Once they got to the temple, obtaining anti-venom was simply a matter of having Lydia flash her “friend of the noble court” card around. The temple had pallets of it in an underground warehouse, suggesting they’d been preparing for a kromian invasion for a long time. Given the city was near the sea, it made sense to prepare for all eventualities.
A large group of guards and others were already moving pallets of anti-venom out to distribute to soldiers and citizens. Even so, Drake found a pallet for his manor that hadn’t yet been looted. He, Anna, and Emily gathered as much anti-venom as they could carry.
Lydia and Robin would be staying in the capital, Lydia to ensure the noble court organized an escort for the people of Gloomwood Manor and Robin because they couldn’t risk Anna teleporting three people. Anna had already lost too much blood today.
A moment later, holding a backpack full of narrow bottles, Drake walked through an open doorway in the side of the underground storehouse and found himself once more outside on the tall cliffs by the beach outside the capital. He rushed after Anna as Emily appeared behind him. They found his people still alive. Not dead.
Samuel stood the moment they arrived. “No one has died in your absence. We’ve already triaged, and we know who to treat. Allow me and River to organize the treatment while you and Emily relieve Nicole and Sachi. We cannot risk being attacked at this juncture.”
Drake finally let himself breathe easy once more. It still hurt to know people he couldn’t save were dead down on the beach, but at least he’d saved these people. Most of his manor. As many as he could. Now, it was time to focus on payback.
After he handed off all his anti-venom, he hurried to the overlook with Emily at his side. From that vantage point, he could look down on the capital. Nicole stood there beside Marissa, watching in silence. In his absence, the octopi had torn apart or sank practically every ship larger than a fishing boat on the docks. While Drake still heard fighting, he didn’t see much of it.
Where were the other manors? Couldn’t Lord Proudglade just come down here and blow them up with his shock spear rarity? Or was he cowering behind the walls?
Drake glanced at Nicole and Marissa. “Any change?” He didn’t see Sachi, but he assumed she was higher up on the cliffs. From there, she could warn them of attackers.
Marissa glanced at him and smiled. “So you succeeded.”
“Kind of had to.”
“Still, I am impressed. That was quick thinking, and you executed the mission well.”
Drake wasn’t sure what to think about all this sudden praise from a mother who’d offered very little of it over the years. Instead, he looked to Nicole. “You’re relieved.”
“Thank you.” She glanced at him. “I mean it. Thank you for getting that medicine. Once again, you’ve disappointed me.”
“And I’ll keep doing that. Now get back to Val and Emily. Keep the others safe.”
She hurried off without another word.
Marissa gave him a quizzical look. “What does she mean, you’ve disappointed her?”
“The manor lord she signed up to serve made her think he was a good man and turned out to be a dick. So, she keeps expecting me to do a heel turn.”
“Ah,” Marissa nodded. “Hence, the continued disappointment.”
Emily bumped her shoulder into Drake’s, an affectionate gesture he appreciated a little more after all they’d endured today. “I don’t know why Nicky’s so prickly, lord. You’re the best Lord Gloomwood I’ve ever served. I wouldn’t want to follow anyone else, ever.”
Despite this horrible day, Drake couldn’t help but smile at her earnest honesty. “Is that why you let me beat you at shrikes and turtles?”
“I didn’t want to hurt your feelings,” Emily agreed solemnly.
From below, a huge explosion rocked city streets.
Drake stared in alarm. “What now? Are they blowing shit up down there?”
No. It was something else. As Drake stared in awe, a huge sphere of electricity crackled into being somewhere in the streets.
The ball was at least three stories tall, given the top peeked up over the buildings. The thundercrack that followed was like the heaviest thunderstorms he’d ever encountered. He heard people cheering as well, men and women together. Humans were cheering now.
That wasn’t the kromians. Lord Proudglade and his pompous golden knights had finally chosen to take the field. Drake had no idea what had taken them so long, but despite the fact that Proudglade had tried to assassinate him multiple times on the way to the cabal, with Westin dead and their conflict on pause, he found himself almost rooting for the asshole.
No. He was rooting for Korhaurbauten to survive. That was all.
Soon kromians came streaming back onto the docks in ones or twos. Many of them moved in a way that suggested they were injured. Then the first capital guards began to appear alongside figures in golden armor. One of those had to be Orson, the moustachio’d pike-wielding jerk who’d once stolen Cresh’s magic axe. These were the golden knights.
As with the kromians Drake and his people had fought on the beach, the fish people who’d invaded the capital seemed poorly matched to armored knights with powerful rarities, let alone a man who could call down lightning bolts. Drake grinned angrily. He had never thought he would take pleasure in seeing people killed, but these fish people were monsters. They deserved to suffer for every innocent life they’d ended today.
The octopi currently in the process of wrecking the docks turned from their destruction and began to advance on the city once more. A ball of lightning burst from the city and hit an octopi directly between the eyes. Every last one of its long arms shot straight and wriggled as its bulbous body thrashed with electricity. It collapsed in a smoking heap.
A loud whistling sound cut across the bay, a sound like a whale repeating itself three times. All at once the octopi began to retreat from the docks. Drake saw splashes across them as kromians began to swim away as well. He pumped his fist and glared down at them.
“That’s right, you fish fuckers!” Drake shouted down at them. “You better run!”
Marissa shook her head. “They must have known the manor lords would enter the fray, yet I’ve seen scarcely a rarity-wielder among them. This whole attack makes no tactical sense. It seems their only intention was to wreck the ships, the docks, and to cause chaos.”
“And to slaughter people,” Drake reminded her. “They slaughtered a lot of people today.”
“Which only ensures the manors will organize along with the noble court and strike back in reprisal,” Marissa said. “Unless... is that what they want?”
“You mean you think they’re setting a trap for us? Trying to draw us out?”
“I don’t know,” Marissa said. Drake heard an edge of frustration entering her voice. “I just know that in all my time in this world, I’ve never seen or heard of kromians behaving in this manner. They have rarities. So why are we only seeing those without?”
“Maybe the people with rarities are the ones setting the trap,” Drake said darkly.
Marissa nodded thoughtfully.
“Either way, they’re finally getting their teeth kicked in,” Drake said. “Let me enjoy that. We fucking earned it today.”
He watched in satisfaction as kromians flooded the bay and began rapidly swimming out to sea. As they retreated, arrows from the capital guard began to pepper the bay. Due to the sheer number of kromians in retreat, some inevitably struck home. More kromians died.
Another strike of lightning burst from the clear blue sky and struck the water, creating a blinding flash. When Drake blinked to clear it, he saw multiple kromians floating, not swimming. Fuck yeah! Lighting ruled. If only he could find a way to copy Lord Proudglade’s rarity...
With Lord Proudglade and his golden knights leading the capital guards, the kromian retreat turned into a rout. Unfortunately, kromians remained very fast in the water. Without boats, there was no way the capital’s defenders could follow. It seemed the bulk of the enemy force was going to escape unscathed. That pissed Drake off.
At least the octopus Lord Proudglade had fried hadn’t moved. It was visibly shriveling up a little more each moment it floated in the bay. It was definitely dead. So now... the question was how many brave soldiers and innocent civilians were too?
With the kromian attackers in retreat, all poison remaining in his people and zarovians countered by the medicine he had retrieved from the capital, and the arrival of a group of capital guards an hour or so after the attack ended, Drake’s path back to Korhaurbauten was secured. After that, it was a whole afternoon of ensuring the wounded were taken care of and the dead were retrieved. Drake wasn’t about to let his fallen people rot on a beach.
They were going to get a proper burial and all the honors they deserved.
It was dark by the time Drake finally returned to his quarters in the capital. They felt empty with so many people missing. Between the wounded, who were being treated in the temple’s infirmary, and the dead, who were now being given their final rites in the temple catacombs, his chambers were half as full as they’d once been.
Worse, that was just the humans missing. His zarovians had taken heavy losses as well. Drake had refused to return to his quarters until he’d joined Cresh at the pyre to honor the seven zarovians who fell defending his manor. Without the zarovians to cut down on the kromian attackers, everyone would likely be dead.
It was only after speaking with Cresh that he learned Xutag had fallen in the battle. Knowing he’d never again enjoy one of the tongueless zarovian’s comedy routines was a kick in the gut. Korrag, thankfully, had survived... but without his silent friend, the big snack-loving zarovian might never be the same.
Including Cresh, twenty zarovians had left Gloomwood Manor to come with Drake to the capital and defend him against his enemies. Twelve now remained. Someone was going to pay for the good people and zarovians who’d fallen today, and Drake was now more determined than ever to go after the kromians and beat the shit out of them.
But for tonight, all he could do was take care of his people after this awful day.
By the time he returned to his chambers, most of his uninjured people, save for his battle maids, were either in bed or in the infirmary consoling the others. Yet all his trusted advisors were still up. Lydia. Samuel. And now Marissa, his mother. He was suddenly glad she was here. After today, he needed all the counsel he could get.
Drake chose his private bedroom for their impromptu strategy session. It was huge and unoccupied, and they had dragged in chairs so they could sit in a rough circle and speak. Nicole and Valentia stood outside the doors as guards, with Emily stationed at the door to their chambers and watching for incoming souls through the walls.
“Our final casualty total is as follows,” Drake said quietly. “Seven zarovians dead. Six people dead and eight injured. This was, without a doubt, the worst beach day ever.”
Marissa touched his shoulder. “This was not your fault.”
“I know that.” He brushed her hand off his shoulder. “That doesn’t mean it doesn’t make me want to strangle every last one of those kromian bastards with my bare hands. So my question, for you, is how do we strike back?”
“We must wait for the word of the noble court,” Samuel said. “I suspect the only reason they have not called a new cabal is because they are still buried in handling all the issues that arose today. We will likely receive a summons before the night is out.”
“I thought you could only call a cabal every three months?”
“That is true of manor lords,” Marissa said. “The noble court can call a cabal whenever it likes. All manor lords must attend.”
“I’m fine with that,” Drake said. “As long as we get to kill some fucking fish people.”
Once they got to the temple, obtaining anti-venom was simply a matter of having Lydia flash her “friend of the noble court” card around. The temple had pallets of it in an underground warehouse, suggesting they’d been preparing for a kromian invasion for a long time. Given the city was near the sea, it made sense to prepare for all eventualities.
A large group of guards and others were already moving pallets of anti-venom out to distribute to soldiers and citizens. Even so, Drake found a pallet for his manor that hadn’t yet been looted. He, Anna, and Emily gathered as much anti-venom as they could carry.
Lydia and Robin would be staying in the capital, Lydia to ensure the noble court organized an escort for the people of Gloomwood Manor and Robin because they couldn’t risk Anna teleporting three people. Anna had already lost too much blood today.
A moment later, holding a backpack full of narrow bottles, Drake walked through an open doorway in the side of the underground storehouse and found himself once more outside on the tall cliffs by the beach outside the capital. He rushed after Anna as Emily appeared behind him. They found his people still alive. Not dead.
Samuel stood the moment they arrived. “No one has died in your absence. We’ve already triaged, and we know who to treat. Allow me and River to organize the treatment while you and Emily relieve Nicole and Sachi. We cannot risk being attacked at this juncture.”
Drake finally let himself breathe easy once more. It still hurt to know people he couldn’t save were dead down on the beach, but at least he’d saved these people. Most of his manor. As many as he could. Now, it was time to focus on payback.
After he handed off all his anti-venom, he hurried to the overlook with Emily at his side. From that vantage point, he could look down on the capital. Nicole stood there beside Marissa, watching in silence. In his absence, the octopi had torn apart or sank practically every ship larger than a fishing boat on the docks. While Drake still heard fighting, he didn’t see much of it.
Where were the other manors? Couldn’t Lord Proudglade just come down here and blow them up with his shock spear rarity? Or was he cowering behind the walls?
Drake glanced at Nicole and Marissa. “Any change?” He didn’t see Sachi, but he assumed she was higher up on the cliffs. From there, she could warn them of attackers.
Marissa glanced at him and smiled. “So you succeeded.”
“Kind of had to.”
“Still, I am impressed. That was quick thinking, and you executed the mission well.”
Drake wasn’t sure what to think about all this sudden praise from a mother who’d offered very little of it over the years. Instead, he looked to Nicole. “You’re relieved.”
“Thank you.” She glanced at him. “I mean it. Thank you for getting that medicine. Once again, you’ve disappointed me.”
“And I’ll keep doing that. Now get back to Val and Emily. Keep the others safe.”
She hurried off without another word.
Marissa gave him a quizzical look. “What does she mean, you’ve disappointed her?”
“The manor lord she signed up to serve made her think he was a good man and turned out to be a dick. So, she keeps expecting me to do a heel turn.”
“Ah,” Marissa nodded. “Hence, the continued disappointment.”
Emily bumped her shoulder into Drake’s, an affectionate gesture he appreciated a little more after all they’d endured today. “I don’t know why Nicky’s so prickly, lord. You’re the best Lord Gloomwood I’ve ever served. I wouldn’t want to follow anyone else, ever.”
Despite this horrible day, Drake couldn’t help but smile at her earnest honesty. “Is that why you let me beat you at shrikes and turtles?”
“I didn’t want to hurt your feelings,” Emily agreed solemnly.
From below, a huge explosion rocked city streets.
Drake stared in alarm. “What now? Are they blowing shit up down there?”
No. It was something else. As Drake stared in awe, a huge sphere of electricity crackled into being somewhere in the streets.
The ball was at least three stories tall, given the top peeked up over the buildings. The thundercrack that followed was like the heaviest thunderstorms he’d ever encountered. He heard people cheering as well, men and women together. Humans were cheering now.
That wasn’t the kromians. Lord Proudglade and his pompous golden knights had finally chosen to take the field. Drake had no idea what had taken them so long, but despite the fact that Proudglade had tried to assassinate him multiple times on the way to the cabal, with Westin dead and their conflict on pause, he found himself almost rooting for the asshole.
No. He was rooting for Korhaurbauten to survive. That was all.
Soon kromians came streaming back onto the docks in ones or twos. Many of them moved in a way that suggested they were injured. Then the first capital guards began to appear alongside figures in golden armor. One of those had to be Orson, the moustachio’d pike-wielding jerk who’d once stolen Cresh’s magic axe. These were the golden knights.
As with the kromians Drake and his people had fought on the beach, the fish people who’d invaded the capital seemed poorly matched to armored knights with powerful rarities, let alone a man who could call down lightning bolts. Drake grinned angrily. He had never thought he would take pleasure in seeing people killed, but these fish people were monsters. They deserved to suffer for every innocent life they’d ended today.
The octopi currently in the process of wrecking the docks turned from their destruction and began to advance on the city once more. A ball of lightning burst from the city and hit an octopi directly between the eyes. Every last one of its long arms shot straight and wriggled as its bulbous body thrashed with electricity. It collapsed in a smoking heap.
A loud whistling sound cut across the bay, a sound like a whale repeating itself three times. All at once the octopi began to retreat from the docks. Drake saw splashes across them as kromians began to swim away as well. He pumped his fist and glared down at them.
“That’s right, you fish fuckers!” Drake shouted down at them. “You better run!”
Marissa shook her head. “They must have known the manor lords would enter the fray, yet I’ve seen scarcely a rarity-wielder among them. This whole attack makes no tactical sense. It seems their only intention was to wreck the ships, the docks, and to cause chaos.”
“And to slaughter people,” Drake reminded her. “They slaughtered a lot of people today.”
“Which only ensures the manors will organize along with the noble court and strike back in reprisal,” Marissa said. “Unless... is that what they want?”
“You mean you think they’re setting a trap for us? Trying to draw us out?”
“I don’t know,” Marissa said. Drake heard an edge of frustration entering her voice. “I just know that in all my time in this world, I’ve never seen or heard of kromians behaving in this manner. They have rarities. So why are we only seeing those without?”
“Maybe the people with rarities are the ones setting the trap,” Drake said darkly.
Marissa nodded thoughtfully.
“Either way, they’re finally getting their teeth kicked in,” Drake said. “Let me enjoy that. We fucking earned it today.”
He watched in satisfaction as kromians flooded the bay and began rapidly swimming out to sea. As they retreated, arrows from the capital guard began to pepper the bay. Due to the sheer number of kromians in retreat, some inevitably struck home. More kromians died.
Another strike of lightning burst from the clear blue sky and struck the water, creating a blinding flash. When Drake blinked to clear it, he saw multiple kromians floating, not swimming. Fuck yeah! Lighting ruled. If only he could find a way to copy Lord Proudglade’s rarity...
With Lord Proudglade and his golden knights leading the capital guards, the kromian retreat turned into a rout. Unfortunately, kromians remained very fast in the water. Without boats, there was no way the capital’s defenders could follow. It seemed the bulk of the enemy force was going to escape unscathed. That pissed Drake off.
At least the octopus Lord Proudglade had fried hadn’t moved. It was visibly shriveling up a little more each moment it floated in the bay. It was definitely dead. So now... the question was how many brave soldiers and innocent civilians were too?
With the kromian attackers in retreat, all poison remaining in his people and zarovians countered by the medicine he had retrieved from the capital, and the arrival of a group of capital guards an hour or so after the attack ended, Drake’s path back to Korhaurbauten was secured. After that, it was a whole afternoon of ensuring the wounded were taken care of and the dead were retrieved. Drake wasn’t about to let his fallen people rot on a beach.
They were going to get a proper burial and all the honors they deserved.
It was dark by the time Drake finally returned to his quarters in the capital. They felt empty with so many people missing. Between the wounded, who were being treated in the temple’s infirmary, and the dead, who were now being given their final rites in the temple catacombs, his chambers were half as full as they’d once been.
Worse, that was just the humans missing. His zarovians had taken heavy losses as well. Drake had refused to return to his quarters until he’d joined Cresh at the pyre to honor the seven zarovians who fell defending his manor. Without the zarovians to cut down on the kromian attackers, everyone would likely be dead.
It was only after speaking with Cresh that he learned Xutag had fallen in the battle. Knowing he’d never again enjoy one of the tongueless zarovian’s comedy routines was a kick in the gut. Korrag, thankfully, had survived... but without his silent friend, the big snack-loving zarovian might never be the same.
Including Cresh, twenty zarovians had left Gloomwood Manor to come with Drake to the capital and defend him against his enemies. Twelve now remained. Someone was going to pay for the good people and zarovians who’d fallen today, and Drake was now more determined than ever to go after the kromians and beat the shit out of them.
But for tonight, all he could do was take care of his people after this awful day.
By the time he returned to his chambers, most of his uninjured people, save for his battle maids, were either in bed or in the infirmary consoling the others. Yet all his trusted advisors were still up. Lydia. Samuel. And now Marissa, his mother. He was suddenly glad she was here. After today, he needed all the counsel he could get.
Drake chose his private bedroom for their impromptu strategy session. It was huge and unoccupied, and they had dragged in chairs so they could sit in a rough circle and speak. Nicole and Valentia stood outside the doors as guards, with Emily stationed at the door to their chambers and watching for incoming souls through the walls.
“Our final casualty total is as follows,” Drake said quietly. “Seven zarovians dead. Six people dead and eight injured. This was, without a doubt, the worst beach day ever.”
Marissa touched his shoulder. “This was not your fault.”
“I know that.” He brushed her hand off his shoulder. “That doesn’t mean it doesn’t make me want to strangle every last one of those kromian bastards with my bare hands. So my question, for you, is how do we strike back?”
“We must wait for the word of the noble court,” Samuel said. “I suspect the only reason they have not called a new cabal is because they are still buried in handling all the issues that arose today. We will likely receive a summons before the night is out.”
“I thought you could only call a cabal every three months?”
“That is true of manor lords,” Marissa said. “The noble court can call a cabal whenever it likes. All manor lords must attend.”
“I’m fine with that,” Drake said. “As long as we get to kill some fucking fish people.”
