10. Mission Part 3: The Master Plan
"Friends, I come here to ask you to gather arms and join me…" said the man wearing a heavy hooded cloak. His arms reached out to embrace his audience as the next words spewed from his mouth. "It's time we face the facts that our time here has only begun. How many more villages are we going to stand by and watch the king destroy? How many more times are we going to stand at our doorsteps and watch the Largonian Angels slaughter our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, lovers, and friends?"
The crowd roared their common hatred toward the monarchy and its followers, throwing up daisies to the man on the stage.
A couple of people, who were personally close to the speaker, shuffled their feet. They could not keep still because of the excitement that their leader was raising. Some of the daisies thrown on the stage bounced off of them.
"It is time we show them what we're made of." He jumped off the stage. The crowd cleared a path for him to walk on. His followers were right behind him.
"Keep this up, Aster and you can be the next king," Olan whispered beside him.
Aster pulled his hood down and grinned, "You of all people should know, Olan, that I am not interested in that position."
Olan pulled his head back. "Then, this land will be a mess again."
"Power is something that turns us into demons. That's what Alma and Ramza taught me when I was traveling with them."
"So, we're better off without a king and without a church."
"I never said that."
"Whatever you decide, Joseph and I will be right here next to you," Eliza firmly announced as she wrapped her hand around Aster's elbow.
Aster looked down at her. "I don't think Joseph is willing to stay with me all the time. He has a wife, now."
Joseph whacked his best friend in the back. "I'm married; yes. However, Jenna and I wish to follow you onward."
Dred and Dale, the twin brothers, who had followed their teacher, Olan, all their lives, also announced their loyalty to Aster. The boy smiled at them and thanked them.
"No more deaths, no more fighting… I do believe he's sounding more like a…" Agrias paused in mid-sentence as she pushed her hair back with a fist.
"Beoulve," Orlandu completed for her.
Agrias closed her eyes gently. "That's it." She opened her eyes again and looked below her. Just a branch down from her branch she could see her older comrade return her smile.
"The question is, can we trust this kid not to lose his head in the midst of all this," Tensberger contemplated out loud in the tree next to theirs. The branch he stood on creaked under his weight.
"Jealous you won't make it into the history books once again, hey Tens? OW!" Mustadio rubbed the back of his neck where Tensberger hurled the pebble at him.
"Now, now, I think we have more important matters to deal with," Beowulf spoke, letting his soft voice carry through the shadows of the trees. His beloved Reis held his hand as they occupied their own tree.
Malak, who sat on the lowest branch below them with his feet dangling, leaned forward to spy his sister in the tree in front of him. "It certainly feels good to be of real use again, right Rafa?"
"What are you talking about? What's so great about being fighting machines again?!"
"We don't fight for them anymore," Meliadoul answered.
"You must mean the bad guys," said Lavian.
"The Church, right?" Alicia sighed. "That was such a long time ago. Even, then, we really weren't sure whose side we were on."
Ramza and Alma emerged from the trees. They walked silently as their feet only brushed pass the soil. Alma spoke with an old wisdom in her posture and tone, "We don't fight for anyone, but ourselves. We gave up our lives to live this moment and day."
Ramza looked at her with a sympathetic expression. "Why the glum look? Everything's taken care of."
"Leave it to Aster, right?" Tensberger asked with a roll of his eyes.
"Got a problem?" The chief's eyes flashed as he gazed up at Tensberger. "We're going to need to pour all our trust in him from now on since none of us are alive to do much. We've taught him well enough."
"When will it be our turn?" Tensberger asked impatiently.
"Our time has past, My Friend."
The map was spread against the stub of an old tree. Colorful chips sprayed across the lines and splotches meticulously marking covered areas and territories.
Aster shifted the pieces around the board as the others stood around him to watch.
"Joseph, you're taking out the tower guards on the east side and bringing your men up. Once you're through, secure the east grounds."
"Aye, aye," Joseph shouted, saluting Aster with a playful smirk on his face.
"I'll have Jesse hold back the guards on the ground. Can you cover them, Jess?"
"Not a problem, Sir!"
"Eliza?"
"Hm?"
"You're going a bit further north from Riovanes with a good handful of men on your side. There is something important you must do."
"What is that? Why do I have to be away from all the fighting?"
Aster traced the west side of the castle, where blue waves bordered. "There is a small reservoir that runs around here. I need you to cut off their water supply, so that The Twins can cross onto the east without soaking their heavy armor and ammunition. Blow up the mountain pass with some of our explosives in the armory. Cut off the flow of water to the castle. They won't have water to put out the fires that way, either. Be careful." Aster added the last phrase, quietly.
"Yes, Sir!"
"Olan, you will take the bridge. Fight your way through the front ranks. By the time you reach the castle, either the men from the east will draw down the bridge or the men on the west will draw it down. It will depend on how fast, Eliza, Joseph, and The Twins work.
I did plan on carrying my men through the back, but I hand that off to one of the captains."
"Wait then, what will you be doing?" They all asked at once.
"I will be in the castle already. The King is mine."
"What?!"
"I have a plan to disguise myself as a worker. I've already had the job for a couple of days, now. How else do you think I got this map and the inner workings of the castle memorized? I even know how many steps are needed from the main hall to the throne room!"
His people looked at him wide-eyed. He had planned everything without consulting them. He did not seem like the helpless, ignorant boy they once knew. The months of commanding and encouraging had deepened his skills as a leader and a knight.
"What? I'm almost seventeen. I'm not entitled.
Olan cleared his throat. "Your plan is almost impeccable, but you should have asked us for our opinions before planning ahead."
"Olan, I didn't want to bother you too much. You are the man responsible for rounding up these people. If it weren't for you I'd be fighting the king by myself. Besides, you know who I consult with outside this group," Aster whispered to the older man.
Olan nodded stiffly. "I see."
"Okay, then." Aster slapped his heart. "Tonight, I'll be within the castle covering my shift."
Aster bent forward and drew his clean knife out of his boot. Slamming the blade dead center into the castle and thus the wood of the stub he declared, "By dawn the water will stop running. Everyone must time everything accordingly."
"Did you hear him? He sounded so grown up," Alma sighed.
"He is grown up, Sister."
"But, Brother, he's still so young."
"It's going to be alright. You watch. He will be the first to live up to his name."
Alma tried to laugh, but it still sounded forced. "That's right. You weren't an old man in your days, either."
End Chapter 10