Italics=Character's thoughts.
[_]=Item/Spell/Ability.
Horizontal line=Scene/POV Change.
To war
Inside the throne room, an impromptu court, just after sundown, was being held.
"What are we doing here?"
"Maybe she has finally decided on a marriage proposal?"
"I heard the king is dead."
"I haven't heard anything."
"This better not be a waste of my time."
"Do you think-"
One voice after another, each of them belonging to different nobles, young and old, spoke and speculated about the reason for their gathering. Their summons had been urgent, and they were apparently threatened with execution if they did not show up. Whatever the reason was for them being summoned here, it must have been urgent, and that was reason enough for the gossip to begin in earnest.
"Quiet." - A raspy old voice spoke, loudly enough for all to be deafened by it.
The shriveled court wizard entered through the door, interrupting the hushed whispers of the various gossiping nobles. He was followed by a young lad with shaggy brown hair, no older than twelve or so, who looked completely out of place. Behind him there was also his much younger counterpart, the chief representative of the Mages' Guild, and his retainer of qualified magic casters, who numbered at about two dozen.
"Parsis, what is the meaning of this? Why have we been summoned here, after dark?" - A well-built and ruggedly handsome man in his mid-50s with a brown beard and mustache spoke. The onset of gray hair did little to hinder his attractiveness.
"Duke Chekos, the princess has urgent news to announce, and time is short. Therefore, you and the rest of your peers will have to forgive us for this breach of decorum."
"Urgent, you say. Very well, I am here to serve. What is the urgency?"
"Not yet, Duke. We should wait for the rest." - The court wizard replied.
"Every noble in the city is gathered here, who else are we waiting for, besides her majesty?" - Another noble with short blonde hair asked.
"Why, that would be my friends and colleagues of course." - The man with the dark slicked back hair spoke. He was the leader of the Mages' Guild, and a talented administrator, diligent and honest. And he was not a bad magic caster as well, being of the third tier.
"Lord Mellon, can you stop being cryptic for once, please." - Another voice spoke, this one much younger, belonging to a noble who had only recently inherited his lands from his father who died of gout. Unlike his father, this noble was comically thin, instead of overweight.
"I am not a lord, count Zorton, and I am not being cryptic, for once. The meeting will begin when the leaders of the Adventurer's Guild, Merchant's Guild and the Archbishop, and their retainers arrive."
"If we are waiting for them as well, then things are truly dire. What exactly is going on?" - The middle aged Duke asked once more, this time with a concerned voice.
"War." - a female voice said.
Silence descended once more.
The princess had arrived, clad in full armor. White formed the basis of the color scheme, with golden and green accents everywhere, and a green cape with a golden sun embroidered on it.
Though she was not a fighter, it was difficult not to admire her stance, and the poise and grim determination she gave off at this moment.
Duke Chekos, and every other noble in the courtroom, nearly swallowed their tongue.
Snug safely under her furs, the crimson haired beauty dreamt of relaxing in a hot tub, with no worries or responsibilities. That dream would have to be cut short.
"Wake up." - A voice said, gently.
"Mmmm…."
"Wake up." - The voice said again, this time a bit more firmly.
"Nooo…."
"Izaniya, wake up." - A third time the voice said, and this was said harshly.
"Just 5 more minutes…" - Izaniya protested.
"Wake up!" - The voice finally shouted.
Smack.
The red-head was slapped awake, and the first thing she saw was two ocean blue eyes staring at her, way too close to her face.
"How long did I sleep…" - She barely managed to say, trailing off near the end, barely finishing her sentence.
"About 15 minutes."
"So… why did you wake me up…" - Usually, she would have been furious at this, but considering the woman saved her life, and she was literally too tired to even be angry, she let it go. She had no choice but to let it go. Like one of her friends said before he got hanged for thieving, sometimes you gotta throw an egg to steal a pie. Wait, that meant something completely else. It didn't matter.
"It's urgent, I need to ask you some questions. Answer them, and then you can go back to sleep, alright?"
"Okay…" - Izaniya agreed, half-heartedly.
She knew that protesting would be useless. First she was assaulted by questions from a brown haired madman, now she would be assaulted by questions from a blonde haired madwoman. Such is life. Perhaps one day she would be free of super-powered psychopaths, but that day seemed far away, with the whole world being on fire and all that.
The blonde woman saw Izaniya agreeing, and left, but not before she tapped her shoulder gently twice, almost as a sort of "you can do it, champ" motivational attempt, but the woman was freakishly strong, and Izaniya felt like she had just been ran over by an entire cavalry battalion, so the sad attempt at comforting her left her hurting even more, though she could not find it within herself to vocalize the pain.
"Wait…" - Izaniya spoke after a second or so.
"Hmm, yes?" - The golden-haired magic caster replied, as she turned around.
"Help me get up, I can't move."
"Ah, okay. Give me a second."
"I think I'm gonna puke again…"
"Don't you dare."
After a somewhat embarrassingly comfortable half-minute in which Izaniya was carried like a bride during her wedding night, she was laid down, with her back resting against a rock, and some blankets serving as an impromptu pillow. Izaniya was once more, covered in furs, and the comfortable crackling of the fire nearby did little to abate her drowsiness. She would probably fall asleep again if she remained like this.
She was prevented from succumbing to the cool night's somnic arms by the Firbolg, as he brought her a cup of something green and rancid.
"Uh… what's this."
"Tea, it'll keep ya awake, for now."
"Smells bad."
"Tastes worse. Now drink, girl."
She obliged. She trusted the old codger, one of the few people in the entire party who she could say that about with absolute certainty.
"Ugh…" she let out a sound as she consumed the vile liquid. Desperately trying to keep it down, she eventually managed to drink the whole cup after an intense battle with her own digestive system protesting the consumption of the liquid the entire time.
"Ya feel better now?"
"No…"
"It be needing some time."
"What was in that thing?"
"Ya don't wanna know."
After a few seconds, Izaniya literally bolted up, making a 90-degree angle with her legs and back. Her eyes were completely open, and all signs of her previous drowsiness had vanished.
This was noticed by Ya'Shak, who let out a little laugh, and Tsukasa, who threw a small branch into the fire, before turning her head and asking.
"Ya'Shak, is she ready?"
"Ya, she be ready."
"Perfect. Now, Izaniya, I want you to tell me everything since we sent you out yesterday, and I mean everything." - the golden haired magic caster asked.
"Alright alright alright alright." - Izaniya replied, as she quickly got out of her impromptu bed, stood up, and then immediately started moving from left to right, front to back, desperately trying to burn off the excess energy.
Tsukasa however, just looked stunned at the whole bizarre event, and just stared for a while, before turning to the old codger and saying a single word.
"What."
"Give it a minute, it'll pass. After that, she be all yours."
At the same time that Izaniya was telling her two party members about how she spent the last day, on the other side of the kingdom, court was being held.
To call it chaotic, would be an understatement.
Upon reading the contents of the letter to everyone present within the court, the reactions came up as mixed. Some examples of the reactions, including those of men who were the leaders of each of the major factions were as follows.
"This is madness!" - Duke Chekos shouted.
"We're all gonna die!" - Count Zorton cried.
"We have no proof those events are true. We must verify that letter ourselves." - Master Mellon said, trying to be the voice of reason.
"The Gods are punishing us!" - The Archbishop wailed.
"I need to get out of here, I need to get out of here, I need to get out of here." -Quietly muttered the leader of the Adventurer's Guild, most likely to himself.
"The economy, fools!" - The leader of the Merchant's guild protested.
"Silence!" - Parsis commanded.
They obeyed.
The princess lifted her head and spoke with royal dignity.
"You all know the state of the world. There is a curse upon every land, every tribe. Did any of you really think we would be so lucky as to avoid it, after what has happened in the past six months?"
"But, your majesty, why come here? We are out of the way, and well-protected by the mountains." - A minor noble asked.
"Not well enough, apparently." - Another said, sarcastically.
"Why come here?" - One of the wealthier merchants asked.
"Why does evil do evil, if not for its own sake?" - An adventurer in the armor of a paladin replied.
Duke Chekos interrupted the rowdy band of undisciplined men, by lifting his arm. He was a well-respected general and noble, who had earned this respect by having led a cavalry charge that out-maneuvered and then routed the Elven army during their invasion attempt fifteen years ago. He was a powerful warrior, who had devoted his life to the kingdom since he was a young lad. The only thing that he regretted was that he had no male heirs, only a single daughter that would survive him. Perhaps that is why he served the princess with such loyalty?
At any rate, his loyalty and strength were unquestioned, and he decided to steer the conversation toward a different path.
"Archbishop, do your scriptures say anything about this?"
"Yes, the Six Great Gods are punishing us for straying from their path! Repent now, I say! Repent!"
"You're as useless as your gods." - The Duke replied scornfully.
"Sinner! Blasphemer! Heretic!" - The old man in the funny hat seethed.
"Someone shut that old fart up." - An adventurer clad in brown leather armor, carrying a silver bow said.
The old court mage, Parsis, replied by casting the [Silence] spell, which left the Archbishop mouthing words which were completely silenced, to the joy of all.
"Thank you, Parsis." - The princess thanked her loyal court mage.
"You're welcome, your highness." - He replied as he bowed his head.
"Your highness, are the contents of that letter true? None here would dare to doubt the integrity of Sir Ronion, but perhaps he sent the letter while under duress?" - The leader of the Adventurer's Guild, a scarred man with long red hair and a clean-shaven face asked.
"The entire city was taken by monsters while his own men died and turned to undead in front of him. Of course he was under duress." - The leader of the Merchant's Guild, a plump yet tall man replied.
"We must validate the authenticity of the letter, and the message it contains." - Master Mellon said.
"The letter is true, as are its contents." - Parsis replied.
After a second of silence, Count Zorton spoke up and asked the queen an impertinent question. It seemed that the Duke would have torn the man in half that very instant if his liege ordered it. She didn't.
"Your highness, are we absolutely certain that this letter is true?"
"Yes, because I am no fool. Though perhaps I have been foolish, for it is only now that I see that these events which were deemed coincidences were no coincidences at all."
"It makes sense…" - One noble muttered under his breath.
"What is her majesty referring to?" - Another asked him, nudging at his shoulder.
"As you are well aware, my mother died in childbirth, alongside my infant brother, when this should not have happened, not with so much care provided. Not long afterwards, an earthquake struck, and conveniently killed my brother, rendering my father in the state he is in. And before that, just a year ago, the pass to the Sakamir Peninsula was blocked off. And of course, there was one final thing that verified the integrity of the letter." - The princess explained as she paced around before the throne.
"News?" - The leader of the Merchant's Guild asked.
"Not quite. I sent a letter to our Dwarven vassals in the eastern mountains, just to check up on them. It was a simple message, an order to tell us if there had been any news, no matter how strange or minor, alongside an explicit order to answer that question with a simple Yes or No, nothing else, immediately."
"And they responded with bad news?"
"Worse, they haven't responded at all, and I sent the letter half an hour ago. And everyone here knows that they are very punctual."
"Does that mean that they're… dead?"
"Dead, or perhaps worse. Either way, we will likely be facing an attack on perhaps even the capital, from two sides, very soon."
"By the Gods…"
Words and gasps once more came to life, and panic with it. The rapid-fire news that one city had fallen, leaving them open to a potential western invasion from the elves, alongside an invasion from demons, and the lack of response from the eastern vassals, must have been too much for some of the people in the court.
One of the nobles, an old man who looked more at home on a farm than in a court muttered to himself, just loud enough to be heard by the rest.
"The six have abandoned us…"
The princess, however, shot him a look of disdain. It silently said "I hope you are among the first to die."
Then she raised her voice, and started speaking once more.
"My friends and subjects, let us put aside the fear that has gripped our hearts for so long. Let us put aside the grudges and grievances of the past. We will unite, stand proud, and vanquish this threat! That is my promise! Kosalia will survive!" - She shouted, with vim and vigor, her voice powerful, with the promise of righteous vengeance.
"Steel, not prayer!"
"We will not submit!"
"Hear, hear!"
"No mercy to the enemy!"
The princess' speech had lit a fire in the belly of most everyone inside the courtroom, and even the mages raised their staves with zeal in the air, ready to kill without remorse.
It was electrifying, and the noise that came out of the throne room could be heard throughout the entire castle, white as it was, shining magnificently on the hilltop with the moon shining silver rays of light through the clouds in the sky.
Duke Chekos however, said no word of protest, he merely unsheathed his sword, and pointed it to the air, and shouted two words.
"To war!"
The crowd roared even further.
The princess raised her sword once more in the air, and repeated the war cry, which her subjects definitely did not disapprove of, before giving her loyal vassal a small nod, which he returned.
It seemed that the noise itself carried even into the heavens above.
Whatever happened from here on out, there was one thing for certain.
The young princess would lead her people to victory, or die trying.
Back at the campfire, an unlikely tale was recounted.
"So, let me sum up everything that happened to you in the past twenty-four hours while we've been sitting here, bored to death, waiting for you to come back."
"Um…"
"First, you saw someone single handedly slaughter an entire squadron of demons without so much as a sweat."
"Yes..."
"Then, instead of running back and reporting this like you were supposed to, or trying to make contact with him, you crept in the shadows and stalked him until he reached the city."
"Well…"
"Then, instead of introducing yourself, you kept on following him, until he caught you following him, at which point you suddenly blacked out. Stop me if I've made a mistake somewhere."
"Pretty accurate so far."
"Right. Then you awoke in the middle of the sky, were interrogated, then something happened in the sky which sounded like grass cracking, and then you followed a weird black gate into the desert. There, you helped this person to assault a fortress, killed everything inside, including the Demon God, once more, without breaking a sweat."
"Yeah…"
The magic caster took a deep breath to compose herself, before continuing.
"And then, finally, when you have a chance, a moment of peace and quiet to establish friendly ties, and get us an ally that could potentially end this war, a war we've been fighting for almost a year now, you go and do what exactly?
"I told you, I wasn't feeling myself…"
"YOU FUCK IT UP!" - The rage in this statement could be felt for miles away.
"Don't shout at the girl." - The old priest interjected.
"No? No? Why not?" - She hissed.
"It must be the poison messing with her mind, that must be why she went crazy."
"Don't defend her, that's not an excuse." - She replied as she waved him off.
After an intense few seconds of pacing around, Tsukasa finally managed to calm down enough to resume the conversation.
"Why didn't you just, I don't know, bring him here?"
"I thought that once I answered his questions, he'd leave me be."
Tsukasa had no reaction to this statement besides facepalming.
"I don't care about your wants or wishes. The fact is, you should've brought him here right after you returned to the city."
"Anything else?" - Izaniya asked sarcastically.
"Yeah, you messed up. Luckily, the situation is not unsalvageable."
After a few seconds of silence, Izaniya spoke once more.
"You should stay away from him, that psycho might kill you just for looking at him wrong."
"I can kill you for looking at me wrong."
"You wouldn't. You have a moral code, even if you pretend otherwise."
"Ugh."
She let out a groan of frustration. How many times would she have to pick up the pieces, how many times would she have to fix someone else's mistake, or deal with idiots who lacked common sense? As far as she was concerned, everyone in this world except for a few individuals were complete idiots.
"I am not kidding around, I feel like if we get him involved in this conflict we will be trading a dozen wolves for a giant lion, or something." - Izaniya spoke.
"Was that an attempt at making an allegory or something?" - She deadpanned.
"I'm just saying, perhaps we are better off not involving him in this conflict. We are making decent progress."
"We don't have enough time, we don't have enough people, we don't have enough strength. This is a chance to remedy that… Think about it, people are dying, right now, and we could be helping them. Who cares if I have to deal with the devil to save a million lives?"
"And once all the Demon Gods are dead? What happens afterwards? What's to stop him from just killing us as well, in case he decides we might ever become a threat?
"I'm certain that won't happen."
"How are you so certain?"
"You'll just have to trust me."
Izaniya just stared at her for a few seconds before speaking once more.
"I really can't unless you explain to me why I should."
"I wish I could explain… I really wish I could explain in detail why you're wrong."
"About?"
"Everything."
"So, why don't you?"
"You aren't ready, none of you are. You'd either think me insane or go insane yourselves. And besides, it's not a choice I can make alone."
"Whatever."
Izaniya looked at Ya'Shak, who both she and Tsukasa considered a mutual friend. The Firbolg had an aura that made one relax, like an old crazy uncle that everyone managed to get along with. He merely smiled a bit and shrugged at her, before continuing to sit in silence. He knew better than to interfere in arguments such as this. Better to get it out of the system.
"So, you're still planning on finding this guy and recruiting him? What if things go wrong?
"I'll be fine. Worst case is if we get into a fight, I'll just teleport away."
"What if it doesn't work?"
"What do you mean, what if it doesn't work?"
"The teleportation."
"It'll work, and if it doesn't, I have other ways of escaping."
"Overconfidence can be deadly."
"You're one to talk."
"Hm."
Izaniya had no response to the quick counter by Tsukasa. She had tried to assassinate her as part of a contract more than half a year ago, and failed spectacularly in the process. She thought about this moment, reminiscing on the past, before once more focusing on the present and speaking.
"By the way, where are the rest?"
"Who is it you're referring to?"
"Sharam, Remus, the vampire and the lion man."
"They went out looking for you."
"Why?"
Tsukasa once more stared at Izaniya as if she had said the dumbest thing anyone had ever said.
"What do you mean why? You weren't responding to the [Message] spell. We tried quite a few times, but we got no response. So, those four set out, trying to find you. We thought you died."
"What [Message]? I never received a [Message]."
"What do you mean, you never received it?"
"I mean what I said. I never received a [Message]."
"Not even about two hours ago?"
"No."
"Huh. That's curious. We'll figure out why later."
"So, what now?"
"Now, you go back to sleep. I'm not entirely confident you're fully recovered."
"I'm fine."
"Fine or not, I'll take it over from here."
"But wait-" - She never finished her sentence, as Tsukasa's hand grabbed her skull and she spoke.
"[Sleep]."
Izaniya's eyes closed, and she fell asleep once more. Her body was caught, and placed once more in her bedroll.
"What now?" - The old Firbolg asked.
"We catch up to the others. Maybe there's enough time to prevent this kingdom from falling."
"What about the one the girl spoke of?"
"If we find him, good, if not, we will make do."
"And the other four?"
"I'll get in touch with that vampire brat, she's definitely awake." - She spoke, her distaste for her colleague palpable in her very tone of voice.
"What about the leader?"
"They're busy over there."
"Maybe we should be sending a message."
"It'll be fine."
"Ya sure, man?" - he asked again.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. Whatever happens in the next few days, I'll take care of it. We'll survive, and we will win. That's what we do, no matter what it takes."
"I hope so."
"So do I…"
That's it for chapter 13. I do hope you enjoy it, it's a bit slower, but I believe it will tide you over, for now.
As always, please follow/favorite the story if you enjoyed it, and leave your opinions in the comments section.
Until next time!