The tent was small. The tent was still large enough for Bell. He sighed as he laid down on the quick set-up bed for the time being. News had came the evening and had told him that the main force had been slain. He had to use his battalion to basically do a suicide mission. It was getting desperate on this island.
They had no respect for the high ranking commanders such as Bell at the moment. Just the month prior, a fellow five-starred general ordered two armies in a suicide mission for no reason other than to "save his hometown" from being destroyed which went in vain. Those two whole armies could have been used to relieve some other fronts yet that general had a selfish request. He was the competent one yet because of him, his reputation as well plummeted. Only people of his army and previous men of his army knew of competence.
At the moment, they were at a mountain pass about to intercept an enemy division from passing through here. They were around a couple hundred strong for this ambush. This was not enough for this operation but with Bell, he had to make do with what he had as he was sure he would have no reinforcements. Eitherway, he would have to use his strategies which would work with this type of army which was small. Despite all of this, he missed the capital though.
Sometimes being the youngest five star general sucked. He was still a young adult at only nineteen years old. A lot of people were shocked when they found out his age though. Who wouldn't be? The other generals were either in their sixties or seventies. Before they knew his rank, his subordinates pushed him around until he showed them his rank. After that, well, they pleaded for mercy and begged for forgiveness. This was funny as they came to him for help even after pushing him around and being way older than him and learning that he was the youngest in history. Though, he could confidently say he was also one of the most efficient in history.
The dim light in his room was enough to see around. His half written letter on his table on the other side of the tent lay there with the only light source. He looked around as he was feeling dread. He had to fight an army with not enough men. This battle was suicide. All because Bell was the one who was promoted. It made his best friend turn his back on Bell. He hated this feeling too much.
Nonetheless, he had a job to do right now. And he would succeed in it. Bell sat up and began to head outside. It was night at the moment. His troops were preparing the base for battle. They were checking their weapons and their horses. The cavalry charge was the last ditch effort. His home nation, Njalulf, had these things called "guns" which fire rapidly. They were the only ones who had them. They were all equipped with a prototype named the "FN P90". Bell liked it. Lightweight and easy to make bullets.
This war could be over soon. He hoped for it. His second in command was coming towards him waving his hand. Bell waved back when he told him:
"Sir, the enemy is on their way. We estimate about an hour until arrival. We aren't ready for it but we can easily adapt to the guerilla warfare tactics like you suggested. Would you prefer that?" His commander told him.
"Yes, yes please Zeke. I would appreciate that. Set it up on both sides. Make this as difficult for them as possible." Bell responded.
Zeke nodded and ran to order the troops. The artillery were in place already. All he needed were the troops to head on to their positions. But first, he had to give them a morale booster. They needed it.
"Soldiers! Exactly at 1:00 AM today the enemy is to be greeted with your guns and artillery! The enemy does not know you're here and they will be surprised by your presence, pride, and courage! The high command has erased our battalion from their records! Therefore, you need not worry about your lives. They no longer exist." The last two sentences were true. It was a suicide mission. They already knew it. Bell's speech did help the troops a lot in their worries. It also did with Bells. He was happy that he would die with his loyal troops. They were the ones who he appreciated the most.
The air was stiff. Tensions were still high. Everyone here was ready to break. Bells speech was enough to keep the troop's fear at bay. The night was a warm one. Usually in this place, the nights would be cold enough to have snow yet there was only a breeze along with a warm night. Shocking at first but easy to adapt to.
Bell fidgeted with his fingers as he strolled to the tent which had the armour. He moved the cloth which was between him and the inside of the tent to see his armour and weapons. Bell walked to touch his helmet. Cold stainless steel was all Bell felt. He put the helmet on and felt the weight along with the cotton interior press against his head. It was warm yet slightly heavy. About 2 kilos.
Bell began to put on his armor. It was just as Bell liked. Light weight. Bell liked to have an ability to run fast to escape anything. He liked to be nimble as did everyone else in his family. After he put on the armour, he put on his back holster and side holsters. Bell slinged his rifle which was a Karabiner 98 kurz. After he put that in he put both his FN P90 and Revolver in the side holsters. For his left leg, he had placed his retractable spear which was a sarissa that was custom made to be slightly bigger than most at about 17 feet long.
Bell looked at the sky. All the stars shone brightly as they peered at Bell. Bells looked back down and walked. The gravel he was walking on made way for his feet as he was now armoured and fully equipped.
Battle was near. This battle was inevitable. They were all going to die. Bell could only think back at his life. He was in a phase until a whistle blew. That startled Bell and he began to walk to his horse.
His horse whinnied as Bell came close. It was a pure white colored horse. No dirt or any other colored hair covered the horse. Its saddle was large, having a leather seat and at the back and two banners at the back. One was the national flag and the other was this battalion's flag.
The night sky gleamed on Bells armor as he got on his horse. The horse stood still for Bell as the horse stared at every other horse moving to the bottom of the pass.
"Hey there, Hans, today we fight, you ready?" Albret asked his horse. His horse let out a slight neigh.
"Good." He smiled.
"March!" Bell spoke and the horse began to move. Its hooves made that usual clunking noise as it joined all the horses on their journey. Little did these horses know that they were about to die.
"Sir! We appeared to be ill informed. They are already here. They are marching right here right now." A soldier spoke to him.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Move on!" Bell shouted.
"Hiya!" Bell spoke as he ordered his horse to run. He was going fast as one by one, the other horses began to run as well. Bells left hand held the spear which was now in its full length.
The full moon was reflected on all of their armor. It shone in their presence. They all moved with coordination and grace. None of them showed any fear, only determination.
Bell saw the enemy from beyond the trees. There were so many. All their boots soiled their ground. Njalulf's ground. Not theirs.
Bell thought back to him trying to convince the king to not do this attack. They wanted them to sacrifice their lives in vain.
"The order is final. We shall send you and a small number of men to stop the army." The king told Bell. Bell's eyes widened. His head shot up to look at the king.
"What?! My king, you can't be serious! T-this is suicide!" He told him.
"I know. And I don't care. As long as you kill any enemy soldiers I'm fine." The king replied. Bells clenched his fists.
"I'm not sending men to their deaths! They are people! Not machines!" Bell shot back.
"I'm aware, Bell. Njalulf is at stake. We need to do anything we can." The king told him, slowly losing patience.
"No! We can do other stuff with these men! We could make defensive lines! We can't afford to do the offensive! Especially if we're losing this war!" Bell now stood up to make his point.
"Listen! Obey my command! Hear me, or die by my hand!" The king shouted. One could play the king's game. But Bell wouldn't.
"Listen, you excuse for a king! Trust me, this fight I can't win! If you can't see that, how are you this 'glorious king' everyone thinks you are?" Bell tried again.
"I am the glorious king! You will obey me! No more arguments! If you try again, I'll make sure you die!" The king tried again. This man, this man Bell grew up with. He was ordering Bell and his men to their death. A high ranking officer who was the king's best friend before his coronation. They had grown up together. There was only a four year difference between the two with Bell being younger.
Bell only glared at the king who showed no pity. He had anger in his eyes. Bell called this man his best friend, his brother. Now he told him to go die in war. In a stupid way which could have been better for them.
"Look, Bell, I'll give you the weapon prototype to use for this battle. But you are still going. I said it was final, did I not?" The king told Bell as he began to slightly pity him.
"You evil son of a… Sure, do what you want." Bell waved him off. Bell stood up from the hall and turned around.
"Bell, come here!" The king's usual temper was back. Bell only moved his head to give the king a glare. Bell said nothing as he walked away from his ex best friend. No more. No more trusting somebody. Look where that got me. In a betrayal. Damn this person, I just wish he dies soon. Bell thought to himself. They had sworn to never conduct a suicide operation with each other but now, Bell's ex friend was the king. He took his title too seriously around Bell and began to abuse his power. This king had broken their oath
Bell shook his head in anger as he neared his position. In front of him stood an army. An army as far as the eye could see. The enemy known as Coralia was after them. Very much so where they after them. In Front of this army stood a small nuisance.
This was larger than Bell expected. Bell gulped as he tightened his grip on his spear. "A-artillery! Fire!" Bell shouted. This was the start of the battle. Flaming shells came from behind them. Each of them whistled in the air as they began to crash down on the enemy. One after another, the shells kept crashing down as more shells were being fired right after.
"Calvary, charge!" Bell shouted. All of his men shouted as they charged at the enemy. The enemy saw what they were doing and charged at them as well. The enemy longbow hits some of his men, making them crash down. Soon enough, Bell was reaching a handful of enemies to his right. He redirected his attack at them. He grabbed his revolver and began shooting. One after another, they fell until Bell ran out of ammo. Bell tsked and holstered his revolver once more. He reached the enemy. The enemy had a green uniform with their traditional metal armour above the green. He held a short sword and began charging at Bell. Bell's spear was a formidable foe and impaled the man in the chest causing him to let out a bloody scream of agony. Blood spewed out of his mouth as he tried to scream but couldn't. After a couple of seconds he fell limp on the spear.
"Bastard!" Another one of the enemies screamed. This man was a burly one with an axe. He charged at him and due to his size, Bell redirected his sarissa only slightly and impaled the man at the side, hitting his kidneys after he tried to dodge. The sarissa broke off and out came the man's kidney. The man screamed as he fell to the ground, dropping his axe and nursing his fatal wound.
Next came two men, one had a sword and the other had a lance. Bell targeted the lance first as it had the longest length. Bell lifted his spear upwards to aim for the man's throat. The man was too busy aiming for Bell that he forgot about Bells sarissa and was impaled in the throat. The man made a small gurgle before falling limp on the spear. The man with the sword was too close for Bell to stab. The man came charging down before he was shot in the head by a nearby soldier who was busy stabbing a trio of enemies. Bell looked at the soldier and nodded to him. Before the soldier could nod though, a spear came right at him. The spear hit his throat, knocking him off his horse and caused him to be impaled, slowly sliding down the spear which hit the ground.
Bell cringed at the sight but he still had to fight. Bell began to charge forward. He was nearing a cavern so he could kill some more men and possibly flank some others with some other soldiers who were also going that way to regroup. A militia of every able-bodied man in the nearby area had been mobilized without their knowledge. They were about 1,500 strong and delayed the enemies furthermore. Bell still did not know but would find out soon enough as the militia was flanking.
Bell' horse whinnied as more artillery came crashing down. The noise of the men screaming, the gun fire, the horse neighing, the pleas of mercy from both sides, they all echoed and formed a piece of music which was composed by death itself, it shouting in ecstasy as the passageway continued to be stained red. This was a symphony of war.
Bell's horse ran towards a handful of his men who were regrouping which had just slain the small number of enemy soldiers.. Bell began to near then and then it went blank. Bell heard the faint noise of his horse neighing in pain. His horse was gurgling. Bell's vision was fuzzy. Another friend was lost. How many more? That horse was his since late childhood. Eitherway, he could see his men rush to his aid but he passed out.
His ears rang. He instinctively brought his hand up to ears and groaned. He began to hear his men.
"Sir! Sir! Are you alright? Sir!" One of the men shouted. Bell looked at him as he slowly got up.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. What's going on? How long was I out?" Bell asked as he turned to see his horse dead about 7 meters away. His horse's white coat was stained with blood. It was missing both of it's back legs. The flags were all but gone say for a few remnants covered in blood and dirt.
"You've been out for about 20 minutes. We're about all that's left. We're 13 strong including you." The soldier told him. Bell looked around and saw the men. Most of them were covered in blood while others were only slightly dirty or only their weapons covered in blood. Bell was no different. He himself was very much so covered in dirt.
"Alright, we need to make a formation. We don't have our horses so we need to make up for that in strength. Eat up while you can. We have five minutes." Bell spoke. They were the last of them? May they rest in peace. Bell was sure there were still some small pockets of resistance but he couldn't be fully sure.
The men were quiet while they ate, enjoying their meal as it may or was their last. The cavern was dimly lit. Only one torch was lit. It was held by Bell as he watched his men eat. He heard the faint sound of war from outside. It was brutal out there. Screams. Many of them. They would haunt Bell for the rest of his life.
"Alright. Times up, let's head out." Bell said as he grabbed his sarissa. The weight slightly hindered Bell but not to the point where he would have to rest anytime soon. His ears still hurt. He had tinnitus at the moment.
Their boots echoed in the cold cavern as they headed out to the exit. Bell was a mess. He was shaking as he stepped out into the gruesome battle field. The Coralians were fighting other men. They didn't have a uniform. Though, despite that and that they were civilians, they still put up a fight as it was mandatory to serve at least one year in the military with an additional half a year for training.
Bell slightly smiled as this would cause more pain for the enemy. Civilians gave their life for their nation. Something that his king was too afraid to do himself. Bell hated the king but he had to show basic respect and talk well about the king in anybody's presence.
Bell signalled his attack as he began to charge. The man he aimed for was scrawny and was busy fighting a wounded man. Bell had his breathing controlled as he pierced the man from the side, impaling him all the way. The man looked at Bell before realizing what happened. He looked down and panicked. The man began to cough up blood as he was still being moved to the ground. At last, the man died. Bell sighed as he helped up the wounded man.
"Hurry up, there is no time to waste. If you can fight, fight." Bell told the man who nodded and grabbed the axe which was on the ground. The man began to limp away to assist his comrades.
Bell began to shake off the dead body from his sarissa when he saw a dead body peek out from the fallen soldiers. It was Zeke. He had five spears impaling him, ranging from his lower stomach to his neck. And his face. That would haunt Bell the most. His head still had its muscles turned to have a fearful face as an axe was slammed down right in the center. The axe stood proudly on Zeke's dead body as blood slowly dripped from Zeke's skull.
Bell looked down for a moment then looked back at him before telling Zeke mentally that he died valiantly. Bell lost another friend in the span of a month. How many more would leave him, die, or betray him? Bell didn't want to know.
Zeke had two kids and a wife. The kids were not young and he had raised them. They were 7 and 9 years old. They loved their father an unbelievable amount. And now, he would never see them again. Broken promises stood everywhere. They won't be coming home. They told their family they would and now they all lay dead.
"Bastards. I'll make you all feel my pain." Bell spoke to nobody necessarily but he did direct it to his enemy.
Bell began to run again in a blind rage. He screamed as he impaled the enemies one by one. He himself began to get scratched up. In his blind rage, he felt nothing. No pain, no sorrow, nothing.
Soon enough, he had killed enough enemies that they lied around him. Foes and friends alike. It didn't matter. They had died before he had gotten there. Too bad, so sad. That's all that Bell said to himself as he killed the last enemy who was trying to crawl away.
Sunrise began to come. The small amount of sunlight beamed on Bell's stained armor. He was bloody and muddy. His appearance was a wreck. It did not matter.
Soon enough, large foot steps began to be heard. Bell was near a fast flowing stream. It was deep enough. About four feet. Bell was about five meters away from the stream as he looked to his left. There to his left, was a large figure. A very wide and very tall figure. The figure had golden strands on his steel armor. In his hand, he held a large double sided axe. His axe was stained red by his foes.
"I see you have killed a lot of my men. Shame." The figure in a very deep voice spoke.
"They deserve every ounce of pain they can get." Bell spoke, his eyes devoid of any humanity. Usually, Bell was a sympathetic person. He refused to kill or hurt anyone without reason. Even if there was a reason, he would have guilt. But now, he had no guilt and no sympathy.
"So be it. They deserve it. But what about you? Don't you think you deserve it as much as them?" The figure spoke.
"I never said I was an exception. I'm in no way an exception. And neither are you." Bell told him.
"Tsk, before we duel, I must ask your name. It is only honorable to do so. Do you not agree?" The figure said.
"I shall go first, my name is Khanias Holdremi XI. Now, now that I have said my name, what is yours?" The figure named Khanias asked.
"Bell, Bell Cranel. Now let's get on with this." Bell readied his sarissa and his revolver in quick reach.
"Very well, I start first!" The man shouted as he charged at Bell. Bell side stepped and cut the man in the abdomen earning a gruff laugh that could only fit this person and nobody else.
"Nice job. Try avoiding this!" The figure spoke as he threw knives at Bell. Bell managed to dodge all but one which hit his shoulder. Bell winced but kept on fighting. He managed to slice the man's forearm before the man whipped his axe suddenly towards Bell.
Bell managed to get away with minor cuts before the man lifted his axe again. Bell did a quick combo which sliced the man again in the abdomen except this time earning a grunt.
"Damn you. You're good but not good enough." Khanis spoke. It was cliche but it was true. Bell couldn't dodge every attack like he usually could.
It was under crimson skies that this battle happened. The horde was pushing onward and most of the militia had been quashed. Both Bell and Khanias were bloody. They still did not back down.
Both were leaning on their weapons. Slowly moving, they raised their weapons for the final round. Bell's Sarissa was heavily damaged and Khanias' labrys was chipped. They were both exhausted.
Bell threw his sarissa to the ground and grabbed his secondary melee weapon. The Amp is what he called it. The Amp was something it took about one year to make. It was made out of the strongest materials. It was his best secondary weapon. He would never give his amp up. The amp had two main heads with one smaller one in the middle. It has spikes in the heads so it could be able to do a kill more simply.
"Heh, this is fun. I'll humor you before I end this." Khanias told Bell. Bell grit his teeth. That ticked him off. He hated cocky people.
Khanias charged at Bell again and slammed his labrys next to Bell which Bell narrowly dodged. It was so close that Bell felt the wind of the attack hit his face. Though he may have dodged the axe, he didn't dodge the fist.
The fist slammed in Bell's chest making him wheeze. While Bell was stunned. Khanias kicked Bell's feet from under him. His knees hit the dirt. Bells left knee landed on a stone which made him cringe furthermore.
"You fought well, my friend, perhaps we could end this another time? We can settle this once and for all soon. Prepare, Bell." Khanias spoke as he knelt down.
"While you were training, I was learning. I learned to counter and target. I learned to overwhelm you and your techniques. I learned you. I know you. You sharpened your spear with practice while I learned about you and how to counter your fighting style. That's why I won." Khanias spoke. Bell looked up, tired and angry. Khanias had respect for Bell. Because of that, he retracted Bell's sarissa and put it in his holster. After that, he holstered his he finished, he patted Bell's shoulder.
"Farewell, Bell." Khanias pushed Bell into the stream. Bell didn't even flail. He was too tired. He floated as if he were dead. He quickly floated away while glaring at Khanias who stared back at Bell.
Bell began to look around slowly before closing his eyes. He was too tired to deal with life right now. He'll arrive somewhere at some point. Dead or alive, it didn't matter anymore.
His wounds were beginning to hurt. He wanted to sleep before the majority of the pain set in. He drew his final breath before falling asleep.
A sharp pain hit Bell's head. He sat up. What? He was on a bed. Strange. The room he was in was a log cabin. It was not uncommon in this area of the island. But, he had never been in one so it was pretty interesting.
This bed was comfortable but this wasn't where he remembered being though, He remembered being pushed into that stream. Nonetheless, he was pretty comfortable in the bed. Though, as all things never last, he had to get up.
Bell got up while he pushed off the sheets. He was sitting on the side of the bed with his hand on his head, grabbing it in pain. It still hurt from his previous encounter with the enemy. He was in some shorts which were a tad too tight and a white t-shirt which was a bit too big.
This had to be somebody's home. It sure was not a hospital by how it looked. He would greet whoever lived here and thank them. Well, while he was here, ask them some questions on the state of the island. Now, he wasn't on the mainland but he was on the second biggest island which that kingdom ruled over and it was propped up north. Now, the entire kingdom was just a large island with a series of islands around it.
Nonetheless, he would find anybody who wanted to fight and make a small unit of resistance. He would have to buy weapons if there were still any. Well, that may be because he liked to resist. Anyway, it was time to find out who took care of him and thank them.
He got up and began to stand up. Now, he didn't stand up perfectly, he wobbled a bit before regaining his balance. Barely. His legs felt like they had no bone. He used the help of a stool to walk. And that stoll was tiny. So, imagine a man over two meters just, crouching only to walk barely with a stool under his armpit. It was very uncomfortable both physically and mentally for him. He was telling himself that he looked like a kid messing around. Itr looked uncomfortable too, something out of a horror theatre where the person was forced to exceed natural human limits.
"Damn it, I will get moving!" He mumbled to himself as he slowly but surely made his way to the unfortunately closed door. Once he made his way to the door, he reached up and opened the door to see a skirt. A skirt? What. Oh… a skirt or at least I think it is. Bell thought to himself. At least it went down to her feet and not higher up. Bell awkwardly looked up and saw a woman. He had light brown hair and some dog ears. Huh, never seen one in these parts. Well, they are rare in these areas but that doesn't mean they aren't here. Bell thought to himself.
"H-hello there." Bell awkwardly looked up while slowly moving up. The woman looked like she wanted to tease him but simply went for a simple greeting.
"Hello." She was blunt. Her eyes had emotion but her voice was monotone. Similar to Bell when he was alone. She had purple eyes, she looked shorter than Bell. Probably about a head shorter than him by his estimates.
"Don't tell anybody about my walk please." He got straight to his point. Who wouldn't. If they were caught doing something embarrassing by somebody, naturally they would want to keep them quiet.
"No promises." She spoke awfully sarcastic. If Bell wasn't tired and in pain, he might have laughed as she had the same type of humor as him.
"Do you perhaps have something that I can use besides that stool?" Bell asked the woman.
"I think I do… one sec." She said as she looked around for anything he could use. After a moment, she found a cane and gave it to Bell.
"Thank you. Please allow me to introduce myself as well. My name is Bell Cranel." Bell spoke while beginning to stand up properly while leaning on the cane.
"Oh, I'm Naaza Erisuis. It's nice to meet you." The dog woman now called Naaza spoke.
"Surely is." Bell agreed. "You from here? From your voice I assume you are not due to the accent." Bell told her.
"Yeah, I'm not. I'm from Orario and I should say it gets really cold here and it's only September." Naaza told Bell.
"Orario huh? Wow, well despite that, you shouldn't have come here at the moment. I mean, we're fighting a war right now and we're not doing so hot." Bell told her.
"Well, we were told to help out the people here because of the war actually." Naaza spoke.
"Oh… well, I appreciate your help. It means a lot considering a lot of nations hate our guts." Bell let out a sad chuckle.
"Yeah,to be frank, we don't hate you. We're pretty fond of your country actually." Naaza tried to comfort him.
"Really? Well, ain't that a fact?" Bell said, a bit surprised.
"Yeah, well, if it wasn't I would have said 'just kidding'." Naaza mocked.
"Heh, you and I have the same type of humor. But seriously, I'm shocked about that. Not much mainland folks like us." Bell said. It was true. Almost the entirety of the mainland hated Njalulf. It was due to the fact that Njalulf was constantly invaded centuries back due to the rich resources it had. They began to hate Njalulf because they began to rebel and fight back about a thousand years ago. SInce then, they focussed on their military to prevent it. Though, it was beginning to happen again.
"Alright, let's get you something to eat. You've been out for a couple of days." Naaza spoke while turning around to walk to the main part of the cabin.
"Oh, yeah sure." Bell said. He was pretty hungry at the moment. Well, he didn't eat for a couple of days like Naaza said he didn't.
They began to walk and he was impressed by how big it actually was. The room had a large chandelier propped in the center of it with several large couches facing towards the window which had a fireplace in between. The floor was wooded except for when the couches came. After the couches it was carpeted which meant about a quarter of the room was carpeted. The kitchen overlooked the place with metal railed propped on a wooden base protecting anyone from falling off.
"Wow. It's big." Bell marvelled. There were some people sitting on the couches with a wolf person with gray hair eating a piece of chicken minding his own business in a corner.
"Phrasing." Naaza said a smug smile.
"Damn it." Bell said but then smiled at how Naaza got him. He had a feeling they would get along pretty well. Maybe a great friendship or a temporary one until they leave. Only time would tell.
"The dumbass is up eh?" The wolf person spoke while getting out of his seat to walk up to him.
"The dumbass is up!" Bell lifted his hands in a fake celebration to mock the person.
"Damn you. You and your largemouth. Someone oughta teach you some sense!" The person said.
"I'm waiting, teacher." Bell mocked again.
Bell found this entire situation funny. Naaza looked uncomfortable with this while slightly glaring at the person. The man was getting riled up while Bell humored himself.
"Bete, quiet down. He already beat you at your own insults." A woman with green hair spoke. She appeared to be an elf. Perhaps a high elf. Bell wasn't sure.
"Shut it old hag. I still gotta teach him some sense!" The man named Bete said while charging up for a punch.
"I'm going to leave now, I know you're considerably stronger than me and I'll probably get knocked out again which I don't want to be." Bell said as he backed up.
"Yeah, that's right brat. Know your place trash. Weaklings should know it." Bete said with a smirk now.
"I know my place, I just know that you're stronger. But," Bell paused. "Everyone starts weak. I don't have falna so of course I'll lose." Bell said a bit indifferently.
"Wait. You don't have falna?" Bete was a bit confused.
"You didn't know? I thought I told everyone with Airmid." Naaza said with her usual tone.
"Oh… well that doesn't matter. That just means he's more weak but with weapons." Bete said with confidence..
"Well, he was wounded pretty bad. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit curious." Naaza said, looking at Bell.
"Well… I sort of… fought an army?" Bell said. "Not like we won or anything. We died. Pretty sure I'm the only one alive. Sucked a lot." He said with a bit of sadness in his eyes but his voice and body posture seemed indifferent.
"What? This dumbass fought an army? Absolute dumbass!" Bete laughed.
"Yes, I did fight an army. Rest assured it wasn't my order. I was ordered by the damn king of this country to do the suicide attack." Bell shot back while glaring at Bete. Bete scowled a bit before responding.
"Man, he must hate your guts like I do. Maybe even more!"
"Bete, restrain yourself." Riviera said calm yet firm. Her jade eyes had the ferocity of a thousand flaming arrows.
"Wow, well then, what rank are you if you're in the military?" Naaza asked. "Also, my condolences."
"It's fine, I don't need any pity. But for that rank question, I'm a five star general for the military. I'm always overlooked though because of my age. Not fun at all." Bell complained.
"Also, where are my weapons. Is it with my old clothes?"
Bell had just realized he wasn't wearing his old uniform. That was a bit strange because he used to notice a lot of detail. He eventually chalked it up to still being in rough shape.
"Oh," Naaza continued. "There in the closet of the room you were in."
"Gotcha." Bell replied.
"Hold on… You're a general?!" Bete practically yelled in shock. That caused almost everyone to look at their direction. Bell nodded in response which seemed appropriate to him. Though, not for Bete. Bete wanted answers.
"No. That ain't gonna cut it. Tell me what the hell happened and how the hell you got that damn rank!" Bete yelled again.
"Uh, I was taught militaristic basics at age five and began to quickly advance after that. So, you could say that I was introduced to the military pretty young. Even younger than I was taught. With that strategy learned I was also taught how to fight with these weapons and close combat. So, I guess I got lucky with the quick and early learning?" Bell spoke.
"How about achieving the rank. How did it happen?" Riviera asked. She was pretty intrigued though she did not show it.
"I was promoted when my best friend- I mean, ex-best friend promoted me because he was crowned king. He ended up sending me and my soldiers to that battle actually." Bell clenched his fists as he was beginning to get riled up because he talked about the king.
"Easy Bell." Naaza told Bell. Bell looked down at Naaza and sighed. She was right. He shouldn't get mad.
"Looks like somebody else hated you as well. Heh." Bete spoke.
"Oh? Is that so? Well, no changing it." Bell tried to stay calm because he didn't want to get off on a bad start with everyone else and.. Because they could destroy him in a second because they had falna and he didn't.
"Well, I guess that explains it enough. No use playing with fire if it's a sensitive subject for you." Riviera spoke in her usual calm demeanor, glaring at Bete.
"Thanks. Anyways, I'm going to check my weapons. They were pretty damaged last I checked." Bell said as he began to turn around.
"They were, we have a blacksmith that can repair them for you if you would like." Riviera offered.
"Well, that's a kind offer. I might take you on it." Bell said as he walked off.
Bell waved without looking back as he headed back to the room with his cane. It was a bit embarrassing but he needed it for the meantime. He walked down the hallway he did previously with Naaza and back to the room he rested in. When he went in, he looked to the closet Naaza said it was in. It was closed at the moment so he had to open it to see his weapons.
He opened the closet and he was greeted by his heavily damaged sarissa and Amp. He looked at his Amp and his bag which had only one shoulder which he admired so much. Zeke actually made it for him which was one of the only things he had to remind him of him. He sighed as he went up to grab it. It's cold steel pierced Bell's palms.
Bell grabbed a nearby chair to sit on. While he held the Amp, he looked outside the window. They appeared to be on a hill and at the base of the hill was a village. It wasn't that small by the looks. Perhaps about a thousand residents. Maybe even as little as a couple hundred, he wasn't sure. Pine trees blocked the view of the entire village. This seemed to be in a forest so it was pretty isolated.
Why not explore the village? Nothing to lose. Bell got up and tossed the cane away. He checked the window and it could open. He smirked as he opened the window so he could hop out. He lifted his good leg first and then checked back to see if anybody was coming or was near. After he confirmed nobody was there, he lifted the rest of his body out. Itr was going to be a rough but quick fall by Bell's calculations. The fall was at least two meters.
Bell inhaled as much as he could before he let himself fall. He had his hands on his head to protect it. The fall lasted pretty long for Bell but when he did land, all he heard and felt were twigs snapping from underneath him.
"Huh, that wasn't so bad." Bell said to himself as he got up. He scanned the ground for and stick to assist his leg. He saw this thick stick which was the perfect size after scanning the ground for a couple minutes.
"Bandages, where are my bandages." Bell mumbled to himself as he searched his bag. After a few moments searching, he found them and wrapped the stick around the leg. The stick helped a lot as he began to make his way to the village which was at least a ten minute hike with his leg.
Eventually he made it to the village which looked pretty nice. He saw houses of all shapes on the base of trees and some occasional houses simply standing on their own. They were all brown or light gray.
There were a couple of civilians who looked at him. Well, he still had his bare uniform on except without his armor. The majority of civilians appeared to be elves. Surprisingly, they seemed welcoming at least slightly for some of them.
He turned a corner and saw a forgery. It was run by a rather tall dwarf who was currently smithing an axe. Bell walked over and began to watch the dwarf.
"See somethin' ye' like?" The dwarf said without looking up.
The dwarf had a black tank on with some shorts which appeared to be worn out. He had little to no hair with his almost non existent hair being brown. He also appeared to be middle aged.
"Well, no, not yet at least. Though I would like you to repair this." Bell said while getting his revolver. His revolver was in his bag which appeared to be completely broken at the muzzle.
"What the hell lad? Who rent this?" The dwarf said while taking the revolver from Bell's hand. Almost everything to the dwarf's skillful smithing eye was flawed or broken.
"Well, can you fix it?" Bell asked.
"Yeah, yeah I can. It will cost you though." The dwarf continued, "for about fifteen thousand valutor."
The valutor was the upper currency of Njalulf. They were silver or golden coins with either the flag symbol or the head of the first king of Njalulf. They were the upper class of currency as there was another class of currency named the "pengar". Those would satisfy the lesser costs of everyday life. One gold coin was 10,000 valutor and one silver coin was 1,000 pengar which would be the price of a shirt or a pair of pants.
"Reasonable price, alright. When can I pick it up?" Bell asked.
"Maybe tomorrow, around the evening time?" The dwarf said.
"Though, I'm not sure, I have some other clients I need to help out. So if it's not ready by then just come back the next day at the same time. Should be definitely done by then."
Bell nodded and began to head out. That was until the dwarf called out.
"Hey boy! Just another thing. You don't seem to be around here, yes?" The dwarf asked.
"Yeah, I'm not from here. Hell, I don't even know where I am in Njalulf." Bell muttered while he turned around.
"Oh, all I know you're somewhere in the western part of Njalulf's Vindil island. I know that fur' a fact." The dwarf sighed.
"So, what's yur' name as well? Might as well know it if I'm gonna have you come back." The dwarf said while going back to smithing.
"I'm Bell Cranel. I'm from the capital city. Came here for the defense of Vindil. Also, what is this town called?"
"Eh, I'm Herald, just Herald. Yur' in Kallskog right now, that's about all I know bout' the island. And your name sounds familiar." He paused to think. "Holy- What? How? You? You're! What?! THE Bell Cranel? Hell! I thought you died a week ago from that battle! An-and you look WAY different from paintings and sketches. Hell, they made you look ugly." Herald screamed while dropping his hammer.
"Well, I don't know about ugly but, I didn't die somehow. I know that, I mean, I'm here, standing, yeah." Bell replied while moving his arms up and down his torso.
"Also, what the hell is going on lately? It's pretty warm for here. It's like, I don't know, 12° celsius (53.6° F)?" Bell questioned.
It was warmer than usual here. Usually this place was covered in snow at least eight months a year. And even then, there were scant piles of snow here and there.
"Yeah, I don't know why. It's fucking burning outside! Well, maybe not for you as yur' in a sub-tropical climate down there." He joked.
"But seriously. This has never happened. I don't why or why but it definitely ain't natural. I just feel it" The dwarf squinted his eyes for seriousness. Bell was going to question why he repeated himself with his "whys" but he kept to himself.
"I can look into it but I doubt I'll find anything useful. I'll first have to find some information on that. So that's that then." Bell sighed while he responded to the serious question.
"Alright, so that's it then. I'll see ya' tomorrow then lad. Bye." The dwarf said while picking up his hammed and beginning to smith again.
"Yeah, bye, Herald." He gave the wooden pillar he was leaning on a light knock as he left.
The gravel made way for his feet as he walked back to the cabin. He looked around the seemingly downtown like area which had quite a bit of people. He saw this short woman who had silver-ish hair with a beret-like hat on her head which was white with yellow stripes. As Bell looked at her, she snapped her head at him and with her purple eyes, stared at him with anger. She began to storm towards him as he began to back up and walk away. That only caused her to speed up which made him speed up. Soon enough, it turned in a chase with Bell's foot giving the woman the advantage.
"You should be resting!" The woman said while chasing the wild Bell.
"I don't even know who you are for you to tell me that!" He shouted as he ran.
"I was your healer! Now rest!"
"Why?! I can run fine based on this chase!" Bell yelled back at his "healer".
"I don't care! Your wounds were pretty bad so rest!"
"Never!" Bell said as he comically fell down on a rock which was fatefully planted in his tracks.
"Damn it!" Bell said as he fell down to the ground. His shoulder hit the ground with a loud thump which just angered the healer furthermore.
"Finally, I can forcibly make you rest like you should have been doing all this time." Amid said as she glared at the fallen Bell.
"Come on, I'm taking you back." She said as she grabbed his collar and dragged him on his butt.
"Hey, hey, I can walk y'know?"
"I don't care." She said as she dragged him back to the cabin which was about five minutes away.
"So, can I walk?" He asked.
"No," She said. "I have to take precautions in case you might escape again."
"Fine." He said as he tried to sound like a bored kid.
"It doesn't work if you are about a foot and a couple centimeters taller than me." Amid said.
"Worth a shot!" He chuckled
"Silence. You were bad." She said with an angry voice.
As he and the supposed healer arrived at the front door, he was greeted by Naaza, Riviera, and Bete who were in the main area sauntering around. They looked at him and the healer and smirked. Today wasn't a proud day for Bell. Being led around by a WAY shorter woman did not feel good.
"Heh, the dumbass got overpowered by her huh? Pathetic!" Bete doubled over laughing.
"Wow Bell, I thought you were better than this, tsk, tsk." Naaza humorously said as she walked over.
"Where did you find him?" Naaza went back to her usual voice with Amid.
"In the downtown while I was buying supplies. I was and am still pretty angry. He should have been resting." The healer said.
"Oh, well thanks Airmid, I guess."
"Huh, so this is the 'Airmid' you've been talking about? Man, I tell you, she's been gushing on` and on about you and how talented you are at healing!" Bell butted in. He wanted to humiliate Naaza as she did to him earlier. That and also get her back for that "phrasing" joke.
"What?! No-no I did not! Quit lying Bell!" Naaza was towering over him ready to kick him.
"Well, I certainly do take pride in healing. It's something I enjoy." Airmid beamed with pride.
Bell looked at Naaza and squinted his eyes at her. Now, he was a natural liar. He had to be. He eventually spoke up after a couple of moments.
"Hoh? So you're telling me that you didn't gush about how good she was at her job and how you wished to team up with her on other stuff other than medicine?"
Bell smirked while Naaza got red faces either from embarrassment or anger.
"If you wouldn't die from my punch I would have already punched you." Naaza grumbled.
"Hey, didn't you swear an oath to only heal and not harm? Tsk, very unprofessional Ms. Naaza, I'm very disappointed." Bell clicked his tongue. Naaza continued to glare at him while he smirked.
"Well, I wouldn't mind spending time with Naaza. It would be fun." Amid lightly smiled at the thought.
"Haah," Naaza sighed, "I guess we can."
"Okay," Airmid said while trying to hide her smile.
"You two, can I be let go now? I want to walk around." Bell said while waving his arms making them stand tall and proud.
"No," They both said simultaneously.
"Okay," Bell said while quickly looking down.
"Hey, dumbass, how the hell did this slow ass person catch ya'?" Bete asked while walking up still smirking.
"I dunno, maybe falna had a part?" Bell questioned Bete's question.
"No, had nothing to do with it. He thought he was fast while running at high speeds which led him to falling." Airmid answered.
"Well, who wouldn't run from a woman who was yelling at a random dude sauntering down a street casually?" Bell tried to defend.
"Dumbass, you really are a dumbass." Bete said while walking away.
"Yeah, I guess I am." Bell replied. "But seriously can I be let go?"
"Fine. But you're stuck here for now." Airmid said hesitantly while loosening her grip on him.
"Ugh, fine," Bell moaned, "would rather be walking around town."
He got up and made his way to the library. There were about a half dozen book shelves to pick from. Each had at least one hundred books. More than enough for Bell. As he was browsing the selection, he saw one that stook out. The book was called: How to Get a Harem (Even Elves!). Bell grabbed the book and began to read. The more he read, the larger his smirk got. That didn't go unnoticed by a certain elf who just came to the living room.
"What book are you reading?" A honey-blonde elf who was pretty short compared to Bell asked from behind him. Since the book he was reading would definitely make her mad and on top of being startled, he jumped like a cat and almost hissed.
"No-noth-nothing at all!" Bell said as he stuffed it in his bag as hastily as he could.
"No, let me see." The elf tried again.
"I'm good," Bell replied.
"I said no, let me see." The elf glared at him.
"I'm very much so good." Bell replied sort of nervous. "Oh, looks like somebody is calling me! I gotta go y'know?" Bell said as he began to try to get away.
"Hold it." She said with a menacing tone. "Show me the book."
"It's nothing important okay? Just some stuff about combat. That's all." He said trying to keep a calm act to not blow his cover.
"You should've just said so." The elf said, still eyeing him down with suspicion.
"Well, anyway, what's your name? I've never seen you around except for when you first came here all wet, muddy, and bloody." The woman said.
"Huh, my name is Bell Cranel. I come from the capital of Njalulf which is WAY more southern than this freezing climate." He responded.
"Oh, I'm Lefiya Viridis. I'm from Orario, though you might already know that." She waved her hands while talking.
"Huh, well, Orario in my opinion is very cold like this place. I'm used to high temperatures all year round'. Other than that, I always wanted to visit Orario. Never had been able to though."
"Oh, well, Orario isn't that bad until around mid-October too late March. After that, it's pretty warm unlike this place which is way too cold for my liking." Lefiya said while subconsciously bringing her arms up to warm them.
"Heh, yeah, this is way too cold. That's a perk for defense though. That's about it though." Bell chuckled as he said it.
"Well, I'll see you later I guess." Lefiya said as she walked off.
Bell waved goodbye and looked at Airmid who was reading a book. He walked over to ask if he could go back to his room.
"Hey uh, Airmid, do mind if I go back to my room? I'm really bored here." Bell whined.
"Not without somebody watching you. I guess I'll supervise you." Airmid sighed as she got up.
"Why are you treating me like a prisoner? All I did was walk around town!" Bell whined.
"You should have been healing." Airmid replied bluntly.
"Well, nobody told me that!" He shot back.
"It's common sense, Bell." She shot him a glare.
As they arrived, Bell zoomed to get the hunting knife which was in his other bag. With the hunting knife, he also got a cutting board. This earned looks of suspicion by Airmid but Bell assured her he wouldn't hurt anyone. She reluctantly replied as he laid the cutting board on a desk.
He put his hand on the cutting board and with his right hand, he grabbed a knife and put it at the edge of his thumb. He was about to play the knife game. It was where you had to effectively stab the knife between your fingers without stabbing yourself and if you succeeded, you won. You also had to do it fast.
"Bell… don't do it." Airmid warned.
"Why? It's only a game." He mumbled as he turned around.
"It's a knife. If you want to do something, read."
"Alright," He said as he grabbed his other non harem book. "I'll read."
"Well, that was easy…" Airmid mumbled under her breath.
After a while, Airmid left Bell alone as she deemed him calm enough to not escape again. About fifteen minutes after Airmid left, Bell heard a knock on the door. He shouted to come in and it was Naaza.
"Hey Bell, I just finished making a potion and I want to test it on you." Naaza said as she held a bluish purple liquid in her hand.
"First off, what is it for?" He asked cautiously.
"It's for wounds and stability in walking from the wounds." Naaza replied casually.
"I'm in. Please test it on me." Bell said. He hated the limp he had because of the pain. Never had he ever loved being bed bound or having a limp. That was one of his least favorite things.
"Okay then. First I need to lay down straight and take off the bandages on your legs." She ordered him.
"Easy enough," He said as he took off the bandages.
"It's topical so you're going to have to let it be absorbed by your skin which should take about 10 minutes." She told him as he began to pour it on him.
"It's tingly. Well, that's to be expected… right?" Bell asked slightly fearfully.
"I don't know. That's why I asked you to test it." Naaza said while trying to hide a smirk.
"By the gods Naaza! If I die, I will make SURE I haunt you." He said while glaring at her.
"I'd like to see you try." Naaza smirked now, not even hiding it.
"Alright, done. So, leave it be for about ten minutes and come see me at the living room without holding on to anything so I can see if it works." She said as he began to get up and walk away.
"Thanks, Naaza. I'll owe you if this works."
"Don't thank me yet. It might not work" She said as she closed the door.
"Right, right." He said as he began to read that book he had hid prior to entering the room.
After about ten minutes, Bell got up. As he did, he immediately collapsed. His legs felt better though they felt like jelly. He slapped them a bit but he did not feel anything. To see if he could begin to feel, he began to move his legs up and down on the floor. After about a minute of doing that, he could feel again.
"Finally!" He yelled out in triumph as he got up slowly but steadily.
He at last could walk again and felt really good for Bell. The first thing he did was go meet Naaza as he told him to. He entered the familiar hallway and headed towards the direction of the lobby. On his way there, he was greeted by a couple of other people who he had brief conversations` with and some quick jokes before heading to the living room.
"Bell, huh, I guess it worked." Naaza smiled at her accomplishment.
"Yup, it did. But, I was numb for a couple of minutes before being able to walk. So, that was one downside but hey, who am I to complain?" Bell said giddy because his leg healed.
"Bell! What are you doing!" Airmid said as she stomped her way over.
"Walking around for the first time in forever!" He said with a wide grin.
"When you should be resting!" Airmid said.
"Relax, Naaza healed me! All is good now!" He said with one hand under his chin.
"Your welcome." Naaza chipped in.
"I swear Bell. You're really going to make me go insane." Airmid sighed.
"If I do, I'll ask Naaza to protect me from you." He said, still smirking.
"One day… one day." She mumbled as she walked away.
"Well Naaza, thanks for that. And you too Airmid!" Bell yelled out in case AIrmid would get annoyed if he didn't thank her.
"Eh, you owe me now. That's all." She said.
"Alright, I'll pay you back but I'm going to go to sleep now. I have something to do tomorrow."
"How? Well, you probably did something before Airmid caught you.
"Yeah, I did. I have to pick up a repair for a weapon of mine. Should be tomorrow or the day after. Plus, I want to go deity hunting so I could join a familia. I hear there are a couple of deities that just started out on this island so that's nice."
"Well, thats nice. I'll see you tomorrow then. Goodnight." Naaza said as she turned away.
"Night," Bell said as he also turned around to go to his room once again.
He was pretty drowsy. That potion made him pretty tired because before the potion, he was wide awake. Tomorrow Bell had a big day ahead. He had to search far and wide for a deity and get his weapon repair.
His door opened and he looked at his familiar room which he would probably stay at for a couple of weeks. Maybe longer, maybe shorter. Bell did not know at all what time had in store for him. Neither did time itself know what would come for him. He laid down on his bed as he took off his shirt to reveal all his scars. He looked at his new body which had quite a bit of scars. He assured himself that falna did have an effect to heal scars quicker or simply heal scars that didn't heal at a slower pace.
He sighed once more and shut his eyes for the night. He was quite excited for tomorrow and tomorrow was excited for him. Well, that's what he told himself in his trance of being excited. Now, he had to accomplish step one of his goals: Get into a familia. Soon after, he fell asleep thinking about his favorite book, the Harem Book.