originally posted in:The New Dojo
[b][u]Knights of Silver[/u][/b]
[b]Chapter Three - The Enemy Underneath[/b]
[spoiler]For Royal.[/spoiler]
[b]Relocated Trayven Encampment, Rivelria, 8:42 AM[/b]
[i]Fire. Fire, and death, and sand.[/i]
[i]That was all that Elina dreamt of, the night after the raid.[/i]
[i]Suddenly arising from her medical bed, with beads of dribbling sweat forming upon her head, Elina's worryingly strained eyes searching for some semblance in her reawakening. She had a small meal, next to her bed, though only one functioning arm to pick it up: the other, right arm, was shattered and broken in the midst of the tragic battle. She sighed, resting her head back against the stiff pillow.[/i]
[i]Alric. She needed Alric, not rest.[/i]
[i]Rising up, Elina had found that her right arm had been bounded with a cast and sling, as it then rested where her solar plexus would be, simply hovering over it. Stuck there, really. She hated it already: this wasn't her first injury, but this was her first broken limb in the field of combat. Nonetheless, she would exit her tent, muttering to herself as she began her search for Sir Alric.[/i]
"Alric, Alric.. where is that damned Witcher when you need him, I wonder?"
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[spoiler]For Frog.[/spoiler]
[b]Underneath Riverlia, Unknown Time[/b]
[i]Mion had been searching, traversing through endless, dim tunnels, for.. minutes? Hours? Days? Time was lost and meant nothing, in the everlasting labyrinth of forgotten runes and catacombs that she traveled throughout. She had found languages and books of languages that were beyond the world that she knew, and odd, massive weapons that were too heavy to heave into the air, even by a normal man, as she had found it near impossible to bring them up through regular means. They were claymores yet, but different. Older, from a time long ago.[/i]
[i]The only remedy that she found to her lonely state would come soon. A humming, a distant one, yet far down the hallway to her right. The hall's depths began to ignite then, with a fiercely white energy. The hums themselves were not of Niki, nor feminine, but deep and ancient, as if sung by an old man whom was at his final peace. Perhaps.. perhaps this was her pathway. A sign that would lead to resolution.[/i]
English
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[i]Elina would find Alric standing around with several Trayvern troops. Or well, being around was more accurate. The troops had been injured in the battle. Now, Alric seemed to be doing whatever he could to try and help the medics or doctors, whatever they were. [/i] "You shouldn't be up." [i]Alric stated upon noticing Elina approach. He got up, rushing over to Elina and providing a hand in case she needed one to get around. [/i]
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"I'll be fine," [i]The dark-headed woman muttered to Alric, closing her eyes and yet accepting his assistance. Even after the battle, one could tell that she was still in pain.[/i] "We can't sit here. Not forever. We can't wait on my arm, we can't wait on the wounded. Those sand bаstards will return, Alric.."
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"There are patrols out there, right now. If they notice anything wrong, they will return." [i]Alric gave a light smile, looking around. [/i] "If we don't wait, these men might die. I do not wish for that upon anyone. Our numbers are still being counted."
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"It's either fight or flight, Alric.. ...Gods, we're not in a condition for either." [i]Elina muttered, before a scout would approach the two.[/i] "My lord, my lady - we have located an attacked Tribune encampment. It seems as these sand warriors.. aren't too fond of the enemy themselves." "Enemy of my enemy.. is still my enemy." [i]Elina muttered.[/i]
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"It would most certainly appear that way." [i]The Witcher gave a simple nod of the head and dismissed the scout. [/i] "Perhaps... We should finish the camp off. Or, we might speak with their leader. See if we can work something to battle against these sand warriors." "In any case, something must be done before we lose all our numbers."
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"A possible, temporal treaty? These sand warriors are of Rivelria themselves, though.. The nation of Rivelria does not necessarily hold a capitol, as Trayve or Khaom would. It is made up, of several villages and smaller countries, not to say that it doesn't have larger civilizations. These warriors.. they seem to be natives. They show no mercy to either side." [i]Elina would think, for a moment.[/i] "An interrogation, perhaps an alliance, would be beneficial. But I want to talk to the head of the Tribulation's forces, here."
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"I would imagine that would be best. Rather than speaking with mere foot soldiers." [i]Alric nodded his head in agreement with what Elina was saying. [/i] "How do you think we should approach this... Negotiation?"
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"Cautiously. We need to find wherever their command is. I'd say that it wouldn't be too far.. Or, we could follow the trail of attacked encampments." [i]Elina thought, then.[/i] "...Huh. Perhaps these warriors could lead us to the Tribulation. We'll meet them in battle eventually, but.. should we send more scouts? Much more scouts?"
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"We have a good amount of scouts in the dojo fighters ranks. We can send them out as well." [i]The Witcher turned his attention to the warriors around the area. [/i] "Yes... Yes, indeed we should send more scouts out to discover whoever their leader may be."
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"Ought to send you, if anything.. I'd go, except.. well," [i]Elina would shake her broken arm, sarcastically.[/i] "But we do need to find the leaders of both groups. I can take care of this place if you want to lead a scouting mission."
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"I shall leave Jeremiah here to assist with matters." [i]Alric gestured to the large six foot knight that stood several feet away. A silent protector for Alric. [/i] "If you wish, you may send your best negotiator. It would be perhaps... Beneficial to have delegates of the Trayvern and Dojo forces."
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"...Funny. The first and only negotiation we had with the guys before the Tribune, they were.. tortured, mutilated, and a whole lot worse before they came back to Trayve." [i]Elina gulped a little, sighing.[/i] "Sure, sure. I know one.. Darius. He's trained for this sort of thing, you'd like him. Just.. don't die, alright?"
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"I won't, Elina." [i]The Witcher gave a warm smile to his second in command, laying a hand on her shoulder. [/i] "Besides, if I died, who would you talk to about war!" [i]Alric laughed... A gruff, almost scratchy laugh... But a laugh nonetheless. [/i]
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"Well.. there's a few people, I guess, though you're the most interesting." [i]Elina smiled at that, bowing her head towards Alric then.[/i] "I'll fetch Darius for you. You get a team set up, and.. well, pack some food. Getting lost out here would be awful."
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Edited by Royal Blade: 12/30/2017 6:33:54 PM"It will be done, my lady." [i]With that said, the Witcher stalked off to prepare provisions and a team for the journey.[/i] [spoiler]Timeskip? [/spoiler]
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[spoiler]Sure.[/spoiler] [i]As the group would set off, Alric would find himself accompanied by this Darius, who only mentioned his first name and role:[/i] "Darius, I'll be negotiating - hopefully - with these Tribune. We shouldn't waste time!" [i]The group would come across a Tribune encampment that had ceased combat with the Trayvens, at least for a short time. It appeared to have been attacked, with filled body bags within the encampment and mounds of sand warriors being burnt.[/i]
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"These savages are brutal in nature, I almost admire their attack strategies..." [i]Alric kept his straight forward as they walked, not paying attention to the dead. [/i]
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"They swarm and slaughter with an overwhelming assault.." [i]Darius muttered, as the group would come across what seemed to be the leader of the remaining encampment: a knight, of some stature. He would bow his head towards the Trayven forces silently.[/i] "Sir Alric."
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"You have me at a loss, sir. I don't know your name." [i]Nodding his head toward the knight that spoke, Alric extended a hand to shake. [/i]
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"Apologies, I figured that a Trayven would alert you of our short negotiations.. before the peace, anyway." [i]The man would fulfill the handshake, grabbing Alric's hand firmly.[/i] "Xander. I trust this is about the sand warrior threat?"
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"They Trayverns did inform me. They simply did not inform of your name, Sir Xander." [i]Alric shrugged slightly, giving a warm smile. [/i] "And yes, that would be the reason for our being here. It seems these sand warriors are a common threat between our people. I would rather not be nuisanced by their presence. I already have much to deal with."
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"A common threat? Did no one tell you about the enemy of your enemy quote?" [i]Xander had questioned quietly, tilting his head as he would walk towards his encampment, past the burning piles and body bags. Darius would follow him still, though the man would keep his silence.[/i]
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"The enemy of my enemy... Is my enemy?" [i]The Witcher recited, in a questioning manner, what Elina said to him earlier. The quote he believed to be the one that Xander was speaking of currently.[/i]
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"...The phrase is usually used as "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", but.. I understand. It seems rather honest of you." [i]Well, Xander seemed to slightly approve. A little, anyhow.[/i] "What of these sand warriors, then? What do they want?"
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"If I were to guess, I would say that these sand warriors are looking to loot our corpses. The thrill of killing perhaps? Some are born of nothing but war." [i]The answer was slightly more philosophical than Xander might have expected from a warrior such as Alric. Though, all commanders had a certain widened to them. [/i]