Author's rant: A short chapter despite how long it took. The past two weeks
have been busy for me, of course the blackout didn't help either ~_~.
Anyways I have to thank all who have reviewed and please review more so I
would be able to improve my writing! Anyways here is ch.9
Broken pillars jutted out of the desolate wasteland like the fingers of a dying man reaching desperately for the heavens in hope of salvation. Stone slabs that were at one time smoother than glass and far beyond the technical capabilities of this era were now broken and corroded beyond recognition. The once beautiful and magnificent architecture now lay wasted across the lonely landscape. This was all that remained of a once powerful race-a race so powerful that their influence spanned across the continent. Yet ultimately, they too were swallowed by the rapid currents of time, and vanished into history like many others. The ruins of Cyndar are places shrouded in mystery, amidst its broken walls whispered the secrets of the past, the promises of untold stories and riches beyond imagination. Yet despite its lures, few dared to come into its boundary, save for the mad and foolish. For amidst these walls prowled fearsome monsters that would mean immediate doom to the unwary. Yet in recent times there was a change, a different kind of monster now prowled these ruins as well, one that is so powerful that the other monsters retreated in fear. Though it appeared in the shape of a man there could be little doubt that the man was actually a demon in human form.
He prowled the ruin searching for prey, caring little about whom he would find, blood was his calling and although his preferred prey were humans, he supposed he would do with what he could find. His mismatched eyes glittered excitedly under the shadow of his black hat that covered most of his face as he stalked amongst the fallen stones. In the games of natural selection he was the king, and death and chaos were his domains. Slowly he moved forward, his prey in plain sight. The chimera sat peacefully on the ground, oblivious of the approaching doom. He dashed forward suddenly, twin blades popping out of his black coat sleeves, his long blond hair trailing behind him like streamers. Like a giant bird of prey he descended upon his victim. The three-headed beast turned toward him, its body moving as it tried to get up and defend itself. But by then they both knew it was already too late.
Its three pairs of eyes had just enough time to widen in horror at the knowledge of its own demise before he was upon it, blades slashing. Blood splashed out onto the soft earth and he savored the feeling of steel cutting through flesh, its dying screams music to his ears. A sudden flare of danger in his sense informed him of a newcomer and he quickly spun around, his twin blades held out in front of his chest. Only then did he see the source of what he had sensed; not far away from him stood a figure covered by a dark cloak, its long woolen clothing rippling softly in the gentle wind.
"Such savagery," the cloaked one commented distastefully.
"What you call savagery is merely an aspect of life." The blades vanished into his sleeves and he slowly adjusted his hat. "The winner gets entertained while the loser gets to die in a pool of his own body fluids."
"Swell," the cloaked one replied sarcastically.
"So who are you and what do you want?" the demon in black asked, finishing up adjusting his hat. His eyes narrowed dangerously under the shadow, daring for a wrong answer.
"I am here to make you an offer, Sir Yuber," the cloaked one began in a diplomatic voice, "one that would benefit you.greatly."
"I could see little that you would be able to offer me, human. Unless." Yuber's form blurred as he dashed forward, closing the distance between the two in an instant. The twin blades sprung from his coat sleeves and he brought them down in a cross slash toward the cloaked one's chest. Sparks flew as the cloaked one smoothly brought its own sword to bear, blocking the slashes made by Yuber.
"You wish to die by these blades?" Yuber finished his face now merely inches away from the dark hood of the cloaked one, their blades the only thing separating them. Yuber shifted his stance to further exert pressure on the twin blades he was holding in an attempt to force the cloaked one's sword away.
"The circle is about to be complete. Albeit it's still years away from its true completion. Events have been set in motion that would allow it to come into being," the cloaked one said calmly, holding the bloodthirsty demon at bay with its own sword. Yuber's head snapped up suddenly at hearing this and then, as if with unspoken agreement, both pulled back their swords as they leapt away to land some distance from each other.
"Well then what is your proposal?" Yuber asked, his mismatched eyes carefully studying the cloaked figure in front of him.
"A chance to obtain one of the elemental true runes; certainly it would be much safer in your care." There was some distaste in the cloaked one's voice as it continued. "And there will be plenty of blood and chaos for you to enjoy."
"Sounds like my kind of job." Yuber smirked and with a swish he sheathed the blades back into his sleeves. "What does it entail?"
"Come to Vinay del Zexay and you will know," the cloaked one instructed as the ground rippled beneath him, signaling the opening of a teleportation circle. Without another word the cloaked figure submerged into the circle; when he has completely submerged into the ground, there was another ripple and the ground returned to normal.
"A strong one. He was definitely holding back," Yuber commented darkly to himself. "But then again so was I. I think I am going to enjoy this."
The demon named Yuber tilted back his head and laughed a laugh filled with enough malice to chill even the dead.
**************************************************************************** ***
Suikoden 3 Fanfic Conflict from within ch8:
The Plan
**************************************************************************** ***
"So now the entire Zexen army is on its way to Karaya," Borus finished off, glancing around at the people that were assembled there. To his left sat Lady Chris, Hugo, Beecham and Sergeant Joe; to his right sat the Duck Village mayor, Kamia, and Dupa. Both Chris and Hugo appeared deep in thought while Kamia and the mayor looked troubled by this news and Dupa looked quite angry.
"That is horrible news," the mayor said as he stood, his posture showing how tense he was. "I would like to hear Hugo's opinion on this."
"What I would like to hear is why we weren't told the exact 'circumstance' of Lady Chris' arrival to Grassland," Dupa asked, focusing his attention at the young Karayan.
"I made an error in my judgment," Hugo said, bowing his head. "And I apologize to all those who are present."
"An error in judgment?" Dupa asked shaking his head sadly, the ornamental feathers on his head fluttering with the motion. "Hugo."
"Now is not the time for this Dupa," Kamia said, stopping the Lizard Clan chief. "We should be worrying about the army."
"What else can we do?" Dupa replied, his voice hard like steel. "We will gather our own army and teach these ironheads a lesson. My lizard warriors are on standby ever since we received Hugo's message. We could move at any moment."
"If we do that then it's war for certain and we do not want that," Hugo said, glancing briefly to his right at Chris.
"I don't understand it. If Lady Chris is still alive, couldn't she stop the Zexen army's advance herself? Once the troops see her, then they would have no reason to fight," the mayor suggested, worried and puzzled at the same time.
"It may not be that easy. By what we have seen we are dealing with an exceptional clever enemy," Hugo explained. "They knew that Chris is still alive yet they still decided to start this conflict. Therefore we must assume that they probably would have a plan to counter that as well. So we must come up with something that will help avoid the situation in case Chris could not stop the knights from attacking."
"Then what do you propose, Hugo? Surely you aren't thinking of letting Zexen burn down Karaya again?" Dupa replied, fixing Chris with a hard glare.
"Far from it Dupa, but first I need to know a few things," Hugo said and then turned to Chris. "Lady Chris, I have been meaning to ask you for a long time. I noticed that there is no defensive fortification between the Lizard clan and Zexen lands. If someone were to travel from the Great Hollow, he could just go through Yaza Plain and into the heart of Zexen Federation without ever having to confront Brass Castle. Isn't that so?"
"There was a fort there once, between Iksay Village and Yaza Plain, but it is abandoned now." Chris trailed off, her voice strained and for a moment Hugo thought he saw something in her beautiful features. A forlorn expression that belonged more on a lost child than on the mighty Silver Maiden, but it was gone so fast that it left Hugo pondering whether he had imagined it or not.
"So you are right, there is neither fortification nor garrison between Great Hollow and the inner Zexen lands," Chris concluded, her voice carefully neutral. "That was the reason why the Lizard clan had such an easy access to Iksay."
"Even if there were any, our mighty lizard warriors would have marched right through such a minor obstacle," Dupa countered, his eyes daring anyone to challenge him otherwise.
"Never! Not if the fort still stood and not if he is still alive," Chris replied vehemently, glaring at the lizard chief.
"Yet that fort is nothing more than rubble on the ground and that devil too is no more," Dupa countered, giving Chris a nasty grin.
"What are you two talking about?" Hugo asked thoroughly confused.
"They are talking about Fort Silverwind which was the same abandoned fort that Lady Chris mentioned," Borus replied suddenly, glancing at Chris with worry evident on his face while she looked away and bit her lower lip as if in thought.
"Never mind that. It has little bearing on what I need to know. I have another question if either of you could answer me," Hugo asked, shaking his head. "Do you have any ways of recalling an army on the field in case of emergency?"
"We have trained pigeons which will seek out our army and deliver emergency messages," Chris replied before Borus could, her voice carefully composed.
"Alright, and one last question. You said that Percival is in command of the knights right now. Is he the type to take caution when facing with the unknown?" Hugo asked.
"By himself, he will only take risks that he deems absolutely necessary," Chris replied slowly, considering the circumstances. "But if he is leading so many, he would probably be cautious about making a hasty decision. He will definitely make sure that things do not present any danger to him and his troops before proceeding. "
"Yes, that was my impression of him as well during his stay as a fire bringer." Hugo nodded slowly to himself as if expecting that. "That is all I need to know, thank you Chris."
"Why did you want to know about those things?" Chris asked, curious about what Hugo was trying to do.
"Well all those questions are just to ensure that my plan would work properly," Hugo replied, giving Chris a confident grin. "Because I just might have to force the Zexens to withdraw without either side having to spill a single drop of blood."
**************************************************************************** *******
"So what have you learned?" Geddoe asked Ace and Joker as the two men entered the hut that served as the local inn in the village.
"Well boss, looks like our Silver Maiden fell for the charms of the Fire Champion and they ran off to elope at Duck Village," Ace replied with a grin on his face. "Too bad though, I was looking forward to see the beautiful flower again."
Queen rolled her eyes at the comment and Geddoe raised an eyebrow while Joker just drove his elbow into the ribs of the man beside him.
"What Ace was trying to say was that Hugo and Lady Chris left for Duck Village yesterday. They went to a meeting between the clan chiefs of the Grasslands as I understand," Joker corrected while Ace doubled over from the hit.
"So we missed her by a day. How unfortunate," Geddoe replied his forehead furrowed in thought.
"What do we do? Do we wait for her here or go to Duck village?" Queen asked.
"Time is against us in this matter, so we should inform her as soon as possible," Geddoe replied, sweeping his gaze across all those present.
"What did you do that for?" Ace yelled, having finally straightened himself.
"I see, by the way where is Aila?" Joker nodded while completely ignoring Ace's outburst.
"She went to visit her family and friends," Jacques quietly replied.
The sounds of people shouting outside caught their attention and they went to investigate. Slowly they made their way through the small crowd and they were surprised when they saw exactly who the sources of the commotion were.
"Is that.?" Queen asked, surprised at the turn of events.
"Borus Redrum of the six mighty Zexen knights and Beecham of Karaya," Geddoe finished.
"Please gather only your essential belongings and return here as soon as possible. An army of Zexens is heading this way, and we are evacuating the village under Chief Hugo's orders!" Beecham shouted out to the people gathered there while Borus scanned the crowd uncomfortably, not at all successful in ignoring the many hostile glares directed at him. He seemed to have spotted Geddoe's party and started to make his way towards them.
"Greetings Captain Geddoe, I did not expect to see you here," Borus greeted.
"I could say the same Sir Borus; the last time we met here was under a very different circumstance," Geddoe replied, narrowing his good eye. "Or perhaps not so different after all given what we just learned."
From the corner of his eyes Jacques noticed Aila amongst the crowd, who seemed to have finally noticed Borus and began marching towards the blonde Zexen knight, an angry expression on her face. Knowing that this would not be the best time to resolve their differences, Jacques quickly moved to intercept the Karayan girl, putting a hand on her shoulder while shaking his head. The Karayan girl stiffened under his touch and then sighed when she understood what he meant. Slowly she nodded and then resolved to just stand there and glare at Borus' back.
"Things have changed, Captain Geddoe," Borus said, watching the true lighting rune bearer tensely.
"Indeed? Then perhaps you would tell us why you are here?" Geddoe asked.
"Actually, that is what I am about to ask. You see it would help us greatly if you would offer your assistance in helping to protect Karaya."
Geddoe nodded slowly at Borus' reply. "I am listening."
**************************************************************************** *******
"Bazba, Shiba, get our troops mobilized and supplies ready! We are going into battle!" Dupa commanded his two lieutenants.
"Not exactly battle per say," the duck mayor commented from beside the lizard chief. "Though it will be a messy situation if it does come to that."
"If there are no risks in life, then things would be boring, old friend," Dupa replied, giving the mayor a wide tooth grin.
"Where are we heading, Chief Dupa?" Bazba asked, slightly concerned.
"To Brass Castle and Vinay del Zexay."
**************************************************************************** *******
"How are you feeling, Chris?" Hugo asked, glancing sideways at the woman riding besides him.
"Nervous. I have no idea how the troops will react when they'll see me alive." Chris sighed, ruffling the mane on her horse. She was glad that they managed to find traders from Vinay del Zexay and bought the horses. Though it's not her white mare, the familiar sensation of riding calmed her nerves tremendously.
"Well if we can stop them here on Plain Amur then it would save us all a whole lot of trouble," Hugo said shifting his grip on the reins of his own horse. He had decided to ride a horse as well since he had left Storm back in Karaya and if the situation degenerates he may well need the extra speed a mount could provide him.
"I hope things go well here," Chris said looking into the distance.
"Well we are about to find out," Hugo returned as a dust cloud rose in the distance. The ground began to tremor; at first it could barely be felt but as each second passed by it got stronger. The sounds of shouting and hooves beating against the ground became louder with each moment. The official banner of the Zexen Confederacy rose up into view, a splash of radiant color amidst a sea of gray.
"Ready or not here they come."
Up Next: The confrontation and Hugo's plan.
Broken pillars jutted out of the desolate wasteland like the fingers of a dying man reaching desperately for the heavens in hope of salvation. Stone slabs that were at one time smoother than glass and far beyond the technical capabilities of this era were now broken and corroded beyond recognition. The once beautiful and magnificent architecture now lay wasted across the lonely landscape. This was all that remained of a once powerful race-a race so powerful that their influence spanned across the continent. Yet ultimately, they too were swallowed by the rapid currents of time, and vanished into history like many others. The ruins of Cyndar are places shrouded in mystery, amidst its broken walls whispered the secrets of the past, the promises of untold stories and riches beyond imagination. Yet despite its lures, few dared to come into its boundary, save for the mad and foolish. For amidst these walls prowled fearsome monsters that would mean immediate doom to the unwary. Yet in recent times there was a change, a different kind of monster now prowled these ruins as well, one that is so powerful that the other monsters retreated in fear. Though it appeared in the shape of a man there could be little doubt that the man was actually a demon in human form.
He prowled the ruin searching for prey, caring little about whom he would find, blood was his calling and although his preferred prey were humans, he supposed he would do with what he could find. His mismatched eyes glittered excitedly under the shadow of his black hat that covered most of his face as he stalked amongst the fallen stones. In the games of natural selection he was the king, and death and chaos were his domains. Slowly he moved forward, his prey in plain sight. The chimera sat peacefully on the ground, oblivious of the approaching doom. He dashed forward suddenly, twin blades popping out of his black coat sleeves, his long blond hair trailing behind him like streamers. Like a giant bird of prey he descended upon his victim. The three-headed beast turned toward him, its body moving as it tried to get up and defend itself. But by then they both knew it was already too late.
Its three pairs of eyes had just enough time to widen in horror at the knowledge of its own demise before he was upon it, blades slashing. Blood splashed out onto the soft earth and he savored the feeling of steel cutting through flesh, its dying screams music to his ears. A sudden flare of danger in his sense informed him of a newcomer and he quickly spun around, his twin blades held out in front of his chest. Only then did he see the source of what he had sensed; not far away from him stood a figure covered by a dark cloak, its long woolen clothing rippling softly in the gentle wind.
"Such savagery," the cloaked one commented distastefully.
"What you call savagery is merely an aspect of life." The blades vanished into his sleeves and he slowly adjusted his hat. "The winner gets entertained while the loser gets to die in a pool of his own body fluids."
"Swell," the cloaked one replied sarcastically.
"So who are you and what do you want?" the demon in black asked, finishing up adjusting his hat. His eyes narrowed dangerously under the shadow, daring for a wrong answer.
"I am here to make you an offer, Sir Yuber," the cloaked one began in a diplomatic voice, "one that would benefit you.greatly."
"I could see little that you would be able to offer me, human. Unless." Yuber's form blurred as he dashed forward, closing the distance between the two in an instant. The twin blades sprung from his coat sleeves and he brought them down in a cross slash toward the cloaked one's chest. Sparks flew as the cloaked one smoothly brought its own sword to bear, blocking the slashes made by Yuber.
"You wish to die by these blades?" Yuber finished his face now merely inches away from the dark hood of the cloaked one, their blades the only thing separating them. Yuber shifted his stance to further exert pressure on the twin blades he was holding in an attempt to force the cloaked one's sword away.
"The circle is about to be complete. Albeit it's still years away from its true completion. Events have been set in motion that would allow it to come into being," the cloaked one said calmly, holding the bloodthirsty demon at bay with its own sword. Yuber's head snapped up suddenly at hearing this and then, as if with unspoken agreement, both pulled back their swords as they leapt away to land some distance from each other.
"Well then what is your proposal?" Yuber asked, his mismatched eyes carefully studying the cloaked figure in front of him.
"A chance to obtain one of the elemental true runes; certainly it would be much safer in your care." There was some distaste in the cloaked one's voice as it continued. "And there will be plenty of blood and chaos for you to enjoy."
"Sounds like my kind of job." Yuber smirked and with a swish he sheathed the blades back into his sleeves. "What does it entail?"
"Come to Vinay del Zexay and you will know," the cloaked one instructed as the ground rippled beneath him, signaling the opening of a teleportation circle. Without another word the cloaked figure submerged into the circle; when he has completely submerged into the ground, there was another ripple and the ground returned to normal.
"A strong one. He was definitely holding back," Yuber commented darkly to himself. "But then again so was I. I think I am going to enjoy this."
The demon named Yuber tilted back his head and laughed a laugh filled with enough malice to chill even the dead.
**************************************************************************** ***
Suikoden 3 Fanfic Conflict from within ch8:
The Plan
**************************************************************************** ***
"So now the entire Zexen army is on its way to Karaya," Borus finished off, glancing around at the people that were assembled there. To his left sat Lady Chris, Hugo, Beecham and Sergeant Joe; to his right sat the Duck Village mayor, Kamia, and Dupa. Both Chris and Hugo appeared deep in thought while Kamia and the mayor looked troubled by this news and Dupa looked quite angry.
"That is horrible news," the mayor said as he stood, his posture showing how tense he was. "I would like to hear Hugo's opinion on this."
"What I would like to hear is why we weren't told the exact 'circumstance' of Lady Chris' arrival to Grassland," Dupa asked, focusing his attention at the young Karayan.
"I made an error in my judgment," Hugo said, bowing his head. "And I apologize to all those who are present."
"An error in judgment?" Dupa asked shaking his head sadly, the ornamental feathers on his head fluttering with the motion. "Hugo."
"Now is not the time for this Dupa," Kamia said, stopping the Lizard Clan chief. "We should be worrying about the army."
"What else can we do?" Dupa replied, his voice hard like steel. "We will gather our own army and teach these ironheads a lesson. My lizard warriors are on standby ever since we received Hugo's message. We could move at any moment."
"If we do that then it's war for certain and we do not want that," Hugo said, glancing briefly to his right at Chris.
"I don't understand it. If Lady Chris is still alive, couldn't she stop the Zexen army's advance herself? Once the troops see her, then they would have no reason to fight," the mayor suggested, worried and puzzled at the same time.
"It may not be that easy. By what we have seen we are dealing with an exceptional clever enemy," Hugo explained. "They knew that Chris is still alive yet they still decided to start this conflict. Therefore we must assume that they probably would have a plan to counter that as well. So we must come up with something that will help avoid the situation in case Chris could not stop the knights from attacking."
"Then what do you propose, Hugo? Surely you aren't thinking of letting Zexen burn down Karaya again?" Dupa replied, fixing Chris with a hard glare.
"Far from it Dupa, but first I need to know a few things," Hugo said and then turned to Chris. "Lady Chris, I have been meaning to ask you for a long time. I noticed that there is no defensive fortification between the Lizard clan and Zexen lands. If someone were to travel from the Great Hollow, he could just go through Yaza Plain and into the heart of Zexen Federation without ever having to confront Brass Castle. Isn't that so?"
"There was a fort there once, between Iksay Village and Yaza Plain, but it is abandoned now." Chris trailed off, her voice strained and for a moment Hugo thought he saw something in her beautiful features. A forlorn expression that belonged more on a lost child than on the mighty Silver Maiden, but it was gone so fast that it left Hugo pondering whether he had imagined it or not.
"So you are right, there is neither fortification nor garrison between Great Hollow and the inner Zexen lands," Chris concluded, her voice carefully neutral. "That was the reason why the Lizard clan had such an easy access to Iksay."
"Even if there were any, our mighty lizard warriors would have marched right through such a minor obstacle," Dupa countered, his eyes daring anyone to challenge him otherwise.
"Never! Not if the fort still stood and not if he is still alive," Chris replied vehemently, glaring at the lizard chief.
"Yet that fort is nothing more than rubble on the ground and that devil too is no more," Dupa countered, giving Chris a nasty grin.
"What are you two talking about?" Hugo asked thoroughly confused.
"They are talking about Fort Silverwind which was the same abandoned fort that Lady Chris mentioned," Borus replied suddenly, glancing at Chris with worry evident on his face while she looked away and bit her lower lip as if in thought.
"Never mind that. It has little bearing on what I need to know. I have another question if either of you could answer me," Hugo asked, shaking his head. "Do you have any ways of recalling an army on the field in case of emergency?"
"We have trained pigeons which will seek out our army and deliver emergency messages," Chris replied before Borus could, her voice carefully composed.
"Alright, and one last question. You said that Percival is in command of the knights right now. Is he the type to take caution when facing with the unknown?" Hugo asked.
"By himself, he will only take risks that he deems absolutely necessary," Chris replied slowly, considering the circumstances. "But if he is leading so many, he would probably be cautious about making a hasty decision. He will definitely make sure that things do not present any danger to him and his troops before proceeding. "
"Yes, that was my impression of him as well during his stay as a fire bringer." Hugo nodded slowly to himself as if expecting that. "That is all I need to know, thank you Chris."
"Why did you want to know about those things?" Chris asked, curious about what Hugo was trying to do.
"Well all those questions are just to ensure that my plan would work properly," Hugo replied, giving Chris a confident grin. "Because I just might have to force the Zexens to withdraw without either side having to spill a single drop of blood."
**************************************************************************** *******
"So what have you learned?" Geddoe asked Ace and Joker as the two men entered the hut that served as the local inn in the village.
"Well boss, looks like our Silver Maiden fell for the charms of the Fire Champion and they ran off to elope at Duck Village," Ace replied with a grin on his face. "Too bad though, I was looking forward to see the beautiful flower again."
Queen rolled her eyes at the comment and Geddoe raised an eyebrow while Joker just drove his elbow into the ribs of the man beside him.
"What Ace was trying to say was that Hugo and Lady Chris left for Duck Village yesterday. They went to a meeting between the clan chiefs of the Grasslands as I understand," Joker corrected while Ace doubled over from the hit.
"So we missed her by a day. How unfortunate," Geddoe replied his forehead furrowed in thought.
"What do we do? Do we wait for her here or go to Duck village?" Queen asked.
"Time is against us in this matter, so we should inform her as soon as possible," Geddoe replied, sweeping his gaze across all those present.
"What did you do that for?" Ace yelled, having finally straightened himself.
"I see, by the way where is Aila?" Joker nodded while completely ignoring Ace's outburst.
"She went to visit her family and friends," Jacques quietly replied.
The sounds of people shouting outside caught their attention and they went to investigate. Slowly they made their way through the small crowd and they were surprised when they saw exactly who the sources of the commotion were.
"Is that.?" Queen asked, surprised at the turn of events.
"Borus Redrum of the six mighty Zexen knights and Beecham of Karaya," Geddoe finished.
"Please gather only your essential belongings and return here as soon as possible. An army of Zexens is heading this way, and we are evacuating the village under Chief Hugo's orders!" Beecham shouted out to the people gathered there while Borus scanned the crowd uncomfortably, not at all successful in ignoring the many hostile glares directed at him. He seemed to have spotted Geddoe's party and started to make his way towards them.
"Greetings Captain Geddoe, I did not expect to see you here," Borus greeted.
"I could say the same Sir Borus; the last time we met here was under a very different circumstance," Geddoe replied, narrowing his good eye. "Or perhaps not so different after all given what we just learned."
From the corner of his eyes Jacques noticed Aila amongst the crowd, who seemed to have finally noticed Borus and began marching towards the blonde Zexen knight, an angry expression on her face. Knowing that this would not be the best time to resolve their differences, Jacques quickly moved to intercept the Karayan girl, putting a hand on her shoulder while shaking his head. The Karayan girl stiffened under his touch and then sighed when she understood what he meant. Slowly she nodded and then resolved to just stand there and glare at Borus' back.
"Things have changed, Captain Geddoe," Borus said, watching the true lighting rune bearer tensely.
"Indeed? Then perhaps you would tell us why you are here?" Geddoe asked.
"Actually, that is what I am about to ask. You see it would help us greatly if you would offer your assistance in helping to protect Karaya."
Geddoe nodded slowly at Borus' reply. "I am listening."
**************************************************************************** *******
"Bazba, Shiba, get our troops mobilized and supplies ready! We are going into battle!" Dupa commanded his two lieutenants.
"Not exactly battle per say," the duck mayor commented from beside the lizard chief. "Though it will be a messy situation if it does come to that."
"If there are no risks in life, then things would be boring, old friend," Dupa replied, giving the mayor a wide tooth grin.
"Where are we heading, Chief Dupa?" Bazba asked, slightly concerned.
"To Brass Castle and Vinay del Zexay."
**************************************************************************** *******
"How are you feeling, Chris?" Hugo asked, glancing sideways at the woman riding besides him.
"Nervous. I have no idea how the troops will react when they'll see me alive." Chris sighed, ruffling the mane on her horse. She was glad that they managed to find traders from Vinay del Zexay and bought the horses. Though it's not her white mare, the familiar sensation of riding calmed her nerves tremendously.
"Well if we can stop them here on Plain Amur then it would save us all a whole lot of trouble," Hugo said shifting his grip on the reins of his own horse. He had decided to ride a horse as well since he had left Storm back in Karaya and if the situation degenerates he may well need the extra speed a mount could provide him.
"I hope things go well here," Chris said looking into the distance.
"Well we are about to find out," Hugo returned as a dust cloud rose in the distance. The ground began to tremor; at first it could barely be felt but as each second passed by it got stronger. The sounds of shouting and hooves beating against the ground became louder with each moment. The official banner of the Zexen Confederacy rose up into view, a splash of radiant color amidst a sea of gray.
"Ready or not here they come."
Up Next: The confrontation and Hugo's plan.