The Path Ahead

King Styte watched from afar as his army poured around Kaladia's walls, swarming it like a colony of ants after discovering a piece of food. 

He now controlled over eighty thousand men, containing more sellswords than he'd originally calculated. 

With his inside knowledge of Kaladia, that would be more than enough for an easy victory.

One of his guards approached, holding a quill, ink, and a blank sheet of parchment. "Here you are, Your Grace."

King Styte took the materials from him, setting them on his table. He sat down in his chair and began to write. 

King Ghur,

War is breaking out here in the divided empire. Soon, the entire continent of Ceros will be under my control. All of the houses in Rothal: Cyril, Faust, and Callidan, are likely to bend the knee once my conquest is over. The Dark Islands are all that remain. I do not wish for you to relinquish your title as king. That will remain yours, as well as control over all of your current territory. I only wish to ask for an alliance. Bugbears are a strong race, stronger than any human could ever be. You are a resilient people, but also intellectual. Realize what my offer entails. No more death or destruction. No more persecution of your race. A united world, under our rule, shall drive us to a new age.

I await your response,

King Styte

King Styte set the quill down, a smile growing on his face. Would Ghur fall for it? 

Not that it mattered much. The Dark Islands would be under his control sooner rather than later. 

This was his final letter. Every other House in the world had been sent something similar, except for House Leandis.

Once he conquered them, the world would see how big a threat he truly was. Any who decided to side with Leandis would face a similar downfall.

King Styte folded the parchment paper neatly. On his desk was a cup of melted wax, which he carefully poured out. Then he grabbed his stamp, imprinting his seal. 

The guard still stood next to his table, staring straight ahead. 

King Styte handed him the letter. "Get this to the Dark Islands. Now."

The guard hurried off, and King Styte turned his attention back to the battle. 

Once they took Kaladia, House Leandis's Capitol would be in his sights. 

By then, King Styte was sure one of the lesser Houses would have pledged their allegiance to him. And once he had one, the rest of the Houses would inevitably follow.

House Leandis would be on their own.

A sudden movement caught his eye.

King Styte stood from his chair and leaned forward. 

There was no time to call out a warning to his men. 

Only one thing I can do.

He watched as a horde of Terrocerous crashed into his army. 

*******

"Alon!"

"Guron!"

"Where are you?" Valia called out. 

All of the Terrocerous were gone, scared away by the fallen tree.

But her friends were gone too.

She scanned the forest for any sign of movement, but found nothing.

Valia was about to give up when she heard a light whistle from a nearby tree. 

She looked up and smiled.

All four of her companions had scaled a tree. 

General Hawke held on to the lowest branch, looking uncomfortable. "You did well, Valia."

The General's son sat above him, looking out in the other direction. "It looks like we got them going the right way."

Near the halfway point of the tree, almost a hundred feet up, were Alon and Guron. 

Over the past year, they had become experienced climbers. After raiding a village, soldiers would always come searching for them. The three of them would climb trees hauling up bags of food and treasure. 

The pursuing soldiers never seemed to look up, which was to their advantage. It made for a clean escape every time.

Valia watched as they began to descend the tree, helping each of them down. 

Alon looked frightened. "Let's never do that again. Those things could've killed us."

Guron looked at General Hawke. "Why did you need us? Why not just send one person for the job?"

"Each of you will play your part, in due time," General Hawke replied. "I'm sure of it."

"That's ridiculous," Guron said. Then he frowned, turning. 

Valia knew that expression. He heard something. "What is it, Guron?"

Guron listened for a moment more. "That was it. The Terrocerous…they're trampling the army. It…it worked."

General Hawke cocked his head with surprise. "You heard that? From all the way out here?"

Guron nodded. "I can."

"That's…exceptional," General Hawke said, astounded. "Sometimes, I can't hear someone's voice when they're right next to my face! "

He turned to Valia. "So you. You're light on your feet. I half expected the Terrocerous to hear you, but they didn't." 

Then he looked at Alon. "What about you, kid? Anything special?"

Alon was quiet.

"He's a great shot," Valia spoke up. "I've never seen him miss a target."

"I'm not that good. I still need more practice."

"Humble and good with a bow," General Hawke said. "It seems I chose right."

"Right for what?" Valia asked. "We're not your soldiers, General. We don't serve anyone."

"Ah, so you are Raiders."

Valia fell silent.

"Just as I thought. You know, I was there on that day."

"What day?" Valia asked innocently. Slowly, she moved her hand to the dagger hanging at her belt. "What're you speaking of?"

"You know what day," General Hawke said calmly. "The day you lost everything."

Everything, Valia thought. I even lost myself.

"I was a General of the Capitol's army," General Hawke continued. "I had thirty men with me on this excursion. King Leandis had to get to an important meeting. The unification of his house with House Styte. The marriage of both of their children. It was monumental.

"On the return trip, you Raiders came outta nowhere. We fought and we fought. I remember the utter defeat we faced, even though we still won. Only Sir Lucan and I survived to protect our king. And I remember you, Valia. I caught one glimpse of your face before you ran off with the rest of the survivors. It's not a face I would easily forget."

Valia wrapped her fingers around her dagger. "That wasn't me."

General Hawke took a wary step back, glancing at his son. "I don't mean to provoke you, Valia. What I want is to tell you…you don't have to be Raiders anymore. Always living life on the run. Always hurting others just to survive. It's not a life you deserve. I don't want revenge for that day. Yes, I lost a lot of good men, and yes, I did grieve for them. But so did you."

Valia let go of her dagger. "I did. But I do want revenge."

"Killing me, or my son, who had nothing to do with it, won't solve any of your problems," General Hawke said, raising his hands. 

He's scared of me. No, he's scared I might hurt his son. That means he'll answer all my questions.

"And that Sir Lucan you spoke of?"

"Yes?"

"He's the one who killed my…my friends. Sixty of them single-handedly. He's the reason for the sorrow I've felt. Is he in Kaladia? Or in the Capitol? That's all I wish to know."

General Hawke hesitated. "Sir Lucan…he…is the king's right-hand guard. He stays in the Capitol. But you'd never be able to reach him. That city is too well protected."

If he makes us citizens of House Leandis…we would have access to the Capitol. 

Valia smiled then. "Our agreement, do you remember? We've done what you asked."

"My mind isn't that dull," General Hawke said. "If I remember correctly, I said once the battle concludes. Guron, I'm sure you can hear that the battle has not yet concluded. We still have a long fight ahead of us."

Valia looked at her companions. "Just the five of us? Against an army of thousands? The idea of using the Terrocerous was genius. But this truly is suicide. We don't stand a chance of getting back into the city."

"I must get back inside the walls. My men need their commander now more than ever. And you're right. We can't simply charge through Styte's army and hope for the best."

"So, there's another way?" Alon asked. 

General Hawke nodded. "It's a longer, tougher journey than the one we took here. It's a tunnel, used only for emergency escapes. It starts at the city's edge, furrowing underneath the ground. We dug until the tunnel reached the woods."

He glanced over his shoulder. "And it's about a furlong away from here. What do you say? Will you help me defend this city?"

Valia sighed. They didn't have much choice. This was the only clear path they could take in order for her to reach her goal of finding Sir Lucan. She spoke quietly, immediately regretting her answer.

"Yes."