Nite let out a long, tired sigh, as if she had received that same response before, and more than once.

“No. We aren’t a cult, William. Why do so many people ask that same question? We just voice our beliefs. In hope that others join us in them.”

William didn’t really want to get into belief systems, but all religions in a sense could be classed as very large cults, so he knew that mentioning that correlation was more hassle than it was worth. Better not to risk angering the person who could probably end him before he blinked.

“Okay, thanks for clearing that up, Nite.”

She just nodded in reply.

William caught a glimpse of a smirking Jane to his right. He knew that she had seen the same correlation and knew him well enough to see he didn’t say what he really wanted to.

Jane leaned in and whispered, “I guess those atheist principles are silent when the person on the other side is stronger than you.”

William looked her dead in the face and saw she was enjoying the moment.

He whispered back, “Yes. Especially when they might be able to help us free our people and beat Stonegate. I would much rather swallow my principles than let those yellow-clad bastards win.”

Jane’s teasing grin faded and an expression of sober understanding took its place. She walked a bit nearer to John and William could see that she was lost in thought. The William that had not long arrived on GAEA would’ve argued the point to a fault, but that version of him had been killed off for the most part through the trials and fights he had been through. Now he just wanted his people free. That was his priority.

Stacey tapped his shoulder and William’s focus returned to the present. They were outside a pair of tall and wooden doors. When had they entered the central building? That was where William assumed they were anyway.

“As I was saying, the boss is inside waiting. Everything discussed inside is not to leave the room unless you are given permission to repeat it. Understood?” Nite said, her voice taking a serious tone.

William nodded, and his companions followed his example. It made perfect sense and was a good precaution against spying. If those who know the plan fully are limited, finding spies becomes easier. Nite opened the door and they all entered. William took in the details of the room. The room was large, maybe seven or eight meters in each direction. A cluster of couches were located in the corner to William’s left, framed by two large bookshelves, filled with reading material. On the western and eastern sides of the room, two large, iron brazier’s illuminated the room with a yellowy orange shine as the flames shifted and swayed. The center of the room had a lower terrace that was maybe two to three inches lower than the rest of the room. Steps down into that terrace framed the area. To the north, or directly in front of the group was a large, dark, wooden desk with various books, rolled up parchment, writing equipment, and several daggers. It seemed like a mix of the previous owner’s belongings and the current one’s possessions. The man in question was tall. He stood around six foot three inches and was garbed in the same style of robes, except a red line of fabric was sewn into his cloak. William assumed it was so they could tell who the leader was. The man’s height would’ve probably been a good tell too, but William gave some style points for the effort.

“Greetings, acquaintances of Nite. Thank you for meeting with me, call me Raze,” The man said, inclining his head ever so slightly.

“Thank you for receiving us. Shall we get straight into things?” William replied, not wanting to dilly dally, as that would delay the rescue of his people, yet he didn’t want to act too hurriedly around a potential future ally, especially one that was almost certainly stronger than William.

“Before that, Raze, William was the one who killed the Baron’s son! Thought you would want to know,” Nite said, still sounding somewhat elated.

“I see. Thank you for telling me Nite. William… you have earned my respect. You rid this world of one true scum bag and even enabled the downfall of Fort Boulder’s management, though that was a bonus I anticipate you hadn’t originally considered. I thank you again though, you really helped the Foundation. How did you manage the act? He often had guards accompanying him who were stronger. Forgive me for saying, but I can’t see you being the sort of person to conduct stealthy attacks, you seem more of an up close and personal type of fighter.“

William didn’t really want to discuss it given that it wasn’t useful at present, but humoring the man might help negotiations if any arise.

“I used a teleport skill to appear behind him and a guard, then took the pair out with a surprise slash attack,” William replied, not caring to elaborate further.

John snorted at that and everyone looked at him then.

“Dude, your ‘surprise slash attack’ turned the top half of the two guys into bloody chunks. That shit still pops up in my mind from time to time.”

“In my defense, John, I didn’t realize it would be so effective. Either way, they’re dead now and we aren’t, so its all good-” William turned to look back at Raze “-shall we get down to business?”

Raze nodded, and gestured to the cluster of couches, and made his way over to one of the wing back chairs that accompanied the couches. William and his friends were all sat down moments later, with Nite basically stood to attention behind Raze.

Raze let out a sigh and tiredly said, “Nite, we’re safe here. You don’t need to play sentry. Have a seat too.”

“But si-”

“Nope. Sit down Nite. That’s an order,” Raze interrupted, prompting her to heed his instructions.

She picked the left side of the couch that William and Stacey were sat on. It didn’t escape William’s notice that the seat was also the closest one to Raze. William respected the commitment, and tried not to be offended by the concern of Raze’s safety when it was only William’s party present. The glances that Jane and Maya threw at Nite briefly showed that they definitely struggled to hide those feelings. No one else seemed to notice though, and William decided to take the lead before they did.

“So, what do you want to discuss? We both want Stonegate gone from here right? I’m also sure your organization want them gone to an even greater extent. So, what you thinking, Raze?”

William leaned back on the couch, enjoying the soft cushions. He spotted Raze’s eyes assessing him. There was an intelligence there and… amusement?

“It should be simple enough… In theory. You want your people and your little town free. We want the Stonegate army neutered in the region while other work is done within Stonegate’s territory by our associates. Currently, Haven, and Everglade are under siege, war bands and patrols move uncontested through the region, supplies coming from the west are equally uncontested, the enemy plan to build large work camps to not only shunt the locals who don’t comply into, but to also move the many refugees near Fort Boulder into those same camps. We will need a multi staged plan for this and I have one in mind that will also help with your own plights.”

“I’m all for getting at those yellow-clad bastards, Raze. If the plan helps us too, then I’m all ears.”

William was keenly interested now, but stayed in the same relaxed position. He wanted to talk from a position of calm power. This also happened to mirror Raze’s own body language. These kind of games were tiring, but appearances can matter above a lot of other priorities.

“First of all, this plan is large and covers the whole region, at least our part does. Secondly, your part in it is one aspect of the overarching plan. I won’t share anything about the other smaller plans being undertaken elsewhere and I won’t relay the plan I propose to anyone besides your group. This is to ensure that any compromised party doesn’t endanger the other groups.”

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“That’s a good decision. We won’t pry, but please do make sure that our plan is as confidential.”

Raze nodded and continued his explanation.

“Your part to play is infiltration. You will infiltrate the camp that holds your people captive. The camp’s population has already grown from various refugee groups and the guard placed there need reinforcements. We’ve been able to seize and forge messages between the forces in Fort Boulder and those garrisoned in the camp. Those at camp are under the assumption that groups will be sent when they can be and your party will be one of those groups. Your goal is to sow discord and revolt. You will also need to steal and distribute weapons to the captives. A small group of my people will accompany you for some… enemy removal. Specifically, the most powerful guards there. Once the revolt starts, you can join the fray and help slay the troops garrisoned there. Your people will be free and we will have an outpost to interfere with other operations.”

“How many are going with us?” William asked, hoping it was a decent number.

The five of them would need all the help they could get.

“Nite will join and take charge of the team sent with you. You have your autonomy, but I’m sure the high chance of death is a good deterrent from not following the plan. With them will be a team of three others, making the total nine. That is one squad leader and eight other members. Our team will consist of a Fighter, Scout, and Medic. From what I can see, the squad would have two Medics, two Fighters, three Scouts, and two Mages. That is a formidable squad.”

“When you mentioned our autonomy, I had a thought. How does that autonomy apply when around ‘superiors’?”

“It doesn’t. That’s the one exception. When you’re alone, act however best fulfils the plan, but when around superior’s act the part. Now, Your salute is a fist over your heart. You will chant, Victos Ammenori! When given an order to go and fulfil a task. They are somewhat slack on the perfect form of salute, but will flog you if you forget the chant. That’s one of the easier parts.”

“Wonderful. The harder parts?”

“Straight to the point again. I like that. One of the tougher parts is the fact that you have women in your party. The Stonegate Army are still stuck in historic tradition. Nite will be the squad leader because she can mimic a male voice. I would advise the women only speak in hushed tones when alone. Lay low and hope they don’t address you directly. Nite will run interference if that happens, but we don’t know how effective that will be.”

William and his group nodded and it was Jane who brought up the question that had most likely crossed William and John’s mind.

“What about hiding our… feminine parts?”

“As uncomfortable as it may be, you’ll have to deal with a slightly loose chain cuirass. The military only tailor armor for officers, so you should be fine.”

“If the officers get tailored armor, then why is Nite leading? Her feminine charms will probably be noticed.”

Raze replied, with a hint of amusement, “Ah, not a problem, Nite here is not so… endowed as yourself.”

Nite let out a light huff, that only William, Stacey, and Raze picked up on. Raze’s eyes were plastered with mirth now and William had a growing respect for a fellow man of culture.

“Fair enough,” Was all Jane replied, crossing her arms.

“Back to the plan. We will have a wagon pulled by a pair of Rellzin. It is a typical squad transport for long distance. They normally hold up to eighteen inside. You will have more space than normal so you get to travel in comfort. One of our other men will drive the carriage and once you’re at the target point, will report for accommodations and duties. The plan is rough, but do what you can to rile up the captives and find a way to stealthily arm them. It’ll go smoother if you can find a way to coordinate the revolt. Unfortunately, you can’t take your bonded creatures with you, but we have an aerie here where they will be well looked after. Three more bonded creatures won’t be a bother to what’s already there.”

“Actually, Raze it’s fou-”

Squeaaak!

Echo appeared on William’s shoulder, causing everyone but William a brief jump scare. William didn’t want to leave Echo behind.

“Luckily, my bond is a Phaseling. He can become tangible and intangible at will, relative to how transparent he is. He’ll come with us. He will also be useful to our plans, won’t you buddy?”

“Squeeak!”

“Sounds like a yes to me,” William said, smiling as Echo phased out again.

“You always have to show off, William,” Jane replied, shaking her head in amusement.

“of course.”

Raze cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention again.

“Your bond can join then. That’s actually a very useful asset in this plan. Are the rest of you comfortable leaving your bonds here for now?”

Everyone else appeared hesitant and Raze continued, “You’re welcome to give them instructions to fly away and rejoin you if you can’t trust us yet, obviously that has its own risks, what with towers manned with archers.”

William’s companions eventually acquiesced after a couple minutes of deliberation.

“Seems like you’ll get to return to your friends with some great stories, buddy,” William mentally said, getting a mental sequence of squeaks that he figured out was cheering.

“Wonderful. Once the camp is captured, we’ll dismantle it and you are welcome to use them for your settlement for upgrades and what not. The quality will be decent. Also, for helping us with this, you will have access to this town’s stone quarry several miles north east of here. You could build a hefty fortification or make a decent number of buildings with that access. We will own Shaderest and would be willing to ally with you and any of your town’s allies.”

William and his companions were stunned silent from the reward. William could see the mirth in Raze’s eyes had shifted to an amused cunning, as if he had managed to land the sale. That was fine with William. The resources from Everglade later on as well as the offer from Shaderest would allow for a truly fearsome settlement to be erected. William was more than happy to see that come to fruition, and he would get to free his friends very soon. It truly was a day of good news.

“I’m guessing from those expressions, you’re in?”

collective nods replied.

“Wonderful. Once the plan is complete, come back here and we’ll debrief. After that, provided our other plans are fulfilled, we can build our alliance and look after each other. I am the leader of this branch of the Foundation, but they are my family, my brotherhood. Our other sibling branches are incredibly invested in making their way into power and the light. We don’t want that. When a building is constructed, lived in, and so on, do you ever see the foundation?”

“No. I see what you’re getting at,” William replied, nodding sagely.

“Good. I probably shouldn’t say more, but take this as me placing my trust in you as a show of faith. My fellow branch leaders would be somewhat annoyed with me for saying this, but I want my family to grow in strength and have a place to call home from the beasts of the world. After all, what person or beast of scarily high level would attack a place where hey get zero benefit? We want a place to set our flag, and operate securely. We were pushed out by the main branch from Stonegate territory, for the operation, but there isn’t much love lost between me and my brother, the leader of the Foundation. We won’t get our original base back after this, so here we shall stay.”

No one spoke, and even Nite seemed surprised. William was unsure if it was how open Raze had just been, or if it was her first time hearing the plan. The long term plan.

“Don’t worry about Everglade or Haven. Both are incredibly defensible from siege and have a good food supply inside their walls. Several months in fact. At least, according to our Scouts. They won’t be under siege for that long though, and we are working on some… big things to deal with the forces besieging them.”

“So, we won’t need to help with that? Once we’ve done our part I mean?” William asked, hoping that he wouldn’t need to march into battle against a fucking army.

“If all goes to plan, then no. If something goes awry, then we will need to adjust, but I have some contingencies in mind, just in case. In fact, I have a backup plan for each smaller plan, including yours. I like winning, and not losing people to stupid oversights. Nite will be informed of your back up plan, though it will only apply to those in the squad. No one else will be able to partake unfortunately.”

“I guess if we have to use that, then shit’s hit the fan anyway, so that’s fine,” William replied, hoping it wouldn’t come to that.

“Why would shit hit a fan?” Maya asked, bewildered at the term.

“Ah, forgot. It’s a term from our world,” William replied, pointing, to himself, Stacey, John, and Jane.

“Oh. Weird world.”

William and the other earthlings chuckled at that. The Elf from a fantasy world was calling bog standard earth a weird world.

“Do you have any other concerns?” Raze asked, seeming to glance a the door every so often. William could see that he was staying there to be polite, but needed to go soon.

“Only one. Weapons? I’ve taken this off of one soldier,” William said, summoning Flicker.

He continued, “Doesn’t seem standard issue.”

William stored it away again and waited.

“Weapons and equipment are often unique in the army. They believe that if you have your own weapon, then that’s one more weapon they have in reserve to arm the next farmer or miller that wants to sign up. Uniform codes are rigid, with a couple caveats. Typically, armor relevant to class is fine, so studded leathers or thin chainmail for Scouts, heavy plate for Fighters, and so on, as long as they have the yellow colors of Stonegate clearly visible, it’s no issue. If there’s nothing else, feel free to take some time to see the aerie, and explore the town. The wagon will leave tonight, travelling throughout the night, and will arrive around early morning the next day. That’s where the plan begins in full.”

With that, Raze stood up and walked out of the room.

Nite spoke first, “I’ll show you around the town and pick up the team members along the way. I already know who.”

“Lead the way,” William replied, glad to be meeting the other teammates before departure.