Chapter 3 Allies in the land
Raynor charged into the camp, sword drawn and ready. Fellow soldiers were rushing towards the threat as well, Ava close behind him. "What the hell." Ava says as they see the threat. A group of Lyndell troops with yellow eyes were attacking the Serpent Slayers. "Well they may be wearing our colors but, it's easy to tell the difference." Ava says getting her bow out.
There weren't too many of the infected soldiers but, the surprise attack had caught the company off guard and soldiers were scrambling about in a chaotic mess. Raynor could already see dead knights. A man was on the ground writhing covering his eyes which glowed with yellow fire. Raynor thinks. What spells did he know? Anything useful? Ava fires an arrow past him. "Stay away!" She shouts amidst the chaos. "They can infect you!" She says trying to warn other soldiers.
The majority of soldiers are just trying to get their gear together but it was nearly impossible in the chaos. One man in particular rushes towards the group of infected and kills one with his sword but another casts a spell that sends him to the ground in pain, just like the other soldier Raynor saw. His eyes began to burn, screaming like a mad man as he went down. "Shit." Raynor says now shaking a bit.
Raynor had one spell in mind but it was dangerous. Though with only a sword and monsters that could make you go mad with a spell of their own, he needed any spell at all. Aiming his sword he takes a breath in and then lets some air out and raises his sword, suddenly a sigil appears above the tip of the sword and thunder strikes down just ahead of him missing all of the mad soldiers and almost hitting a friendly but, it proved he could do it. "Alright alright." Raynor says, siking himself up.
"Get in there!" Ava shouts, shooting another enemy soldier with her bow before he could fire a spell at one of the Serpent Slayers.
"Right right!" Raynor charges and tries his spell again, this time nailing an enemy, shocking the mad soldier and stunning them. Raynor quickly sliced the man across the neck, and watched as the infected soldier went down. Raynor then ducks as another mad soldier fires a bolt of flame at him through his eyes.
So many things were going through Raynor's mind. He not only had to dodge the swords but, spells of his enemies as well. This was far from ideal. One hit and he would either be mad or dead. "Come on." Raynor says mostly to himself gritting his teeth and he blocks the sword swing from one soldier with his shield returning the swing with his own slicing the man across the chest. A soldier near Raynor then ran the mad soldier through with his sword. The fighting surrounded him as the other soldiers pressed against the enemy using spells and swords.
Ava used her bow to pick more and more off but was slowed a bit by the chaos. Raynor slices at another soldier and hits only shield. Though a man to Raynor's side shield-bashes the mad soldier knocking her over just as she was trying to use a madness spell. His fellow soldier then stabs the fallen mad woman through the chest finishing her off. Raynor covers him with a lightning spell to a nearby soldier.
Though soon enough as he fought the enemy crowd began to thin out. With the advantage of the surprise waning the mad soldiers were being pushed back and began to falter. The line came undone as more Serpent Knights began to fill in the gaps. Golden soldiers laying waste to golden soldiers.
Raynor pushes as much as he could but, when they start to run he pulls away. Other troops kept pushing but soon all of the mad soldiers were in retreat. A tall knight woman approaches Raynor in the aftermath; her eyes through the helmet were trained on the escaping soldiers. "You and Captain Collins were sent out as scours, yes? You're the only ones so far to make it back." She says as Ava arrives.
"We have a lot to tell the General." Raynor says a bit worried watching the mad soldiers run off.
"I would assume so." The woman says looking between them then points her spear towards the General who was rushing over to see the damage. "Then explain to him." Raynor looks at Ava then nods. The two rush to meet the General.
"Marika's Tits. What's going on here?" Haavar asks his helmet secured tightly to his head, his sword in one hand, shield in another. Haavar seemed ready to fight and kill whatever was causing the comotion.
"The allies that we were supposed to meet with have been corrupted by something." Ava says rather directly.
Havaar nods. "Well that was obvious. Any other late but useful information?"
"The corruption manifests from the dead." Raynor adds.
The General looks at him. "You've got to be kidding me." The rough General says heading over towards the bodies. "Ok. Well then we burn the allied bodies and string the enemies up."
"Or burn them both so that thing can't use them." Ava interjects, remembering how the spirit had possessed a body she was sure was dead. It might not care about whether they were friend or foe and could probably use a strung up body just as much as one that had an arrow to the face.
"What is this thing you saw exactly?" Havaar asks now very interested in their report.
"No idea." Raynor admits. "We killed a guard. Arrow right between the eyes but, then he got up again. Though he wasn't crazy anymore. He still used those flame spells but he was menacing and articulate."
"It was like he was being piloted by something." Ava summarizes what Raynor had said.
Havaar nods. "I did think this was a trap but, seeing that. I had no idea just how bad and how strange all this was. We need help. Lots of it. Not only to fend these freaks off but, possibly fend off the so-called fellow knights back in the capitol."
Raynor looks at Hadvaar. "Who is going to help us?" He asks sincerely wondering who in the lands between could help them in such dire circumstances.
"The new Elden Lord." The General says before turning to Ava. "I need you two to go on another mission. I need you to find the new Elden Lord and whatever troops she has. If Lyndell has turned traitor she might want to hear about it first."
Ava nods "Yes sir."
Raynor sighs. "I'll do my best."
"I pray you will. We need all we can get." The general says looking over the camp. "Or there might not be much left of us by the end of the week." He says noting how even with just a small attack there were still tents burning and bodies that needed to be buried.
Sophie yawned sitting up. The red head was in her nightgown, her armor by the side of her bed. She had just had the best night of sleep of her life. The bedroom she was in was one of the guest beds of Stormhill Castle. The regal room was called the Lord's room and featured a massive king sized bed with curtains hanging from each post, a large vanity with all the makeup a lord or lady would need, a full walk in closet, a beautiful and ornate fireplace and several tapestries and paintings along the walls showing symbology of both the Golden Order and the Erd Tree. Sophie quickly steps out of bed and looks in her closet. There was just a small bag there full of a few changes of clothing and the few personal items she had kept with her. Not exactly the wardrobe of an Elden Lord.
It had been almost a week since she came to Stormhill Castle and they had made progress on some of their plans. Iji, Blaidd and Nephilie were all carefully planning the attack and Sophie had done a lot of nothing.
To be fair she had helped plan but she wanted to help fight. Though her Elden Lord status meant she was often barred from going and doing what she used to on a whim. She couldn't go get smithing stones herself. She couldn't deal with the bandit raid herself. The troll incident was honestly reasonable but she was getting sick of it. She was spending her days learning how to be courtly and to speak properly with Heights or Iji and then doing her best to fill in the void of extra time talking and messing around with Blaidd and Nephelie. Though today might be a bit different.
Things were ramping up among the soldiers. They were preparing to finally attack the cuckoo soldiers. It was important that they hit quickly and as hard as possible to squash the rebellion. If there was going to be some sort of attack Sophie would lead it no matter what the others said. It had to be part of her duties as Elden Lord to charge headfirst in the name of her Empyreon. Even if Ranni was not here she would make those Cuckoo feel the wrath of the Darkmoon Witch. After all, Godfrey got his fame from slaying dragons and giants so why couldn't she fight a few mortals?
As she contemplated she quickly gets her armor back on, placing her helmet under her arm and then heads into the hall to look for the others. She quickly finds soldiers getting ready and heading to the courtyard and follows. A few of the soldiers salute her as she passes and quickly get back to work. As she entered the courtyard she could see wagons being loaded, soldiers working on getting weapons and supplies together and of course Blaidd watching over the proceedings.
When he notices Sophie he walks over. "I see you're up early." The wolfman comments grinning, looking down at Sophie kindheartedly but still his very large, very intimidating self.
She smiles looking up at him. "I couldn't just wait around while everyone else was working. Besides I wanted to make sure you packed my gullible."
"Your what? Wait a second." Blaidd says almost falling for the trick. He rolls his eyes. "I'm not falling for that stupid joke."
"What?" Sophie says trying not to smile too much, only to smile more.
"I've got everything you and everyone else needs." Blaidd says, trying not to join in on the smile but, equally failing.
Soon enough though a knight, specifically one of the exiles that Goddrick had hired walks up to the two. "Elden Lord, General Blaidd." He says saluting to the two. "The supplies are packed and our troops stand ready."
"Good." Sophie says getting serious. "Go get War master Iji and Lady Nephelie, we need to finalize our plans for the battle." She says using her commanding officer voice.
The knight nods. "Yes my Lord." He says before bowing and leaving the two. "Guess it's show time." Blaidd says. His fur raised a bit, his tail bristling. Sophie could tell he was ready. "Let's show them what the new Elden Lord can do." Almost as if on cue as Blaidd says this a foot soldier comes in. "Your Majesty!" She shouts walking up to Sophie.
"What is it?" She asks.
"Messengers." Sophie and Blaidd exchange confused looks.
"Who sent them? Lyndell?" Sophie asks hoping that at the very least they wanted to show their support for the new Elden Lord rather than remaining silent on her ascension to the throne.
The footsoldier nods. "I believe so though the pair said they were specifically of the Serpent Slayer Battalion." He says being more specific.
"How far out are they?" Sophie asks.
"A day's journey in Liurnia." the messenger says looking between the two. "They told me to carry their message on as they caught up."
Sophie nods. "Well then share your message." She says in her authoritative voice again.
The man nods. "Yes your majesty. They say the battalion is under attack. A group of Lyndell knights have gone mad in mount Gelmir and are striking at friend and foe alike." Sophie shivers a bit. She remembered them. Knights in the Gelmir mountain had been infected by the frenzy flame. Driven mad. She did her best to stay away from them when going to volcano manor but, she often used the route Rya had shown her to get up and down it so she hadn't dealt with them too much.
Though one question stood out in Sophie's mind. "Why don't they ask their allies for assistance?"
The messenger blinks. "I don't know. They mentioned it might have been a trap but didn't explain further."
Blaidd looks at Sophie. "Not a lot to go on." He says, sounding worried. The situation could be worse or better than they were saying. Though either way things might get bad.
"Yes but, if there is a battalion of soldiers out there we might need their help. Lyndell still hasn't said they will support or oppose me. The Cuckoo were already in open rebellion before just not against the Elden Lord. Lyndell on the other hand needs to maintain at least an appearance of order and Loyalty to the throne."
"So they wouldn't announce that they were rebelling but would go all out to support the Elden Lord they liked." Blaidd says, realizing what she was getting at.
Sophie nods. "And if they are in rebellion as well we will need a lot more man power."
"So what's the plan? We can't exactly spare troops." Blaidd says, folding his arms. "We are stretched thin as it is with the upcoming battle."
Sophie thinks. "What if I went. I've fought those guys before. I could kill them once and for all." She says confidently but, Blaidd shakes his head.
"You're still Elden Lord, we can't risk losing you." Blaidd says having had to say that several times in the last week.
"Blaidd." Sophie says starting to actually be angry. "For the last time I know ok. I know I'm the Elden Lord but, this situation. This situation is something I can help in. I'm going to fight either way. Cuckoo or mad soldier I'm going out and I'll be in danger. If I go to help these people though then it might give us an edge. Sure I'll be dipping in the battle but it may help us win the war besides you, Iji and the others can do this without me."
Blaidd sighs. "I really can't dissuade you can I?" Blaidd says
"No you can't." Sophie admits. "I'm doing this."
Blaidd sighs. "Look, I know that you're used to working alone. You did a lot of great work on your own but you can't do that anymore. There is too much at risk. As a friend and your general I am asking you to please think about the future. Think about what it would mean for us to lose you especially now."
Sophie sighs. She knew all of this. She was aware, except. "I can't just do nothing, I'm sorry." She whistles. Suddenly Torrent appears, the horse spirit already ready to be ridden. Sophie quickly hops on and begins to ride out of the castle. Her horse galloping past knights making ready for war. Blaidd watches her but doesn't make a move to stop her. There wasn't really anything he could do but hope that Sophie would be back safely and soon.
All the while Sophie rode as fast as she could going through the gates to Liurnia and heading down the hill, her horse moving double time, Torrent one of the fastest in all of the lands between. At least the fastest that Sophie had seen. The pair moved along the landscape with ease. Sophie was used to this terrain. Used to being on her own. She felt almost a bit of relief moving away from the castle. Back in her element. Unadulterated adventure.
She had felt like a caged bird and now she was flying freely. Though after a bit of riding her euphoria began to dissipate and she started getting serious. Her objective was clear. Find the messengers. The divine tower was familiar to her but it wouldn't be a safe place for long. She needed to be quick to help them then quick to the other Serpent Slayers all while dodging Cuckoo. Nothing she hadn't done before dozens of times. The only real difference was a time constraint but, even then she knew she could meet it. In fact she knew she'd make it look easy.
Raynor gives a sigh of relief. It had almost been a week since they left Mount Gelmir. Even with mounts it was a tough journey, Even with them moving as fast and as long as they could each day they still ran into trouble. It was only recently that the pair was able to find someone friendly. It seemed the Cuckoo were in full lockdown mode and had several times tried to arrest or fight with them despite the pair technically being knights of outward rebellion seemed to be in full swing and both Raynor and Ava were starting to be nervous. "I thought the New Elden Lord was supposed to repair everything. It feels like the lands between us are still broken." Ava complains.
Raynor sighs. He was sitting sideways in a pew of the divine tower relaxing. Ava was a few rows closer to the front laying across the wooden pew, playing with a knife as they waited. "To be honest I've never seen the Lands Between as anything but broken. I don't even know what a working one would even look like to be honest." Raynor says.
Ava chuckles. "Well I have to agree. My grandfather told stories of the gods, an Erd Tree that gives life. Everything we seem to be missing." She sits up putting her knife away. "Even for him it was a distant dream. Now I'm not sure it's even possible at this point. The very thing that was supposed to fix all this happened and we still are dealing with the same stupid shit." Raynor nods. He didn't want to outright say it but she was right.
Raynor looks about and sighs. "My father was the one who told me about the elden ring and such. He is part of the reason I didn't just want to be a Lyndell Knight. He's why I want to be a Serpent Slayer like you." Raynor says.
Ava looks at him. "What do you mean?" "He used to be a knight of Rykard but, when Rykard became the King of Blasphemy and an abomination he decided to fight against his former lord. He was the first of many to defect and those who stayed disappeared completely. One day though, a tarnished man came to kill him. He fought with the tarnished valiantly and won but not before getting infected with the poison from the tarneshed's blade.
The knights investigated the tarnished and learned he was a man who had joined with volcano manor and was going in the name of Rykard to put down the knight who, in his twisted mind, had been the one to betray him and turn his men against his divine purpose. I swore then to make those at volcano manor pay and well, the Serpants seemed the best way of doing that while still being able to honor my father's legacy."
Ava thinks about that story. "I'm sorry about your dad." She says simply.
Raynor nods. "It's been a long time now. I just want to make him proud when he comes back." Raynor says "After all we gave him a proper burial so I hope he will be back soon."
Ava nods but she wasn't too confident. With the major Erd tree burnt, well it was less likely then in the days of old. Though she understood why he held onto the hope. Though as the two relaxed they suddenly heard a faint noise. Hoof beats. A horse was approaching.
A while ago they had told a messenger who said he was a spy who had been sent by the Elden Lord to scout out the rebellion and he had gone ahead to relay their message It didn't bode well that the Elden Lord seemed to be prepping for a fight with the Cuckoo but, at the same time it did explain why they were so jumpy and ready to fight. They were expecting a small group to help escort them back to the castle to find a bigger group to be a part of but, a horse could also be a knight of the Cuckoo. So the two of them got ready for either scenario.
As the horse approached they could hear the rider get off near the entrance of the tower. Then an armored figure steps inside. Her armor was gold plated and she had long red hair. The two look at each other. "Are you with the Elden Lord?" Raynor asks.
Sophie chuckles. "Yeah, of course I am. She's me."