Chapter 80: Chapter 15 – Change of Plans

Change of Plans

Sloane jerked back to consciousness, shooting pain filling her as something tore at her shoulder. A primal reaction to scream only brought more intense distress as her broken jaw ground together. Her first thoughts were filled with panic. Her eyes darted around until Gisele’s face came into view, speaking softly to calm her down. Then the pain returned as her friend removed the arrow the mercenary had somehow conjured.

Maud came into view and immediately poured her healing into Sloane.

Sloane whimpered as she felt her flesh stitch itself back together, and her shoulder seemed to almost writhe inside as everything wriggled back into place.

With a final burst of green mana, the redhead nodded and then moved to heal Sloane’s jaw.

Sloane continued her pained whimper; her injury itched as if something was crawling around inside her skin. She tried not to cry out as she felt it, but her grip on Gisele’s hand tightened, and she reflexively jerked once she felt the snap of her jaw resetting itself with nothing but Maud’s magic.

“Breathe. She’s almost done. You’re doing so good, Sloane,” Gisele comforted her.

Sloane nodded as much as she could, letting the healing flow through her two injuries. The shooting pain eventually lessened as the healer fussed over the damage to her body. A soothing relief of magic passing through her entire body signaled the woman was finishing up.

When her jaw was finally able to move, she pushed to look around Maud, as the redhead got up and moved over to Cristole.

“W-what the fuck was that?” she asked no one in particular, her jaw still a tad stiff.

“Empire’s Fist,” Deryk said as if it explained everything.

“I do not know what that is, but that isn’t what I was asking,” Sloane ground out, wiping the tear streaks from her face.

Gisele was looking at Cristole with concern but a nod from the man had her taking a deep breath before turning to Sloane. The orkun shrugged and handed her a wet cloth. “I have no idea about the magic.”

Sloane sighed and wiped at her face, followed by the dried blood on her shoulder. “Her magic. It was based on illusions that she could somehow make real.” She felt at her shoulder and placed the now red cloth into Gisele’s outstretched hand. “That arrow is real.”

Cristole nodded sympathetically from where he leaned against a wall, his face in a frown. His hand was hovering over his side while Maud stood next to him and poured more healing into his wounds, likely from lingering internal injuries that hadn’t been fully resolved by the telv’s battlefield healing.

Gisele looked down at the arrow, then between Sloane and Cristole. “You two are lucky the woman’s magic uses a bodkin arrowhead.” She narrowed her eyes at Cristole. “Especially you. Ripping it out, mid-fight?”

The man grimaced. “I knew Maud had my back.”

Maud pulled away, her magic dissipating, and punched him in the shoulder. “I was in the midst of fighting two people, healing your idiotic self almost got me turned into a pincushion by that woman. Never again pull an arrow out without me right there. You had no way of knowing if the head was barbed or not.”

Deryk gave Maud an approving nod. “You fought well today, Maud. You kept your trophy?”

Maud nodded and gestured to the shield leaning against the wall next to the door. “Of course. They tried to hide it with some paint, but this is clearly a well-made shield used by Vlaredia. It will go well with my collection.”

Gisele was staring down at the arrow, her expression one of contemplation and concern. She looked up and around the group. “This is magic, right? Can she feel where this is, somehow?” she asked, nudging the offending object with her boot.

Sloane followed her friend’s gaze to the arrow and then reached down to pick it up. She channeled her mana into her eyes and used Mana Sight, making the object glow yellow in her vision. It was as if the entire object was mana. She returned the arrow to the floor and grabbed her sword. With a swing, she brought the blade down on the shaft of the arrow, the [Spell-Piercing] rune flared as the blade sliced through the fake wood, and the ‘real’ arrow dissolved into yellow mist.

“I think it would be safe to say, yes,” Sloane replied.

Gisele looked at Deryk, who nodded. She rapid-fired off orders to the group, “We need to relocate. Change inns. Tonight. We need to warn the guard.” She paused to take a deep breath. “Sloane, please work with your guards and Ernald. Your House needs its guard up, and they need to be prepared. If the Fist is in the city, they need to be constantly on alert.”

Sloane nodded. “I’ll talk with Nemura, now.”

She rubbed at her jaw, then glanced around one more time as everyone was bursting into motion, before walking out of the room herself.

 

* * *

 

“You are not going anywhere without me, again. You realize this right?” Nemura said.

Sloane sighed. “Yeah, I figured you’d say that. It was rough, Nemura.”

“Wrryatt!”

“Yes, yes. You too, Tiberius.”

Her bird chirped but then went back to watching the door. It seemed even her little golem was on edge. Unfortunately, she was worried that he would get hurt in any fight. He did not have a way to truly fight.

Tiberius was a scout. Not a fighter. Perhaps that is a design for the future. Something to keep both Gwyn and I safe.

Nemura narrowed her eyes and leaned down in front of Sloane. “We are also going to work on your fighting and ability to react in a fight. You stand still too much. You are lucky to be alive.” 

The guardswoman pulled out a cloth and dipped it into the glass of water that Sloane was drinking from. “Hey!”

Nemura reached over and grabbed Sloane’s chin, moving her head back and forth as the big telv examined her. “Maud missed a spot. Hold still.” Nemura gently moved her hair out of the way before she dabbed at her temple. 

Sloane winced as the woman lightly applied pressure to her head.

“Don’t be a lamb. This isn’t bad.”

She scowled up at the woman, but then sighed when she saw the pink splotches on the cloth when Nemura moved her hand away.

“You do realize none of the guards Ernald has been working with will be able to fight the Empire’s Fist?”

Sloane shook her head. “No? I am not even sure what they are.”

Nemura nodded. “The Empire’s Fist is the organization of elite soldiers that the Vlaredia Empire fields. We–They are some of the best fighters in the region. If they were the Fist, we need to prepare. They will not give up so easily.”

Sloane tilted her head. She had not missed what the woman had said. “We?”

Nemura sighed. “I was once a member before I was discharged and left the Empire for the only place that was likely to accept me, Thirdghyll. I would ask you to keep this between us, if possible.” She hesitated, biting her lip, then looked Sloane in her eyes. “You have my allegiance, My Lady.”

Sloane’s eyes widened. “Is this going to be a problem? Fighting your former countrymen?”

Nemura’s eyes peered into hers. “The only problem will be if they attempt to harm you again. Because I will end them.”

“Nemura, if–”

The telv lifted her chin again and moved closer. “I left for a reason, but I am not ready to discuss it. You accepted me without question and have given me nothing but respect. I will give you the same courtesy. Please continue that.”

“I understand,” Sloane said with a slow nod. Nemura returned it and pulled away to stand.

The woman looked like she had some conflicting thoughts, so Sloane decided to change the topic. “Did you speak with the General?”

“Yes. He said he would meet with you if needed, and did not give me any information on his messengers.”

Sloane sighed. 

“Alright. Let’s go find Ernald and move everyone to a new inn.”

“You know, we could move everyone to the Center. It won’t be as comfortable, but we can set up the dormitory to use while we get everything else set up. With everyone there and with its wall, we will be in a far more defensible position.”

Sloane considered it. It could work, and it would allow them to focus on having the Center up and running as soon as possible. She could see the benefit, even if it meant not staying in an inn and having the comforts. It would just cost money to get completely set up.

“Okay, I’ll talk to Elodie and Adaega, also.”

 

* * *

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A crack resounded as Ressa’s fist hit the wall. “Damn it! That was so stupid.”

She was angry. The plan had gone completely awry after she’d started talking to the woman. Why did I do that? She was an officer, and her lack of foresight had her acting like a fresh recruit.

It had taken them hours of slowly moving around the city and avoiding the guards, but they found somewhere to lie low for a while.

Some clever use of her magic, and they were private.

“We can fix this…” Alexi said. Her telv second in command was disappointed. The man had tried to stop her from approaching the woman in the tavern. She should have listened and stuck to the plan of ambushing the woman outside. I just–She–Ugh! She killed our people! And with no effort. They had no chance… no way to prevent what was coming. Just… gone…

I need to be stronger.

Ressa closed her eyes. Taking deep breaths, she tried to calm herself down. 

Can we fix this? The entire city knows we are here now.

“The plan to capture the woman is out of the window. I… blew it. I am sorry, everyone. That was my fault.”

“Commander. Stop. We cannot change the past, we have to focus on where we go from here. What is the plan?”

She sighed. What is the plan? Everything has gone wrong since we got these orders… First the watchtower–which pissed me off. The Valeni. Then my screw up in handling the Reinhart situation. ‘Come with us?’ What was I thinking?!

A quick glance around at her people helped her calm down. They stood silently and let her vent her frustrations. Alexi tried to steer her onto the correct path. It was unprofessional of her, she knew, but all she felt was disappointment and anger at herself. You vented. It’s over. Move on.

Sloane Reinhart killed so many of their people–like… it was nothing, and Ressa knew that the woman warned the city. Their goal had to change. She had to speak to the general. The terran was too entrenched in the city at this point. The guard would be aware of them, so any strike would not be easy.

She knew what they had to do.

“We pivot. We’re going to support the army. The plan is for a siege. If we can do whatever we can to shorten it, the better. We will disappear. Focus on targets of opportunity. Keep the terran paranoid, but we primarily look for ways to weaken the city. Even if individual attacks fail, as long as we aren’t captured or killed, we can provide material benefit. We will reassess how to approach the terran situation… later.”

Alexi looked around the small room. “How do we avoid capture?”

Ressa took a deep breath.

“I have an idea for that.”

 

* * *

 

It had been two and a half weeks since the attack by the Vlaredians and neither the knights nor the city guard had seen any sight of them. General Irileth had put his forces on high alert, but it seemed that the Empire’s Fist had vanished into thin air.

Elodie had finalized the purchase of the Center and Ernald had finished selecting members of her new House guard coincidentally on the same day of the tavern attack. Meeting the guards later had gone well, and it was a relief when she found out that the two senior guardsmen were both former officers in Marketbol’s army. Ernald was certain that they would be able to work well together.

Sloane looked around as she walked up to the campus of the Reinhart Center. There were members of the staff working to move newly purchased furniture and equipment into the various buildings, but none of them stopped her as she walked past the visitor center which would be used to ensure only those approved would be let within the grounds–with an appropriate escort, of course–and approached the main entrance of the Center itself.

She nodded at one of the guards who opened the door for her and stepped inside. The reception area was large with several desks set up where guests could be further directed to the appropriate location within the building. The receptionists would also handle appointments of those that worked there.

As soon as she entered, Sloane stopped and took a deep breath. Tiberius shifted from where he perched on her shoulder.

“Are you okay? You look exhausted.”

Sloane turned to see that Adaega was standing next to her. The woman looked concerned, but Sloane just smiled and gave her a nod.

“I am fine. It will take time for everyone to get used to the changes and the fact that everyone that has moved here is relying on me. It is a lot more stressful than I expected, but it will be worth it."

"It has definitely been busy. We have it well in hand though, Sloane. The esquire, Nadia, is working on a contract to recruit a scribe. I’ll have more on that for you if we get him.” 

“Nadia? Have I met her yet?” Sloane had been meeting so many people over the last two weeks that she was struggling to remember names.

“Yes, Stefan’s sister.”

“Oh! Yes, I remember now. The big sister who treats our scary, roguish Blade like she has to take care of him.”

Adaega laughed. “That’s the one. She is a lovely woman. I do need to get you in with her for another meeting, but we’ve been busy and you’ve been busy. We all keep missing each other.”

“I know. I am sorry. With everything that has happened, I have dove into my work and have been torn between a bunch of different projects.”

“We understand. Remember, you have a team now. If you need something from us, that is literally why we are here. For now…” Adaega gestured to one of the offices with her thumb. “...are you ready for the meeting?”

Sloane nodded again and allowed Adaega to lead her inside. She waved to the guardsman who stood outside and motioned for him to follow.

Inside, Sloane saw that the room was sparsely furnished. Only a few tables and chairs were set up together to create a larger space for everyone to sit around. Next to the fireplace in the room, Nemura was in the middle of a conversation with General Irileth, another elf she didn’t know, and Gisele.

Ernald and one of his senior guardsmen, a telv, stood with two other telv from the army that she didn’t recognize. None of the other knights were present as Sloane knew they were working to ensure the Vlaredians did not catch them off guard.

The guard with Sloane took a position outside the door to prevent anyone else from entering or eavesdropping.

Sloane looked around and held in a sigh.

With a nod to Adaega, the woman stepped forward. “General Irileth, officers of the Marketbol Army, I apologize for the lack of amenities, but please, have a seat so we can discuss the purpose of your visit.”

The general turned and nodded to his men. Everyone found a chair and sat, with the General taking the center seat across from where a small nameplate indicated for Sloane to sit.

Sloane smiled. “General, now that we are all here, what can House Reinhart do for you?”

The grey-haired telv was in his armor, and she had to wonder if he wore anything else. It certainly did not look comfortable. “Lady Sloane, I notice that your eyes are not filled with magical mist any longer.”

She shrugged. “I needed to make sure I wasn’t dismissed. I do not regret it.”

He smirked. “I do not believe you should. It certainly worked,” he said ruefully, but then he leaned back in his chair and sighed. “I would appreciate it if what we discussed did not leave this room.”

Sloane looked around at her people, knowing they wouldn’t spread anything, but attempting to alleviate the man’s concerns nonetheless. “It will not. What is it, General?”

His face grew serious. “Mogagale is calling its bannermen to arms… now. That is a slow process. As such, they will not be here in time.”

Sloane froze. She knew what that meant, but she had to ask. “Here in time for what?”

“Scouts report that the empire’s army will soon be on the move. The council requests you to make good on your word, for we will have to hold out until our reinforcements can arrive.”

The room was silent. Sloane glanced around and saw everyone was tense. She caught Gisele’s eye, the woman giving her a slow nod. 

She turned back to the general. Trying to think of everything that she could do to help. It was probably easier to simply ask where her skills could be applied. General Irileth sat there, scrutinizing her patiently; giving her time to reply. His subordinates were also stone faced as they too awaited her answer.

Sloane took a deep breath and leaned forward. “How can we help, general?”

He nodded, and the other men instantly pulled out scrolls, notebooks, and a map.

It’s time to work.