User blog:AloofComputer/Dark Winds: Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Battle Aftermath

“I must say, I found it hard to swallow that a mage had joined the religious lunatics. So, what was your price? A position? A title?” Pallanto said sarcastically.

“Why, the very same reason the Order of Shadows was created. I never expected our very leaders to compromise to such a treaty. Especially when we finally had gained the upper hand. Won’t you come quietly?” Alfred responded.

“Lacking a proper perspective will give you such an opinion.” Pallanto sighed. “And no, I will not surrender peacefully. While not a monster, I support the peace. So, let’s do what we must, shall we?”

Without a warning, lightning surged from Alfred’s hands, rushing to his cloaked opponent. Pallanto raised a wall of earth, that was destroyed from Alfred’s attack.

''So, you muffle your voice with your mask to keep your incantations silent. Basic trick, but still effective. Let’s see what I have in my own bag of tricks.''

 The cloud of dust from the destroyed earthen wall offered him some cover. Pallanto decided to go with a water attack; it would cover the entire alley, and given the confined space it would be a sure hit. Chanting the incantation, water surged in front of him in a low but powerful wave, bursting from beneath the dust cloud.. Its force caught Alfred by surprise; he expected a flame attack. Water? What would water do besides get his feet wet? The wave wasn’t even high enough to knock him down. However, the metallic noise widened his eyes in horror, as he realized Pallanto’s plan. Lightning surged through the water, hitting him hard and bringing him to his knees.

He had been fooled. Pallanto simply filled the alley with water to get to him, and used a lightning spell to hit him without fail. The force of the spell was not big, so he guessed that the runaway mage intended to capture him. Trying to steady his hand, he reached into his pouch and pulled his trump card.

 Pallanto walked through the slowly settling dust cloud cautiously. The water rushed from the alley to the main street, slowing him down slightly. He moved his hand to clear the dust curtain a bit, and the giant light he saw froze his blood. White flames raged in torrential manner in a sphere, a little above Alfred’s hand. With his other hand he held a devil gem, streaks of white mana rushing through it and his body and feeding the white inferno above him.

He uses the devil gem’s holy energy to power a fireball!

Pallanto, while intrigued at the concept, realized what would happen if Alfred released this on him. While not on par with the whole devil gem itself, the holy energy bound inside the fireball when released would cause a violent reaction with the energy of the place itself. Thinking quickly, he summoned all his mana. His only chance now was to alter the course of the fireball before the magic bonds inside it break, and shoot it to the sky where it would cause no damage. He took a deep breath and chanted the incantation for the fire torrent spell, trying desperately to pump everything he had, as fast as he could.

 Alfred threw the glowing white fireball at Pallanto, and jumped to the side to take cover. While this plan was risky, it was his only option after his blunder. He didn’t want to be in the way of the explosion that the spell would cause. Pallanto seemed to had realized this, as he pushed forward a truly grand amount of mana; he wasn’t the head of the mage’s branch for nothing. If Pallanto succeeded in deflecting the fireball, he could bounce it back at him, and that gave him shivers. The flaming tornado made the paving stone s hiss and crack, the water evaporating into steam. The torrent changed direction to the sky; with a white flash, the fireball broke and white-purple tendrils of energy intertwined and shook violently. With another white flash, the reacting energies went off, resulting in an explosion that shook the area below it violently, breaking the glass of windows and shaking the trees and grass.

Alfred cautiously limped to the cloaked form before him, the numbness of Pallanto’s lightning spell still in his limbs. The mage breathed, but didn’t move. His gambit paid off; Pallanto used everything to deflect his attack. He smiled and reached for the unconscious mage, but someone held his hand. Or was it something? It felt like rope, or-

“Keep your filthy hands off my big brother!”

 The voice was a little girl’s, but its anger and malice came straight from hell. Turning, Alfred saw a baphomet, her hand extended, and a tendril of black-purple energy shooting from it and twining around him. He tried to pull it off him, but the baphomet just murmured something and more tendrils shot from her, grabbing him, slipping from under the protection of his cloak and injecting him with monster mana. Lucella looked on with cold indifference, as the mage’s body twitched and shook, before going limp. He threw it to the side, and turned to Pallanto. He looked exhausted, but unharmed. She stroked his cheek.

“You owe me twice, now.”

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ Report.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">“We caught seven men in the forest. Some of our patrols sustained only light injuries.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">“That is good, Primera. Lucella?”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">“We got two others in the city, one was going for the church, one for Pallanto. Both are detained. Pallanto sustained only minor bruises and extreme fatigue. It seems he managed to prevent the worst.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">“That is… unexpected. But good, nonetheless. Alatar?”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">“The one going for the palace is detained. He has some… major injuries. Unavoidable, I am afraid.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">Druella held the incubus in her gaze for a while longer. She sighed. “That is good news, everyone. We got ten men, and five demon gems. According to Pallanto, those gems were all that he created. Still, we must remain vigilant for now; more fanatics can be lurking in the forest. You can rest now. The main threat was dealt with.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">“What about the men we caught, my Lady?”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">“I will interrogate all of them. If they are any more men around, then the answer will be inside their memories. After that… well, you know what happens when men attack a monster city. Primera, see to it that each group that caught a man has him delivered to them, after I finish the interrogation.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">Primera smiled a wolfish grin. “Yes, my Lady.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">Alatar stood up and moved to the exit of the garrison mess hall, now a makeshift conference room. He needed some rest, and a hearty meal. Druella’s voice stopped him. “Alatar.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">He turned and faced the lilim. “My Lady?”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">“I will say it for everyone here: thank you. Your actions and knowledge saved many lives and spared us from much. I will lift your surveillance. You have proven yourself trustworthy. Any objections?” Druella looked around, at the rest of the participants. “None? Good. You are free to go.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">“Thank you, my Lady.” it still surprised him how easily he could speak those words, when there was a time he had actually declared war on the lilim. He exited the building, to meet with a bored Veronica. She hugged him tightly, and flew him to their home without a word.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in"> Lucella had knelt on Pallanto’s bed, after taking care of his injuries. To her, his face looked so childish and cute when he didn’t wear that smug smile. The total lack of tension and worry made him look a decade younger. The stress of being the head of an underground chapter withing the Order had carved some fine lines on his forehead and at the corners of his eyes. She had taken his mask off after her treatment; she couldn’t bear to lose sight of such a face, now that she had the chance.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in"> S he stroked the side of his face, causing his eyelids to flutter. For a moment, she was tempted to look into his memories, but brushed the thought off.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in"> Pallanto opened his eyes slowly. He felt the soft bed and the furry hand on his face. He groaned. “Where… am I?”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ At Lescatie. What you did was… I can’t even begin to describe. Foolish? Reckless? Brave? Desperate? I’ll go with foolish.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ So what, I am not in a sack and en route to the capital. And the city is undamaged. ” Pallanto said and tried to get up.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ Hey, not so fast, you will-” Lucella’s concerned voice was lost in the vertigo Pallanto felt. She held his staggering body.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ Thanks.” Pallanto said to her, her blushing face looking away.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ Going soft on me, magic boy?” She said with seductive innocence.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ Don’t get your hopes up, girl. I prefer them big-”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in"> SMACK!

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ Owwwwww, that hurt!” Pallanto protested, rubbing his head.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ Humph! Idiot! I saved your ass and this is how you act?” Lucella left the room slamming the door behind her, leaving a smiling Pallanto nursing the bump on his head.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in"> She stomped out to Lescatie’s streets, irritated to no end. How dared he! After she healed him, twice, after saving him from the clutches of those lunatics! She headed for the park. It would soothe her nerves to have some relaxing time there. She spotted Mimil sitting on a bench there, munching some sweets.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ Hey, Lady Lucella. What happened? Come, sit here.” Mimil waved at her.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ That jerk! You were right, he is the eternal schoolboy!” she grumbled as she sat besides her aide, grabbing a cookie and munching it furiously, her tail wagging in irritation.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ Pallanto?”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ Who else?”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in"> Mimil listened to her grumbling a bit, before giggling. “You know, I think he is actually into you.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ What do you mean, Mimil? That prick! Why, I should have-”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ He IS the eternal schoolboy, when it comes to such stuff. He would give every girl he liked a hard time. Like the grade schooler he is.” She flashed Lucella a mischievous grin. “You know, I think you should...”

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ What have you found?”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ They sent a team to Lescatie after Pallanto’s escape, commander. We miss three people from our ranks. We searched about them, and they seem to be prime suspects on the theft of equipment and the break-in. We are searching for any other members that have defected in our chapter, but it looks like they were the only ones. The mages, while much less disciplined, are too logical to be persuaded to that way of thinking. The knights are clean, for now. Many priests are under surveillance. But the main problem seems to be the rest of the Order. Alfonso has many supporters.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ Hmm, this is disturbing. Even if we remove the head, others will take over. We don’t want to keep fighting this internal war forever, we need to show them their error, without bloodshed.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ May I propose something?”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in"> Frederic looked at the successor of Pallanto. The young mage had a dangerous glint in his eye. Let’s see what good is your choice, Pallanto. “Go on.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ What if, the head priest was disgraced, instead? We can frame him for conspiring against the Order.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ Internal Order schemes are hardly rare… it won’t do him much harm if he were to be known to scheme his way up.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ Not with Order people.” the mage grinned. “With monsters.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ !” the suggestion caught the commander by surprise. After some thought, he returned the grin. “It would surely disillusion most, if not all of his supporters.” Not bad choice, Pallanto. “ But it would destabilize the treaty. Are you sure we can manage this?”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ Well, if it remains within the Order, it will hardly cause the treaty any harm. The state heads that support it will know nothing. The Order won’t want this to get out, given the recent incidents.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ Impressive. Good job, kid. See to it that it happens. Remember, we have some connections to Lescatie of our own. Use them. And be careful not to leave anything that can cause doubt. But don’t set it up too cleanly; that can cause doubt in and on itself as a set-up.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ Understood, commander.” The young mage nodded and left the commander’s office. Frederic smiled after his door closed. ''It seems you picked well, Pallanto. That takes a weight off my back.''

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in"> Chapter 6 is out. Criticism Welcome.