~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~
*~*~* Chapter 1 verse 2:The Mystery Unveiled *~*~*
~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~
"…Alright everyone…I want silence now… This meeting will now come to order… Before we begin, lets just get one thing strait. Even though everyone here has permission to speak freely, you will still have to address me as the usual Sir… or General Caraway…is that clear?"
The eleven lieutenants who now silently sat in the wooden chairs around a large oak table acknowledged the general's request and nodded their heads in agreement.
"Ok then…" The general, said as he turned his back toward the officers and lit another torch hanging from the cave wall. After he was satisfied with the intensity of the flame, he turned back around and smiled.
The lieutenants looked at him nervously. His resemblance was of a ghost. The left side of his face disappeared entirely from the shadows that the flame casted in the dark cave. Seeing the General like this made the lieutenants feel uneasy…Even though they knew that he wasn't a tyrant, he intimidated them, especially when he looked like that.
General Caraway started to pace back and forth around the dark cave with both hands behind his back and his head down as if he was deep in his thoughts.
"Lets get started… he said casually as his pacing came to a halt. His piercing eyes stared blatantly at his officers who sat silently and at full attention. "We need to elaborate on the mistakes that were made during this morning's horrific battle that was lost to those…those…" The general paused and took a moment to calm himself down. "The battle that we lost to those timberians… Now does anyone have any input they'd like to word in?"
Everyone sat silently. There were a million and one thoughts going on in their minds but each of them dared not to put any of them into words. The crackling of the torches that dimly lit up the dark cave was the only sound that dared to make its presence known.
General Caraway stood still like a statue and stared at his apprehensive officers. Even though he was one of the youngest men to serve in the army, he had the most power. He didn't need president Vinzer authorization to do whatever he wanted.
"You mean to tell me that no one doesn't have anything to say?… Not even one damn thing?…" he rolled his eyes almost making them hide in the back of his head. He plopped both hands down on the steady wooden table and leaned forward steering into the eyes of each of his officers. "So what your silence is basically telling me is that you ran like chocobos out there...because if you were actually there…like I was…you would've seen about a million of mistakes that were made…" He paused for only a moment so that his statement would have more of an affect on them… "I can't believe all of you don't have nothing to say about what happened."
Everyone remained silent. They all knew that even if he considered their opinions or strategies, he would've been too proud or stubborn to actually use them. He wasn't the type of person who'd humbly praise any ideas that were better than his. The only reason why he asked for opinions were so he could turn them around and re word them to make it look like his own. Therefore, no one said a word because they knew it wasn't worth the bullshit that came with it.
"All right then… he said walking away from the table. "Since none of you have half of brain to at least share one fourth of its intelligence…Ill get strait to the point.
General caraway picked up a twig that was on the dirt floor and went back toward the wooden table where the officers sat. He drew out a large 12" knife from his pouch and plunged it into the table. He carved lines and curves into the wood. He was making a map of their surroundings. He drew a lake, the timber forest, and the hills in the countryside. He even drew the unfinished railroad that was currently being built…
When he was finished, he threw the knife down that landed tip first on the ground.
"Alright…You all better make sure you pay very close attention…I don't want anymore dumb mistakes…is that understood?"
Annoyed, all the lieutenants shook their heads simultaneously.
"Ok then…lets begin…" General Caraway took the twig that was in his right hand and pointed it to where he carved the hills on the table.
"When my team approached this hill right over here, we were suppose to momentarily hide and wait for the enemy to come close enough where we would then attack them with the element of surprise…Then while they were stunned, you lieutenant Kramer were to have your magic squad climb on top of this hill right above the enemy, and have them cast bio on them. Then on my word, you were then to order them to cast the biggest meteor shower on top of them, ultimately crushing most of their men to the ground.
Now lieutenant Dintch…this is where you were supposed to come in. While Lieutenant kramer's men are casting meteor on the enemy down below, you and your squad of martial artist were to flip through the falling fiery meteors and barricade the enemy on the other side so they couldn't escape. I know that, that would've been very difficult but you and your men are the only ones in this army agile enough to do it. This would then leave the Timberians sandwiched in between my army and the army of martial artist and therefore enabling our victory.
General Caraway raised his head back up and looked at his lieutenants in disgust. "We should've won that battle this morning…we outnumbered those woodchucks 5to1…There's no excuse why we lost…NONE WHATSOEVER…"
The counsel of lieutenants glanced over at each other nervously and looked down in shame. They knew that the only reason why they lost was because of the poor orders that were given to them. But at this point, it didn't matter. What happened, happened and the past cannot be changed.
"So right now…" The general continued. "We are located right here..." He used the same twig and pointed in the middle of the timber forest and the Timber lake, which was the countryside. "I have new orders from president Vienzer to move out from this point and send three…"
"Ahh…Cara…I mean…General Carried-Away..." A snobbish voice boldly interrupted…
The general paused. He slowly raised his head to see a chubby man leaning back in his chair and starring egotistically at him.
The general's silent look of disbelief that someone purposely defied him made him curious to know what this 60 year-old pudgy man had to say. So he slowly and silently bent his head down urging the proud lieutenant to continue.
"Well oh so great young leader…" the old man sarcastically said emphasizing the word young. "I have to say that we've done a lot of dumb things since this war started… But…thee dumbest thing we've done so far…besides listening to you…was making camp here…here of all places!!! His voice now intensified. Right in the middle of the open fucking countryside!!!" The general kept his silence, So the old man used it as an opportunity to continue what he had bottling up inside. "If you'd done your homework like I have…you would've known that there is a great chance of running into the timberians in an open space like this…" The old man's eyebrows raised almost touching his receding hairline as he continued to speak. "A smarter general would've hidden us in the mountain ranges to the west of the lake that you ever so forgot to draw with your tiny little knife..."
The pot-bellied lieutenant lay back in his chair and devilishly curved his lips in the shape of a smile.
All the other officers in the room were quiet and shocked …they didn't believe that someone would actually have the courage to talk to the general like that…it gave them a sense of security. They felt that maybe the general wasn't Hyne. In-fact he wasn't near anything like Hyne…maybe he was just some punk kid with a big mouth.
General Caraway paused… he took his eyes away from the defying officer and amusingly stared at all his other lieutenants to see their reactions…After seeing that their expressions were basically the same as his, shocked, he returned his eyes back to the snobbish old officer and also returned a devil's grin…
"I know what you think of me when you look at me…he stated calmly. "You ask yourself…why the hell is it that someone of my age is giving someone of your age orders…" The general started to nod his head. "True… You may have more experience in war than I do…And true… you have a right to state your opinions… tchh' hell that's the idea… the whole reason why I called for this meeting is so I could hear what you have to say about what we did wrong this morning…BUT…His voiced started to shake as his tone changed from a calm into a storm. "If you EVER talk to me in that fucking tone again," he said trying to stay calm "I will have your loose, wrinkled, skin, wrapped around your stubby neck, and have the other end tied to a horse, and have you dragged all the way past the lake, and up to the sharp Fucking mountain ranges that I ever so forgot to draw with my little knife…" he said imitating his old scraggily voice. "Now…do you understand me old man…" He said sustaining his calmness.
The old man looked at the general in silence with a hurt gaze…
"I SssaiD…Do You UnnDereStanD Mmee…" the general said mocking him by pronouncing his every word.
"……………………Y-yes" the officer said ashamed and embarrassed after a few moments of silence.
The general frowned as he pushed the old man's embarrassment even further "Yes what????……."
"……Yes sir…………" the old man replied scornfully.
"Ok then." General Caraway announced cheerfully trying to get back to business. "Back to what I was saying."
He quickly walked away and glanced over at one of his younger lieutenants, who was sitting in the far right side, smirking delightfully as he stuck his middle finger up under the table obviously trying to make the general see that he was too defying him…
General caraway gave a half grin while shaking his head and continued with the meeting not paying any attention to him…
"…It's now 4:10 p.m. the temperature is dropping, and I think its going to rain hard again tonight. So before night comes, ill dispatch a rider to Deiling City and hopefully, we can get some more sheets and blankets before it gets really cold… So where was I…" The general paused for a moment trying to gather up his thoughts. "Oh yea…Like I was trying to tell you earlier before I was viciously interrupted." He said as he looked at the still ashamed old lieutenant, who quickly looked away as soon as the general's eyes met his.
"Tomorrow early… President Vinzer has ordered us to rendezvous with the rest of the galbadian army back at the Centra ruins…There I'm suppose to send three of my most elite soldiers and have them infiltrate a canyon possessed by Esthar…"
"Esthar Sir?" One of the lieutenants questioned… "Why Esthar…what do they have to do with this war…"
"Thanx to captain Dintch." General Caraway answered; "he and his crew of martial artist were able to gather up some useful intelligence." Thanx to him and his incredible skills, we may be able to turn this war in our favor.
Captain Dincth sat there quietly and began to blush.
General Caraway continued "It seems that Esthar's government is secretly in negotiations with timber's general, Sky Strife… We believe that Esthar may soon join this war in efforts to legalize the rule of sorceresses... So we need to dig up the seed before it starts to grow. Once these Three soldiers are in the canyon, they are to patrol the area and annihilate any esthar soldiers that may be standing guard. While they are patrolling, another 3 elite soldiers who will most likely be you Captain Dintch, and two other men in your squad are to find General Sky Strife and the members of the Estharian government, and assassinate them all…"
The eyes of the lieutenants widened. They couldn't believe it. Even Captain Dincth was astonished. He didn't know weather to be honored that he was chosen for such a job or scared. He was expected to kill the most famous general in the world, who was the son of the most famous warrior. This type of expectation wasn't to be taken lightly…"
"Ok boys… get some rest, we are moving out at 0800 hours tomorrow…this meeting is adjourned…"
One by one the officers quickly marched out the room in conversations with each other. Only one of the officers took their time to exit the cave and it was the same officer who stuck up his middle finger up at the general under the table…as he slowly walked toward the exit, he felt a bear-like grip tightly wrap around his arm. He turned to see General Caraway looking fiercely at him…
"If you ever stick up your middle finger at me again, I will have it inserted in a horses ass do you understand me…"
The lieutenant looked back at General Caraway with the same tenseness that was looked upon him. "Will it be the same horse that you'll use to tie that poor old man's skin to, while that horse is running up those sharp mountains…cause id rather you have my finger inserted in your ass……"
The two men continued to look at each other in silence and evil glares.
General Caraway couldn't hold it in anymore; he burst out laughing…A few seconds later the lieutenant's laughter also began as he dodged Caraway's arm that lightly swung at him.
"Aqulis you're a fucking screwball" The general said laughing.
"And you…you think your some sort of big general because you can threatened some poor old man…" Aquilis said laughing even harder… "how are you going to threatened someone with their own skin he added… that doesn't make sense"
The hysterical laughter flooded the room…
You are seriously never gonna change are you old friend…Aquilis tried to muffled out of his laughter
The general continued to laugh…my skin will probably get loose and wrinkled too but… I wont…I will never change.
The laughter continued when suddenly a solider burst into the cave while the other two soldiers he was with fought off the guards that tried to keep them out.
"What the hell……" General Caraway quickly turned around
"Excuse me sir…permission to speak sir…"
Aquilis and General Caraway looked at the slim framed solider as he breathed heavily. They knew that whatever it was, it had to be urgent. Everyone knew that unless you had permission, you weren't allowed to enter any room that held a meeting…it was precautionary issues concerning confidential assignments…
"Speak" Caraway ordered.
"Sir…we..hum… heard something on the other side of the field…"
General caraway looked uninterested "What was it?"
"We aren't entirely sure…it sounded something like drums or something supernatural"
The general looked at Aqulis in confusion…this type of thing wasn't normal.
"Oh and sir" the solider said interrupting the Generals thoughts… "Hmmm…Ahhh." The slim solider started to procrastinate what he was about to say. He knew that even though he had nothing to do with it, the general would've taken his anger out on him.
"Well" general Caraway asked impatiently "…What is it?"
"Hmm…we believe that the two lookouts have information on what or who is causing the beat of the drums…"
The general face now turned from an annoyed look to a pleasant one…he had always argued with president Vienzer on whether or not having lookouts was necessary and safe. This case would prove that it was indeed useful…
"Oh general" the solider said … "by the way…" one of the lookouts is dead and the other one is in critical condition…
The general's face was now enraged… he didn't expect to hear that. How the hell did that happened?
Wwell…w-we,
Why the hell didn't you tell me earlier the general angrily interrupted?
W=we t-thought that…I mean…tthey were running like…it was foggy and…
"Shit enough with the stuttering…just take me to them now."
Finally after 5 minutes of running non-stop, the tired general along with 7 of the lieutenants finally came to the scene…
All the soldiers were relived. Now the responsibility of what to do next was on their General's shoulders, not theirs. The only thing they would have to do was worry about obeying orders correctly and staying alive.
Laguna was happy to see that order would now be restored. He saw the general quickly making his way through the swarm of terrified soldiers toward the lookout. Finally it hit him. Laguna realized why…after wondering for a longtime, he finally figured out why the healer gave him whiskey instead of cureaga…he didn't want to waste it… he didn't want to waste cureaga on a dying man…that's why he didn't bother to take the arrow head out of his chest. He didn't want to cause any further pain for the solider.
The general eventually got to the wounded lookout and bent down next to him. He saw that he had no chance of surviving and hoped that he could get as much information out of him as possible before he died…
What did you see the general asked sternly…?
The solider that was choking on his own blood as he struggled to speak…
…….I-it'sss……ttthe…the….Ti…Ti…timm…ber..riannnnsssss…ssir….
The General paused, he tried his best to stay calm but everyone could see the fear that shot through his body at the mention of the Timberian Army. "How many of them the he asked with authority"
"……aa…..aabouttt…..ttttttt….tthh….thhreee….hhhun..dredd…"
"Three hundred?" the general repeated wanting to make sure he heard correctly.
The dying solider shook his head…
Which direction are they coming from? Do you know?
The solider slowly lifted his hand and tried to point. "ffrrom tthe eeasstt…"
"Ok solider" the general said sympathetically " thanks… now go in peace…and hyne's speed."