Dragonnightwolf
How We Roll Winner
Apr/Jun/Aug15
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Collaboration: Bastet and Dnw: Cory and Ishia. Thanisgard: Running with the darkness. Chapters 10, 11, 12, and 13.
The placement of the troops had been Ishia's idea. She was leading them. The horses of the Thanisgardians were out here grazing peacefully. It would be difficult to spot them because their ears were keen and their sense of smell was strong. They'd hear people coming long before those people arrived. Meanwhile the trek wasn't too difficult for these troops. The first real problem came upon them once they reached the Domrius outpost. A dot up in the sky gave the disguised Cory an advantage. He recalled to memory the days he'd fed and helped train the bird. When its wing broke, he nursed it back to health personally. The engineer's son was the other person highly devoted to that eagle and they loved it very much.
Cory always dreamt about soaring in the skies. The flashback faded from his memory as one of the other soldiers in his party said to Ishia. "We should wipe out the guards while we have the chance. If we don't, they might get in the way later should we need to retreat."
Cory said nothing and waited for Ishia's response first. If she chose not to follow the suggestion he was prepared to take the element of surprise upon the soldiers of the outpost.
"We should wipe out the guards while we have the chance. If we don't, they might get in the way later should we need to retreat."
Ishia was almost surprised to hear one of the Thanisgardians give her a suggestion about how they should have dealt with Domrius’ external outpost, though then she remembered she wasn’t leading Zarans. She had been trained as the leader of her group, and the majority of orders she gave were purely transmitted through gestures. She turned to said soldier, and spoke quietly, with a hint of disdain in her voice.
“I’m sure that would be a great way to get ourselves caught before the incendiary arrows have even left the quiver, Alquen’s soldiers aren’t so oblivious that an attack on a major outpost would go unnoticed. I trust that you men will be able to move past these defenses and only reveal yourselves when it is time to attack. If not, you are not fit for infiltration missions, and you may have mistaken me for a different commander.”
The Zaran’s hand instinctively moved to the sabre attached to her hip, as if she already knew that the Thanisgardians wouldn’t listen to her. Still, the well-being of those men didn’t concern her in the least: if they wanted to make the mission end in a failure, so be it.
"I'm sure you men can move past this and wait until we reach our destination to attack." Is the basic answer Ishia had given. Cory weighed the chances of success in his mind and snuck up behind a guard. He wrapped one hand around the guards mouth to keep him from alerting the others and shoved his blade in from the back through the ribcage and into the heart. Once done he dragged the body carefully into the foliage and covered the body with some rocks so it would look like a sudden collapse had killed the man. He did this carefully. The archers meanwhile took out the remaining men with quick, precise arrows to the neck or skulls, aiming right between the eyes. "All right, Let's move before more come this way. We'll need to get to wherever it is we're going soon. Otherwise we will be detected." Larry said to Ishia. He was one of the archers.
Cory had made note of the woman taking grasp of her weapon and another soldier said to her in a relaxed tone. "it's all right ma'am. We understand your concerns, but retreat would be more difficult if the outpost was left unharmed."
Ishia bit her lip as the men that supposedly were under her command simply pulled out their weapons and silently assaulted the scouts that patrolled the outpost. Even then, she made a note to herself to ask Domrius why the garrison in the outpost was so small. She had no idea why Trevor had even bothered to put her at the command of his men, when it was so painfully obvious it all was a façade to mask the fact that he simply wanted to see for himself if she had betrayed the Alliance. Truly, she could only make sure that nobody in her squad would live to report to Thanisgard’s commander.
The Zaran infiltrator moved her hand away from her sabre’s sheathe, and instead pulled out the crossbow secured to her back. Compared to the average crossbow that saw service in most common armies, the one the Zarans were equipped was a marvel of engineering. Compact enough that it could be carried comfortably in cover operations, it still retained enough penetration to reliably kill a man dressed in standard armor. Ishia quickly loaded her weapon by pulling a bolt from the small bandolier secured to her chest, demonstrating her expertise at handling the crossbow’s delicate mechanisms. What the Thanisgardian soldiers had said to her in the meanwhile was not important, as she was ready to carry out her duty.
Ishia spoke in a soft, cold tone of voice. It was the one she reserved to those she held absolutely no respect for. She spoke to no particular soldier, rather to the group as a whole. To her, it was as if the men she was accompanying were merely a personification of Trevor.
“Fine then, have it your way. Let’s go.”
She had left her headgear in her tent, hoping that being recognized would save her if worst would come to worst. Leaving her hiding place and swiftly leading the Thanisgardians to a trap, Ishia thought that, at the very least, it was much more pleasant to breathe fresh air.
Cory had listened to her reply and had paid attention to the look on her face. In her eyes. Cory's own gut feeling started telling him that she was definitely not pleased and the way she had loaded her weapon suggested to him that perhaps Harry and Ytha had not been mistaken after all. What Ishia did not know, yet. Was that the only reason Cory hadn't spoken yet was because it would give him away. He couldn't afford that right now. He needed her to believe he was just an ordinary soldier. They marched on following her. Cory again caught a movement somewhere off the trail and that raised his awareness to full alert now. The trail was easy enough. The other thing that Ishia had not known was that the Eagle watched from the skies. There was no danger as of yet. Nor was there any wing-sound of it since it was so high up. Human ears after all can only hear for such a distance into the atmosphere.
The archer's made a slight hand gesture to the marching swordsmen, but whatever it was meant to be or represent, only the soldier nearest Ishia gave a slight polite cough, trying to hold in what was expected to be a joke. What it actually was however, was an actual indication that the archer's were keeping an eye out for trouble in a very, causal way.
"We meant no disrespect Madame." Larry said. "This was just a precaution. We aren't exactly an infiltration unit, so we make a call based on what we as a soldier would do. We'll be more respectful to you ma'am." Larry gave her a respectful bow. Cory said nothing for the moment. He was quite aware of everything going on however. His gut was already extremely concerned.
The infiltration’s supposed commander followed the soldiers that moved without listening to her, hoping that Domrius’ men would be ready to receive the Alliance’s archers. A rampaging fire could very well spell disaster for the sea of inflammable tents that littered Alquen’s fortress. Ishia moved close to Thanisgard’s soldiers, pausing when two of them gutted the two guards closest to the exit of the outpost. One of the Thanisgardians had provided her an excuse to justify their immediate attacks, but it didn’t matter because she already had understood that they would only listen to themselves.
Ishia helped Trevor’s men assassinate the remaining soldiers of the garrison, shooting bolt after bolt at those who tried defending themselves from the Alliance’s infiltration team. Though she technically was on their side, she couldn’t afford to make it obvious. Those scouts were merely pawns under Domrius’ command, and killing them wouldn’t affect Alquen’s commander. Though her crossbow might’ve been slower than a regular bow, every bolt fired by Ishia killed its intended target. There were more guards than Ishia had expected, though, as they were caught unaware by the attack, they were quickly slain.
After the Alliance’s troops had moved inside the outpost, one of the Thanisgardians warned Ishia that enemy reinforcements were approaching. Expecting such a move from Domrius, she wasn’t surprised at all. As her allies prepared to ambush the incoming soldiers, Ishia made sure took cover in a spot that put her behind the Thanisgardians and let her fire her crossbow safely. She was pleasantly surprised by how efficiently the infiltration team managed to defeat the enemy reinforcements.
Ishia reunited with the other Thanisgardians when all but one of Alquen’s soldiers had been killed. She watched as Cory knocked the man unconscious, quickly understanding why the man had been spared: due to his outfit, he was easily indentifiable as a high-ranking soldier. Perhaps a minor commander. The Zaran girl walked closer to the man after he was tied, and realized she had seen him in Alquen’s camp the night before. Ishia made a note to herself to make sure that she would’ve had a chance to talk to the hostage, if he survived the Alliance’s attempted attack. The same man that had spoken to her before approached her again and bowed, allowing the foreign commander to lead the way.
With a smirk on her face, Ishia walked forward, leaving Domrius’ outpost. She didn’t bother voicing any problems she had with the Thanisgardians’ actions, knowing that she would’ve just wasted her breath. The vantage point that overlooked Alquen’s main camp wasn’t far, and it wasn’t long before the Alliance’s troops would reach it. When she arrived, Ishia carefully inspected the area around her, expecting that Domrius would spring his trap as soon as the archers fired their incendiary arrows. She made sure that she was protected from retailiating projectiles, and gave the Thanisgardian archers one brief order.
“Prepare your incendiary arrows, pick your targets, and fire a few volleys. We shouldn’t spend too much time in such an exposed position.”
Jejarel left his hiding place after he watched the Alliance’s infiltrators slaughter Alquen’s reinforcements. He began running back to the Zaran camp, seeking to report what had happened to Zara’s saviour. He noticed a bound man while moving through Domrius’ outpost, but he left him where he was: he had to leave while had a chance to.
The Alquen were caught off guard and in a momentary advantage of surprise the Alliance attacked the outpost. The guards within hastened to try to reach the signal fire, but were cut down by arrows. They all fell save for one lone commander of the enemy.
The reinforcements marched up and entered the outpost. They didn't expect a sudden attack from the alliance and were also caught off guard as the right and left flanks of men rallied and cut them down where they stood. A swift series of blows caught the young commander in such a position as to knock him out. He had been tied up.
The other bodies were moved inside the outpost, with respect to the fallen enemy. A flower from just outside the outpost wall, was laid with each soldier in respect. The bodies were positioned in a sign of respect to the fallen and then the Thanisgardian's had left.
Cory's eyes caught a glimpse from the overlook of a lone figure heading towards the camp. One of Ishia's men. What Ishia said seemed true. This was a bad position to be in. The archer's pulled out their arrows and alighted them. Cory pulled a dagger from a sheathe at his left side and threw it with precessional aim. That aim was directed at Ishia's own man. From the position of his own body and from the position and stance of Cory, it was clear that from this vantage point the man had accidentally mistaken the guy warning Domrius, as an enemy guard that had somehow been missed at the outpost.
He said nothing but pulled free his sword, preparing in case of trouble. The others responded in the same fashion, merely acting like this was just for a typical defense.
The archer's let fly a single volley of Arrows. The arrows flew out aimed for specific tents. As the first of fire's started to pass from tent to tent, The Eagle up above in the sky suddenly let out a keening cry of warning. Cory looked up at the bird immediately as it had spied the danger, but had not given a specific direction. Cory thought on his feet and this was one of those times.
Cory let out a quick, high pitched whistle, as did the other troops. "Now!" Cory yelled throwing off his own disguise. As the thundering of horses approached their position. The second set of arrows was aimed in two locations. 6 aimed for the forested area around the vantage point, and 4 aimed for some more tents. Cory aimed his own sword at Ishia. "Come with me if you want to live." He said in a serious tone. His eyes held calmth, but also something else. He knew what it was like to be down. To have everything taken from you.
The horses ran in and he climbed up onto his steed, offering Ishia a hand. "This is your last chance. You really think that Domrius is going to spare your people? That he's going to find compassion to allow your children to run free? I'm offering you a chance to show that your country's needs, that your intelligence, that your love for your people is not wasted. Us Thanisgardians will stand beside you. We'll gladly offer you help. But it is your choice." They had only a moment, maybe two, before the enemy would likely be upon them. Already the horses were growing eager.
Cory had to know her decision now. His eyes held friendship, true, friendship. But they also held that seriousness.
It all happened so quickly. As soon as an eagle screeched in the skies and one of the Thanisgardians yelled "Now!", the men all let out a calling whistle. Horses came rushing in as the archers divided their fire between lighting up the forest behind them and more of the tents. Ishia determined that the concept of stealth was entirely foreign to the soldiers that she had brought to the overlook.
Still, the girl understood that the men's reaction to the screech of the eagle couldn't have been a purely random occurrence. The bird probably had been trained to warn the Thanisgardians about incoming danger. Ishia wished that the animal was flying close enough that she could shoot it down with her crossbow.
Ishia turned the soldier she recognized as Cory after he mounted on his horse and aimed his sword at her. She definitely didn't like having a bladed weapon pointed at her, especially from a man she couldn't trust. Still, it didn't look like he had murderous intentions.
"Come with me if you want to live."
The girl sighed, looking at the man in his eyes. She saw some kind of pain in them, but she honestly couldn't care less about what the man felt. Those Ishia sincerely cared about were few, and none of them hailed from Thanisgard. Before she could react, the horse rider spoke again.
"This is your last chance. You really think that Domrius is going to spare your people? That he's going to find compassion to allow your children to run free? I'm offering you a chance to show that your country's needs, that your intelligence, that your love for your people is not wasted. Us Thanisgardians will stand beside you. We'll gladly offer you help. But it is your choice."
Ishia would've gladly explained to Cory how little the Thanisgardians' friendship mattered to her, how he shouldn't dare to talk about a country he hadn't ever even visited, how he really didn't know anything about her. She didn't. That would've given her betrayal away, and she couldn't afford to reveal herself.
"Are you judging me as a betrayer without even having concrete proof, Cory of Thanisgard? If all Thanisgardians are so naive, you will only end up being endlessly manipulated."
The girl reached with a hand to accept Cory's offer, but she backed off slightly when an arrow from Alquen landed precisely between the Thanisgardian and herself. In her mind, Ishia grinned at how symbolic that random projectile was. Nonetheless, she moved again towards the man and sought his hand to help herself onto the warhorse. The loaded crossbow she held in her other hand was ready to answer to any aggressive gestures.
Cory lifted her up in front of him on the warhorse and gave it's sides a quick poke to get it moving. There were other riders already gaining their steeds. As the horses galloped in escape, Cory replied in a calm, cool voice. "I read up some of the scholary texts that we brought with us about the surrounding neighbors. I also read up about your specific region and how it's faced quite a substantial struggle across time. One of our scholar's wrote in there that when she had visited your land, it was going through hard times. I assume that is still the case." He turned the horse as an arrow came flying at them. "And yes, I do have concrete proof, Ishia. Please do not insult the Thanisgardian intelligence. Besides what Ytha commented to the strategy tent, the next day. There is also the fact that Harry saw you leaving." Here Cory paused to collect his words. His thoughts came together. "Harry saw you leave by the trail we've been on. You are a good infiltrator Ishia, but you didn't very well cover your tracks. Harry followed you that night. He returned and reported to Trevor everything he'd witnessed."
Cory swung his sword out deflecting an incoming arrow aimed for the two of them. "Naturally, our Commander plays cards. He tends to be able to see when the other players are bluffing. Something about their eyes or body posture or some such. You'd already raised his suspicions upon your report, shortly after Harry had reported back with what he knew. I wasn't privy to the conversation, but my understanding, is that Trevor has concrete evidence of your betrayal. Why else would he disguise me in your midst eh?" Naturally, up until the part about Harry following her, Cory was being truthful. However, Cory had played cards with Trevor before and he had learned how to lie without any emotion shown on his face. He was too busy right now concerning their safety and staying alive, to even try to hint that he was lying. He hoped Ishia would take the bait and admit her betrayal.
"Honestly Ishia, we all know this pass is going to fall. It is a staging area, to give time to our lands and peoples. Domrius won't hesitate to slaughter children Ishia, is that something you want on your conscience?"
"The murder of innocent children?" He gave a quick glance to his right and noted that five of the archers stopped to shoot at the enemy advancing from the right.
"Think about it Ishia. They wiped out the entire Southern Rebellion. You don't think that included innocent children? The rumors say that at least 300 kids died in that assault."
"Some of our scouts, before we left the kingdom reported that at least 150 kids were dead."
"Did they truly deserve that? Simply because they wanted to keep their land?"
Cory rode up to Carthalus. "When we reach the outpost coming up, Get the prisoner, we'll take him to the Thanisgardian Camp."
"Aye Sir."
A group of soldiers to the left sprung out as Cory expertly moved the warhorse away while five of his soldiers rode to that side to battle. They'd surely be lost, but it gave Cory time.
Carthalus rode into the outpost, while Cory along with Ishia, continued their gallop back towards the alliance lines. "We're willing to help you Ishia, you and those you care for."
Again the man moved the creature into a position to avoid the next incoming attack. "Perhaps I haven't been to your lands myself, but I have seen a great share of hardships before. I'm no stranger to them. I may not know the enemy like you do, but I know one thing. If he truly was as kind as I imagine you believe him to be. Why then is he willing to sacrifice your own people to win this pass? Don't trust what he tells you. I've read what I could on what the scouts brought back to us. He said similar things to some of the South, look how that turned out."
Carthalus at this time picked the tied up man, hoisted him carefully onto his shoulder and brought him to the warhorse. They flew out of there at a full gallop before any enemies could arrive.
Cory went quiet for the rest of the journey back. Carthalus, naturally, had made it back. But out of the 25 that had gone, only 4 made it back alive, including Cory. During the ride, Cory gave Ishia the chance to confess, and to admit her wrongdoings.
Ishia was actually surprised by the fact that Cory had allowed her on his horse without harming her in any way. After what he’d said, it was obvious that he suspected her to be a betrayer to the Alliance’s cause. The girl knew that if more commanders began accusing her of being a turncoat she would have to move to Domrius’ camp rather quickly.
The girl listened attentively as the man explained that he actually had basic knowledge of what had happened in Zara, and how his fellow soldier Harry had seen her take the path that led to Domrius’ camp the previous night. She immediately deduced that the man couldn’t have possibly listened to her conversation with Alquen’s commander, or followed her for too long, considering he couldn’t have possibly been allowed inside the enemy fortress.
Cory showed great expertise in horse-riding by even deflecting an arrow with his sword while he was talking. Ishia was almost impressed, but she was rather focused on what he was saying. If anything, she was thankful that the Thanisgardian hadn’t tried to kill her.
She didn’t, for one second, believe that Trevor could’ve found concrete proof of her betrayal during the limited amount of time he spent in her tent. The only thing that could demonstrate that she had sided with Alquen was the token Rapheel had given her, and the token was in Jejarel’s hands. Unless the man was a mentalist, there was no proof to be found within the Zarans’ camp.
Ishia lost attention when Cory began talking about children casualties in the countries that resisted Alquen’s expansion. As before, she refrained from voicing her opinion. His numbers were probably exaggerated, and even if they weren’t he was talking of countries that actively fought against the empire Domrius represented at the Pass.
When Carthalus received the order to bring the prisoner to the Thanisgardian camp, Ishia was left somewhat disappointed. If the man was being held in a camp in which the Zarans were openly called betrayers, she would have little to no chances of being able to talk with him.
As Cory left Ishia the time to confess her wrongdoings and Carthalus began moving his hostage, only two other Thanisgardians had managed to survive the enemy ambush. The girl was, at the very least, glad that she had prevented Alquen’s fortress from being exposed to too many incendiary volleys while decimating the soldiers under her command.
Ishia tried defending herself from the Thanisgardian accusations as the mighty steed swiftly moved her closer to the Alliance’s camp. The surviving men wouldn’t arrive before the battle’s beginning, but Ishia knew she couldn’t count on all of her men until it was over.
“There is no concrete proof to be picked up inside my tent, Cory. The only remaining suspicious act you could’ve witnessed me carry out was leaving the Alliance’s camp, and you are accusations are based on assumptions. How do you know I didn’t take another turn as soon as I left Harry’s sight?”
Cory motioned the horse towards Ishia's tents. The man pretended not to hear her inquiry about which way she went after leaving Harry's sight, instead he casually commented. "We're getting reinforcements you know. Trevor before I left this morning, sent another carrier bird out requesting an additional 300 men to add to the 200 that are already coming. Oh, before I forget. Did I bother to tell you that according to the scouts reports from the South, that those who didn't choose to challenge the Alquen openly still got slaughtered?" Cory stopped the horse at her headquarters and carefully set her down upon the ground safely. He gave her a sincere look, one filled with pain.
"Well this is where we part ways. Thank you for your company, and for your time in undergoing this task."
Cory looked down for a moment at the horses neck. Trying to decide what else to say. Both eyes returned to her after a moment. "Thank you for conversing with myself." He looked away for a moment and his arm seemingly trembled. The face was drawn with distant pains. "You know, it's extremely difficult in these days and ages to find anybody a person can call a friend."
The sub-commander looked back at her seriously, but with respect. "Just know this Ishia. We both know this pass will fall to the Alquen. I may not know when, but I do know it's bound to happen. I also know this. All you have to do. is ask for help. Don't think that the Alquen will spare you or your kinsmen. The reports say that countless towns and countries in the south fell. They wiped out the entire Southern Rebellion. They also butchered people who didn't participate. One of the scout reports states that one of the Judges who thought they could sell out their peers, was found in five pieces scattered across the Southern Sands. Alquen doesn't care about your people. I. Do."
Cory gave her a bow of respect from his horse and headed towards the Thanisgardian camp. It was here that he planned to question the prisoner. He'd treat the soldier with respect but he merely wanted information.
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