B5 Chapter 75 – Roll Back the Darkness

A sighting of the Necromancer didn’t interest General Crow as much as she thought it might have.

“We were already fairly sure he was in there,” he told her, brows raised as he and his officers continued to pore over maps of the region and debate strategy. “Go and get some sleep. We’ll have more to say in the morning. I’m not sending my men out there at night, so nothing is going to happen until the sun is back in the sky.”

“Very well, General. I will speak to you in the morning.”

She offered her best curtsey, which wasn’t much by court standards, but she felt she managed not to disgrace herself, then turned to leave these obviously busy men to their work.

“I believe he has achieved platinum rank,” Honoured Stennis stated evenly.

Silence fell like a hammer, smashing all conversation to dust. Although the officers were experts at keeping their emotions from their face, she could tell that this was news they hadn’t wanted to hear.

Merigold was stunned.

Why hadn’t she asked for ten thousand? Or twenty? It would have been even harder to get approval, and taken twice as long, but it would have been worth it! At the same time, she cursed the fools who wanted to only send a thousand. Those men and women would have died horrible deaths and suffered an even worse fate after.

Platinum? Already? She knew his age down to the day, and no matter how she tried, it simply didn’t seem possible. That would be one of, if not the fastest ascension to platinum in the history of the Empire!

“A-are you sure?” she stammered.

Everyone ignored her, which was a good thing. Honoured Stennis, trusted hand of the Emperor himself, was sure. Otherwise he wouldn’t have said anything.

“We will need to adjust our approach, but nothing will fundamentally change,” General Crow cut through the silence, his tone firm and unwavering. “One platinum ranked Necromancer is not a match for five thousand members of the Emperor’s finest.”

He stared down his own officers.

“Get back to it,” he said, and they did.

With nothing else to say, Stennis fell in behind Merigold, who hastily escaped the suffocating atmosphere within the command tent and sought the safety of her own. She didn’t say anything to Stennis, she felt too on edge to try and discuss what had been revealed, nor did she have much success engaging him in conversation to start with.

“I will stand guard over your tent tonight,” he told her as she moved to duck inside. “Although I am confident in the abilities of the Golden Legion…”

He paused, reminding her the issue with General Crow’s troops wasn’t their competence, but their susceptibility to the court’s interference.

“… with the possibility of an attack by ghosts in the night, I deem it to be better if I keep watch personally. You may sleep without fear.”

Not giving her a chance to say anything in reply, he merely ducked his head in a short bow then turned his back to her and spread his feet, taking up his post.

Although he couldn’t say as much, he had essentially spelled out exactly what he feared: sentries allowing ghosts to penetrate the camp on purpose. Either the undead could kill her in her sleep, or they could take advantage of the chaos to do the job themselves.

She shouldn’t find the callous threats to her life so chilling at this point, but she still did. At times it was enough to bring her to tears. All she’d ever wanted was to serve as a nameless lower noble in the bowels of the administration. Now she was here, far from home and constantly afraid of being killed. What had she done to deserve this other than work to the best of her ability on behalf of the Empire?

It was at moments like these she drew comfort from the hidden insignia within the lining of her coat. She knew she was in the right, and she had that to prove it.

Despite the assurances of Stennis and the absolute safety they represented, Merigold did not sleep that night and staggered out of her bedroll dishevelled and groggy once light touched the eastern horizon. All night, she’d tossed and turned, thinking of what would happen the next day, worried that people would lose their lives on this quest that she had sent them on. Of course, she had always known that would be the case, but it was so different to be present in the moment as opposed to reading about it afterwards. These weren’t lines in a table to her anymore, they were human beings that she had travelled with for weeks.

And the Necromancer. Something about that visage had stayed with her. Why had Tyron Steelarm shown himself? To try and bait them to attack? To reveal he had reached platinum and cause them to hesitate? Despite knowing there was no point in questioning the motives of a madman, trying to stop the thoughts from spinning through her head had been a futile endeavour.

Getting herself ready for the day was a relatively simple process, and in ten minutes she was leaving the tent, her unruly hair pulled back in a tight bun.

Of course, once she stepped outside, she was greeted by Honoured Stennis, who it appeared had not moved a muscle since the previous night. Likely he hadn’t. As someone whose Class and abilities related to memory and information processing, the physical capacity of a soldier who had advanced all the way to platinum rank was something she couldn’t possibly imagine.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

“Good morning, Honoured Stennis,” she greeted him, stifling a yawn.

She thought she saw the slightest hint of a smile on his face as he turned slightly to see her emerge like a squirrel leaving its den at the end of winter.

“It didn’t sound like you rested well, Lady Herimar,” he said, nodding his head towards her in a slight bow.

“Who can sleep right now?” she grumbled. “A battle could take place today, people will die.”

“Unlikely to be today,” Stennis judged, falling in beside her as she began to make her way to the general’s tent. “General Crow has earned his reputation as a cautious and effective commander. He won’t commit his troops without uncovering more information unless he sees a clear advantage.”

Of all the things she had expected to hear today, Honoured Stennis offering compliments to the General wasn’t one of them. It wasn’t that the two men didn’t get along, not exactly, they just seemed to rub each other the wrong way.