Everyone in the War Room was doing one of two things.
They were either focussing on the large table with the ether-projection of the Peak, as pulled out from the soldiers’ minds, complete with little statues placed in seemingly random locations.
Or they were watching Lukas as he did the former.
Walking around the table, his eyes were never still. His gaze would dart back and forth between the road joining perimeter to the first checkpoint, and the largest fortress where Ultaf’s office was supposed to be. Small bands of different shades that represented what appeared to be the different kinds of soldiers were put all over the place. Small statues of what was potentially everyone on his side were frequently and constantly moved to one location or another, then back as he second-guessed his decision. More often than not, he’d turn to the bulletin board that was also covered in notes to either write something or look up a fact.
He had also started his simulated attacks more than a few times, clearly not liking where they led in his mind. Enough that most of the group there had given up trying to keep track of the number of repeats.
“Why did you abandon that approach?” asked Olfric, as Lukas silently gave up on his latest strategy. “It had a good chance of getting us into the interior without facing the outer defenses. We could have overwhelmed them and gotten into the lower floors.”
“Bad idea,” said Lukas, taking the marker and putting it in a different spot. “We cannot let Ultaf think he’s facing a strong force. We don’t know for certain how the army will react to our offensive, so we’ll be charging in blind.”
Pouring more ether, he expanded the projection, highlighting every single path that led to the inner fortress.
“The only way to get into the Peak are through the igriott-drawn carriages, and trying to brute-force our way in will only be detrimental. There are thirty-one checkpoints, nine towers, two bastions and a draw-bridge before we enter the actual territory. The actual fortress has seventeen buildings, all of them protruding out at different spots, so the real construction is likely within the mountain. And we have no clue how many ward lines exist between the perimeter and the inner courtyard to encourage a frontal attack.”
“Basically, we need a way in without triggering an offensive from Ultaf,” he finished. “So… any suggestions?”
“Blow up the perimeter wards,” Solana suggested. “Apart from being the first line of defense, it's also a trap designed to hold back and separate as many intruders as possible. If you could take them down… perhaps by employing the technique you used against me?”
She was referring to that one time when he had converged all motion trajectories around Solana to come down crashing, creating a massive implosion that obliterated her barriers and hacked her physical body apart.
“That was that, and this is this,” objected Maude. “These wards are empowered by ley-lines, Leader.”
“I… could destroy them,” Lukas admitted, ignoring the looks that everyone else was giving him. He was a little uncomfortable with all the looks of admiration and awe that people threw at him recently. As far as he was concerned, he was just conveniently suited in the right way to take down barriers and wards.
“But I won’t,” he said. “Or rather, if this was a normal siege, that may have been the right approach.”
“Oh?” Solana’s eyes glinted with anticipation. “You are really cruel if this is going where I think it is.”
“I don’t get it,” said Olfric, frowning. “If you can blow up the perimeter then —”
“Because Solana is right,” said Lukas. “The perimeter wards are designed to keep as many people away as possible. So long as it is there, Ultaf will stay confident. In contrast, if we get rid of it with minimal damage, his hope for victory will be massively reduced, and knowing the guy, he will panic and take unreasonable actions.”
He ran his fingers through his hair. The more he studied the situation, the more he was convinced that the best way to lay siege to this impenetrable fortress was to attack alone. He could use his Anomaly-powers to negate the effects of the wards, slip in, and lay waste to the Peak’s inner defenses, kill Ultaf Shimizu and get out.
There was only one glaring problem.
He needed someone to go save Zuken while he was busy dealing with the army. And the only two people competent enough for that were Tanya and Solana. The former was simply too risky to reveal so early in the battle, and the latter was… well, a wildcard that avoided physical combat with a passion, despite how good she was at it.
There was also the Eternal Light to take into account as well.
“There is one way,” said Solana softly. “But it will put your Asukan friends in danger.”
“Oh, I have considered that,” said Lukas off-handedly. “I just decided it was too brazen and unpredictable.”
“Wh — what is she talking about?” asked Olfric warily.
“She’s suggesting to go through with Ultaf’s request,” said Tanya softly, her eyes never leaving Solana. “Isn’t that right?”
The skinwalker nodded. “He was willing to pay us substantially in exchange for getting these two to him. And he hasn’t been noticed in Cyffnar at all, so I imagine he is living behind the protections of the Peak. If we go through with the deal, he’d be letting us walk through the perimeter ward without anyone being the wiser.”
“It’s a risk I’m not willing to take,” said Lukas, crossing his arms, glaring at everyone else, as if daring them to try to contradict him.
“Well I am,” said Olfric. “The only reason I joined Tanya was to help Zuken.”
“As am I,” Elena chimed in.
“Yes, yes, all this posturing makes you look real brave,” scoffed Tanya. “You two were hiding from abductors. The soldiers at the Peak? They make those abductors look like unruly kids. And even then, he only wants Elena. Olfric would just die uselessly.”
“What if they offer to sell Tanya’s location away?” asked Maude out of nowhere.
“Excuse me?” asked Tanya, affronted.
“That’s the main reason behind Zuken’s capture, isn’t it?” asked Maude. “To get to you. What if Olfric and Elena sell you out, in return for Zuken’s safe return?”
“So, a deal with Lady Kandra opting for negotiations with Ultaf Shimizu in exchange for Tanya’s location?” asked Olfric, quickly catching up. “Yes, that can actually work.”
“Yes, if you’re looking to die,” Lukas snapped. “Can you guarantee Ultaf Shimizu’s gonna stick to his word, because I sure can’t. If he captures the two of you, he’ll get Tanya’s location either way, this bargain be damned. Plans are made against opponents that think rationally, not a bastard with a head full of cats.”
“He has cats inside his head?” asked Elena.
“Yes,” Lukas told her, feeling very much like palming his face at that moment. “Because that was the relevant point I wanted to discuss.”
“Perimeter wards, man count bordering two thousand, and an unpredictable bastard,” Tanya summed it up pretty nicely. “And the moment he has you two, he also has my location. Whatever way you put it, the situation’s fucked.”
“But we need to do something,” pleaded Elena. “We can’t just let them kill Zuken.”
Lukas took a deep breath, closed his eyes, exhaled and walked away from the small ocean of fear that had begun rolling in his mind. Elena was right. Regardless of the circumstances, they needed to stage a rescue attempt, and they needed to do something quick.
I’m not allowed to give up. He told himself. I’m only allowed to find a solution. Compartmentalize and conquer, Lukas.
It was like being back at the university. Legal problems were more often than not, intricate, and couldn’t be solved all at once. There was always a larger, overarching question — the big target. But if he obsessed over the enormity of it, he’d lose focus.
Like he was, right now.
The trick was to start small. To focus on what he could answer. Build some dry ground to stand on. And after he had put in some of the work, and if he was lucky, the mystery of the overarching problem became less intimidating and more solvable. Almost like stepping back from a tree to look at the forest around it.
Right now, there was only one factor that he could control, and that was — enter past the perimeter wards without having to fight the army. Ultaf Shimizu was an unpredictable sonofabitch, but he was also a noble, so factoring his arrogance into the equation, the only thing he could say for certainty was that they wouldn’t be ambushed until the deal was done with Ultaf Shimizu.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
And then it clicked.
“I agree,” he said. “The three of us — me, Olfric and Elena — will go meet Ultaf Shimizu, offering a bargain under Lady Kandra’s banner, to reveal Tanya’s location in exchange for Zuken’s safe return, as well as ourselves.
“I don’t,” said Tanya. “That’s a lot of risk you’re taking —”
“I’ll protect these two —” Lukas began, but she cut him off.
“I was talking about you, you idiot,” Tanya snapped. “This is my problem. Don’t think I didn’t notice how you’re keeping me in the least amount of danger possible, and yourself in the most.”
“It is the only option,” Lukas countered. “We cannot risk you in the initial stages of this operation. Me, Olfric and Elena will get there. Olfric will sign an Eztli contract in advance, stating the bargain, reinforced by his faith in the Great Goddess. Surely that’s enough for Ultaf Shimizu to not doubt the veracity of our claims?”
Solana, on the other hand, didn’t seem to agree. “That’s a lot of risk you are taking with my people.”
Lukas met her eyes with an uncaring gaze. “It’s called a risk for a reason. Or am I to just risk my own, and Olfric and Elena’s lives on a mere chance that Ultaf Shimizu will play by the book? Have you gotten too used to playing as the House to remember that? Higher stakes come with higher risks. And I don’t see what the big deal is. And even if the information gets passed to his grandfather, it only plays in our favor.”
“Uh,” interrupted Elena. “What is he talking about?”
“He wants to lure Mujin Shimizu into the Desert.”” Maude’s mad smile widened. “
“What?” asked Olfric, shocked. “Are you crazy?”
That Tanya hadn’t so much as reacted to Maude’s statement spoke volumes.
“Facing Mujin in the Desert has advantages over striking him at his territory. Here, the yokai have the homeground advantage. There’s also the psychological advantage of the Desert’s Curse. The shadows. The lack of Eternal Light.”
“Aguilar,” interrupted Olfric. “Mujin Shimizu is a Warlord. Psychological advantage means nothing if he can just snap his fingers and destroy everything within a mile. And in the Desert, he wouldn’t even have to hold back.”
“Yes, but neither would Tanya.”
The aquamancer looked at Tanya in surprise. “You think you can fight a Warlord?”
Before Tanya could so much as speak, Lukas cut her off.
“Whether she can or not is irrelevant,” he said. “Because Mujin would come for her either way. This won’t stop until he has her, or she kills him. And mind you, she won’t be alone. All of us will make absolutely sure that Mujin Shimizu is at his weakest.”
“You actually sound scared of him,” noted Solana, a knowing glint in her eyes. “After defeating the Empress, I’d have estimated that battling a Warlord would be easy for you.”
Lukas smiled. He didn’t need to be a psychologist to see through her taunt. She was poking at his pride, expecting him to act out. Unfortunately for her, he had little need for pride. His strength had always come as a side-effect of his self-discovery as an anomaly. Whatever little battle-experience and training he had gotten paled compared to that. So unlike others, he was not above believing in his own imperfection. They were after all, facing a being who was powerful enough to decimate all of them single-handedly. Prudence was necessary.
“As much as I hate to agree with her, she has a point,” said Tanya. “You shattered her barriers. You faced the brunt of that ifrit King and survived. You defeated Meynte herself. And if firepower is really the issue, Ezzeron can bridge the gap.”
Lukas shook his head. Tanya was being difficult. That, or she just didn’t want to feel powerless. Not that he could blame her. After all that she had suffered because of that man, the last thing she wanted was for him to point out how weak she was.
He steepled his fingers in front of his hands. “I’m being pragmatic here, Tanya. The more our firepower, the lower the odds of success. Not because you’re weak, but because the more people that attacked him, the more seriously he’d be forced to fight more seriously.”
“So if he thinks there’s a genuine chance of losing…” Tanya murmured.
“Then he won’t do it, and fight with his fullest strength. Hence, our chances go down even further.”
“I concur,” said Solana.
“Is anyone else creeped out by how well those two are getting along?” asked Olfric.
“Oh, you thought so too?” asked Maude. “I thought I was the only one.”
Solana scoffed. “I have no intention of getting along with anyone. We share a common goal, and I stand nothing to gain from antagonizing the Outsider. While I feel no real gratitude to him, I can appreciate the reality that being non-cooperative is counterintuitive to our operations. Nothing else.”
Lukas just gave them a half-shrug. “Either way, the fact is, we cannot defeat Mujin Shimizu head-on. We need a game changer. Elena… I need a list of everything you can charm out of the captured soldiers. Every step into the castle, the defenses, the processes — everything. You and I will also use the other memory crystals to connect with Zuken and see if we can get any intel. Olfric, I need you to make a list of everything that Asukan soldiers tend to use in battle — strategies, weapons, enchantments, the entire lot. Solana, I need you to prepare the yokai here to defend against Mujin’s assault when it comes. I also need you to set up a meeting with Ultaf Shimizu on the exact day of the Shogun meet. I have a hunch that Mujin will keep his grandson safe and protected, and that is where we want to meet him. Tanya, you and I need to discuss the Rifting ability you’ve been working on.”
“Discuss,” drawled Maude. “Is that what they’re calling it nowadays?”
“Yes,” said Lukas evenly. “Maude, you… can stay and make sure the soldiers survive the interrogation. If that’s all?” He asked, and walked out of the room with Tanya, leaving a perplexed group behind.
“Wait, how did I get elected nanny?” asked an annoyed Maude at their retreating forms.
“More importantly,” said Solana, “who put him in charge?”
Alone in his room, Lujas was facing an entirely different argument, one that was much more difficult than facing down the rest of the crowd. With everyone else, he could just firmly state his desires and expect them to follow along, but not her.
The things you had to deal with when in a relationship.
“You want me to do what?” Tanya hissed almost frantically after Lukas had taken her aside to discuss her Rifting, as they had begun to call it. With everyone else he had firmly stated what he expected of them, but her task was important and confidential enough that he had to tell her in private.
And now she knew why.
“I thought you destroyed that featherglass shard in front of Solana. By Wind, why would you think that letting her survive was a good idea in the slightest?”
“Because it’s something I can control and predict, to a degree.” He shook his head. He didn’t think it was a good idea either, but it was a necessary one.
“And because unlike you, descendant, the soulcrafter knows my worth,” came the familiar, feminine voice as a figure arose from the floor next to her. Tanya all but shrieked, and jumped aside, as the floor erupted in a half-molten rock construct, morphing into a humanoid form. The newly formed female, complete with rock-carved eyes, ears and lips, spoke with a clear voice that felt less like it came from within her mouth and more like it was projected from elsewhere.
“My felicitations, soulcrafter. I believed you could only corporate me through that metal.”
“It’s a work in progress,” Lukas shrugged. Turning to Tanya, he said. “No matter how much Solana cooperates with us, we cannot trust her. So, I need to shift your development to better hands.”
Tanya gave the rock construct a look of deepest loathing. “In her hands? Are you sure this isn’t the anomaly in you trying to kill me?”
“I so wish,” said Meynte before Lukas could reply. “I cannot emphasize what sort of threat you will be, now that Everfrost is slowly creeping into your soul. You represent the greatest threat the soulcrafter will have to face. A true monster of his own making.”
“No,” said Lukas coldly. “The moment Tanya dies, Fimbulwinter will find another way to manifest in this reality, and this time, we won’t have any control over it.”
“Do not lecture me about controlling Taboo, soulcrafter. This is why you should’ve allowed me to take control of the girl’s body.”
“Or,” said Lukas. “You could stop sulking and help her learn that control you once had.”
“It’s a foolish game you play regardless. She has my instincts, but her power and control are tentative at best. A tempting lure, yes, but even this insect you call a Warlord is an almost insurmountable opponent for the likes of her.”
“Stop talking like I’m not even present here!” snapped Tanya in irritation. Being seen as frail and worthless was getting on her nerves. She had grown exponentially stronger in the last several months, and yet when it mattered, she fell short. “Mujin Shimizu is my problem, and regardless of how insurmountable you think he is for me, I’ll deal with him myself.”
“And then what? Get captured?”
Tanya wanted to snap, but one look at his eyes and she stopped short. There was no fear or uncertainty in them. Just a steel cold resolve.
Neither spoke for the next few moments.
“Tch…” With a heavy shove, Tanya pushed him to the side. “Fine. I’ll go along with this ridiculous idea of yours. Let’s see if you survive the disastrous operation you’ve planned for the Peak.”
With that, she turned around and left, probably towards her room.
“... She is rather cross with you.”
“With due reason,” said Lukas, exhaling. “I did ask for something unreasonable this time. And at the last second, no less.”
“I doubt forcing her to deal with me is what has gotten her this distraught,” observed Meynte. “Foolish and weak she might be, but she is committed towards you. I know a pledge of loyalty when I see one. This one would walk till the End of Time with you.”
Lukas frowned. “I know. I take it you are not particularly fond of my plan.”
“I’d be a poor confidant if I said I was. I understand what you aim for, and agree to it to an extent, but the unnecessary risk you place on your shoulders… But I’ve seen many that ran off to accomplish unreasonable tasks.”
“Just another thing we have in common then I guess.”
Thump.
“Ngh?!” Lukas staggered back from the quick jab to the side of his chest. He grunted, hunching over and facing the floor.
Meynte ignored his distress. He was fine. He was still standing.
“Be honest. What are your odds of success?”
“Mmm…” Lukas picked himself back again, still rubbing his now tender side. “It depends. If it’s a matter of simply dealing with Ultaf Shimizu to some degree, I’d say… one in two. Not the best, but not terrible. If I can’t do that, everything else is moot regardless. And if I do, the odds of the next working in my favor increases drastically. A domino effect. The real question is, are the pieces ready and in place to topple?”
----------------------------------------