A/N: Hi! Sorry for the delay and slightly shorter chapter this time but the War Game is upon us! This chapter is the setup, and next will be the battle itself. Plus, I'm finding I'm just more comfortable writing chapters roughly in the 5k range so I'm sticking with that from now on unless I get on a serious roll.
For those on FFN, I hope you actually see this! The stupid email alerts have been down for so long it's getting very irritating.
I very much appreciate your comments and reviews and I would love it if you keep them coming! They really help my motivation, especially when I start to feel burnt out. I've left a longer note at the bottom so check it out!
Hearthfire
Chapter 32
Torrhen
Torrhen stood at one end of the table in the Hearthfire conference room, almost wishing he was wearing his Imperial armor. They were, after all, discussing the upcoming War Game and the party recently held at the home of the Apollo Familia. As he listened to Bell and Hestia detail the events of the party, Torrhen couldn't help being filled with pride at how his young student was handling himself.
The boy had come so far in their short time together, it was difficult to believe. He and Hestia had handily turned the crowd against Apollo, making the god look like a petty, petulant child in front of all the other deities in the city. Already, he was certain that the story of the party was spreading through the city along with tales of Apollo's pettiness, Hestia's grace, and Bell's bravery. Soon to be helped along, of course, by his new favorite rumor mongers.
The amazons Tione, Tiona, and Aisha had happily agreed to spread vicious rumors after the party was done. They simply needed information on the details of the party which Hestia and Loki were more than willing to provide. The best rumors, after all, were just a sensationalized version of the truth. Loki especially was looking forward to sowing chaos. Apollo had irritated her, and there was nothing the goddess loved more than messing with people who irritated her.
Speaking of Aisha, it had been agreed that she and Haruhime would sit out the War Game. Haruhime simply didn't have the combat skills required to participate, and if Aisha joined in it would only serve to further overshadow Bell. With Torrhen already planning to join as a distraction, depending on if it was needed, that was something they wanted to avoid.
"The discussions on what type of War Game it will be are set for tomorrow." Hestia concluded. She was sitting in the direct center of the table, still wearing her party dress. The other members of the Familia, plus Aisha and Haruhime, were sat at intervals around the conference table. Bell was seated at the other end of the table from Torrhen. "Apollo won't agree to any type of War Game that doesn't appear to fall heavily in his favor so we're likely to end up with a random draw."
"That's unfortunate." Bell grimaced. "We can't start planning until we know what type of War Game we're facing."
"Don't let your nerves get the best of you." Torrhen said, calmly. "I am confident that we can come up with a strategy for victory no matter what kind of game it ends up being." Bell nodded at him, grimly.
"For now, you should all just try to relax." Hestia added. "Planning and training will have to wait until we know what we're dealing with. For now, just take it easy. Is there anything else we need to discuss?"
"Yeah." Welf spoke up. The redhead was seated just to Bell's left, with one knee propped against the table, leaning back on two legs of his chair. The chair dropped back to all fours with a thud as Welf continued to speak. "I just wanted to let everybody who's still waiting for gear know that I'm finished. The only things I have left to do are enchant your weapons, and you need to tell me what kind of enchantments you want before I can do that."
"Perfect." Torrhen grinned at his apprentice. "Everyone who is waiting on enchanted weapons should meet with Welf as soon as you can to get them ready. We don't know if you'll need them, but it's better to be prepared."
"I believe I have made my decision." Ouka added with a nod at Welf. "We should speak once the meeting is adjourned." Welf nodded back at the larger man with a grin.
"As for us," Aisha cut in, "the Guild has finally reached a verdict. Ishtar has been deemed guilty of theft but, since she's technically dead, they can't punish her. According to what the official told us, Phryne didn't know about her plans so she's not being treated as an accomplice." The amazon clicked her teeth in disappointment at that. "They're still debating on whether or not she should be punished for killing Ishtar, but she's safe from the death penalty."
"Good." Bell said. "She couldn't control herself and I would not have been able to accept them executing her for something beyond her control. Not matter how repulsive she is." Torrhen, Hestia, and several others around the table nodded in agreement.
"I gotta say though," Aisha continued, "I'm starting to think you might be on to something, Torrhen. Ishtar not telling Phryne about a batch of poisoned wine is really out of character for her. They might not have gotten along for most things, but Ishtar would definitely have told Phryne about the wine if she knew it was poisoned."
Torrhen nodded grimly at her. "The Guild reached their conclusion far too quickly for my comfort. It felt off, so I'm glad you agree with my suspicions. The question is, who poisoned the wine and stole the poisons in the first place?"
"Freya is the most likely culprit." Hestia replied with a grimace. "We'll need to be much more careful with our interactions with her going forward. We are far from ready to fight Freya."
"If push comes to shove, Torrhen can always go full demigod on her." Aisha smirked.
"I would rather not destroy the city, Aisha." Torrhen deadpanned. He could, of course, rip the city apart if he really went berserk, but that was something he'd only done once. He'd gone a little overboard during the assault on the Summerset Isles near the end of the war with the Aldmeri Dominion, but it had made their victory easier.
During the assault, Torrhen had flown in on Odahviing's back, wreathed in Dragon Aspect and the two of them had proceeded to Shout down the isles marine defense towers and send the wharf garrison running, making a path for the Imperial troop carriers to dock. Like the Tongues of old, he had then led the charge, destroying entire buildings with overpowered Shouts to create a path for his army. By the time it was over, there had been a trench carved out of the city from Alinor's docks to the palace.
"I'm not saying you should go full demigod on her Familia, just that you could if forced." Aisha replied to him with a grin. Torrhen was forced to concede the point. If push came to shove, he would go 'full demigod' but he would try and keep the damage to the city as light as possible.
Hestia
Hestia took a steadying breath as she stood in the elevator taking her to the Babel meeting room where the next confrontation with Apollo would happen. Nervous didn't even begin to describe how she felt. It was all on her to try and ensure that they picked a War Game they could win. Anything that involved direct combat? She was sure of victory. If it was something like that stupid pie eating contest Loki told her about? Total crapshoot if they could win that or not. None of their members were particularly gluttonous. Torrhen might be able to power through, but that seemed like such a waste. Revealing the existence of the first Level 10 in history because of a pie eating contest? Extreme stupidity. Funny to think about, but stupid.
While Hestia rode the elevator, she considered what her Familia members were up to. Each and every one was just as nervous as her, waiting for the final verdict and were likely doing things that calmed them down. Torrhen was either in his forge or sparring with Finn, Gareth, Ais, or Riveria. He might be reading in his office, but he usually preferred to work out nerves or frustration with physical activity.
As for Bell? Her young Captain was likely training. He'd always been the restless sort when agitated and had picked up Torrhen's habit of using physical activity to relieve stress. Perhaps they were training together? Bell might be training with Ais too. The boy did love spending time with her.
Welf was almost certainly in his forge with Ouka. The two had been in there when she left, and Hestia doubted they had left in the time it took her to reach Babel. Those two were preppers. When they had time to plan, they made sure they had everything they could think of at their disposal, just in case they needed it.
Lili would likely be working. The young Pallum loved money, a holdover from her desperate days as a member of the Soma Familia, so she was likely going over the budget and counting out how much money they had and could reasonably spend to prepare for the coming War Game.
Mikoto was almost certainly in the bath, likely joined by Haruhime, Aisha, and Chigusa. If Chigusa wasn't hanging around Ouka. The Far Easterners loved the large bath in their home more than anyone else, but Mikoto was practically obsessed with it. Aisha just relished a chance to get naked and was still a little nervous about letting Haruhime out of her sight. There was a slim chance she was at a bar or something, trolling for a man, but Hestia had learned she tended to only do that in the evenings. She was drawn from these thoughts as the elevator slowed to a stop. Hestia could hear Apollo's voice caterwauling.
"If that cowardly harlot doesn't show up soon, the Guild must declare a forfeit!"
"She still has almost ten minutes before the agreed upon time, Apollo." Hermes' voice replied as the doors opened. Hestia moved to the door of the meeting hall and listened.
"She's not even going to show up, so the Guild might as well declare me the victor now!" Apollo half-shouted in his annoying, proud voice.
"You sound scared, Apollo." Loki cackled. "You worried the Chibi is gonna get the better of you again?" Hestia smiled at Loki calling her a chibi. The more time they spent together, the more endearing Loki's antics became. It was a little disturbing, but the two of them had actually started to become friends.
"Better?" Apollo howled again. "She has never and will never be better than me! I am the mighty Apollo, and she is nothing but a shameless cheat and a liar!"
"Tell us how you really feel." Hestia joked. She'd slipped into the room while he was wailing and was leaning up against the doorframe. Apollo balked and stared at her. The whole room was staring at her. Hestia had changed her style for the occasion.
Her new clothes actually covered more of her than her old ones, but they were so much nicer. Elegant but very tight trousers rather than a skirt, and a gorgeously embroidered blue and bronze waistcoat. Her white undershirt had wraps that went around her neck, creating a small cleavage window. The sleeves extended down to her wrists, with a small part going over the back of her hands to connect to a ring around her middle finger on both hands. She might have splurged a little with her investment earnings, and had it tailored so the new clothes fit her perfectly.
Hestia made her way down the stairs to the elegant marble table and chairs placed in the center of the room. It was the same room that Denatus was held in, so the gods were seated on benches that went around the room in an oval. From her position, Hestia could see her friends Miach, Hephaestus, and Loki all watching her. Loki, the lecher that she was, was shamelessly staring at the gap in Hestia's clothes near her rather generous chest.
"Shall we begin?" Hestia asked as she sat down, crossing one leg over the other and lounging back in the chair. She would be the one in control here. Not Apollo. Hestia's goal was to remain calm and collected. Confident and in control. Apollo would have to be the angry and rash one.
"You're late!" Apollo shouted, sitting down angrily.
"Really?" Hestia raised an eyebrow and glanced at a large clock on the wall. "It seems to me that I'm almost ten minutes early. Are you sure you had the time right or are you having an issue with reading the clock?" Apollo just growled at her, while the other gods snickered.
"Enough, Hestia. Let's get this over with."
"Agreed." Hestia nodded. "In light of the fact that you challenged me, I get to make the first proposal. I would submit that, in light of the disparity between our numbers, we should have a one-on-one duel between our two Captains. Do you agree?"
"Certainly not!" Apollo retorted, as she knew he would. "The fact that you have so few members is a product of your own ineptitude and laziness! I will not agree."
"Are you going to agree to any proposal that is in any way fair, or are you just going to argue until you get an outcome favorable to you?" Hestia asked.
"Why should I agree to fairness?" Apollo responded, angrily. Hestia really wasn't sure why he was so unhinged lately, but he had grown steadily worse since coming to the lower world. He'd always been easy to rile up though. "You're the one who has been spreading lies and slander about my Familia, so why should I care about fairness towards you?"
"This is most unseemly!" Ganesha shouted. He hadn't noticed Hestia's reaction. "I am Ganesha!"
"If Hestia wanted fair, she should have just apologized and handed over her little white-haired rat when she had the chance!" Dian Cecht rebutted. Of course he was against her, she was allied with Miach, who was one recruitment drive away from starting to push Dian Cecht out of business.
"No one asked the opinion of a greedy old has-been like you, Dian Cecht." Hestia sighed. She could hear the other gods whispering about the recent exchanges amongst themselves. She turned back to Apollo. "It seems we have no choice but to have a random draw. Everyone here will submit a proposal and we will have an impartial judge choose from the box. Can you accept that, Apollo?"
"Of course!" He grinned. "But first, we should make one thing clear. Recordkeeper!" Apollo shouted to the official in charge of recording the session. "Make sure you get this down! When Hestia loses, she must hand over all the members of her Familia and her assets. Then she must kiss my feet and leave Orario forever all while thanking me for the privilege!"
Hestia almost threw up in her mouth at his demands. Many of the other gods were making disgusted faces at Apollo. Still, the recordkeeper copied down Apollo's words exactly. Now it was Hestia's time to speak.
"My turn." She smiled dangerously. "When you lose, Apollo, I will not be merciful. Everything you own will be mine. Your Familia permanently disbanded. Also," her grin widened even further, "you will publicly apologize on bended knee for everything you have ever done that has harmed another living soul. Anyone who has a grievance with you will be allowed to come forward and you will apologize. Finally…" she paused and tapped her chin, enjoying the spark of fear in Apollo's eyes, "you will shave your head and be forbidden from growing your hair back ever again, and then you will leave Orario forever and alone. None who were part of your Familia may accompany you, whether they want to or not. How does that sound?"
As she spoke, there were low whistles coming from the crowd. Some were impressed by her, others intimidated, and a few surprised at how vicious she could be. Apollo had never apologized for anything in his life, so making him do so in public and on his knees was quite cruel to the vain god. Apollo himself was starting to look a little green, but he rallied.
"Fine. It doesn't matter, anyway. You'll never win, Hestia." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself, rather than her. "Let us begin the draw!"
The other gods all gathered together, writing suggestions on little pieces of paper. Soon enough, they were all collected, and Hermes stood before the box. If nothing else, Hermes could be trusted to be impartial. Hesitantly, Hermes reached into the box and drew a slip. Unfolding it, the god stared at it for a moment before sighing. Turning the slip to face them, he announced what he had drawn.
"It's a castle siege." He said with finality.
"Ha! Hahaha!" Apollo false laughed while many gods around the room either cheered or groaned.
To those not familiar with her secret advantage, it looked like Hestia was screwed. Castle sieges were more a numbers game than anything else, unless you had someone like Torrhen on your side. Very few noticed that Hestia hadn't reacted. She'd simply given Hermes a serene smile and leaned back in her chair, looking calm and relaxed.
What did she have to worry about? A castle siege was perfect for her! Torrhen could knock down anything the Apollo Familia used and take on the bulk of their forces while the others took out key players. Bell would, of course, take on the enemy Captain. Piece of cake. Easy-peasy. Oh yes. A castle siege was perfect. Apollo was oblivious to this, however.
"It is settled!" Apollo kept talking. "Since it would be so unfair to ask such a small and pitiful Familia to defend, my Familia will go on the defensive. There are several abandoned castles nearby. My Familia will choose one have one week to conduct repairs and then the siege begins! Do you accept this, Hestia?"
"But of course," she replied. "One week it is." Once again, Apollo missed her predatory smile.
Bell
"Alright." Torrhen said, stabbing the map laid out on the table with a dagger. The point buried itself directly on top of the abandoned castle chosen by Apollo. The location of the War Game. "We have a location. Now, we need a plan."
"Well, we know we can get help from the inside." Lili spoke up. The entire Familia was gathered around the map table that Torrhen had set up in the conference room. The actual conference table had been removed, making room for the map table that could be stabbed, scratched, or battered depending on how they chose to mark the map. "Daphne and Cassandra can open the gates for us once the game starts."
"That's only if we can get word to them." Mikoto commented.
"Easily done for me." Lili said with confidence. "I've been working on my stealth skills, and my boots have stealth enchantments. All I need to do is combine that with Cinder Ella and a few invisibility potions and I can ferry messages back and forth."
"Be extremely cautious, Lili." Torrhen warned. "You're sneaky, but you have no infiltration experience. I'll run you through a few crash courses and if you feel you can't do it, I'll handle getting word to them."
"You're still going to provide a distraction though, right Master Torrhen?" Ouka asked. Bell's Dragonborn master nodded.
"I can knock down the wall and draw the enemy out. That should serve as a distraction."
"Alright," Bell cut in. He'd been listening, trying to develop a plan and now had the makings of one in his head. "Master Torrhen will take down the wall here," he pointed to the western side of the castle on the map. It had little markers indicating the location of the gates. "If we can get word to Daphne and Cassandra, they can make sure some of their forces exit the breach and attack. If not, Master Torrhen can assault the breach." The larger man nodded, grinning at Bell.
"While Master Torrhen has them distracted," Bell continued, "either Daphne or Cassandra can open the gates for us here," he pointed to the gate on the eastern side of the castle. "Barring that, Lili can sneak in using her spells and potions to open the gate for us. Once we're inside, I want Mikoto, Ouka, and Chigusa to attack their forces from behind." He gestured, miming an assault on the forces that Torrhen would be engaging. The three he had chosen nodded with grins on their faces. "I want you causing mass confusion. Most of their force are Level 1 and focused on Master Torrhen but be careful not to let them overwhelm you. The point of this is to not let them think they can retreat into the castle hallways."
"Lili," he turned to his Pallum Vice-Captian, "once they engage, you need to get up onto the walls. Use your crossbow and wolf summon to take out the archers. I don't want them or any spellcasters taking shots at the people on the ground." Lili nodded, seriously.
"I want Zanis." She spoke. "If I find him, he's mine. I owe him a beating."
Bell nodded. "He's yours." Now he turned to Welf. "The two of us will head straight into the castle interior. I'll need your help to reach Captain Hyakinthos, who is most likely to be somewhere on the top floors of the castle. From what everyone has said of him, that's the most likely place he'll be."
"No problem, Captain." Welf said, with a vicious grin. "Oh, for everybody! If you see that little bastard Luan, make sure you drop kick him! He's the one who started all this." The whole Familia nodded in agreement. They were all still rather pissed off at the Pallum who'd created this mess.
"Do not bite off more than you can chew, Bell." Torrhen told him, sternly. "If Hyakinthos is surrounded, you need to find a way to get him alone. You might be close to Level 3, but if he's surrounded by helpers, you'll need to find a way to get him alone." Bell nodded, accepting his teacher's advice.
"For now," Master Torrhen continued, "we should focus on training. I want to run drills with you all to make sure everything goes without a hitch. I'm the only one of us who's assaulted a castle before, so you'd all better pay attention."
"More than anything," Goddess Hestia spoke up, "I want you all to be safe and careful. Do not take on more than you can handle. You'll have Torrhen there with you. Do not be afraid to rely on him." As one, the Familia nodded, agreeing with their goddess' advice.
Ais
She flopped down on one of the couches in the executive lounge of Twilight Manor. Next to her on her left was Lefiya, while Tiona was on her right. They were all waiting for the godly projection to begin. The projection that would allow the city to watch the beginning of the War Game. All across the city, people were gathering in bars, taverns, restaurants, open arenas, and Familia Halls to watch the coming spectacle.
Most were rooting for the Hestia Familia, who they saw as the underdogs. Tione, Tiona, and the other woman, Aisha, had been hard at work spreading rumors across the city, painting Apollo as the petty aggressive tyrant. They told stories about how he bullied smaller Familia's into disbanding just so he could steal their members and that he was trying to do the same to the Hestia Familia because he was jealous that Hestia's captain was a record holder. They reminded everyone of Bell's actions during the Battle of the 18th floor and remarked about how it was such a shame that such an up-and-coming adventurer might soon be stifled by Apollo's selfish greed.
As for Ais, she had been training with Bell and the Hestia Familia nonstop over the past week, trying to help them get ready for the coming battle. Bell might be close to Level 3, which in itself was both astonishing and totally unexpected to Ais, but he was still fighting someone who'd BEEN level 3 for some time and was likely stronger than Bell. He needed all the help he could get.
Finn had stepped up Bell's captaincy lessons to include battle tactics, which Torrhen joined. They would quiz him in the evenings with different scenarios, with each of them giving corrections and criticism. Torrhen had also been drilling Mikoto, Ouka, and Chigusa in mass melee combat, so that they would be prepared for the crush after the battle began. Lili was focused on first, working on her infiltration skills, but after two days she had stopped training to focus on running messages back and forth between the Hestia Familia's spies and the Familia itself.
The War Game was shaping up to be a rout that only a select handful of people in the city were expecting, and Ais was very excited to watch. In Tiona's words, it was going to be 'fucking hilarious.'
"Come on already!" Bete whined. "When are they gonna start the show?"
"Have patience, Bete." Riveria said, sternly. "It will begin shortly."
"I can't believe it's finally time for Torrhen to show how strong he is!" Tiona squealed, excitedly. "How do you think he's gonna bring down the wall? I know that's his job, but he wouldn't tell us how he's gonna do it."
"He's damn strong!" Gareth said, grinning. "Maybe he'll just knock it down with that hammer of his!"
"He's also a master spellcaster." Riveria commented. "Perhaps he will use magic to bring down their defenses."
"Either way, it's gonna be awesome!" Tiona was practically bouncing in excitement.
Soon enough, the magical projection came to life, and they all gathered round to watch, bursting with excitement. The projection couldn't transmit sound from the battle, but the picture was live, crystal clear, and in full color. Soon enough, the voice of the announcer came through.
"Good morning, everyone and welcome to the War Game Broadcast! I, Ibri Archer, will be your host for the big event. You may also know be as "Fire Inferno Flame. It is my great pleasure to be here! Providing commentary with me today is Master Ganesha!"
"I am Ganesha!" The voice of the god cut through the broadcast.
"Thank you very much! Now! We are mere moments from noon so let the War Game officially begin!"
A castle siege usually lasted three days but, mere moments after the signal was given, the godly projection zoomed in on the hills to the west of the castle. There, walking alone, was Torrhen. He was dressed in his shining battle armor, sword at his side, and a dark cape across his shoulders. His head was helmless, his long dark hair flowing in a gentle breeze. He stepped forward and appeared to take a deep breath. The next moment had everyone in the city gaping in awed astonishment because as Torrhen seemed to speak a few words, a blast of power rippled from him and the walls of the Apollo Familia castle exploded.
A/N: Boom! Haha! The War Game has begun! What do you think? Please leave a comment or review telling me your thoughts and how I did!
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, despite how short it was. You like Hestia's confidence? How about Bell's growth and planning? Feel realistic? I hope you're ok with me not including Haruhime and Aisha, but they just felt like overkill. This fight is going to be easy enough without them.
Hestia's outfit for the meeting is the Solemnity Outfit in Blue from Baldur's Gate 3.
I need alias suggestions! For almost everybody who doesn't have one! Please, leave them in the comments!
On to a different topic! I posted another one-shot but, because of the reception it's gotten so far, I think I'll be writing more of it. It's in the Horizon Zero Dawn/Forbidden West fandom so if you like that, please go look at it and leave a comment on what you think!
I want to be clear though. Hearthfire is my main story. Writing my new one, called 'A Digital Mother' will be a side project. I've been feeling a little burnt out with this fic so doing one is a great way to deal with the burnout. Once I finished it yesterday, all I wanted to do was come write this chapter here. Which I did!
I'm also in a writing mood so if my work schedule permits it, and doesn't kill my mood, hopefully I'll get more chapters out soon! Please go take a look at 'A Digital Mother' and leave comments with your opinion on it or leave one here with your thoughts on this chapter!
Answers to Questions
On FFN
Lord Mistfire: It's updated about once a month at this point. I try to do it faster, but adulting and spotty motivation get in the way. At least once a month though!
Pheonix Warehouse Productions: Thanks for the advice!
Clagann: Rotation might be a good idea. I could kinda feel the burnout starting.
NinjaFang1331: Glad you liked it!
Nephilim015: Thank you very much!
Alltier: Who knows? I might include Hestia and Loki dancing at some point. It would be fun to write.
LionLordEscanor: I think I'll be getting back to Ryuu soon. I've got a lot of mini fluff ideas and character interactions running around my head that I want to get to after the war game.
Benalien100: I'm not going to be having Durnehviir summoned for a fight for a good long while. Certainly not for something so public. For private training with Ais and friends in a secluded location though? Probably in the semi-near future.
Guest: Honestly, I'm not sure about Lili's pairing. I was thinking about her and Finn but idk how you'd all feel about that. Any suggestions?
Colonelmoussaab: Thank you very much!
Kingdark: I'm glad you've liked it so far!
On Ao3
Nariem: Fus Ro Dah!
Zalun_Umbrite: Honestly, I hadn't considered him looking quite like Qui-gon Jinn with John Wick's hair and beard before your comment but… damn does that fit his description really well. I love it.