The Banished

Chapter 10

"What say you then, Overlander?"

"What say I?"

"It's what I have asked."

Gregor leaned forwards slightly, staring into the darkness from atop his flier. It was not like he was really enjoying taking a trip to the Dead Lands. Not in the slightest. "I say that the rats are merely causing problems where there aren't any. Is not our business who attacks them? We are on peaceful terms, true enough, but we are far from allies."

"Yet you think we should save the nibblers, no doubt."

"Why do you not doubt that, Illiac?"

"You think of them as our allies, no doubt."

"No doubt about that one."

"Then you just said that we should help our allies. Yes?"

"We would want help, should hard times befall us."

"And they give us help them? The nibblers?"

"They saved our queen," he told him simply. "Was that not help enough?"

"We have paid them back a thousand times over by this point, no doubt."

"You doubt little," Gregor told him. "That is your problem."

"My problem?"

"Yes," Gregor said as his flier chuckled softly, the large bats solid white wings quite the spectacle in the fire light from the few torches the men carried. All but Gregor. He never needed torches. If there was anything he always thanked Ripred for, it was that. Oh, and saving his sisters. That was a pretty big deal to him as well. "I doubt much. Even myself. You find little doubt in your own thoughts. You take them as total truths. It is your downfall."

Now he had insulted the older man, who gruffly said, "And we all know what yours shall be, Overlander."

The man's bond picked up speed then, flying further away from Gregor. The flier he was seated upon only laughed more, that awkward chuckle the oversized bats had.

"You trouble them much, Gregor. And with little reason."

He just smiled. "I only kid with then, Dionysus. Should they choose to take that to heart, well, that is their choice. I know that their skin is lighter than that above, but I still find it hard to believe how thin most of it is."

"You are a guard," he reminded him then, though his tone was still laidback. Dionysus wasn't the ideal partner for combat. Gregor had been paired with the flier quite frequently, and knew him more to enjoy the party atmosphere of Regalia than actually helping out. "Not a general. They find little respect for you."

"Is that so?"

"I say them, not I, warrior. They are young."

"Not all of them."

"And the ones who are not have only grown old enough to forget the great service you did us all and will hopefully continue to."

"The fliers need little of my help."

"We are allied heavily with the humans. Should they fall, we all fall. You are most modest in your achievements."

"I did not win wars alone. I won it alongside men likes these. Women as well. And the queen. Were I not there, I do not know the outcome of anything, but I know Luxa would kill herself before she would allow her kingdom to fall."

"Queen Luxa," the flier reminded softly, his voice quite deep. "You are too at ease, I fear. You are not at the palace, with the queen. You are out in battle."

"You worry more for me than I do myself, Dionysus. I have never known you to behave this way."

"I do not much like going into the gnawers land, is all."

"Surely you know as well as I that we will be done here in a matter of days. If not today."

"I am not as certain, Overlander."

"Nonsense," he insisted. "We will be back in time for that banquet in honor of Lucre's birthday. That is what you are most remorse about, yes?"

"Well, it does not bode well for me to miss a function."

"We will make it back in time. You can have all the fun you wish there, as a reward for helping me out today."

"It is merely an honor for the queen to select me," the flier said humbly.

"Select you, yes, but actually having to come along on this dull affair is not what you intended, I am sure."

"We all must do our duty from time to time."

"That is true enough," Gregor agreed as he nodded his head. He always rather liked Dionysus. More so than most others. "I know that if anyone does."

The ride to the Dead Lands was not a long one, but also not a particularly enjoyable one. The other accompanying soldiers and their bonds said little to Gregor and Dionysus and the two had little to speak of between each other. Most fliers were most respectful when it came to Gregor and he rarely had trouble with them, but actually finding topics of conversation was difficult.

The closer they grew to their destination though, the more all the soldiers died down. They knew that they were there on a job and not to mess around. Though Gregor had not been given the pick of the litter, he had been given men that knew their duty and knew it well. If he could find nothing else he liked about them, it was that.

Dionysus pulled closer to the front of the pack as they approached. Gregor was more or less acting commander at the moment and, though they might not like it, they were all to follow his direction. The only problem was, he wasn't too sure what they were to encounter. He was not meeting with Ripred, but rather some rats that he had never heard of. Luxa assured him though that it was for the best that he met with the kings men, as Ripred had a tendency of only stoking flames instead of extinguishing them.

"And so the humans arrive, Havoc."

"As they do, Gushgore."

The two gnawers before them were of average height for their kind, one tan with a few brown spots here and there and one a murky black color. Gregor had never seen either of them before nor heard their names and was cautious as his flier dropped him directly in front of them.

"Greetings," Gregor said slowly. "I am-"

"Do we require such a speech, Overlander?"

"He does not remember us, I fear, Havoc."

"Does not remember the great Gushgore and Havoc? Have mercy. His little human mind must not have much capacity to it then."

Gregor only smiled at them, though he heard the soldiers behind him as they too landed, the clank of metal letting him know a few had even retracted their sword somewhat. If there was one thing he knew about the Underland, it was that the humans and the gnawers would never get along. Never.

"I meet many that Id o not remember," Gregor told them both, making sure to leave his hand off the hilt of his weapon. Should need be, he could change that fact faster than anyone. "You must understand that I am from the Overland. There we do not-"

"Well come then," the tan color rat said, turning on his back legs to head off. They were in a cavern of some sort, the rancid smells almost too noxious for Gregor. He could only imagine how the poor fliers felt. "Tight quarters here though."

Gregor frowned before noticing the other gnawer pointing at the fliers circling overhead.

"They shall stay," Gregor said before announcing the same command to the bats above. With that taken care of, he nodded to the murky gnawer. "Lead the way."

"Could you do nothing of your stench, Overlander?" one of them asked him as they set off. "You are more rank than the Underlanders."

"My deepest apologies," Gregor mumbled, giving the cavern walls a sideways glance, noting the sludge that rolled down them. "You spoke of me before as if I should know you?"

"Not us, no, not necessarily. You merely sliced into our parents flesh when we were, but pups."

"He did that to many, I assure you, Havoc. Do not take it personally."

Gregor's blood ran cold as he made a small clicking noise, liking that better than the torches the other soldiers carried.

"In times of war, many things occur that would not regularly," Gregor told them simply. "I am sure you killed many humans as well."

"Were they your parents though, Overlander?"

"N-No," he said slowly. "But you must understand-"

"We only tease you, Overlander. Do not fret so easily."

"Yes, we smell your fear, yet you do not smell our enjoyment of the ribbing we have given you." The tan rat looked back at him then, his teeth gleaming as he said, "Water under the bridge, yes? Is that not something said in the Overland?"

"It is," Gregor said slowly as one of his men behind him coughed. Glancing back at them, Gregor saw that they too were apprehensive. Still, there was not much he could do. Luxa was the one that arranged for this trip, after all. Her or Perdita. "Know you much of the Ovetrland then?"

"Only what I am told, Overlander."

"It is a marvelous place," Gregor assured them. "Truly."

"Then why do you not go back there?"

"I long to belong there, yet I do not."

"Do you here then?"

He heard one of the soldiers behind him snort. "I am afraid not. I do so better, though."

"The warrior's comfort is all that we wish for, yes, Havoc?"

"Oh, most certainly, Gushgore."

Gregor shook his head slightly. "The warrior is dead."

"Far more than any of us know, I am afraid."

"W-"

"Come then. And hurry. The king is most impatient."

"I myself know little of impatient kings, but should they be anything like queens, I believe us all to have such experience."

The gnawers let out loud howls at that one, but neither Gregor nor his men felt any safer.

"There was supposed to be a battle," Gregor said then.

"You missed it. But there will be more. They killed some of our pups, these humans have."

"I lament your lose."

"We will find them and we will rip their balls from their bodies," one of the gnawers told him then. "That will be their retribution. And then we'll feast on the bodies of their young."

Gregor hesitated before saying, "I do not…"

"The Overlander, he cannot kill children," the murky one told the other gnawer. "Remember? Couldn't even put a sword through the belly of ol' Pearlpelt."

"Pearlpelt." The tan one laughed. "I have not heard anyone call him that in so long. Ripred used to say it."

"Long live the true king."

"The worthless rat. Wish he had died down in those pits."

"Pits?"

"The Bane sealed him in some pits once. Was it you, Overlander, that saved him? We should slit your throat now for the very thought of it."

"I and my friends."

"Friends! You humans and your words. Marvelous, ain't they, Havoc?"

"Most spectacular, Gushgore."

One of the men behind Gregor, James, cleared his throat loudly.

"Should we not be hurrying?" he asked, the question more directed at Gregor. "The queen said-"

"The queen," one of the rats said with a loud groan. "Your queen has no power here. You're best to remember that. She sent you on a death mission. Should they not kill you, she figures we will. Don't forget that."

Gregor had finally had enough. "Look, you are to take us to your king. No more. Do not threaten my men. I have killed far more with far less. I do not fear you. I have not seen combat in some time. Tell me, how long do you think it took me to kill your parents? Now tell me how long you think it would take for me to kill the two of you?"

The tan one turned then, in the tight cavern, Gregor coming to a stop in front of him. "You are lucky, Overlander, that-"

"And you are lucky that I have a job to do. My queen sent me here to stop the attacks against your kind, not end your sorry life. Don't make me do anything I do not have to."

It was just as well that it was then that they made it out of the cavern, though it just opened up into a large pit. In the center though, resting on a pile of bones and rocks, was a large gnawer. He was picking his overgrown teeth as they entered, seeming right at home.

"The warrior, I assume," he said as Gregor came upon him.

"The warrior is dead," Gregor told him. "But I am Gregor the Overlander, sent by the queen to help you with your troubles."

"He talk a lot, this one," the tan gnawer warned his king.

"Silence. Do you insult our guest? Our honored guest?" The gnawer gave him a toothy grin as he scrambled off his bed of bones. "The warrior rides again! And again. And again. You are just in time, Gregor the Overlander. I am sure that we will soon be at battle with the humans again."

Gregor bowed his head as his men relaxed behind him. "We are at your service."

Again, the king grinned once again as suddenly in the tunnels above their heads that led into the pit, other gnawers appeared.

"You have no idea."

Tensing then, Gregor's hand quickly found its way back to the hilt of his sword. "What is your endgame?"

"My endgame is for us to fight humans, Overlander. Nothing more." He snapped his tail then, cracking it against the ground. That seemed to be some kind of single, as suddenly the gnawers from above began to drop down. "Just not the ones you think."

Gregor called out a formation to his men, forming a tight circle with them. Quickly drawing his own weapon, he asked, "And what good would it do you? Killing us? Luxa is not behind the attacks that have affected you. So why do you-"

"Tell me, what is a good bargaining technique with your uptight queen? Other than holding a claw to her throat, there are very few ways to get her. Having her men as hostages is one way. Having her little lover as one is a complete other. It was pure luck, her giving us you. Now that we have you though, what can you do?"

"Kill you all," Gregor said simply, leveling his gaze at the king. "How many more time can you rats say, 'The king is dead, long live the king' before it rings hollow? Because you are about to sing it again."

The big rat only smiled at him before calling out to his own, "Gentlemen! The Overlander's to be kept in pieces. Ones that we can send back to his lovely queen."

The battle was bloody. Though Gregor had long learned to curve his rager senses and use them to his advantage, when he went a few months without a good fight, he got a little…frisky. Not to mention, he was not alone in this battle. He was with other soldiers. Soldiers that had families to get home to. Soldiers that were only normal men, who tired quickly. It was an endless melee that, had it just been him or him and Ripred, Gregor would have fought to the gory end. Drenched in blood and wounds though and already two men down and another injured, he had no real choice, but to surrender.

It was one thing that he had learned over the years. A good leader leads you into battle. A great leader wins the battle. A true leader, however, brings you home. No matter when or how you get to that home. And damn it if that wasn't the hardest lesson of all.

"They are working with the other sect of humans."

"Or Queen Luxa sent us into a trap on purpose."

"Oh yes, it's completely that one."

"You can speak whatever way you wish, but all sides must be inspected.

Gregor hung his head, ignoring the banter off his men. They could think of whatever they wanted. It mattered not. He had failed. Luxa sent him out to do a job and he had failed. It was better to come back to her with his head chopped off than to come back a failure.

"You hang your head, Overlander, all times now."

He didn't look up as one of the soldiers sat down next to him. He only sat there, dejected, pondering his mistakes in battle. He had killed many gnawers. But not enough. He should have still fought. He would have liked to still fight. But he had others lives to worry about. Surely Luxa would understand.

…If he ever saw her again.

"What bargaining would they wish to use us for, you wonder?" the soldier asked now, still sitting next to his leader. "Overlander?"

Lifting his head slowly, Gregor said, "They have bound our wrists, those men have. You get a good look at them?"

"Aye," the Underlander agreed, nodding his head. "They were of the Underland."

"You know any of them?"

"I do not."

"Banished then."

"Sir?"

Clearing his throat, Gregor turned his head to the other way to spit, not shocked to find some blood intermingled. He felt horrible. He truly did. He was so bloody that he could not tell exactly where his wounds ended and skin began.

"The queen and I thought that perhaps these men were from banishment," Gregor told the soldier, deciding then not to mention Nerissa. He had enough of a headache at the moment to think about that woman. "Would explain why they are Underlanders yet no one knows them."

"They are also apparently in cahoots with the gnawers."

"A new development, I am sure." Gregor had a coughing fit then, his chest in such pain that he could hardly help from shaking. "I have failed you all. And I apologize. My errors…I should have never..."

"Ain't no fun, Overlander, hatin' ya when you're just gonna give in like that," one of the other Underlanders told him from another part of the little cave they were being kept in. Their swords and any other weapons had been taken from them. Not to mention, their wounds had been left to fester, which was turning out to be the worst part of the predicament. There were gnawer guards at the end of the cave, but they ignored any pleas they had made, which was just as well. Gregor was slowly being reminded why the Underlanders always insisted that you could never trust a gnawer. "We were sent here to do a job. We did it to the best of our abilities. Is not our job to decide whether or not to trust the gnawers. The queen did and her judgment proved fatal. I only hope they send the bodies home to Regalia for proper burial. Illiac did not deserve to perish in such a way."

"And who does then?" another, younger soldier asked him. "We will, soon enough. They give us no treatment for our wounds. We shall die."

"All soldiers must die, boy," the other told him back with a shake of his head. "Does not make it right nor wrong. I have served under the king and now I serve his daughter. I escaped fate many times under the great king. Is only reasonable that his daughter gets me killed."

Gregor shook his head before looking down again. "Surely the fliers got away. Some of them at least. Was my first mistake, to leave them, but it might turn out to be a good thing."

"Whether or not they got away and sent help, we are hostages," the soldier next to him said. "They shall send word to the queen. She'll send Barrett or Helix down here to sort this out. And with you here, she shall give her all to have us returned safely. If I didn't hurt so much right now, Overlander, I might even kiss you."

His headache was too much. Closing his eyes, Gregor only said, "The queen was angry with me when I left. Should I return or not is not of her concern currently. Not to mention, she cares little of me to begin with."

"We are all men here, Overlander. You think we do not bed other men's wives? Bed the whores on the east wall?" One of the soldiers shook his head. "Should you die before the morrow, will it be denying what we all know is true?"

"You know nothing," Gregor whispered, giving into the darkness then. "Should we perish tonight, the ones I care for most know me to be more honorable than most men. What men that would gladly slit my throat think of me is of little concern. I assure you in my final thoughts, your worthless name would be the furthest from them."

He didn't know what he fell into then. Some kind of unconsciousness that bordered sleep that he knew was induced by his injuries. He was losing much blood. He found the darkness welcoming. Far more so than dying while listening to those men.

The sleep was a dark one. One in which he had no dreams or at least did not have any recollection of them. It was just as well though, as he had no need for them. He slept so little at times that dreams were more of a nuisance than anything else. Fighting monsters that weren't there hardly interested the man who spent all his waking hours reliving the monsters of the past that tormented him and countless other all those years ago. From the Bane to King Gorger to even then plague, Gregor saw them all in his dreams. They haunted him to no end, most of the time.

He did remember, though, at some point thinking of Boots. And he wasn't sure why he thought of her. She was safe at home no doubt, having no idea of what his troubles were below. She believed her brother to be the best, most skilled swordsman that ever lived. She honestly did. She thought of him invincible. And the tales of their childhood battles in the Underland did not bode well for disproving this. She had grown up seeing him fight the most dastardly of villains and always, always coming out on top. Her brother was a true hero and she placed an astonishing amount of faith in him. There was no part of her that thought he would not return home to her for another visit. No part of her that thought that his light would ever be extinguished. Not because he was the warrior or because he was the queen's little boytoy, but because he was her brother. He was her big brother. And big brothers always come home.

Don't they?