“Silvy” Rinas stated loudly for all to hear.
Among the many gathered on this floor, Silvy had made it here before them and was allowed to attend these discussions. She stood up from her chair at the rectangular table covered in old worn papers.
“While not officially a member of our coalition yet, you’ve proven more than loyal to us in my mind and many other minds. As a result, I have decided that you are more than welcome to join if you’d be so inclined. Of course you needn’t join if uninterested but I at least want you to know that the option is available to you.”
She thought for a moment and appeared more than willing to join. She pulled up her right palm pressing it against her heart with a look of resolve on her face and in her eyes. “It would be my honor to join your coalition as an official member.”
“Very well then. From henceforth, consider yourself a fellow member of the Human Familiar Coalition. Now that you are one of us, know that your opinion will always be considered as we all have need of varying perspectives so feel free to share them during our discussion today and any other day you’re present.”
She nodded her head and fully accepted her membership into the coalition. She went from being one of the queen’s most devoted knights all the way to becoming a member of the coalition. It was quite a drastic change but they needed everyone that they could get as far as he was concerned. She had also proven her willingness to assist them so he liked to see her finally brought in rather than being more of an outsider looked upon with distrust. Although Kiran figured that she would still be looked at skeptically by many but at least not as much as before.
All of the major members besides Rinas within the Human Familiar Coalition were here for this meeting including Yorais, Abigail, Frederek, Zorge, and Hoghdar. The only one of the faction leaders missing was Temos who had died during the initial central pillar’s destruction.
“It’s important,” Rinas continued, “that we decide how we are to immediately go forward from here on out. The reality is that we cannot afford to stay here for much longer. While this tower has been a blessing in so far as it has kept those creatures off of our backs and given us a safe location to dwell in, this place is not viable long term wise and as a result of our limited supplies eroding away day by day, we will all starve and chaos will ensue within here if we do not take alternative actions soon.”
If all of their supplies ran out, he imagined it would get really ugly. People would start to steal whatever they could from each other to grab whatever crumb of food they could get their hands on. Hunger would drive people to take actions that they otherwise wouldn’t take.
“What do you propose we do then?” Frederek said whilst crossing his muscular arms. “It was originally your suggestion that we remain here hoping that the beacon atop the tower would possibly bring outside help, but no such help has come.” It had brought Kiran and Silvy here, but the two of them weren’t the exact kind of help that they needed obviously.
Rinas gripped the edge of the rectangular table. “From what Kiran has told me, it sounds as if we may encounter help if we were to go westward. However, our dear friends who tried to apprehend us the moment we entered this domain still remain there so we’d have to avoid them if we headed back in that direction. As for heading more towards another direction, there’s little known other than the possibility of hostility towards the east.”
“What help would we potentially find in the west?” Abigail said jutting in.
Rinas gestured towards Kiran urging him to speak on it. “Well,” he said and paused to clear his throat. “I happened to encounter a noble lady administering the lands to the west. Lady Meredith Duvaugn is her full name and she’s willing to help those of us who crossed from the fifth domain to a certain extent. Although, she made it clear to me that she is greatly limited in what she can do. I believe that if we were to go west, we’d have no choice but to come up with additional solutions to help ourselves such as finding food which is admittedly a major problem. I suppose we could hunt and kill feral banespawn but I find the thought of eating them to be rather off-putting and I doubt it will be enough to ensure everyone doesn’t go hungry considering the amount of us that there are.”
As he spoke, he could tell that everyone in attendance didn’t appear so hopeful. Even if they made it safely out of this city without many or any casualties, their struggles to survive were only a tiny percentage better. Kiran knew that if they were to ultimately survive given the current limitations here, they needed to take dramatic actions in resolving the actual issues plaguing this domain.
Kiran cleared his throat once more. “It wasn’t always perpetually dark here nor absent of magic. Something caused things to become this way. If we could figure out the cause, then we very well could resolve it making our chances of living here actually viable.”
Hoghdar scratched the stubble on his chin. “Do you have any leads on perhaps the causes of the issues plaguing this domain?”
“No,” Kiran replied.
“Regardless of those causes,” Rinas said, “we must focus on actions we can take right now. Once we are safely away from this city, we can begin trying to resolve far greater matters that no doubt are ever pressing.”
The discussion focused on how they might attempt to arrange for an escape. While he brought up the major problems, everyone appeared somewhat disinterested in immediately tackling those issues. Perhaps it was because they seemed so impossible to solve, especially when more immediate issues were present. It wasn’t Kiran’s place to force the discussion to those other topics though if the others wanted to focus on their escape from this city instead.
While the discussion went on without much further input from himself, Lar began to yawn as she lay on his shoulder. Her whiskers hit up against his right cheek as they rest their head down on his shoulder.
“Are you that bored?” he whispered.
“These talks are always a cure for my inability to fall asleep. Wake me up if I’m needed.” Lar decided to sit this out leaving him to remain attentive in some sense for them.
After an hour more of discussion, his eyes began to droop. He forced them to stay open several times nearly finding his head nodding off. Lar was right. These talks really are boring. The discussion began to circle around enough times, that he lost count.
Abigail thrust her hands to the side of the rectangular table forcing him to awaken fully and his companion. “If it comes to that Frederek then we’ll just have to fight as we’ve always had to in the past!”
“I like fighting as much as anyone,” Frederek said, “but we can’t afford to fight an entire horde of those monsters out there. I also don’t care how good of a fighter that you think you are, all it takes is a spear going right through you and you’ll be bleeding out in no time including the rest of us. I’d like for us to avoid that if possible.”
Abigail blew air out of her nostrils. “Did you forget Frederek? Familiars such as myself don’t bleed you big idiot.”
“Could you stop embarrassing yourself Abigail?” Zorge said. “Everyone knows what Frederek was saying. There’s no need to be pedantic.”
She shrugged. “All I’ve been trying to say is that we have to be willing to fight, alright? We can try to make the perfect plan all day in which we miraculously avoid all conflict, but that’s unreasonable. The fact remains, that some are likely to die no matter what we choose to do in our attempt to leave this horrid place. We better just be prepared for that and be ready to fight if it comes to it.”
“If it comes to it,” Rinas said repeating a few of her words. “I understand your point of view Abigail, but it’s my responsibility to ensure we avoid as much conflict as possible. I also believe that with the vast series of tunnels under the city that we’ve recently uncovered, those very well may be our solution to avoiding possibly all further conflict at least from those monsters here. What we don’t know yet however is whether those tunnels extend all the way to the outside of the city. I believe we ought to send several people down there to see whether there are any routes that lead outside of the city.”
“Send me then,” Frederek said. “I am quite familiar with the underparts of cities. I’ll take several of my people with me as well and get a report to you soon after we have sufficiently searched them.”
Rinas nodded his head. “Very well. Begin as soon as our discussions are over. If we can secure a safe route out without having to encounter a single monster, I would be thrilled to know that. And even if you can only find routes that are near the outer parts of the city, that will be good to know as well.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
It felt likely that the tunnels would at the very least reach the outer parts of the city. It would be strange to have a sewer system that didn’t at least in his mind.
His companion began to snore a little catching the attention of everyone else. He poked Lar carefully to get them to wake up. She motioned her upper lip a little and opened one eye.
“Why’d you wake me? It better have been important.”
“You started snoring. It’s getting everyone’s attention,” he whispered back while some eyes still went towards him and Lar.
Rather than stay attentive, they closed their eyes again and dozed off. Unfortunately it managed to irritate Abigail who noticed his companion deciding to doze off yet again.
“Hey, Kiran. Why don’t you tell your companion there to stop sleeping during this discussion. It’s kind of important you know.”
So do I upset Lar by forcing them awake again, or do I upset Abigail by giving them an insufficient answer or response back?
I’ll upset Abigail. He shrugged his shoulders whilst seated in his chair.
“Anyways,” Rinas said. “Where were we—”
“Sir!”
A younger man briskly walked in with brows lowered and an intense glare.
“What is it?” Rinas asked.
“Those monsters have begun to assault the tower once again.”
“Well then, let us not dawdle here any longer. Everyone get prepared. Frederek, go ahead and begin your search through the tunnels. If we can find a safe way to exit this city, then we ought to do so now that we’re being attacked again.”
“I will go at once,” he said and motioned away.
As everyone else scurried away as well, he woke up Lar who didn’t appear happy to be awakened yet again.
“Where’s your weapon and all of your clothes?”
“On the second floor,” Lar said.
“I’ll drop us off there so you can switch back to your human form and get your gear.”
“What for?”
“There’s an assault from the banespawn occurring outside of the tower apparently.”
“Figures. They’ve attacked the tower several times before you got here so we’ll have to see how they do this time around. I imagine after our assault against them though, that they’ll make more of an attempt this time around.”
Everyone went in a hurry to reach the bottom floor. He dropped Lar off on the second floor. They switched to their naked human form, put on all of their clothes, and grabbed their fauchard that they didn’t have to summon with magic.
By the time they both reached the bottom floor, many of the survivors who weren’t fighters headed up the tower to be safe in case a breach occurred.
On the side of the tower with the large metal door, pounding occurred against it from the other side.
“I don’t think they’re going to get through that way.” He heard Juna walking up to him and Lar who kept an eye on the entrance as many others stood around at the ready. “I figured they’d have given up by now. Guess not.”
Lar tapped the end of their fauchard on the black marble floor. “I bet they’re really angry at us after our assault yesterday. We sure killed a lot of them all to save Kiran and those few others with him. I bet because of that they’ll be pounding on that door and trying to find a way in for as long as those things can manage.”
Silvy approached with plate armor—although not the same kind she wore back when she was officially a knight. She had her sword unsheathed and at the ready as well.
The large metal door kept being pounded upon. So far it did not appear it would break apart. It being metal and all as well as being thick made such a desire quite difficult for the banespawn. If they had magic, it would be a different story as powerful magic could break through it when otherwise conventional means couldn’t.
“We might as well open the doors for them.” He hadn’t realized at first who said it. He looked around only to find an old man with an arched back keeping themselves upright with the assistance of a cane. “What good is any of this anyways? We’re all going to die, aren’t we? We might as well get it over with.”
“That’s a little much, wouldn’t you say?” Juna looked at him disapprovingly.
The old man smiled. “Am I wrong my dear lady? I’ve seen enough in my life to know that there comes a time when it makes sense to give up. I’ve long ago given up myself. I’m only alive because I’m too cowardly to kill myself. Instead I am fated to walk the world adrift, fated to watch everyone around me die. Soon enough I’ll be watching all of you die one by one.”
This fellow really knows how to lift everyone’s spirits.
“Uh,” Juna said rubbing the back of her head. “Who exactly are you mister?”
“Who me?” The old man shook his head. “I am just another old familiar who goes by the name of Nello.”
“Well, Nello,” Juna said, “it’s time you stop thinking so grimly. We’re still alive, aren’t we? That means we have the chance to see a better future. Surely you can see how it’s possible for things to get better. We’re not necessarily fated to die here.”
“If not here, then elsewhere.”
If Juna had an opposite, Nello was it. The mood of everyone nearby grew noticeably worse. Even Kiran felt down after hearing him speak.
He didn’t know what it was but for whatever reason, some people had the unique ability— metaphorically speaking—to suck the souls out of people. They needn’t even say a word. The mere look on their face or the way they simply carried themselves would make any soul quiver and shrivel up just by being in their mere presence.
Thankfully he chose not to speak any further to them. He stayed back a little way and let them not hear any more of their dire words and perspective.
Roars from outside the tower reached his ear. The pounding grew stronger and kept on at a rapidly increasing rate. He gripped his sword tighter fearing the chance that they might manage to get in somehow.
If things got bad enough, there was always tapping into what he recently learned to be soul magic. Doing so might make it obvious to them however and create the problems Yorais had alluded to. He wanted to avoid that if at all possible but at the same time, if his life or the lives of people he cared about were really on the line, what other choice would he have? It saved them in the arena. It definitely could be used to save him and others again. It would come with consequences however that he thankfully hadn’t encountered yet from his previous uses of it.
“I don’t believe they’re ever going to get in realistically,” Yorais said from beside Rinas a few meters ahead of Kiran, Lar, Silvy, and Juna.
“Better to be prepared in case they do,” Rinas said.
While everyone was a bit on edge, whispers erupted from the men and women alike who gathered on the first floor. They muttered to each other while the pounding continued.
One positive quality of the coalition was the relationships its members had with one another. Many of the ones speaking with each other looked like they truly enjoyed having friendly relations with each other. And some had gone so far as to get married in these dire circumstances making those connections even stronger. Rinas did not disallow marriage between its members since he believes strongly in allowing them to have that opportunity. A coalition such as this one required strong relations and bonds. Without that, the coalition would’ve likely long ago dissolved.
Everyone fell silent as a strange and unusual sound erupted. From way up above near the top of the first floor, a brown bird flew down towards them as people ran down the steps. The bird’s wings spread out to slow down its descent, but it came quickly anyhow.
Bits of firelight from down below managed to illuminate the bird as it kept flying downward to them.
Who might this be?
“Do any of you recognize them?” Rinas said.
“No,” Yorais said. “They do not belong to us.”
He grimaced. “Prepare yourselves!”
Everyone kept an eye on the bird that suddenly appeared and neared them. Its wings spread out even further allowing it to gently land on the marbled floor between them all.
Kiran wasn’t entirely sure what kind of bird they were but now that they were real close, they looked a bit like an eagle. They had sharp yellow eyes and a golden beak. They calmly and assuredly bowed their head towards them as well.
Multiple coalition members pointed spears towards them and some who wielded bows pointed them towards the bird who had suddenly arrived. No one chose to speak first. Everyone just prepared themselves to be ready to strike if need be towards the one who suddenly appeared.
Even Kiran, kept his sword at the ready just in case they tried anything. Their eyes met his for a brief second until eyeing everyone else who stood ahead of them.
Rinas walked by people to confront them. As he reached the front line of people who surrounded the eagle, he looked down at them.
“Who are you?”
The eagle changed into a manly human form. They were on one knee and had long brown flowing hair running down their back. They got up and had similar sharp yellow eyes in their human form that they had in their eagle form. “I, am Halmond, seneschal to the great Lucias Velmond.”
A chill ran down his spine when he heard them mention who they served. Lady Meredith had warned him about Lucias or the one otherwise known as The Red Serpent. They were to be feared and avoided at every turn if her words were true.
And here is one who just so happens to serve them if they speak truthfully.