WW Chapter 96: The Wise Decision (Patreon)

“How far is the village?” Hector asked. “And how close do you estimate the enemy goblins to be to the village?”

“Less than ten kilometers away from here,” Basil answered. “Probably closer to five, but I don’t quite remember. As for where the enemy army is, I have no idea. I don’t think that they were going after the village exactly—they simply were ranging around to see what they could find. Maybe the bulk of the army is closer to the village, maybe it’s closer to us. I’d need to go scout it out specifically to know, and that might be dangerous, depending on what kinds of numbers and elites they’ve got.”

“How are you so certain that this wasn’t a single squad if you have no idea where the main army is?” Adonis jumped in.

“I can smell the rest of the army. There’s a heavy scent of goblinoids on the air, but my aura isn’t cooperating with telling me where they are exactly. Maybe they have some way to hide themselves, maybe it’s just this storm that’s blowing around.” As he said it, Basil’s face twisted in frustration. “Whatever the case is, they’re around.”

Ezra had noticed the winds growing more chaotic over the past day, but hadn’t thought twice about it. He also hadn’t had an idea that a large part of Basil’s scouting capability had something to do with smells, but that was beside the point.

“Can you tell if the village is already being attacked?” Hector grunted. When Basil simply shook his head, an answer, the heir of the Duchy let his face twist up in anger.

“The final decision falls to you,” Basil said, staring at Hector. “We might be better served setting up here, circling the wagons, and waiting for the attack. There’s no telling if we’d be able to make it to the village in time to help them if that’s where the goblinoid army ends up, and if we’re attacked on the road without being totally prepared, we’ll be lucky to only have one or two deaths.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to get to the village?” Ezra asked. “Use their defenses to rally against the goblins?”

“They won’t have defenses solid enough to hold back an army,” Basil shook his head. “They’ll have a standing militia that deals with the occasional straggler, but… this is a regular village.”

Ezra let out a long breath. He’d lived in a place bigger than this village they were going towards, and even Villy’d have at least a hundred deaths before they could deal with a couple hundred goblins, to say nothing of orcs and bugbears. 

Basil continued talking, turning his attention back towards Hector. “For something like this to have escaped instead of small, roving bands means that something has happened up at the pass out of the Wilds. Whoever is supposed to be guarding the passage between the Wilds and here has betrayed us, been overwhelmed, or killed.”

Ezra felt his mouth go dry at that. He’d seen a few of the people who had retired from being stationed along that border. Every single one of them was a tested professional, with years of training and service before they were even considered to go up there. The thought of having one of them betray the expectations of the people they had worked for decades to impress was impossible.

“Is there going to be a massive army coming after us?” Ezra asked. “Are they going to be thousands and thousands of them?”

“I have no idea,” Basil shrugged. “If I was to guess, I would say that the Prince to the north that we’ve been cautious about has taken preemptive action against the fortress in the mountains. If there had been an army big enough to sweep up to the fortress and wipe them out, the soldiers would have seen it. There would’ve been enough of a warning of the army’s existence to have them send word, if nothing else. If there was a small squad of dedicated sappers, though, it could be possible. If they had a single Knight or one of their third or fourth circle sorcerers go up there, they could wipe out the fortress.”

Him saying that made Ezra realize that, surely, there was at least one Pseudo-Knight stationed at that fortress at all times. There was so much he didn’t know, and he was left silent as everybody, once again, looked at Hector.

“We need to send somebody home. This is news that will certainly require Dominick’s attention,” Hector spoke decisively. “Somebody fast and able to take care of themselves, but it can’t be one of our strongest fighters. What’s happening in the pass means our mission is even more important, and we can’t jeopardize getting reinforcements to our side as soon as possible.”

“Then do you wish to continue moving or wait for the army to attack us or move past?” Basil pressed.

“We were attacked by this squad coming up on the trail between us and the village,” Hector said. His jaw tightened as he said it. “Many of the others that we’ve fought came through the hills, but these ones were sticking to the road. We might be able to assume that the rest of the army is in that same direction. We won’t be able to get there before the goblins do, and charging in recklessly will just get us all killed.”

Basil started to nod as Anders went green. Ezra couldn’t believe that he understood what Hector was saying, so he forced him to clarify himself. “What are your orders then?”

“Circle the wagons. We’ll end the day’s journey here, and everyone will sleep in their armor. Tomorrow, if the night goes without any attack, we’ll resume our journey while moving at half pace until we pass the village.”

Ezra looked at Basil, waiting for him to say something, but the Pseudo-Knight just nodded and turned to start giving orders. Adonis remained as green as before, seeming to struggle to swallow past his own fear. When Ezra saw that nobody was going to say anything, he shook his head.

“Fuck no.”

Hector turned towards the Adept, his eyes narrowed in surprise while Basil whipped around and shook his head, trying to silence him.

“I certainly hope that was an expression of disbelief that this is what we are forced to do,” Hector said, stepping forward. He was taller than Ezra, but Ezra certainly outweighed him. He’d packed on muscle since beginning his training, and he ate until he was full every day while exercising hard. Ezra felt no intimidation and shook his head firmly again as Basil stepped towards him.

“‘Fuck no’ means there’s no way I’m staying here, pissing my pants in fear, while just a handful of kilometers away from here are hundreds of people who are about to be slaughtered.” Ezra stood, shaking his head in disgust as he said it.

“You want to go and throw ourselves at goblins and get everybody killed?” Hector asked, keeping his voice level. “That lesser Dragonkin today was weak. You struggled against it. What if there are 10 of those in this army? What will you do?”

“I’ll fight,” Ezra stared right back in his face.

“You insubordinate idiot,” Hector shook his head. “Yes, more of the goblins will lay dead on the ground if you go. There’s no denying that. I’ve seen you fight, when the fights are slow enough to allow us to see. You’re a terror. You can cut through the beasts with a skill I can only dream of getting.

“That doesn’t matter.”

Ezra worked his jaw for a second, and Hector reached a hand out to put it on Ezra’s shoulder.

“Do not misunderstand me,” Hector said, staring into Ezra’s soul. “I know exactly what the results of my choice will be. I hope, I pray to all of the Gods above, that they bring this army to us. That the goblinoids fall on us and we fight through the night. I pray that it is my blood that is spilled in the defense of my people, because I will fight beside you.

“However, I also see what the alternative is. If we rush after this village, if we go to save these hundreds of people and we fail and we die, then whatever army of goblinoids that follows from the Wilds will, paired with whatever army is coming from the north, will devastate tens of thousands of lives. Dozens of villages this size and larger will be left as smoking wrecks, the bodies of their inhabitants left to rot and be picked over by the crows. Those who survive the attacks from the Beastkin will be taken as serfs and ripped away from their homes.

“We can see both sides of this choice. Knowing that, it is simply too risky to try to save these people. Tomorrow, if they have been slain, I will make sure to burn the sight of their broken bodies into my mind, to never forget the price of leadership.”

Hector maintained strong eye contact, and Ezra could understand what he was saying. The math made sense, that they needed to make the wise decision to lead to the most optimal outcome for everyone who lived within a hundred kilometers or more of here. The Duke’s heir who looked at him saw that recognition in Ezra’s eyes and nodded.

“You’re a kind man, Ezra. To be willing to put your life in danger to attempt to protect others is a mark of a truly honorable heart.”

“I don’t know if I would call myself a kind man,” Ezra said, squaring his shoulders against the choice he was making. “I would like to think that I am one. One thing I can say for sure is that I’m not a very smart man.”

Hector’s eyes narrowed, confused, but Adonis immediately understood.

“Ezra, you will die.”

“I’ve never been in a village that’s being destroyed by monsters,” Ezra said by way of answer. “I have been a child left alone on the streets to suffer whatever the world decided to throw at me, though. I decided then that when I got the strength to be able to protect somebody else, I would do it. Damn the consequences.”

At that, Ezra stood, grabbed his helmet, and slammed it back on his head, fastening the buckles. His shield remained on his arm, and he looked at the gobsmacked nobles and shrugged.

“I think you got it right in one, sir,” he said to Hector. “I am an insubordinate idiot. But in that village, there are children, and while I draw breath, they will remain unhurt by goblins, bugbears, orcs, Dragonkin, or anything else.”

At that, a decision was made, and he started to walk away. Basil stepped up in front of him, planting a heavy hand in Ezra’s chest.

“If it doesn’t matter to you that this is going to get you killed, maybe this will. This is a career-ender,” the Pseudo-Knight warned. “You survive, you’re going to lose your place working for the Duke. He can’t keep people who won’t listen to orders, even if it’s for a selfless reason.”

“I can’t say that I really want a job that requires me to stay here without moving when I know there are men, women, and children being slaughtered somewhere that I can reach,” Ezra pushed the hand off.

“I can stop you. Hold you here until it’s too late.”

“You won’t.”

They held eye contact at that, and after a second, Basil nodded once, stepping to the side. “May all the Gods accompany you, Ezra.”

“I wouldn’t mind having a Pseudo-Knight accompany me,” Ezra ventured.

“I genuinely think that this is a suicide mission,” Basil said by way of answer. “If I didn’t, I would go with you. However, I think Hector is right. I won’t stop you from making the decision you’re making, but I think you’re wrong.”

Ezra nodded, unable to disagree. His mouth went even dry, somehow, as he realized that he was almost certainly about to run to his death.

“I’m not sure about all the details,” Telemachus interrupted, stepping up beside Ezra and shouldering him. “However, don’t go around thinking that you’ll be able to get away from me that easy.”

“I’m going on a suicide mission in the hopes that I can protect a few people,” Ezra said bluntly. “I’m probably going to die, torn apart by hundreds of goblins before I reach my goal.”

“Sounds pretty fucking bleak,” Telemachus nodded. “Too bad I already signed up. Shall we?”

“You sure?”

“Yep. And I’m not the only one.”

At that, Ezra looked around, realizing how public he’d made his disagreement with Hector. When he saw who stood behind him, he felt his lips quirk into a smile.