a doctor, or at least a mage with some healing spells. "You're not finding anyone." Asuna said, looking up as the cries of dragons came once more.
The others, both Faeries and mages were staggering from the debris, Asuna counted a half dozen in all. They all looked worse for the wear but none were as bad off as the first two. "All of you, we're leaving now. Withdraw to the fallback area and head for Newcastle.
"But the Prince?!" Another mage, face covered in soot protested.
"That's right, and the others!" A Faerie tank named Lukes said. "They were inside the warehouse getting the next load."
Asuna looked up, the dragons were beginning to circle overhead, homing in on the source of the disturbance. Between the darkness and the smoke, they couldn't quite see what was happening on the ground, but that wouldn't last long, and from the sound of it, there were more on the way.
"Lukes, Eidel." She snapped off the names of the two closest Faeries. Both men stood up straight. "Come with me, we need to Find Wales and the others. The rest of you, do you think you can get Lucane and Schneider out of here?"
"Yes, Lady Asuna!" One of the mages answered swiftly. Wales had made it clear that barring his orders, his men should defer to her. The roars of dragons sounded again, followed by a sharper, high pitched noise that chilled Asuna.
"Kyuii!"
Asuna was running again, Lukes and Eidel chasing after her. Everything was coming apart, she thought. They had to get out of here quickly, but they couldn't leave anyone behind. Not again! The inside of the warehouse was somehow in worse shape than the exterior. Overhead beams and wooden shelves had collapsed or tumbled over. Casks lay shattered on the ground, spilling their yellowish contents across the stone floor.
Lukes cursed and a moment later Asuna saw why. A Faerie was laid out, a man named Arata, pinned to the ground by a ceiling support, skewered. Asuna felt her legs tremble beneath her as Lukes ran forward and checked the man for signs of life. The tank looked up and shook his head. "I'm sorry Asuna-sama." He grunted.
A groan came from a pile of wood in one corner. "Quickly!" Asuna gestured, helping Lukes and Eidel to pull debris free from a collapsed stone wall. Beneath, they found a trio of survivors, an unconscious mage and two more Faeries.
"You guys okay?" Lukes shouted.
"Y-yeah. One, of the Fae said. Oswyn here shielded us, but he got clocked pretty hard on the head. My legs are pinned but I can still feel'm at least, and Marco is holding up this damn wall!"
"We'll get you out." Asuna said, her ears piqued up as she heard shouts and the sound of dragons from outside. They were running short of time.
The mage, Oswyn was pulled free and laid down down first, his breathing was shallow but steady. Next came the pinned Fae, his legs freed with help from Eidel. Once the other two were clear, Marco scrambled free as the masonry he had been leaning against collapsed completely.
A moment later, the whole warehouse shuddered as something crashed into its side and the sound of a Dragon's roar erupted, close and deafeningly loud.
"Take Oswyn and run for the rendezvous. Lukes with me!" Asuna ordered.
Through the partially collapsed warehouse door, Asuna could make out a fire dragon stocking along the front of the docks and the sounds of battle. The warehouse shuddered again as the dragon suddenly crashed into it as if struck. The dragon's roar was followed by a gout of flame that jetted out over the river. That's when Asuna saw Wales, sopping wet, Kino at his side.
"Asuna-sama!" Lukes shouted as Asuna raced out ahead, vaulting one fallen beam before skidding beneath another and rolling out into the midst of battle.
"Lady Asuna!" Wales called before diving to the side as the fire dragon lashed out with its tail. "Fortuitous timing!"
So close to the Mill's precious sulfur, the Dragon Knight was holding back his dragon's breath attack, only allowing the drake to spit flames only over the river. While the dragon's Mage rider occupied Wales, the dragon focused on Kino, spitting focused jets of flame at the nimble knife wielder.
Kino ducked and dodged between the remains of the dock, countering with a pair of thrown darts. The first sank into the scale's near the dragon's snout, barely fazing it. The second got lucky and struck right in the eye. The mount roared in pain, nearly shaking its rider loose and giving Wales the opportunity to counter attack while the mage was distracted.
"Traitor to King and Country!" Wales roared as he plunged forward, a wind spear forming at the tip of his cane to impale the out of position Rebel Mage. The blow never landed.
"Kyuii!"
A miniature tornado crashed into the dockside between Wales and the grounded dragon, the storm of gathered wind diffusing and forcing Wale's back. The Prince managed to keep his feet beneath him, releasing his wind spear and using the compressed air to dissipate the blast directed at him.
A second rebel mage stood on the dock, cane-wand raised as if it were a sword in en guard position. Asuna shivered, she knew this mage. She couldn't have forgotten him so quickly. The mage from Skiesedge . . . The one who had killed . . . Asuna grit her teeth, feeling a familiar cold anger overtaking her.
"Wales, be careful. This is the one who killed Arguile!" Kino cried out.
Wales glanced to Asuna and then back to the dismounted mage. Recognition dawned. "Dunwell . . . I should have known a traitor like you would show himself eventually!" The Prince's eyes narrowed.
"Traitor my Dear Prince?" The man, Dunwell, asked. "I'd have thought you'd have clearer eyes than your brothers. No matter."
Asuna saw the man beginning to shift his weight, preparing to attack. Asuna willed herself forward, feeling the now familiar burst of energy stretching through her wings as they stood on end behind her back. She covered the distance between herself and Dunwell in the blink of an eye. It was a testament to the man's speed that he was able to block her first thrust, his cane-wand becoming encased in a nearly invisible shell of air.
"Lady Asuna!" Wales cried in surprise and then he was guarding as the air around him began to combust. The mage atop the dragon had recovered.
"I'll hold him while you and Kino escape!" Asuna shouted as she readied her sword. She'd pushed Dunwell back when last they'd fought, she'd do it again here!
"We're not leaving you!" Kino said as he threw his last dart at the fire mage, trying to distract him from the Prince.
Asuna and Dunwell danced around one another. Though he couldn't match her speed or strength, Dunwell's skill was certainly greater than her own, and beyond that, he had something she didn't, magic, and true experience fighting for years against living, breathing opponents. All things considered, they were about equally matched.
"This isn't an argument Kino." Asuna ordered as she broke away for an instant. She couldn't give Dunwell even a single instant to cast. At that very moment, her life was depending on her speed. "Wales, if any of us can escape a dragon on foot, it's me, take Kino and run!"
Then there was no time for any more words as they were caught up once more in their separate battles. This fight was completely different from their last, she could sense it. Before, she had faced Dunwell only briefly, a man unsure of his enemy. This time, the mage's tempo was faster, more sure, he'd learned from their last fight and this time he wasn't exhausted. They ran across the dock, trading sword strikes, Asuna landing a grazing strike on Dunwell's shoulder as the mage creased her cheek with a wind blade.
Dunwell managed to put some distance between them, giving himself a precious half second to cast. Asuna's eyes followed the point of his focus, dodging the aim just as the tortured remains of the dock between the cane's tip and the river disintegrated into a shower of wind whipped splinters. The destruction overshot the docks and traveled outwards, turning the river water white with froth before bursting in a geyser near the middle of the river.
Asuna had only an instant to be shocked. She'd seen plenty of powerful magic since arriving in Albion, but she hadn't realized a mage could wield so much power on such short notice. Though the thought filled her with fear, it barely slowed her down, more than ever, she had to keep him from using his magic.
Asuna peppered Dunwell with a series of rapid fire thrusts, Faerie speed and her ingrained sword skills allowing her to move at a speed that would be impossible to block. The mage was forced to shield himself with magic, the tip of Asuna's blade sinking deeper into a shell of solidified air with each strike. A final powerful thrust pushed through the shield, nearly skewering Dunwell before the mage released his spell in a blast of air that pushed them apart.
Asuna skidded back as Dunwell was sent crashing into the burning warehouse, bursting through a flame weakened wooden wall in a shower of sparks. Asuna raised her rapier calmly and followed.
She remembered what Caramella had told her, her premonition about the man who had killed their friend. This man . . . She breathed . . . First at York . . . This man . . . Then at Skiesedge . . . This man! It couldn't be coincidence. He was pursuing them, sabotaging them at every turn. He was too dangerous to let live. She would kill this man!
The inside of the second warehouse was alight, the embers casting a ghastly glow across the walls and the broken casks of saltpeter. The smoke was thick, and cloying, burning at Asuna's lungs. Dunwell was nowhere to be seen. Asuna paused letting her senses adjust, listening for anything strange over the groans of wood and the cracking of the fires. She'd always found her senses growing acute in the middle of a fight, like her brain was overclocking to examine everything around her with preternatural attention to detail. Dunwell's strategy probably would have worked if she'd been any less aware of her surroundings.
It would have been a perfect attack if the windspell hadn't had the briefest charge up. She knew the sound from hearing it when Wales cast it himself, a faint, sharp hissing as the air built up before release. She jumped back as the smoke above her parted. The stone floor where she had just been standing shattered as the wind bullet impacted.
Another hiss and she rolled forward as a smoldering wooden beam at her side was blasted into ash and embers. Through the smoke, from the corner of her eye, Asuna saw a shadow, larger and more solid than those cast by the flames, she spun around and struck out. Dunwell countered with a quick parry with his cane that left him out of position. Asuna tried to take advantage of the opening only to receive a powerful kick to the stomach that bounced her back and left her momentarily winded.
Dunwell kicked up a cloud of spilled saltpeter, drawing it into the shape of a thin blade around his cane. Caramella had told her about this, some sort of abrasive attack. Guarding wouldn't work. She danced back, evading the mages thrusts. Her feet caught on something, a fallen cask, or a push cart, she stumbled to regain her footing as Dunwell saw his opening.
The shape of the dust cloud changed, extending and broadening. It was no longer a duelist's blade, it had transformed into a broadsword. Dunwell swung his cane one handed, and Asuna ducked, feeling a few loose locks of hair parting company with her scalp. Another strike came, overhead and fast and she side stepped, a wood and stone wall behind her exploding into sparks and splinters.
Asuna realized almost too late what was happening, Dunwell was driving her back into the corner of the warehouse where the stone walls and intact roof would give her no place to run or evade. She was trapped! There was only one thing left to do, she had to finish this with the next strike. 'I'm sorry Kino.' She thought as her rapier reached out to meet Dunwell's next attack.
She had always loved this type of Rapier even after she had traded up. Her attacks had always felt so light and swift and perfectly aimed. A rush of confidence would come each time she held the blade in her hands, like she could take any challenge.
The blade struck Dunwell's wind-saltpeter sword and for an instant it resisted, the Aincrad alloy glowing white hot as particles of saltpeter struck, heated, and began to react. A hot metallic chemical scent filled the air as the beautiful sword was eaten away. Asuna pressed forward, sacrificing her rapier to still Dunwell's attack for one moment. The mage's eyes widened as Asuna sank beneath his blade, and a balled fist came up into his sternum.
There was a satisfying oomph as Dunwell was thrown off his feet. She hadn't been able to put much power behind it, but her Faerie strength should have been more than enough to lay the mage out flat. Or it would have been if he hadn't fallen back with the blow to spare himself.
With grace that was surprising for a man of his years, the mage converted his fall into a backwards roll, coming up in a crouch, clutching his stomach as he leveled his wand. Asuna moved without hesitation, in her right hand the remains of her sword ended jaggedly twelve centimeters from the hilt, the edges still glowing sullen red. In this physical world the sword had not disintegrated into particle effects when it had been destroyed. It wasn't much but it would have to do.
Asuna locked blades with Dunwell, the hilt of her ruined sword and the hand span of remaining blade pressed against the wood and brass shaft of the mage's cane wand. Again for his apparent age, Dunwell proved startlingly strong, using the leverage offered by his now longer cane, he barred his right arm across the cane's shaft just below its tip to hold Asuna at bay. It was only a partial success as his boots began to skid across the floor and the shaft of the focus began to creak under the abuse.
For heartbeat, the two locked eyes for the first time and Asuna trembled. Soft brown looked into sullen gray and she saw no hint of fear or regret. He'd killed people, innocent people, but this man wouldn't beg for mercy even if she demanded it. At that moment, Asuna knew why killing could come so easily.
"You . . . You!" Asuna screamed as she pushed with all her might. Dunwell's cane went flying from his hands, the mage skidding back. His right hand rose to his mouth, and with a sharp exhalation, Dunwell let out a sharp trio of whistles.
"Kyuii!"
A moment later, the side of the warehouse shuddered.
"Kyuii!"
The wood and masonry creaked and gave way, collapsing in a shower of dust and debris as the ceiling between Asuna and Dunwell collapsed. Tree trunk like forelimbs crashed through the walls, tearing clumsily at the sides of the warehouse. A sleek draconic head, elongated and smooth when compared to the fire dragons she had seen before, burst through the wall.
The dragon's head swung towards her, its mouth opening wide. Ausuna knew what was about to happen. She ran, jumping up onto a row of casks and bursting through the thin wood shutters hung at head height along the back wall of the warehouse as the interior was washed with a short burst of flame. She came rolling to a stop, struggling to her feet as the entire wall began to collapse, the dragon battering it apart with its wings before settling facing Asuna.
The dust cloud spread out, enveloping the surroundings. Cylindrical corridor formed as her opponent stepped forward calmly from the wreckage wielding his retrieved cane-wand. Dunwell seemed utterly unfazed by the chaos around him.
Asuna stumbled back, holding what was left of her sword. Dunwell came to stand before his dragon, master and mount watching her calmly. Then, from the dust all around them, shadows began to take shape. To her left, three men in uniforms like Dunwell's own, and to her right, another four. She took another step back and shook her head softly. As she had told Prince Wales, she was the fastest of their group, if anyone could hope to escape a dragon, she knew it was her. This was all she could. She only hoped that Wales and the others had been able to flee.
Movement to her left caught her attention, a blur approaching swiftly and silently. The shape exploded from the dust and into the dim evening light and Asuna felt a hand closing in a cool, vice like grip around her right wrist, squeezing softly until she released the remnants of her sword. Asuna starred.
"Dunwell-sama." The man spoke calmly, looking past her to the wind mage.
This wasn't possible. Asuna thought. This wasn't possible. This wasn't possible. How could this be possible? Caramella and Kino had seen . . . Had seen him die . . . They'd wept for him as if he were their own family. But here he was, standing above her in the uniform of a Rebel soldier. Alive. Stopping her. Why?!
"Arguile . . ." Asuna whispered.
Behind the Faerie Swordsman, a dozen figures emerged through the smoke, more Mages and commoner soldiers.
"I apologize for my tardiness, Dunwell-sama. I have brought the reinforcements."
"Caramella we have to go now!" Ivan shouted he took hold of the rope hung over the side of the castle wall.
There were way to many dragons sweeping in the direction of the main gate for them to head out that way. Luckily, when this powder keg went off, literally, it was going to give Reconquista's eyes in the sky plenty else to worry about than a couple dozen pseudo humans fleeing for their lives.
"I know that!" Caramella cursed bitterly to herself. "But damn it, we have to make sure everyone gets out! Hey, Bart. How much time do we have left?"
The Royal Engineer at her side checked his pocket watch. "Seven minutes."
"Then leave me the watch, I'll wait five."
The mage gave her an uncertain look before shaking his head. "Lydel isn't back yet with your man."
"Damn it, Caramel." Ivan grunted.
"Ca-Ra-Mel-La." She said mechanically. "Ivan get out of here and go meet up with the others."
"I . . ." Ivan began only to be interrupted by a low roar.
Caramella paled, one of the dragon's had finally decided to sweep towards the castle, it had spotted them and was already beginning to swoop in, mouth opening to spit fire. "For God's sake, Ivan go!" Caramella shouted as she grabbed Bartholomew by his cloak and jumped down onto the roof of the mill building. Fire washed over the top of the castle, but judging by the lack of screaming, Ivan must have taken her advice for once and gotten clear.
"You okay!" Caramella asked asked as she carried Bart down from the top of the powder mill.
The man looked shaken by her little evasive maneuvers stunt but gave her a jerky nod. "Y-yeah."
"Okay, screw it, Ivan's right, it's too hot . . ." She bit off another curse " . . . to stay here. Lets get back up and over the wall before that oversized chicken makes another pass."
"Caramella!" Shio shouted as he and Lydel approached from the far side of the courtyard.
"Took you long enough!"
"The bastards dropped some mages on the far side of the castle, we had to deal with them first." Shio said. "Nothing like that over here?"
Caramella frowned, "Not that I know of." Her ears perked up as she heard the sound of boots running along the burned stones above them. She spun around, drawing her two handed sword as a petite silhouette plummeted from above, landing delicately less than a meter from Shio. The swordsman was already bringing his blade up to cut his opponent down when he froze. He looked like he was seeing a ghost. Probably because he was.
"Aki?" Shio stuttered.
"Hi Shio!" The small woman said brightly, an eery plastic smile spreading across her face.
It was Aki alright. Caramella had run into the young woman often enough to know her by name. She'd been one of the 'civilian' group leaders and well liked by everyone. Energetic and full of humor. They'd lost her at Skiesedge, she'd died trying to protect others. But here she was, pointy ears and all, either that or some alternate universe version of her that served in the Rebel Army. Caramella's instincts were already reacting, even as her mind returned only complete confusion.
"Shio, get back!" She shouted.
It was too late. That brief flash of hesitation had sealed Shio's fate. Aki's hand came up, batting aside Shio's sword hand, and then without a hint of mercy, she drew her saber and smoothly drove it beneath Shio's breastplate and through his heart. Shio gagged, looking bewildered as he stumbled back, his life escaping him.
"Bye Shio." Aki said equally brightly as the man fell to the ground
Caramella's fight or flight reflexes kicked into overdrive firmly on the fight side. Even before Shio had breathed his last breath, she was already on the attack, the bloody minded animal part of her brain taking control.
What the hell? What the hell was this? Because there was no way this was Aki. There was no way this was one of the SAO survivors she'd spent two weeks struggling alongside across the countryside of a Kingdom that wanted them all dead!
"What the hell!" Caramella roared as she clashed with the deranged nega-Aki before her. The mage's stumbled back confused at the sight of a Faerie killing one of her own. "What the hell are you?"
"I'm Aki!" The girl wearing Aki's face smiled. "Don't you remember me Caramella?" The girl leaned in. Despite Caramella's best efforts, she wasn't making much progress against her guard. "Remember, you shared that roasted apple with me? See, its really me?"
"Bullshit!" Caramella hissed as nega-Aki skipped back, a wide smile on her face. Bartholomew and Lydel had finally gotten over their confusion at seeing a Faerie murder another Faerie, both mages were now readying to cast. "Aki is dead!" She shook her head angrily. Wait, had anyone really seen Aki die?
"Dame Caramella, get back." Lydel grunted as he aimed his wand at nega-Aki.
"Wait!" Caramella raised a hand to stay the two mages. "Aki . . . what else do you remember. Tell me something that only Aki would know!" Caramella demanded. They hadn't been close, but there were a few things, after all, they'd lived closely together for two weeks.
Aki blinked rapidly and then nodded. "When we shared that apple and I gave it back, you bit the same spot and I joked about it being a second hand kiss. You went completely red!"
Caramella would have blushed at the memory at any other time. Now it only served to confirm the girl's identity. This probably wasn't a mage who'd interrogated her and put on her face as a disguise.
"Aki . . ." She said pleadingly. "Aki, you've been brainwashed. Do you understand?" Caramella didn't think it usually worked like this. Could you really take someone and turn them against their friends in less than a week? Then again, magic. "They must have done something to you. Drugged you."
The other woman tilted her head. "No, they didn't brainwash me." She said in a matter of fact tone. "My head's never been clearer. It's nice, I don't have any of those worries or lingering doubts. I'd think you'd like it too Caramella."
'Which just proves it.' Caramella thought as Aki took a step forward and then another step.
The swordswoman stepped back and prepared to guard. "Aki, please Aki, snap out of it! I don't want to hurt you, but I swear I'll fight you if you make me!"
"That's alright." Aki said. "I don't mind!"
The girl lunged forward with her rapier and then was stopped in her tracks. While she had been distracted with Caramella. Bartholomew had rushed in and delivered an air needle through Aki's chest.
"No!" Caramella screamed. "What the hell have you done?!" They could have captured her and taken her back to Newcastle. The mages there might have been able to deprogram her. They could have saved her! Caramella was about to launch into a tirade as Aki's hands closed crushingly on Bartholomew's shoulders causing the mage to hiss in pain.
Aki Frowned. "Don't you know. Its rude to stick your hand into a girl's chest without introducing yourself?" Reaching back, Aki's right hand speared into Bart's ribcage with a sickening crunch. The mage's eyes went wide and then he screamed out as Aki squeezed at his insides.
"Bart!" Lydel shouted, trying to do something, but he couldn't get a clear shot. The life was squeezed from the mage in a matter of seconds and Aki easily cast him aside.
More than the second casual murder, Caramella felt her blood run cold as she got a good look at the hole in Aki's chest. She didn't care how high level she might have been, there was no way she should still be alive with something like that blown through her. That left only one thing. This world had magic after all.
Caramella felt her hands begin to tremble. She was . . . Pissed.
"Lydel . . . Tell me she isn't what I think she is." Caramella gritted out.
The Royal Engineer grimaced. "A zombie. The forbidden arts." He retreated a bit to stand beside Caramella and raised his wand in a guard. "I've never heard of a zombie retaining this much intelligence before." As he spoke the lifelike Aki probed curiously at the hole in her chest. "She must be animated by very powerful magic. Caramella, there's no time for this, we have to go, this whole place is about to explode."
"I won't let you!" Aki announced as she looked up at them and raised her saber with a smile. "Dunwell-sama ordered me to stop anyone trying to escape!"
Caramella smiled viciously. "Is that so?" All mercy had drained from her now. "Lets see just how well you can stop us once I take off your damned head!"
This thing wasn't the kind, vibrant girl who had endured SAO and hoped to one day return home. It was some magically animated freak. A mage's puppet dancing on strings. As long as it existed, Aki, the real Aki, could never have peace.
"That's okay Caramella-san!" Aki said as they crossed swords once more. "Cut me to pieces as much as you want! I'm a holy soldier of the Founders glorious Reconquista now! Death is meaningless to those who have seen the Founder's light!"
"What are ya'now a Jehova's Witness?" Caramella spat as she beat the smaller girl back. Aki might have been at a decent level in life, and she was fearless in death, but Caramella wasn't some slouch who had slummed around on the bottom floors either. But good as she was, this was taking too much time.
"Caramella, drive her to the left, this way!" Lydel shouted. Eh? Lydel was pointing for her to get Aki between them and the powder mill. Well, Lydel was supposed to be the brains here. Spinning about, Caramella traded places with Aki and batted out with her sword, staggering the smaller woman. Before she could recover, a wind hammer threw her against the wall of the powder mill.
"That's your brilliant plan?" Caramella shouted, she was greatly disappointed.
Aki was already rising, brushing herself off. "Swords and Magic will not stop a holy soldier of the Founder." She announced.
"Oh?" Lydel asked as he glanced one last time at his pocket watch and whispered something under his breath. "What about time?"
Aki tilted her head just as Caramella felt the air growing solid around her and Lydel. Aki took one step forward, and then the whole world blossomed into smoke, fire, and pain before going blessedly dark.
The world returned to Caramella a moment later as she felt the ground beneath her kick. She let out a cough, rising to her feet. Her head was throbbing and her ears were ringing. She tallied off, two arms, two legs, a head, all the important bits were there. She almost fell over as the ground gave another kick. Looking around, Aki was gone, so was the powder mill. Okay, Lydel did good work.
"Lydel" She coughed, she saw the Royal Engineer a few paces away, covered in rubble.
He was bleeding pretty bad from his head, but he was still breathing. The ground shook again twice more, each time more violently than the last. The cobblestones of the courtyard began to rattle.
"Lydel, speak to me!" Caramella said as she shouldered him and began to look around. She could hear shouts approaching from across the courtyard, and they didn't sound friendly.
"Heh, just knew that one would go off first. Never got the springs quite right." Lydel chuckled painfully. "You Gotta . . . Get out . . . Leave me . . . I've done my job."
Caramella was already moving, half carrying the man as she picked up speed towards the far wall, the earth was kicking massively and the the castle walls started to give way, the highest stones tumbling down as the walls began to shift and separate.
"What're you talking about?" Caramella panted as they picked up speed. "Job like this? When we get back to Newcastle, you and me are gonna do nothing but talk fireworks!" Something small and fast whizzed past Caramella's cheek, and then another. It looked like the musketeers had arrived. Either they were stone cold stupid or they didn't know what was happening.
The next kick almost turned the world upside down. That must have been one of the powder rooms beneath the keep, because the whole monolithic piece of castle was leaning inwards likes its foundation had just been destroyed. They were almost to the far wall, if they could get over that, they'd be dumped out into the river. The thing was, Caramella wasn't sure she could do it with a passenger. Only one way to find out.
Caramella began to pick up speed, the muscles in her legs coiling up.
Damn it! Caramella thought. She felt the frustration building up within her. Nobody else was dying tonight! 'Shio.'
She felt an electric tension spread down her back. One good jump, that's all she needed. 'Bart.'
The tension grew sharper, it felt like the muscles of her back were stretching, splitting painlessly, extending to become some separate new part of her. One good jump! 'Aki.'
The last kick was the worst. The center of the courtyard swelled up, nearly throwing Caramella and the pursuing soldiers, the ones who hadn't wised up and run, off their feet. The courtyard swelled up, and then it began collapse like a sinkhole, and it was taking the whole damn castle with it. The keep began to sheer, its entire top half falling towards Caramel and Lydel.
"Damn it!" Caramella shouted as she kicked off the ground with all of her might.
"Get the infantry units to put out those fires. The mill is a lost cause but we can still save the Saltpeter and Sulfur stocks!" Sir Wells ordered the gathered Knights and soldiers before turning back to his commander.
Sir Terrance Dunwell calmly brushed himself off as he surveyed the wreckage. The Old Castle of Wallsend was gone now, and Reconquista's entire local store of black powder along with it. How . . . Unfortunate. He thought with disgust. The Garrison commander had assigned only a handful of mages and soldiers to the defense of the Castle, viewing his Fort as the priority and neglecting that the only reason one built a Fortress was to protect something.
"I must apologize Dunwell-sama." The Faerie swordsman at his side offered. "I did not expect Asuna-sama to be capable of doing such a thing so unflinchingly."
The entire left half of the man's face was covered in a thick Gauss bandage, a consideration made for Dunwell's men rather than the undead Fae's well being. Though Arguile assured that the 'Founder's Blessing' would restore him soon enough, few would be able to stomach the sight left by the Faerie Girl, Asuna, when she had driven the remains of her sword into Arguile's skull.
The blow had very briefly incapacitated the Zombie, a detail that Dunwell quietly filed away. So they weren't quite the golems of flesh that he had first thought.
"No matter." Dunwell said. "Sir Wells, what are the casualties?"
"Forty commoner soldiers and eight mages of the Castle garrison. Five of our response team mages, seventeen foot soldier, and Sir Candor's fire dragon. No losses among the Knights." Wells said and then frowned. "And apparently Aki is missing." He added as if reporting that a field cannon had been misplaced.
Thinking of the Zombies as weapons made things so much simpler. They were just tools that could move on their own and obey orders, or at least most orders. Aki seemed to view Cromwell's instructions for her to 'be happy' as a standing order of the highest priority.
"I do hope she wasn't completely destroyed." Arguile said. "It would be a shame to lose her skills."
"More likely buried beneath the castle rubble." Dunwell said, and she could stay that way if only for the ongoing attempts to rescue survivor's who might still be in the debris. As a matter of fact. "Arguile, you have a great deal of strength, please go lend it to the men searching for survivors."
"As you wish, Dunwell-sama." The undead Fae turned to obey his command and Dunwell watched him go with a faint sense of relief.
"Sir Wells, we've done all we can here. I want you to take command of the pursuit forces and sweep towards Newcastle. The survivors will no doubt try to return to the Fortress before morning."
The Mage Knight nodded, "Yes, Sir Dunwell! And you sir?"
Dunwell lifted a scrap of white fabric stained with blood. "I will deal with the Winged girl." In the confusion she had fled into the forest, but she was injured and without a weapon, and more importantly, she was separated from her comrades.
He examined the piece of cloth as he recalled that look of cold hatred in the girl's eyes. He couldn't blame her for raging, fate had set her on this path, and now she stood before the inevitable, just like him. But . . . They all had choices in how they fell.
When he was sure that the Faerie Swordsman was out of earshot, Dunwell added softly. "Take no risks Sir Wells. These Fae, and the Royalists with them are to be considered the most dangerous of opponents. Nothing but their complete destruction is acceptable."
"Sir?" Wells asked.
"I am telling you to ensure their complete immolation." Dunwell said, watching as understanding dawned.
"As you wish, Sir Dunwell."
