In the end, it took almost half an hour for anyone to emerge from the fortress, though not for lack of trying on the living soldiers’ parts. Arguments broke out after five minutes and some had even devolved into fist fights. Mae was not entirely sure what they were specifically talking about, but the topic obviously sparked great controversy. Oddly enough, no one bothered them at all, not even their escort, who had disappeared during the interim.
Before the half-hour mark struck, though, a large skiff of Mount Averus design emerged from the front gate and chugged its way over to the fallen dragon. The skiff was definitely large enough to house the fallen beast, but there were also a large number of soldiers aboard the skiff; more than was likely needed to transport the dragon.
The skiff-- a few hundred feet long in total-- slid to a stop next to the dragon, men and women aboard getting to work immediately. Mae was not privy to the logistics of moving a dragon the size of a house, nor would she get the chance, as a small group of people emerged from a side door at the base of the skiff. The leading lady was a lycant, like a centaur, but with a wolf instead of a horse. It was actually Mae’s first time seeing one, since they apparently made themselves scarce in such busy and dangerous places.
The lady strode up with a small group of men and women, all wearing heavy armor. The woman seemed a bit puzzled on how to begin the conversation, so Mae stepped up before she could speak, “Hey,” she said, “We’re the death knights of the lich Mori. We’re here to help. So… Can we enter?”
The woman seemed surprised, then sighed, “Yep, thanks Mori. Send a few subordinates instead of showing up yourself,” she sighed, “No offense to any of you, but she did disappear from the battle for a good few weeks, so I am a bit exasperated with her. So, can I ask why she sent all of you here instead of coming here herself?”
Mae smiled, glancing at the assembled lines of Talonecs who were all looking around with excited movements. Her smile fell, turning into her own sigh of exacerbation, “We were sent as an advance force to relieve you guys.”
The lycant looked over the assembled undead, pursing her lips, “How did Mori and Fara make so many… and what are those weapons?” she asked. Mae eyed the woman suspiciously and internally sighed. The lady likely knew Mori. Obviously.
“I can’t tell you that and, honestly, I don’t know enough to answer even if I could tell you,” Mae answered, “So, again, can we enter the fortress?”
The lady sighed, nodding, “Alright, I can just grill Mori on it later. But! You have to tell me what in the names of the Creators happened! We have been stressing about this stuff for weeks, worrying if that giant Clockwork flying thing would suddenly return!” The lady led them to the base of the very large skiff, the Talonecs melting into their shadows with dejected emotions coming across with their body language. The lady noticed, “Dammit, Mori,” she growled, “What is with that girl?”
The three sisters gave the lady unamused looks, “That ‘girl’ is still our mother, you know,” Ally replied, sounding a bit sharper than she usually did, “Please don’t insult her like that.”
The lady waved their words off, “I know Mori. Somewhat. If you don’t remember, I was the one who directed the outpost’s building, Aetra. I only said that because I noticed her tendency for… being unrestrained with her abnormal nature.”
Mae released the annoyed look on her face. Aetra was not lying when she said that, as their mistress was quite open about who she was, “If you can say that much, then it’s fine,” Mae replied as they entered the bottom of the skiff. It was a large shaft that almost immediately began rising when they entered, “So, you wanted to know what it was like being chased by that Cyst?” Mae asked.
“I do, as would many others,” Aetra replied, holding a finger up as Mae was about to speak, “Not now, later. Once we have everyone present.” Mae sighed, nodding. They ascended the lift, the skiff beginning to move before they could reach the top. Mae simply waited, staying silent as they reached the large, spacious deck. Aetra and her entourage departed in the direction of the dragon, so Mae and her sisters meandered their way over to the railing at the side of the skiff.
They leaned against it, watching the sand go by, when Ally stood straight, “Hey, guys, we forgot about those people who took us here, didn’t we?”
Tisi shrugged, “They did not approach us. In fact, after the battle, they simply disappeared. While that is strange, I have to wonder where they went.”
“They couldn’t have gone far,” Mae said, “And besides, why should we care about that sort of thing? We saved them, asked for a ride, and they delivered. I’m sure making friends is all well and good, but what’s the point? We won’t be here for long after the war.”
“Hey,” Ally said, “I’m all for not letting attachments bind us, but we shouldn’t just discount being nice to people. That’s pretty rude to them, don’t you think?”
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“As much as it annoys me to say it, I agree with Ally,” Tisi added, a little smirk on her face, “We should not burn bridges until we have a boat to float on. Being unnecessarily rude is one way to do that. At the very least, wait until the mistress arrives.”
“That’s not what I meant, but close enough,” Ally said.
Mae sighed, throwing up her hands, “Fine, if we find them, we’ll thank them, but we have stuff to do right now. Actually, while we’re in transit, how were the Talonecs in a fight? Also, what the hell did you say to them? They went from an orderly army to a band of kill-crazy brigands in a single sentence.”
Tisi nodded along with Mae, while Ally began to smirk, “All I said was something like ‘Kill all these bastards’ and they went berserk. Maybe it was something with the interpretation of the order that let them think that they could go wild. We didn’t exactly give them orders before they began the battle, so I’m just wondering why they didn’t cut loose before.”
Mae shrugged while Tisi rubbed her chin, “Maybe they just got too excited? We can’t exactly deny it. The mistress’ undead are quite expressive, after all.” Mae simply nodded. They could all agree on that front. They fell into silence as they watched the outer wall of the fortress grow larger and larger. Through the dark night, they could see the scorched marks that marred the walls and sand. Winds kicked up waves of black, like an ocean of coal dust.
The gate opened at their approach, and they entered the first layer of defense. There, many skiffs were parked in rows, with the largest of them being closer to the second line of walls. Another gate later, the skiff found itself in a city of sandstone huts. The only loose sand on the ground was that of the main thoroughfares that divided the camp into large blocks. From far off, Mae could hear the thundering of some big gun or other. A few moments later, a chorus of bangs replied, all coming from large clearings within the hut cities. Large guns, mortars, and other artillery were crammed into a single area.
“Why are they using mortars? Those can’t fire as far as other artillery can,” Ally asked, pointing to the batteries of mortars.
“Since when were you a military hardware buff?” Mae asked in turn.
Ally was not amused, giving a look that said as much, “Can I not be knowledgeable about anything with you two around or something? It’s like you two can’t conceive of a scenario where I know stuff.”
Mae chuckled, “That’s because you never had any interest in anything other than fighting before,” she replied, “You got stuck with the brickhead reputation.” Ally grumbled, turning away in response. They both knew who was right. After another few minutes, they finally reached the last layer of walls, where more mortars and huts were arranged, but there was also a large keep in the center of it all, with men, women, soldiers, hunters, old, and young entering and exiting the massive main gate.
Aetra strolled up to them as they slowed near the massive gate of the keep, “This is our stop. Come on, let’s go,” she said, walking over to the elevator. The sisters smiled, flapping their wings and began to hover in the air, “Oh yeah, you can do that,” Aetra remarked, “Fine, then. I’ll meet you down there.” The lift then began to descend, Aetra soon disappearing from their vision.
The sisters shrugged to each other, flying over the side and landing onto the sandy thoroughfare. A few moments later, Aetra joined them from the skiff’s lift. The lycant wasted no time in leading them into the fortress, the three of them noticing the massive skiff moving away as they entered.
None of the people they passed on their way in really took notice of them, save for a few giving them questioning looks as they passed. It was likely due to the vague ‘feeling’ any undead gave off when they were indistinguishable from other creatures, but it also could have been unusually elaborate weapons they carried. Aetra led on without interruption, and they eventually wound up in a side room, with two other people at a small table. One was an old woman and the other was a somewhat familiar orc, “Wait… I’ve seen you before,” Mae remarked, “You’re that admiral, the one that stopped us outside of Green Oasis,” she said, squinting.
The orc smiled a toothy smile, “I’m glad you find me so memorable. But now is not the time for reminiscence. I’ll give you three the short version to save time, but there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes. Basically, once we got word of you three coming back, some of our ‘allies’ are calling for your and Mori’s arrest for abandoning the battle. Basically, they want her to fight on the front lines. For some reason.”
Mae, Ally, and Tisi immediately glared at the orc, “Tisi, what was it you said about burning bridges?” Mae asked.
“Yes, I know. A bit too late for those bridges, but my point still stands,” she replied.
Ally rolled her eyes at the other two, “Either way, let’s get started. I would rather not let someone who wants to arrest the mistress have their ways with me.” The whole room stared at Ally, “Yeah, I know how it sounds, but we have more important things to worry about right now,” she growled as she sat down.
Mae and Tisi followed, “Ally, what’s going on. You’re not usually this… patient. Nor forward-thinking.” Mae was sure that Tisi agreed with her on that front. Ally was, at best, bullheaded and prone to distraction if the topic was anything other than fighting. Despite that, Ally was far more focused than she normally was.
Ally was not amused. Again, “We’ve got more important things than to make fun of my intelligence. Alright, what’s the situation?” she asked the orc. The orc, eyebrow raised at their interaction, filled them in on the situation. By the end, all three were silent, “That’s… not good.”
“You think?” Mae replied, “We have two and two half powers breathing down our necks, they’ve convinced the mercenaries that we abandoned them, and they want to dissect us. And the Talonecs. At this point, we might as well just leave.”
The room fell silent once more, until the little old lady, who had been quiet up until that point, smiled, “You don’t need to leave, kids,” she said, an innocent smile on her face, “You just need to make a little show of force.”
The three were interested, Ally most of all, “Go on,” she replied with excitement. Mae sighed. It was good to know that, even if she somehow became smarter, Ally was still Ally.