originally posted in:The New Dojo
"Not in the mist of battle, though in the result of betrayal. The sand warrior attacked a prisoner of war that was vital to our cause. In whatever panic he was in, that man drew his sword against the Tribune and our Commander. The result was.. decapitation."
[i]Xander sighed, sitting at his war table.[/i]
"What of you? Would you have any news on these warriors?"
English
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"There is only one thing I know about these warriors. They have some sort of... Dragons." [i]Alric fell silent, letting the word dragon sit in the air for a few moments. [/i] "Extremely dangerous, we barely managed to defeat it as was."
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"We saw those.. things. The dunes dug up from the earth." [i]Xander sighed, clutching his fist.[/i] "I lost good men and women to one of those monsters."
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"Do you know have any notion as to what they are? I've seen wyverns and dragons before, but this... This trumps everything I've seen." [i]Alric took a seat at the table, laying his hands in his lap.[/i]
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"In the days of the Conquest of Rivelria.. King Armillion's invading force fought these things, though the monsters were lesser in numbers and stature. They were born of Khaom's dragons, typically the runts, with manticores mating with them in the process. The result created vile things, but these abominations are.. stronger." [i]Xander muttered, sighing.[/i] "We cannot fight them like this. We have to take the offensive while we can, whenever we can, or we'll be ticked off like flies, one by one."
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"That is also why we must band together. These abominations and their masters are enemy to us both. If we wish to survive, we must fight together." [i]Alric drummed his fingers against the wooden surface of the table, giving a light smile to Xander. [/i] "It may be problematic, but it must be done. For all of our sakes. Though, I will admit. The aftermath will be bloody if we do not control our forces after we escape these lands."
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"Perhaps this could be the beginning of some.. well, peace, between both factions?" [i]Darius would kick in, smiling a little. Only, Xander would shoot a glance at him, before returning his gaze to Alric.[/i] "Tell me. Do you trust the snakes of Trayve, or what you see upon the battlefield? There will be no peace, not after what happened in Khalosh, and not as that corrupted king Armillion sits on that throne. This is a temporal alliance, unfortunately."
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"I am aware of this. I am not precisely recommending peace. But I do not wish to battle your forces immediately after our battle with the Sand Warriors." [i]Alric shot a glance at Darius, forcing a smile. [/i] "I merely request that we have one or two days to... Prepare our forces if we plan to do battle with one another.
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"...I don't seek to fight your armies, because I already know the result. These sand warriors would be vultures afterwards, picking us off.. We must align, or withdraw from Rivelria. I am afraid that is no longer an option." [i]Xander stated, looking at Alric. A suggestion of peace.. though Elina would never agree with it.[/i]
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"Then... Peace it is I suppose. For as long as it may take to defeat these warriors." [i]Alric suddenly stood tall, sticking his hand out to Xander for a shake, giving a wide grin. [/i]
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[spoiler]ALIGNMENTS Throughout the quest line, certain characters will approve and disapprove of certain actions throughout the story. This is one of those moments. •[b]The Knight-Commander[/b] slightly approves of this - The Tribune in Rivelria will have peaceful intentions, for a time, towards Trayven forces. •[b]Xander[/b] approves of this - He has now placed his trust in Alric. •[b]Darius[/b] greatly approves of this - He supports Alric's decision with unwavering loyalty. •[b]Elina[/b] disapproves of this - She will be conflicted about Alric's leadership, yet she is still loyal.[/spoiler] "A fine decision, Alric." [i]Xander would rise then, shaking Alric's hand at that.[/i]
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"Now, if you'll excuse me I must be off. Inform our forces of the temporal alliance and warn them off from potentially harming your own." [i]Alric gave a nod of the head before releasing the hand shake, turning around and preparing to leave. [/i]
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"Good luck, sir Alric." [i]Xander would state, nodding towards the man. Darius would follow beside Alric, crossing his arms together with a clever smile.[/i] "Fascinating. This should be over rather quickly - though Elina would be.. well, surprised by your decisions."
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"Maybe so, but it is a better ending than we had originally hoped for, correct?" [i]The Witcher shot Darius a quick glance, actually looking a bit worried. [/i]
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"It is. You can't please everyone, but.. it's a start, you know?" [i]Timeskip..[/i] [i]Alric was welcomed to the encampment with mixed responses. Cheers and boos, smiles of approval and grimaces of distaste. But the most disdainful of all was Elina, as she rested in her bed.[/i] "Peace. With the enemy. I don't think you understand these men and women."
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"I do not." [i]Alric admitted it almost immediately, staring at Elina with his cat like eyes. As if lost in thought. [/i] "But what I do know is that we face a much more immediate threat in these Savage Sand Warriors. I took what actions I found necessary to ensure our survival. Even if I must resort to fighting shoulder to shoulder with the enemy."
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[i]Elina would fall silent, before sighing.[/i] "Look, I.. I respect you, for who you are. Maybe this peace'll be good. But then, it's back to killing each other: and who's gonna have a harder time with drawing swords against the past ally? Us.. or them?"
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"Our forces will remember who their true enemies are." [i]Alric sounded confident in the ability of their troops. Perhaps too confident. [/i]
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"...I hope. There's been word, of a possible location of one of these.. encampments. Of the sand warriors. If we can organize a functional assault.. we'd wipe through them." [i]Elina murmured, as she would pace back and forth with her broken arm.[/i] "Could you convince the Tribune, to help?"
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"They have already agreed to be our allies in the fight against these sand warriors. I'm sure something can be arranged." [i]Alric nodded his head, clasping his hands behind his back. [/i] "It might take some time to mobilize all our forces together, however."
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"At least, our fighting forces. We could take them, interrogate them, uncover information.." [i]Elina murmured, scratching her head.[/i] "What about the man you met? Was he.. well.. friendly?"
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"As friendly as one could be. Xander was... Well he was what we might expect from one of our enemies. Though, clearly he's striving more for peace. Darius?" [i]Alric glanced at the man who had gone with him. Clearly wanting him to intervene. [/i]
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"...Xavier is trustworthy, for a time. He wants peace between us, which is highly beneficial." [i]Darius spoke up, finally.[/i] "Xander? Xander the Slayer?" [i]Elina looked up, at Darius's confused demeanor, before clearing her throat.[/i] "Sorry. But he's one of the only big names that pop up in the Tribune, other than a "Rue" and "Knight-Commander" and "Revel". Xander's a little bit of a legend - highly offensive leader, he lead a charge against the Zyrians in the last war.. he knows us better than we know him. Why he left us.. I'll never know." "Didn't know all of that-" "Because you didn't serve." [i]Elina murmured, interrupting Darius.[/i]
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"He was a Trayvern once?" [i]Alric asked with the same confused demeanor, rubbing at his eyes with his hands. He seemed oddly tired, as he yawned immediately afterwards and returned his hands to their clasped position behind his back. [/i] "That could explain why he wished to create a temporary alliance between our two forces. He has faith in us, perhaps."
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"I hope.. Alric, I.. I can handle the negotiating, if you're tired." [i]Elina piped in, looking at Alric in an almost worryingly fashion, as if she did care for the man. And even if she had disapproved.. well, she seemed to care for him enough.[/i] "Rest. If you need to."
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"No, no. There will be no need for that. I am simply... Tired with the world. If only things could be more simple." [i]Alric shook his head, a smile forming at his lips. [/i] "I must apologize. Perhaps I should have spoken to you on the subject of an alliance with people that were our enemies... But I saw the opportunity. I took it."