Chapter
3 – The Fifth Party Member
Knights and soldiers of all kinds
in Canis were taking trips out to different kingdoms and places with more
scenic views to rest and recuperate. I was averse to doing this at first, but
after being convinced by fellow white flame knights, I gave it a chance,
especially since they said it would help me fight better. Even though I went to
places that required me to wear heavy clothes and get used to using my flame
magic more effectively for long periods so I wouldn’t exhaust myself while
trying to stay warm in what was called pleasantly cool by the natives, I found
the experience life-changing. In the battles I fought afterward, I was better
than I ever was before and beat my superiors in sparing matches.
It was then that I became an
advocate for taking the same kinds of rests I did and would try to take as many
trips as I could to experience them as many times as possible. This ended up
backfiring a bit when I was caught off guard by orc bandits and was almost
killed by them if it weren’t for Lieselotte who saved me. She was hunting for
them in this area with a squad of other orcs but went out on her own to find
them herself. I fell in love with her at first sight and managed to convince
her to rest with me, which was easy to do since she was injured. While we spent
time together, she developed the same love that I have for her along with the
want to take breaks like this.
Lieselotte and I got married
shortly after, which was not short enough for Lieselotte who expected me to ask
her for marriage a month after we met. We fought together in every battle we
faced after marriage and promised our families that we would settle down and
have children after the major ratmen threat to the world was dealt with. In the
present day, the only reason why I went with my teammates to face the ratmen
without Lieselotte and her party is because we didn’t want to wait for the
archbishops to officially sanction their group and knew that Vicar Sylvatic
could be enacting his plans while nothing was being done. I also wanted to save
Lieselotte from the horrors found deeper in the wastelands of Eastern Europe,
so that she wouldn’t have to experience them. No one should experience the
horrors of war and that’s why I fight as much as I can so that peace may reign
in this world scarred by constant wars. I’ve tried explaining all this to
Lieselotte and her party after I introduced myself to the other three only for
her to slap me in the face.
“I don’t care what lies ahead of
us. As long as we’re together, we can overcome it. Remember that you’re with me
until death and even then, we’ll never be separated from one another,”
Lieselotte says while holding my hands.
Heh, I always did it when she
showed both her rough and soft sides.
“I’m sorry, my love. Now that we’re
together, nothing that the Vicar throws at us can stop us from delivering God’s
justice to him,” I say.
“What about the rest of the orcs
and knights of Canis? Will they help us or are they already all dead?” David
asks.
“They should still be alive. We’ve
faced no end of ambushes by the ratmen, the traitors, and beastmen who ally
themselves with the Vicar, so I along with several other knights decided to
hold off this latest ambush while they went ahead to an outpost to get help.”
“They aren’t back yet and the rest
of your fellow knights are dead. That can’t be a good sign,” Hossam says.
“The big guy is right. We should go
meet up with them to make sure they’re all right.”
“I wasn’t going to argue with you.
I’m anxious to see if they’re okay and haven’t run into any more trouble along
the way.”
“Let’s go then. We don’t have a
moment to waste,” Lieselotte says.
I get on Lieselotte’s horse and
ride with her to the outpost that I’ve marked on our maps. Being with her like
this reminds me of the days we wandered the lands on horseback with no
destination in mind while only wanting to spend as much time together as
possible to keep the good times going forever. Remembering those times keeps me
concentrated and motivated to see them again. My daydreaming is cut short as
another ambush lies in our path. This time, beastmen and traitors from Bernhard
and Canis lie ahead of us and come out from the dead trees behind us.
Immediately leaping into action and
sprouting wings of white flame from my back, I use my white flame magic to
blind and melt the enemies behind us. This same magic that turned my skin white
and black is born of a true hatred for sin and evil and love for God and
neighbor, and as such, doesn’t harm my allies even if it touches them. Many of
our attackers die instantly screaming in pain as they go down. They try using
ranged magic and arrows and attacking me from below the ground but I quickly
dodge them and am aided by Lieselotte who pushes me out of the way of their
attacks and kills them shortly after. She then quickly runs to aid her party
once she sees that I’m safe.
Seeing her fight so effectively
with others shows me how much she’s grown and it’s a pleasure to see. She was
once a loner who pushed herself away from others. Now, she’s putting herself in
danger for others and saving them. Before I can even join the fight, it's over
and all our ambushers lie dead.
“There seems to be no end to the
ambushes,” Saanvi says.
“And they’re employing other
races,” Hossam adds.
“It’s just a sign of desperation.
The Vicar knows he will meet his end soon and is in denial by delaying the
inevitable,” Lieselotte says, a view that I echo.
“I don’t think they would just
throw away their lives even if they were threatened,” David suggests. “The
Vicar may have some bigger plans that gave them the confidence to fight for
him.”
“Whatever the case is, we should
hurry and bring an end to him,” I say to which the party agrees.
After we head out, we’re relieved
to not be accosted by any more ambushes though at the same time, it’s worrying.
Surely, my fellow knights are holding them off with the help of the orc and
Canis knights from the outpost. We haven’t come across any bodies along the way
to the outpost nor any signs of a struggle, only footprints and horse prints. It
isn’t until the outpost is in sight do we begin to start worrying again as we
see that it’s on fire with severe damage done to its walls and buildings. David
advises us to be careful because of how quiet it is and we follow his advice. Going
into the outpost that looks like a pseudo-town combined with a military camp,
we’re ambushed by injured ratmen and find allied soldiers who are mostly dead
or on the verge of death.
Thanks to David’s advice, we manage
to clear out the outpost and find more allies who are hold up in some of the
buildings. Saanvi doesn’t have time to heal all of the wounded and we don’t
have much time to catch our breaths as a horde of ratmen, beastmen, and bandits
approach from the distance. They make their arrival known by hailing down
cannonballs that explode into acid, fire magic, ice magic, and arrows on us
killing most who were outside and happened to be in the buildings that the
attacks landed on. Those who can fight and even those who are injured take up
their arms and immediately rush into battle. I along with Hossam and Lieselotte
head into battle with them while David and Saanvi aid us from a distance with
their magic.
To start the fight, I hang back
before conjuring a large ball of white fire that lights up the gloomy dark sky
as if it were a sun. I then throw it up into the sky where it rains down fire
that targets our enemies. With that to aid us, I throw myself into the fray
with my mace and axe raised high with the memories of my fellow soldiers giving
me strength. I remember who I’m fighting for and push myself harder. I remember
the precious moments with Lieselotte and go even further. Looking around me, I
see the dead bodies of friends who I’ve shared laughs and fought in many
battles with, and push myself beyond my limits.
It's then that I remember the many
bastard children born because of the ratmen’s experiments and the mothers that
were eaten alive by their children. I remember all the losses, those who
valiantly sacrificed themselves to halt the tide of vermin, and who have been
tortured by the ratmen for their pleasure and experiments. My flames burn even
brighter and more intense now lighting up the entire area and depriving me of
my stamina faster. Still, I fight on and keep pushing myself until the last of
our enemies lay dead. Lieselotte then holds me from behind as I fall to my
knees in exhaustion.
“It’s over, Marcel. You can stop
pushing yourself so hard,” she says.
“But…all our allies are dead. We
can’t stop moving now. We can’t let this tragedy impede God’s justice on the
scum of this land,” I say.
“We’ll find a way to avenge them
after we rest and come up with a plan.”
I reluctantly agree as Lieselotte
helps me up and brings me back to the outpost. Now, it’s just the five of us
against the remainder of the Vicar Sylvatic’s forces. I don’t know of any
nearby reinforcements or outposts this close to Constantinople, but still, we
can’t back down now. Not after so many lives have been lost. The Vicar may have
bought himself some time before his execution, but that time is measured in
seconds. He will face justice for what he’s done. The world will become a more
peaceful one even if it costs me my life. I only hope and pray Lieselotte and
my friends won’t die with me so they can enjoy it.
No comments:
Post a Comment