“Aaarghh!” Glade cried, dropping Riya after she kicked him in the face with the back of her heeled boot. Again!
The flash of pain took him back to their first meeting, where he had tried to save her from an imminent explosion. At least this time he didn’t have to worry about inter dimensional travel or a mad scientist’s lair riddled with ridiculously overpowered explosives. No, instead all he had to worry about was a half crazed woman who had lost all reason because of a horse!
Da’Riya Ab’Loshere’s surprise attack has caused disorientation and obscured vision for the next 51 seconds! -2 HPs.
“Where did she go?” Glade growled in frustration as he tried to blink away the pain. His nose didn’t appear to be broken, nor was he bleeding, but just like the prompt said he couldn’t make out anything beyond a bunch of blurry shapes immediately around him.
“She ran toward the manor,” Bragden growled. “The Corporal took off after her already. He’ll convince her to stop.”
“You’d have better luck taming the tide,” Crixus snorted.
“Great,” Glade sighed. The last thing they needed was to get caught up in someone else’s fight in the middle of nowhere. Not only did it not concern them, but anybody stupid enough to recklessly charge onto a field of battle would more than likely be attacked by both sides. Add in Riya’s current instability and it would be a miracle if they made it out alive. Hopefully Kedryn could stop her.
It didn’t take a genius to see that Riya had lost all sense of reason the moment somebody had mentioned that stupid horse. He had tried reasoning with her, tried listening to her side of things, and when she still refused to explain the situation, he had lost control. In his moment of impatience, he had reflexively used a single will point to cut through her crazed thoughts so she could think rationally.
There was so much he didn’t understand about his ability. There was no question it was powerful… when it actually worked. When there was a need, he had tried using it to help himself and others out of challenging situations. Sometimes it worked, other times it didn’t. But for the most part, he had left it alone. Why? Because, in the quiet of his own mind, he could admit to himself that the unknown power frightened him.
With a flex of his ability, he had learned other worldly languages or temporarily increased his speed and strength to defeat enemies. He could now add swaying people’s minds to that list.
Ultimately, the half-baked attempt had failed. Which was why his eyes were watering and face throbbed. But it had worked, even if for just a moment.
“So, not that I didn’t enjoy the show or anything, but I think I’m missing some of the plot. Would anybody care to enlighten me what our beloved Elf was going on about?” Crixus asked, eyeing the panicking crowd around them.
“The short of it is, our Riya has taken offense to the Aldorn’s keeping a Gen’Sheld,” Bragden said matter of factly.
Glade stood as still as possible as he watched the timer on his debuff go down, the distant alarm continuing to sound as the locals became more restless.
“That, my hairy friend, is something I already noticed,” Crixus yelled over the increasing noise of the crowd. “But the question is why is she so upset? That was far more explosive than a simple elf being offended that the Aldorn’s have captured one of the famed Horse Lords.”
The debuff finally counted down to zero as the moving blobs of color in Glade’s vision coalesced into a scene of burgeoning chaos. The streets were flooding with panicked men, women, and children, each pushing and shoving as one of the merchants near them began whipping those running in front of him to get out of his way.
“This is going to be a disaster…” Glade never finished his sentence. Reacting on instinct, he darted into the crowd and pulled a man out of the way of the panicked merchant’s cart.
“Out of my way!” the merchant cried, cracking his whip at both Glade and the man he had just saved.
“Every able bodied man and woman to me!” Glade could just make out the voice of the guard who was trying to rally others to head off in defense of whoever was in charge of these lands. The same guard who was allowing this nightmare of a scene to continue to devolve.
Aldorna was not a city filled to the brim with people, but neither was it a village with nearly deserted streets. This one main thoroughfare was quickly becoming a death trap, and if left unchecked, someone would start rioting…
The distinct sound of a window shattering rang through the roar of the crowd.
Knowing he needed space to think, Glade triggered his time dilation skill, slowing the world to a crawl. He had moments before the disaster unfolding before them became too far gone. Maybe it was already. But deep down, he didn’t think it was. He could intervene. His recent discovery of how he could use his ability was proof that he could sway minds. But at what cost?
He had long ago shed the ideal that virtuous people with power existed. He had seen corruption in its basest form, up close and personal. He had fought against it, been betrayed by it, and ultimately, had lost everything he held dear. All because power changed those people for the worse.
He himself had become a more efficient killer with his newfound powers, and, if he was being honest, he didn’t trust himself to make the right choices once he started down the path of purposefully adjusting peoples thoughts.
A small, innocent warmth filled Glade’s breast with hope and excitement and joy all rolled into one.
“Help!” a voice called inside his mind as Ember took in the scene before them.
“Its not that simple, little one,” Glade replied, taking in the slow moving disaster unfolding before their eyes. There was so much more to consider beyond his self-doubts.
Their anonymity was critical to their success. But if they acted here, keeping a low profile wouldn’t be an option anymore.
“Help!” Ember called out again.
He wasn’t in charge here. The guards or the people could see him as a threat and react accordingly.
“Help!”
If he stopped to help these people, he couldn’t be sure that Riya was safe.
“Friend help!” Ember sent an image of Kedryn chasing after Riya.
He brought his thoughts back to the real issue. The idea of messing with others way of thinking felt wrong. Wrong all the way down to his core. He hated the fact that he had lost control and had forced Riya’s way of thinking to change.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
But what he hated even more was that he had already started planning how he could use this power to his benefit himself in the future.
“I help you,” Ember said matter of factly, flooding his mind with what could be.
Glade and Ember took in the scene before them.
He saw unknown men and women panicking enough to trample each other out of ignorance. It was a very real possibility that the damage done here might even be greater than whatever was happening at the manor.
Ember’s flashes of emotion and light indicated that the people could just as easily be helping one another, so long as someone showed them the way.
It took him a moment to piece together what Ember was trying to say. Showing wasn’t forcing. It was simply getting others attention and helping them see.
“You do realize that you are annoying, right?” Glade sent back.
A warm feeling washed over him as Ember’s presence trembled with excitement.
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Toran had been with the Aldorna guard for all of three months. He had always known he was going to be in the guard. He was bigger than anyone else in town and could outrun, outfight, and outlast anyone his age in a scrap.
That, and being a guard meant he didn’t have to sit under the blinding sun fishing all day, every day like he had done with his Da growing up. Yes, guarding was the life for him! He was paid regularly, was fed three square meals a day, had a bunk in the barracks, and got free ale at the Broken Oar every Fellen night. Then there were the other perks.
A smile stretched across his face as he thought of the tanner’s daughter, Ellie, who had been giving him doe eyes ever since he had put on his new uniform.
Yes, life was finally going his way. That is, up until the alarm bell at the manor began ringing. Now, everything was going belly up.
“Hurry up Bailey,” Toran growled under his breath, glancing nervously at the second story window of the apothecary’s shop. The senior guard had decided to ‘help’ widow Krin close up shop again. Something he did far more often of late.
“All able bodied men and women, we need to rally and go to the aid of Patriarch Aldorn!” he tried yelling out again. No one was listening. Well, mostly no one. Ketter the drunk, who Toran had been about to club over the head and take to the local jail for urinating in public again, had saluted with his half empty bottle of rum and fallen in line. Well, more stumbled in line, but Toran wasn’t being choosy.
The Bailiff had told him early on that if ever there was an attack, their job was to rally the people and deter violence. Rallying people was easy enough to understand, but Toran had no idea what the word ‘deter’ meant. But instead of showing his ignorance, he figured he would know what to do when he saw it. And saw it he did! If the Patriarch was being attacked, then that’s where he would go and do the deterring! After he rallied the people that is.
Now, if only everybody would act like Ketter and listen to him. Instead, they were starting to run around like crazy people! The saddler’s good for nothing son, Jorn, had even crashed in a window at the general store! The general store!!
Well, he would report that good for noting lay about later, but now it was evident that he was supposed to lead the people in the defense of the Patriarch. Maybe he should try yelling louder?
Just as he decided to try rallying the people again, a voice three times as loud as the Bailiff reverberated up and down the street, stopping him mid breath.
“STOP!!”
The word overcame the tumult and panic of the crowd, stopping people and beast alike up and down the length of the main street. So strong was the word, that Toran felt like it was burnt into his very soul, calling on him to listen to the man wrapped in an off white cloak, almost like one of the great paladins of old.
“WE,” the man emphasized, the words still just as strong as the first, “ARE NOT UNDER ATTACK! THE ALDORN FAMILY IS. FATHERS, TAKE CHARGE AND GUIDE YOUR PEOPLE TO SAFETY! MOTHERS, TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR CHILDREN! THOSE WHO CAN FIGHT, FOLLOW ME!”
“You
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“What in the name of the abyssal queen do you think you’re doin?” Bragden hissed, his eyes darting left and right as everyone in town paused, staring after Glade as he strode down the middle of the street toward the sole guard on duty.
“Averting a needless disaster,” Glade ground out, glancing at this status screen. That little stunt had cost him 13 will points. It would be worth it if the crowd actually listened to him, but it would take more than a drunk yelling out encouragement to move the rest into action. All he needed was one person to…
“Well, you heard the man!” Crixus cried, stepping up to a woman who was carrying a child in her arms. “Let’s get these people to safety!”
The bald captain then started calling out names of individuals he had built trust with over the months and assigning them tasks, his commanding voice just as loud as it had been when on the Dragonling.
Men and women began moving in an orderly fashion, helping one another down the street and toward the harbor. The merchant who had been heavy handed with his whip earlier once again tried to move forward without waiting but was quickly dealt with by a crowd of men who pulled him down from his cart.
Glade caught Crixus’ eye, giving him a nod of thanks. The roguish captain just smiled and winked, yelling out more commands.
“Alright, we’re not waiting long,” Glade said, looking over the dozen or so men and women who had joined him. Others were coming, but he didn’t want to wait any longer. He couldn’t see either Kedryn or Riya in the dying light. Hopefully, the Kid could stop her. If not, well, he planned to be on his way soon enough to provide back up.
Pushing his friends out of his mind, Glade opened his mouth to speak when a heavy set man stumbled out of a nearby shop struggling to pull his leather jerkin on over his head. A waspish looking woman in a bright yellow skirt chased after him.
“Stop, you idiot man! I haven’t got all the needles out!” she snapped, yanking needles from the man’s back as he yelped.
“Bailey, you idiot,” a giant of man wearing a soot stained leather apron rumbled while everyone else chuckled. “I told ye a dozen times already, Krin can’t help you open your bloody body channels!”
“Derran, I don’t tell you how to run your business, so don’t tell me how to run mine,” the woman said as she pulled what looked like thin acupuncture needles from Bailey’s back. “Not that it’s any of your business, but it was not for his body channels this time. He hurt his back moving some boxes for me, so I helped him.”
Someone in the crowd snickered, but one glare from the yellow skirted woman had them coughing loudly.
“Thank you for joining us, Bailey,” Glade said, doing everything in his power to keep from rolling his eyes at the absurdity of the situation. He didn’t know Cirea the Bailiff well, but he suspected that if she caught wind of this, Bailey wouldn’t be a guard for long. “We don’t have much time, so I’ll be brief. We have little to no information of what is happening at Aldorn manor. Is there any established protocol for when the alarm bell rings?”
The last question was directed at Bailey, but he said it loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Yes sir,” the guard said, his leather jerkin still not fully on. “We guards are to establish order and rough security in the – Ow! Careful, woman!” Krin grumbled something about idiot men loud enough for everyone to hear, but Bailey went right back to his explanation. “As I was saying, we are to establish order and rough security in the town. The city elders know what to do. Once that is organized, we’re to head up to the manor with whatever manpower we can safely muster while leaving the town defended – Ow! What was I just saying…”
“Stop complaining,” Krin said, pulling out the final needle as Glade nodded his understanding.
Taking one look at the man’s obviously pained back, Glade made a choice.
“Bailey, you’re in charge of building up the defense in the town. You’ve been trained on it and know the players,” he said, then he pointed to his dwarven friend. “This is Bragden, a renowned enchanter from one of the great dwarvish clans. He will help you.”
“You’re too much like Krazzik,” Bragden sighed. “But I’ll help. Too bad Gent be blitzed to the eight hells. I’ll send him up if I can though.”
Glade grunted an acknowledgement but had already moved on. Any in the crowd without weapons or would slow them down were delegated to Bailey. That left nine. The younger looking guard, a young woman with two long knives who was eyeing said guard, four men with what looked to be harpoons, the large smith named Derran with a hammer, and what looked to be a husband and wife hunter team who had quivers tied to their belts and light bows in their hands.
“Alright, the rest of you, we’re going to be moving fast and as quiet as possible,” Glade said, absently handing his star silver dagger and combat knife to Bragden who quickly inscribed a temporary enchantment of sharpness on both. The crowd began whispering in awe as the dwarf inscribed blue runes of power on the blades. “When we get there, we will hold off from attacking until we get an understanding of the situation, am I clear?”
“You can count on me sir!” the young guard said, slamming his fist to his chest. Glade tried hard not to roll his eyes.
“Good,” Glade said, taking back his knives. “Then follow me.”