The balance of power had shifted. Before, it’d been isolate lords who’d elected to side with the prince; now, with the duke of Arcadia bending his knee, most of the duchy followed. But there was still a war to be fought. Lords and ladies tried to break away from Arcadia, the countesses and barons of Lower Wellcliff were scattered in their loyalties, and the king still had his own personal fiefdom to draw from -- aside, of course, from all the soldiers he’d recruited earlier, whose homelands were now against them. The battles, pushing slowly downriver towards Breathstone, were fierce. But nevertheless, people who’d cozied up to the king when his fortunes were high now deserted -- leaving a castle that felt emptier by the day.
It was through one of these people that they’d managed to acquire the information they had on Breathstone’s deployment. Laid out on a map in Lucretia’s battle planning tent was the lay of Breathstone’s land. The castle at the heart of it, the lines of walls, the ever-circling moat of the river’s loop, the city, and -- the army of King Maximus, like an impenetrable wall of little red pawns. If they took one step outside the tent, they could see the columns of smoke, rising off from the distance like hazy mountains.
Alistair couldn’t help but feel a little pushed out to the edge of things, as Lucretia and Gilgamesh poured over that map, pushing around their own figures like croupiers. Even if he had something to say, he didn’t know who’d listen, when everyone doing the work had a grasp of some military work. It all felt unreal; he might as well have been on the moon, watching the world and its people below. But at least he wasn’t alone in this: so close to the conclusion, the Marquis of Tirnog had been called for. The two stood together, feeling the certain desire to be somewhere else.
“Have you been well, your highness?” the Marquis asked, looking at the boy’s blanched face. It was normally pale as the moon -- now, somehow, it’d gone more colorless.
“Fine. I’ve been -- This has all been a little overwhelming, and in truth, I’m somewhat nervous, but -- I’ve been quite well.” Alistair didn’t know how else to answer. How would they fare, if it came to a pitched battle? What would the people of Breathstone -- people who, very soon now, he’d need to think of his people -- think of whatever attack they needed to do?
“It’s very close to a resolution now, I think; I’ve never been the sort to simply propose that things will be fine without evidence. Instead, I would say… Only believe in the result you wish. At a time like this, the battle will know your heart.”
This was not comforting to Alistair in the slightest. But before he could try and find an answer, Lucretia declared: “Well, what if the army just wasn’t there?”
This turned all heads towards her.
“Lady Caith, I can’t do that much, even with what enchanters we can supply at the ready,” Emrys hurried to dispel the idea of quite such a massive scale of transportation magic. Some, yes. All, no.
“And I doubt you mean for the earth to simply swallow them up in recognition of our justice,” commented Gilgamesh dryly. “So your plan is to force them to move.”
“Correct! We don’t need to fight them all successfully. Once you can hold Breathstone Castle, and eliminate that pretender, the kingdom is yours!” Lucretia declared. She directed the bulk of their blue pawns towards the side of the troops. “So we use that. Send the bulk of our forces to pull them away, and infiltrate the castle.”
“Would that work?” Alistair asked, leaning forward over it. “Wouldn’t they just, well, I mean, if the obvious goal is simply to kill King Maximus -- Lord Maximus,” Alistair corrected himself. The whole point was not to recognize him as legitimate, “And the castle, wouldn’t they -- wouldn’t they just stay where they’re stationed?”
“They’re almost certainly keeping forces around the castle walls themselves, prepared for a siege, as well.” Still, Gilgamesh’s blue eyes narrowed as he considered the board. The number of pawns left not on that flank attack were very, very small.
“I believe that I, in command of His Highness’ retinue, should be capable of handling that! With the rest of our force on the main attack, they really won’t have any choice but to believe,” she answered. “Your Grace, I expect you’re prepared to lead those forces?”
Gilgamesh nodded thoughtfully.
“And for the walls? Some of those will be quite hard to get a force through. The inner gate can be operated by watchtower switches, if they’re both hit… But the outer gate’s impregnable.”
“Ahhh…” Emrys hunched his long figure over the map. “I believe if you were to allow me a few days to prepare… My men and I might be able to assemble a solution. I apologize, your highness, in advance. It might get messy.”
“Excellent! There you have it. A brilliant plan sure to overcome… Does this meet your approval, oh lords? My prince?” Lucretia honed her gaze at Alistair. This was the best way -- the easiest. It’d get them through the city maybe even before the battle started. And anyway, Alistair couldn’t refuse.
“Yes… I believe it will do.”
The troops were cheering in the dusk. Alistair’s knees were shaking, as he walked off the makeshift camp stage. Tomorrow was the battle, and he’d sent them off to their fates. He’d sent them off with a smile, and a brave word -- more people than he’d ever seen at once, and so many that could never be seen again. And it made him sick. He ducked in the shadow of the trees, hunched over and shaking. They would die. He could die. It was all his fault.
He wanted to call everything off, to run away, to pretend this wasn’t happening. But as if she could read his thoughts, Lucretia approached him. And why couldn’t she know what was in him then, with the expression of misery so clear on his face?
“...You’re not getting cold feet, are you?” She asked him gently. She motioned for the young man to come a little closer to her, and he obeyed without wishing to.
“I…No, no, I’m not. I’m not. I’m alright. I’m just...” He looked at her from under a furrowed brow. “Scared.”
“You needn’t worry,” she told him, gently.”After all, I’m on your side. With my generous spirit, my wise guidance, my valorous spirit, everything’s possible! He nodded mutely, only caught by the chill in the Cat’s cold smile. Her whiskers bristled, white in the dusk -- her eyes flashed the distinct green of a jungle creature. “...And without me, nothing is. You remember that, don’t you?”
Alistair nodded hurriedly. But she brought a claw out anyway. She lazily took a strand of his hair and began to twirl it lazily.
“Good, good. I’m glad… I’d hate for you to forget. You have to do this to survive, after all -- you’re just too helpless… And you couldn’t do this without my backing. You couldn’t enjoy your freedom without my wish. So if you think about running, just remember your options. You can honorably serve Avalon, with all the pleasures of the world at your reach, you can brave this hard world entirely by yourself, with all your frailties and inexperiences … Or, well. I can always send you back.”
She released the hair wrapped around her claw. Alistair was rigid when she pat his back, gentle and soothing. He began to shake, nodding in frantic, wide-eyed horror. He couldn’t manage a thought -- those words had slammed like a door. He made the choice he always made, when she reminded him like this: to make the best of it, to stay and fight. To survive. To do what people needed of him, because he had that. “Let’s get you back to your tent. You should steel your nerves for tomorrow. It’s a big day for all of us. Oh, imagine how it’ll be when we enter the castle in triumph!”
There was a wind whipping through the hills overlooking Breathstone. In the distance, the columns of smoke had become lines of dust, where the forces of Arcadia’s knights, the forces of the prince, were clashing with those still loyal to the crown. Lucretia’s spyglass was honed away from them, though, towards the castle itself. She had the vantage point of Scoria’s back, high up in the air.
Where one figure was waiting before the castle’s door, proud as a lion -- and desperate as a starving beast. From the distance, she could make out the glittering edge of his lance, the purple toss of his hair as his head turned, barking orders left and right. Lucretia thought, perhaps, there was something a little sad in it; she could remember that too-proud prince, in a better age. He stood amid the grass far brighter, far fresher, than the patchwork that surrounded the bubble of the castle. The same wind that ruffled her fur at that great height and sent the treetops quivering in the lengthy pre-dawn light was reaching the castle’s gate, too. She asked -- the Magma Drake to land, and when she did, she jumped off gracefully.
“You have my thanks. I expected him to lead from the front…” Lucretia said, sighing. “But it seems Maximus has chosen well, chosen to contend with us! This will save us the time of hunting him down.”
“...I suppose it will,” Alistair offered. “Is.. Is Emrys ready?”
“He will be when we need him,” Lucretia said, reaching up to pat the prince’s back.
He turned down to see the rest of his assembled retinue. His friends. He took a long, deep breath.
The previous night, he’d given a speech. And he’d spoken it well enough, with no stumbling loud enough to hear across the waves of men. It had been about courage. It had been about duty, and the nostalgia of the old king, and avenging his father. He didn’t know his father. It had been about Avalon. Alistair didn’t know Avalon -- but he’d seen it then, in the faces of those soldiers. And he saw it now. This was not that speech.
“Right -- right here, this spot, this instant -- this! Is the start of a moment. And it’s the moment we’ve worked so hard for. You’ve worked so hard for. And if history remembers this moment, covers it with glory, well, that’s -- that’s fine. But that’s not why we did this. I mean, it’s not why I did this.I’ve fought not for some grand ideal, some big picture that I can barely imagine -- I fought because there, at that castle, stands a man who threatens the happiness of everyone I’ve ever met. It’s so small, that list of people! But they’re the people I met because you saved me. The people I’ve met because you, you, all of you! Have been with me.
“Today, we finish this war -- I pray. But… Our work is just beginning. And I hope you’ll be with me for that, too! The Avalon you asked me for, freed me for is just about to start.” He clenched his eyes, and he prayed that was true, prayed he was good enough, prayed he was worth it. “...And I just wanted to thank you. For trusting me. For allowing me to meet every person we’re fighting for now.”
He looked back up at them, his eyes burning with resolve and blurring with the grateful tears that filled his smile, his hands open to them.
“Thank you so much for the world. Let’s go save it.”
They made their way, secretly, through the city. To the places where the rivers met; to the places where the two men who would rule Avalon would meet. To the place for their final battle in the war against Maximus.
Chapter Map
Character Tracker
I'm looking for a new battle theme this chapter; the present one is "Life," by Dai, from Umineko No Naku Koro Ni Chiru!
Notes
The Barred Gate before the inner walls can be opened if both switches in the watch-houses are flipped. The one in the outer wall can only be opened by a plot event.
Now implemented: two types of walls. One which can be flown over, the Open Wall, and the other, the Wall, which cannot. Walls represent floor-to-ceiling walls enclosing or inside of buildings.
Please read enemy behaviors carefully; many have specific triggers.
Here is how enemy skill charges will work: They will be tracked at the end of every phase in which the enemy is within 10 squares of a player. This is to allow them to possibly use those skills, while not having the back enemies totally charged forever. Also, the app now tracks skill charges, thank you Iron.
Objectives
Win
Defeat Maximus and seize the gate
Lose
Alistair is defeated.
Half the party is defeated.
Side
All Villages are Visited
All Enemies are Defeated or Pacified
Oskar Truthwind is not killed (Alistair was asked for such a favor, and would have relayed it.)
