WW Chapter 103: Visiting Village (Patreon)

See you tomorrow.

Adonis

“Let’s go,” Adonis begged.

“We’ll leave when we’re ready and not a moment before,” Hector answered. “How soon we leave will not impact the results of what Ezra did last night. And, on the off chance he survived, then he will still be alive when we pass through the village. In the more likely chance that he died in a vain attempt to save lives, we will do him the service of neglecting to mention his insubordination at his funeral.”

“You don’t even care that he might have died,” Adonis accused, though he felt childish as he said it.

“I care. I care that so many people have died, and that among them are four of our subordinates. Even discounting the loss of life, if nothing else, it’s a pity,” Hector said. “According to everything that everybody has said, he had nearly unlimited potential for greatness. However, with that, he seems to have gained a greatly inflated sense of self-importance and forgotten his own mortality, and that wound up getting him killed.”

“But he might be alive still,” Adonis insisted, though he couldn’t fully believe the words coming out of his mouth.

“Maybe, but that would mean that he fled from the battle. Talented and powerful as he was, four Adepts cannot fight against a Dragonkin without sustaining casualties. To fight against one while defending an entire village against the assault of hundreds of goblins is impossible.”

Then, Hector didn’t wait for any further conversation before he let out a long sigh and put a hand on Adonis’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry. I know how callous I sound. Even so, I can see why a powerful, naïve, hopeful guard like him could have become a friend. It’s not easy to lose friends, and I don’t envy you your hope and fear.”

Adonis wanted to argue, to say something, but Hector was done talking about Ezra. Instead, his older brother immediately launched into the daily reports they went over every morning. In truth, Adonis welcomed the escape from talking about what probably had happened to Ezra. Until he saw a body, he could continue to hope, to pray that the Stone had given the stubborn young Adept the same toughness spoken of in the stories.

“We’ll need to push hard today,” Adonis said, consulting a map that was spread out across the center of the carriage floor. “Breaking for camp early yesterday, combined with the unexpected presence of so many goblinoid squads, has slowed us considerably. If we push nearly all the way until sundown for three days, though, we should catch up to our projected pace.”

“With everything that’s been happening, so long as the horses can take it, I’m going to push us to continue that pace, even after we catch up with our original estimates,” Hector said. “I’m worried about whatever will be happening at home, so we’ll go as fast as we can without putting ourselves in any additional danger. Basil, I want you to focus even more on scouting our path ahead. Even though we’re now down five of our intended escorts, we need to trust in their ability to keep us safe and get us there as quickly as possible.”

“As you command,” the Pseudo-Knight answered.

He didn’t say anything more, instead standing and scooting out of the carriage. It was cramped with the brothers, Basil, and Jhas all crammed in, but comfort wasn’t the group’s greatest priority right now. Just before Basil closed the door behind himself, he looked around and seemed to find what he was looking for.

“You. Yes, you, Patrice. You’re now Adonis’s new personal guard. Unlike Ezra, you are not the second-in-command of our escort, but whenever there comes a need for us to prepare for battle, your greatest priority will be to protect Adonis.”

“Yes, sir.”

The other member of the prospective Knight trainee squad stepped forward, snapping a salute to Basil. Hector leveled a severe gaze at her, which she didn’t shrink from.

“Make no mistake,” Hector said. “I saw you volunteer to desert with Ezra last night. You are, at best, on a probationary status as my brother’s guard. Do you understand?”

“Of course, my Lord. I will do my best to ensure that I prove myself as a trustworthy, temporary replacement for Ezra.”

“The position is only temporary until you are able to make it permanent. Prove yourself, and you’ll be permitted to benefit from a more lasting spot as the personal guard for the secondborn son of the Duke of Brayton.”

“As welcome as that opportunity would be, I do not believe that Ezra will leave the position empty for long. Regardless, for as long as I am held to this standard, I will do my utmost to prove myself as trustworthy.”

Patrice didn’t say anything more as she bowed her head and stepped away from the conversation. Adonis could see the back of her head as she took up her position, guarding the carriage.

“It really is a pity that he went off to get himself killed like that,” Hector mused as the door closed. “Given that she’s the daughter of a family of career soldiers, she should be thrilled for this opportunity. Instead, she trusts that he’ll return. Regardless, before the end of the day, she’ll realize that she has plenty of responsibilities to prepare for once we arrive in Ember. Jhas?”

“Yes, I will instruct her in everything that is necessary once her position has been made sure,” the man nodded.

Hector narrowed his eyes at illiar, his reaction not exactly something that Adonis understood. Why was he surprised by that?

The conversation was over, however, and finally, the delegation began their travels for the day. Adonis found himself more restless than usual. Every day until now, he’d happily enjoyed the time reading whenever there wasn’t a battle happening outside the doors. Now, though, no report, poem, or adventurous tale could capture his attention. Instead, he ran his index fingernail along the pad of his thumb again and again, the movement somehow soothing and uncomfortable at the same time. Eventually, it came to the point that his thumb was nearly bleeding, and he stopped.

“Control yourself,” Hector said, his tone kind. “I understand you’re nervous. Truly, I hope that your hopes are proven correct. If, by some miracle, Ezra survived and saved all these people, then that would be the best result out of his disobedience. I hope that he was able to find victory where others could not. However, even if he did, I need you to realize that his place among Father’s trusted guards is gone. He won’t be your bodyguard any longer if he is still alive. Regardless of his heroism, such blatant disrespect for direct orders from his liege and his commanding officer cannot be tolerated.”

Adonis took a steadying breath before he nodded once. “I understand,” he said softly. “However, I think he’s alive. With Jhas giving him Divine Vigor, surely he could have found some way to survive. Then, if he did survive, we can vouch for him. Speak of his heroism to everyone who’ll listen. Nobody has to know that he disobeyed your command!”

Adonis found his voice rising as his mind desperately went from one possibility to the next. He knew what Hector’s response was going to be, and he knew Hector knew he knew, but the words still needed to be said.

“If he survived, I am more than happy to make the public story be one of his heroism and of him being willing to follow an order that was dangerous in order to save the citizenry. I’m sure that Father would be willing to do so as well to serve him for saving some of our people. Even so, knowing that he will disobey direct orders to follow the whims of his own conscience means that he cannot be a trusted soldier. Not among people to whom he has clearly demonstrated his defiance.”

At that, Adonis stopped indulging his childish hopes. Hector was right, and, logically, Adonis knew that Ezra and his friends were dead. Even so, he prayed to every one of the gods in the  hope that his knowledge would be overturned.

It wasn’t long after that, while Adonis was lost in prayer, that Basil returned, knocking the day’s code on the window of the carriage. Hector opened the window, and the Pseudo-Knight’s face was notably uneasy.

“We’re close to the town, then?” Hector confirmed. “Is it as terrible a sight as we expected?”

“There’s absolutely signs that an army passed through,” Basil confirmed. “The walls are destroyed, and the buildings I can see without entering have been ransacked. However, from afar, I can’t see any bodies. Human or goblinoid.”

“That is… strange.”

“I could have scouted inside the town’s limits, but, given that I couldn’t see any movement, I don’t know what to expect in there. I want everybody ready for the possibility of goblins acting like settlers in the buildings. If that’s the case, we are going to need to figure out what we are going to do. It’s never happened before, but this is a strange situation we’ve come across.”

A flurry of words passed between the three men once Jhas got there. Adonis didn’t participate, simply taking shorthand notes of the decisions made as Jhas, Hector, and Basil discussed their options. In short order, a decision was made to proceed forward slowly, as the carriage and the wagons wouldn’t be able to attempt to blaze a trail through the hills. Instead, they would need to stick to the established roads.

Eventually, all of the plans were made, formations were fallen into, and the plan was begun. With careful steps, the soldiers led the way forward into the city. Adonis felt his heart drop as he looked at the remnants of the goblin passage.

The small perimeter fence had been torn through, as had just about every building. Materials had been shredded, anything the goblins had gotten their hands on, and Adonis kept expecting to see a broken, twisted body everywhere he looked. Instead, he only saw broken items, not broken bodies. Then, a command went up the line as Basil, who rode atop the carriage, sighted something.

“Looks like they had heads up,” he said. “The bodies are all around one place. I don’t see human casualties. Be ready, though, the building where the last stand took place is only cinders. No visible sign of life or movement, though I can hear voices coming from inside. They’re quiet. No fighting. Remain on alert, but don’t worry about immediate danger.”

Basil’s tone was professional, but at his words, Adonis couldn’t help but lose himself in disbelief. No human casualties? People talking? Instead of staying stuck to thoughts, though, Hector spoke.

“What in the name of the gods do you mean?”

The heir apparent of the Brayton Duchy threw open his door at that. As he did so, the smell struck Adonis. He hadn’t concerned himself with it until now, but the scent of iron and burning filled the air. His stomach twisted as he followed Hector out of the carriage. They walked around a corner, where they could see what Basil was talking about. There, spread out in front of them were the remnants of the battle to protect this village.

Piles of goblinoid corpses a meter high spread across the plaza. Each one was scorched, cut, pierced, or pincushioned. The evidence of a hard-won battle covered each one, but more than the goblins, bugbears, or even orcs, were other creatures. There were half a dozen strange beasts covered with chains, their mouths open in permanent screams. Three wolflike beasts, the ones that had been called Dragonkin, lay sprawled here and there. Their bodies were covered with dozens of cuts, though one had its spine sliced through. 

Then, finally, was the Dragonkin. The one that had convinced everyone to not attempt to fight against the army and leave the poor village to its fate.

It lay on the ground, sprawled out. Massive slices were carved into its next and back, and its head was sliced nearly all the way through. Adonis started to draw closer to the corpse, but before he could, steps approached from a stairway he hadn’t seen. Patrice stepped forward, her shield held high as she interposed herself between the approaching sound and her charge. Adonis leapt back, his hand falling to the rapier that hung on his waist. He certainly wouldn’t be an asset on the battlefield, but he was determined not to be a detriment, at the very least.

The person who lead the path out had dark wavy hair and piercing blue eyes. His armor was bloodstained and torn, and his axe hung from a loose grip. When Ezra saw the soldiers approaching, he grinned, the look handsome even through the crusted gore on his face. 

“Welcome! Glad to see you.”