Okay, so, people who may know or have heard from other fics; my sister is okay. Or, well, `okay` is a strong way to put it. She is still in hospital and will be for a bit. There is a chance she will need rods put into her legs to help pin her bones in place after what happened, because she took some catastrophic damage from her fall. Luckily, this being England, it's not like that is going to cost her anything and the NHS is going to handle everything and look after her.
I spent most of last night with her, only getting back after midnight or so, and will be going to spend some time with her later. I've also got her dog and children here and will be looking after them for a while. It shouldn't interfere with anything fic related.
Beta: College Fool
Cover Art: Dishwasher1910
Book 5: Chapter 9
I couldn't breathe.
The thought came in with a perilous lack of speed and I was already halfway to unconsciousness by the time I realised. Instincts kicked in like a wild horse and I flailed about, trying to knock my assailant off, but she had her weight atop my stomach and try as I might my Strength wasn't enough to dislodge her. Darkness crept in at the edge of my vision and through it I saw her face, no longer Blake's but a small and smooth complexion with a murderously happy smile. She leaned in harder, digging her thumbs into my windpipe.
My hand touched something. Something wooden. In a desperate panic I super-heated it, feeling it give way with a crack as it was cut cleanly in two. There was a mighty creak from above and the girl's eyes shot up. She darted off me, releasing my throat in the process, right as the roof of the four-poster bed crashed down on my body.
Breath came back immediately, and I gasped for it with burning lungs. The sound of metal clearing a sheath prompted me to force the canopy aside, rolling as a thin blade pierced down through it, catching my pillow and pinning it to the bed. Kicking out with both feet, I pushed the wooden frame off me and towards my opponent. She backed up with a silent snarl, giving me time to rush over and snatch my own weapon. Crocea Mors cleared its sheathe and the two of us stared at one another. I was tired, out of breath and dressed in my sleeping clothes. But I was armed. We both were.
Neo, that was her name. I'd recognised her as someone I knew the moment she'd started to strangle me, but the exact place and time hadn't been important. She was the Illusionist who worked with Torchwick and the Greycloaks. It looked like Cinder was right; the Greycloaks were here and they meant business. My eyes flicked to the scroll case on the desk. Was this an attempt at Cinder's scroll? No, they couldn't have known about that just yet.
Maybe that was the point. Neo might have been here to find out what our plans were in the first place. Even if they didn't know what Cinder and Ozpin had given us, it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility that they knew we'd brought Cinder Fall to Beacon. That might have been enough to get them on edge.
Her eyes followed mine to the scroll and narrowed. I stepped in between her and it, prepared to give my life if I had to. But I didn't. She was the one with the disadvantage here. There was nothing forcing me to fight her if I didn't want to, as reinforcements were surely on the way. A part of me wondered if I should have cut her off from the window instead, but there was no telling if the first through the door wouldn't be an innocent servant, and she'd kill them to escape.
"What is Torchwick doing in Magnis?" I asked.
Neo didn't answer. She took a slow step to the left to circle me, skirting around the bed. Rather than follow, I held my ground, turning only so that I could keep my sword between us. She wasn't getting the scroll. Not that easily.
"Are you really mute? Or do you just not want to speak?" If it was an act it was a good one, especially considering that she'd remained silent even in moments of shock. "Whatever the Greycloaks are promising you, you're not going to get it. I hate you and Torchwick, but I hate the Greycloaks more. Nothing good is going to come of you working with them."
The Illusionist waved a hand in there and suddenly there were three of her. The one in the centre remained standing, smirking at me, while the other two moved to the side, pinning me against the desk and surrounding me on three directions.
Damn it. We hadn't technically faced off against Neo before, so her Skills were unknown. Not sure why I didn't expect them to deal with illusions, though. A braindead moment on my part. All three mimicked one another perfectly, from the cocky smile to the glint of murder in her mismatched eyes. Illusions were just that, so two of them didn't – couldn't – exist. The problem was which of them was real.
I've a third chance of blocking the right one, and even then she's deadly fast so I won't get a chance for a counter-attack. Good odds for her. A little fear trickled through me, swallowed away as I readied Crocea Mors.
Neo moved.
I did, too.
Standing still was going to get me killed so I spun and grabbed the chair by the desk, hurling it at the left-most figure. It passed through and dissipated the girl there, leaving two. Completing the spin, I caught the scroll with my free hand and rolled to the side – directly at the one I knew to be fake. As I passed through it I heard a silent exhale of breath as Neo, both of her, stopped at the desk, clearly irritated.
It gave me the time I needed. I crashed into the door, tore it open and dashed outside. "Help! Intruder!"
Yang and Pyrrha were already up and out, half-dressed but armed. Pyrrha saw me and hurried over. "Jaune. Did you-?"
"Inside," I gasped. "Neo. The one who worked with Torchwick and Watts." The Champion nodded and moved towards the door. I pushed her away. "No, check the others. Make sure everyone is safe."
"We've already-"
The door several down from mine exploded outwards in a blast of freezing cold mist. A body slammed into the opposite wall with a crack and slumped down. Weiss stormed out of it, white hair frizzled, rapier clutched in hand. "They always go for the Mage first," she hissed. "Why is it always the Mage? Can't it be the Knight for once in my life!?" She noticed us, frowned, and crossed her arms over her breasts. Her sleeping down covered her, but that didn't do much for her mood. "An Assassin attacked me," she snapped.
"Me too," I said, indicating the room.
Somehow, that just seemed to annoy Weiss even more. My eyes widened as Blake stepped out of her room behind her. The Mage noticed and explained, "Blake heard combat and crept in the window to help me." Weiss eyed her. "She seemed oddly proficient at that."
"Not important," Blake said, not missing a beat nor explaining where such experience might come from. "Are the others okay?"
"Ren, Nora and Ruby are fine," Yang said. "It was just the two of you that were attacked."
"The two with the scrolls," Weiss added, revealing that just like me she'd had the forethought to grab the scroll and case before she fled the room. "It looks like our presence has made the Greycloaks nervous. Assuming these were Greycloaks, that was. My Assassin bore Mistral regalia."
"Jaune's was Neo," Pyrrha quipped, "so I think the Mistral garb is supposed to throw us off."
Weiss nodded, accepting the answer easily. The sudden sound of stampeding feet echoed through the building towards our location. "And the guards arrive at last. Late as usual. So much for the vaunted hospitality of Lord Roux. I've half a mind to charge him for services rendered."
Soldiers filled the corridor quickly, many pausing at the sight of the body before they pushed on. In a matter of seconds we found ourselves surrounded, and their intent couldn't have been less clear, what with their weapons drawn and aimed towards us.
"What is the meaning of this?" Weiss snapped. "We have been attacked in your care and now we find ourselves threatened. Where is Lord Roux? I demand an explanation."
"Lord Roux is dead."
/-/
On the hopes of avoiding some kind of disastrous fight, we'd agreed to go with the guards and soon found ourselves in the dining hall we'd been in the night before. Grey was there, looking far older than he had before. He was hungover and furious, clutching the hilt of his weapon with one hand. There were others, too. Some I recognised as servants and soldiers, while others seemed to be advisors of the late Lord Roux. They were by far the loudest.
"Slain before a battle," one wailed. "Do those Mistral bastards have no shame?"
"The Treaty forbids this. We must retaliate."
"Don't jump to conclusions," Grey warned. "There are many who would benefit from Lord Roux's death and Mistral gains relatively little."
"What about them!?" one of the other Noble Caste members accused. He was pointing at us. "They come here and that very night the Lord is killed. They were also the last to dine with him!"
"As was I," Grey said. "Are you suggesting something, Seneschal?"
"No, of course not. Not from you, Commander." The Seneschal, a wiry man with a fierce scowl eyed us warily. Though his rank may have been Seneschal, his Class was Scribe. A Noble Caste, and likely good at managing finances and the day-to-day running of Lord Roux's estate. "But you must admit the timing is convenient. They even have an Assassin with them. Who better to do the task?"
The Assassin in question tried to grab my hand to stop me, but it was already too late. I pushed forwards, heedless of the weapons held around us. "Are you saying Blake killed him? That's ridiculous. She was busy saving Weiss' life."
"Or so she claims," the Scribe pointed out. "We have little proof of that."
"We were attacked as well. Why would we attack ourselves if our goal was to kill Lord Roux?"
"To avoid suspicion, of course. A lucky convenience that you survived your attempts while Lord Roux did not. I'm sure from your point of view it's an unavoidable tragedy and little more." He sneered at me, puffing out his chest. "You used the cover of the war to come here on a Blood Quest and kill Roux for some petty Noble back in the city. If you believe your employer will ascend to the Lord of Magnis, you have another thing coming."
Yang growled and stepped up beside me. "Why, you son of a-"
"Enough!" Grey roared, silencing the hall – and the muttering. "We serve no purpose throwing accusations at one another. Head Servant, what of the maid from last night, the one Lord Roux took to his chambers?"
"She is nowhere to be found, sir," one of the Labour Caste members said. "And, I'm afraid to admit, but no one professes to having seen her before."
"Treachery or incompetence," the Seneschal snapped. "If she was unknown, then why was she allowed so close to the Lord!?"
"I do not know, sir. It was not I who approved her presence. I believe she slipped in at the last second, after which she was already in service and had caught the late Lord's eye."
"She is almost certainly the one who killed him," Grey said.
"Her name is Neo."
Grey's eyes shot to mine. "Hm?"
"Neo," I repeated. "She's an Illusionist and a criminal of Vale wanted for working with the Greycloaks, an organisation of criminal nature who are responsible for starting this war in the first place. She can change her appearance, or that of other people, but she can't speak."
"You're sure of this?"
"She tried to kill me less than an hour ago," I said. "I'm fairly confident it was her. The maid didn't speak a word, or even make a sound when she laughed."
"Greycloaks, Illusionists, criminals – Commander Sullivan, do you not see the ridiculousness of what they spout?" The Seneschal shook his head. "This is the kind of nonsense conspiracy theories are made of. Logic dictates the simplest answer should be the first considered. Lord Roux is killed and then his killer – this Neo – immediately meets with one of their party, who conveniently is not killed despite it being the middle of the night. Why were you not asleep, Knight?"
"I… well…"
"He has no answer!" The Seneschal slammed a hand on the table. "This `Neo` did not appear until they did, and Lord Roux dies the night they visit. The only reason the Servants would have been too busy to notice an intruder among them was if they had a large number of guests to attend to. They were the distraction for the killer!"
"We wouldn't need a distraction," Blake said, voice lilting and calm. "Had I wanted him dead, I could have done it myself – and concealing the nature of his death would have been a simple task. He drank and ate to excess. Poison could have simulated a heart attack. Or perhaps I would have thrown him from the window and suggested he fell in a drunken stupor. I'd not be foolish enough to leave any evidence you could trace to me."
Far from calm them down, Blake's matter of fact rundown of how she'd assassinate Lord Roux did little to calm the guards around us, who tensed at every word. Grey and the Seneschal remained calm, though the latter looked a little sick. "I maintain my position," he said after a second's pause. "I'm sure my opinion will be dismissed, but these Heroes are responsible, whether by design or not. I wouldn't be surprised if their Quest was to slay Lord Roux on the orders of someone else."
"That's an impossible claim to prove," Grey said.
"Is it? In the midst of an attack both the Mage and the Knight have guarded their scrolls well. Let us look at those and see what is so important."
Everyone stiffened. My eyes locked onto the Seneschal's immediately, and I doubted there was a single person among us who didn't suddenly look a lot more on edge. A convenient suggestion from the man. It was logical, but how much so? Was he a Greycloak? My hand strayed to the sword still held in my left hand. Several guards noticed and reached for their own. In a flash Ruby had her scythe before her and Yang had fallen into a combat stance.
"See!" the Seneschal howled, falling back. "It is a trap, a trick! They mean to kill us all!" Murmurs spread like wildfire and more than a few weapons were drawn.
"Silence!" Grey's voice cut through it all. "And everyone, put your weapons down. That means yourselves as well," he added, glaring at us. "Violence is not needed here. It should be avoided at all costs and if you are innocent then you have nothing to fear."
If. Even he doubted us now, and who could blame him after we'd drawn arms. There was so little recourse, though. If they wanted to see the scrolls, then they would see Cinder's. We couldn't let that happen. Even if Grey didn't try to use them for his own means, everyone else here would know our purpose.
The Greycloaks would then be able to react accordingly. Our only advantage here was that no one knew what we were supposed to do. We couldn't afford to lose that.
"Attempting to interrogate a Hero is a poor idea," Weiss said. "Accusing us of murder is even more of one. We're here to preside over the battle and slay Grimm, as any Hero would be. We did not even want to stay here tonight but did so on your suggestion."
"I realise that," Grey said, voice softening. "That's why I want this whole debacle solved as quickly as possible. If all it will take to assuage my colleagues is to see your Quest, then I'm sure that is a small price to pay." He held a hand out expectantly.
Yang bristled. "It's not that-"
"Fine," Weiss said, stepping forward. She held out her scroll case. "Here."
"Weiss, what are you doing?"
"Solving this issue once and for all," she answered, staring Yang down. "We can't afford to be bogged down in something like this, or worse, thrown into a cell while they sort out who the killer is. If our freedom can be bought by revealing our quest, then so be it." The Mage's eyes flicked to mine. "Jaune, give him yours as well. Goodness knows the dear Seneschal will have a fit if he doesn't see both."
When I didn't move to comply, the Scribe came and took it from my hands. He backed away to Grey and the two shared a nod before twisting the wooden caps open. The scrolls came out and were unfurled. My hands clenched into fists.
"This can't be right," the Seneschal gasped. "This… this is…"
"A perfectly routine Quest to eradicate Grimm," Grey said, rolling the scroll back up. His eyes were on the Seneschal, which probably spared us since my mouth had fallen open and judging from the sound Ruby made, hers was about ready to fall off entirely.
Weiss smirked at the two men. "Is everything in order, gentlemen?"
"It is. Thank you for your understanding." Grey handed the scroll back and nudged the Seneschal to do the same a second later. "If I may, I believe it might be best if you and your party continued your plans to make contact with the Mistral camp. Tensions might be a little lessened there and we can focus our own efforts on the murder of Lord Roux. Isn't that right, Seneschal?"
"I… but…"
"I said, isn't that right, Seneschal?"
"Y-Yes." The man recovered quickly. "It is. We have much work to do."
"We shall follow your advice in this regard," Weiss said, taking the scrolls and handing one back to me. I stared down at it, unsure of what I was holding. "Perhaps with ourselves out of the way, you will be able to focus on finding the real killer."
/-/
I wasn't sure how I held my curiosity all the way through returning to our rooms, getting dressed, meeting up and heading back to the stables. I wasn't the only one with questions, since Nora and Yang looked fit to burst. Ruby might have been the same but was nursing a hangover that threatened to turn her smile into a snarl.
It wasn't until the gates had been opened and we were riding back out into the flatlands around Magnis that we felt safe to talk, and it was Nora whose patience snapped first. "How?" she asked.
"I'm not sure what you're referring to," Weiss said, as smug as could be. "How did we get out of there without being considered guilty? Simple. Because we didn't kill Lord Roux."
"Not that," Nora groaned. "The scrolls!"
"I thought we were discovered," Pyrrha added. "When you offered to give them over I didn't know what to do. I thought you'd gone mad." The Champion eyed Weiss shrewdly. "You switched them, didn't you? But when? How could you possibly have expected we'd have to surrender them, and when would you have had the time?"
"I had the time back in Beacon," Weiss revealed. "Jaune is the de facto Guild leader, while I'm often seen as being a figure of authority because I'm the first to speak with people. It was obvious they'd assume he and I carried the scrolls, so why hide that fact? There's nothing to say what scrolls, however."
I caught on easily enough. "You replaced the scrolls in the containers with fakes."
"Blake did," Weiss said, nodding to the Assassin. "We took Cinder's words to heart and decided to betray even them. We kept the containers they gave us, but Blake snuck down on the last night to put fake scrolls in them detailing a routine Grimm-slaying Quest. Even if the Greycloaks didn't know what we were given, it's possible that spies in Beacon would have seen Cinder and Ozpin carrying those containers."
"That would explain why you and Jaune were the ones attacked," Pyrrha said. "They wanted to find out what this top-secret Quest really is. Where are the real scrolls?"
"I have them both," Ren said, surprising us all. I'd never have suspected he was a part of this, though maybe that was the point. "They're kept on my person and close to my body. I won't say anymore here. Weiss approached me with the idea and I saw the merit in it."
"But why keep it a secret?" I asked.
"It's not that we didn't trust you, but that we needed you to act as if you had something to protect," Blake explained. "If you knew it was fake, you wouldn't have acted like it was so important, and that might have tipped off the Greycloaks."
I had to laugh, not nearly as upset at the deception as I thought I should be. Those three had tricked us all but it had saved us back there. The relief was pouring off me. As for the scrolls, well, Ren was as good a person as any to hide them. He was subtle and easily blended in, but I personally knew he was a powerful fighter, and he never want anywhere without Nora, so he'd always have support.
My smile fell a second later. "The Seneschal…"
"Almost certainly a Greycloak," Ren agreed. "He wasn't even subtle about it. Not a particularly important one I would imagine. I expect he was recruited recently, perhaps being offered some kind of clemency or protection from the war in exchange for find out what our Quest is."
"Doesn't the Treaty protect the Noble Caste?"
"Words on paper won't protect you from a trebuchet. A siege will lead to untold devastation. Some degree of structural damage is inevitable, especially at the breaching of the walls. A boulder sent too high could crash into a townhouse and kill everyone inside." And, of course, anyone operating siege machinery could make that mistake if they were out by even a few degrees.
"The Treaty covers what people can do as best it can, but accidents happen," Weiss said. "Either way, we have confirmation that the Greycloaks are active in Magnis. Now we just need to find out whether that extends to Mistral's army, as well."
"What do we do about him?"
"Nothing," Blake said. "We act like we don't know, because to do otherwise is to confirm we're here for them."
"And if he turns out to be worse?"
"The Treaty doesn't prevent Heroes killing Nobles."
I wasn't sure I liked how calmly Blake said that, or the implications. Bad enough everyone back there had been so quick to paint her as being at fault, but the thing that really upset me was how calmly she took it. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that. I'd rather he be arrested than you have to dirty your hands."
Blake looked surprised, though not upset, with my words. She nodded a second later. "I'd appreciate that. We're coming up on the Mistral camp now. There's no way they haven't seen us by now. I wonder why they haven't called us out."
"What else can we be but Heroes?" Yang laughed. "Not like eight Soldiers would approach the camp for an invasion. We're either a Hero party or a delegation, both of which they're going to let through."
The Brawler's guess proved accurate as we were able to bring our horses right up to the front of the camp. The whole area was nestled against a single rock face and had walls made of thin wood, leather and lengths of cloth to hide the camp from view. It was a far stretch from the fortified walls of Magnis, but this camp didn't need such defences. They outnumbered the men in the city three or more to one.
The discipline we'd seen in Mistral's other troops was quickly put on show again, not only in terms of how clean and organised the camp was, but in how swiftly the soldiers came to our aid, offering to take our horses, offer rest, or even proffer food and water. To these people, Heroes were more than just a Caste higher. We were given almost mythical status. That even extended to Blake, though the enthusiasm was perhaps a little muted there. It was still miles above what she received from our own people. Courteous dislike was better than blatant mistrust, after all.
"We're here to see Corvo," Pyrrha said, speaking for us. Where Weiss' decorum had won us praise in Magnis, Pyrrha's Prestige Class earned her instant awe here. "Do you know where we might find him?"
"The largest tent in the camp, at the centre," one of the soldiers replied, pointing out a dark-blue tent that was far larger than any other. "It is not his, but it is the war tent, where many of the officers meet to discuss strategy. You'll find him there, Heroes. Will you need me to guide you?"
"We should be fine," I said. "If you're okay letting us walk around freely, that is." The last thing we wanted was to cause another incident like we had in Magnis. Luckily for us, the man who had spoken seemed shocked at the mere idea.
"Why would I? Please, you are free to do as you will."
"They're certainly happy to see us," Yang commented.
"They should be; we'll be responsible for keeping them alive if they attack Magnis," Weiss pointed out. "They're the ones most at risk from Grimm spawns. It's nice to receive some respect for what we do for a change."
"It's not necessarily a good thing if it's this easy to infiltrate their camp," Blake said. "Keep in mind who else might be trying to do that."
Weiss scowled. "Good point."
"Let's go see this General Corvo," Ren said, nodding towards the war tent. "We'll figure out the rest from there, but we might as well introduce ourselves. We also need to find out just when they intend to attack. That's going to be our – and the Greycloaks' – deadline. Once the attack begins our scrolls will be useless. We need to decide what we're going to do before then."
That we did, and it was going to depend on how far along the Mistral force was with their siege equipment. I could see some being built on the outskirts of the camp, a hundred or more ladders already constructed and lying in rows. It was the rams and towers that were taking longer, though it looked like we were too early in the day for anyone to be working on them. They were about halfway up the size of Magnis' walls. Of course, there was no telling how long it would take for them to be completed.
Assuming the Greycloaks wanted the war to happen, it would be in their best interests not to interfere with Mistral's army, at least openly. I wasn't sure what the assassination of Roux added to their plans but doing the same to Corvo would just delay the battle. Well, if that was their plan at all.
As always, it was the lack of answers that frustrated me.
The main tent had two guards on either side of the entrance, though obviously it was surrounded by thousands more. Their stances tightened on seeing us, but they relaxed once we got closer and they saw the tabards we bore. When we hesitated at the entrance they stepped aside, making it even more obvious that we wouldn't be challenged.
It was helpful… but like Blake said, it was a worry. Tabards like ours could be faked if needs be, and if they were this willing to let people through to their leaders, it was a bad sign. They didn't even move to take our weapons from us as we entered.
The interior of the tent was mostly empty space free of clutter. There were several cabinets and sets of wooden drawers off to one side, some cushions and rugs for sitting on and also two or three barrels and a weapon rack. What truly dominated it was the large table in the centre, the map atop it, and the five men assembled around it. Or, well, four men and one woman.
One of them looked to us as they entered. Unlike the others he was relatively young, around twenty-five or so. He had a narrow face with black hair and some light stubble that spoke of time away from a mirror. He wore a mixture of chainmail and leather, all of it dyed black and with a dark purple cape that hung behind him. At his hip were sheathed two short-swords. Above his head, a name, Isaac, and below that his Class; Guardian.
He smiled when he saw us approach. It was a friendly smile, but also one filled with excitement. "Heroes, eh? About time." The man stood and approached us, stopping a respectful distance and placing a fist over his heart. He bowed. "General Isaac Corvo. An honour to meet you all. I'd heard of Magnis' gate opening but thought it yet more supplies for the city."
"We should be intercepting those supplies, General," one of the other men, older and more haggard, said.
"Nonsense, Sir Fin. Our goal isn't to starve them out but to attack and take the fortress. Let them stockpile their food. It will only feed our armies once it is ours." Corvo laughed affably. "But I forget my manners. Please, forgive Sir Fin, it has been trying. Welcome, welcome to our camp. Though my ability to cater to honoured Heroes like yourselves is limited, rest assured that you will have all we can offer."
"Thank you," Pyrrha said, introducing us one by one. To my surprise General Corvo made it a point to shake each of our hands one by one, even doing the same to Ruby and Blake, regardless of Ruby's obvious hangover or Blake's Class.
"I'd hoped you would arrive soon," he said once he was done. "For a moment I started to think you wouldn't come at all and that just wouldn't do. You've cut things fine, but all that matters is that you're here. It's a blessing and a sign of good fortune." Corvo turned back to the others at the war table. "Did I not tell you, Finn, Sarah? And to think you doubted me."
"I didn't doubt you, sir," the woman, Sarah, said. "I merely warned that anything pre-emptive would be unwise."
Corvo laughed and turned back to us, smiling roguishly. "My advisors cautioned us wait before approaching the city, but I knew better," he explained. "I expected Heroes from Mistral but in times like these one cannot choose their moment. You have my thanks regardless, and rest assured I will do all I can to make the occupation of Magnis a calm experience for your people."
It was an odd thing to hear from someone about to invade us. "Thank you?" I said, unsure what else I could say at all. "You said you knew we would come. Were you expecting us?"
"Expecting someone, yes," he said. "One cannot wage a battle without Heroes present to account for the Grimm, so it was a risky moment approaching Magnis. It caught those fools by surprise, but I didn't dare attack." The General sighed. "Even had I the opportunity, the risk of my men being savaged by Grimm was just too great. If we'd had Heroes with us I might have stormed the gates while they were still open. Alas, we were forced to make camp and wait for them to fortify themselves."
The whole battle had been delayed because we weren't here? It sounded insane but made a strange amount of sense. If Mistral approached the walls then the defenders of Magnis would be happy to rain arrows down on them, knowing that every dying Mistral soldier might risk the spawn of more Grimm. Without anyone dedicated to killing them, it was the better choice by Corvo to hold back, even if it lost him the element of surprise.
"But you're here now. That's what matters."
"We're sorry it took us so long," I said, not really feeling it at all. If Cinder and Ozpin had known the attack would never happen without us, we could have stayed away indefinitely. Or at least until Heroes from Mistral arrived.
"You need not apologise to me, Sir Knight." Corvo clapped my arm. "You're from Vale. How fast could you have really travelled from the city, and without even knowing where my army was?" He turned away, motioning us to approach the map. "Our forces struck deep into Vale territory and carved a path directly here, with not a single battle to our name. A daring move for sure," he added, almost congratulating himself on it.
"Risky if we were discovered, but I trust my men and they trust me. Rather than Magnis becoming a staging point for Vale's counter-attack, it's now under siege. Our allies will have an easier time with the pass from Western Vale to the East blocked by ourselves. Regardless, you would not have known where to find us until the last moment, so there is no fault in the delay. I only wish some of our own Heroes had heeded my words and accompanied us."
Had Cinder been the reason behind that? She'd made it sound like she didn't fully trust Corvo, and Mercury and Emerald could have been tasked to go with him. By holding them back, however, she'd effectively forced the delay on him, slowing down the war.
It was interference for sure, and probably against the spirit of the Treaty. Even so, I couldn't help but be grateful for it. She'd taken a big risk in order to give us this chance… one that might have gotten her executed, consort of the Crown Heir or not.
"Regardless," Corvo went on, "You will be here to bear witness to the moment where our most sacred task is completed. Soon, all of Vale will join our fold and worship the one true lord." He bowed his head briefly, as did everyone at the table.
Yang snorted from behind. Apparently, she didn't think much of their fervour, or their religion. I couldn't say I blamed her. After what we'd seen, I didn't think anyone should see war as being particularly holy, or any `God` as being deserving of such bloodshed. Besides, I'd seen a Goddess with my own eyes – and some human King in Mistral wasn't it.
"When will the attack happen?" Pyrrha asked, remembering Ren's warning.
"Once we have our siege equipment completed," Corvo said. "I should expect it will be done late tomorrow. We'll spend the night in prayer and contemplation, and then strike on the morning afterwards as the sun rises."
"It would be better to strike under the guise of night," Sarah pointed out.
"Worry not, my dear. I have a plan in place."
The woman nodded, surrendering the point immediately. Corvo demanded some serious respect with his people it seemed, especially if they trusted him enough to drop their complaints with but a word. Both he and Grey Sullivan were similar in that regard, and both had been courteous to us. They, at least, saw the value of Heroes in warfare as something other than interference. Both wanted nothing more for us than to do our jobs and protect them from the Grimm.
It was so very different to the drunks in Caddin's Rest who demanded we stand up and kill the invading forces, that we break the Treaty. These were professionals.
And we still had to decide whether we wanted Corvo clapped in chains or not. There was nothing so far to suggest he was under Greycloak sway. If anything, he seemed fervently loyal to the King of Mistral.
"Lord Roux of Magnis was assassinated last night," Ren said suddenly, earning a shocked glance from me and Pyrrha. The Monk shook his head slightly, warning us to be silent. "He was killed by Heroes who infiltrated the fortress."
"Lord Roux!?" Corvo recoiled – genuinely so. "I had not heard! When did this happen? Finn, what of your intelligence?"
"I've heard nothing, Lord General."
"It was this morning," Ren explained. "Only a few hours ago. I doubt your men would have had time to hear about it. Most of Magnis doesn't know yet."
"Degusting. Truly disgusting. I had heard little but good of the man. It was my intent to place him in charge of the fortress once it was taken, at least until the war was over. It's easier to maintain morale among the populace that way. He could be replaced by someone more loyal to our King at a later date, or perhaps kept on if he swore his allegiance." Corvo sighed and reached for a tankard, swigging some water or ale. "A pointless loss. Assassinated, you say?"
Ren nodded. "Yes."
"Noble games and politics. Truly a pointless endeavour."
The General looked so irritated by the development that I realised what Ren's game was. He was testing the man to try and see if he had a hand in what had happened. It appeared he didn't, for he genuinely did sound frustrated.
"The assassins came for us as well," Pyrrha added.
"For you? Ha, I take it from your appearance that such did not end well for them."
"We killed one." The Champion gestured to Blake and Weiss. "The other attacked our Guild Leader, Jaune. She was more dangerous, but he was able to escape. The assassin was a criminal from Vale, an Illusionist known as Neo. She fled the city with Roman Torchwick and Arthur Watts, both wanted criminals."
Corvo looked up, suddenly interested. He leaned over to one of the men at the table and whispered something to them. With a nod, he rushed out of the tent and away. "I shall make my soldiers aware of the danger," Corvo said to us. "If anyone seeks to harm me, they shall find I am not so simple a target. But in truth, the warning comes a little late. There has already been an attempt on my life."
What? But why? What could the Greycloaks possibly gain?
"When?" Weiss asked.
"In the late hours of last night. Not three hours ago."
A joint attack on both the Lord of Magnis and the General of the Mistral army. It sounded similar, but it wasn't. Corvo was in charge of all the men here, while Roux wasn't. If they wanted to cripple both armies then Grey would have been a better target. "What happened?" I asked. "Did your guards save you?"
"Despite how it may look I am quite the competent fighter," Corvo said, smiling graciously. "I actually passed my First Quest and had the chance to be a member of the Hero Caste. I rejected it."
"You… rejected it?"
"My family has long been a line of Soldiers proudly serving the one true faith. I spent my early years in constant training and vigil. For me, the First Quest was an opportunity to test myself and little more. I found that I was strong, and took pride in that, but I could not imagine a world where I could not fight for the glory of my Lord. I chose to live the life of a Soldier and have never looked back." He shook his head as though remembering some fond times. "So, as you can see I'm not exactly weak by any means. I was able to fight off the intruder myself."
A commotion from outside the tent caught out ears. It was the sound of jeering, laughter and clinking metal. "And," Corvo said, "I was even able to capture the fiend that attempted so heinous an act."
The tent flaps parted and the man from earlier entered, flanked by four more and hauling between them a figure whose hands, feet and neck were clapped in chains. Even so, he walked proudly, refusing to bend in front of the soldiers or us. When he saw us, his eyes widened for a moment. A lazy smile spread across his face.
"Well, well, well. Can't say I ever expected to see you lot again. It's been a while." Bruised and battered, with a cut lip and a black eye, the man before us was nonetheless unmistakable, from his bright hair to his brighter smile and the cocky look he somehow still managed to maintain.
Roman Torchwick.
Lord Roux is dead – and no one expected it! Except, well, everyone. The man was tripping so many death flags he could have equipped a marching band. I really need to be less obvious with those. Or... I could give everyone death flags and just swamp you in them so some are misleading. Hell, most of my readers are already convinced Ellayne and Blake are dead meat, so let's throw those flags around. xD
So, I know what you're all thinking. "Why didn't we get a hungover Ruby scene?" Well, don't worry – it will come. This chapter was something of a speedy one, in that everything that happened was – from the character's point of view – in basically an hour or two of frantic action. They nearly got assassinated, broke out, were arrested – questioned – and have now retreated to the Mistral camp where, wham, reveal of Torchwick.
They've not really had a chance to relax and think about what has just happened, which is mostly the reason why there hasn't been any sympathy, group talks or such. They've just been on the back foot all chapter. I hope that was obvious enough from what was written, but if not, here you go. That does mean Ruby will still be hungover next chapter.
With Corvo, I'm trying hard for a "fervent religious general" feel without falling into the trap of "religious crusading psycho", which is oddly hard. There are a lot of stereotypes of crusader times (and maybe a lot of them are warranted), but I am trying to strike a balance. He's religious and it consumes everything he does, but he's not a "burn the heretic" kind of religious.
Next Chapter: 9th April
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur
