Silence fell over the table. The council that met to plan the retaking of Tavark had all said their peace. Raige glared over the table at the once revered General. Daggers pinpoint on the direction of Horrikson's throat; through his intense survey of the man's words. Darin, Ture, Amara, Milah. All of them seemed to know their place at this council. They respected the General's new strategy and left it at that. Raige was not so easy of burden.
"That is indeed the plan General. However know this. If you actively make the choice on any account to sacrifice the city of Hunters to your revenge; much less the people still inside. If you make that choice general I will see you pinned to a post before your soldiers. At least their sacrifice for the greater good will mean more." These were obviously things he wanted to say, things that made sense, but he had to remain calm in this situation and play the "good solider" Raige stormed off.
The winds howled in biting a cold chill on his face, and he looked to the direction of Aldus.
Two days. It was a truth he didn't think to spare. The storm that brewed in that direction was an omen of death for anyone caught in it, and he could only wonder as he looked against the biting wind.
What the hell is going on around here?
Darin came running out of the tent after him. The clanking of patched metal, and the heavy breath of the man brought Raige to ease before he reacted harshly, and Raige turned to face his friend, Mentor.
"I suppose you came to try and talk me down after my blow up?" Darin stared and smirked a little bit.
"Aye, I suppose I did." Raige turned away from the Paladin and looked to the Northern sky.
"A year ago I would have stood here with my family. We all would have sit on top of our roof and watched the lights. Everyone in Tavark might have done it. Today I have no family to watch the lights with. I can only think how they betray any chance we have at a stealthy approach to this. I can only think of children, and men, and women stuck inside that village under tyrannical law. They can not watch the lights with their parents."
Darin looked to him with concern, as if he hoped to say something that might make things better. That was the nature of a good man. Of a paladin.
"When Horrikson suggested sacrifice of the lesser; for the price of victory. He and all of his men that choose to follow him, lost my trust Darin.
"I understand your anger, but talking out against him in front of his men only makes things worse for you Raige. We are in a fine predicament right now, and we all need to be on the same pa.."
"I am going to scout the area, Ill be back soon."
Raige rushed off leaping past a small stream and bounding into the evergreen. The forest was thick with rain from the recent sputters. Raige expected it was partly due to the incoming storm that seemed to engulf the entire sky above Aldus. It was a nice get away from everything; to run through the forest and stalk low to the ground, to bound from one tree to the next and take up a vantage point where he could see things clearly. The trees were more a home to Raige than anything, as he'd spent a good part of his life among them.
He continued along a familiar but unused path. A waft of scents hit him dead on as he got closer to the outside of the walls of Tavark. Raige was far from the entrance that Ture and Amara had chosen, so he didn't expect that he would be closing in on anything much like that. Still this smell was definitely Avian.
His body fell low to the ground as he lifted his bow from his back and knocked an arrow. The string pulled tight, and he did so quickly so not to provoke any attention. Slowly, the wolf crept to the edge of the hill to peer down at a group walking up to him. They all had arms, each looking around for anything suspicious, but they also seemed unaware of his current position.
Raige watched carefully, ready with an arrow. The outer army had been fairly foolsih to expect that Eimund didn't have his own scouts. Hell, they maybe could have even played this to their advantage, but he expected that Horrikson would never agree to such a thing. The group was getting closer. One had a pike at the ready. He was closest, behind him directly was the avian, who seemed to be holding a cross bow. The one furthest from Raige was a dog anima that he recognized.
The Dog's name was Garrin. He was a proud lad that dreamed of joining the military and fighting for Pegulis in its time of need. Raige was angry at the sight of him, and how his devotion to such a cause had turned so swiftly. Garrin held a shield in one hand, and a large bulging club in the other. Only one would be a threat with Raiges current position. However if he fired, and they did not return; what would Eimund do. Any retaliation from the outside forces posed the threat of fire to the city and its people. Eimund retained no honor anymore, he was not the general that most of Tavark knew and respected. This Eimund was a merciless monster waiting for them to test his patience.
They were making their way up the hill that he hid on, and soon his hiding spot would be compromised. Raige moved slowly, and started down the opposite side of the hill, but not as quietly as he'd hoped. The armor made a ruckus with his movement and the click of a switch was heard as a bolt flew into a tree close to Raige's nose.
Dammit. Was all the wolf could think when they started in his direction. At this rate he would be forced to fight them, and three on one with un-revealed Aux did not pose good for him.
Raige moved from the spot quickly, dashing away from them. The good thing about the current situation he had the range advantage. He sprinted back into the cover of the evergreen as Garrin trailed behind him faster than the rest. It was to be expected, that an anima would move faster than the human and the avian. Raige was far from base now, not too far, but making a dash would certainly be very sketchy. He could use his Advent, call for help but that would be a waste concerning the battle to come. Raige had little choice, but run. Or fight.
Catch your breath~
Raige prepared by taking in a calm breath and readying himself for the shot.
Hold~
Calmly, he raised his bow from behind the large trunk of the tree and held his breath.
Listen and wait~
The sound of their enclosing steps resounded in his ears. Sharp senses gave him a good idea where the last of them was. Again, Raige knocked his arrow and prepared.
Aim~
He waited, listened, prepared, and then turned around the tree to watch the avian in the back. His bow was pulled back, and his eyes locked onto the Avian.
Fire!
Like in every hunt Raige's arrow found its target, and the avian fell to the ground grasping at his leg. An arrow was now lodged there, and he was useless. There was no time to celebrate however. Garrin was rushing forward quickly, and Raige knew he could not afford to fight the dog so close to his friend. He took off into the forest; full sprint, and like a good puppy, Garrin followed.
A light formed behind him and Raige turned in time to see garrin glowing with Advent power. Garrin's advent was familiar to raige, so he knew that running was no longer an option. He had to fight now.
With no mercy at all Garrin charged into Raige and knocked him on his ass. Raige could only narrowly avoid Garrin's club in his position and rolled just in time to take control of the mount. The two were novice, neither had real combat training, and here they were thrashing about the ground. Blow for blow was shared between enemies that once had been friends.
Garrin was much stronger, his attacks were heavy and slow. Raige had the small advantage of his lean build, and was forced to use it appropriately to dodge the club. A horizontal movement was made, and Raige dodged backward losing his footing. Garrin was right over top of him and came down with the club.
Raige was only quick enough to swing his sword back hard and deter the path of the mighty club. he reacted on instinct alone and landed three good punches into the Jaw of the enemy. The hits were enough to jar Garrin, and throw him into a frenzy. With angry blows, Garrin got slower, sloppier and Raige capitalized on that weakness.
His blade came up and with a quick strike he landed a thick gash in Garrin's leg. The dog pushed away and tried to hit Raige again, but it was too late. Raige came around again and took a chunk from Garrin's stomach. Then stepped away from the broken soldier. Raige looked upon Garrin with disgust. It may have been easier then, to walk away and leave him, but Raige had to accept that they were enemies now.
Sigh~
The human would be quickly behind them, so Raige had to do it quickly. Garrin had fallen limp now, between the cut at his gut; which he held as best he could, blood spilling into his hand. His leg would not allow him to move. His aux, a pendant on his armor, was useless now. Raige retrieved his bow and walked away from the broken man. He was cowardly for doing things this way, but a man whom had turned away from his dream, from his ideals, deserved no honor. Once again Raige knocked an arrow. Held his breath, aimed, then let loose the arrow into Garrin's throat.
In the cover of trees he waited, watched, as the Human caught up and found his dead comrade. Raige could hear the man curse, but he picked some coins from Garrin's leather, and returned whence he came. Raige followed far enough behind to not be noticed and watch. The man scooped up his avian comrade and they returned down the hill where he'd first saw the group. There would be no point in him returning to camp with nothing but a conscious born of guilt. Raige tracked them back to the source, and watched as a ladder was dropped down by two men for the human to climb up and over the wall.
Raige returned after that as fast as he could with bruised ribs, and tired body. The army was mobilized, ready. The stealth crew had already gone in. Milah was bound to do her part. Darin stood present in front of the troops and only looked over once to see Raige in very rough shape. His eyes widened and he rushed over commanding answers.
"What in All Holy Light's name happened to you? I thought you went out to scout!" Raige ushered the paladin to follow him away from the soldiers.
"I found something?"
Darin looked confused, perhaps irritated.
"what did you find?"
"A group of scouts has been using a familiar hunting path. I think they may have been watching us for a while. Raige watched as Darin frowned. He looked accusatory, as if he had figured out the whole scene himself. "I had no choice but to fight. I killed one. A friend. I wounded another, but the final one escaped back over the wall." Darin sighed and looked over his squire with concern. "Come on lets get you at least cleaned up before we don't have time anymore" Raige might have protested normally, but he knew Darin would be a hard man to sway. They both were probably thinking the same thing at that time, but neither would say it.