B4 Chapter 473: War Room, Finale

Kaius sat in the governor’s private garden, resting his back against a large tree. Porkchop was with him, and the sun was shining bright, filtering through the green leaves above to bless him with a gentle summer’s warmth.

The place was undeniably beautiful — a walled-in open stretch at the back of the manor, covered in a smattering of oaks, elms, and three dozen or more varieties of flowering bush. In many ways it was small, only a bare fifty longstrides across — but the reason for that was obvious.

Enchantments lined the garden’s walls, fortifying and supporting the growth of the plants within. He had to admit, it was an ingenious solution against the draining effect that had killed all plant life surrounding Deadacre. He doubted that its creators had known the cause was an experimental mana reactor buried deep beneath the city, but it was still clever.

Clever, and expensive to maintain.

But as far as frivolities went, it was a minor bit of luxury — and one that he currently enjoyed the fruits of.

It should have been relaxing, yet Kaius found it impossible to quiet his mind.

War. It was almost impossible to believe that it had come to Deadacre. The city was far too remote and insignificant to draw the eyes of men hungry for influence and power. But such concerns mattered little in the eyes of beasts.

He shook his head, trying to banish the thoughts — a difficult endeavour, considering he’d just sat through two hours of logistical and military planning.

Shifting his position, a sudden drag of his prosthetic against the grass drew his attention. Of all the bloody times to be set back by such an injury, it had to be now — when he might be forced to go up against a tyrant. Any day now.

He’d made time to spar with Arc and Rieker, so he could do his best to get used to the movement and the stress of combat. But they were both busy men, and a few days of practice wouldn’t change the fact that he had no sensation. His footwork was horrible.

At least he and Porkchop got a moment to just breathe. Ianmus and Kenva were not so lucky.

After the meeting, Ianmus had gone with Hanrick to contact Mystral’s Council of Mages. They might not have had direct confirmation of the beasts’ movements just yet, but the sooner they could confirm whether they would receive the assistance of a mage cadre, the better.

Kenva’s endeavour, at least, seemed a little less fraught. She’d asked the chamberlain if Hanrick’s estate was in possession of any living trees of magical origin. When the man had confirmed the existence of a secure greenhouse towards the back of the grounds, she’d all but demanded access.

Every spare scrap of mana she had could be used to sing arrows from its trunk. Considering the size of her pool, and the fact that the tree was only moderately magically potent, she could practically pump them out by the barrel. Backed by a capstone skill, each projectile was still potent — far beyond the quality that most had access to. As she would no doubt produce more than she could ever use, even in an extended siege, it might just prove an edge that could save the lives of the men manning the walls.

While he was comfortable with his teammates focusing on their own endeavours, Kaius couldn’t help but feel uneasy given the recent news that they might have to split up for the battle.

“What’s got you by the tail?” Porkchop asked, nudging him.

Kaius grunted. “I just don’t like the idea of splitting up. We saw that wave first-hand, and it completely overran the defences of Old Yon’s compound. For all we know, the beasts will be stronger and even more numerous. We’ve gotten stronger too — but we’re strongest together.”

“True,” Porkchop replied. “But this will be different from our normal battles. We’ll be one among thousands, and we’ll be defending walls, not fighting on open ground. There’s too much ground to cover as a unit. By the Matriarchs, I won’t even be able to help unless there’s a breach.”

“It sounds like you’ll still have plenty to do.”

From the plans they’d come up with, Porkchop would be something of a linchpin among the high-level defenders. With his Mentis geared towards watching battlefield flow, and his innate ability to speak mind-to-mind, he would be perfect to defend where the fighting was thickest. Even Iron could be deadly if wielded correctly.

Rieker, Arc, Porkchop, and himself would focus on supporting the wall’s defenders and reacting to any incursions or breaches. Ro and Kenva would focus on high-value targets and intercepting any airborne enemies. Ianmus was to focus on simple raw devastation — thinning the herds as much as possible with their expensive war magic.

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Kaius expected that over the length of the battle, Ianmus would prove hellishly effective at that. The ability for his key seal to draw in its own supply of mana would show its worth over an extended engagement — especially as it freed Ianmus to focus the rest of his mana pool on precision strikes.

Kaius sighed again. He knew it made sense, but he still didn’t like it.

“At least they’ve placed us close together.”

“Of course they have,” Porkchop replied. “You need someone to watch over you while you’re inscribing. It’s not like either of us are going to trust anyone other than me to do it.”

Before he could respond, Porkchop’s ears twitched, and he turned to look across the garden.

“A runner’s coming,” Porkchop said.

Kaius grunted and started pushing himself to his feet. No doubt word from the long-range scouts.