“Commander,” Ingram saluted Adeline when he entered her spartan-like tent. Only two poles were holding up the cot next to a small end table. Various rugs were strewn about on the ground beneath them. Ingram wondered why she hadn’t taken an enchanted tent more fit for her station rather than this standard tent.
She sat on a wooden stool with her back facing him. Half of her armor was thrown around at her feet as she was in the midst of removing it. “How many, Ingram?” her voice was hollow, the dim light from the enchanted lantern streaking shadows across her slumped form.
Ingram huffed and scowled. “22 officially dead, 53 injured and being tended to, and 7 were able to be resurrected before their souls left the plane. The injured we have are being transported back to the city for proper healing and care, as per my instructions. Reinforcements from the Order are also en route after the report of Lor-Vold.”
Adeline’s shoulders slumped even more. “Shit.”
“If I may, Commander, what happened to Lor-Vold isn’t your fault. Your brother isn’t your fault, either. You didn’t know.” He reassured her, doing his best to empathize.
She pivoted to face him. “No one can know,” Adeline sharply replied.
Ingram scowled again, the scar that ran down his face making him look menacing. “I would never betray you.”
She looked at him with defiance blooming in her eyes before deflating again. “I know. . I know. .”
“If what you faced in town really is Aldrin, then we have to have more faith in your brother. He has survived this long, and he has help if I am making the correct assumptions about the Jared fellow that gave us the warning to begin with.”
“You should be relieved that he isn’t Feral, and you didn’t have to kill him.” He gently added.
Anger threatened to rise again from Adeline’s stomach before bubbling back down. She turned away again to finish stripping her armor. “Leave,” she commanded.
Ingram saluted once more before quickly stepping out, leaving her to her thoughts. His own thoughts mused around his head as he still struggled to grapple with what Adeline told him. He was the one to call for the retreat when he got the alert about Lor-Vold being doomed. The Zombies that had given them a hard time to enter the city simply ignored them. Ingram knew better than to trust that, so he ordered the remaining defenders to collect their dead and injured to retreat to a safe distance. During that time, he worried for Adeline once she began chasing the Vampire through the city. A Vampire that turned out to be Aldrin.
Still, he waited for the countdown and for Adeline to emerge out of the crumbling, burning city. Roars and howls still filled the air from the Undead leaving the city. The men were there to defend against the Undead and paid no attention to the refugees running away from the city. The battle would be difficult for Ingram and the rest of the men, but it would also allow more time for survivors to escape.
It wasn’t long before Adeline had found them. A distant hollow look filled her face when she trounced upon Canadir. He met them halfway and led them to her tent that was set up. During that time, Finston attempted to pluck his lute to lighten the mood, but none fit the moment. It was there in the tent when she told Ingram about Aldrin’s fate.
“How is the commander?” one of the Paladins asked Ingram when he walked up to a nearby campfire that was starting to come to life. It had been only two days since they left the crater of Lor-Vold and the sun was beginning to set once more.
“She will be alright,” he lied.
Another Paladin snorted that earned him a furious glare from Ingram. Before he could reprimand the Paladin another did it for him.
“Captain Ingram,” a recruit raised his hand. He was young still by the way he had yet to adjust to his armor fitting his frame. “Did we lose?” he tentatively asked.
Ingram grunted in response as the recruit looked around for answers that none dared to provide. “A very serious blow fell upon the Queendom. Zombies organized to attack a city, and now that very same city has been destroyed. Yeah. We fucking lost,” a Priest grumbled, answering for Ingram.
“And Vampires? Here? They shouldn’t even have been near any cities as large as Lor-Vold!” hissed another soldier.
Ingram quietly listened to everyone argue back and forth about their failings at protecting Lor-Vold. He picked out the ones that seemed desperate enough to either become deserters or return to the Order. Finston continued to strum notes amidst the argument, adding to the atmosphere. Ingram caught his eye then slightly tilted his head away from the rest of the group that now stood, yelling at each other. Grunting, Ingram subtly nodded, as did Finston as they met up a few feet away from the screaming match.
Finston stared at the ground. “Was it the same Vampire that attacked my friends and I in the forest?” he whispered.
Ingram gave him a hard look that would have wilted him had he been looking him in the eye, “More than likely.”
“Did she kill him?” Finston quietly asked.
“No. It escaped her when the city started to burn from the inside out.” He replied, omitting a few facts.
“Are we going to hunt it down?”
Ingram took a sharp breath. “There is no we. You are a Bard that was at the wrong place during the right time. I am sorry for the losses you have suffered.”
Fury embroiled Finston’s gaze when he snapped his head up to glare at Ingram. “Wrong place?! My friends were sucked dry of their life! A city was destroyed because of that very same Vampire! And not just any city but Lor-Vold, the city of Alchemist! Do you know-”
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Ingram’s fist felled Finston, making him scramble in pain on the ground. “I am quite aware of the situation at hand. It was a failure of monumental proportions that will be felt all across the Queendom.” Ingram sharply hissed. “You forget that you were only allowed here because of the information you carried at the time. Information that is no longer relevant given current circumstances. I suggest you either leave or suck it up and help.” He finished, moving away from the Bard that was still huddled on the ground.
Finston stayed on the ground a little while longer, rubbing the welt that was beginning to form. He took out his lute and plucked a single note, infusing with a bit of magic that soothed his aching cheek. He stared at the back of Ingram marching back towards the argument that was beginning to descend into a brawl. Then he looked up at the dusky sky that taunted him of the night that his friends were murdered. One way or another, he would get revenge, not only for his friends but for others as well.
Quest Issued:
Pact of Vengeance I: You have sworn in your heart to avenge those wronged by the evil that was unleashed on the fateful night of your first Adventuring Quest. Bards are not known to be fighters, but that has never stopped them from rallying the people to a cause greater than themselves. Find individuals willing to hunt down the Undead Scourge that is beginning to rise!
Current Task: 0/10 followers gained
Reward: Class Evolution
Finston grinned as he began to make plans and new songs to compose. He took one last look at the camp of the Holy Order, figuring he would start there for like-minded faces. Thus marking the beginning of a new threat within the Queendom.
Making his way back to the campfire, he saw Adeline finally emerge from her tent. He watched her as she stalked towards the shouting match. Others noticed her creeping up and began to quiet down, watching her with wide eyes.
“Oh fuck,” Finston heard one of the Paladins murmur before taking his cup and plate, and making himself scarce by disappearing into a nearby tent.
“What. In. The. Abyss is going on?” Adeline growled.
Ingram took his place next to her as she glared at each and every one. Like children, they all looked away bashfully, embarrassed about being reprimanded.
“Commander-”
“Save it Rolis,” Adeline barked to the brown-haired, blue-eyed man.
Ingram cleared his throat, earning Adeline’s ire. “The men are upset about the loss, commander.” He clarified.
“We were all thrown into a situation with only half our forces there, little information, and in the middle of a siege. We were not prepared as much as we should have been,” she told the group.
“What did we even go there for, anyway? To lose?” Someone else piped up.
Ingram glanced at her, then bent down to her ear. “Commander, tell them what you can,” he whispered.
She took a breath as all eyes were on her, “I went to find my brother that was supposedly being experimented on in the city. That is where all the Undead came from; more specifically, the Vampires that we saw. Those were the experiments being run.”
“Was he there?” a Priest asked.
“Under whose orders were the experiments being ran?” asked a Cleric
“No, and I don’t know,” she lied.
Warning!
Oath of Truth broken!
Oath of Justice broken!
Break one more of your oaths to have your Class forcibly changed to:
Fallen Templar
For her brother, she would become Fallen if necessary. She knew most of the answers thanks to Jared after she puzzled together the dizzying tale he spun for her. Sadly, she couldn’t tell the truth without them demanding her brother’s head. She would protect his secret until she could see him again whenever that would be. Telling their grandfather would be a matter all in itself. He would be relieved but heartbroken.
The group looked around at each other, wondering who was going to be the first to say something. Yet, none did as they went back to eating in silence.
“What’s the mission, then?”
“We head home, regroup, and report,” Adeline answered before turning around and heading back to her tent. Ingram followed her close behind. Finston watched everything unfold, knowing Adeline was lying to the men. Another seed of doubt took root in his mind about trusting Adeline to be his first one to turn.
Adeline pushed her tent flap open, ignoring Ingram coming in right behind her. “Lying for now is the best thing to do.”
“I took an oath, Ingram, and I have broken it,” Adeline replied, sharing her notification with him.
“When you fall, so shall I, Adeline.” His storm gray eyes bored into her green ones after reading it.
Her mind froze. “Ingram! I cannot ask you that!”
“I took an oath to follow you wherever you tread. A life debt to be paid. It is among my people’s customs not to follow the fickle ways of a normal man.” Ingram stood straighter.
She was about to say something when Ingram held up his gauntleted hand. “You have shared a secret with me, so I too, shall share one of my own. You have never pried into my past and I thank you for that, but now I must share with you before we walk down the path we are about to embark on.”
He gestured for her to sit on the hammock that was strung up. She followed his lead and sat quietly.
Memories flashed behind Ingram’s eyes. “My true past is that of an Exiled Human. Dwarves that deemed us unfit to be within their borders as they expanded and raided my village. They killed all the men and women but left the children alive. They rounded us up to be sold as slaves since they didn’t want to sully their hands and consciousness with the blood of children.”
“I spent most of my teenage years as a slave before being liberated by the Order. At the time, the Order was trying to expand its reach back into the hearts of Exiled Humans, hoping to bring them back into the fold. They took us, fed us, clothed us, and trained us in the ways of the Order. While I owe the Order for everything I am now, I owe you more.”
“I have some knowledge that may be of importance to you regarding Aldrin. Should you want to walk the path that will be laid out for you in the coming future, then you must be prepared to give up everything you know. The Progenitor Wars will begin again and with it, your brother will be at the forefront of it all. We must prepare.” Ingram finished.
He waited for her to say something, but she chose not to. She pulled out two glasses and a bottle of wine from her inventory then poured themselves a drink. “Tell me everything.” She demanded, offering a glass to him.
Taking the glass from her hand, he sat opposite of her. “Where do you want to start?” he asked, taking a sip, and gently smiled at her. He was grateful she had so readily turned a blind eye to his heritage. It was another notch to his belt, confirming she was the right one to follow in the dark times ahead.
Now he just needed to see Aldrin and the puzzles the Shamans and Druids of his tribe foretold would begin to make sense. Sides were blooming unbeknownst to the rest of the world that lived in blissful ignorance for now. If Vampires were beginning to move their pieces on the board along with the Undead gaining sentience, then a new era was being ushered in. He hoped he would have had more time to give Adeline and her grandfather a chance to be swayed, but fate had its own machinations on what and when it wanted things to be known.