Chapter 114: Say Again?
It had taken the combat wing a few days of searching, but their hunt had finally produced results, much to Sapphire's dismay. So now they had all been gathered in the grand hall for a little update on their current predicament.
“They have found what!?” Saph exclaimed, Nunuk looking at her annoyed.
“There are mines under the island.”
“Yes, I know that those are older than well... anything around here. No one has been down there in our lifetime. Apuma said so… at some point. I can’t remember.”
“Yeah, the bastards are in there. We are sitting on a fucking nest of them!” Dakota added, clearly not pleased with the situation.
“You have got to be shitting me,” Anchor went, shaking his head.
“And why haven't we figured this out yet?” Rachuck demanded, sounding as confused as Sapphire was, looking around for anyone with an answer.
“We don’t know, they may not have been there long. Victoria thinks they wanted to wipe us out with that last raid, perhaps hoping the guard would leave the island alone and retreat like they have been doing from other parts of the frontier.”
“Right… So what now?” Rachuck replied, looking at Nunuk, who was sitting at her raised seat.
“Well, it likely means the end of plans for Hylsdal until this is dealt with. Tiguan cannot leave Deriva, and we must be ready for anything. The combat wing is to do what they are here for, and hopefully thoroughly. The mines will be purged with fire and gas.”
“They won't just sit there and die, you know that,” Rachuck replied. Dakota nodded in reply as Nunuk’s shoulders sagged a bit.
“Exactly, that’s why we must be ready in case the enemy lashes out at our home.”
“We could help though,” Jacky added, receiving a few nods from around the room before looking to Tom. He was seemingly somewhere between deep thought and utter frustration as he pulled at his hair.
“Why can’t we just be left in peace. Why didn’t you say there were mines down there? Why did you not even think to check them?”
“I did teach you about the tunnels,” Apuma added cautiously.
“And we did think to check them. We simply started with the forest,” Nunuk interrupted, clearly not impressed with Tom’s argument. “The mines have been there for centuries, possibly millenia, according to some of Apuma’s texts. You cannot live down there. You have no light, no food, and often no water. They had to come up here to hunt and find supplies. We should have spotted them then,” the lady replied,
“They can do whatever they want at night,” Tom replied exasperated. Nunuk looked to the floor with a strained expression.
“No they cannot; Kalestine would have known. Why wouldn't she have told us?” Dakota interrupted accusingly.
“She thought we knew and were just doing a shit job?” Tom replied, with a fair amount of venom in his voice.
“Do we know how long the nest might have been there?” Zarko questioned. “It may be a recent movement. Perhaps the first attack was to clear out the island to make way for them to move in.”
“Then why would they do it anyway if the attack failed?” Rachuck countered.
“They could be planning to try again. We don’t know what they have down there.”
“After those kinds of casualties?”
“Well, why then?” Zarko countered, crossing her arms.
“There could be something down there they want?” Fengi added cautiously.
“Oh god, not again,” Tom let out, sounding rather defeated. Saph had to agree on that point. The last thing they needed was another terrible item on their island. Two of those accursed daggers and four dark knights were plenty of dark magic for her taste.
“It doesn’t matter. They are here whether we like it or not. They will either flee or they will stand and fight. And that is for the combat wing to deal with. I’m sure Victoria is more than up to the task. It’s also hardly Baron's first fight,” Nunuk cut them off with a firm voice.
“Are they planning on just going in right away?” Sapphire questioned respectfully, many of the others muttering to each other, Tom saying something Saph didn’t understand.
“At dawn tomorrow. They want the early sun to light up the underside of the island,” Nunuk replied.
“Well shit.”
“And I am ordered to stay here, correct?” Jarix questioned, clearly not pleased.
“Yes. Victoria was quite adamant. She is of the belief that it’s gonna be the infantry that has to do the heavy lifting. The tunnels would soon grow too narrow for you.”
“They have those bat things down there surely...”
“Night terrors,” Jacky interrupted, Jarix giving an annoyed grump before continuing.
“If they fit then so do I. My mom or Baron might not. That leaves Grevi alone in there.”
“You are ordered to stay here. Besides, chances are good the enemy will either come out to fight or run. If they retreat into the tunnels then they have already lost. They will have to come out eventually,” Nunuk replied, sinking back into her chair, clearly not pleased with the situation.
“Unless they get relieved,” Rachuck added.
“Don’t spite Murphy,” Jarix snapped. “Tell them to reconsider. We can help them.”
“If you leave and they strike here, we might well be done for. We have no clue how many might be down there,” Rachuck protested.
“Exactly, we don’t know. What if the others are flying straight into a trap?”
“Then we better make sure they have somewhere safe to retreat to,” Rachuck countered, raising his voice a little. “We will prepare what defenses we can in case the enemy attacks here or the wing is forced back.”
“Tom?” the dragon questioned, looking to the human as if he would come to his rescue.
“Storm’s coming; best to weather it,” Tom replied, shrugging his shoulders, though his expression betrayed he was far from nonchalant about the subject. “Our projects aren’t done yet either way.”
__________________________________________________________________________________
‘Well that was certainly some shit news,’ Tom thought to himself, having gone to his bedroom to take a breather. ‘What the fuck are we gonna do now?’
The only bright point was that they would not be carrying the burden of fixing this. The professionals were. Tom just hoped that they weren’t about to lose someone they cared about… Perhaps as much for Jarix's sake. The guy was already far from pleased. He had made that very clear. The combat wing was going off to fight to defend the posting he was allegedly supposed to be safeguarding after all. Tom very much doubted that situation would improve if someone the dragon cared about didn’t make it back.
“I think we should go kick their asses,” he heard Jacky go from outside the door before it opened. “Figured out a way to kill them all yet?” she questioned, seeming to be in high spirits, heavily contrasting everyone else right now.
“Not really no. They were gonna gas the tunnels, right?”
“Yeah, greens are nasty. Don't let Grevi hear I said that,” Jacky replied jokingly as she sat down next to him on the bed.
“I figured… Well, that should work surely. I was thinking of a fuel-air bomb to beat them all to a pulp, but it sounds like we have to focus on home for this one.”
“Yeah. I was thinking, you know Jarix’s machine gun down in the workshop?”
“You mean the half-finished barrel I turned in the lathe?” Tom questioned, looking at her with a raised eyebrow and cracking a slight smile. Her enthusiasm was rather contagious after all. “It’s not even rifled yet.”
“Yes! Why not just use the barrel and make a single shot rifle for the time being?”
“Because it would still be a lot of work, and we don’t have the time?” Tom tried, hoping he was being convincing right now. “We don’t have much ammo yet either.”
Jacky seemed to try to come up with a counter for a bit before her shoulders sagged a bit, her expression growing reluctant. “What about the arrows for Sapphire then?”
“I mean… maybe?” Tom had to admit. They didn’t even have the plans done, but it was going to be a lot of thin plate work for Shiva to do, he knew that much. The impact fuse shouldn’t be hard now that they had blitz powder’s behavior more or less mapped out from doing the primers, and since it was for an arrow the rocket wasn’t needed… ‘That might actually be possible to put together.’
“Should I go grab mum?” Jacky questioned with a knowing smile.
“Yes, and Rachuck and Linkosta. Tell her to bring the mine prototype.”
Tom was about to get up when there was a knock on the door. Jacky tilted her head, confused. “Who is it?”
“Unkai,” came the reply, Jacky looking back at Tom. He just shrugged, and Jacky opened the door. The young healer walked in, closing the door behind him and locking it before looking between Tom and Jacky a few times.
“We have a problem.”
‘God fucking damming what now?’ Tom cursed to himself, trying not to let the frustration show. “Let me guess. We have a traitor in the basement?” he questioned sarcastically.
“Actually.” ‘Oh, you have got to be kidding me.’
“Well spit it out,” Jacky demanded. Unkai looked at her like he wasn’t sure he wanted her to be here for this, but he elected to just shush her.
“Lothal told me why we hadn’t found them out yet…” Tom just sat there looking at Unkai as the healer seemingly built up the courage to speak. “Hylsdal was working with them for… quite a while. In exchange for not being wiped off the map. They were forced to provide food and other essential supplies to them.”
“And why didn’t he tell us this?” Tom replied as he let his head sink into his hands, Jacky’s jaw proverbially dropping to the floor.
“I heard him tell Revo not to say anything about mom or the others one evening… It was a while ago. I didn't think anything of it. They have been through a lot,” the healer defended himself. Tom just nodded, waiting for the healer to continue. “So, after that little announcement today, I decided to ask him. This is treason of the highest order, committed by his family… He’s still crying in their room.”
“Do we have to let anyone know?” Tom asked. The kid hadn’t done anything, but it could still ruin him and his little sister if it came out.
“He’s a kid. They can’t keep this a secret forever, and Victoria is gonna find out someone was helping the enemy eventually.”
“Well, I guess we know why Kalestine didn’t figure it out at least,” Tom relented with a sigh, looking at Jacky. She seemingly hadn’t quite figured out what to do or say yet.
“Yes, so it would seem… If he’s telling the truth then his mother became convinced that at the rate they had to give food away, they had no chance of feeding themselves for winter. So they went for it.”
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Went for it?” Tom had to question looking back to the healer.
“They tried to get help… from us and Deriva… They got the ones inside their keep, but the two sent to get help never made it beyond the horizon… From there it became a siege. Which they lost…”
“What happens if the kid comes clean?” Jacky questioned in a very worried tone.
“He’s not a kid. Not anymore. But they might let him go with having his family name stripped or something, I don't know.“
“He didn't do shit though!”
“No, but his mother did, and he’s still running around with her crown,” Unkai replied with a sneer, shushing Jacky again.
“They wouldn’t execute him, right?” Tom questioned. He needed to damn sure of that at least.
Unkai didn’t reply, simply looking at Tom with a strained expression, Jacky’s face growing furious.
“He’s a kid. This won’t stay a secret forever, especially not if the other kids know… We have to tell Nunuk and Apuma at least,” Tom went before Jacky snapped.
“They would have to tell the guard. They are nobles, remember.”
“So it’s not treason if we shut up?” Tom questioned sarcastically.
“Well, it won’t cost the keep if we are found out.”
“Why don't we just blow up everything down there so no one will ever know anything?” Jacky protested, clearly trying very hard not to be loud.
“They are already down there. Unless they get repelled we can’t do that…” Tom replied thinking over the situation. “Victoria and the Royal Guard don’t want anything bad to happen to our keep. We are too important and, well, useful... hopefully. Perhaps we can help get him a mild sentence? And so what if it costs the kid his title? He can still live here happily, right?”
“I guess so. It’s better than going over the edge that’s for sure,” Unkai replied reluctantly, receiving a very angry glare from Jacky.
“Well then we go get him, have a little chat, tell Nunuk the truth, and then we figure this mess out. They did come around in the end, and it sounds like they were hardly willing to cooperate. Surely that has to amount to something. And wouldn’t the guard want to cover this up? They failed to protect a keep from being exploited by the enemy after all, and it sounds like they have gotten plenty of bad rep as of late.”
“I don’t think they would really care. They helped the enemy. They might show… lenience since they did resist in the end… I don’t know dude!” Unkai protested, spreading out his arms out wide, Jacky taking the opportunity to angrily shush him.
“Then we go ask someone who does,” Tom replied, standing up.
__________________________________________________________________________________
‘Why?’ Sapphire couldn’t come up with anything else right now as she sat bouncing Holdey on her knee, trying to calm him down. Just why.
Why was this all happening? They had just gotten back to sort of normal. Then they find out they are sitting on top of a nest of until recently unknown horrors and presumably more darklings. And now they have to deal with a bunch of kids who have done nothing wrong, whose family was likely to be branded as traitors. It wasn’t fair to them. It wasn’t fair to Lothal. Hell, it wasn’t even fair to Tom, who once again found himself putting the plan on hold that they had been making such good progress on. Still, the enemy wasn’t at the door; they just had to be ready for them and they would be.
The ones she really felt sorry for were the kids. She didn’t really know them that well yet, and here she was trying to help calm everyone down. Tom had to take Kiran away after he started calling the others traitors. Lothal had broken down completely at that, insisting that it wasn’t his fault. His mother wasn’t a traitor. They weren’t weak or stupid. That had quickly started a chain reaction of kids crying. Some were not even sure why they were crying, but oh boy did the tears flow.
Nunuk, Apuma, Dakota, and Rachuck were going over their options for how to play this. They obviously had to let Victoria know, but they needed to make sure she got the whole picture. The colonel's report would likely decide Hylsdal’s fate after all. Still, she needed to know now in case it turned out to be useful information for the attack. Understandably she had been less than pleased, but according to Nunuk, she was pissed at the enemy rather than Hylsdal. One advantage of her having that much experience Sapphire guessed.
Tom had those who could be spared down in the workshop putting together what they could on the now rather accelerated timetable. Rachuck was putting up the barricades once again. They should be safe here but there was no reason to take chances.
The next morning Saph had been up bright and early, as were many of the others, and the forge could of course be heard throughout the keep. Saph had gone to lend a hand. They were working on something for her after all. Tink was sleeping in the corner, Junior having put a blanket over the guy. Tom and Shiva were hammering away at some oddly shaped cones of thin plate metal, only looking up to quickly greet Saph before returning to their work.
Saph had stood there slightly awkwardly until they finished whatever they were and Tom came over with what was very distinctly two arrows with massive heads on them.
“You need to test them out. This is a dummy, the fuse is in there, but no boom. And this one is just a dummy for training”
“Uhmm okay… I don’t need to help with anything?”
“Go wake Jacky up if you don't mind. Oh and go check on Linkosta too. I need them.”
“Can do,” Saph replied, leaving to do as she was told. Linkosta was passed out in the library with the mine on the table in front of her. She was quick on her feet though after a quick rustle. Jacky on the other hand put up quite the fight not to get out of bed. It wasn’t hard to tell why though. She hadn’t even gotten undressed last night. “Tom needs you to help make explosions, and you are staying in bed? Are you sick?”
That certainly had the desired effect, as Jacky damn near launched out the door and down the hallway, coming back to grab her earmuffs. “Need these.”
Testing the arrows had gone well enough. Saph had started with the dummy, getting a feel for it as she bent it around the sky. It was hard work but not too bad until the range became excessive. Even with her new bow though, she would be lucky to get a hundred meters out of it. Still, if Tom was telling the truth, the real deal could kill a dragon. That wasn’t a claim any archer could make; even an enchanted bow would likely struggle. ‘Most dangerous woman in the world,’ Saph mused to herself as she hit the target once again, pulling out the fuse arrow. ‘Let’s see now.’
It was a clean shot, the arrow landing slightly above a bullseye. There was a little *pop* and some smoke, but that was about it. Going down to collect the arrow the tip was ruined, but otherwise, it looked mostly intact. ‘I’m guessing that’s a success,’ Saph thought to herself. Bringing the arrow back to the workshop had confirmed her suspicions. Tom was very pleased, to say the least, though he was seemingly just as excited by Linkosta’s new idea.
“So we just fire off the expensive part to go get it later?”
“Yes. It’s not pretty, but it works. Just a little bit of flash powder in a pan below the fuse box. Dad came up with the idea.”
“It’s perfect! And you got the remote to work too?”
“Yes, that’s been done for a while. Arm, and detonate just like you wanted.”
“Amazing, we have to make this, Shiva.”
Shiva didn’t get to respond as Rachuck opened the door, sticking his head in with a strained smile as he looked around.
“Great, you’re all here… The darklings came out to fight and got seven bells kicked out of them.”
Jacky let out a cheer, Junior and Radexi joining in, followed by a cautious “Yay” from Ray.
“They only had one adult. The young ones did wreak havoc in the gloom though, and some may have gotten away. They were pushed back into the cave they called home and then into the tunnel network. Grevi and Baron are trying to gas and burn them out as we speak.”
Sapphire let out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t perfect news, but it was a damn sight better than what she had been fearing.
“Won't that take forever?” Sapphire questioned with a raised eyebrow.
“The tunnels are endless. Many will likely escape, and she wants to hunt them down on foot.”
“She wants to go tunnel fighting? Against darklings who probably know the terrain?” That sounded like a pretty dumb idea.
“Yes, she is afraid they have managed to rescue the young. There were apparently nests in the big cave. And she agrees on the whole ‘very dangerous’ thing. She wants reinforcements to help track in the tunnels. She especially wants Tom, Jacky, Balethon, and you to give her the advantage she needs to ‘get everyone home safe.’ ”
“And what about the keep?” Sapphire retorted, hoping that Rachuck’s paranoia would kick in. She didn’t particularly want to go down there. It was cramped, dark, and full of shit that wanted to kill you.
“She doesn’t believe the enemy has the capacity to strike at us, and they have not seen any evidence that the darklings are receiving new orders. They attacked, fell back, and then fled into the tunnels, likely to protect young night terrors. It all seemed pre-planned.”
“Great,” Sapphire replied, throwing a quick sideways glance towards Ray in the corner of the room. She would be perfect for something like this if she hadn’t been so… broken.
“Will you go?” Rachuck questioned, looking around the room. Saph looked back to him, unwilling to answer. They could just tell her to go and she would have to do it, but things rarely came to that around here. They were better than that. She didn’t really want to go, but it was very literally her duty to help keep the island clean of such filth.
“Fuck yeah we will,” Jacky replied, Tom looking like he just got stabbed in the back.
“I’ll go,” Sapphire echoed. “They are sure there is nothing worse than darklings down there?”
“I mean it’s the mines… We stay out of there for a reason beyond just ‘it’s dark and scary.’ ”
“I hate you right now.”
“I know.”
“I can go too,” Ray added, straightening her back, though her voice was quivering slightly. “I can see in the dark, and I can fight.”
“Ray, please don’t go,” Sapphire pleaded. She was not ready. Not in the slightest.
“She might be useful,” Rachuck replied. “How far can you see by the way? I totally… didn’t forget?”
“Very far. Kilometers,” Ray replied proudly. Rachuck looked to Saph with an expression of ‘are you sure she can't come? ’ As if that was her decision to make.
“She’s not ready for a fight.”
“Well then let her stay behind you people, use her eyes and keep her safe,” the captain replied, clearly already sold on the idea. “You have a knight in enchanted armor, Tom… whatever you wanna call him, you with your impeccable aim, and Balethon... Dakota will be leading by the way.”
‘Jacky is untrained, Tom can’t fight in hand to hand, and I don’t have good armor,’ Sapphire cursed to herself.
“I’m going,” Ray stated with more certainty in her voice, causing Sapphire to sigh deeply. Ray would be useful, but she was still far from being in good shape. Sure the last few weeks had helped, but she was still frail and they hadn’t even started combat training with her for exactly that reason.
“You better not try to be a hero. We have the Royal Guards for that. You will stay behind us. If the past is anything to go by, Tom and Jacky are gonna rip them apart.”
“You can just hide behind Maiko. If he’s good enough for Sapphire he’ll keep you safe too,” Jacky replied. “Tom hides behind you. I hide behind him,” Ray replied with a smile.
“It’s almost a shame mum wants me back here just in case. I’m sure you could use some fine bladework.”
“We’ll manage,” Saph replied sarcastically. “When do the ‘eager volunteers’ depart?”
There had been a quick briefing on what the plan was. Victoria was currently holding her ground in the cave and waiting for the tunnels to be rinsed off as many hostiles as possible, moving into the ones where the dragons could traverse to cover them. The more Saph thought about it the more she became convinced this had nothing to do with Victoria actually needing them. She had plenty of troops and was facing an outnumbered, out-matched, and apparently uncoordinated enemy, with no remaining heavy units. She wanted a demonstration of what they could do, especially Tom. When Saph voiced her concerns there had been some objections. Mainly that while, yes, Victoria's forces would likely be more than enough, if she could get more of them home alive by asking for help, then why wouldn’t she? Jacky loved the idea of giving the Royal Guard a ‘demonstration,’ and even Saph had to admit it was the kind of opportunity she would have jumped at in the past, just to show them up. But she didn't fancy going into the mines one bit.
“Well, we can hardly deny her. Nor really blame her for wanting to see for herself,” Nunuk replied, cutting off the discussion. “Just be careful down there. If anything, the fact Victoria likely has the situation well under control is a bonus, less risk for you. Be safe, don't take chances, and let them take the beating if it comes to it,” Nunuk had concluded in the end. “Now get a move on. There is no excuse for tardiness. It’s a four-hour flight, and we need Jarix back before dark just in case.”
“Yes there is. Why are we going? They are here to defend us, and it sounds like they don't need help in the first place?” Tom questioned, clearly not convinced.
“She is a colonel. We do technically have to do as she commands. Even the major or a captain could order us around if he had to,” Dakota replied.
“And she wants me… specifically?” Tom questioned with a sigh.
“Yes, and we all know why,” Saph replied, looking at the displeased human. It took a few seconds before his face grew thoughtful instead, culminating in a slight smile.
“Fine, tell the dear colonel I will come, but she will do what she can for Lothal and his family. They fucking died because of this. Their kids don't deserve to be shamed on top of that. Her word carries weight, so she will have to use it.”
“She seemed more annoyed at the news than anything, her mouth growing rather foul in respect to the darklings,” Nunuk replied with a knowing expression. “I can try to ask her. I do feel confident she will agree that they did what they could in the end.”
“Please do.”
They took a short recess as Nunuk leaned back to speak with the colonel. It didn’t take long, seconds at most, before Nunuk came back to them, clearing her throat.
“She certainly didn’t seem to mind, though her language hasn’t improved. Though she urged you to hurry up. Glira and Jortun didn't want you to miss the ‘fun,’ ” the lady replied in a slightly disapproving tone.
Tom didn’t seem too happy, but he did reply with a quick nod before heading off to get his things. Jarix already had most of his armor on by the time Saph was ready for battle. Jacky was in the middle of donning her new armor, Shiva checking everything meticulously before giving her a stern reminder to bring it back in one piece, with her in it and breathing.
Tom had distributed the last of the improvised grenades they had, giving Sapphire three, with him and Jacky taking one each. Jacky had been less than pleased with that of course, but the knowledge she would be too busy mowing down the enemy with her revolver and halberd to throw grenades did improve her mood a fair bit. ‘He’s getting good at the whole sweet-talking thing,’ Sapphire mused as she tried to figure out where to put the grenades.
Ray was, of course, nervous as hell and doing her best not to show it. She had been given a sword and shield, in addition to her trusty crossbow. Kullinger had luckily decided to give it a once over only a week before at Ray’s insistence. The weapon clearly meant a lot to her. It also meant Sapphire wouldn’t be alone in the ranged department. Shiva and Tom had only managed to finish two of the new arrows, with more well on the way, but that would have to do. The enemy supposedly didn't have any heavy units left either way.
Balethon was in his usual kit too, even if it was his nose they wanted rather than his fighting skill. Tracking underground was a bitch, and they had no clue where they were going down there. Saph had wanted Zarko for her navigation skills, but she was going back home with Jarix. That only served to reaffirm Sapphire's belief that they were just there to demonstrate. If Victoria was in trouble she would have wanted Jarix and his crew to stay, or at the very least Zarko. But if the colonel wanted a demonstration, she would get one. Saph would make sure of that. Besides, they did owe Victoria quite a bit after everything that had happened in the capital. It was the least they could do, and it would be rather satisfying too.
As they took to the sky, Jarix was still pissed at not being allowed to take part beyond the role of a glorified ferry. Jacky was excited to kick some ass, Ray was nervous, Dakota was trying to come up with plans, and Balethon was attempting to act confident. Perhaps in some attempt to reassure Ray. It was a good effort, but it didn't really work. Tom was rather quiet, except for asking questions about what was down there. Saph and the others didn’t have much useful to say though. None of them had ever been after all.
Only Zarko, Jarix, and Radexi had been able to provide any first-hand insights into what might be down there. Some of their training had included chasing down brigands, which liked to hide in such mines and caves. Tom had brought the fancy goggles which let him see in the dark. Saph had tried to put them on once, but she couldn’t see shit. Then again, she might not have had them turned on or something, it wasn't like they fit anyway.