Field Reports

The Chosen of Water felt rather lively today.

Sana could admit that the five-day trip aboard the Brazen Bell had been a waking nightmare for her. Though necessary, it had exhausted her and the rest of the Chosen considerably. She had felt especially sorry for Gantz, considering his airsickness, wishing that her healing spells could have done more than just suspend his symptoms.

Just ten minutes ago, however, her spirits had been buoyed significantly with a situation between Valor and the thief. She knew that Valor was rather prickly when it came to propriety and the law, and Gantz always seemed to take such satisfaction in poking holes in Valor's code of conduct.

The Chosen of Earth had actually lost his composure completely for one rather amusing minute as he had chased Gantz about the nave of the chapel, looking as if to the throttle the thief for daring to steal his coin purse. Of course, with Gantz's incredible speed and agility, Valor hadn't gotten anywhere near laying a hand on the Chosen of Wind, who had all the while taunted the warrior something fierce.

It had taken Sister Nadine's own anger at the two of them to finally bring Valor back to his senses, after which he had given nearly all his gil as a donation while apologizing profusely.

Presently, the white mage followed Valor to one flank, as he led the four of them in a group down the crowded avenue that split the town into east and west sections.

It was breezy day, and the Chosen of Water clutched her sturdy white cloak close about her with her free hand, carrying her white staff in the other. Gantz walked next to her on Valor's other flank, sauntering along with a rather self-satisfied smirk upon his face, his gloved hands resting on the handles of his long-knives, one sheathed over each hip.

Sana and the thief were very similar in height, with Valor being about a head taller. Robin Magus, of course, was the shortest of the four, striding behind Sana and Gantz. The black mage really was a tiny little thing, though her tall peaked hat actually made her seem as if she stood a little higher than Sana herself.

The white mage had always thought Robin looked like a wild spirit, a wraith shrouded in her black robes, which were tattered and singed. Also, her glowing yellow gaze combined with the blazing magical runes that encircled her added to the Sana's portrayal of her as some kind of baleful otherworldly phantom.

As usual, the black mage said nothing, merely wringing her charred magic rod in both hands almost as if she were going to snap it in two. Why Robin was so angry all the time, Sana wasn't fully certain, though she knew it had at least partly to do with the Chosen of Fire's ferocious powers. They seemed the total opposite of Sana's white magic and the girl still felt very uneasy about them.

Still, she tried not to dwell on the tension between her and Robin. She simply set it aside, not trying to think too much on how the black mage walked at her vulnerable back, much as she was sure Valor was controlling similar misgivings with having Gantz walk at his.

It was a bright cool day filled with the noise of the bustling town, and Sana let her tensions bleed from her, grinning into the breeze that ruffled her long honey-colored hair. They were close enough to Truce's silvery Citadel that the sheer height of the structure was making Sana wonder how anything could possibly stand so high. The very tip of its single bladed spire must have thrust at least a thousand feet into the sky, and so near to it now, the Chosen of Water could see that the Citadel seemed all of one piece of whatever silvery metal it was made from.

The keep was rather stylized with many oddly bladed spires topping a multitude of smaller ornamental towers, two of those flanking the main entrance. The gargantuan silver gates were open now, the major thoroughfare that bisected the town continuing in under those mighty doors and through a grand tunneling passage inside the Citadel itself. It was through the keep that people entered the town proper from the north, after having past through the great main gate in the defensive walls that barricaded the entrance to the Painstaking Pass north of Truce.

Indeed, though the whole town was ringed with walls, it was the northern part of Truce that was the actual fortress. Sana had read many books of battles and fortifications in her nine years of study at the White Temple in Cornelia, but she had no practical knowledge of how such things worked in a real-life scenario. She was certain that Valor surpassed her in this particular area, since he had actually fought in the King's Army for an initiatory stint of duty before he had met the other Chosen.

Leaving the town proper, the four went up to the right side of the mighty eighty-foot gates just before the prodigious tunnel that led traffic through the silver Citadel. A pair of guards stood outside a freestanding stone guardhouse just before the right side of the gaping entrance, and Valor angled toward them.

Sana kept at his side, though Gantz moved off a ways and stopped with arms folded while Robin just stopped and plopped down on the ground, almost seeming to meditate.

Valor increased his stride as he neared the guards, and Sana had to jog a bit to catch up, her sturdy white robes fluttering about her in the breeze.

The guards quickly noticed Valor's deliberate stride and both men stood straight, planting the butts of their halberds in the ground. "State your business and be quick about it!" Ordered the bearded heavyset guard.

Valor stopped, lifting his chin imperiously and focusing his blue eyes on the men. "I am Valor Loftlan, Captain in the King's Army and the Chosen of Earth. I must see the Lady Commander at once!

The younger skinnier guard shook his head. "Well, Captain Sir, Lady Rainhart actually prefers Lord Commander… you know, tradition and all that."

The heavyset guard gave the other a glare before looking back to Valor. "We need proof of your rank, Sir, or we cannot let you pass."

The younger guard shook his head. "But Lady Rainhart said she was expecting a lean black-clad fellow, like the lad standing over there, and a white mage, like this girl. Surely these four are the Light Warriors."

"Yes, that's us," Sana piped up. "I can demonstrate a healing spell if you doubt my affiliation with the White Temple."

"No need," called another voice from just up ahead.

It was a woman with a slender figure in an outfit of mixed hides, her long legs covered in knee-high boots of animal fur. She wore a mantle of what seemed bear hide as a sort of cloak about her torso, and her face was covered by a strange leather cowl that was topped by curled ram's horns. Her aqua eyes shone fiercely through eye slits, her pointed ears apparent.

Sana recognized this exotic woman immediately. "Ah Selena, I'd almost forgotten about you."

Valor turned to give her a questioning look.

The white mage looked up at him with a grin. "Valor, this is Selena of the Glade, a light elf. She was at the castle and had a hand in helping save the King from the dark elf invaders."

Valor's eyes widened quickly, "Ah, of course, I remember another elf being mentioned."

Sana then turned toward the light elf as the woman stopped before them. She gave a formal bow to the fur-clad woman. "Selena of the Glade, the man standing next to me is Valor Loftlan, an officer in the King's Army and Chosen of Earth. I don't believe you have met."

Sana then turned to point at Gantz some ways off. "Of course, you've met Gantz, the Chosen of Wind. The other just a ways from him, sitting upon the ground, is Robin Magus, the Chosen of Fire."

Selena merely gave a glance to those mentioned. "Very well, but I am not here for introductions, Chosen of Water. Follow me quickly, for the circumstances facing this town are dire." She ignored the distrustful glares from the two guards, seemingly dismissing them out of hand before turning back toward the cavernous gates and moving off without another word.

Valor looked to the guards. "You may return to your posts."

The heavyset one grumbled a bit, but both gave salutes before heading back to the guardhouse. Valor then turned to Sana. "Well, she seemed rather curt."

Gantz sauntered up, grinning. "Yeah, she's almost as prissy as you are, blue blood."

Valor didn't quite manage to stifle a growl, before Sana noticed that Robin had already stood and was following the light elf into the breadth of the keep's massive thoroughfare tunnel.

The white mage quickly went forward after the elf woman, eager to talk with her again. Valor followed resolutely in Sana's wake, while Gantz sprinted forward past them all to walk at the light elf's other side, seemingly bantering away. Selena suddenly seemed irritated.

The five of them moved into a tighter cluster with Selena in the lead as they went under the mighty gates into a massive hall that cored through the bottom of the Citadel. The grand avenue that had led through the town continued here, though it was much less crowded now since only those with official business with the town's leaders had any reason to be in the citadel if they weren't just passing through…

And no one would be headed north now, not with an invasion nearly on their doorstep.

Sana tried to keep her mood light, but now that she was within the Citadel it was hard not to think of the goblin force that must certainly be bearing down on Truce even now. How many days did they have left before the invaders lay siege to the town?

The white mage tried not to think about it, focusing on the Holy as it hummed gently within her. She had summoned the power to help ease her agitation, and its serene warmth flowed throughout her being to do just that.

She took a steadying breath, though Robin made a sound of disgust and glared up at her for only a second before jerking her head back down.

Sana simply gave a sigh and continued on, looking up at Selena of the Glade. About to ask a question of the light elf, she stopped when she sensed a jolt of agitation in the woman.

Apparently Gantz, walking on the light elf's other side, felt it as well. "I get the feeling you ain't in a talking mood, elfy."

Selena lifted her chin haughtily. "Aside from having to again leave my companions out in the wilderness while I trudge through yet another stinking human settlement, what we shall soon face here is even more irksome."

Valor, walking behind them all, shook his head. "Irksome is the very least of what a goblin horde will become to Truce, Selena of the Glade."

The woman nodded, giving a quick glance behind her at Valor, even as she continued forward. "Then I amend my words, Chosen of Earth. You humans are irksome, goblins are plague on the world, one best to be wiped from it."

Valor just grunted in reply, but Gantz gave them both sidelong glances. "You know, you two shouldn't be so bloody serious all the time. It's exhausting just being around you."

Selena just sighed, but Valor huffed. "Have you ever been serious about anything, thief?"

Gantz seemed to consider that, tapping his chin with one gloved hand. "Well… oh wait… no, not that. Let's see… no, not really then either." Ultimately he shrugged. "Don't think so," he announced with an exaggerated grin.

Now Valor sighed.

Robin suddenly spoke up. "Plagues are best purified with fire! Oh… it has been too long," she announced in a tight, furious voice.

The anticipation in Robin's tone actually worried Sana a bit. It made her think again about just how untried she was in true combat. She had just gotten the first taste of it at Castle Cornelia with Baigan and the dark elf intrusion, but now she was already stepping into what would surely become full-fledged siege warfare. Again, Robin was the opposite in this, because Sana herself could feel fear trying to take purchase within her despite the soothing hum of the Holy.

The group moved on in silence after that, still heading near the right wall of the mighty thoroughfare tunnel until Selena turned sharply to the right and started going up a long flight of silvery stairs that eventually led to a broad landing. This turned out to be more a balcony that looked down upon the mighty thoroughfare below, before the elf headed under a broad archway.

Within was a large rectangular chamber, with elaborate pale wooden chairs in two rows that faced each other across a strip of royal blue carpet. The strip of carpet led passed the rows to a shallow dais at the far end of the room where a larger more ornate wooden throne sat.

It was empty however.

Selena stopped immediately once inside the entrance, motioning for the Light Warriors to stay where they were, standing four abreast just inside the council chamber. "Now, is the time for introductions, Light Warriors," she announced before heading off to occupy one of the empty chairs along the left row.

Sana-Lynn stopped where she was gripping her white staff in both hands. Only a few of the dozen chairs on either side of the carpet were occupied by people, though a delegation of what seemed to be three dwarves stood in places where some of the chairs were pushed back.

Amazed to see three members of the reclusive race of dwarves present made Sana gape for a second before she caught hold of herself. Nearly as broad as they were tall, two of the dwarves looked like miners, wearing rough leather outfits and heavy gloves, leaning on large pickaxes. The dwarf in the middle, however, seemed a warrior, clad completely in dark silvery armor that looked heavier than any creature should have been able to bear. With his bald head and thick black beard, this one stood gripping the haft of mighty warhammer in one armored hand.

Count Cidolphus Rumsley sat in the chair nearest where the dwarves stood and gave the four of them a big wave before laughing raucously. "Well I'll be a big blue shite! Ya whelps made it."

A stately woman in elaborate black full-plate covered over by an ivory tabard gave a cough, however, to bring all eyes to her. She was tall with a somewhat severe countenance, made all the more so by her sightless right eye being slashed through with a wicked scar. Her short hair was deeply brown except where it was graying at the edges, though the left half of her head was buzzed with more scar tissue marring the dark stubble of her scalp there.

This woman came forward a few steps, stiffening as she gripped the hilt of a plain longsword with one hand before making a formal bow before the Light Warriors. "I am Brunhilda Rainhart, Lord Commander of Truce. I have been assured that you are the Warriors of Light, as spoken of in Lukhan's prophecy."

Valor stepped resolutely passed Sana and gave a quick fist to chest salute before Lady Rainhart. "Yes… Lord Commander, we are the four, come here to provide what aid we can against this goblin army before we head north to confront Garland of the Dark Sword."

The woman nodded. "Yes, I received the dispatch by carrier raven from the King just yesterday morn. Still, it is very difficult to believe that Garland could have done something like this single-handedly. I was hoping there would be reinforcements from the King's Army to help us with the goblins. I suppose there is no chance of this now."

Valor clenched his armored hands at his side. "No, my Lady, the King's Army is no more."

The commander nodded. "Well, worst case scenario then. Worry not, we have planned for this as well." She stepped back and motioned toward the dwarf delegation.

The heavily armored dwarf came forward, not bothering to hide a disapproving look at the Light Warriors as he took them in. "I am Warden Grimnir the Stonewatch. The Digger's Free Company scouts have spotted a combined Goblin/Troll force no more than a day away heading south through the Painstaking Pass. There are roughly nine and a half thousand goblins and nearly two score monstrous rock trolls that make up this force. However, it is being led by a band of gray-skinned ogres that wear the trappings of the Ore Eaters clan."

From where she sat, Selena spoke up. "I can corroborate this. I have had my eagle, Sky, watching this force's advance since I arrived here."

That comment earned the elf a nasty glare from the dwarf warden, which Selena affected not to notice.

"Aye," the dwarf added grudgingly before resuming his place next to his fellows.

Lady Rainhart came up again. "We have prepared a killing ground out just beyond the Great Gate, which should effectively trap the force once it commits to an assault upon the wall. The sides of the cliffs that lead to the gate narrow the pass down to about a half mile and are severe enough that we have forces stationed on either side to rain arrows down on the goblin force without much threat of hand-to-hand reprisal. The problem is that we have only about five hundred fighting men and women in Truce, so even with our superior position, our enemy's sheer numbers still make victory slight."

Valor shook his head. "If they could ever put us in a position where this battle comes to attrition, we would be wiped out in no time."

Lady Rainhart gave a curt nod. "Yes, and so we can never allow this to happen. We must pick away at them as we can, and keep our forces out of reach at all times. We must also keep our walls strong."

Valor folded his arms. "Does the enemy have siege weapons?"

Brunhilda nodded. "Shoddy as they may be, they will still present a threat."

Robin suddenly strode forward. "Put me in place above the mass of the goblins below and I can rain down fire upon their paltry little contraptions."

Gantz folded his arms with a grin. "I don't know much about warfare, but if these little bastards are prone to infighting, than taking out the ones who are keeping them in line is your best bet of getting them to turn on each other. When the night comes, I'll see what I can do about sneaking into the midst of the horde and maybe killing a few ogres."

Valor gave Gantz a sidelong look. "Ogres are no easy foes, thief."

Gantz replied with an off-hand shrug. "Sure, if you're dumb enough to fight them head on."

"Right," Valor acknowledged curtly.

Brunhilda nodded. "Very well." She walked up to stand before Valor, her well-fitted plate mail barely making a sound. "I see you are unarmed, Lord Loftlan. Would you care to walk with me, and perhaps we can see about remedying that situation." She turned to look at the other three chosen. "The rest of you can stay here while my advisors update you on the whole of our strategy."

She then moved back out under the archway onto the balcony. "Follow me, Lord Valor, the armory is not too far."

Valor looked to the other chosen for a second before turning back and heading out to follow at Lady Rainhart's flank.