The rest of the day went as quickly as there wasn’t anything eventful other than a few choice words at each other for some minor inconvenience or another.
Mikella was lucky to have Zeke with her during the ride. It was an utterly boring horse ride, even if it was the first time she rode one. Even now she was astounded how easy it was despite having no experience. Sure, she had some tips from Val and Myra on how to handle the horse, but other than that, riding it was rather easy.
Zeke was another thing though, and even now Mikella still chuckled at his half-ass try from earlier. She can’t blame him though, he just wasn’t used to this and his Dexterity wasn’t as high as hers.
They talked about what to do before, during, and even after the dungeon. She was glad that despite so much time passed together, they could still talk with each other even with the most mundane topics.
Of course, talking about Piker, the douchebag they had the misfortune to meet every now and then, was included. The general must be a real prick since all the while, Piker wouldn’t shut up about how Zacharia would be a great leader, and should be, instead of the lords currently residing.
Mikella just scoffed. She learned (heard from Zeke, not studied) that the town was built on the principle of taking care of the people without relying on the bigger powers around them. If Zacharia was in charge as Piker wished, it would just destroy the principle as Zacharia was part of the main military command all the way from the kingdom.
So no matter how much Zeke tried to calm her down, she just gets agitated at their disrespect to anyone not part of their retinue. Half the fights occuring is basically from the different retinues butting heads. Even though she was willing to come in every once in a while to bust heads, she restrained herself.
In the generals’ case… she didn’t like him, but it wasn’t because he was annoying like Piker. She just felt like he’s one of those men who focuses on nothing but their own ambition and goals, relying on nothing but themselves instead of doing it for the town as they were instructed. Even if Val respected him as a warrior and a soldier, she still didn’t like him. Even Zeke agreed due to him just being unable to handle the intensity he was putting off, which was another thing Mikella disliked about the man.
Still, there was nothing to do but to work together. In the end, all of them had the same goal–to protect the town from the incoming dungeon problem. But despite the urgency, once the Studden Star dimmed, they had to settle in for the night.
A quick search, with the help of the scout ahead, found them a large clearing where everyone can settle and relax for the night. The soldiers worked their hardest to make the tents and the fires while looking for any nearby resources to make something to eat. Meanwhile, the leaders went ahead to settle on their plans for later, something that would be a good idea in case something happened. After all, having no fights for today was a little bit too stress-inducing, which could mean some more trouble would come at them later on.
But for now, Mikella helped the soldiers put up the tents. At first, it was incredibly frustrating to deal with. Some didn’t have much experience putting up tents, which unfortunately included Mikella as well. However, that’s when Zeke added in his aid.
He put up his barrier precisely where the tents would be, using them as a staple to help everyone put up the tarp overhead and slam the stakes down. With some little fiddling with the inner poles to keep the tents’ form up, the barrier disappeared and the tent was easily made.
After Zeke graciously offered his aid to make up the tents for everyone else, the crew had the rest of the time to rest and relax thanks to him. Though Mikella didn’t know why, Zeke went ahead and helped with Piker’s tent.
Which proved once again how much of a dick Piker was as he promptly refused his aid. Saying stuff like how a mage shouldn’t waste his mana on stupid activities and treating Zeke like a fool.
Myra had to step in front of Mikella when she ‘accidently’ pulled out a sword from her pack when she was supposed to bring out her own ration to eat.
“It’s not worth it,” Myra shook her head.
“It will be once his head is on the sword,” Mikella rebutted, but this time Zeke added himself in and managed to stop her bloodlust in time.
The soldiers grew tense since then. Once Piker refused Zeke’s aid, the rest of his retinue did the same, so it created something like a divide between the two different retinues.
Mikella was more than happy to do so, but she knew that wasn’t the case. The other soldiers in Zacharia’s group were not so bad, and some even looked guilty for letting it be this way. It’s not their fault that the main leader of their group is so insistent on keeping things separate. Still, she wanted to vent her anger.
Soon the soldiers gathered up to talk about making the rounds for night-watch as it was natural to do so. So Mikella was ready to throw hands when Zeke offered up his suggestion.
“I can put up a barrier around the campsite,” Zeke said, raising his hand. “It’s not much of a mana cost while I’m sleeping, and it’ll keep us protected during the night.”
“If that is the case,” Piker added in, his eyes scowling at Zeke. “Then the barrier would be broken by the time the monsters do come in. Then they’ll start rampaging throughout the campsite and ruining the raid. No, we will keep a night-watch as intended.”
“I’m not saying we should do away with the night watch,” Zeke suggested, raising his hands in a gesture of peace. “But I just figured that–”
“Then you figured wrong, mage,” Piker practically spat the last word. “Keep your mana reserves in check, and let the real soldiers handle this. You just rest in your tent for the night. Is that understood?”
Even Zeke, being as non-confrontational as he was, scowled at the man. He was actually trying to keep his own anger in.
Unfortunately for him, Mikella didn’t have that much self-control. She walked forward, ready to settle things once and for all before Myra stepped over.
“Listen, Pike,” Myra spoke before Mikella could get a word in. “I don’t know what your deal is with Zeke, but he’s just trying to help.”
“Then he should be keeping his mana in reserve as I said,” Piker said, twisting his lips into a frown. “Tell me, is it so wrong to try to keep a support mage from wasting his mana throughout the night when a simple night watch is needed? All I see is a child trying to prove himself useful before the fight even comes in. That goes to show that he has no real ability to handle himself in combat.”
Even Myra looked ticked off at him, and she was about to say something else while Mikella was ready to just put aside the argument and enter into a fight with her fists. That all stopped once something changed in the air.
The sense of security filled her mind, and when she looked around, she noticed that the entire area surrounding them was encapsulated within a barrier. The turquoise color surrounding them was faint, but it was there. She could never forget that comforting color.
She looked back to find Zeke with his hand stretched upwards, a cold expression on his face.
The other soldiers turned silent at the response. It was such a simple gesture, yet it made the entire campsite without a sound except for the crackling of the campfire at the center.
Even Myra looked shocked at Zeke’s silent proclamation. Piker certainly did, his eyes widening, then they hardened.
He walked, the metal greaves crushing the ground with each step. He loomed over Zeke, a good half-feet above him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Piker asked. A seemingly simple question with a lot of heavy undertone.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Putting up a barrier,” Zeke answered simply. He looked confident, but it didn’t take long for Mikella to recognize the trembling in his voice. Though she was sure she was the only one who knew about it.
“Take down this barrier now,” Piker growled. “That’s an order. I will not have anyone go again–”
“Against what?” Zeke interrupted. Despite the fear Mikella could see in his eyes, he didn’t give up. “You have no authority over me. How I spend my mana is up to me. Besides–you said I can’t keep up with a fight. So what’s the problem if I use up my mana now? That won’t change at all, will it?”
“That’s not the point,” Piker snapped. “Don’t try to act snobbish just because you were taught by some experienced mage. In my eyes, you’re just a whelp in way over his head. A newb in a battlefield with nothing to add. So I’ll make this clear. Take. Down. The. Barrier. Now.”
Piker’s fists clenched tightly, glaring down on Zeke. His leather gloves sounded like they were ready to get crushed. The mood around the campsite became more intense due to his proclamation, getting the soldiers from each grouping to look nervous. They weren’t ready to go dogpile on Zeke nor on Piker–that would be foolish.
But if there was a fight between the supposed right-hand man of Zacharia and their support mage, what can they do?
For once, Mikella didn’t step in. She was ready to go hands down and fight Piker even with her fists alone. But something told her that Zeke got a handle on this. Even if Myra kept glancing back at her, expecting her to stop Zeke from provoking the easily agitated Piker.
But instead, Zeke crossed his arms.
“Or what?” Zeke managed. His own glare pierced right at him. And for a short moment, within the orange glow of the campfire, his usually brown eyes shifted and glowed.
They turned into the same turquoise color as his barriers, yet they felt clearer–almost crystalline. His mana was being charged from his emotions rising, Mikella guessed..
“Are you going to fight me?” Zeke probed, still resolute. “Are you gonna stab me? Beat me down? Go ahead and try. You’ll just be wasting all of our time. I won’t fight back. I don’t have to. So go ahead.”
Zeke’s eyes turned brighter. Not with a glow, but with intensity.
“Make me drop my barrier.”
This is where every one of the soldiers who were there at the horde battle recognized who Zeke was. This was the man who defended against a myriad of attacks on them when they first came to the city. This is the man who got hit with a powerful strike from a boss monkey during the horde battle, managing to survive.
And this is the same man that offered to use himself as bait, turning the battle on its head, and survived despite breaking his limbs in the process. Those glaringly bright eyes of his are proof of his feats.
And Piker saw those eyes for himself. He stood stock still, still glaring at the slightly shorter man in front of him. Yet, there wasn’t any hint of fire in his eyes.
They looked confused for a moment, then they grew curious. She wasn’t sure how, but the mood turned relaxed as Piker’s eyes lessened their intensity. The veins on his head were reduced and soon he responded.
“Fine,” Piker finally said, relieving everyone around them of the intense atmosphere he was creating. “But know this–if a life is lost due to your decision to go against my order, your life will be next.”
His voice turned dark at the end, and before he could say anything else, Piker turned around and walked away from Zeke.
Every one of the soldiers instantly returned back to what they were doing before, unsure whether to speak about what just happened without Piker hearing them. As everyone returned back, Mikella went over to Zeke along with Myra.
“Zeke…” Mikella said. “That was… well, impressive.”
It was more than impressive, Mikella knew. If anything, she could feel his intensity even now, but she was more filled with concern over what could’ve happened. Zeke doesn’t usually respond like that, even if it was justified. Then again, they never met anyone who was so hostile towards him before, so this was rather new from him.
“Are you okay, though?” Mikella asked as she kept staring at his face. He kept glaring at the man who walked away, as though ready for another fight.
But slowly, his face turned pale and his eyes returned back to their normal brownish color. Then, he bent his waist, his face going ghostly white.
“I think I’m going to be sick…” Zeke groaned, getting the girls to roll their eyes as they helped his unsettling stomach by rubbing his back.
“Heh, even this won’t deny that you got some iron balls, Zeke,” Myra commented, helping Mikella rub the upper part of his back. “That’ll teach him not to mess with you.”
“Why do that at all, though?” Mikella asked. It wasn’t that she was complaining. If anything, Zeke should act like that some more. But that was precisely why she was asking. “Why put yourself through this at all? You could’ve just let him do that stupid night watch of his.”
“It’s… not really about the night-watch for me,” Zeke eventually said, turning himself back over by straightening his back. “If it kept going like this, that guy would just look down on me no matter what I do. It’s… it’s the principle. If it keeps up like this, it’ll only go down from here. I knew this from experience, so I spoke up. Though I really was ready for him to fight me. I didn’t expect him to just agree with it so easily.”
“The principle…” Mikella muttered.
“Good words,” Myra slapped Zeke’s back hard with a grin, causing him to widen his eyes in pain. He knew it was a friendly gesture, even if his face winced at it.
Although Mikella couldn’t help but think back on when she had Class Madness take over her. She was overconfident and arrogant about everything. If Val hadn’t stepped up and proved to her that she was weaker than her, she would even assume she could beat Val.
She could also tell that the leaders were watching over them from a distance, for some reason, and were actually ready to step in. When she turned to find Zeke talking with Myra, he looked surprised at her somehow.
“Oh, so the captain would’ve stepped in then? Zeke said, sounding actually surprised. “Man, I looked like an idiot then.”
“It’s not like they were ignoring all this,” Myra shrugged. “They just had better things to do. Still, even Piker knows not to mess with you now. Just make sure the barrier is up for the night like you promised, alright?”
“Don’t worry, I got a handle on it,” Zeke nodded.
At least in that, Zeke was confident in droves.
…..
Val let out a relieved breath after seeing the crowd surrounding Piker and Zeke step away, the hostile atmosphere lessening as a result.
Turning back to the other two leaders, she faced both her husband and the general who also watched at the scene. Both showed complicated expressions, though Zacharia always made it difficult for her to discern what he was feeling.
Not that she needed to know. She had enough military business in her life as it is.
“General, don’t you think you should advise Piker to get along with the two new volunteers?” Val asked, knowing full well what the answer was despite her question.
“There is no denying that while Piker means well, the way he handled things could be better,” Zacharia answered simply. “However, the two of you agreed that some competition is always good for them. If they happened to fight in the campsite, who are we to get in the way as though they were children? They are soldiers, ready for war at any moment.”
“It’s not a war, general. It’s a raid,” Cloud interrupted, though he didn’t appear to want to argue on the matter anymore than Val did. “It’d be bad if one of them were injured before the raid would come in.”
“Hearing his exploits back at the horde, is that support mage so weak that he can’t handle a punch?” Zacharia asked. He had no expression, yet the tone implied a sense of eagerness that Val knew all too well.
Cloud remained silent. Letting out a disgruntled breath, he faced towards the flap out of the large-sized tent they were all using. “Now that the plans are set, we should leave. Val?”
“I’m with you,” Val said, before turning to the general to give a respectful nod. “Good night, general. We will inform the others of the order of the night watch.”
The general gave a silent nod before the two left his tent, being the one where they held a meeting. When Val walked up near Cloud, she noticed his expression still hardened.
“The bastard could at least reign in his dogs,” Cloud said, his voice barely a whisper, yet Val could hear it from miles away with her hearing. It was intended for her ears alone.
“You know how he is, Cloud,” Val whispered back. With the way the two spoke, they could be speaking to each other right in the middle of an attentive crowd and not a single one could hear them. “Zacharia has always been a competitive sort.”
“Still…” Cloud let out a tired breath. “What’s the point of making these children fight like this?”
“I admit, I do see the point of it. It’s clear that Zeke won’t be put down no matter what, and now Piker saw that for himself. He won’t be giving him any trouble anytime soon. You should be proud of that.”
“I am, I am, it’s just…” Cloud shook his head, turning back to her. “I don’t like this. None of this is making sense. Monsters appearing out of nowhere, and now a dungeon of all things. None of my contacts are even remotely interested… it feels like everything is going against us.”
Val stayed quiet, peering at Cloud with a careful look. She can’t deny that at this rate, things seem to be going against them. After a while, he turned to her with a weak smile.
“Still… as long as we’re together, we’ll make things work. We always do.”
Val smiled at that. “Of course. And now we got some new blood joining in the fun.”
“I’m probably going to start to worry whether they’ll have enough blood for the coming fights…”
Val decided to leave it at that, and that made her husband look queasy. She relished at the sight as she can’t think of anything else more enjoyable than seeing her husband squirm.