Following the conclusion of the coalition meeting, Colet was the first to leave. On his way back to the centaur camp, Notelis asked him about the meeting. The centaur leader shared the agreement of all the coalition leaders in assaulting the Torpin Stronghold when its defenses were at its weakest. He also shared the dwarven tunnels that led directly into the stronghold. Ignoring the uncertainty they faced, the success of the siege appeared feasible.
“Is it wise to attack now?” Notelis asked.
“Lacking proof or evidence to back up our suspicions, I can do nothing to argue against an assault.”
The rest of the journey was in silence. Colet recalled his conversation with Nath and the dangers of dark powers. With no knowledge of what the human possessed, they couldn’t come up with any countermeasures. Even a hint of the human’s abilities could shed more light on the recent supposed human blunder. If the dark powers were as powerful as Eupoos and Nath described, he feared the coalition would be in for a rude awakening. As the group approached the centaur camp, a hawk flew down towards them. Colet initially thought it was Ilumin but he realized his mistake when the hawk spoke.
“Turn back from the Torpin Stronghold! You are no match for the Soul of Xemir! You will only find eternal suffering if you proceed with your plan!”
Before Colet could ask the hawk questions, the bird soared into the sky and disappeared into the distance.
Soul of Xemir? I thought there was only the Right Arm of Xemir.
Confused by the encounter, Colet turned to Notelis. Seeing the shock on the centaur’s face, Colet knew he wasn’t imagining things or seeing an illusion only visible to him. The hawk was the real deal and it delivered a message.
“What are your thoughts?” asked Colet.
“It could be misformation from the humans.” Notelis paused briefly. “Or the warning is legitimate and we should heed it.”
The centaur chieftain didn’t like the idea of the warning aligning with his suspicions. He wanted to trust the warning and order the centaurs to withdraw. This wouldn’t solve the issue with the Purificator but, as long as they were alive, they could still make a difference. Yet, he already gave the coalition his word that the centaurs would support the assault on the Torpin Stronghold. Without concrete proof to back up his claims, he couldn’t convince the others, including Ruazk and Nath. While misinformation was possible, he highly doubted the human’s spy network was so well established that the humans could simply intercept him shortly after an important meeting.
“We cannot back out of the upcoming assault but we can come up with some contingency plans for the worst case scenario.”
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For the remainder of the journey, Colet was deciding on who he would assign the task of organizing the withdraw from the battlefield in the worst case scenario. Ideally, he could minimize casualties during those withdraws. Yet, he was working with uncertainty so they could only plan so far ahead. His centaurs would have to adapt to the battlefield during the chaos that would no doubt ensue. The group returned to the centaur camp safely. Notelis and the other bodyguards went to their respective tents while the centaur chieftain headed to Eupoos' tent. Once given permission, he entered to see Ides working alongside Eupoos over manuscripts.
“These are fascinating discoveries,” said Ides. “I’m shocked we never considered these in our spells.”
“For the last time,” said Eupoos in a stern tone, “don’t read into the details. That’s how spellcasters become corrupted by the dark powers.”
“But…”
“No buts,” shouted Eupoos.
Like a centaur caught behaving poorly, Ides put down the manuscript in his hands and looked down at the ground. Colet could understand his friend’s interest. Ides, like him, sought knowledge and wished to learn more about the world. Dark powers opened up a new realm which, while exciting, was perilous to those who pursued it. He could only imagine the internal turmoil going through his friend’s mind. A part of him wanted to ready the manuscripts but, following all the warnings, he held his curiosity in check.
“Did you learn anything useful?” Colet asked the Magus.
“After briefly skimming over the manuscripts, there’s a scenario we can consider. Those humans might be sacrifices used to summon something from either the underworld or hell.”
“I thought the underworld and hell are the same thing?”
“According to the manuscripts, they are different. I didn’t delve deeper beyond that. Just know that we don’t want to face creatures from either of those realms.”
“And if they summoned one creature from all those sacrifices…”
The silence dragged on in the tent as the idea was processed by the three centaurs. Colet then spoke up.
“On my way here, I encountered a hawk who told us to turn back. It even mentioned the Soul of Xemir.”
“Soul of Xemir?” Eupoos’ eyes widened. “Has Xemir become serious with the extinction of the non-human races?”
“Have you heard of the Soul of Xemir before?” inquired Ides.
“Not the being specifically. However, I did learn about Xemir granting his own powers to mortals to serve him and fight against his enemies. The Right Arm of Xemir was only the first one. Apparently, he has made another champion.”
“You are saying that Xemir will continue with his blessing until the humans rise up victorious?” asked Colet furiously. “We are basically fighting a losing battle because the god is playing favorites?”
“That is the world we live in,” admitted Eupoos. “The gods may choose the winners and losers. We can either accept it or continue our struggles in defiance.”
“We will deny the gods their victory as long as we live.”
The anger in Colet’s voice was unmistakable. The other two centaurs backed away from their chieftain and looked at each other. They stayed quiet until Colet spoke.
“Regardless of what threat awaits us, let’s have a contingency plan if we need to withdraw from the battlefield.” Colet turned to Ides. “I’ll leave that plan to you. Keep it a secret and let’s hope we won’t need it.”