Act 1, Chapter 6: The Desire for Power
MODIFIED KING RAVEN EN ROUTE TO MOUNT KADAR RESEARCH FACILITY.
"So, you lied to your First Minister...", Paduk bluntly assessed from the co-pilot's seat
"I wouldn't exactly call it lying, I just didn't tell her the whole truth", Baird replied as he continued to pilot the Raven.
"When she finds out what you're really up to, and she will, she'll kill you; figuratively and literally"
"Once it becomes clear to her that what I'm gonna do will be saving more lives than It'll end, she won't kill me, neither figuratively nor literally. Trust me"
"If you say so"
"Hey Paduk, what convinced you to move to New Ephyra with your nomads?", Cole asked, sitting across from Marcus in the passenger seats.
"I've come to realize that forcing my people and myself to live in miserable conditions solely because we refuse to let go of our grudge towards the COG was ultimately stupid and pointless. It was the old COG we hated after all, not today's COG. Besides, I owe Baird for all the help and supplies he provided free of charge for my people while we were still living in Vasgar, hence why I'm here to help you drain what could very well be the last source of Imulsion on the planet"
"Baird, I still can't get over all the shit you showed us from the data that Kait and Del pulled from that place; Niles experimenting on Rustlung-infected miners and children, the Sires, the first Grubs and that there's juice still in there, after all these years and only because the way that place was built kept it safe from the Glowie Killer on Azura. Not to mention all that other stuff about New Hope and what happened there back then", Cole stated.
"E-Day, the near-total collapse of human civilization, humanity on the brink of extinction...All because this 'Niles Samson' wanted to play God and the Old COG made sure he could?", Paduk asked rhetorically.
"I mean, yeah...pretty much", Baird responded with grim embarrassment.
An awkward and tense silence overtook the atmosphere between the four Locust War Veterans for a while, until Marcus finally broke it.
"How much resistance should we expect between us and the Imulsion?"
"Most of the original Drones and Sires were taken care of by Kait and Del, keyword there being 'most', so don't be surprised if we run into any on the way", Baird answered.
"I'd be happy if we did, I'm itchin' to kill a few", Marcus responded, eager to vent the repressed rage stemming from Baird's earlier revelation of the Locust's origins.
"We're here", Baird announced as he landed the modified Raven on solid and extremely thick ice.
"Alright, let's get this done", Marcus said as he and the rest of the squad disembarked from the now powered-down Raven.
"Come on Earl, let's go", Cole called out.
In response, a glossy blue DBi JACK unit undocked itself from a compartment in the Raven's ceiling and hovered its way over to the squad.
"Are you sure we can just leave the Raven here?", Paduk asked
"Yup", Baird answered as he used his wrist-mounted smart pad to cloak the Raven.
"Hmmm, not bad", Paduk commented.
"Damn! You never disappoint Baird!", Cole praised.
"Hey, there's the hole that Kait and Del made getting into and out of the research facility", Marcus pointed out, as he gestured to a nearby large hole in the ice.
"Looks like we'll have to slide down there", Paduk stated as he looked down the hole.
"An ice slide? Hell yeah! The Cole Train ain't saying no to that!", Cole exclaimed as he immediately jumped down the hole and slid down, all while cheering childishly.
Marcus only shook his head in response.
"Come on, lets get down there. I don't plan on staying up here and freezing", Paduk stated as he slid down.
"I second that", Baird commented as he slid down, with Marcus and Earl following.
"That's one hell of a front door", Cole commented.
"And thanks to Kait and Del, the defenses are down and it's already open, convenient", Baird assessed.
"So, what are we waiting for? Let's get in there and find that Imulsion", Paduk suggested.
"Baird, you know the layout of this place and where that Imulsion is. You take point", Marcus strongly suggested.
"Sure thing, follow me", Baird complied.
The formidable squad of four entered the Mount Kadar Research Facility, with a cloaked Earl following.
"Going in with just a four-man squad and a trusty bot to get shit done and whoop some grub ass?! Haha! It's just like old times baby!", Cole assessed nostalgically.
"Not dying is something I'm also nostalgic about so stay alert", Marcus suggested.
The Imulsion Recovery Team of four and their bot made their way through frigid metallic corridors and rooms filled with old computers, lab equipment and stasis chambers, of which some were shattered and with some remaining undamaged, still containing and preserving the malformed ancestors of humanity's greatest enemy.
"So, these are your 'Sires'? They're uglier than I thought they would be", Paduk asked as he eyed one, still suspended in an intact stasis pod.
"I knew they weren't gonna be pretty but damn...", Cole commented.
"Let's just keep moving", Marcus ordered as he gestured for Baird to continue taking point.
And so the squad traversed deeper into the research facility, deeper into a place where an inhumane monster had created other inhumane monsters, deeper into ground zero of humanity's near-extinction. Passing by dozens of old COG and Locust Drones frozen in the once heated moments of a containment breach, the hardened veterans got an idea of what the very first moments for the rise of the Locust Horde looked like, the culmination of the less-than ethical research and development of Dr. Samson. However, this wouldn't be the only horrific legacy he'd leave behind, as the Imulsion Extraction team would soon find out.
"Prison cells? I thought Niles was keeping test subjects here, not prisoners", Cole stated in confusion.
"He was", Baird simply answered.
"Damn..."
"Just like at New Hope", Marcus added.
"Marcus, I don't remember you ever mentioning any cells you found way back at New Hope all those years ago", Cole stated.
"Because I didn't. Kait and Del found a whole lot of them when they went there for the first time and it's only after they radioed me about it that I first found out. Can't say I'm too surprised though, Niles had to keep his test subjects somewhere while he prepped experiments to put them through. Those Imulsion miners didn't deserve what happened to them, both here and at New Hope then, especially their kids..."
"I never liked children, but 'unforgivable' doesn't even begin to describe what he did...I hope he suffered greatly when he died", Paduk responded as he seethed with new found hatred for the late geneticist.
Cole simply remained in respectful silence for all the people, especially the children, that had been utterly at the mercy of Niles and his twisted experiments.
Silence among the rest of the squad followed as they continued to walk through the cell-lined corridors, while taking great care not to disturb the remains of the human test subjects that perished during the Locust containment breach so long ago.
"Are we getting close?", Marcus asked.
"Yeah, not too far now", Baird answered.
With the squad now past the test subject detainment area, they found themselves once again navigating through yet more run-down, rusted and frozen over passages and rooms of the facility that permeated deep within Mount Kadar. Although not as disturbing, the squad still came across lingering ethically-deprived scenes as they continued to navigate the derelict complex, notably, operating theaters with human and Sire cadavers still laying on surgical tables, cut-open yet still remarkably preserved due to the inherently cold environment in combination with the deep freeze that Niles unleashed throughout the facility during the Locust's escape.
"Looks like all the doctors and surgeons working under Niles didn't exactly have 'Do No Harm' in mind with what they did, with the Sires at least", Baird commented as he approached to inspect a cut-up Sire cadaver riddled extensively with very rough and sloppy incisions along with other signs of medically unprofessional and crude practices.
"Baird, we're here to extract Imulsion, not organs, come on", Marcus stated.
"What? Just cause' I'm an engineer means I can't be interested in biology too? Especially if its proto-grub biology"
"Don't end up being the next Niles...", Cole asked with dread.
"We'd have to kill you then", Paduk added with a tone that suggested he may not have been joking.
"Alright, let's give it a rest. We got a mission to do", Marcus ordered just before he and his squad had found themselves standing before a large set of locked metal doors, above which had a sign saying 'Imulsion Reserve', although it was heavily faded and rusted.
"Okay, this is it", Baird announced.
"Give me a sec to open it..."
Suddenly, the distant sound of shattering glass followed immediately by monstrous howls and screams could be heard.
"Baird, hurry up!", Marcus urgently ordered as he, Cole and Paduk unholstered their Lancers and switched their safeties off.
"I'm trying!"
The sounds of the inhuman vocalizations were growing louder by the second, signaling the rapid approach of the facilities awakened denizens.
"Shit! The controls aren't working! Earl, Rip that door!", Baird ordered the bot as he unholstered his Lancer and readied himself with the others.
The JACK unit immediately got to work to open the door as the squad took aim down the long corridor that their unwanted guests would be coming down soon.
"Get ready!", Marcus ordered.
As soon as the first couple of bellowing Sires turned one of the corners in the T-junction corridor and came within line of sight, the squad didn't hesitate to fire a barrage of rounds down the long metallic corridor. As soon as the initial ones were put down swiftly, a nearly continuous stream of the grotesque creatures began flooding in from both corners of the T-junction, growling and roaring with unrestrained fervor. The battle-hardened veterans responded by immediately unloading as many rounds as possible down the corridor, cutting down dozens of Sires within seconds and gradually pushing back the seemingly unceasing flow of the beasts.
Cartridge casings rained down on the cold metal floor with the metallic pitter-patter of their impact being completely drowned out by the cacophony of echoing Lancer fire. The squad's Lancer muzzles began to glow red and issue clearly visible smoke from continuous fire, with frequent but quick reloads only briefly putting pauses on the output of intermediate rounds. With Sires being slaughtered in quick succession, their corpses began piling up, making it more difficult for the squad's rounds to deal fatal damage on initial impact as they had to go through corpses first before hitting their mark.
"Last mag!", Baird announced.
"Shit, me too!", Cole stated.
"Perhaps now is the time to get our new friends here to 'open up'!", Paduk suggested before raising his Lancer and revving his chainsaw.
"Funny, I was thinkin' the same thing!", Marcus commented as he raised his Lancer's chainsaw and revved it up, with Cole and Baird immediately doing the same. As soon as the Sires were close enough, the four Locust War Veterans rushed forward, side-by-side, and began to literally carve a bloody path through while letting out unrestrained and almost savage war cries. The floors, walls and even the ceiling of the cold metallic corridor began to rapidly be coated with copious amounts of blood and viscera as Sire after Sire were being butchered brutally by motorized, tungsten-tipped teeth. The newest standard-issue sealless COG armor they were wearing was now practically unrecognizable from the layers of gore that were now caked onto it, with their faces being no exception. The roaring and ripping chainsaws, the spirited war cries of the squad, the death gurgles of slain Sires and the sound of blood and viscera sloshing around were all that could be heard.
The blood bath continued for a few minutes that stretched into what felt like an hour before the last Sire was unceremoniously bisected. Silence abruptly overtook the atmosphere along with the realization of how thick the iron smell of blood and the foul stench of freshly butchered Sire innards really were.
"Baird, that was not 'some' resistance! That was 'way too much' goddamn resistance!", Cole commented in annoyance as he removed lengths of intestine stuck to his armor.
"Yeah, that was a slight miscalculation on my part, sorry about that. Hey, look on the bright side; they 'opened up' and 'spilled their guts out' to us", Baird quipped before he started to wipe away Sire blood from his face.
"Hilarious", Paduk responded in a deadpan tone as he removed a Sire eyeball stuck in his hair.
"We're alive, so let's not dwell on it", Marcus said as he cleaned out some blood from his left ear.
"Earl, how's that door!?", Marcus called out to the JACK unit still trying to cut through the door.
Earl beeped in response, with the door unlocking at the same time.
"Good, let's get going then", Marcus ordered as he and the rest of the squad proceeded through the unlocked door.
"Baird, what now?", Cole asked.
"I'm gonna run a few diagnostics to see if the pumping system still works. While I'm doing that, you and Paduk can go unwind that siphoning tube over there. Once you get that unwound, You two will need to escort Earl as he carries the tube and help him hook it up from that Imulsion tank over there to the Raven's collection tank back up on the surface. Cole, you stay here with me, I might need an extra hand with a few things here", Baird said as he visually inspected some of the equipment he was going to be working with.
"You heard the man, let us get going", Paduk said as he proceeded to unwind the siphoning tube, with Marcus promptly coming over to assist him.
Once the siphoning tube was unwound, Earl used his hoist to pick up one end of the tube and with Marcus and Paduk's help, got it securely connected to the designated imulsion tank.
"Good, now let's get this connected to the Raven's collection tank", Marcus stated.
Following Earl picking up the other unconnected end of the siphoning tube, he left the room, with Marcus and Paduk escorting him.
"Hey, Paduk", Marcus called out to get Paduk's attention as the two continued to escort Earl who was still carrying the siphoning tube.
"Yeah?"
"Baird told me that you, him and the rest of Kilo took down Karn back at Halvo Bay, how'd you guys pull that off?"
"Against orders, we launched a Lightmass Missile on Karn's position"
"Huh...no shit", Marcus chuckled.
"It didn't quite kill him, so we had to finish him off the old fashioned way, though in the end it wasn't any of us who landed the killing shot on Karn himself. You can thank Ezra Loomis for that"
"What? You mean 'The Hero of Halvo Bay' Loomis?"
"Yes, the same one who also put on us trial for the unauthorized launch of that Lightmass missile against Karn, in the middle of the Locust invasion of Halvo Bay no less"
"By the book but no brains?"
"Ha! Couldn't have described him better myself!", Paduk responded with amusement.
Before Paduk could converse further with Marcus, a sudden burst of rounds whizzed by his head.
"Shit! Get to cover!", Marcus yelled
Earl dropped the tube and cloaked himself while Marcus and Paduk slid into cover.
The two veterans unholstered their Snub pistols since they ran out of Lancer ammo from the earlier Sire encounter. They thumbed off the safety, ready to shoot when the time was right.
"Die ground walker!", a recognizable voice yelled out over the shots.
"Goddamn it! Why couldn't have you just stayed asleep!?", Paduk cursed.
"Marcus! Paduk! I hear gun fire! What the hell's going on over there!?"
"The original drones you were talking about earlier! They decided to wake up from their nap and come out to play! Don't worry about us, we got it covered! Just make sure that pumping system is good to go!", Marcus radioed in before he quickly popped out of cover and quickly took down two test-tube drones with precise headshots.
"Wilco", Baird responded.
"Okay, on me!", Marcus ordered Paduk as the two quickly moved up to new cover previously occupied by the two recently killed drones once the other drones briefly stopped firing to reload. Poking out from the other side of their newly claimed cover, Marcus could see the killed drones dropped Retro Lancers within reach.
"Here!", Marcus called over to Paduk as he quickly slid a dropped Retro Lancer to him after quickly claiming one for himself.
"Now we can bring the pain!", Paduk commented before he popped out of cover to deliver a deadly controlled burst of full-power rounds to a drone who was unfortunate enough to have popped out of cover at the same time.
"Earl, on my mark, use Flash on em'. Got it?!", Marcus ordered.
Earl beeped in compliance, although it was barely audible over the cacophony of gun fire.
"Alright...now!", Marcus signaled.
BANG!
For the two veterans, time seemed to slow to a crawl as they each used the brief opportunity to hit back.
"Long time, no see!" Marcus exclaimed as he and Paduk put a quick burst of rounds onto each stunned drone's cranium.
"All right, that's all of them", Marcus stated as he saw only dead drones.
"Baird, we put them to sleep for good this time", Paduk radioed in.
"Ha! I didn't doubt you guys for a second...okay, maybe for about three. Whatever, just get that siphoning tube hooked up to the Raven's collection tank"
"Wilco", Marcus replied as he and Paduk holstered their weapons.
"Earl, you did good", Marcus stated.
Earl uncloaked and beeped happily before once again picking up the tube end with his hoist and continued onwards with Marcus and Paduk at his side, eventually reaching the Raven on the surface without further incident.
"Hey Baird, do you mind uncloaking the Raven?", Paduk radioed in.
"Oh right, forgot about that. There, can you guys see it now?"
"Yeah, we see it"
A minute of silence or so passed.
"Alright, we've hooked up the siphoning tube to the Raven's tank. How's the pumping system?", Marcus radioed in.
"It's good to go. We'll start pumping the Imulsion"
"Alright but how long is that gonna take?"
"About half an hour, so you and Paduk just stay put in the Raven while Cole and I stay here until the pumping is finished. Marcus, Paduk and Earl, you three patrol the line for the time being to make sure we don't get unwelcome guests messing with it"
"Wilco", Marcus replied.
Earl simply beeped in compliance.
"Heh...'Me, helping the COG to extract Imulsion', What a time to be alive...", Paduk amusingly stated.
MEANWHILE,
ROLDOM CANYON,
NORTHWEST OF THE TUBA MOUNTAINS.
"How can we be sure these 'Armored Mages' are even willing to consider our dire circumstances? Let alone slay a Flame Dragon for us", Nokk questioned, as he sat with his fellow tribe members around a fire in one of the secluded chambers of a cave system they were forced to call home.
"We do not, that's why I have to do everything in my power to persuade them to save us", Yao stated.
"They got to! I mean who could say no to a chunk of Adamantite the size of an orc's head as a reward!", Komu optimistically exclaimed.
"That is ideally how I want it to go but if it turns out they have no interest in the Adamantite, the only other thing I can offer is myself…", Yao stated in solemn determination.
"I sincerely mean no offense Yao but I'm beginning to understand why the Elders chose you specifically to carry out this mission, given your past experiences with men", Fen chimed in.
"None taken. I am willing to even become a slave to them if it means you all get to be saved from that mindless beast"
"Yao, I know the Elders have said that only you must embark on this journey but could you not have at least one of us accompany you in secret?", Nayu suggested with concern.
"No"
"But-"
"I said no! This journey is perilous enough as it is and needlessly dragging along any of you with me is going to put your lives in unnecessary and serious risk! I refuse to lose anymore of our own than has been deemed absolutely necessary, so I'm not taking any chances"
"We cannot just sit here and do nothing while you are out there risking life and limb to get help for us", Seymy protested.
"Then keep me in your prayers. Knowing that you all are wishing me the best will go a long way to temper my resolve to seeing this mission through"
"Very well, we shall do that", Met stated, with the others nodding in agreement.
"Now I must rest. I have a mission tomorrow that demands my all"
THE FOLLOWING DAY.
"Do you have everything you need?", Ban asked.
"Yes", Yao stated as she donned her travel cloak.
"We wish you only the best on your mission. May Hardy protect you on your journey", Crow reassuringly stated.
Before departing, Yao gave each one of her tribe members a heartfelt embrace. Very soon, she waved them goodbye for what she thought possibly may be the last time before embarking on her quest to summon the aid of the 'Armored Mages' residing on Alnus Hill.
Always sticking to the shadows and minimizing her chances of being visible in general during the day, she was able to avoid unwanted encounters as she cautiously made her way to Alnus Hill. It was only at night, within dense shrubbery or secluded caves could she rest with little fear of being discovered.
To keep her mind focused, she decided to make a record of her journey in a leather-bound parchment journal she had brought along, usually writing in it during the last hours of sunlight before she went to sleep.
Day 8
So far, the journey has gone smoothly. No run-ins with bandits or hostile beasts. I have mostly been foraging for berries and fruit and occasionally hunt for wild game when the opportunity presents itself, though I cook the meat as quickly as possible before snuffing out the flames since a campfire could attract unwanted attention.
Speaking of hunting, I have noticed that my archery remains at a good level despite being forced to spend months stuck in the canyon's caves with the tribe. Perhaps those years of practice in Schwartz forest before fleeing to the Canyon are paying off, though no amount of practice would allow me or my people to be remotely effective against the very beast I want to see dead more than anything.
The 'Armored Mages' whose feats of power have been echoed wide and far are the best chance my people have at being able to once again live in peace, free from fear of being hunted down by an otherwise invincible and ravenous beast. The thought alone of such a peaceful future for my people raises my spirits to such great heights. It is this thought that keeps my resolve from wavering too much and such a thought is very much welcome after spending so long in a desolate and barren canyon.
Of course, I am willing to do whatever it takes to summon their aid. The Adamantite should be more than enough to convince them. That adamantite is worth enough money to buy an entire kingdom or two after all. If I must, I will offer myself too, as a slave or a concubine. I do not care what happens to me. The only thing I care about is that my people will get to live on, towards a future free of the Flame Dragon.
Now that I think about it, I am unsure of exactly what kind of sorcery that these Armored Mages practice. It certainly could not be Spirit Magic that elves like ourselves are capable of. While it can be very potent, it is also extremely taxing on ones own spirit when used constantly without pause, thus continuous use for the purposes of battle is practically impossible. I want to say that it could be Altered Principle Magic that the mages in Rondel practice but such powerful, wide-scale and continuous use should not be possible as every warrior, even of the the lowliest ranks, would also need to be mages with a mastery of Altered Principle Magic on par with the likes of the greatest Rondelian Grandmaster Mages to have ever lived.
I must conclude the magic they practice must be unlike anything else that I or anyone in this world has ever seen. A kind of magic accessible even to the most lowliest of peasants and can be mastered very quickly. I very much doubt a people as powerful as they would ever share their knowledge of sorcery, and why should they? They have no reason to give away the very thing that keeps them absolutely unchallenged. I'm fine with them not sharing their secrets, only that they use their powers to save my people and nothing more.
It is getting very late and I must rest. I will need all the strength I can get.
May Hardy protect me.
Day 14
Today is the day I finally get to meet them, my people's last hope for a future. They are just under a league away and I have never before felt so motivated and hopeful. Normally, I have been writing at dusk while hidden away for my own safety but considering that I am so close to where I need to be, it does not matter anymore. Very soon, the only thing that will matter is convincing the Armored Mages to accept my offers and use their powers to give my people salvation that was otherwise unattainable.
The journey has gone better than I could have ever hoped. I have had no encounter with a single bandit or dangerous beast, and opportunities to acquire sustenance have been abundant. Today, there will be no rest as I close the remaining distance between myself and Alnus. For the first time in a long time, I feel a great burden now slowly being lifted away from me and it is one of the greatest feelings anyone can experience. Hope was something my people and I have been devoid of since the day we were forced to take refuge in that forsaken canyon. Now, more than ever, hope dominates my very being and banishes my worries and fears, even if for a day.
Enough writing, I have a mission to complete today.
May Hardy grant my people and I good fortune.
Hastily closing her journal and putting it away along with the quill and ink in her bag, she once again donned her travel cloak and began making her way towards Alnus. Several minutes into walking, she noticed a dark shape approaching from the direction of Alnus Hill. It appeared to be flying and along with it came a rhythmic thumping sound that grew louder as it got closer. She stopped to try and figure out what it could possibly be and quickly unsheathed her sword in case it might've been a threat. Very soon, the dark shape revealed itself to be, as she could only describe it as; a large metallic body with a bulbous front that appeared to fly somehow by means of massive sword-like wings on its top, rotating at what should have been an impossible speed.
"A flying iron beast?…", Yao said to herself in utter disbelief as she completely relaxed from her sword-fighting stance.
Despite it flying by very quickly overhead, she kept visual track of it until she could no longer see or hear it, with her mouth agape the whole time in absolute bewilderment at what she had just witnessed. Then in it just occurred to her.
"The Armored Mages!", She exclaimed in realization as she once again turned to the direction of Alnus Hill, the same direction that the flying carriage came from.
"My people will be saved!", she exclaimed with happy tears as she began running towards Alnus Hill.
AN HOUR LATER,
THE WALL ABOVE THE OMEN KEEP FRONT ENTRANCE.
"Corporal Volkov, mind if ask you something?"
"Sure, also drop the Corporal, Volkov is just fine", Upsilon squad's Marksman responded.
"Longshot or Markza Mk.1?"
"That's easy; Markza Mk.1. Perfect balance of power and quick follow-up shots, in my opinion"
"Not a fan of the Longshot?"
"For the most part, I like it. The only thing really that bothers me about it is the fact that it's single-shot. Why it was never designed to accept mags in the first place is beyond me. At least it being single-shot makes it the best gun to use if you need to learn how to make every shot count"
"Yeah, I'm with you on that last point"
"Speaking of making every shot count, considering all the kind of fancy tech we've been getting, I'm surprised we haven't seen any upgrades for the Longshot scope, like a Ballistics CPU or something", Volkov commented as he looked down his Longshot scope, taking note of the basic crosshair markings but was quickly taken away from his thoughts as soon as he noticed an unknown person approaching the Keep.
"Control, are we expecting any guests?", Volkov radioed in as he maintained a line of sight of the approaching person with his scope.
"No, why?", Mia answered.
"Because we have eyes on someone approaching the Keep"
"Solid copy, be on alert and ascertain the person's identity and intentions"
"Wilco"
"There it is! Their fortress!", Yao exclaimed in excitement as she transitioned to full on sprint. As she neared the distinct steel section of the of gargantuan walls that she assumed was the front gate, she noticed two figures watching her from above the wall. They were clad in armor the likes of which she had never seen before and wielding things that she concluded had to be their weapons, the type of which she was unfamiliar with, to say the least.
"Halt! State your name and your intentions!?", demanded one of the guards.
"I am Yao Haa Dushi, an Emissary of the Clan Dushi! I have come to request aid for my people! You will be compensated most handsomely!", Yao stated in clear determination as she looked at the two guards.
"Control, are you getting all of this?", Volkov radioed in.
"Yes, loud and clear. Keep her there while I contact the Colonel"
"Wilco"
"We need you to stay where you are! Do you understand?", Seiji requested.
"As you wish!", the cloaked woman complied almost without hesitation.
"Well, that was a little too convenient…", Seiji commented.
"Yeah, it was…", Volkov agreed while keeping a close eye on the mysterious cloaked woman.
"I do not understand why they wish for me to stay in place. I doubt it is for the purpose of being able to kill me with ease. If they really wished to, they would have done so already. Perhaps they will humor me and allow the possibility for me to even have an audience with their leader. If that is the case, I shall remain obedient for I will not risk souring my first impressions with them, especially their leader, lest I damn my tribe", Yao thought to herself as she continued to carefully examine the otherworldly soldiers atop the fortress wall.
Some time had passed before one of the guards atop the wall called down to her.
"Okay, there will be a group of guards inside that will escort you to speak with our leader! When you meet the guards, you must relinquish all of your weapons! You may have them back when you leave! Do you understand!?"
"Yes! I understand!", Yao complied while simultaneously putting in extreme effort to hold back the sheer amount of joy that dared to break her calm and collected composure.
"Good, wait there for the gates to open", requested the other guard.
Yao waited in bated breath.
"This is it! All I must do now is convince them", She thought to herself.
Momentarily distracting her from the sense of imminent success of her mission, the seemingly static steel section of the fortress's walls began to part, soon revealing the utterly alien interior of concrete and steel construction of the Keep, along with the very people she had been looking for.
THE COLONEL'S OFFICE.
OMEN KEEP.
"So in summary, you want us to slay this Flame Dragon to save your people?", Landry asked in clarification after hearing out Yao's purpose for coming to the Keep.
"Yes. I offer this chunk of Adamantite as payment and if that is not enough, I offer my eternal servitude to your people as well", Yao determinedly stated as she showed the massive gemstone to the Colonel.
"I see. Let me think about this", Landry stated
"This Flame Dragon could very well be the same one that forced the Koan Elves to come here too. Leaving this Flame Dragon unchecked will almost inevitably complicate our missions here so it needs to be dealt with. Baird could make some potential innovations with that crystal, and as for herself, slavery is out of the question but she might have intel on the missing Ephyrans, but even if she doesn't, she could prove to be a valuable guide for the rescue efforts", Landry thought to himself, all the while Yao waited in extreme anticipation for his response.
"You have people that want to be saved and coincidentally, I have people that need saving too"
Yao could only give an extremely confused look as she found it ridiculous that a force as powerful as the Mage Knights could even have any problems of their own. Landry caught onto her confusion and explained.
"You see, my people and I come from the other side of the Gate here in Alnus and several months ago, the Empire launched a campaign of conquest of my world through the Gate. We forced them to flee through inflicting massive losses, but they managed to retreat with a significant number of my people, innocent citizens more specifically, in chains. So, I am proposing that in exchange for slaying this Flame Dragon and accepting this crystal, you will work with us to help find my people who have been dragged into slavery by the Empire. If you'll be cooperating with us, it won't be as a slave. Do you accept?"
"I gladly accept your terms", Yao answered as she shed a tear of happiness.
LATER THAT NIGHT,
GUEST ROOM,
OMEN KEEP.
Dressed in a night gown provided to her and laying in her metal frame bed, Piña laid there, staring blankly at the ceiling, in her allocated room for overnight stays at Omen Keep, currently being dimly lit by bedside-lamp light.
"A Rondelian Grandmaster Mage, High Elves and a Dark Elf emissary, all here, in the main stronghold of the COG...", She thought to herself.
"Like me, they all came here for something only the COG could provide. Otherworldly knowledge, impenetrable refuge, unmatched power and…everlasting peace"
"Yet the COG did not demand an expectedly outrageous price for providing all of those things; already established magical and political knowledge, the labor and full cooperation of a small high elf community, with the terms of the labor being extremely forgiving and lenient and their cooperation not being forced at all, a large gemstone valuable enough to buy a kingdom or two they apparently showed hardly any real interest in at all along with the full cooperation of a dark elf and her tribe, and a few political strings pulled by me"
"Absolutely no demands of or forceful seizing of large swathes of territory, slaves, money, or fealty, all of which would be expected of the superior force"
"So little gained compared to everything they are giving and they are content with that? No, I refuse to believe that they are content with the kind of compensation they are receiving. They must want more, they must need more"
"As I have come to learn; a force as powerful as them certainly did not get that powerful primarily through charity. Forces like them must have first seized the means to quickly rise in power, took full advantage of those means and took necessary measures to sustain that power. Sustaining themselves is one thing but to truly rise to the top as they have, they must have constantly strived for growth, even if their rise to and continued growth of power are all at the expense of other factions in some way"
"I do not know what could promote further growth for them specifically"
"Mining rights, perhaps? Materials to create more structures and equipment are one of the fundamental pillars to growth. As of now, they have not explicitly shown any interest in establishing mines so I cannot say for sure, but if they do, I would not be surprised"
"Whatever it may be, they will get it…"
Following her shift into a more comfortable position laying down, she moved her focus onto a different topic.
"The constant back and forth trips from here to the capital are so tiresome. It is a shame I cannot make the trips with the horseless wagons or iron pegasi but it does make sense; I do not want to arouse suspicion"
"Even if those trips are tedious, at least they are not complicated. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for all the senators and certain nobles I have to subtly persuade to be on the pro-peace side of things. Even if most of them are unpleasantly close minded, I am grateful for the few that can keep an open mind"
"Speaking of the high ranking, I was recently asked to identify the surviving officers and a noble that were recovering in the 'infirmary'. At the time, they were all unconscious so simply asking them was not an option and so I couldn't identify any of the officers but I absolutely had no trouble identifying the only noble to apparently survive. It was none other than King Duran himself; the very same one who had adamantly stated he and the other Vassals would retake Alnus or die trying. After everything those officers and Duran have been through, I do not blame them if they decide to take action to cut their Vassal states ties with the Empire"
"Given their extreme losses, I can confidently assume that the Vassals will, at the very least, try to keep to themselves for a while, but that may prove to be difficult since their territories are now vulnerable to the Empire and even bandit gangs. Perhaps this would be reason enough for them to make peace with the COG and side with them for protection, saving me the trouble of persuading them to opt for peace with the COG. However, this is all merely speculation; I will have to wait and see what the surviving Vassal authorities will have to say and be prepared to put forward compelling points if I must"
"Then there is Father. If the past is any indication, it will not be easy to persuade him to be pro-peace. Much like myself, perhaps a show of force will sway him but how I would pull that off without arousing suspicion of my treasonous cooperation with the COG, is a another matter entirely"
"I always thought actual combat was taxing but winning political debates, a verbal war of attrition, truly is something else. Perhaps that is why I have always fancied a life by the sword as opposed to one by the quill"
"Avoiding all the aggravating complications of politics is one of many reasons why I chose to become a knight and start up my own order of knights in the first place. I cannot imagine myself spending day in and day out, just debating. I would much rather go out there, see the world and experience the thrill of glorious and honorable combat. However, as I have come to learn, real battle, especially where everything is in favor of one side, is not glorious nor honorable at all. It all simply is a matter of 'kill or be killed'.
"It is a terrible shame that becoming a knight was not as wonderful as I though it would turn out to be and I ended up needing to be good at the one thing I did not like the most anyway; politics"
"It is getting late, I must rest"
With that, the Imperial Princess shut her eyes and allowed herself to drift off into darkness.
(Achievement Unlocked)
(20G - To Survive is to Endure and Prosper)
(Read Chapter 6)