My mind was racing at a mile a minute. This is a long shot. Will he even help? How do I convince him? Can I find that same spot again? What am I going to do if this doesn’t work? All these thoughts and more were allowed free reign in my head.
All I knew was that I had to pack and give this an attempt as soon as possible. I’d have to tell Durdan where I was going, Kala too, probably. This would be a solo journey, multiple days, so simply disappearing without a word wouldn’t be acceptable. How am I going to broach the knowledge of Soro and the Sevathen’s survival?
There was a slight issue in that I was now talking about creatures of legend, but then again, I was the chosen of a literal goddess, so perhaps my words would carry a little more credence. Whatever the outcome of my conversations, I had to try this. Even if I didn’t get Durdan’s permission to leave, I’d probably just sneak away regardless.
I packed a bag with a bedroll and dressed as warmly as I could for the journey. I would need food, and a map would be helpful, but I’d have to grab that from the quartermaster when I was leaving. As soon as I had my luggage situation sorted, I stepped outside to be met with my friend group, minus Kala who was still working in the medical tents.
They were obviously waiting for me, and Otar struck up a conversation the moment I was free from the tent. “James, what are you planning on doing? Hargon said you just ran off shouting about having an idea, and if we know you, that means you’re about to do something crazy.”
Have I become predictable? I launched my defense. “Well, it’s not crazy, per se. It's more like trying to dig up an ancient secret that has been buried for centuries.”
All their brows went up and they looked at me like I was losing my mind. “What are you talking about? You didn’t get hit in the head while you were out there, did you?” Jorn asked with a bit of concern.
I rolled my eyes at them. “No, I did not get hit in the head.” I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Look, I found something that I didn’t share with anyone else because I thought it would just cause unnecessary problems. I’m planning on informing those who need to know, and you are welcome to listen in, but I don’t want to go through explaining all this to you guys only to have to do it again. Can you agree to hold off on the questions until then?”
They looked a little disappointed, but everyone nodded their heads in agreement with my terms. First order of business was to collect Kala from the medical tent. The closer we got to that area of the camp, the more we had to navigate an increasingly dense crowd. It was a mad dash to save people’s lives as fresh supplies were brought in and bloody bandages or water were brought out.
Dipping through the tent flap, I found the aftermath of the battle splayed out before me. Every available cot was filled and even mats on the floor held occupants. Blood stained nearly every surface and pooled in low places on the ground. I scanned through the crowd to find Kala and saw her running bandages between cots.
A part of me wanted to grab her and move on, but that would have left a sour taste in my mouth as I would not only be abandoning these people who needed medical attention but taking away a person who could have helped them as well. Decided that an hour or two wouldn’t hurt anything, I instead directed my attention toward finding Velshi and being assigned to a group of patients. Once I found Velshi, and she saw me as well, her face immediately became relieved which further confirmed that I made the right decision.
“James! Thank the gods you’re here.”
I furrowed my brow slightly. “Thank the gods? Thank me! I’m the one who showed up.” It was said in humor, but still had a bit of my true feelings about the subject in it.
Velshi accepted my joking manner and continued with the conversation. “Yes, thank you, James. Now, I need you to help over in this section. Most of the Trelnval and Ulgor who were injured are there and my hands are tied dealing with the Droln. They make big targets, as I’m sure you’ve realized.” She pointed in the general direction she wanted me, and I saw the people she was referring to.
“Alright, I’ll get on it right away.” Not wasting any more time, I grabbed a handful of crystals and began to treat the wounded.
I had to eyeball the worst injuries for the most part. Sometimes an assistant who was tending to a particularly bad case would grab my attention and ask for my assistance before it got worse. The process went relatively smoothly with a few panic-filled incidents where an internal injury was more serious than what anyone originally thought.
Despite my best efforts and how quickly I was attempting to heal the injured, there were still casualties that could not hold out. Deep wounds required time to heal properly, and they were often the quickest to become fatal. My heart sank every time I would make my way to a cot and find that the occupant had already succumbed to their wounds. A part of me blamed myself for not being quicker, or more efficient, but I knew that was an unfair criticism. Speed might have made me sloppy, and worsened the wounds of those who were under my care. It still hurts though.
Nearly two hours later the worst of the injuries were sorted out and now only minor debilitations remained. Now that things had calmed down and Velshi wasn’t being overwhelmed, I could finally get to the real reason why I came here.
Kala was cleaning the wounds of an Ulgor who had an arrow previously stuck in their shoulder. I allowed her to finish her current task before capturing her attention. She had noticed me working in the tent previously, but this was the first moment that we had to really spend some time together.
She walked over to me and then collapsed into my chest, exhausted. “Thank you for not doing anything crazy out there. I could barely focus on my work thinking that you might have been getting into trouble out there.”
“Hey, I promised you, right? However, I didn’t come here just to help with the treatments. I was about to go pitch an idea to Durdan and figured you would like to hear it as well.”
Her eyes met mine, and she looked exasperated on top of exhausted. “Gods preserve me. What are you doing now?”
“Jeez, you make it sound like I’m going to launch myself on a catapult over the wall.” Her eyes widened a bit, and she tilted her head at me. “No, I’m not going to do that. Look, it will be easier if I explain it fully with everyone else listening in. Do you want to come with me?”
She sighed. “Yes, I’m coming with you. Someone has to keep you from jumping into the fire.”
I rolled my eyes but decided to let it be for now as we exited the tent, joined up with the rest of our friends who were waiting around a fire, and made our way toward Durdan’s command tent. It was a short jaunt through the camp before we found ourselves outside the large fabric shelter. Getting my thoughts in order, I pushed aside the flap and stepped into the dim interior.
Durdan was standing around a long table, surrounded by officers and advisors. A map of Fulvrist and the surrounding area took up most of the surface. Many small markings and indicators were placed over the paper to keep track of all the moving parts that came with managing this siege. My entrance was noticed by all, and Durdan lifted his gaze from the map and brought it upon me.
“James, I wasn’t expecting you. We’re in the middle of a strategy meeting right now. Has something urgent come up?
I nodded my head. “Yes, in fact, something has come up. I have information, and a plan, that may help us breach the walls if it works.”
He looked a lot more interested in what I had to say now. “Well, go one, don’t keep us in suspense.”
My eyes scanned over the many faces around the table for a moment. “This information is... sensitive. Need to know basis.”
Dudan looked less happy about that. He gave my request some due consideration before waving a hand in a swooping motion. “Give us the room, please.” The command was met with a few disapproving looks but the officers all obeyed and slowly shuffled out.
After the officers left, Durdan gave a quizzical look at my group of friends. “Are they not leaving as well? I expected Kala to stay considering she is your closest confidante, but the rest of your entourage seems a bit much for a ‘need to know’ situation.”
“They are all trusted friends, and I can count on them to maintain their silence on the matter. Besides, if they don’t hear about it now, Kala will likely have to tell them in the future. I’m just cutting out the middleman in this situation.”
He leaned forward on the table and shook his head. “Then what was the point of me sending away the officers? They can be bound by duty to maintain their silence.”
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Look, this situation that I’m about to explain is sensitive, like fate of a species sensitive. If my plan fails, and the knowledge is spread regardless... Well, I just don’t want that kind of guilt on my head.”
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That seemed to appease Durdan’s frustrations somewhat. Instead of being annoyed at my demands he instead focused on the claims that I had made. “Fate of a species; that is not a small claim to make. Would you care to explain yourself?”
Taking a deep breath, I started my pitch. “So, to put it simply, my idea is to bring in someone who has enough strength to either match or overcome the defenses surrounding the city.”
Durdan wasn’t alone in his skeptical look. Everyone was staring at me with some level of puzzlement. “If such a person exists, I would very much like to ask how they can command such power without access to an equally large raw crystal. Anyone friendly to us and hiding such an asset should be chastised for their inaction when we could have made use of such a resource.”
“They are very much not what you would typically consider friendly. I’m just banking on him hating the Thrainians more than anyone else.”
“James, please stop dancing around the subject and tell us exactly who you are referring to.” He cut right through my nervous attempt to procrastinate.
Nodding my head, I took another bracing breath and got to the point. “Do you know those legends about the great wyrms that used to rule the land?”
If I had to give Durdan credit for anything, it would be his intelligence and ability to pick up on things quickly. He stood a little straighter and his eyes went wide. “Wait, you don’t mean to tell me that those stories are true and there is a living member of that species somewhere?”
Velian asked another pertinent question as well. “Where did you find them? When did you even have the time to find them?”
“You remember when I was transporting Velanie to her family members on the coast? Well, on the way back I encountered a few naderlings, who seemed to recognize me from previous times when I had fed them, and led me toward a grove he was hiding in. That’s the short version of that story, but the point of it is that there is indeed a living great wyrm, or Sevathen, as he claims his people are called.” I decided to omit the eggs he was guarding. It wasn’t important to the conversation, and I didn’t want to put the unborn in harm's way.
Durdan leaned heavily on the table, the wood creaking as he put most of his weight on it. In the silence of his contemplation, Kala took it upon herself to fill the void in the conversation. “Why didn’t you tell us? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It just wasn’t important at the time. Soro wasn’t bothering anyone, and he wasn’t interested in cooperation. It would have been something that everyone worried about for no reason when we needed to focus.”
Kala crossed her arms, obviously upset that I was keeping something like this from her. “If he wasn’t interested before, why would he be now?”
“I’m not sure if he will, but I hope that the deal I offer him will be enough to convince him to.”
“Deal? What deal?” It seemed that was enough to get Durdan involved in the conversation again as he looked at me with a somewhat concerned expression. “I hope you aren’t trying to offer something unreasonable that would put others in debt to this creature.”
“Well, I'm actually not certain about the official cost of my offer. I plan to give him access to specific plots of land so he can... uhm, do something important that I’m not at liberty to speak about right now as it is a sensitive topic.” Durdan’s brow dipped, and he looked at me with a piercing gaze. “It’s not anything dangerous,” I quickly added, “but it is important to him, so if I can have your cooperation when the time comes in carving out a little plot of land then I may be able to get Soro to agree to assist. Perhaps the act may go a long way toward making friends with him.” We don’t want a repeat of history, after all.
Durdan rubbed his brow while letting out a weary sigh. “That is asking a lot of me, James. I have not met this... Soro, you called him? If he truly does possess the strength to overpower some of the strongest defenses a city can erect, what is to stop that power from turning on us?”
“History,” I stated simply. “Soro is old, much older than any of us. From what I can tell he was alive during the downfall of his people when the continent rallied against them. He knows that he cannot stand against the combined might of nations, especially now that you have developed beyond the fractured tribes that you used to be. Making friends would be in his best interest as well if I do get him to agree with my deal.”
“He still remains an unknown factor,” Durdan argued.
“Durdan, please, if this works, then it can save many hundreds, if not thousands of lives. If it doesn’t work, then he will remain as he always has been, most likely until the day he dies.” I said that last bit with a slightly dour undertone before continuing. “It poses little to no risk to us and the upside is of huge advantage. Just say yes, please.” I really wanted this to go through for more than just the safety of the troops, but the salvation of a nearly extinct species.
The room was deathly quiet for a minute. Durdan thought long and hard, his face a mask of indecision. I understood that this was a risk for him to take on an entity that he probably only heard of in legends. If it came from anyone else, I doubt he would have believed them. The silence was nearly unbearable, but he finally broke it.
“You have made valid points, and if what you are saying is true, then we can’t afford to pass this by. What do you need?”
I let out a sigh of relief before rallying myself again. “A horse, a week of food, and a map.”
“Those are simple requests for such a grand undertaking.”
“I’m not going there to fight him, just to talk. There’s little else I need for that.”
He nodded and then wrote a few quick lines on a piece of paper before handing it to me. “Give this to quartermaster and he will provide you with anything you need. I hope that you are right about this.”
I accepted the note with a slight dip of my head in appreciation. There wasn’t much to say anymore, so we parted ways as I stepped outside with my group. The moment we had all made it out of the tent the questions started.
“You really met a great wyrm? A living legend?” Ulthises asked in disbelief. “Honestly, if you somehow get involved in any more ridiculous situations you’re going to end up as one of those unbelievable figures generations from now.”
I chuckled a bit at that. “You’re saying that I’m not already? I think half the population of the continent doesn’t believe I exist right now.”
“They’ll learn about you in time, though.” Hargon inserted himself into the conversation. “However, it may be difficult to explain your feats without evidence to the fact.”
“Well, it’s a good thing I don’t care about fame, then. I’m just here to do a job. Anything that comes after that is out of my hands. Now, what I want the rest of you to do while I’m away is to stay as far away from that wall as you possibly can. I don’t think Durdan is going to be launching an assault so soon after this last one, but make sure to volunteer to help Velshi if he does.”
Jorn crossed his arms and seemed rather miffed by my request. “James, we’re not children. We’re soldiers, and this is a war.”
“Yeah? Well, to me you’re friends first, soldiers last. Besides, you’re still technically under my command, so you can consider that a standing order if it makes you feel better.”
Jorn still grumbled a bit under his breath, but he didn’t complain any further. That opened it up for Kala to try and say something. “Well, I'm going-”
“You’re not coming with me,” I interrupted her before she could even finish the sentence.
“Why not!?” She sounded quite irate. “You already had me sit out of this last battle and now you want me to sit around again while you go off by yourself?”
“Kala I...” I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Listen, Soro was around for the death of his people at the hands of the last champion the goddess chose. Needless to say, he fucking hates me for being associated with her. I don’t want you anywhere near him if he decides he’s going to get hostile with me. This is not something I'm going to risk and that is final.”
It seemed I was upsetting a lot of people who were close to me today, but Soro was a wild card and had already smashed me against a wall once. We didn’t exactly end our last interaction on a pleasant note either. Kala’s look of hurt as I denied her was hard to stomach. However, if it was between her safety and her emotions, safety won hands down.
She stared at me, brow lowered, and snout scrunched up like she had just tasted something sour. “You’re trying to do everything yourself, just giving more.”
“Kala, I’m just going to talk to one person. He’s a big person, sure, but I don’t think there will be much trouble beyond arguments.”
She huffed and shook her head. “Fine, do whatever you want.” I knew she wasn’t going to be happy, but I didn’t think she would start pouting like that.
Not wanting to deal with this right now, I just proceeded to the quartermaster’s tent to pick up my supplies. Along the way Hargon stepped up to my side and leaned in to speak to me quietly.
“I know I’m not an authority on relationships, but I think you’ll have to make it up to her once this is all over.”
“Yeah, probably. I plan to take a long vacation once this nightmare is at its end. Plenty of time to spend with her.”
We arrived at the tent not long after that, bearing witness to the mountain of supplies that were kept in carts all around the exterior. Brushing aside the flap, I entered to find the saytr quartermaster behind a desk, nose buried in a pile of papers as he hastily scratched words on them with a quill. He looked up from his work at me and then put it aside to properly address my entrance.
“Greetings, Lord James. How might I assist you?”
I presented him with the slip of paper that Durdan had given me. “I’m here for supplies. I need food, a horse, a map, and maybe a few crystals, just in case.”
He lifted an eyebrow but simply filed the paper away in his stack. “Might I inquire as to why you are seemingly leaving the camp at this moment?” he asked.
“I’m afraid I can’t go into the specifics. Just know that I’m trying to seek a solution to the problem presented by the walls.”
“I see. We’ll, I best not keep you then. Please wait for a few minutes and I will gather what you need.”
I nodded in thanks to him as he left his seat to find my requested goods. It took maybe ten minutes for him to come back to me with a stuffed pack, handing it over. Outside there was a horse and a saddle nearby on a rack. After saddling up the horse and tying the pack to it, I was finally ready to get this trip underway.
I led the beast of burden through the camp by the reins. My group followed along with me, intent on seeing me off. Kala was unnaturally quiet and sullen as she shuffled along. It was difficult to see her like that, and I figured I should at least try to smooth things out with her before I left. As we reached the edge of the camp, I took a moment to get close to her and speak personally.
“Kala, you know that I love you, right? I would never willingly put you in a risky situation that could be avoided because you are just that valuable to me. I’m sorry if that makes you feel like you aren’t contributing, but I assure you the opposite is true.”
She stared at me for a second with a neutral expression before her face dropped to show shame. With a sigh, she replied. “I’m sorry too, for being such a hassle to deal with. I should accept that I simply cannot help you with everything, and demanding that you allow me to, would just be selfish and clingy.” Her gaze came up to meet mine with a small smile. “I love you too.”
I returned her smile with my own as I leaned down to give her a quick kiss goodbye. With the formalities and farewells all taken care of, I mounted up and begin to guide my horse out of the camp. My friends waved to me as they slowly got smaller with distance until eventually disappearing behind the trees of the nearby forest I entered. Time to dig up the past.