White Ravens: Advent of War

Gust's Day Off

It took an entire day's march, but Rune's group finally arrived at the first checkpoint. It was merely a campsite for Regalian soldiers, and there was only a small retinue of men, along with their superior. Valdano and his compatriots were recognized throughout Regalia, so the soldiers at the checkpoint quickly found recognized them.

At first, Valdano was wary that these men would try to fight them, so he told them, "We're not looking for trouble.

The commander of the soldiers replied, "Lord Vanderbilt, it's a pleasure to meet you. The name's Sarge." He held his hand out to Valdano, and the latter quickly shook his hand.

"I already know your purpose of passing through, and I've made it known to the other soldiers at every checkpoint. You're cleared for traveling, sir. Godspeed," he added.

Surprised by Sarge's words, Valdano creased his eyebrows, but was visibly pleased with the soldier's politeness. "I will remember this magnanimous act of yours, Sarge. Would you mind letting me and my companions stay at this checkpoint for the night? We hadn't rested since yesterday."

"By all means, Lord Vanderbilt. Please, make yourselves at home," Sarge answered.

That night, Valdano finally asked his fellow aristocrats to leave their carriage. With him was a young man in his twenties, and an attractive middle-aged woman. They sat at the campfire along with Rune's group. Leif and Torevir were standing behind Valdano, and their boss was seated at a large log along with the aristocrats.

"Rune, Yelena, Zeke, I'd like you to meet Lady Roberta Warren and Sir Jax of the Blackwater. These esteemed individuals have their own fiefs, and they command respect from both their people and their soldiers," Valdano remarked.

Roberta unfolded a fan with a snap, used it to fan herself while chuckling. "You speak as if I'm a person of much importance, Valdano. In this journey, I'm just Roberta. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Jax, on the other hand, held out his hand to Zeke. "I recognize you, Sir Zeke. You're the heir of House Lionheart, are you not?"

Zeke took his hand, and replied, "Indeed, but I don't think we've met."

"Oh, we haven't. But I've seen your father, Lord Scion. He's the most impressive knight I've ever crossed swords with. It's truly a fortune that my duel with was halted, now that I know that his son is of the same mind as I," Jax remarked. "I'm honored to be given the chance of fighting alongside you, should our swords be needed on the field of battle again."

Zeke sat back down and nodded slightly. "Ditto."

Finally, Rune stood up and spread out his arms. "I'm not big on speeches, and I think my friends will all agree that I'm not the best at inspiring people, but I will say this: I'll do everything in my power to put a stop to this hundred-year war once and for all. I've only ever fought one fully-fledge battle in this foolish war, and I already hated it. We're all here because we want this war to end, but to reach that goal means that we still have to fight, one way or another. But with your help, we may not even need to shed blood. I hope."

Zeke and Yelena were stunned by Rune's abrupt speech. It seemed that they never imagined he could be so moving.

Roberta and Jax seemed impressed by him, and even Valdano had a smile on his face.

"Roberta, Jax, this excellent young man is named Rune, heir of House Thorn. He's the ex-vice captain of the twelfth rune knight squad of Wisteria, and he's the reason I'm here with you all, finally doing the right thing. This war has gone on for way too long, and I cannot allow my daughter to live in a world where she must live in fear of being caught in a skirmish," Valdano declared.

This time, he turned to Rune, and said, "So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for inspiring me, Rune."

The following morning, the entourage set out on their journey. Sarge offered Valdano some more supplies for the road, which the latter accepted reluctantly. He also told Valdano that there were many nobles trying to sabotage his plans of an armistice, so it was best to keep their guards up.

After thanking Sarge, Valdano and the others finally left for the next checkpoint. This time, they must cross through Shadow's Valley. Leif was reluctant to enter this valley, since it was home to many criminals and outlaws, but this was the fastest route they could take.

More importantly, the alternative routes were riddled with Regalian soldiers. Compared to that, Shadow's Valley seemed much safer. If they were to run into another detachment of soldiers like Mathilda's, they could lose the support of the other Regalians.

Perhaps if they were to rid this valley of the outlaws, they could even earn the praise of some locals.

As they traversed the steep roads of the valley, one of the mercenaries that Valdano hired almost slipped and fell. Fortunately, Zeke was quick enough to react, and strong enough to keep the hapless man from falling. The mercenary thanked Zeke, and then he made sure to stand closer to the wall this time.

By this point, their carriages could barely fit through the narrow path. They had to make a decision: Abandon the carriages and proceed, or go back and take another route.

While they were making a decision, Leif and Torevir noticed that they were being surrounded. Behind them were outlaws armed with crossbows and knives, and were blocking their way out. It seemed that there was only one way they could proceed now, and that was to abandon the carriages.

"Leif, Torevir, take the aristocrats and go! We'll handle this. If we don't catch up in fifteen minutes, proceed without us. We'll meet you at the other side," Rune said to them.

Both Leif and Torevir nodded, and followed Rune's suggestion. Along with the aristocrats and the other mercenaries, they abandoned the carriage and headed across the valley. Some of the outlaws tried to go after them, but Zeke threw them off the cliff without hesitation.

The other outlaws didn't seem fazed by Zeke's strength, and even surrounded him. This valley was their backyard, and they were confident that they had the upper hand. Sure enough, Zeke, Yelena, and Rune were not trained to fight in steep paths.

All three were wary of their steps, worried that one wrong move could be their end. Thus, they had to restrain their movements. Contrary to their reserved steps, the outlaws were agile and acrobatic. They could shoot crossbow bolts from any angle, and throw knives at both mid and long range.

Rune and Zeke did their best to stave off any projectiles, while Yelena counterattacked with throwing knives. As the fight wore on, their backs were now against the path where Valdano and the rest went. There were seemingly more outlaws that appeared than they eliminated. Yelena wanted to cast shadow binding, but her hands were full just trying to stave off her attackers.

Zeke glanced at Yelena and noticed that she was having difficulty. He parried an oncoming strike from one of the outlaws, and knocked him away, then he went to Yelena's side to assist her. Afterwards, he said, "Yelena, conserve your energy. We can't afford to lose you out here. Retreat and leave the rest to us!"

"Zeke is right, Yelena. Just go!" Rune groaned while deflecting an attack. His hands were also full from fighting off more than five men on his own. Much to his chagrin, he cannot cast a devastating spell at a terrain like this. "Even Skellur may not be able to change the tide of this battle," he thought.

Yelena seemed reluctant to do it, but she retreated as per their advice. Truthfully, she didn't want to abandon Rune again, but she knew that there was no other choice. "Zeke, if you don't look after Rune, I'm going to kill you!"

Zeke grimaced as he kicked away another outlaw. "Just go!"

Once she had left, Rune glanced at Zeke and nodded. "You don't have to hold back anymore, buddy. I'll be fine."

Rune summoned Skellur in order to heighten his reflexes and speed. A steep valley may not be the perfect terrain for a battle-oriented knight like Zeke, but all of this earth and stone was a natural source of weapon for him.

Zeke slammed his sword against the ground, and a tall wall of stone sprang from it. A handful of outlaws were unlucky enough to be struck by the wall, and they were flung away. Soon, they fell down the cliff, and suffered an ill fate. Zeke bent the valley's steep paths and made stable ground for Rune to fight on, and the latter displayed his unparalleled speed and swordsmanship.

None of the outlaws stood a chance against Rune and Zeke, and it seemed that they finally realized that these two were not from Regalia. "T-they're... rune knights!" one of the outlaws shouted. "Run!"

Several of the outlaws bolted down the valley, and some even slid down in order to escape. Zeke and Rune picked off the remaining ones who were determined enough to fight them. Within minutes, they managed to annihilate their enemies. They made no attempt to chase after the ones who escaped. To them, it was a waste of time.

Once they were done, Zeke and Rune bumped fists and followed after the others. Along the way, Rune said, "I'm glad you have my back, Zeke."

"Likewise," Zeke replied. "I take back whatever insult I threw at you back at Mirea. You're a great vice captain."