Chapter 53
More Than Meets the Eye
A lot of people stared as Valkron walked past. He disliked the focus of so many pairs of eyes on him, but even glaring did not work these days. After all, they were getting used to the grouchy knight who was their guild leader.
Besides, he told himself, they weren't staring at him. They were staring at Adonis.
It was true that most of the attention was on the knight behind him. Valkron wasn't surprised. Rookie knights stared at Adonis. Prontera guards stared at Adonis. Tourists stared at Adonis. Knight commanders stared at Adonis. Valkron was used to Adonis, but by the looks of it no one else was.
But who could get used to Adonis? Even Valkron felt unsettled around the other senior knight commander. He mentally cursed himself for bringing the black-haired knight into Repherion.
Everyone looked up when he entered the room. Gasps of shock were what greeted Adonis as the knight stepped through, ducking to avoid the top of the doorframe.
"Valkron, what--" began Iruna, rising from her seat.
"Everyone, get out," he said. "Private word with someone about to occur in ten seconds."
The room emptied quickly. Adonis watched them go without any expression on his face. Once everyone had gone out, Valkron stepped out and had a brief, quiet discussion with Emeth before returning to the room and closing the door.
Once the door was shut, everyone outside it drew closer, but the wizard stepped neatly in front of it, blocking them. "Not so fast," he said. "I'm sorry, but I have to do it."
He tapped the door and muttered something under his breath. The wood acquired a solid, glistening look to it, and everyone groaned in dismay.
Emeth shrugged off the protests that followed swiftly after. "Sorry, everyone. Even though I hate being used as a preventive measure against eavesdropping, it's something that has to be done. And besides," he dropped his voice to a whisper, "you all look like right idiots listening to a door."
Inside the room, Valkron tapped the door. There was a dull thunk, instead of the loud tap he had been expecting. He nodded in satisfaction and turned to Adonis.
"You can sit, Adonis," he said to the silent knight.
Without a word, the knight sat down. He did not move, but his navy blue eyes followed Valkron as the older knight walked around the table and sat down opposite.
Valkron interlocked his fingers together, steeled himself - Adonis was an unpredictable person, and talking to him was unnerving - and said, "So now that we're here, in private, where no one can see us, you can tell me your purpose for coming here."
The younger but equally senior knight commander surveyed Valkron. Then he said, "I was forced to resign shortly after your charge on Holy Shadow.
"Indeed?" Valkron raised an eyebrow. "So are you thinking of taking revenge on the Black Cross by joining us and helping us out with the biggest and the strongest guild in the kingdom?"
"I can help you," said Adonis, "with what the Black Cross is planning to do with you."
Valkron sat back. "It's come to this, hm? A bribe of knowledge?"
Adonis' eyes narrowed.
It was well-known that Adonis was heavily against bribery - comparable to Gillivan's own passion. Most people, upon hearing this, would be confused at this because Adonis was, after all, a knight commander. What did a knight commander have to do with bribery?
And Valkron (to whom the question was usually addressed to) would reply, "He is a senior knight commander in the City Division, Security Department."
But Valkron was, at the moment, not feeling too happy towards Adonis. He wasn't about to admit he had to drag a rival knight commander into his own flag castle for nothing.
After a long silence, Adonis said heavily, "Yes."
Valkron breathed out. "I was waiting for you to admit that."
"Why is that so?" The younger knight's voice could have slammed shut the doors of a mausoleum.
"Because in this guild we like to see a grain of honesty, even in someone such as you." He ran a hand through his white hair. "Adonis, you do know that there is no amount of whatever good deed you do for the guild that will make me trust you for as long as the Raulus exists, or you stay within its ranks."
"So be it," said Adonis.
"You also know that in any time of my life as a guild leader I can easily accuse you of being a double agent for the Black Cross, being that your sacking is your excuse for leaving it."
"In these times, I would let it be."
"In fact, I have many reasons for turning down your offer and letting you work simply as a knight in the Chivalry." Valkron looked at him in the eye. "Haven't you considered that before you came to me?"
Adonis stared back at him. At length, he answered, "Yes."
"So you've already weighed your chances out with me?" Valkron had raised an eyebrow by now.
"I'd prefer to consider my future instead of sitting around with my past, Valkron," said the black-haired knight. "Even if it means fraternising with the enemy."
Valkron raised the other eyebrow. "'Fraternising' is a bit of a strong word."
"Nevertheless, it is a word the other guilds will use."
This was probably true, but Valkron felt slightly insulted anyway. He leaned forward. "Adonis, if you consider this fraternising, I suggest you leave."
To his astonishment, Adonis shrugged. "Less trouble for me, less trouble for you."
The older knight sat back in his seat and stared at him for some time. Finally, he said, "Under probation."
"Thank you." Adonis rose from his seat, bowed and turned to leave.
The knight watched him g before exiting himself. The first thing he saw when he stepped out of the room was a line of senior guild members waiting very patiently.
"What?" he said to them, slightly snappishly.
"How'd it go?" asked Iruna innocently.
Valkron turned and watched Adonis walk out of Repherion. "I've recruited him."
Emeth, with great presence of mind, created a large ice wall between Valkron and the rest before the uproar started. Valkron waited until the din had died down, and then waited some more before the wizard eventually knocked down his own spell.
"He'll be valuable to us, that's why," he said, before anyone even opened their mouths. "I gather that Adonis is-- sorry, was the main informant of the Black Cross. He may be a knight of the Security Department, but I can tell you truthfully that the members of that department are not necessary all brawn and no brains."
"But he's Adonis," protested a passing knight, who had overheard what Valkron had said.
"It makes no difference." Valkron gave the unfortunate knight a dagger glare. "Although I'll make sure he's going to realise that his talents are better off being used on the enemies of the Raulus and not us. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and take a shower."
The rest of the senior guild looked at each other. Only Emeth yawned unconcernedly and returned to the meeting room to resume his research.
"You're getting used to him," said Iruna, later on.
"To who?" asked Emeth, not looking up from his work.
"To Valkron."
The wizard dipped the tip of his quill into his ink bottle and tapped the nib on the rim of the mouth with little tink sounds. "I thought you are, too."
"But he's turning into the Black Cross!"
"Not necessarily." Emeth resumed writing his essay in elegant script while Iruna looked on with an agonised expression on her face.
"What do you mean, not necessarily?"
"Sometimes you have to make decisions that seem a bit ridiculous at times, even to you."
"That's not a ridiculous situation! What he did was unbelievable!"
"Same thing."
"It is not the same!"
Emeth sighed and laid his quill down gently onto the table. "Iruna," he said, turning to her, "I'm sure Valkron knows what he's doing, and that what he's doing is the best for the kingdom."
"Have you been getting brainwashed by his 'warrior of the world' ideology?" asked Iruna suspiciously.
"Uhh...no. I'm pretty sure of that. Anyway, you've been following his ideology, too."
"It's an ideology that just feels right," mumbled the crusader.
The wizard massaged his forehead. "Philosophical arguments are not my forte, I tell you. I'm not willing to try it, either. Look, Valkron knows what he's doing. We know what he's doing. We know what we're doing; I'll be damned if we don't. Somehow being a warrior of the world is right. It just seems right to all of us. Either way, we follow it. End of argument. Don't push it. I meant that."
"All right, all right, but recruiting Adonis has got to be one of the most dangerous things to do!"
Emeth gave her a sideways look. "If Valkron didn't assess the risks of anything he planned, Iruna, he wouldn't be alive now."
Iruna sighed, as the wizard picked up his quill. She still didn't know why she did not understand Valkron. True, he occasionally made necessary, if cold, decisions...but recruiting an ex-Black Cross guild member was just not him.
"If it helps," added the wizard, "think of it as an investment."
"An investment? In what? Our timely deaths?"
"In the whole 'being a guild leader for the sake of the kingdom' situation," replied Valkron's voice from behind her.
She spun around. The knight was standing behind her in his plain brown shirt and trousers, and rubbing his hair with a towel.
"Iruna," he said, "I know it's hard to understand, but frankly it was the only thing I could do. Look, I'll be frank with you. Adonis is someone who doesn't easily forget wrongs done to him. He'll want his revenge as much as he can, and nothing will stop him until he gets what he wants. If I didn't recruit him, he'll probably be plotting our demise right now."
"Where is he now?" she asked, alarmed.
"Chivalry. He's back to his own work, for now. Probationary members don't get honorary guild leave." Valkron wrapped the towel around his neck and went over to her. "However, I know Adonis."
"Really?"
"Well...no, not so well," confessed Valkron. "But I can tell you this. He's a bit authoritarian, I grant you that, but when it comes to troops and being in an army - and by army I mean a real army, not a silly guild one - he's the best man any sane person would pick to lead the troops and fight on the frontline."
"This is, as you say, a silly guild army."
Valkron's eyes suddenly unfocused. Iruna took a step back in shock. The knight appeared to be staring past her right ear.
After a short while, his eyes lost their glazed look. He said, very quietly, "I fear we're heading into a real war, Iruna."
"What do you mean?"
"It's not a guild war anymore." Valkron looked away. "We're heading into a tough battle with the Black Cross. It's not a matter of standing your ground and defending your position anymore. It's going to be a head on collision."
"But it'll be fine, right?" she asked desperately.
Valkron shrugged. "Depends on what your definition of 'fine' is. All I can say is that two guilds will battle, and one guild will fall. That's all."
He turned to go, but Iruna's hand shot out and grabbed his arm. Her strength was incredible; he could feel the blood in his arm actually stop flowing.
"Iruna--"
"You know something," she whispered, looking into his eyes. "You know something we don't."
Valkron looked into her eyes. He could see her anger being projected towards him - the wrath of a crusader and a woman. But behind it, he knew there was fear.
He reached up and prised her fingers off his arm. Then he replied, "I cannot say."
"You're not going anywhere until you tell me what it is!"
"I can't."
"Don't tell me that, you're just trying to--"
"Iruna, I said I can't!"
Emeth looked up from his work, startled. Fortunately for Valkron, he was the only one besides Iruna in the room.
The crusader's eyes narrowed. "You trust me, don't you?"
"It's not a matter of trust, Iruna," he replied. "It's a matter of balance. Because of balance, I can't tell you the parts I'm not supposed to tell anyone. No one knows except me, not even Emeth."
"Then why can't you tell me?"
"Because you won't be able to accept it," he told her calmly. "No one will be, until the time comes. No, don't give me that look. I know you won't accept it. Besides..." He looked at her.
The room held its breath. Emeth wasn't even moving.
"...it would be an absolute nightmare for me to tell you, and it would break my heart." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "I've been broken hundreds of times, and I don't want to do it again. Who knows...I might have already reached my limit."
He turned and walked off. Iruna watched him go, unable to counter his answer. She chewed her lip instead - an irritating habit she had picked up from Valkron - and felt that she had been very, very close to hurting him again.
Alya approached Vineis' door carefully. She had been spending most of her days in Gondul and Nuernberg since the loss of Bright Arbor; the sage felt that she could no longer visit the South again after her defeat.
But she was more worried about Vineis than her own status. Just recently she had heard him shouting several times in his room, and a few seconds later a much harried subordinate would sprint out of the room and flee down the stairs. He had not been seeing her recently, either.
Besides, she had news to tell him. She wondered if he was in any state to accept them or not, but she had to do it. He was her husband, after all.
The sage knocked hesitantly on the door before listening carefully to it. There was no reply from within, no sound at all. Feeling significantly anxious, she knocked the door a little harder.
Only after the third knocking, which had taken form of a sharp rapping by now, did Vineis answer. "Come in."
Alya turned the door handle and sidled in, carefully closing the door behind her. She also locked it. Vineis often left the key in the lock.
The wizard was sitting at his desk, supporting his forehead with one arm and staring rather wearily at a sheaf of papers in front of him. His other hand was fiddling with his quill absently. She went over to him and put a cautious hand on the one holding the quill. "Vineis?"
He gave a start. "Oh - it's you," he remarked, sinking back down in his seat.
"Are you all right?" She took the quill from him, just in case, and laid it down on the table. "People say you've not been feeling well."
"I'm fine." Vineis gathered up the papers in front of him and straightened them. "I'm just trying to control my anger. I can't get angry."
Alya nodded. She knew this, although he refused to tell her why.
"Somehow I just don't know what to do with the Raulus. Valkron's adapting to this whole thing faster than I expected. I have a bad feeling about this."
"You can do anything, Vineis," said Alya, putting an arm around his shoulders. "You've got the drive and the shrewdness to do it, and you've been doing it for six months."
"Then it's time I took a break." Vineis thumped the sheaf of papers down onto the side of the table a tad viciously, as if it had insulted him in some way.
Alya smiled a little, despite her worry. "You deserve one. Come on, move up. I want to sit next to you."
She sat down and put her arms around his neck. "You should stop shouting at other people. It's not good for you health, and they get scared of you. Even Sheuth doesn't dare come in - which I think is a good thing."
They sat for a while. Then Vineis said, "It's been a long time since we sat together."
"Yeah."
Silence. Then the wizard asked, "Why don't you like Sheuth?"
"I feel he's someone you can't trust," she replied, a little fiercely. "He seems to be plotting something behind his back, and I think it's something to do with the Black Cross. Not with the other guilds."
"It's not like I can't agree with you," Vineis told her quietly, "but I don't believe it. Why would Sheuth try to do something behind my back? Eventually everything that gets hidden is revealed, and everyone will know what is truly happening."
"Even so--"
"Even so Sheuth has nothing to hide from me," he said, a little sharply. "We have known each other since we were young."
Alya kept quiet at this. Vineis, aware that he had probably used a sharper tone than necessary, kept silent as well. They sat together in that silence for some time.
Finally, Alya decided it was time. She took her arms away and sat up. As Vineis looked at her in surprise, she took his arms. "Vineis," she said, "I've got something to tell you."
"Is it good or bad?" he asked, immediately.
"I don't know. It depends on your point of view. I for one consider it good...well, up to a certain extent." She smiled apologetically at Vineis' expression. "Why do you ask?"
"Considering that I've been listening to bad news over the past few weeks, I'd like to have something good for a change," he replied. "But if isn't that good, well..."
"I suggest you hear me out, though," she said quietly. "You may never know."
"It might relieve my stress a little," Vineis persisted, clearly worried. "But it sounds very serious, and it concerns you. If it concerns you, then I might have to get involved - how deep, I don't know."
This time, Alya laughed. "Oh, Vineis," she said, caressing his cheek, "sometimes you care too much. Now, do you want to listen or not? If you don't I might as well just leave. I have work to do, too."
"All right, all right, I'll listen," he said, clearly giving in.
Alya looked into his eyes steadily. He returned it with an equally steady gaze, trusting her and willing her to trust him. Their noses were an inch apart.
The sage took a deep breath. "Vineis," she said, "I'm with child."
It took a few minutes for him to realise the meaning of this, probably because some inbuilt instinct to survive had probably written the words out on the backs of his eyeballs and gone and hid while the red hot pain flashed through his mind. When he did speak, however, it came out with a slight stammer. "H-How can you be so sure?"
"I just...went to see the priests," she replied. "I didn't feel well, so I went and consulted them. They're sure of it."
Vineis' eyes were so wide she could see the whites all around. "How...did it happen?"
"The usual way, I hope," she said, with a nervous laugh. Vineis' stunned responses were getting to her. She was starting to think that it had thrown him off balance.
The wizard still stared at her. She felt her smile drain away. "Vineis, are you all right?"
"All right? What do you mean..." His voice trailed off. Then his eyes reverted back to their normal shapes, a smile broke out on his face, and Alya suddenly found herself in an embrace.
"Of course I'm all right!" he said, laughing. "I'm sorry, did I make you worry?"
"A bit," she admitted.
"I'm fine." He pulled her to him and let the tips of their noses touch. "It's good news. I just couldn't believe it, but...well...I just never imagined such a thing would ever happen in my life."
"Well, now it has," she said. She looked at his face, and was suddenly struck by how young he looked now, compared to when she had stepped into his room.
Vineis saw her look of relief. He smiled back. Alya found herself wishing that the others could see the cheerful, amiable expression he had.
Unbeknownst to the two of them, a shadow was standing just outside the door, so close to the door that it looked like a gross extension of the wall's shadow. There was a small 'hmph' from the empty air, before the shadow moved away noiselessly.
A few minutes later, Lucius came walking down the corridor towards Vineis' room when a door opened from the wall he was walking along. He nearly walked into it, but stopped himself in time.
"Sheuth?" he asked in surprise.
The rogue coughed. "What is it?"
"What are you doing in there?"
"That's the old archive, if you were wondering." Sheuth waved off the dust that had trailed along with him, coughing. "Vineis asked me to get some documents from there. He wants to compare economy reports again."
Lucius gave him a look. "Vineis asked you that?"
"Yes. Why are you looking at me like that?"
The assassin shrugged. "Nothing. It is just that you seem to be carrying out orders with your own jurisdiction, and yet saying that Vineis ordered you to do so. I was just wondering if that was genuine."
The corner of the rogue's mouth twitched. "Don't simply accuse me of anything, Lucius! You've always hungered for my position, I know! Don't try anything with me!"
"I never said I was accusing you of anything--"
"What the heck is going out here?" asked Vineis, who had opened his door and poked his head out. "What are you doing? Not arguing, I hope? I know I heard raised voices outside my door."
"Nothing's going on," said Sheuth grumpily.
"Everything is fine, sir," said Lucius calmly.
Vineis gave them one last look, and then said to Sheuth, "Are those the old reports from before?"
"Yes."
"May I have them? Thank you. Please don't stir up unnecessary trouble. Lucius, I'd like you to get the whole senior circle together in the Green Room upstairs. I have news for you, as well as discussing the preparations for reinforcing our defences for the next War of Emperium."
"Yes, sir," said Lucius.
When Vineis had closed the door, Lucius turned to Sheuth. "I warn you," he said, in a low voice. "If you dare lay a finger on Alya, or do anything to Vineis, the entire senior circle will be upon you. Do not invoke our wrath."
Sheuth smiled mirthlessly. "Why would I do anything to Vineis? My best interests are to protect him from anything that endangers his life, and to protect whatever is precious to him as well. Doesn't that count Alya?"
The assassin raised an eyebrow. "Then see to it that you keep your word, Sheuth," he said, snapping the rogue's name so vehemently that Sheuth took a step back. Then, in a whirl of deep violet and pale white bandages, he turned away and went back down the way he had come.
Sheuth went back to his room, simmering in anger. The very first thing he did once he had locked his door was to pick up the piece of paper he had been staring at for the past few weeks and pencil in 'Lucius' at the top of it, in rogue code.
Valkron had not planned anything for the next War of Emperium, save for defences. Britoniah was now well covered by Eyorbriggar's Forest Scouts, who replaced Shen's Rangers as patrollers and gatekeepers. He also moved Yesnelph's Iron Guards to Merseitzdeitz as a frontline defence. The Iron Guards were the equivalent of Shen's Heavy Arms - indeed, many of the Iron Guards had been trained by Shen himself.
So it came as a small shock to him when a combined force of Legionnaires and Guardians of Geffen bore down on Britoniah with vengeance and renewed determination.
"What's the report on both lines, Emeth?" he shouted over the din, as he helped the Iron Guards hold back the attacking forces at the south of Britoniah.
"We've got both forces forcing us to retreat further in!" Emeth shouted back, above the sounds of enraged yelling and cries of pain as both parties made themselves felt. "Valkron, the Iron Guards are fast losing to casualties! We can't hold them back for long!"
Valkron gritted his teeth. "Just do it!"
But Emeth was right. Within minutes, Valkron was very aware that he was almost at the steps of Repherion. Although the Forest Scouts had arrived by now, the reinforcements weren't enough.
"Don't let them push us back!" he shouted at the troops around him. "Fan out! If we need to win by attrition then we will!"
Just then Nocturne landed with a thump on all fours right beside him. "Valkron! They've broken through the defences at Bergel and Yesnelph! Yesnelph and Bergel are doing all they can to prevent them from breaking through and taking the emperiums, but only just!"
Valkron swore. "What about Eyorbriggar?"
"They're trying their best, but Albrecht isn't here to push them on at the moment!"
The knight mentally cursed himself for forgetting. Albrecht had gone for his alchemist's test in Al de Baran; no matter how hard the merchant had begged there had been no other available time for the test.
"Do what you can!" he shouted back. "We're already having enough trouble as it is on this side!"
The words were barely out of his mouth when there was an explosion. Valkron witnessed about twenty people fly into the air as Emeth unleashed his spells. The knight winced, but he yanked on his peco's reins. "Evlor, push forward!"
But he could feel himself sinking into despair. He had been too lax with the recent spy reports, he told himself, and he had been lousy at managing his resources. Previous preparations had not been sufficient--
"Valkron."
The knight looked on his other side, momentarily distracted. Adonis was on his own peco, wielding his powerful zephyrus in one hand and gripping his peco's reins in the other.
"Yes, what is it?" he shouted above the din. "I'm a little busy at the moment!"
"What help do you need?"
Valkron gaped at him, war temporarily forgotten. A huge mess was erupting at the front gates of Repherion, and Adonis actually asked him that.
"I need a lot of help!" he shouted back. "Yesnelp, Bergel, Eyorbriggar, Repherion - we're all failing!"
Adonis nodded. "Wait here."
The older knight stared as Adonis plunged straight into the group, his peco wading through the masses with some difficulty. Only when a blacksmith made a spirited attempt to dislodge Valkron from his seat did the knight commander come to his senses and fight back.
He had a feeling Adonis knew what to do. Although it was not a very secure, confident feeling, he decided to see what would happen if he did what the younger man had told him to do, even if it didn't seem very logical--
And then he saw the Merseitzdeitz troops suddenly spread out into an arrowhead formation. They charged into one side of the invading force. Valkron had a very good view from his seat on his peco, and he watched in amazement as the intruders scattered.
He realised that Repherion's troops were moving out from the area - and coming in behind the two enemy guilds. Despite struggling to stay together, the guilds began to split up, until two groups were fully isolated by the troops from both castles.
"Valkron!"
The knight turned. Emeth had come up behind him.
"We've just received reports that the invaders at Eyorbriggar are falling back!" he shouted. "Someone gave instructions for the Eyorbriggar troops to form into a fan formation and drive them back! Yesnelph and Bergel have successfully driven the other troops out, and they're coming to help us now!"
"See to them!" Valkron shouted over the din. He turned back to the troops in front of him, just in time to see them falter.
One of the isolated groups broke through and began charging their way towards Repherion. Valkron narrowed his eyes and charged at them, his scythe glowing yellow.
He held them off for several minutes, until he finally got his own troops to reform around him, and draw them away again. As he watched, his peco shifting from foot to foot, a thought occurred to him that he had been a fool all along. He should have immediately sent Adonis to organise the troops before the full force had come to tackle them head on.
This was because now he remembered that Adonis was a born strategist.
Fifteen minutes later, the Raulus had reclaimed Britoniah and was now holding back the enemy guilds from the front. Those at the north of Britoniah had given up, possibly because the forest there was far too thick to maintain a siege on what the Raulus called the 'back gate' of Britoniah.
Valkron found himself next to Iruna. They shared glances and nodded at each other. Iruna sheathed her sword, hooked her shield onto her saddle, and then pulled out a powerful spear from her peco's side.
They squeezed the sides of their pecos. The birds honked and plunged into the frontlines. Most of the comined troops of Merseitzdeitz and Repherion were forced to withdraw, mainly due to the fear of getting caught by the powerful spears of Valkron and Iruna.
But they kept coming, and with them even more knights and crusaders than what Valkron and Iruna had deployed at the front. Valkron felt as if he was under heavy pressure to keep them back.
"Valkron! One hour left!" shouted Samaroh and Emeth at the same time, from somewhere at the back.
"Just - a - little - more," gasped Valkron.
Iruna pulled him - and his peco - by the arm forwards. The knight swept his scythe in an arc at the sides of his peco, discouraging would-be attackers from climbing onto it.
But the sheer number of heavy cavalry on the other side were getting on his nerves. He was starting to go a little wild - his nerves were already frayed by stress, and no one was making the situation any better.
There were screams from behind. Emeth shouted, "Valkron! Iruna! Fall back!"
"Fall back? You're asking me to fall back?"
"Do it!"
Valkron turned - and then yanked on the reins so hard that his peco threw itself aside. Iruna had already done the same.
A lightning storm slammed down onto the attackers.
Amidst the streaks of white-blue fire, he saw Adonis charge straight through the storm and slam his spear so hard into the enemy that they acually slid backwards. Behind him, Valkron recognised, were the entire heavy cavalry of Yesnelph, Bergel and Eyorbriggar combined.
Later on, one of the knights from Yesnelph's Iron Guards said to Valkron, "We couldn't help following him. He just said, 'You're needed, so it's time you did a bit of punishing.' Well, it felt like it was time someone needed to get beaten up - and it's not us."
Valkron nodded, unable to say anything.
"Besides, I think if we had said no, he'd have done something to us." The knight shuddered. "I don't want to find out what that is."
When the knight had met Adonis later on, the first thing the younger knight commander had said to him was, "If you are blaming yourself for not organising anything properly, there is no need to. No one can organise anything for the unexpected."
"Yeah, but I should know what to do," said Valkron.
Adonis, at this point, gave him a Look. "It's not a matter of should, it's a matter of could. Besides, some very discouraged individuals tried to discourage the rest of the troops by fleeing for their lives. Feel free to kick them off. I have already seen to them."
How Adonis had seen to them, Valkron had no clue, but after seeing them he decided he did not want to know. He struck their names off the members list and watched them go.
As he did, he absently picked up a spy report and glanced at it. He started to turn the page, and then looked at the front again.
Then he smiled wryly. It looked like the unexpected wasn't going to happen only to the Raulus.
Playing Warcraft III - for the 4th time - and listening to the good tracks of the Naruto OST do things to your brain, I tell you.
Because I'm at home, I have to do plenty of chores and finish up this and that. Above all, I'm trying to carry out my longed-for hobby of cosplaying (EXPENSIVE) and wanting to visit my old school. I've also not been playing games for ten months - I confess, I have an addiction for online games.
But my lack of internet means that updating WotW will be much longer than it usually does, together with the 'I take an average of four hours to write one chapter worth 20KB' fact. I've also been recovering from jet lag - I'm still sleepy - after getting my sleep schedule completely disrupted over a fifteen-hour long flight.
The good thing is that I have completed planning of Warriors of the World 4. Yes, 4. You heard me right. No, I'm not kidding. ;D
Time to set my sights on 5.
I also can't do any artwork editing at the moment, so don't expect anything on that side to come along, either.
(note: on the internet issue, I walk to the internet cafe to post. However, I dislike the place strongly due to the fact that people game in there extremely noisily, and I've been forced to carry a pair of earphones with me these days. People smoke outside the door, and it's dirty as well. I usually go on weekdays because everyone is at school while I'm not :D provided I...wake up early.)
special note for FFNet: I have been forced toslowly release the chapters because 1) I wrote too much, and 2) I need feedback on each chapter. Besides, it'd save you some typing time trying to cover 8 chapters instead of 1.
Also, I'm doing this because I'm back in evil mode. :D
