White Ravens: Advent of War

A Knight's Duty

It had been a long and arduous day, but the squad had finally retired for the night. Zeke and Tatiana managed to get them two large rooms at the finest inn in the city, at least by this war-ridden city's standard.

The rooms weren't great, but it wasn't bad either. It was well-ventilated, and just enough space for four people to move around freely. Zeke, Sigil, Rune, and Gust shared the same room, while Yelena and Tatiana stayed in another.

All of them just lay in their own beds in silence, aside from Gust. Zeke was already sound asleep, and Gust refused to sleep on a bed, so he just sat in the corner, and there he soon drifted into sleep while clutching his weapons tightly.

"Strange kind," Sigil remarked in his head when he saw Gust's posture.

Then, he turned to Rune, who was sitting on the bed by the window. Rune was staring at the full moon outside listlessly when Sigil decided to sit next to him.

"Something bothering you?" Sigil asked. Never had he seen Rune react this way. It was obvious that something was indeed bothering the guy.

Rune stared at Sigil in silence for a few moments before he finally spoke. "I... don't know if I can do this anymore."

Surprised by his friend's response, Sigil asked, "What do you mean? Are you saying that..."

Rune nodded firmly; his eyes displayed his determination. "Perhaps I can work as a mercenary somewhere or maybe as an instructor in the academy, but I don't think I can fight a war. Siege, this isn't what I signed up for!"

Just then, Gust was awakened by the sound of Rune's voice. He opened one of his eyes, and silently listened in on their conversation.

"Before we graduated in the academy, they never allowed any of us to join the front lines and made us take small missions here and there. Truthfully, we've received more grateful faces during those times of our lives exterminating monsters or getting rid of bandits. But now that we're actively participating in the war..." Rune trailed off for a moment and looked at his hands.

"I couldn't do it, Siege. You told me to make sure that no enemy escapes the supply camp, but I spared most of them! The first two men that I struck down, I didn't realize I was taking a life. In my head, I just viewed them as roadblocks to the task you've assigned me. But when I heard their comrades screaming and cursing at me for killing their friends, that was when it hit me." Rune averted his gaze from Sigil and looked at the moon.

Sigil tapped his friend's shoulder as a means of comfort, and said, "You, sparing their lives was the reason the battle ended quickly, Rune. Had they not been able to run away from the supply camp, they wouldn't have been able to sound their retreat, and the fight would've went on until either side has completely obliterated the other."

Rune glanced at Sigil, surprised by what he was saying.

"Truthfully, you're the most emotional out of everyone in this squad, but that's also the reason why I told you to be the one to raid their supply camp. I knew you would've made the right decision then and there. It's because of your heart that I trust you with the most important tasks, brother."

Sigil's words put a smile on Rune's face. They locked in a manly embrace, and Sigil got up and went back to his own bed. "Get some rest. We'll need all our strength tomorrow."

In the middle of the night, Gust heard a commotion from outside. There was smoke coming from the direction of the southern gate, but the strange thing was that the smoke wasn't coming from outside the wall, it was within the city's gate!

"Hey, guys! Wake up! Something's happening outside," Gust exclaimed.

He went to the window and peered outside, only to find that the soldier's were being surrounded by militia men. "Those are townspeople!" he remarked.

Zeke immediately went to the women's room and saw that they were already awake and were on their way to wake the guys up. Tatiana, Yelena, and Zeke nodded at each other and hurried to the source of the commotion. Shortly afterwards, Sigil, Rune, and Gust followed.

By the time they got there, many of the Mirean soldiers had been killed by the townspeople, and only the commanding officer and a handful of his soldiers were still alive.

What surprised them the most was that the officer was holding a young woman hostage. Rune's face turned grim when he saw how the brutish Mirean officer was clutching the girl's hair like a rag and pulling a knife to her neck.

"Stand back! All of you!" said the Mirean officer. "Don't you know who I am? I'm Captain Glass of the Mirean garrison! I protected all of you from being enslaved by those Regalian dogs!"

"Enslaved? They were trying to save us from your kind, you brute!" said one of the townspeople. He was clutching a shovel like a weapon and glaring at Glass.

"Yeah! You treat us like second class citizens, and work us to the bone!"

"Let go of her right now before we kill you all!"

Glass cackled maniacally and said, "What makes you think I'm scared of you lot?" He tore up the girl's pink dress using his knife, and exposed the young woman's supple breast.

The girl cried harder in a muffled voice, but she couldn't struggle, fearing that the knife at her neck would slit her throat. 

Glass cupped her breasts and licked the girl's face and continued laughing like a madman. This vile behavior earned the ire of everyone who witnessed it, aside from Glass' soldiers. They were laughing along with him, and even helped tear up the girl's dress.

Now, the girl was fully naked, but she could do nothing but cry for help. The townspeople couldn't do anything because they knew that Glass would definitely kill the girl.

While they were locked in a standoff, someone emerged from amidst the crowd. Glass' eyes lit up when he saw one of the rune knights approaching him. "Ah, sir knight! Please help me get rid of these wretches. They don't know how to obey the law!"

Rune stopped right in front of Glass, clutching the handle of his sword while it was still in its scabbard. His head was lowered, and he was gritting his teeth. "Let her go," he muttered.

"W-what?" Glass stammered. "What are..."

But before Glass could even finish his sentence, Rune had swung his sword at him, severing Glass' right arm within the blink of an eye.

Glass wailed in pain and writhed on the ground as his blood gushed out from his now severed arm. Soon, he was lying in a pool of his own blood. His soldiers quickly took up arms, but Gust managed to incapacitate them before they could even reach Rune.

Rune took off his coat, and draped it over the young woman. He looked at Tatiana and she immediately came over to assist the girl. Shortly, she took the girl back to her father.

It all happened so fast that nobody else had the time to react aside from those three. But when it was over, Zeke drew his sword and point it at Rune. "Are you aware of what you've done, Rune?!" he growled.

"Yeah. I saved a girl from a monster," Rune responded while waving off the blade pointed at him.

Zeke didn't know what to say, so he just lay down his arm and stood frozen.

Finally, Sigil broke his silence. "Yelena, Tatiana, Zeke, apprehend those soldiers."

He noticed how Zeke reacted and figured out what the latter was about to say before even saying it. "That's an order!" Sigil commanded.

"Aye, Captain," Zeke replied with disdain.

"Gust, assist the townspeople with whatever they need, and Rune..." Sigil trailed off while walking towards his best friend. Then, he put a hand on his shoulder, which Rune cast away.

"I'll assist the townspeople as well. Don't tell me that I need a break, Sigil!" Rune grunted.

Right after he said that, he hurriedly caught up with the girl he had saved. Sigil watched as Rune walked away with the townspeople. For a brief moment, he saw a smile on Rune's face.

"Rune, what have you done... I can't protect you this time," Sigil muttered to himself.

A few minutes later, everyone in the squad aside from Rune had gathered in one room. Zeke was leaning beside the window with a displeased expression. None of them uttered a word until Rune had finally arrived.

"You!" Zeke immediately shouted as Rune entered the room. "You put us all in danger, you f*****g i***t!"

"Peace, Zeke," Sigil said while gesturing Zeke to stand down. "I'll be the one to speak first."

The room returned to silence as they all glanced at each other, waiting for Sigil to speak.

"Who here believes that Rune did the right thing?" he said, finally breaking the silence.

It took a few long seconds, but one finally raised his hand. It was Gust. "If he hadn't done it, I would've done it myself."

Right after his statement, both Yelena and Tatiana raised their hands. They didn't explain their reason for doing so, but in their eyes, Sigil could see their sincerity.

This time, everyone looked at Zeke, and to their surprise, he was raising his hand. They all waited until he talked.

He averted his gaze from everyone, and his face looked conflicted. "I do believe that Rune did the morally right thing, but we are agents of the crown. We are her majesty's sword and shield, and as such, we are tasked to protect her constituents; which includes those soldiers, no matter how disgusting they may be!"

"Then what would you have done?" Rune said out of the blue.

Zeke clicked his tongue and replied, "I would've reasoned out with—"

"Reasoned with him? You think a wretched man like that would've listened to reason? Had I not done anything, he would've r***d that girl in front of all of us!" Rune shouted.

"Do you truly have the heart to witness, let alone allow something so vile to happen?"

This time, Zeke fell silent. It would seem that Rune's reason was enough for him.

Just as the room returned to silence, they heard the clanking sound of armored footsteps. Gust peered outside through the curtained window and saw that there were numerous soldiers waiting outside the inn.

Seconds later, they heard a knock coming from the door.