Warfare
Lorian was glad to have Wynfrith's company on this trip. She had proven herself to be not only an exceptional warrior, but an invaluable resource for strategy and at times just someone to speak with. She had been the first to realize that the demons were moving as a group and not as individuals.
Shortly after they killed the first handful of demons on the surface, they ran into Hawkwood, the Watcher who had helped Lorian several years back now.
"Will the Watchers be able to assist in fighting the demons?" Wynfrith had asked.
"Not a chance. Unless they're corrupted by the Abyss, but I've never seen a case of it before." Hawkwood had shrugged.
"Then might I suggest they take precautions? There is a large group on the move, with even more who haven't yet come above ground. As strong as we might be, we might not be enough."
"Shall I send word along to Lothric then?"
"If you think it best."
A little prod in the right direction where they weren't directly reaching out for assistance. If an unbiased outsider was to make the request, Lothric would have the sway he needed to make the request for additional reinforcements.
Lorian was aware that certain members of the Three Pillars would never agree to a request made by the two of them, but even they would be pressed to respond to a request made by an outsider - especially a Watcher given how feared they were.
While they waited for reinforcements to arrive, Lorian and Wynfrith did what they could to curtail the growing force of demons in the area. It was important that he keep her safe, but he didn't coddle her by any means, allowing her to engage the demons on her own, often dividing the ones they were hunting between them.
Most of the demons had been small scale demons at first, but then the larger and more violent demons began appearing. Lorian and Wynfrith spent the evening battling a Taurus demon, trying to fight carefully so as not to get too injured, but it meant the fight dragged out far longer than it should have.
Lorian wished they had a healer or priest with them.
By mid-afternoon the next day they caught their first sight of the knights as they matched across the landscape, banners in hand, tiny dots approaching from beyond the hills.
"Have we always had so many knights?" Wynfrith asked.
"Never assembled in such great numbers before," Lorian replied. "None have been foolish enough to try and push our borders."
Still, Lorian couldn't help but marvel at the sheer number of knights assembled. Lorian knew Godwyn was a stubborn and prideful man that would never put himself or his position at risk until his hand was forced. He also knew the Knight General only typically took orders from Lorian's father. What had Lothric had to do to get his support, Lorian wondered.
"Let's start a fire, so they can find us." Wynfrith said, not even waiting to hear his reply before darting off to gather wood and kindling.
At the rate they were moving the knights wouldn't reach them until dusk, so Lorian helped Wynfrith gather the kindling needed to keep the fire going long enough and took turns tending to the flames and watching their progress as they slowly crawled over the landscape, growing larger and larger.
As dusk approached, Lorian could finally make out the riders in the front. Leading them was Knight General Godwyn himself, followed by the next highest ranking regiment leaders and finally the knights themselves. Lorian scanned the group, spotting priests and even a few hunters of the Black Hand.
"Prince Lorian?" came the quiet voice of Gotthard beside him. Lorian hated how the members of the Black Hand could so easily hide their presence. He was fairly certain Gotthard in particular was the reason he got in trouble for so many things he did as a child when he was certain no one else was around.
"Gotthard. What brings you here alongside Godwyn and so far ahead of the group?"
"Word from your brother. Your eyes only, I'm told." the man reached into the brim of his hat and pulled out the furled piece of parchment before handing it over.
Lorian opened the letter and read the single sentence written: Knight General Godwyn is not the fighter he once was, take care to watch over him with Gotthard's help.
Without delay, Lorian tossed the letter into the fire watching the edges catch aflame and burn away. He observed the other man who clearly did not know the contents of the letter. So why did Lothric believe he would help? The implication of the letter's true meaning was treason, Lorian knew his brother well enough to know that much at least. Ever since they were young, Lothric had harbored resentment over how Godywn treated Lorian during his training and it seemed that grudge never went away and instead escalated.
"And what are you doing here other than the letter?"
"Officially? I'm here to lead a scouting party to confirm the demon's movements and confirm the Demon Prince's presence."
"And unofficially?"
"As always, I serve the Royal Family in any capacity you may require." He gave a small bow for dramatic flair. "I suspect the letter may have had some task for me?"
Lorian hesitated only for a moment. He had no reason to suspect Gotthard would act against Lothric's wishes, especially after all this time. "We are to take care to watch over Knight General Godwyn since he is no longer in his prime."
Gotthard hummed thoughtfully. "I would say the safest place is fighting alongside the two of us then, wouldn't you agree?"
"How will we convince him of that?"
"Leave that to me," Gotthard said with a smile. "Until then, Prince Lorian. The troops have begun to arrive and we need to lead them."
"Have Godwyn and his highest ranking knights join us - I assume there is a strategy tent?"
"Of course. We will convene there once it is set up. In the interim, I have already sent a handful of my scouts to investigate underground to find out what they can before we meet."
Lorian watched the man leave and turned back to the troops that were arriving. It was a decent area to set up camp, a nice clearing next to a forest and out of the way of the swamps and marshland that plagued the area.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Wynfrith sitting on a tree stump sharpening her sword and realized how close she was; it was likely she had been close enough to hear his conversation with Gotthard, which Gotthard would have undoubtedly been aware of - meaning he allowed to conversation to happen with her so close by. Lorian decided it wasn't worth the time or effort to puzzle over why that might be.
It took several hours for everyone to finally arrive, but as each regiment reached the clearing they began assembling their tents and organizing the area. Of course, it was protocol and had been drilled into them since they swore themselves into the service of the kingdom, but it was quite a sight to behold.
In the center of the clearing, Lorian could see a handful of knights working together to raise a significantly larger tent, presumably the tent where they would meet and coordinate their strategy.
Beside him, Wynfrith stood up. "Think they brought any cooks?"
"I assume so."
"I'm going to grab some food then. Want me to bring you anything?"
He waved his hand dismissively. "Later, perhaps."
She nodded and headed toward the tents, easily disappearing into the group of knights. It was probably time he headed to the tent to begin planning anyways he realized and started making his way through the tents.
At first several knights, not paying attention, bumped into him muttering a half hearted apology under their breath until several of them realized who exactly he was. Lorian watched, fascinated, as the knights all dropped their supplies and hurriedly faced and saluted him as he walked by. He nodded in return and approached the tent.
You were the talk of the barracks for months. We all could see you were destined for greatness. That was what Romund had said, and even then Lorian hadn't believed it. But now even Lorian couldn't deny the sheer amount of respect these men and women held for him. It was humbling.
One of the knights pulled aside the entrance flap to the tent as Lorian approached and made his way inside. Standing at the strategy table were Godwyn and Gotthard, talking quietly amongst themselves until they noticed Lorian enter and the conversation died out.
"Just in time, we were just about to begin discussing how we should proceed tomorrow morning," Gotthard said as he relaxed his stance, folding his hands behind his back.
"Prince Lorian," Godwyn greeted him with a nod.
"Knight General Godwyn," Lorian nodded in turn. "Report?"
"We have over 500 knights ranging from recruits to commanders in our ranks as well as 20 priests, 30 hunters of the Black Hand acting as scouts, and several commoners for logistical support. I've been told the wyverns will be arriving shortly. Now, what exactly are we up against?"
Gotthard stepped forward. "From the preliminary scouting reports I've received it seemed there was indeed reason for concern. There are a remarkable amount of demons congregating nearby, just underground. The scouts saw several hundred at least and caution that they suspect more."
"And the Demon Prince?" asked Lorian. After all, that was his whole purpose for being here. Whether the demons were congregating out of fear of the Demon Prince or whether the creature was coordinating them intentionally, the end goal was still the same. Take out the Demon Prince and the rest become inconsequential.
"One of my scouts is tracking down its location as we speak. I hope to hear back within the next day or so."
"Then we should wait for their return before we act," Godwyn said as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"I disagree," countered Gotthard, "I believe now is the perfect time to strike. They don't yet know we're here, we have the element of surprise."
"We would be fighting in close quarters underground in their territory."
"They're large creatures, they would be the ones at a disadvantage in that kind of terrain." Gotthard turned to Lorian. "What do you believe we should do?"
On one hand, Lorian did agree with Godwyn. It would be reckless to send so many men underground to fight the demons. On the other hand, Gotthard had a point, the demons weren't aware of their presence yet.
"Gotthard, did your scouts say how spread out the demons were?"
"They were fairly centralized."
"Then we should find some way to disrupt them before we send our knights down there. The more spread out they are, the more we stand a chance at minimizing casualties on our end. We will want to disperse them above ground for the wyverns to handle, and with enough knights below ground they should have the advantage in tight quarters."
"I can send a team of scouts to monitor the demons through the night to ensure that they remain where they are, in preparation for a morning strike," Gotthard added.
"The wyverns will be able to make quick work of the demons as they come up from below ground. We should make that our priority," Godwyn said.
"We will not have that much control over where the demons choose to go. The most we can guarantee is a disruption," Lorian replied.
"And what's the disruption going to be?" asked Godwyn.
"Caves have never been known for their structural integrity," Gotthard offered. "I'm sure a few directed attacks against the right support will bring the entire cave system crumbling down."
"That would compromise any paths to the Demon Prince that your agents might find," Lorian countered, "as well as force the demons that survive to seek another exit that we will have no way to know of. The risks are too great."
"What if we send some of the knights or scouts down as bait?" Godwyn asked. "Have them stir up the nest of demons and then scatter. The demons will have to split up to follow them all."
"It's as good as a suicide mission, Godwyn." Gotthard accused, his eyes staring the larger man down. "Why should any of them volunteer to risk their lives for such a cause?"
Godwyn gaped, opening and closing his mouth several times before squeezing his lips into a hard line, saying nothing.
"I will convince them," Lorian said, confidently. "We raised them on the notion of sacrificing themselves for a greater purpose did we not? They swore their willingness to sacrifice themselves when they completed their initiation ceremony. We all were raised knowing there is no greater cause to lay your life down for than the kingdom. And we should show our commitment by volunteering."
Godwyn scoffed. "Ranks exist for a reason, Prince Lorian. If any of the three of us are lost, that is a more significant blow to the kingdom than if a recruit dies."
"No," Gotthard shook his head, "I believe in this instance Prince Lorian is correct. We should offer ourselves. We will go together, of course, and lead a handful of other groups to assist with the distraction."
"I don't like this plan," Godwyn glared.
"Don't worry," Gotthard placed his hand on Godwyn's shoulder and smiled, "We'll keep you safe."
Lorian watched Godwyn's face turn several interesting shades of red before he smacked Gotthard's hand from his shoulder. "More like I'll be the one keeping the two of you safe."
"That's the spirit!"
"Gotthard, how many entrances have your scouts found? We will want to station regiments accordingly." Lorian asked, switching the focus of the conversation back on task.
"We've discovered at least 6 since we've arrived that haven't already collapsed and I suspect more by morning."
"Then we will begin planning with that estimate and adjust accordingly once all your scouts return, hopefully with news of where the Demon Prince is."
They shifted easily enough into discussing the logistics of which knights would pair together and how the underground corridors were currently structured. Lorian and Gotthard were in agreement that they, along with Godwyn, would be taking the central chamber entrance - much to the Knight General's dismay.
Lorian wasn't under the delusion that he would be able to get Godwyn out of the way so easily. On the contrary he was hoping this first burst into battle would prove to the man why he should instead trust both Lorian and Gotthard as they progressed forward against the Demon Prince and its ever growing army.
By the time Lorian exited the tent, night had fallen and most of the knights were asleep with the exception of a handful of scouts and a few scattered patrols. As he walked through the camp he barely noticed when Wynfrith fell in step beside him, hands behind her back.
"You missed dinner," she accused.
"I had other matters to tend to."
"Excuses don't fill stomachs," Wynfrith chastised, pulling a small metal plate from behind her back and shoving it towards him. Lorian nodded his head in thanks, taking the plate from her. "Your tent's over there by the way."
Lorian looked where she was pointing off towards the edge of camp closest to where they had originally been camped out before Godwyn and the rest arrived. He hadn't expected his tent to be so close to the edge.
"They originally were trying to set you up in the center of camp," Wynfrith said, as if reading his mind. "I knew you wouldn't like that. After all, how can you jump into the fight if you're surrounded by all these knights?"
Lorian hummed in agreement.
"Plus, I know how you fight. That tree you wield is as likely to kill any demons as it is your own knights if space is tight enough. I thought it might be better if you had more space to work with - just in case."
Lorian laughed at that and began heading to the tent she pointed out. "We have plans at dawn to disrupt the demons. I volunteered you for my group."
Wynfrith smiled. "As if you really have a choice. I think my orders from Prince Lothric outrank whatever yours may have been. Who all will be joining us?"
"Knight General Godwyn and Black Hand Gotthard."
"Gods. We'll either be the biggest target of them all or the absolute safest. Who are the other groups?"
"Allric, one of Gotthard's, is leading one group along with a variety of Godwyn's highest ranking knights including Delwyn, Maerec, Eadric."
"So five groups total so far." She paused to lift the flap to his tent as they approached it. "But that still leaves one entrance unaccounted for."
Lorian stared at her and she shrugged.
"I killed some time chatting with Eadric while we waited for you and Gotthard to be done."
"The last group is to be led by Knight Lieutenant Baldric at the southernmost entrance."
"Baldric? He's never led an actual command before - that's suicide!"
"It is deemed to be the second highest risk location and Godwyn did not want to risk any higher ranking knights."
Wynfrith frowned as she ducked into the tent. "I enlisted around the same time Baldric did. He has promise."
"Then consider this his opportunity to prove himself." Inside the tent were two bedrolls set up, though one was noticeably larger than the other. As was the tent as a whole. "Yours, I take it?" He asked, motioning to the smaller bedroll.
"Where better to watch over you and guard you?" She quickly stripped off the topmost layer of her armor, placing it in the corner and setting her sword by her bedroll before stretching out on it. "We move at dawn?"
"Yes."
"Good. I'll be ready."
"Wynfrith?"
"Hmm?" she hummed in reply, eyes already closed.
"During the hunt, you were the first to use a lightning urn against the wyvern. Who supplied them to you and told you how to use them?"
She cracked one eye open as she pushed herself up on one elbow and frowned, "We were all briefed by Head Scholar Wulfred after we volunteered. He gave us all lightning urns and told us about the Lothric legacy. Apparently, long ago, the knights used to be dragon hunters - the lightning urns were their primary tactic… until they were driven to near extinction. I thought you knew all of this, after all, isn't that how you slew the wyvern single handed?"
Lorian didn't reply, instead thinking back to his two chance encounters with the wyvern that harnessed lightning. Could he actually have seen a rider atop its back the first time? A former dragon hunter? Even if that was possible the figure would have to be centuries old by now, and the only ones who truly lived that long were those of the same blood as he and Lothric - those descended from Gwyn himself.
Wynfrith apparently realized the conversation was over and closed her eyes again. He took a moment to watch her drift off to sleep effortlessly. A bedroll was a welcome luxury after their makeshift sleeping arrangements from village to village, and more recently whatever dry patch they could find in the marshy terrain. The food was also decent. Warm and more importantly: seasoned. Lorian enjoyed the luxury while he could before settling in to grab a few hours of sleep himself.
Lorian awoke to a moment of paranoia that had him lurching out of his bedroll and diving for his blade. Above him Wynfrith was in the middle of putting her armor back on as she stared down at him, blank faced even as his blade was aimed at her throat. This had happened several times already since they had originally left, and Wynfrith had regrettably already become accustomed to it.
"You're awake. Sounds like Godwyn's out there handing out orders already." Her voice was incredulous, "Usually no one even sees the Knight General before the day's half over. This is really happening isn't it?"
"It is." Lorian confirmed as he began pulling his armor back on as well. It took the two of them a few minutes to fully assemble their armor, but it was a welcome routine at this point. Lorian was already halfway out of the tent by the time he started sheathing his blade, Wynfrith following closely at his heels.
Sure enough the camp was awake and busy, and Lorian recognized the various groups they discussed the night before beginning to assemble. At the center of it all, glimmering in his unscathed armor, was Godwyn. He barked orders at every knight who had the misfortune of straying too close.
Quietly, Lorian saw the work of Allric, Eadric, and the others gathering their own groups where they needed to go. Gotthard was a silent presence that Lorian could spot drifting through camp, exchanging words with the other various hunters that were gathered.
As he approached Godwyn, a terrible screech echoed in the distance. Lorian didn't need to look to know that the wyverns had finally appeared. One by one they arrived, circling in the air above the camp.
"Godwyn," Lorian greeted.
"Prince Lorian."
"Is everything ready?"
"All groups are ready once I give the order."
The other group leaders started moving towards them to get one last set of orders before they made their move. All eyes landed on Lorian.
Delwyn stepped forward and saluted. "We are ready at your command."
Lorian took a moment to look at each of them to admire their loyalty and courage. "As soon as we make our move, we will have no more time to prepare. This war will not be won in this first battle. Watch your guard, be reserved in your attacks if need be. Our current aim is only to disrupt them and draw them out to the surface for the riders to take care of. We will fight until they retreat and gain a foothold in their territory. I will strike the first blow and Gods willing, I will also strike the final blow."
Each of the gathered men and women each saluted before returning to their posts. Lorian, Godwyn, Wynfrith, and Gotthard made their way to the central entrance that Gotthard's scouts had found the night before and drew their weapons. All around him, Lorian could hear the knights unsheathing their weapons in preparation.
Wynfrith was at his side, sword in hand as she glanced down into the tunnel leading beneath the ground. Lorian drew his sword and began his descent. Behind him he could hear Gotthard sending his runners to start sending down the other groups one by one before he followed Lorian into the tunnel.
It was silent underground aside from the sound of their various armor pieces, with Godwyn's armor being the most egregious offender. Gotthard lit a small torch, handing it to Godwyn as they walked to light the way and they drifted further from the sunlight.
At the bottom of the winding path, Lorian could make out the forms of several of the demons. Some were pacing around, others were slumped against the walls, but most importantly, not a single one seemed aware of their presence. There had to be nearly a hundred crammed into this chamber alone.
Lorian motioned for Wynfrith to stay back and then signaled the paths they should take to Gotthard and Godwyn. As soon as they nodded Lorian took action.
The first demon to notice him was a taurus demon that had been pacing around. It roared and lunged for him but it's attack was slow and clumsy allowing Lorian to easily dodge and head for the center of the group. He saw Godwyn and Gotthard peeling off to the left and right respectively.
They wove between the demons with little effort, taking swipes as they went to enrage the pack and ensure that their attention was on them. At the other end of the chamber Lorian could see Eadric and his group doing the same thing.
"Retreat!" He shouted, loud enough for both groups to hear him.
The demons churned in the chamber as they struggled to follow their prey out through the tunnels and up to the surface. Lorian made sure Gotthard, Godwyn, and Wynfrith exited the tunnel, parrying blows from the demon directly behind them. Once they were topside they each scattered different directions out into the open clearing.
Like a swarm of locusts, the demons burst forth from the tunnel, scattering in every direction as they hunted the four of them.
Above him, Lorian felt a gust of wind and looked up to see one of the wyverns approaching. It flew low over them, spitting a blaze of fire at the demons on the surface while being mindful of the groups of knights. Atop the back of the beast, Lorian could just barely make out the form of Agnes.
The clearing erupted into howls of rage and pain as many of the demons were set on fire. The wyverns did not let up, making multiple passes over until the clearing was ablaze. Lorian frowned as he realized these conditions may make it more difficult to fight than they had previously anticipated.
Of the demons, there were several that appeared to be strong enough from their connection to the Chaos Flame and appeared to not only be unfazed by the fire, but possibly be stronger because of it - one of which was headed straight towards Wynfrith. Lorian cut through the demons nearest to him, mindful of the flames that engulfed them as he started working his way across the field to Wynfrith.
The fire demon had started fighting Wynfrith who was holding her own quite well, all things considered. She was primarily on the defensive, dodging and ducking out of the way of the majority of the demon's blows. When she was able to make an opening she struck with her blade - glowing with the light of one of the many miracles the Knight Lieutenants and higher were mandated to learn - though it looked as though it was barely able to even pierce through the demon's thick hide.
He watched as she countered a blow and moved to roll out of the way, but the demon managed to graze her cape as she moved, setting it aflame. She remained down on one knee, flaming cape twisting in the wind behind her as she glared at the demon before surging forth with a scream, slashing wildly.
Each hit met its mark, but Lorian was drawn away from watching her fight as another fire based demon began rapidly approaching him. It was a massive demon, standing several feet taller than even Lorian, and it oozed some sort of molten liquid with every movement. He turned to face the demon, sword ready to block the blow from the monster's massive club.
It moved faster than its lumbering size would have suggested, tearing across the field until it reached him and slamming its club downwards. Lorian blocked it with his sword above his head, his offhand steadying the other side of the blade. In front of him, the demon held the blow while it puffed up its cheeks before opening its mouth and spitting something engulfed in flames at him.
Lorian barely let his grip go to dodge out of the way of whatever it just spit at him, but as soon as he lowered his blade, the club crashed into his shoulder despite his efforts to dodge out of the way in time. He rolled low to the ground, tossing his sword into his offhand as he struck the demon's lower legs, causing it to stagger and howl.
Clamoring back to his feet, he spared himself a quick glance towards Wynfrith who had ripped off her cape entirely and was in the middle of trading blows with the demon. Nearing her was Gotthard who was gracefully cutting his way through the pack of demons with his double blades. On the other side of the field, Godwyn was taking on several demons with some knights from Eadric's group.
Overall, it seemed the majority of demons that had followed them to the surface had been killed by the wyverns or were currently fighting the knights.
Out of his peripheral vision, Lorian barely saw the strike aimed at him in time to dodge and refocused himself on the fight in front of him. The demon was clever, trying to bait his attacks in a way that it could get the better of him, but Lorian had been in enough fights to see through its maneuvers. He played it slowly, careful to dodge and avoid as many hits as possible, striking only when he was sure he had an opening.
The demon was beginning to slow down which had let Lorian get several hits in on it, slicing open its side and even managing to sever off the hand holding the club. It started backing up with each strike, edging closer towards the tunnel it had come from, but Lorian refused to let it go. He surged forward, aiming his strike at the demon's head, only realizing his mistake once the demon grabbed his sword, lowering it.
He could still kill it. Lorian pressed forward, forcing the blade toward the wound where he had struck the demon earlier. Slowly, the blade pierced the demon's flesh and its hand started to slip from Lorian's blade. But that's when Lorian felt it.
The blade began heating, burning his hands. He had to end this quickly. The demon laughed, molten liquid dripping from its mouth as Lorian wrench the sword upwards, where most creatures had a heart. He felt it pierce something as the demon cried out, falling to its knees. It's flesh began to harden and cool, but Lorian was able to pull his sword free in time, dropping it on the ground beside him as it still burned.
From what he could see, Wynfrith and Gotthard were finishing off the demon they were fighting while Godwyn was standing and talking with Eadric, surrounded by demon corpses - most of which appeared to have been burned to death by the wyverns.
Lorian looked around, taking note of the state of the knights out in the field currently. Most seemed to be in fine shape as the wyverns killed the majority of the demons; they had an opportunity now to chase the remaining demons down further into their underground hideaways.
"Godwyn!" He shouted as he trekked across the field back to the entrance tunnel. "Gather your men, we are headed back into the tunnels!"
"But-" the man started to object before shouting orders behind him at the rest of the knights.
Lorian didn't wait for the General to do as he asked before heading down into the tunnels, grabbing his sword as he went. Behind him, he could hear the distinctive voices of Maerec and the other knights ordering their groups into position.
This war wasn't going to be won in a day, but that didn't mean Lorian had to wait around.
x
The days dragged by, turning into weeks, and weeks into months. The men and women were starting to go stir crazy, Lorian included. They had been trapped in the forsaken tunnels for months now. The scouts were exhausted and had started making more and more mistakes. This was nearly the dozenth time they had expected a split in the tunnel to lead to a new area, but instead merely intersected with another group's tunnel.
In addition to being a winding labyrinth, the tunnels also had false walls that the demons used to attack them when they were resting or even to get behind them as they traveled. It led to a handful of the knights dragging their blades along the cavern walls as they walked, trying to find the illusions before they could be used against them.
Lorian had remained with Godwyn, Gotthard, and Wynfrith for the most part, though Allric's group was always close by, if not traveling beside them directly. But even with as many capable soldiers as they had, they were still losing men left and right. Several who had offered to take watch as they slept were only able to alert them to a demon's presence through their dying screams.
The losses were beginning to stack against their cause, considering they had yet to find a trace of the Demon Prince. Godwyn was beginning to lose his temper more and more often, and Lorian feared that if they were to lose even a handful more knights, the General would call for a holistic retreat. Lorian wouldn't allow that to happen. Not when they had made so much progress already. It was time he took care of the good general.
"Another split," Allric muttered to Gotthard as their group rounded a corner. "We should each take a path, just to be thorough considering the scouting reports reliability recently."
"I agree. If one of our paths should turn out to be a dead end, we will trace back to this split and regroup." Gotthard placed a hand on Allric's shoulder, nodding to the man. "Be safe."
They split into their respective groups with Allric and his group traveling down the left tunnel, leaving Lorian's group to explore the right tunnel. They walked in silence for what had to be nearly an hour. Lorian knew it would be at least a few hours before Allric's group realized their tunnel was a dead-end based on his conversation with Gotthard the previous evening.
"Since it's just us," Godwyn began, "we should discuss calling off this fruitless effort. I've lost enough men and women in my command since we've entered these Gods forsaken tunnels, and what do we have to show for it? Nothing!"
"I agree, we should discuss it," Lorian said quietly, stopping in his tracks and turning to face the man. "We should discuss how your courage shriveled up long ago. How you would rather hide and wait, safe and sound, while those who report to you put themselves at risk. And most of all, how you have no loyalty to anyone but yourself."
"How dare you-!"
"You do not deserve the rank you were given," Lorian spat as he stepped closer, towering over the man.
"I earned my rank! For years I slaved away! I fought in wars that pre-date you, trained all the new recruits, I nearly died to retrieve that petrified dragonflesh for the Queen - all to earn your father's trust and respect! You're not around enough to deserve any of the respect you're given. All you've done to earn favor is be born brother to that cripple-"
Lorian was livid as he reached for his blade, only to be surprised when he saw Wynfrith's blade pressed to Godwyn's cheek. "Speak another disrespectful word about Prince Lorian or Prince Lothric and I'll cut your treasonous tongue from your mouth. Prince Lorian has proven himself to us when it counted. He helped us bring home four wyverns, nearly getting himself killed several times over in the process! Prince Lothric sees his courage and all he's accomplished, and so do all the other knights. The only one who doesn't, is you."
"I've seen the way you follow him around," Godwyn sneered. "Your loyalty is misplaced. You're pathetic."
Wynfrith pressed her blade forward, piercing through Godwyn's cheek, unflinching even as he howled in pain. "I'm here because Prince Lothric asked me to be here, and because I respect what Prince Lorian has done for me in the past."
She pulled her blade back, placing it in her scabbard. Godwyn took that as his opportunity, pulling out his own blade and striking towards her, but Lorian still had his blade out from earlier and intercepted the blow easily. Circling Godwyn from behind, Gotthard had his dual blades in hand, ready to strike.
"So this was all planned then? Did that crippled waste of space order you to do this?" Godwyn asked as he spat out blood from his cheek before striking at Lorian. "This is all because I threatened to not send my men to their deaths for this foolish war. Your petty brother accused me of trying to kill you, but all this time it's been the other way around."
Lorian was pushing the man back easily; he may have once been an accomplished fighter, but those days were in the past. He blocked another of Godwyn's strikes and kicked the man's chest, staggering him backwards. Lorian was quick on the follow up, knocking Godwyn's blade from his hand before grabbing him by the throat and pushing him up against the tunnel wall.
"My brother does not order me to do anything. You die today because of your own transgressions."
Godwyn spit blood in Lorian's face and laughed, "Your father should never have let either of you live. He should have killed you the moment you were born, you pathetic waste of space. Go ahead, kill me. My men will rebel. They see right through all of you."
Lorian squeezed his hand, closing down on Godwyn's windpipe as the man gasped for air. He watched stoically as the man's face changed shades and his arms and legs began to flail in a last ditch effort to force him to let go. Eventually, he stopped entirely, but Lorian held on until he felt the man's pulse completely disappear beneath his hands. Only then did he stop, dropping the corpse to the ground.
Gotthard knelt, pulling a ring from Godwyn's finger and placing it in one of his pockets before setting a hand on Lorian's shoulder. "Go on ahead with Wynfrith. Allric should be arriving soon. We'll deal with the body."
Lorian nodded to Gotthard and put away his blade. Wynfrith fell into step beside him easily as they continued down the tunnel in silence.
"Thank you," he said. Even after traveling with Wynfrith as long as he had, Lorian still hadn't been sure whether or not she would be able to condone Godwyn's death. But she had surprised him by not only not stopping him, but also standing up for him.
Wynfrith laced her hands behind her head as they walked; more relaxed than anyone in her position should have been. "The Knight General has had that coming to him for quite some time. It wasn't just me, either. I can name a dozen other knights who would have done what I did back there. Every single one of us that was with you on the wyvern hunt would have gladly stood up to the Knight General on your behalf."
Lorian had no response for her.
She continued, "We only lost a couple of men on that hunt, mostly due to unfortunate circumstances or their own incompetence, but do you realize how rare that is? We lose at least one in a week's worth of patrols. On a longer task, especially one of that size, we usually lose half a dozen or more. And against wyverns? We all assumed we were going on a suicide mission. So thank you for all that you've done. For what it's worth, I hope King Oceiros replaces Knight General Godwyn with you."