Part Six
"Okay, the Army is nearly ready to mobilize," Caesar said. "However, with this new rescue mission we will need to march a day early. Will everyone be ready for this?"
Daunte was relieved to hear everyone answer in the affirmative in the war room. He stepped forward. "I plan on taking just a small party with me to Kader," he said. "It's just an extraction of two people and not an invasion of the town, but it will undoubtedly get Sheikh Tamara Nuori's attention."
"Oh no doubt," Keiran confirmed. "Sheikh Keha Hale is the only Sheikh with a Garrison attached to a town, but once you announce your presence in Kader word will travel fast to Tamara Nuori and she will mobilize her forces to meet you."
"I would like to be part of your extraction group," Georg said, stepping forward. "I've met Dylan already and I promised him I would bring help, so hopefully he will realize you're the good guys if I'm with you."
Daunte nodded. "I would be glad to fight by your side."
"The Dark Chasm still has a marker we can teleport to, so we should have Viki teleport our forces there," Caesar said.
"That's a good idea," Daunte said. "And I'll have Viki teleport my group to K'alak'i Patieba so we can get to Kader faster." he paused before adding, "There's someone in K'alak'i Patieba I'm looking to recruit anyway so I'll kill two birds with one stone. Ah…" he rubbed at his head as he contemplated his next thought. "Maybe—I should have Shou in the extraction party. That way when we get Dylan and his father out of town he can send word to the rest of you that we were successful?"
"That's a good idea," Caesar agreed. "Consider your party carefully before we leave though. I will have to stay with the troops and won't be available for you to switch anyone out after you select your party."
"Ah," Varnaz said suddenly, looking around the room. "Where is Lady Leknaat?"
Daunte realized then that she wasn't there and frowned deeply. "She may not have heard the announcement. I'll debrief later if—"
"I believe we're all set for now, if you want to go down and see her," Caesar said.
"I'll come with you," Gunther offered eagerly. Allise scoffed rather loudly and Gunther winced. "On second thought, maybe not…"
Daunte headed for the elevators alone to go down and see Lady Leknaat. He leaned against the wall of the elevator and closed his eyes. This will be my first war campaign leading the entire Army against enemy units. I don't want any of my forces to die in this battle, but I know death is an inevitability in war. What can I do to protect the lives of my soldiers?
He opened his eyes and raised his right hand to stare at the Rune of Restoration. "You're the parent rune of the Resurrection Rune," he said softly. "But so far I only know a healing spell and an offense spell. Can you please help me become stronger? I don't want to lose anyone in this next fight, but I don't know how to unlock the secrets of your spells. If I don't become stronger, I can't protect the people who fight in my Army. Please, help me?"
The Rune of Restoration did not have a response for him. Daunte sighed heavily and dropped his arm. "I guess I'll have to make due with Howl and Berate for now," he murmured.
The elevator chimed and the doors opened, but Daunte straightened as he realized that he'd only reached the first floor and not the basement. His eyes widened slightly as Nash and Sierra entered the elevator. "O-Oh, hello," he greeted. "I'm going down though and not up."
"That's fine," Sierra said briskly, leaning against the right wall. "We needed to talk to you anyway."
"Is something wrong?"
"My Lord, there's been a bit of a repugnant smell on the fifth floor of this building for the last several days," Nash said, though his tone was light and cheerful. "It doesn't make us sick, but it's strong enough that we don't like traveling up to the fifth floor anymore. As you can imagine, this has caused some problems for my missus and I as we are not able to participate in talks in the war room."
"Don't sugarcoat it," Sierra told him. "You just want to go up there and spy on him."
Daunte flinched but Nash shrugged. "Well, I am a spy after all. But the smell is strong and makes us uncomfortable. Would you happen to know what the smell is?"
Daunte shook his head in confusion. "I…noticed the smell of garlic on the fifth floor. Is that what you mean?"
"Garlic?" Sierra scoffed, shaking her head. "Typical."
"I will look into it to see where it's coming from," Daunte said, looking between them. He suddenly felt a surge of guilt. "I…haven't been down to see either of you lately. I know you usually don't rise early in the morning, but I haven't checked on you. I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to apologize for," Nash reassured him. "We are quite comfortable. I've had a few nightmares for the last several days, but nothing you need to worry about."
"'Nightmares'?"
Nash frowned deeply then, the light air diminishing around him. "They're peculiar nightmares, where I'm stuck in a one-sided conversation with someone unpleasant from my past. Isn't that strange?"
"Well you're a strange man so it's not surprising that you're having strange nightmares," Sierra said dully.
"This strange man was good enough for you to say yes to, Old Girl," Nash teased, scooping her up into his arms.
The elevator chimed for the basement and Daunte moved to get out. "Would you like to come with me?" he asked.
"No, we said our piece," Nash said. He snuggled Sierra to him but she was rolling her eyes.
"I'll look for the source of that smell," Daunte promised him. "I want everyone to be comfortable here."
Nash and Sierra went back up with the elevator and Daunte headed over to Leknaat and the Tablet of Stars. He quickened his pace though when he saw her slouching slightly. "Lady Leknaat, are you all right?"
"I am okay," Leknaat reassured him, but her complexion was pale. "I am just in a state of mild distress."
"Come with me," Daunte said, taking her by the arm. "I can asked Dr. Yulin or Clara to examine you or give you a potion."
Leknaat shook her head. "No, that's okay. I just…do not feel up to participating in your next campaign."
Daunte felt his heart sink upon hearing that. He took a moment to recover his disappointment before he spoke. "That's okay. I won't force you onto the battlefield. Please stay here and get some rest."
Leknaat nodded and forced a smile at him. "Do not be troubled by my disposition. You will be victorious in this battle Lord Daunte. I am certain of it."
"Thank you, Lady Leknaat." Her confidence in his success eased his worries considerably.
"Do not mind me. My emotions have not been…good, lately. Something does not feel right to me but I can't articulate why they don't feel right. I do not think I can perform properly in my current condition, and I apologize for the inconvenience."
A thought occurred to Daunte then. He looked around to make sure that they were alone and he leaned in close to her. "Is it the traitor?" He whispered.
Leknaat stiffened. "Traitor?"
"Someone has betrayed us," Daunte said. "We're certain of it. We have to carry on like normal as to not throw the spy off, but I honestly have no idea who could be the traitor. Whoever it was leaked our location to the High Clerics."
Leknaat shook her head. "There is no traitor."
"What?!" Daunte exclaimed.
"There is no traitor," she calmly repeated herself. "I would have sense the disturbance here and warned you of it if that were the case. The cause of my current condition is outward forces, far from us. If there was a traitor here, I would know."
Daunte let her go and took an unsteady step backwards. "T—No one has betrayed us?" He asked quietly.
"That is correct, Lord Daunte."
"B-But then, how did they kn—" Daunte suddenly smacked himself in the forehead. "Of course! Of course they knew! The Holy Army already invaded this compound years ago when my mother was Liberation Army leader! The High Clerics wouldn't have forgotten something as significant as that!"
"I agree," Leknaat said calmly.
"B-But wait," Daunte said, waving a hand. "The Holy Army still knew that I was going to be out of the country when they sprung that ambush. How did they know that if there wasn't a spy amongst us?"
"I'm afraid I do not have that answer, my Lord. All I can confirm for you is that it was not a person who betrayed you."
Daunte waved his hand. "I'll worry about it later," he decided. "I have to focus on the rescue mission and then the war campaign. Well, if we don't have a traitor then we don't have to worry about the Holy Army finding out what we're doing."
Leknaat nodded. "Be careful, though. Even without the presence of a traitor anything can happen."
"I will be very careful. Thank you, Lady Leknaat."
Daunte returned to the elevator and pressed for the fifth floor. He let out a huge sigh of relief. So, no one has betrayed us. Caesar will be pleased to hear that.
But…he couldn't relax completely. If I don't have a spy in my ranks…then where is the Holy Army getting their information?
Back in the war room, Daunte stood with Caesar and their allies as they finalize the preparations for the march.
"Sheikh Nuori's Garrison is to the northwest of Kader," Caesar said. "Once word reaches the Sheikh of Lord Daunte's arrival in Kader she will mobilize the troops of her Garrison and march them south."
"Sheikhs generally have no less than 500 active soldiers on site at the Garrisons," Keiran said. "Sheikh Keha Hale keeps less because of the location of his Garrison. But we should anticipate Tamara Nuori to bring her entire Garrison to march against us."
"That's at a minimum though," Varnaz said. "We should prepare to meet many more on the battlefield."
"Then it's a good thing we're preparing for the chance that we end up meeting 1,000 troops on the battlefield," Caesar said. "We currently have 5,000 soldiers serving in this Army, but we obviously cannot send all of these soldiers into battle against Tamara Nuori. We obviously need forces here to protect our HQ while we're gone. With this upcoming battle, we should plan on bringing 600 soldiers with us."
"But we may be outnumbered then," Eamon pointed out.
"True, but if we coordinate the proper forces then we can still win."
"When I marched with Sheikh Nuori, I noted that she didn't have any calvary units with her," Keiran said. "She had infantry but also strong rune archers. As we are springing an attack on her I can't imagine her unit formations changing drastically."
"All right," Caesar said, turning to Daunte. "Who would you like to send out leading the formations, Lord Daunte?"
"If she has no calvary units, then we should definitely have calvary units on our side," Daunte said. "But because of the rune archers I don't want to have strictly calvary units. We can have the calvary focus on her infantry units and then counter her rune archers with our own rune archers, or infantry, or standard archers.
"Keiran." Daunte turned to the man. "You have experience fighting alongside Tamara Nuori, so I would like to assign you one of the calvary units."
"Understood," Keiran said, straightening a little. "But if I may, I would like to have two more people with me to strengthen my forces. May I include Mihr and Lanny with my unit?"
"Of course." Daunte looked at Varnaz. "You also have experience leading calvaries, so I would like you to lead a unit as well Varnaz."
"Will do," Varnaz said. "I'll take Jantu and Gunther with my unit."
"But I'm infantry not calvary," Gunther pointed out but Varnaz shrugged. "You can fight on a horse, right?"
"Allise, will you be one of the rune archer units?" Daunte asked.
"Of course," Allise said. "I would like to request Farzin and Jeane for my unit."
"Surya, I would like you to lead a unit representing the Falenan forces," Daunte said. "Your unit type is infantry, right?"
"It is," Surya confirmed. "I'll take Mokuren and Isfrafil with me in this unit."
"I will also lead one of the infantry units," Daunte said. "I'll take Roen and Felicity with me in this unit. Then for the last unit, I want Yuber to lead it." he faltered when he saw the entire room flinch. Daunte swallowed hard when he saw the looks of discomfort and horror in the faces of his allies. "Ah…I—"
"Excellent idea, my Lord," Caesar said. "Yuber has shown he's more than up to task to lead infantry units."
Daunte felt the familiar 'whoosh' of air behind him. "I will slay anyone who gets in my way."
Daunte quickly turned to face him. "I appreciate your efforts," he said sincerely. "But we're not going into battle to wipe out an opposing Army. We're trying to recruit Tamara Nuori to our side. I must compel you to avoid bloodshed on the battlefield this time."
Yuber's brow twitched violently but Daunte didn't back. "We won't inspire loyalty in Tamara's forces if we kill everyone. Please refrain from killing the enemy soldiers unless you feel that you have no other choice."
Yuber ground his teeth briefly, the sharp noise filling the silent war room. It was long and painful moment before he relaxed his jaw. "Fine."
"You will be leading troops into battle," Caesar said. "All of the units assigned have support parties of two people. You should have a support party as well."
"I need no one's support," Yuber said harshly, but Daunte raised his hands. "Please, Yuber. You are a soldier in this Army. We are allies and you can trust in the people here."
Yuber scoffed and looked away. He was silent again for another long moment before he glared at Daunte. "If you insist on giving me a weight around my neck, so be it. But I will only accept one support member."
"One?" Gunther asked. "But the rest of us have two. You should—"
"One. Supoort. Member." Yuber enunciated each word as rudely as possible.
"Okay," Caesar sighed. He looked at Daunte. "Whoever the unlucky Army member you choose to assist Yuber may be tasked to essentially babysit him on the battlefield. Do you know of someone who would have the patience for this?"
Daunte floundered as he felt all eyes upon him. He knew that whoever he chose for Yuber's unit would have a considerable amount of pressure on their shoulders. Not only would they be tasked with protecting the 100 soldiers in the unit, but they would also be tasked with keeping an eye on Yuber.
Yuber is bound to my contract so I know he can't disobey me. But I don't know how many people he may kill under the guise of "not having any other choice". Who in my Army would have the patience of dealing with him? Certainly not Barō. Or Priscilla for that matter. Wait, did Sierra know him previously? Daunte shook his head. No, she didn't. He recognized her True Rune and not her. And I don't think Sierra would have the patience to deal with Yuber. Maybe Desiree? Her positivity is infectious, but her positivity might annoy Yuber too much. Or Viki? But Yuber found her annoying, too—
"If I do not receive an answer from you in the next five seconds, then I will assume that I am okay to lead a unit by myself," Yuber said stiffly.
"You can't do that!" Keiran snapped. "You can't defy the will of our Commander!"
"And how do you plan on stopping me?" Yuber asked him darkly. Mihr immediately inserted himself between Keiran and Yuber and glared at the Dark Knight. Neither said the word, glaring and poised for the other to act first.
"Now let's calm down," Caesar said uneasily. "We—"
"Viki!" Daunte blurted out. Everyone turned to look at him stunned, including Yuber, and Daunte himself was shocked that he chose Viki when Yuber insulted her the last time they spoke. But Daunte knew that it was too late to take it back. "Viki. Viki will be your support member, Yuber."
"Is that wise?" Allise asked. "Yuber's skills are physical combat, and Viki's skills are magic. Those are conflicting traits for a battle unit."
"No, it's perfect," Caesar interjected. "We need Viki on the battlefield to help facilitate our departure back to HQ after we capture Sheikh Nuori. And she fought on opposing sides to Yuber three times in the past, so she has more experience than any of us dealing with Yuber! Excellent choice, Lord Daunte!"
"I disapprove of these orders," Yuber said. "But I am bound to follow them so long as you are successful, so I will do it."
"Then why show defiance if you cannot disobey Lord Daunte?" Eamon asked. Yuber glared at him and he yelped and jumped back.
"Hey, I was talking to that Dragon Knight the other day," Surya said suddenly. "Futch? He said he fought in the same wars as Viki. Maybe his dragon and him can—"
"Oh!" Daunte suddenly shouted, startling everyone. He slammed his fist into his palm. "I just got an idea!"
"You would like us on your team?" Futch asked. "Bright and I?"
"For the rescue mission to Kader," Daunte said. Futch had taken up residence in the underground cavern in a room opposite of Sharon. His room was significantly bigger than Sharon's but he also had a fully grown dragon with him whereas Sharon had her baby dragon. "We're going to extract a father and son before the father is sentenced to a public flogging for a crime he didn't commit. Because the Army will be advancing from the Dark Chasm, we'll need to evacuate as quickly as possible once we secure Dylan and his father. Having Bright and you with us will ensure that we can meet the Army as quickly as possibly afterwards."
"I'm happy to help save innocent people," Futch said. "But you haven't discussed my role on the battlefield. Am I participating in the battle? Or Sharon?"
"I…have already assigned the units," Daunte said embarrassedly. "But if you would like to join the battle, I can replace Viki with you on Yuber's unit. Surya told me you're a veteran of the same wars Viki fought in, so that means you—"
"No," Futch quickly interjected, raising his hand. "Thank you," he said more calmly. "I've been seeing Yuber on opposing sides of the battlefield since I was eleven years old. I understand that he is our ally now and is bound to your orders, but I cannot forgive and forget the wanton slaughter he participated in. I tolerate him as an ally here, but I will not fight alongside him ever."
"Neither will I," Sharon said firmly, leaning against Futch's doorway. "You haven't seen or heard the things we've seen him do, Lord Daunte. The lives he destroyed in the Grasslands. He's our ally now but he's a monster. You'll be wise to remember that."
Daunte felt his stomach twist up slightly. Yuber is different. I had to summon him to bring him here. I don't doubt that he's done terrible things when under contract to other people. Caesar participated in the same war as Futch and Sharon, but yet he encouraged me to take Yuber on as an ally.
He shook his head. There's no point wallowing in regret now. I summoned him. He's my responsibility now and I will make sure that he doesn't do things he's done before now.
"Thank you for your honesty," Daunte said sincerely. "Perhaps I was too hasty in putting Viki with him, though—"
"Oh no, she'll be fine," Futch said in a more positive tone. "She may seem a little ditzy but she's more than capable of taking care of herself."
"At least there's only one of her this time," Sharon added cheerfully.
Wait, what?! Daunte wondered but Futch spoke before he could ask that. "Does your Army have capabilities for air support?"
"Air support?" Daunte asked.
"Yes. During the Gate Rune Wars the Dragon Knights assisted Toran's Liberation Army by flying in from the sky. The Wingers are obviously not going to align with the Holy Army so I think have offensive manuevers from the sky could—"
"Wait!" Daunte shouted, cutting him off as he felt a jolt in his body. "That—You gave me an idea, Futch!"
"I did?"
"Yes, thank you!" Daunte ran out of Futch's room. Sharon folded her arms over her chest and laughed. "Lord Daunte is usually so stoic. I didn't think he was capable of being so excitable!"
"His enthusiasm is inspiring, that's for sure," Futch agreed.
"Are you ready to assemble your party, Lord Daunte?" Caesar asked when Daunte reached the fifth floor.
"Almost," Daunte said. "But I need to find Hero and James. Did they return to their island?"
"Yes, they wanted to check on their skyship." Caesar suddenly broke out in a smile. "Do you have an idea, my Lord?"
"I do," Daunte confirmed.
"I think I know what your idea is. Come, let's go to Viki."
"Brother, can I come too?" Arin exclaimed as he ran down the hallway.
"For this trip," Daunte said. "But with tomorrow's march I'll need you to stay here."
"I know, I know."
"All right, let's go," Caesar said.
They took the elevator down to the first floor and quickly found Viki. "Lord Daunte, people have been coming up to me to apologize. Why? Did I do something wrong?"
"Well—" Daunte said.
"We'll tell you later," Caesar interrupted. "Did Hero place that landmark we asked him to place?"
"Yes, he did," Viki confirmed. "So I can teleport you straight to his island!"
Daunte nodded. "All right, let's go."
Viki prepared her spell, but Daunte's heart skipped a beat when he saw her nose wrinkle. Oh no, please don't sneeze!
If Viki was about to sneeze, she thankfully did not do so during the cast and the three of them were safely teleported to Hero's island. "Lord Daunte!" James called from the roof of the skyship. "How nice to see you!"
"Hello," Daunte greeted before he entered the skyship. He saw no difference to the ship since the last time he was there, and he saw Hero sitting in his usual seat. "How are things for you?"
"Perfect," Hero said in his usual loud tone. "Sir Caesar told me you were interested in going to the Zexan Federation. It's further away than the Toran republic, but by my calculations we should reach their coast in 36 hours."
"That's significantly lesser time than going by boat," Caesar said. "But we're not here for that trip yet."
"Lord Daunte, did you see this?!" A new voice exclaimed. Daunte's brow rose when he saw Xi An crawl out from the "beak" of the skyship. "This part opens like a mouth! Isn't it amazing?!"
"Hi Xi An," Daunte greeted her. "I didn't know you've been spending your time with Hero and James."
"She showed up a couple of days ago," Hero said dismissively, shrugging. "She gave me a couple of ideas about modifications to the ship, which I have taken into consideration—"
"I think the skyship would have looked cooler if it was in the shape of a dragon," Xi An interrupted. "But Hero thinks the idea is stupid."
"Of course it's stupid!" Hero snapped in clear eaxsperation. "A giant ship in the shape of a dragon would scare the living daylights out of people! The ship would be attacked constantly! The people of Sindar obviously chose the shape of a hawk so people wouldn't fire rune cannons at their skyship!"
"But what hawk breathes fire?" Xi An protested. "Dragons breathe fire! What would people think if they saw fire coming out of this beak?"
"I think most people wouldn't care about the shape of the ship if it starts spewing fire," Caesar said dryly. Daunte heard a 'thump' outside and James entered the ship. "We actually came here to speak to you bo—the three of you," he corrected himself.
"James, don't you think a dragon skyship would have looked cooler than a hawk skyship?" Xi An asked. James stiffened, and laughed nervously as he looked at his grandfather. "Ah…I…"
"I like this ship," Arin offered.
"We're heading off into battle tomorrow," Daunte also supplied. "And I wanted to see if you would feel comfortable—flying this ship over the battlefield."
"What if the enemy soldiers fire a rune cannon at me?!" Hero snapped.
"Rune cannons no longer exist," Caesar pointed out.
"Okay, fine." Hero threw up his hands.
"You don't need to attack anyone if you don't want to," Daunte said. "But the presence of your ship should spook the enemy forces and be a showing of our might."
"That would be so cool!" James exclaimed. "We can fly over the enemy forces, and that should definitely scare them!"
"That's why it should have been a dragon ship," Xi An muttered.
"We'll do this," Hero said. "You can call on us to participate in war battles. Just send a signal from the ground and we'll be there. If needed, in the future you can ask us to attach a rune to the front and it will fire a spell from the beak. But I will only be able to do one flyover per war battle. Anything more will bring unnecessary risk to this ship. I spent years perfecting this skyship and I will do anything to protect it. So plan carefully when you need us to fly over and attack."
"I will, thank you so much," Daunte said, nodding.
"Oh, can I fly with you guys too?" Xi An asked enthusiastically.
"B-But there's only two seats up front," James protested. "It might not be sa—"
"Okay, sure," Hero said, waving a hand. "You can fly with us. But you'll follow my direction and not touch my controls. Got it?"
"Got it!" Xi An cheered.
"That settles it," Caesar said, looking at Daunte. "We have six Army units for the ground and our skyship for aerial offense. We are certainly going to win tomorrow."
"Yes we will!" Arin cheered. James and Xi An cheered with him but Hero rolled his eyes.
Yes, Daunte thought, smiling. We will win tomorrow. I'll make sure of it.
Dylan had packed one bag. It wasn't enough to hold all of his things but it had everything that was important to him. He patted the bag before diving underneath his bed. He pulled out a box and dug through it to the very bottom before he found what he was looking for. Twin emeicis. His twelfth birthday present from his father.
Father will be mad at me. He told me to only use these to defend myself. But I will bedefending myself…when I go and save him.
Dylan sighed heavily and looked out the window. It was pitch black night outside. Mr. Georg Prime…where are you? Father's sentence will be carried out tomorrow!
"Why are we waiting?"
Dylan jumped slightly as he heard the unfamiliar male voice from downstairs. He set his emeicis down and went to his bedroom door. He cracked it open slightly.
"This has been risky enough as it is," the unknown man continued downstairs. "That thug I hired is demanding more hush money. We should've left before the Sheikh called for a second trial. Why are we still here, Caoimhe?"
"Because I want to see that bastard pay for how he treated me," Caoimhe responded harshly. "He ruined my life and somehow had the nerve to act like everything was my fault?!" She scoffed. "One hundred lashes isn't nearly what he deserves!"
"Caoimhe, the plan is falling apart. Sheikh Nuori wasn't supposed to call for a retrial. We were supposed to get out of here while your husband is delivered his punishment. Go to the capital, file for divorce, take him for everything he has? Remember that?"
"Yeah, well, I didn't anticipate my own son betraying me! That ugly brute turned my child against me! I can't forgive him for that!"
Dylan slid out of his room and closed the door quietly behind him. The he crawled on hands and knees towards the stairs, careful to not make any noises.
"Caoimhe, I love you." Dylan stopped in his tracks. "I'm doing this to be with you. I hired a thug to rough you up and break your arm to save you from getting arrested for adultery. My friends testified to make your story more convincing. But this—grudge you have against your husband is going to ruin all of us unless you let it go and leave with me tonight!"
"I love you too," Caoimhe responded, and Dylan gasped harshly. "But you don't know what it's like to have sacrificed everything for an ugly, dull man to end up with an ugly, dull life. Virgil was lucky to be married to me, and how does he repay me? By turning his nose up at me and demanding a divorce! He demanded a divorce from me! Can you imagine someone as ugly and stupid as him demanding a divorce from someone who looks like me?! And he filled Dylan's head with foolish nonsense! I can't take my child away because he despises me! I want Virgil to suffer and I want to SEE him suffer!"
Dylan couldn't handle hearing anymore. He leapt to his feet and raced down the stairs. Caoimhe was standing in the living room with a stranger, their arms around each other. But they leapt apart once Dylan entered the room. "Dy—"
"YOU LIAR!" Dylan shrieked. Overwhelmed with anger he grabbed a ceramic vase and threw it at the wall. "YOU CHEATING, AWFUL LIAR!"
"Dylan!" Caoimhe shrieked. "How dare you—"
"You cheated on Dad! You lied and said Dad hurt you! I HATE YOU!" Dylan lunged at the man, kicking and punching wildly, but Caoimhe's lover overpowered him and pinned him to the floor. "I hate you! I hope you die!" Dylan shrieked.
"Your father was going to divorce your mother!" the man snapped, pinning Dylan's shoulders with both knees. Caoimhe did nothing but stand there and watch. "Do you know what happens to adulterers, kid?! They get burned alive! They and ANY one who shares blood with them! If your father got his way, your mother and your grandparents would have been burned at the stake, kid! You may have been burned too! 100 lashes is nothing compared to that! Your father was acting selfishly!"
"Go to hell!" Dylan shouted, trying to buck the man off him. "This is your fault! You did this!"
"Dylan, you have no idea what I have sacrificed!" Caoimhe shouted. "I have a happy, comfortable life before I met your father! My parents cut me of when I married him and I have struggled ever since! I've spent my entire marriage putting Virgil first, and putting you first! You will NEVER understand what I have been through! For the first time in my life I'm going to take care of myself!"
"DAD LOVED YOU!" Dylan shouted. "He did everything for you! He worked so hard to keep you happy, and all you did was yell at him and hit him! Then you ran off with this jerk and framed him! You're selfish and a liar and I HATE YOU! I will NEVER forgive you for this! I'll tell the Sheikh you lied! I'll tell him you cheated—"
"Get him up," Caoimhe snapped. Her lover hauled Dylan to his feet, holding the child in a full nelson. "Do you know what will happen if you do that, Dylan? Nothing. Nothing because nobody will believe an immature, spoiled child like you over me. Did the Sheikh listen to you when you testified against me? No. She upheld her sentence against your father.
"And even if she did believe you, Tapeli is right," Caoimhe continued. "I would be sentenced to death, as would anyone who shares my blood. You would kill your own mother, Dylan. Is that what you want? Do you really want to sentence me to a long and painful death? Or your grandparents?"
Dylan screamed and struggled in Tapeli's arms. "Your son has clearly betrayed you," he said. "There is no going back now. We can't risk letting him go out to see his father's punishment. He'll fight the guards and end up dead, or he'll expose us and we'll end up dead."
"Then what do we do?" Caoimhe asked. "I'm not going to kill my own child, even if he's acting like this."
"We'll have to make sure he can't interfere."
"W-What do you mean?!" Dylan demanded, but Caoimhe waved a hand to them. "I know what to do. Bring him here."
"Wa—STOP!" Dylan struggled in Tapeli's arms but the man overpowered him again and bodily dragged him after Caoimhe. "Someone help me! Father! FATHER!"
The Army was ready to march before the sun even rose. Daunte could hear the commotion in the courtyard from his bedroom. He checked his armor and tekko and nodded to himself. He was ready.
I HAVE to be ready. I have to save Dylan and his father, and I have to take Tamara Nuori whilst minimizing casualties. It will be very difficult, but I can do it. I have to do it.
"Brother, please be careful." Arin was sitting on his bed. The boy was trying to force a smile but Daunte could see he was shaking. "I—I know that you'll succeed but don't get hurt okay?"
Daunte forced a smile at him and forced down his unease as he sat beside his little brother. "I'll be careful and I'll come back safe and sound, okay? I'll try my best to make sure everyone comes back safe and sound."
Arin hugged him tight. "I know. I believe you."
There was a knock at the door. "Come in!" Daunte called over his shoulder.
Caesar quickly slipped into the room and closed the door behind him. "I want to prepare you, my Lord," he said. "This is different than our campaign to liberate the Dark Chasm in that we avoided a war battle back then. We are seeking to recruit Tamara Nuori, but a war battle against her forces seems inevitable now."
"I understand," Daunte said, letting Arin go and standing up. "We're seeking to recruit her, but we're really just kidnapping her and her forces right?"
"Oh kidnapping is such an inflammatory word," Caesar complained softly. "We are simply…planning to spirit her away and convince her that our side is the just side."
"That sounds a little better."
"The soldiers are ready outside my Lord, but I must ask you how you feel. Are you confident of our success? Or are you uneasy?"
Daunte felt a mixture of emotions inside of him that he wasn't sure he could put into words. He swallowed hard before he spoke. "I think…I feel both of those feelings."
"Understandable," Caesar said. "But when you leave this room you need to forget your unease."
Daunte stared at him in confusion. "Once you step out into the hallway, you need to wear a smile and walk with a straight back. When your soldiers speak to you, speak in a clear and confident voice and look them in the eye. There are seasoned veterans outside, but there are also soldiers who have never fought on the battlefield before. And all of them are going to be looking to you and you alone to give them hope and confidence that we will succeed. If you present yourself with anything less than absolute sureness that we will win, it will negatively affect morale. The soldiers will question if we will succeed, and that will impair their judgment on the battlefield. They will perform at their best primarily if you inspire them with your words and your presence. Do you remember how you felt when Bearyl Lutis made msitakes on the battlefield?"
Daunte remembered, and it made him shudder. "The ambush. When I saw Bearyl and you arguing in the middle of the battlefield, I—I got angry. And I was scared. I don't want these soldiers to ever feel like that."
"They won't feel that way if you act like victory is assured," Caesar said. "Even if the odds are against us you must act like we're going to win in front of the soldiers. One thing that you can also do to keep morale up is if someone has a question for you don't answer, "I don't know" or "I'm not sure". These statements do not inspire. So if someone asks you a question that you don't have an answer to, just say "I'll get back to you", and then come find me. Direct your questions towards me as your strategist, okay?"
"Okay," Daunte said, nodding. He did a few breathing exercises and straightened his posture. I can do this. I can do this. I'm the leader and everyone is relying on me. I won't let them down.
"You can do it, Brother!" Arin cheered, clapping his hands. "You always keep your promises!"
Caesar laughed, and Daunte managed a laugh and smile. "I'm ready. Let's go, Caesar."
Caesar nodded. "We'll assemble your party for the rescue mission downstairs."
Arin didn't follow them and Daunte's heart was pounding in his ears, but his resolve didn't waver as they walked to the elevator. "Today our Army marches into battle," Sanjay said from the sixth floor. "If the Gods favor us, we will have another Sheikh as an ally by the end of the day."
"I can't believe we weren't asked to participate in the battle," Gertrude grumbled. "I haven't had a good fight for at least 24 hours!"
"But Gertrude, how can we maintain our commentary here if we're part of the war battle?" Bax asked.
"That is a good point," Sanji added.
On the third floor the elevator doors opened to reveal Eamon. "O-Oh, Lord Daunte!"
"Going down?" Daunte asked. Eamon nodded and entered the elevator. "You know what to do, Eamon?"
"Yes," Eamon said. "You assigned me as acting leader here while the Army marches into battle. You can rely on me to maintain the safety and security of those who remain behind."
"I know you can," Daunte said. "That is why we wanted you to lead in my absence."
Eamon smiled at them. "Thank you, my Lord. I won't let you down." he stood up a little straightened and Daunte smiled. Caesar was right. So long as I'm confident and encouraging everyone else will feel the same.
They reached the first floor, where the conversations both in and out of the building was louder. "Viki!" Caesar called out, hurrying over to her. "Are you ready?"
"I-I believe so," Viki said, clutching her staff to her chest. "But are you sure you want me to do this?"
"Absolutely," Daunte immediately answered her. "You're going to do great today."
"Yes, your role is very important," Caesar said. He slid an arm around her shoulders and guided her down the stairs. "This will be your first time standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Yuber on the battlefield. I know you fought against him three times, so you know what he's capable of on the battlefield."
"I-If I'm going to be completely honest, I don't ever remember meeting him personally on the battlefield," Viki said meekly. "In fact, that conversation we had a few days ago was the first time I remember ever talking to him."
"Well you still have more experience than I do," Daunte said. "Don't worry about a thing though. Yuber isn't going to go on a rampage so just follow his orders and keep the other soldiers in the unit safe."
"I'll be okay if he doesn't say mean things to me again," Viki grumbled.
"Ah, but Yuber says mean things to everyone," Caesar said. "Including Lord Daunte." they left the main to find an overpacked courtyard. "Go and make the rounds with the units," Caesar told Daunte. "You can find me with Yuber's unit when you're ready to assemble your party."
"All right," Daunte said.
"I'm going to make sure everything is secure here," Eamon said, taking his leave. "You can count on me, my Lord."
"I know." Daunte kept a smile on his face as he walked through the ranks checking on the soldiers. Baldemar was still happily sharpening weapons and Gusoku was helping a few get into armor. He saw Surya's unit and hurried over to them. "How are you guys doing?"
"Ready to march," Surya said. "You can count on us today."
"I'll keep the Prince safe," Mokuren promised.
"This won't be my first time on the battlefield," Israfil said calmly. "We will be fine."
Daunte said Allise's unit next, and he saw Farzin talking to Jeane. "Shouldn't you put on armor?"
"Oh, I never wear armor to battle," Jeane said serenely. She was wearing her usual loose outfit. "I have no need for it."
"We're ready to go," Allise said, smiling. "Just check on Gunther and make sure he's ready."
"I will," Daunte promised, but he didn't miss her statement. For someone who talk about how bothersome Gunther is, she specifically asked me to check on him. Should I bring it up to him?
He met with Varnaz's unit next and nodded. "Your calvary looks ready, Varnaz."
"We are," Varnaz confirmed.
"I've participated in many war battles," Jantu said reassuringly. "I'll work hard to ensure we'll be successful."
"I'm not usually a calvary type, but I'll do my best," Gunther said, forcing a smile. Daunte debated if he should mention Allise's statement or leave it be. After a moment he asked, "Are you ready, Gunther?"
"Of course I am," Gunther said confidently. "This isn't my first war battle, as you know my Lord."
Daunte shrugged. "Okay. Allise asked me to check on you so I wanted to be sure."
Gunther immediately brightened upon hearing this. "S-She did?!"
"You can go and ask her if you like," Daunte said, moving on to check on the other group. Keiran had his unit ready, which comprised primarily of the soldiers he had brought with him when he joined the Liberation Army. Daunte was relieved to see other Liberation Army soldiers freely mingling with the former Sheikh's soldiers. They've all been accepted by the Army.
"Good morning, Lord Daunte," Keiran said over his shoulder, fixing his horse's saddle. "My unit is ready to ride."
"You all look good and ready," Daunte agreed. A meter away from them a group of soldiers were surrounding Lanny, ruffling his hair and patting his back, but the boy was red-faced and looked furious. "How is Lanny?" He asked carefully.
Keiran looked over at the group, then looked at his second-in-command. "Mihr." Mihr immediately dismounted his horse and hurried towards the group, which quickly dispersed "Lanny," Keiran said discreetly. "Some of the soldiers—apparently Lanny has developed a crush on someone, and this secret recently leaked out to the soldiers."
Daunte's brow rose in surprise. Keiran continued. "I won't say the alleged name of the girl because it's rumors and ultimately that's Lanny's business, but the soldiers have taken up to teasing him over it. It's not malicious, they're teasing him because they care about him, but their teasing humiliates him so we try to quell it as much as possible. We certainly do not want Lanny to be in a negatively place emotionally before a battle."
"I agree," Daunte said. Lanny hurried over to them, still a little red-faced but looking more relaxed. "Good morning, Lord Daunte. Don't worry, I'm ready for today."
Daunte knew better than to ask Lanny about his "crush" because it would put him in a further bad mood and also put Keiran in a bad mood. "Excellent," he said instead. "I know I can count on you all."
He saw Roen and Felicity with the unit he would be leading and hurried over to them. The soldiers snapped to attention but Daunte waved at them to relax. "We're just about ready to go. After we complete this rescue mission I'll meet up with you all. In the meantime, Roen and Felicity I'm counting on you to watch for the men and women in our unit."
"You can count on us," Roen confirmed with a smile.
"I…don't know," Felicity said softly. "If I can fully forgive Tamara Nuori for the part she played with the existence of the Dark Chasm. Her obliviousness to that horrible place led to our suffering. Because of her, Kass…" she looked away.
Daunte wasn't upset at her uncharacteristic disheartened behavior. He knew that it had been an extremely emotional time for her. He reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders. "It will be okay," he promised her. "We'll never forget what happened there, and Kass will always be with us. But if we're able to get Tamara Nuori as our ally we will make her understand what has happened to us and what she's done. We're going to be successful."
Felicity nodded and she smiled. "Thank you, Daunte. We've always been able to rely on you."
"Thank you, Daunte," Roen added.
"I'll see you guys later." Daunte made his way towards Yuber's unit, stopping to say hi to soldiers and give reassurances and feedback. He could see what Caesar had meant with the demeanor he had to maintain. Even soldiers who were 20 years or more older than him looked nervous about the upcoming battle. Daunte made sure to talk to everyone and it made him feel better to see them reassured.
"Hello, Lord Daunte!" Caesar greeted him when he got to Yuber's unit. The man in question looked bored but the entirety of his unit (including Viki) looked a little scared. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yes," Daunte said. "I would to put Georg, Futch, Bright, Shou, and Umeko in my party. And Oboro in my support party." He looked out over the unit for a moment before moving to stand beside Viki. "Everything will be all right," he said. "We're going into battle but our priority is recruitment. You're all in good hands, Yuber won't let anything happen to you."
"I thrive on chaos," Yuber said suddenly. "What is chaotic about babysitting 100 people and a girl who can sometimes teleport people properly?"
"Hey, Viki has teleported me successfully so far," Daunte said. "And we are the chaotic party in this civil war as we're the ones trying to overthrow the government. We are creating chaos by trying to recruit a Sheikh."
"You do not need to have your Army armed to have this girl—" Yuber jabbed his thumb in Viki's direction. "Teleport your forces. Just send me ahead alone and I will kill all of your enemies."
"Yuber," Daunte said impatiently. "I have told you multiple times that this war campaign is a recruitment mission. We are trying to recruit Tamara Nuori, not kill her. That is why we're mobilizing the Army, to overwhelm her forces and bring them back here before the Holy Army can react. That is our mission, and you WILL keep to that mission. Got it?"
"…If you say so," Yuber said after a long moment.
"Just keep Viki and the people in your unit alive," Caesar said as he came back with Daunte's party. "That's your primary role in this battle, Yuber."
"I-I will teleport our forces to the Dark Chasm after I teleport your party, Lord Daunte," Viki said, turning to face him. "Where would you like me to send you?"
"K'alak'i Patieba," Daunte told her.
"All right, I'll send you right now."
"Best of luck, my Lord," Caesar said. "Make sure to come and find us after you save that boy and his father."
"I will. All of you be careful as well."
"It's very simple," Yuber said coldly as Viki prepared her teleportation spell. He turned his back on his unit. "If you see my back, you'll be fine because my swords—" he produced them and raised them up. "Will only slice forward. If you do not cross in front of me, you will not die by my hand."
"Yuber, you are only to kill when it is necessary!" Daunte reminded him sharply. "That's an order! Viki, remember to make sure Yuber only kills when it is necessary!"
"Wait, what?!" Viki exclaimed, but her magic had already teleported his group away. She looked at Yuber meekly, who was still holding his swords. He stared back at her with a cold and challenging expression. The soldiers in their unit quickly hurried over to huddle behind Viki.
Caesar patted her on the shoulder reassuringly. "You'll be fine. I think."
"Private Nigel, you have mail."
Nigel accepted the letter from the soldier assigned to mail duty. "Thank you." He looked at the envelope and his eyes widened. Wait…this handwriting! Thea?!
Nigel tore open the envelope and quickly scanned the short letter. He looked up at the soldiers around him on Garrison grounds. They were at their posts, but he saw no unusual activities besides the usual patrols. He jumped to his feet and raced towards the main building. He took the elevator to the Sheikh's office and nodded to the guards on duty before knocking. "Sheikh! May I come in?"
"No, you may not Private," Imbuka immediately replied, and Nigel bristled in irritation. I wasn't asking you!
"It's okay, Imbuka" Tamara said. "I'm almost finished with my paperwork. Please come in, Nigel."
Nigel entered the office. Imbuka moved towards him but he ran past her and stopped in front of Tamara's desk. "Sheikh Nuori, is it true Sheikh Lažov is bringing his soldiers to our province? The soldiers are not preparing for his arrival."
"Wait, what?" Tamara quickly stood up. Nigel saw the fury in her eyes "Who said Sheikh Lažov was coming here? I wasn't notified of this!"
"I just received this letter," Nigel said, offering it to her. "It was from one of my former comrades, Thea, who serves under Sheikh Lažov directly."
"Oh, the other soldier who violated Article Four?" Imbuka said sardonically. Nigel glared at her but Tamara said nothing as she quickly read Nigel's letter. She then looked at Imbuka. "What should I make of this? This is highly disrespectful of Sheikh Lažov to come to my territory with his soldiers without sending a formal announcement! Even Sheikh Sloan Faakhir sent me a letter when he came here escorting the Dark Chasm's Matron!"
"Please relax, Sheikh," Imbuka said, her tone surprisingly soothing. "Sheikh Lažov is undoubtedly running a drill with his soldiers. You must forgive his impudence, my Lady. Sheikh Lažov after all is a new Sheikh. You have greater experience in this position than he does. You must address your fellow Sheikh's faux pas with patience and diplomacy."
"Okay. Right," Tamara sighed, nodding slowly. "Thank you for helping me see things clearly, Imbuka. I'll draft a letter immediately and then I'll send our fastest soldier on horseback to meet Sheikh Lažov. I'll extend him hospitality here but politely remind him that he needs to run drills in his own provinces."
"I know just the soldier to send," Imbuka said, bowing slightly. "I'll be right back with them."
"Thank you, Imbuka."
"Of course." she walked past Nigel, and he stiffened as she moved past him. Wait…what? He turned to watch her leave as Tamara collapsed into her chair. "Now I know for certain that no one respects me. This cannot be made a habit!"
"Sheikh?" Nigel said slowly, turning around to face her.
"What is it?"
"Lady Imbuka." He contemplated his words before he continued. "She was—laughing, when she was leaving."
Tamara's brow knitted. "Laughing? Are you sure?"
"It sounded like a laugh, Sheikh."
Tamara looked confused, and…distressed? After a moment she shook her head. "You must have been mistaken, Nigel. That's not like Imbuka at all."
"…All right," Nigel said slowly, but his stomach knotted in discomfort. I have a very, very bad feeling about all of this. The Sheikh didn't notice it, but Thea's letter…it sounded like a warning.
"Oboro and Shou, please go on to Kader ahead of us," Daunte said at the gates of K'alak'i Patieba. "Gather as much intel as you can and see if you can find Dylan and his father. We'll be along after you shortly."
"Understood, my Lord," Oboro said cheerfully. "But please do not take too long. It's not safe for an old man like myself to be traveling so unguarded."
"You've been traveling by yourself for years," Shou pointed out. He grabbed Oboro's sleeve. "We're heading out. We'll meet you in the other town."
"Thank you," Daunte said. He looked at his party embarrassedly. "I know it may seem my priorities are skewed, but I need to recruit someone before we leave."
"Oh, that's fine," Futch said, shrugging. "Do what you've got to do."
"It's never a bad time to recruit a new ally," Georg agreed.
"Um, I guess it should be fine," Umeko said.
"So it doesn't bother you I'm briefly staving off our mission?" Daunte asked as they entered the town square.
"It's really no big deal," Futch said. "I've seen plenty of leaders across multiple wars stave off missions to do recruitment or fetch quests. It's completely normal."
"It really is," Georg said. "You would be surprised how little time a seemingly unimportant mission takes compared to a major mission. This stop will not negatively effect your campaign. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised when we get to Kader that Dylan's father's punishment had not commenced yet."
Daunte was reassured by their words but still moved quickly to find Kin. He found the tradesman in question opening up his shop. He was the only person in the town square. "Oh, good morning," Kin greeted him. "Did you see the price of rice? It—"
"The market changed, I know," Daunte quickly interrupted him. "Will you join my Army, please?"
"Army?" Kin asked in confusion. "Are…Are you part of the Liberation Army?"
Daunte quickly explained to Kin his motives and the older man nodded thoughtfully. "Yes. Yes, you're absolutely correct. Everything in this country has become grim and oppressive. It shames me that I make my living in the service of the Theocracy. And they've made it so difficulty for businesses to stay open. Did you know they added another fifteen lines to the Merchant's Pledge?"
"So you will join me?" Daunte asked him.
Kin nodded and smiled. "Of course. I will to make this country a better place, and when I look at you my Lord, I feel confident that you can do that."
"Thank you!" Daunte shook his hand. "I'm afraid I can't invite you into my party because we're about to leave. But when you're ready, make your way to our headquarters in the west."
"I will, thank you!" Kin quickly ducked away to pack his things and Daunte turned to his party. "That's all I needed to do. Let's go."
The sun had fully risen as they raced across the Rocky Plains towards Kader. Given the early morning the nocturnal monsters had gone to sleep and the daylight monsters had not risen, so they encountered very few enemies en route. They were attacked a few times but Georg raced forward and easily slew the beasts with powerful swings of his sword. Futch and Bright performed a unite attack called Mounted with Futch riding on Bright's back. And despite her…eccentric nature, Umeko was also very skilled in combat and easily took care of enemies on her own. There was little fighting that Daunte had to do personally.
Even with the early start and their fast pace, it took a little over three hours for them to reach Kader. The town was much larger than K'alak'i Patieba with a population size of five thousand people, but Daunte felt a spike of alarm as they approached the town's gates. There were no guards on duty, and he saw two familiar figures standing at the gate.
"There you are, my Lord!" Oboro greeted them. "Do not worry, the flogging hasn't started yet."
"Where are the guards?" Daunte asked.
"They left to see the flogging," Shou said. He pointed towards the left inside the town, where there were several white bricked houses. "We heard screaming coming from one of these houses a little while ago. Nobody has responded to it, but we thought it was safer to wait for you than investigate it in case it was a trap."
"Okay, should we investigate the screaming first or go and rescue the man and his child first?" Futch asked. "The screaming sounds more immediately dire if they haven't started serving out the sentence yet. But if the screaming is a trap then it will interfere with our current mission."
"What should we do, Lord Daunte?" Georg asked. Daunte knew that both were important, but also that their mission was to save a father and son. After thinking about it however, he nodded his head slowly. "We'll check out the screaming first."
"The streets are deserted, so let's get our weapons out," Georg said. They entered the town proper, but Daunte didn't hear any screaming. He heard a commotion north of their position, but he looked towards the left and where Shou had said the screaming was coming from. "It was from one of the residential houses," Oboro said softly. They moved carefully but swiftly.
When they turned down an alley, Daunte froze in his tracks as muffled screaming and loud thuds reached his ears. He raised his hands warningly. "I hear it now," he said softly.
"As do I," Georg said grimly. He frowned and his eyes narrowed. "It—sounds like the boy. Dylan."
The group moved faster towards the sounds, and the screaming grew louder. Daunte's stomach turned as they got closer, and he could discern words in the screams. "HELP ME! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"
"There!" Futch said, pointing to a house to their right. Daunte reached the front door and tried the handle. It didn't budge. He pounded his fist on the door. "Dylan? Dylan, can you hear me?!"
"I'm down here!" Came the reply. The group looked down towards the foundation of the house to see a cellar window. A boy's tear-streaked face was pressed against it. "Please help me! My mom locked me down here!"
"Dylan, it's me," Georg said, kneeling by the window. "Are you all right? Are you injured?"
"No, I'm just stuck down here!" Dylan wailed, pounding his fist against the glass. "Get me outta here! I gotta save my father!"
"We're coming!" Daunte said. He slammed his foot as hard as he could against the locked front door. It splintered but otherwise didn't fall. Georg jumped to his feet and charged at the door, slamming his shoulder into it. The front door burst open and they raced inside. "Where's the cellar door?!" Oboro shouted.
"Is his mother still here?!" Shou snapped, looking furious.
"She ran away!" Dylan's voice yelled from behind a door. "She locked me down here with her boyfriend and left me!"
"Boyfriend?!" Umeko echoed incredulously.
"Ah," Georg said in a painfully awkward tone. Daunte tested the doorknob to the cellar but it was also unmoving. "Dylan, step away from the door," he said. "We're going to get you out of there."
"Yes, thank you!" Dylan wheezed in relief. Daunte heard him go down the stairs and he slammed his foot against the doorknob again. This time the doorknob broke off with a single kick and they yanked the door open. Dylan raced out of the cellar and flew towards the stairs. "Hang on! I gotta get my weapons and my bag!"
"Weapons and bag?" Daunte asked. He looked at Georg. "He really was counting on you to come back."
"I like to keep my promises," Georg said. In a flash Dylan was flying back down the stairs, a large bag slung over his shoulders and two emicis in each hand. "I'm ready! They're about to bring out my father, let's go!"
"What was this about a boyfriend?" Umeko asked tactlessly. "Did you say your mother has a boyfriend, though she is married?"
Dylan choked on a sob but scrubbed at his face furiously with his sleeve. "S—She framed my dad! Mother was cheating on him, b-but told the Sheikh Father was hurting her to cover it up! She's evil and awful and I hate her!"
So Dylan's mother committed adultery, which is punishable by death, Daunte thought. So when Dylan's father found out about her affair she framed him for domestic abuse, which isn't punishable by death, but is nonetheless a brutal sentence. And she abadoned her family to their fate for her own selfish gain.
Daunte reached out and rested a hand on Dylan's shoulder. "I'm sorry this has happened to you," Daunte said. "But we're here to save you both. Nagarea's Liberation Army will give you both refuge and a new home."
Dylan brightened upon hearing. "Liberation Army? I'll definitely join you! I hate this government for what they've done! A-And I know Father will join you too!"
"I'm happy to have you both," Daunte said. "Now, let's go save your father."
"F-Follow me, I'll take you to our town square!" Dylan ran straight out the front door without looking back.
"Well, he's impulsive," Shou said dryly.
Dylan was running so fast that Daunte and his group had a hard time keeping up with him. A bell then chimed from the center of town. The sound was familiar to Daunte and it sent a chill down his spine. The bell chimes caused Dylan to run harder and faster and the group lost track of him. "Dylan, wait!" Daunte panted heavily.
"The bell chimes for important events," Oboro said gravely, also panting. "Most though for public executions. Oh, I am too old to be running so hard…"
"So they're about to start," Futch said. He waved to the group. "Come on! Let's get on Bright's back and fly to the town square!"
"Why didn't you suggest that earlier?!" Shou snapped, but Daunte didn't say anything and threw himself onto Bright's back. Once they were all on the dragon's back it took to the air and flew towards the sound of the bell chimes. From their aerial position Daunte saw the town square and the large crowd forming a circle. He saw a burly person being escorted to the very center of the square, and the townsfolk threw stuff at him and shouted incriminations at him. The man was shoved to his knees before a short stand. That must be Dylan's father, Daunte thought grimly as he saw two others tie his hands to the stand.
"Virgil!" a man in finely dressed clothes shouted when the chimes stopped. Daunte guessed he was the mayor of Kader. "You have been tried and sentenced for gross domestic abuse! By degree of Sheikh Tamara Nuori, speaking on behalf of Nagar, you have been sentenced to 100 lashes with a bullwhip!" the crowd cheered.
"FATHER!" A shriek rose over the cheers, and Daunte gasped as he saw Dylan break through the crowd and race towards the kneeling man. "Get away from him!"
"Dylan, RUN!" Virgil shouted, but Dylan was tackled from behind by a guard in silver robes. "Get off him right now!" The man shrieked.
"Bring the child forward!" The mayor shouted. "I'm invoking Original Sin and sentencing the boy to share his father's sentence for his interference! 100 lashes for them both!"
"What?!" Daunte screamed, and he heard the word echo amongst his party. Dylan's father screamed and struggled violently against his shackles as Dylan was dragged to same stand as him and shoved to his knees on the opposite side of Virgil. "Futch, fly lower!" Daunte hissed.
As Dylan was cuffed to the stand, Daunte absently noticed the abrupt shift in mood from the citizens of Kader. Whereas before they were ready and eager to see a public flogging before, with Dylan's new sentence with the same punishment as his father the crowd quickly became uneasy and uncomfortable. They clearly had not expected to see a child be sentenced under Original Sin for a domestic abuse case.
And they appeared to not want to see it.
Two figures stepped forward and unrolled bullwhips. The crowd did not cheer, and Daunte gasped throatily as images filled his vision. Images and memory of the Dark Chasm. Seeing the guards use bullwhips and other weapons on the children there. Feeling the sting of the bullwhip against his back, shoulder blades, legs, arms, and head. The lashes. The bruises and bumps and cuts and scrapes. The broken bones. The suffering…
A strangled noise erupted from Daunte's throat and he jumped off Bright's back. "Lord Daunte!" His party shouted.
Luckily for Daunte, Bright was hovering five meters in the air when he jumped off the dragon's back, and the citizens of Kader were too transfixed on the incoming horror of seeing a father and son be whipped together. Daunte's fall was broken by one of the men wielding the bullwhip, knocking him unconscious. He sudden drop-in further startled everyone into silence as Daunte jumped to his feet. "I am Daunte!" He screamed across the town square. "I am the Commander of the Liberation Army! And I will NOT let anything happen to either of these two!"
The crowd's reaction was immediate. People began screaming and running in all directions, tripping over each other. No one tried to attack Daunte. He raced over to Dylan and Virgil. "Are you both all right?" He asked them.
"Please get those chains off my son," Virgil pleaded with him. Up close he did look quite frightening, and Daunte was ashamed at recoiling at the sight of the scar on his face. But his eyes were kind and pleading and Daunte nodded to him. "I'll get you both out of here!"
"T-The leader of the Liberation Army?!" the mayor shrieked. "C-C-Call the Sheikh! SOMEONE GET THE SHEIKH!"
"Well, that's one way to ensure Tamara Nuori comes to meet us," Shou said dully as Bright landed beside Daunte.
"Where are the keys?" Daunte demanded.
"Hang on, I'll pick the lock," Umeko said, quickly pulling out a tool kit.
"It's the heathens!" A soldiers shouted. "Get—"
Bright roared loudly, the sound echoing across town. The soldiers immediately dropped their weapons and ran away screaming. "Bright will scare them and keep them away," Futch said proudly.
"D-Did the leader of the Liberation Army come here to save us?" Virgil asked softly.
"That's exactly what happened," Georg said, clapping Virgil on his massive shoulder. "Your son quite passionately believed in your innocence. So much so that I wanted to help you. So I went and found Lord Daunte, and he came here as soon as he could."
Umeko unlocked Dylan's cuffs and quickly worked on Virgil's. Dylan threw his arms around his father's shoulders and began crying again. "I…I'm so embarrassed," Virgil said softly. "It humiliates me that the leader of the rebel army responded to my family crisis. I—I was a weak man who made his wife very unhappy—"
"Dad, shut up!" Dylan wailed into his neck, his voice muffled. "I know! I know it all!"
"You what?!"
"M—Mother ran away! That guy she was with! They locked me in the cellar and ran away! She's gone! This is all her fault!"
"I-I can't believe that sh—" Virgil's voice broke off as Umeko freed his hands. He hugged his son tight. "I'm so sorry. You weren't supposed to know, you weren't supposed to carry this burden. I'm a failure as a father. Please forgive me…"
"I'm sorry, Daunte said, drawing his attention. "I know that you are both emotional, but you need to go before the Sheikh arrives. I've told this to Dylan, but I offer you refuge with the Liberation Army."
Virgil nodded, tears rolling down his rough cheeks. "You saved my son and went to such great lengths to save me. My wife is guilty of so much, but my family's suffering has happened in part because of the corruption of the government. If you vow to build Nagarea to be a better country, I will gladly help you."
"Good," Daunte said, nodding. "I'm happy to have you both. Futch?"
"Yes, Lord Daunte?"
"Could you take Virgil and Dylan back to their house so they can grab anything of importance to them? And then would you mind flying them back to headquarters?"
"So you do not need me for the battle then?" Futch asked.
"Battle?" Virgil asked. Dylan was wiping at his face as he pulled away from Virgil.
"We're going to be engaging Sheikh Nuori shortly," Daunte said. "We came here to save you, but we were also hoping to weaken the Holy Army's forces by recruiting her."
"Y-You want to recruit her?!" Dylan spat. "She believed Mother when she lied!"
"But she acted within her authority and granted me a second trial," Virgil said. "That shows that Sheikh Nuori is capable of reason. I can tell she's inexperienced in her role, but I believe that you can recruit her to our side."
"Thank you for the encouragement but don't worry about that," Daunte said. "Follow Futch and get yourself to HQ right away."
Virgil nodded and stood up. "Thank you, my Lord. I won't forget this."
Daunte saw them off and smiled in relief. The first part of our plan is finished. I saved them.
"Lord Daunte?" Shou shouted. Daunte turned and saw a riot going on around them. People were still running in all directions. Multiple fights had also broken out, and people had started attacking houses. "What do we do now?!"
"I know the extraction was your only goal, but I think you anticipated this chaos," Georg said amusedly. "I'm sure Yuber would be upset to miss this."
"This is…more than I intended," Daunte admitted. "But it's too late to regret my actions. It's impossible to slip away out of town, the streets are packed with people. Sheikh Nuori's constant presence in this town must mean that there is a government building where there is main governance outside of the mayor's house."
"You are correct, my Lord," Georg said. "Since we're temporarily trapped here we may as well take advantage of the chaos and storm the government building. That will leave us temporarily in control of the town until the Sheikh arrives. I know where it is."
Daunte nodded. "We'll do that then."
Thea was riding behind the Sheikh with the other soldiers, a hard lump in her throat. Sheikh Lažov signaled for them to stop and so they did. Thea looked between the Sheikh and Tazwir in front of her. The plains were empty before them. Sheikh Nuori is not here to greet us. She is incompetent, but she would not disrespect a fellow Sheikh by not welcoming him. I sent Nigel that letter suspecting that he had not communicated with Sheikh Nuori…and it looks like I was correct.
Thea noticed the confusion in the faces of the other soldiers. They had also been expecting a welcome. "Sheikh?" she spoke up.
"What is it, Private?" Lažov asked without turning around.
"Where is Sheikh Nuori? What exactly is our mission in her provinces?"
Lažov chuckled as though she had told a funny joke. Tazwir joined him in the laughter. Neither of them noticed that no one else was laughing. "Oh, don't you worry Thea," he said over his shoulder. "You'll see."
Thea's brow knitted in confusion. I'll see? What exactly does that mean?
"You're punctual."
Thea looked to her right. She saw a woman riding towards them followed by half a dozen soldiers, and she quickly sat up straighter in her saddle when she saw the horns on her hood indicating her high rank.
"Ah, my Lady," Lažov greeted her. "How lovely to see you again. You were not suited with merely a Matron's title—"
"Quit it with the bootlicking," the Matron admonished him. "We haven't time to waste. Are your soldiers ready to go?"
"Of course, my Lady," Lažov said more subduedly as his soldiers tried not to laugh at him being dressed down.
"And did you tell them the mission?" The Matron asked.
"Oh, that was a surprise—"
"What?" Matron interrupted sharply.
"I-I mean I was going to tell them right this second," Lažov hastily corrected himself.
"Well don't leave your soldiers in suspense. Tell them why they're here."
Lažov steered his horse around to face Thea and the rest of the soldiers. The words that came out of his mouth sent chills down her spine.
"We're going to bring down a traitor."