The Hero's Sidekick

By the time we reached the Imperial Palace, the entire city was in an uproar.

Soldiers of the four factions that comprised Kierhai's military were out in full force, double-timing it to the western gate to repel the incursion by the Legionnaires. The city guard, identifiable by the cherry blossom insignias on their armor, were no match for the hardened Ishmarians and were serving the much more useful purpose of escorting civilians to safety.

Fighting our way through the crowds was difficult. The Imperial Guard was funneling people away from the Palace and the surrounding area,they must have assumed that it would be the most logical target. They're right, of course. Having so many people in the area will simply slow down the Guard's efforts to secure the Palace, prepare defenses, and protect the Emperor. There's no guarantee that Guunzel won't have his men target the people just to spite the Kierhaians, as well.

Guunzel, at least according to Alicia, was not like most Ishmarian generals. Surviving to an older age had made him cunning, appreciative of the value of proper tactics and strategy as well as the use of brute force. He was still a capable warrior, but unlike many of his peers he knew when to hold back, when to go all out and when to adapt his plan as the circumstances demanded it. That flexibility made him singularly dangerous and the primary reason why he was rightfully feared and respected among the Algrutian military.

Guunzel wants the Hand of the Usurper, and I'll bet a mountain of gold he'll endanger the population of Blossom City to force the Emperor to give it up. But he doesn't know the Hand isn't in the Repository. The Emperor can't surrender an artifact he doesn't have, and any attempts to stall or tell the truth will seem like resistance on his part. If Guunzel thinks for even a second that the Emperor won't turn over the Hand, he'll burn the entire city down out of vengeance.

Then the Encroacher will break free, and we'll all suffer for it.

Just outside the Palace District, the crowds thinned out to the point where we could get some breathing room. What guards were in the area were still busy evacuating what civilians were left, and there were not enough of them to maintain order. A group of nearby Flawless Jade soldiers were trying to get to the Palace, but were bogged down by citizens pleading with them for help.

A wooden cart lay in the middle of the street where a young human man, barely out of his teens, lay pinned under one of the wheel axles. A pair of elderly humans, likely the young man's grandparents, were wailing next to the fallen boy and screaming at the nearby guard for help. From what I could see, the boy had been trying to fix the axle on the cart to get his family to safety when the wheel slipped off, causing the cart to collapse onto his shoulder and pin his arm under the wagon. Despite the pained look on his face, he was trying to be brave for his grandparents, speaking softly to his crying grandmother even as he winced in pain.

Alverd didn't even break his stride. He made a beeline for the cart and assessed the situation. "I'm going to lift it up. Try to crawl out when you can." The boy nodded, and Alverd placed both his hands under the cart to shift it. Although he gave it all his strength, he could barely budge the heavy wagon.

"I'll help!" Alicia ran over and gripped the underside of the cart. "Kuro! Sheena! When we lift it, pull the boy out!" Her voice shook me out of my reverie, although all I could do was nod my head dumbly. The two of us took hold of the boy by his other shoulder, being careful not to jostle him.

"We're ready!" I said.

Together, Alverd and Alicia hoisted the wagon up high, and Kuro and I slid the boy free, taking care not to injure him any further. The grandmother ran to her boy and cradled his face, tears streaming down her wrinkled cheeks. The old man grasped both my hands and Kuro's. "Thank… you. Sorry, my words… not best. I do not… speak the words outside well." He must be native born. I can't imagine what this must be like for hi, having lived his whole life here in peace only for this to happen.

"Don't worry about it. Just get your family somewhere safe." In the distance, I spied a rickshaw driver debating whether it was worth saving his rickshaw or just fleeing with his life. I waved at him. "You! Over there! Bring that rickshaw over here!" Perhaps my commanding tone was enough to make the decision for hi, because he ran over with his rickshaw. "Lady, the whole city is going to be on fire in a few minutes! This is not the time!" He said.

I reached into my pockets and pulled out all the gold I had on me, which amounted to about twenty pieces. I really must get my own wallet. It's not convenient at all to just have loose change jingling in my clothes like this. Pressing the gold into the driver's hands, I pointed at the family. "I need you to get these people to safety. I realize your vehicle is usually only meant for two, but surely you can make do?"

The driver grit his teeth, but then nodded. "Yes! I can do it. Leave it to me." He ran over to the elderly couple, explaining the plan to them. He helped the young man into the rickshaw, then the old man and woman. Placing himself back behind the steering bar, the driver grunted and groaned but managed to push his rickshaw, taking the family in the direction of the Graveyard District.

Alverd, Alicia and I watched as the rickshaw became part of the crowd moving towards the Graveyard District. "Thank you. Both of you." We both looked at Alverd, and while his eyes were weary he bore a satisfied smile. "I know we're needed elsewhere. But I couldn't turn a blind eye to what I saw." He sighed, his shoulders rising and falling visibly in spite of his thick plate armor.

Before I could say anything, Alicia took her arm and smacked it against his shoulder. It took me a second to realize she was being supportive. "Nobody is going to fault you for doing the right thing, Alverd," she said as she put her hands on her hips. "But maybe next time you could try asking for our help instead of just trying to fix it on your own. You can rely on us, you know that right?"

There was just enough of a crack in her voice in her last sentence that I could tell she wanted to say something else, but had caught herself at the last second. However, the situation being what it was, I didn't have time to worry about what was bothering her. "Indeed, you can. We really ought to hurry on to the Palace, though." As if in agreement with me, the loud screech of a dragon sounded overhead.

From what Alicia had said earlier, the Legionnaires had at least ten dragons at their disposal. Five of them had swooped down to engage the western gate of Blossom City, providing crucial support for the badly outnumbered Legionnaires trying to force entry though said gate. A second squadron had followed up shortly after, flying over the gate and breaking formation to start attacking randomly within the city walls. If their intention had been to sow chaos, they were succeeding quite handily.

The dragon bore black and gold armor plates strapped to its body, even one fitted over its head like a helmet, with openings for its horns and eyes. To my shock, as it swept low over the district, I could see one of the Talionis mounted on its back, the unmistakable aura of bloodlust trailing in the wake of the dragon like smoke from a fire. On its way past, the dragon opened its mouth and spewed fire across a nearby building; the fiery jet seared into the wall like a knife, lighting the entire second story ablaze.

Efforts to repel the dragons were going poorly. The elven warriors of the Flawless Jade were excellent shots, but their bows simply did not have the raw power to penetrate the armor on the dragons. Two Jade archers let their arrows fly in almost perfect synchronization, hitting the Talionis himself when his mount came around for another pass. Both arrows found their mark, burying themselves deep into the torso of the rider, but to their horror the Talionis yanked both out without so much as slowing down.

Ten Jade soldiers in total were now on the street having done their duty of clearing out the nearby civilians. Their squad leader, an older elf with medium length red hair that flowed out the back of her green lacquer helmet, commanded the group to spread out and hold their shots. She then drew her own longbow, an impressive piece of work made of wood that looked almost like polished ivory, and notched her arrow. Behind her, the other Jade archers did the same with the practiced grace of highly trained killers.

When the Talionis came back, his dragon now quite aware of the enemy lying in wait, he dove straight at them, coming down the street only thirty feet above the ground like some massive bird of prey. It all comes down to who blinks first. An unthinking, unfeeling monster, or soldiers who can't afford to back down. I was so entranced that Alverd had to grab hold of me and pull me off the street, and I could barely hear Alicia screaming something in the background.

At last the dragon opened its jaws, heat gathering in its mouth in preparation for another attack. The Jade captain let out a cry of triumph and loosed her arrow, and less than a second later each of her followers did the same. Of the ten arrows, seven of them found their intended marks; three lodged in the dragon's left eye, while four made it into the right. One arrow bounced off the headplate of the dragon and struck the helmet of the Talionis, ricocheting off of him. The last two were incinerated by the onslaught of flame that came out of the dragon's mouth.

Blinded, the dragon slammed into the base of a three story building further down the street, hitting it with such force that the entire wall collapsed onto the creature. The whole building toppled down onto it, burying it under a tide of stone, tile and ornamental statuary. When the dust settled, what little could be seen of the dragon's body was unmoving, and although I couldn't see its rider there was no way even that monstrosity could survive that.

The Jades didn't fare well. When the dragon finished its attack run, the street was awash in dragonfire. Three of them had died instantly, unable to dodge in time, their charred corpses lying where they had fallen. Two more were on fire from their waists down, their comrades already rushing to their aid. The captain turned, ripped her cape from her shoulders and used it to smother the flames on a painfully young looking Jade who had been struck right behind her. The wounded soldier was babbling, her eyes wide under her helmet, but the captain grabbed her by the shoulders and started dragging her off the street, still barking orders.

The sound of drums began to drown out everything. From the Repository, the steady beat of war drums called the city and its defenders to action. Several ballista bolts shot out from the two towers flanking the Repository, the gigantic metal barbs missing their targets. All four remaining dragons immediately stopped what they were doing and flew straight for their new aggressors, making beelines for the heavily fortified positions we'd seen during our attempted heist.

Kuro stomped his foot angrily on the ground. "What are you gonna do, stand there and gawk all day? We have a purpose, move like we've still got it!" He took off running on his short legs, huffing and puffing in the direction of the Palace, which stood undamaged in the distance. Alverd ran off after him, catching up quickly even though he had to be at least a hundred pounds heavier.

I put my hand on Alicia's shoulder before she could follow. "We're not going to watch another kingdom fall, are we?" My voice cracked. Her expression softened, then turned into a determined scowl.

"I already had to watch that twice. I'll break that streak here like Guunzel's neck. Whatever it takes." Her voice, unlike mine, had no hesitation in it.

I grit my teeth and nodded. "Yes. I agree. Whatever it takes."

Following the boys, we crossed several streets covered in debris and the occasional body. Some were people who had been trampled, likely in the opening moments of the attack when the confusion had caused people to panic. Others bore signs of dragonfire. Closer to the Golden Approach, a few Imperial Guardsmen were strewn about with bolts sticking from their bodies. As we got closer, an examination revealed that several of them had been killed with blades.

"Guunzel is already here." Kuro knelt next to one, observing the jagged cut in the Guardsman's chestplate. The Ishmarian dragontooth sword had gone through the metal with far less resistance than typical steel, leaving a bloody gash that likely went deep enough to have severed at least a few ribs. Even the crossbow bolts had the same dull gleam to them. "I don't understand. I thought he had to leave the city after his hamfisted intimidation attempt."

"Well it doesn't matter how he got back in, he did and without anyone finding out. Which means everything going on is a huge distraction. The assault on the gate, the attack against the Repository, Guunzel is using that as a smokescreen. Maybe he thinks he can directly threaten the Emperor into giving up the Hand?" Alicia asked as she stepped past a fallen guard.

As much as I hate to say it, I think we might not be giving Guunzel enough credit. We've missed or forgotten something here. No general worth his salt would attack a city with so few troops. If his intention was smash and grab, then the window for successfully pulling that off is narrowing quickly. A cunning strategist would have a backup in case his first plan failed, but a mastermind…

Then it clicked. A mastermind would count on the first phase of his plan to fail and have the second phase go into effect as soon as it did. "How many Guard do you think are left in the Palace District right now?" Everyone stopped in their tracks, looking at me.

"Uh, now's not the time to play a guessing game, Sheena. We need to-" Kuro started to talk but I cut him off.

"Humor me. If the Imperial Guard are to protect the Emperor, and the Kierhaian military forces are all moving to engage the Ishmarians at the gate, then wouldn't that mean large portions of the city are lightly defended?" I felt cold sweat slide down the back of my neck as my realization made more and more sense to me.

"Yeah, sure. But what does that mean?" Kuro was clearly impatient, his gaze turning towards the Golden Approach. "It makes sense to send the army to quell the enemy where the opposition is strongest. The Repository's defenses can also fight the dragons. But that means all of the armed forces in the city have to be somewhere, not everywhere. So what does that mean?"

It means one application of pressure in the wrong place could kill a lot of innocent people. But how would Guunzel accomplish that? Then it hit me. "The Divernian Swords. Didn't Yuzuruha say that they've been showing up more frequently? Right before the Ishmarians did?"

All of us were quiet for a moment. "Kierhai isn't Algrustos. They haven't needed to be on guard against a hostile neighbor that sends raids against them at all times. Is it possible that Guunzel coerced the Swords to infiltrate the city on his behalf, knowing the Kierhaians wouldn't be as vigilant as Algrustos in weeding them out?"

Silence greeted my statement, so I continued. "And that leads to an even worse hypothetical. Monaco said that someone paid her Guildmaster off the books to steal the Hand of the Usurper. We know that the thieves the Guildmaster hired to accompany her were Swords. So if Guunzel is working with the Swords, doesn't it stand to reason that Ishmar might have been the mysterious client?"

Alicia's jaw dropped, but no words came out of her mouth. "Hedging their bets. Playing all sides. It's not really Eliza's style, though. That kind of treachery was more to Marcus' way of thinking." She shook her head. "Not important. You're saying that there could be Divernian Swords inside Blossom City waiting for some signal from Guunzel to start attacking the citizens?"

"I doubt it's something so simplistic as that. My theory is that he might try to take the Palace and hold the Emperor hostage, but I'm not sure what he thinks that will accomplish. Maybe he thinks the Emperor will still be willing to give him the Hand in exchange for peace?" I scratched my chin. "But then why capture the Emperor? Why not just pry open the Repository to steal the Hand himself? Guunzel still doesn't know the Hand isn't stored there."

"Maybe he does."

Alverd narrowed his eyes as he picked up on my line of thought. "What could an Ishmarian general have that would benefit a nihilistic death cult trying to bring about the end times? Gold won't be of use to them. Freeing a being of pure chaos that they worship, however, would be enough to get them to work with him. He gains the extra muscle he needs to take Blossom City from within, but what does he get out of it?"

Smacking his head, Kuro let out a vile curse. "Gods be damned, I know what he wants. Go on without me. Don't let Guunzel get the Emperor out of the city. I'll catch up with you all later." He started to sprint off in another direction.

"Where are you going?" Alverd asked.

"If we're going to fight the Swords, we need to get every able-bodied man and woman in the street ready to fight when they come out of the woodwork. So I'm going to go hire some." Kuro grinned at us, then took off. He ran towards the smoke and debris lining an adjacent street and disappeared around the corner of a burning building.

"Well you heard the man. To the Palace!" Alverd drew his sword and shield and broke into a run, traversing the gilded steps of the Golden Approach. I had to pace myself a bit but managed to keep up with him. Alicia had far less trouble but my longer legs prevented me from falling behind her too much. We passed the statues of Sir Sirius and Lady Brunswick, which had been smeared with blood at their bases, and ran up the stairs to the gate above.

Not surprisingly, the gate had been left wide open. There were dozens of corpses left out in the open, some clad in the armor of the Guard while others were equipped with whatever arms and armor their owners probably scavenged from black market dealers or goddess knew where. There were significantly more dead cultists than Guard, but that didn't exactly make me feel better. Not a single Legionnaire. Guunzel used the Swords as expendable tools to get this done so he wouldn't have to risk his own men. I doubt the cultists realize they're being played.

The sounds of fighting echoed on the far side of the Palace garden. The clanging of metal, cries of the wounded and even the occasional magical explosion told us the Guard was still putting up a fight. In the distance, across the now devastated and bloodsoaked grounds, a small group of Guardsmen were making a staggered retreat through the Palace's front door. A crowd of unwashed, craven Swords smashed against them like a wave on the shore, the entire lot of them chanting together in some eerie language that almost managed to rise above the din of battle.

I didn't know the words or language they were speaking, but just listening to the tone and the way the cultists managed to sing in some hideous harmony was enough to fill me with some kind of existential dread. Theirs was not some happy or celebratory melody but a dirge, a heralding of things to come and a welcoming of the end promised to all. The song seemed to press at my eardrums in a way that was not unlike the psychic pressure exerted by the Encroacher, and the similarity made my blood run even colder.

Then I saw Guunzel. Standing far back from the cult, flanked by four of his Talionis, the imposing general stood with his arms crossed, his back still to us. The three of us approached him cautiously, but he turned around and greeted us as we got close. "I am not surprised you would try to interfere. You are a bit earlier than I expected, but then again no strategist can perfectly anticipate his enemy's moves down to the last degree."

The general was now clad in his full battle regalia. Heavy black plate encased his body, arms and legs, and he held a battered horned helmet under his arm. Up close I could see his black cape was not actually made of fabric but dozens upon dozens of interlocked metal hexagons, giving them a texture similar to dragon scales, befitting his status as a leader and the supreme commander of the Black Scale Legionnaires. Hanging on his hips were two double-bladed battleaxes, their gold handles ending in a dragon's head and both blades made to invoke the dragon's wings.

Before, Guunzel had the look of a bored old man out of his depth and uninterested in the goings-on around him. Now he looked as sharp as a man half his age with a hunger in his eyes that fit him unsettlingly well. The fingers of his right hand twitched and clenched, as if they were just waiting to take hold of one of the axes to start spilling blood. "Luckily for me, strategy alone does not always decide a battle. After all, battles are won by soldiers, and it is the measure of those soldiers that determines victory in the end."

"Well that explains why your soldiers often end up butchering peasants, dissidents, and anyone else who can't fight back," Alverd said with uncharacteristic disdain in his voice. "Gods know that if the Legion fought competent warriors they would only be known for being thrashed like the gutless cravens they are." His sword and shield were already up in a defensive posture, almost as if he were physically baiting Guunzel as well as verbally.

Guunzel's stare turned venomous. "Knights. Such an imbecilic lot." His hand unhooked one of his axes, hefting it but not yet pointing it at us. "Each of you claim to have virtue and right on your side. I have killed many who made similar claims. It would seem having right on your side doesn't quite match dragontooth steel." The general began to twirl the axe idly in his hand, rotating his wrist as if warming up. "Last time I checked our flags still fly over your castles and cities, knight. Strength brought us victory, not your contrived notions of honor or righteousness."

"You're going to have to try harder than that to get under my skin, brat." Guunzel stepped towards us, and the weight of his armored boot cracked the delicate marble of the garden floor. "I'm far too old to fall for such petty tricks." With his free hand, he placed his helmet on, his eyes still visible in the T-shaped visor. "I certainly hope your swordsmanship is better than your attempt at provocation."

As if on cue, all four of the Talionis hunched forward, black haze emanating from their helmets. Their limbs creaked audibly as though rigor mortis had fully set in, making every movement a torturous cacophony of snaps and cracks. They raised their weapons, stalking towards us while making raspy gasping sounds that were almost words. Their janky, uneven steps gave way to a dead run, and then all four of them came at us with speed that no human could match.

The first one lunged straight at Alverd, but I didn't have time to come to his aid. The second one rushed up to me and swung his sword in a diagonal arc. As I batted the weapon aside with my staff, the hideous monster screeched at me and twisted its arm in an unnatural way, the elbow snapping back as if double-jointed. It caught me off guard, and while the Talionis didn't hit me with his sword I lost my balance as I fell backward to avoid the blade whistling back around towards me.

Before the undead creature could finish me off, Alicia rammed into it from its flank, a deafening hammerblow sending the monster spinning away. She offered me her hand, and I took it eagerly. Hoisting me up, she took up a stance in front of me. "So," she said. "Any ideas on how to kill something that's already dead?"

"Quite the burning question, isn't it?" I responded as I held out my right hand, igniting a crimson flame in it. Feeding anger and frustration into the orb, it swelled and billowed in my hand until it was so big it could barely fit in my palm. "Fortunately, I think I know the answer."