White Ravens: Advent of War

Rune's Newfound Resolve

Droves of soldiers, mercenaries, and hired killers rushed to the harbor in pursuit of Rune and his group. Gust immediately removed the mooring rope of their ship, but it was all too late for them to do so. Several of the enemies had boarded the ship, and so they had no choice but to take up arms.

Sigil and the rest of the rune knights took care of Dreyfus' men on the ground, and Rune, Leif, and Corselia fought the hired killers that had boarded the ship. The crew of the ship and captain didn't seem to panic, and just focused on getting the ship away from ground.

Some more soldiers managed to board the ship and tried to attack the crew, but Rune and the others kept them at bay. "Anytime now, Captain!" Rune shouted.

Sigil looked at Rune when he yelled "captain", but the latter waved his hand and said, "Not you, dude! The ship captain! But yeah, you too! Everyone get on board! We're leaving!"

Zeke, Yelena, Tatiana, Gust, and Sigil boarded the ship while fending off the advancing enemies. A few more managed to reach the plank, but Zeke kicked them away with astounding force.

The ship captain cackled and began to steer the ship away from ground. Due to how fast he was steering, the boat bumped against some rocks, but it barely halted the ship's speed.

The soldiers on the ground nocked their arrows and then their mages cast a fire spell on the arrows, instantly lighting them up. Then, they shot several dozens of arrows as the ship gradually floated away from Merseto's port.

Tatiana cast a barrier spell to prevent the arrows from reaching the deck. If those arrows landed, the ship would've been set on fire.

Within a few moments, the ship had finally floated far enough from land that the arrows could barely reach them, and no other ships could catch up with them. Everybody onboard cheered, including the newly arrived party.

During this time, Sigil was standing at the stern of the ship with Rune and staring at the horizon. "Dreyfus was an asshole, huh?" Rune remarked.

To his surprise, Sigil began to laugh. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I missed your idiotic banters. But asshole is an understatement, Rune."

"What even happened to you there and why weren't Gust and Yelena caught with you?" Rune replied.

Suddenly, Gust showed up, tapping Rune's shoulder. "I was already suspicious of him the moment we met him, so I asked Yelena to step outside with me in case something happens. But when we went outside, Dreyfus' men stopped us and tried to capture us."

Gust's wide grin understated the gravity of the situation he was narrating, but Rune quickly understood that Dreyfus already seemed to know that Sigil and the others had a bounty on their heads ahead of time.

"That's strange, isn't it, Siege?" Rune remarked.

"I shouldn't have trusted Dreyfus that easily. I had a feeling that something bad might happen, but I was desperate to find you, brother," Sigil responded.

Rune turned around, walked to Sigil's side, and patted his shoulder. "I know, brother. From here on out, we'll figure things out together."

Sigil looked at him, surprised at how mature Rune's response was.

Then, he leaned closer to Sigil and added, "But if you ever something so sappy like that to me again, I'm disowning you as my brother."

Rune began to cackle as he went to greet the others, leaving Sigil annoyed by his behavior, and Gust sniggering to himself.

As the night wore on, everyone else had already headed down to the cabins, but Rune remained on deck. He was leaning against handrail, and staring at the horizon. It seemed that something was on his mind.

A little while later, Corselia approached him. "Can't sleep?"

Rune shook his head. "You don't have to pretend to care. Your debt is paid, yeah? You can finally visit Paree like you've always wanted."

Corselia slapped the back of his head. "I thought you and I are already becoming friends. Don't be such an asshole, man!"

He glanced at her and smiled while staring into her eyes. "I'm glad I spared your life back then. Because you just saved mine, and my friends'. For that, I'm eternally grateful."

"Do you mean that?" asked Corselia.

Upon seeing that Rune nodded decisively, she added, "Come with me to Paree. I'm not taking no for an answer."

A smile appeared on his lips when Corselia said that. Then, he ruffled her hair and began to walk away.

"Hey, asshole! That's not an answer!" she exclaimed.

Rune raised his hand and went back to his cabin. Truthfully, he wanted to come with her to a peaceful city and escape all this strife. It would've been a nice change of scenery.

He couldn't deny the fact that he was tempted to go, but he still had things to do in Wisteria and Regalia. After spending some time in Regalia, he had come to love the locals as well. Aside from their appearances, they were just like the people of Wisteria.

Throughout this war, those who were not soldiers, nobles, knights, or royalty, all suffered through the same fates. Each day, they had to live in fear that their town would be next site of a skirmish or a grand battle between both sides. Many of the peasants wished that there weren't any ways, and even some of the ruling classes only wished to lived a peaceful life.

Rune learned that there were people in the empire of Regalia like Valdano who only wanted the best for his daughter. Thus, he resolved that his next course of action was to cooperate with Valdano, and somehow convince some of the other lords to propose a ceasefire with Wisteria.

Tomorrow morning, Rune resolved to convince the rest of his comrades to find a way to end this long-standing war with Regalia. "If my father, Bellamy Thorn, managed to make loyal friends with someone from the empire, then we could all follow in his example. Father, just wait and see. I'll make you proud!"