Chương 87: Chapter 86- Three Days Until the Breach

Elias bolted upright with a gasp as a clamor of bells rang in his head in quick succession, he heaved for breath and glanced about the room wildly. The sudden movement startled Astra and Tiamat, the former whirling around to check the room for intruders, sword in hand, as the latter took flight to spin in a tight circle near the ceiling.

The simple single room he was occupying in the barracks was not large, and after a quick sweep of the surroundings both of them relaxed before turning on him with a glare and chittering chirp respectively. Astra testily slammed her longsword back into the sheath at her waist before propping both hands on her hips and glaring at Eli. Despite the tempestuous expression, the faint feeling of mirth through their bond let him know she wasn't as upset as she seemed.

Tia on the other hand was actually a little pissed that he woke her from a nap. Brother-Eli that was so rude, next time you thrash like that I'm going to actually bite you. Astra arched a brow at him, only for it to draw down in an expression of actual concern as he shakily caught his breath and steadied his racing heart. As he swung his feet over the side of the bed she pulled over a chair and sat down before speaking." Are you all right, what happened?"

Holding up a hand until he caught his breath, before startling as he glanced at her due to the concerned expression on her face. Elias shook his head, " A lot actually. First things first, how long was I out, and what time is it now?" Astra gave him a strange look, " A little over five hours? That is a little long for an early tier ascension, but for someone who is new to the System I assumed you would be taking your time and going over all your choices carefully to pick the best one.""

I would have to check but it is probably close to midday considering when you started. Why?" Elias grimaced as he debated in what order to share the news in, there is no real choice she needs to know now. The concern grew over their connection as she asked again, " You are starting to concern me Eli, what in the Abyss happened in there? And what does the time matter?" Elias gave Astra a serious look as he took a deep breath, " Ok. A lot happened, but only one thing matters right now.

I met Vael again and he gave me a message to pass to you."" He said, 'Tell her that her suspicions are correct, and that she is running out of time. From the time you awake you both will have 3 days to reach the location and stop the ritual that all those poor souls are fueling.'"" He is deeply sorry to be the bearer of bad news, and as a patron and friend it is only right to warn us.

Apparently he would normally be restricted from speaking so directly but that what they are doing could cause grievous harm to both the world and possibly the system itself."" He said there are many things as potent as killing innocents, and only the worst rituals would require it, such as disrupting constructs from the system itself."" He said, I quote 'Tell her if you both fail a breach will open that will make the one outside the Emberholdt ramparts look like a pothole.'"

Astra bolted upright out of her chair, sending it clattering backwards against the wall, as Eli felt a spike of alarm and fear from her that quickly deepened into a cold fury. Her knuckles turned white and the leather squealed as her hand tightened over her blade in a deathgrip, a snarl crossing her face as a feral growl ripped from her throat. Tia fluttered down to the bed in a panic as she looked back and forth between them the ruff of scales on her neck puffing in anxiety and worry. Brother why is she so angry?

I'll ask in a minute, be patient. Astra glared down at Eli with a thunderous expression, " You are certain, this is the exact message he gave to you." Elias nodded solemnly, " Yes, nearly word for word." She gritted her teeth, " And you trust that he is speaking the truth." Elias grimaced, " Yes. He hasn't lied to me yet, and he was very serious about it." Eli sighed and rubbed a hand over the stubble on his face, " You should have seen it Astra, trust me he was not happy at all."

Her growl rose to a higher pitch as she ground out, " I am going to hang that bastard by his own entrails, and deliver him to the abyss with my own hands." Elias stood from the bed and scrubbed a hand over his face once more before dropping a hand onto her shoulder and asking, " How can I help?" A brief but fierce spike of affection pulsed through the bond, softening the swell of anger from a roaring inferno to a simpler kindling flame as Astra smiled back at him.

Eli could feel the faint echo of the song thrumming along the tether between them, the drums in his chest stirring as a basso chorus of a vengeful chant drifted back along the path from her. With a masterful effort of will Elias could feel through the same channel that Astra had tamped down her emotions, ruthlessly crushing the rising song stirring her to action, and composed herself once more before flashing Eli a quick grin and clapping him on the shoulder, " Easy. follow me."

She strode to the door and, as she flung it open and marched forth, a startled Mason and Cooper followed after in a trot as she headed for the courtyard, barking out orders as she went. Over her left shoulder she spoke." Mr. Mason summon six messengers. First, have the Baron, Watch Commander, and Garrison Commander to meet us at the warehouse housing the investigators."" Second, send the next two to the north and south gate.

Residents and travelers may enter but none may leave, at dusk the gates are to be sealed and only opened once more upon my order."" Send the final messenger to the League chapter house and summon the branch leader. Inform him that I will be invoking the emergency clause on their charter and his presence is required at the same warehouse." Astra loosened her grip on the hilt of her sword and cracked her knuckles as she growled the next set over her right shoulder." Mr.

Cooper summon all squad leaders and above to the northern briefing room in one hour, then have every mount in the Keep, Watch, and Garrison readied to ride by sunset."" Once all combat mounts are set, send runners to rally what may be available in town, but we are moving light and fast, no carts and no wagons." Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation."

Once mounts are set, prepare for movement for the entire Garrison and if we are lucky approximately half the watch, excluding the Baron's personal banner men as he will need them."" Pack light no more than a week's provisions, if this action takes longer, it will not matter, since in that event we will likely all be dead anyways." The sound of footfalls behind them came to a halt as both men paused in their tracks at the last statement.

Astra spun to fix the men with a stern glare that softened as she took in their pale and shaken faces as they exchanged a wary look. After a moment of unspoken communication Cooper cleared his throat and spoke up, with a nervous and timid sound so at odds with the gregarious and confident man that Elias knew so well." My Lady, are you sure? What in the deepest Abyss is happening?" Astra gave them a grim smile, " You will find out the specifics in one hour gentlemen."

The feral growl rumbled in her throat once more, before she cleared her throat, " We have received word that our enemies have decided to toy with deadly forces of a most dire nature. Their actions threaten not just this region or the duchy but possibly the Empire itself." She fixed both men with a stern gaze, " Duty calls, we march for war."

The men only waited long enough to turn over their guard duties to Sasha and Taylor before bolting off to see Astra's orders fulfilled. As their small group headed towards the courtyard Astra realized from the faint confusion echoing down the tether that Eli had missed some important details." The investigators had been combing through the wreckage of the inns and the corpses of the assailants for most of the night and this morning, and the initial findings were fairly confusing."

A squad of men paused at an intersection to let them pass, and as they reached the stairway leading to the lower floors, Astra raised her voice slightly so she would be heard over the soft clatter of armor from the guards and the raised voices in the courtyard below as they descended." Most of the dead had little in common other than that they were all, for the most part at least, not combat classed. Butchers, tailors, a cobbler, two maids, the list goes on.""

Most were residents, and the few that were not, were caravan guards. The one thing they all had in common was that they carried the same mark we found on the Abyssal wards, either as a tattoo or stitched onto a piece of cloth or leather on their person." Eli grimaced, " Not much to go on." As they reached the ground floor and swept out into the courtyard, Astra stepped in closer as the clatter of the squads drilling in the courtyard and their voices caused the ambient noise to rise.

The quartet turned to head to the warehouses at the far side of the clearing." Aye, at least until this morning. As the initial reports from the canvassing of the relevant citizenry filtered in, there was yet one more common thread, and a more subtle one at that." She paused to let a cart pass by before continuing, " This common point being that all of them had emigrated to this town over the last couple years.

More specifically they had all come from various places in a moderately sized region surrounding Theron's Watch. No place specific or concentrated enough to call a home base, but the confluence is still suspicious on its own."" There is one more thing however that gave me the last piece I needed." Astra turned to shoot Eli a smile with a wink, " Well, it was a little flimsy, but damning, at least until I recently received some very welcome outside confirmation."

As the group reached the single story stone warehouse and strode inside, Eli swept his gaze across the interior, the expanse of which was filled with row after row of bodies. Or, at least in a few cases, a collection of body parts in the same approximate shape of a body. He caught the sight of around a dozen uniformed people inside, several of which were working their way down each row, taking notes or poking through the remains as they went.

At the far end there was a broad table covered in a collection of random items that were collected from the bodies, a trio of figures standing around the table including the stern visage of Captain Winterbrook the Garrison commander. The man looked tired but alert, although the bags under his eyes tipped Elias off that the man likely had not slept since the events of the previous night.

As Astra drew near the Captain, he called the small group to attention, and after Astra returned their salutes he dismissed the other two to join the rest of the investigators. As he caught the fierce glint in her eyes the Captain perked up. Winterbrook swept his gaze across the rest of her entourage before giving a small bow and asking, " I assume you have a new lead my Lady?" At her confident nod a grim smile slowly spread across his face, " Good. And may I ask who our target is?"

Astra nodded, " Aye, but not yet. Time is of the essence and I would rather not repeat my findings." She strode towards the table as the two guards took up a watchful post stance along the wall not far away, " Once the rest of our major players arrive I will begin the briefing immediately." Astra gave the Captain a sympathetic look, " For your edification, I already tasked Mr. Cooper to rally the men for a briefing at the top of the hour, as well as to begin preparing the forces to march after the evening meal."

Winterbrook waved off her concern about ordering around his men as his grim smile grew even wider, " Good. Very good."

Astra and Winterbrook went over the most recent findings of the last few hours and after examining a couple newly found scraps of paper the wrinkle in her brow seemed to indicate to Elias that it would further support her suspicions. Over the course of the next few minutes, the rest of the command personnel for the town arrived with their entourages in town.

The heightened tensions from the attack the previous night resulted in both Baron Grunveldt and the Watch Commander to both arrive with a quartet of guards of their own that joined in Astra's pair to make an impromptu semi circle cordoning off the table from the rest of the warehouse. Eli studied the pair as they approached. The Baron was only an inch or two shorter than Eli with broad shoulders, sporting black hair shot through with gray, and was wearing chainmail covered by halfplate armor.

A once powerful warrior who aged well and carried himself with confidence, whose smooth and precise movements steady swordhand told Eli that only a fool would think time had dulled the man's edge. The Watch Commander was a sharp eyed blonde woman in reinforced leathers with a large battle axe on her back, a crossbow slung from one hip and a quiver of bolts hung from the other.

He had yet to catch her name, but her calm watchful gaze and deference to the Baron belied her allegiance despite the reserved and polite greeting she gave Astra. As Astra was greeting the newcomers, Winterbrook approached Elias where he stood near one corner of the table keeping a watchful eye over the proceedings.

The stern expression on the man's face shifted ever so slightly as he traced Elias's gaze and noticed that he was keeping an eye on Astra out of the corner of his eye while looking over the articles displayed. Winterbrook spoke in a low gruff voice as he offered Eli a gauntleted hand in greeting, " I hear we have you to thank for the Lady's continued safety during the events of last night. I wanted to thank you for that." Eli shook the proffered hand with a slight nod, " No thanks needed, but you are welcome."

The Captain gave a subtle shake of his head, " No. It is a poor showing of my garrison that an attack like this would happen in a town my men are stationed in." He grimaced as he fought to keep the anger from his face, " I wish I could have done more to prevent it ahead of time." Eli gestured to the table as he winced, " I can understand the feeling, but there is not much you could have done?

Any group that can convince a bunch of what seem like random strangers to throw their life away on a whim is going to be more than a little unpredictable. I know a bit of what Astra is about to brief you all on, and from what I heard they do not exactly sound like the actions of sane and rational people." He gave Eli a sharp look at the mention of Astra's first name with no honorifics, but said nothing.

Ultimately he sighed, " Aye, doesn't mean I have to like it, the Lady is still our charge and this town should have been a safe haven. For all that she declared the attack no fault of our own, we still failed in our duty."

They paused for a moment to both look up as the final person approached from the entrance, a tall bald man with tan weathered skin, a barrel chest, a long braided auburn beard that nearby reached his belt buckle, wearing a set of heavy plate, and carrying a massive sledge hammer slung over one shoulder.

The greeting from Astra pegged him as the local leader of Pathfinder's League and while he gave Astra a friendly smile the quick darting gaze as he assessed the gathered figures followed by the smile turning grim belied his feelings on the matter. The frown found its way back onto Winterbrook's face, " Hopefully the men and I will at least have the chance to return the favor."" And so we shall, tenfold if I have my way. That is the only measure in which such dark deeds should be repaid."

Astra spoke to the whole group, " Gather around men, let me show you what we have found. While I hope I am in the wrong, I fear we may have stumbled upon treachery the likes of which have not been seen since the night the Black Spire fell."