Theft of Decks 4, CH 40

“Portable enhancement stones. They have worked a lot better than envisioned. Anything above six stones works to define an area, though the increase diminishes past twelve stones and outright stops around sixteen. I can grant them to specific wielders, let them increase their attributes to defeat strong Guardians or enemies breaking past the Prism, and demand them back afterward. Extra-ordinarily low-risk, and it makes our higher-Tier wielders look more impressive than they are.” Beautiful. Again, remove the paranoia and desire to keep his underlings down, and you have a wonderful, workable idea. I think I could craft these. With the increasing effect, I might even be able to make them permanent. (Book 2, Page 25.)

This was their third time leaving Salvation. At the same time, everything was like it had always been, and entirely different.

They were traveling via one of the main arteries south from Salvation. Leaving the city, one main thing stood out: the thousands of citizens lined up in the streets. Somehow, the news of what they were doing had made it to the general public, and they left, buoyed by a wave of support. There were few cheers or people rejoicing – that was not the Liberty way – but people bowed their heads as they passed, put their hands over their heart, and a few even flung quiet, defiant fists into the air to show their support.

On top of that, they also passed a few Dark Guardians along the way. That, to Chase, was absolutely mind-blowing. He’d known that, back in Isarn, it took the newly-spawned Guardians days, maybe even a week, to gather enough solidity to start moving into the streets. Here, it had been about a full day, and already, they were starting to accumulate within the city, in packs or solo. That was apparently the difference from using a third-rate deck and using an Original Legendary-rate deck to create your Wellspring.

He’d visited the Wellspring again to make sure that the selections regarding Guardian behavior was spot on, and had been quite surprised at the degree of fine-tuning they’d been allowed to enter into the situation. In the future, it would be possible for them to steer the Guardians any way they wanted, decide specific areas that needed a higher density of Guardians than others, and even choose sections that would be entirely bereft of Guardian intervention. For now, he’d kept it simple, following a long discussion. All Guardians would stay in Salvation until further notice, where their numbers would accumulate until there were enough that they could make a real difference. Sending them off now, in smaller packs or groups, would just get them all slaughtered. The Guardians here would only act to defend itself, except if they were faced with Lightborn Guardians and Lightborn soldiers, who would automatically be treated as hostiles.

The Guardians did get some dark looks. Dark monsters openly walking the streets would have that effect. Since they were clearly moving about peacefully, and they’d been very open in their declaration about them being created solely to defend them from the invaders, nobody acted against them.

Unfortunately, there were still no Liberty Guardians joining their ranks. Back in the palace, they were still debating exactly how to use their decks and why, which choices to go with in the creation of their new Wellspring. Lucille and Sera did insist that they were getting closer to reaching a conclusion.

Once they left Salvation and hit the road, everything seemed unchanged for a while. There were few people traveling the road these days, however. No hopefuls rushing out to do their duty for the Savior. Trade had dried up, because of the uncertainty. Even half the shelters they passed looked untended, compared to the immaculately kept places they were used to.

On the road, they spent a lot of time talking about tactics and approaches. They had already spent a good deal of time with Lucille doing this prior to agreeing on who would join them, so they wouldn’t be saddled with a dozen people who were unfit for the task they embarked on, but now they planned their practical approaches, talked working card combinations and the like and getting prepared for the eventual confrontation.

They’d eventually settled for eight summoners, three casters and a single healer. The healer, was the strongest of the lot, at his twenty-third Step. All twelve, however, had been carefully chosen because of their strength, damage output, powerful summons, and above all, for being able to maintain combat for a long time.

As they traveled, Gelly kept shooting off on short trips. Her first-Tier Elemental card was a gorgeous fire steed which was useless for anything but personal transportation, but managed wonderfully at that. Every single time the road coincided with an offshoot to nearby towns and villages, she’d hurry off to inform them what was happening in Salvation, to confirm the truth of the situation and to lure them out of hiding and reestablish connections with Salvation.

A lot of the deterioration of the Keeper network, they learned, was simply due to fear. The messengers who took care of the Keepers and the shelters and ran messages and news from them to the local towns were not high up in the hierarchy. Hence, when they were called upon to deliver potentially life-changing news, it hadn’t gone off well. Sometimes, they had not been believed, sometimes they’d been outright punished for lying and, a few times, they’d simply avoided performing their duties in the first place. Seeing Gelly bring the news, carried alongside officially sealed messages from the capital, however, made the truth of the situation sink in. This wasn’t going to change anything when it came to the Lightborn army, but it did help to mostly reestablish communications behind them, without sacrificing any speed.

Every evening, they spent a few hours practicing. This was mostly to get an idea of the capabilities of the different Liberators and their cards, and how to best apply them to the mix. Since they would all — except for Kith, Liam and Chase — be working from the distance, efficiency was more important than proper teamwork. Also, they preferred getting to the Lightborn army as fast as possible, instead of sacrificing a lot of time on practice.

The large felines pulling the chariot were clearly Furyborn. Their skin was rough and clay-like and they moved with an unnatural energy and endless stamina was just impressive. Of course, since Chase realized this could become a point of pride, he decided to name the thing ‘Kith’s kitty kart’, to Kith’s unbridled fury.

No matter the teasing, they moved fast. What would’ve at least been a week’s travel on foot faded away – and in the late afternoon on the third day, they halted the chariot on a large hill, looking down on the advancing army.

Kith knelt at the edge of the hill, looking down. “Fury rend me, that’s a shiny vision.”

Liam leaned on his shield, open-mouthed. “I want to look as good as them. Why doesn’t Cilia make us stuff this fancy?”

Chase snorted. “Because, when we’re in a fight, we prefer to not be all shiny and attention-grabbing?”

“Oh yeah. That’s the bird!” Liam nodded.

“Are you always like this?” Gelly glared at them, sitting on top of her flaming steed. “We are about to march into battle, and you act like a group of hopefuls who have just been admired by their first cadre of village girls.”

“We have admirers?” Kith asked.

Chase rolled his eyes. “Just relieving stress, Gelly. Don’t you worry. We’ve been in plenty of tight situations. As long as you and the others take care of your end, we’ll handle ours. Speaking of which.” He spat over the edge. “The rightmost incline here looks smooth and easy to climb. Do you all think that this is a good spot to arrange our ambush?”

“What? You would go down there directly?” Gelly pointed at the massing forces below. “No preparation? No tactics?”

Chase shrugged. “We already know what to do. Once our ambush is over and done with, we jump on the kitty kart-“

“The Slayer!” Kith shot back.

“And roll away. Hopefully, we’ll have done enough damage that their mounted forces are unable to keep up with us.”

“That’s a tall order.” Banes’ face scrounged up. “I’m counting two hundred and eighty riders, ‘n’ some of those beasts look mighty tough.”

“You’re not wrong.” Chase admitted. He glanced down at the moving forces below.

The mounted forces were leading the formation, arranged in two loose rows forming a wedge across the entire front. Most of them were armored as well, shining metal reflecting the bright sun that shone down on them.

Behind them followed the main forces. Infantry marching in tight ranks. They were clearly arranged into formations based on their classes. The edges of a marching song reached earshot, even from this far away.

“Are you spotting any surprises waiting for us, Kith?”

Kith grunted with closed eyes, held up a hand, gesturing for him to hold. Still with his eyes closed, he grimaced, mouth moving slowly as if he were talking with somebody. “Yes. Most of them ugly. I’ve been talking to Raudt and Svart-”

Liam snorted. “I still preferred Blackie!”

“Raudt and Svart! And it’s a good thing the Lightborn are as weird about wearing proper clothing as Liberty. Judging from their robes, each of those formations has a healer attached to them. On top of that, we’ve got a smaller group of casters further back, attached to the command group. Maybe three dozen total.”

“Nice. Nobody notice you yet?” Liam asked.

“Nah. I’m having them move close to the ground, and there’s so much dust and motion, it’ll be hard to see anything. We’ve- oh crap!”

On the plain below them, an eruption of light faded, and shouts emerged.

“Okay, yeah, we’re spotted. Poor Svart.” Kith winced. “First, a bit of good news. Those at the back, breathing in the dust of the entire formation? Workers and indebted, all of them. At least three hundred indebted, and twice that who are workers and aides of all sorts. Obviously, that means they might have crafted items to throw at us… but that’s nearly a third of their number who aren’t high-Tier fighters. Bad news? I think I spotted the general or whatever he is. He’s a Tier six.”

Chase exhaled softly. “Whew. And now they know we’re coming. That… isn’t going to make our lives easier.” He cracked his neck and beamed them all a devilish grin. “Good thing we believe so hard that diplomacy is going to work, right?”

Five minutes later, they were strolling down the hill. Chase, Liam and Kith, all geared up and armed for war, but with the weapons sheathed for the moment. They only walked down to the bottom of the hill, and there, they readied themselves, sharing a water skin, while the Lightborn forces slowly advanced toward them.

Before long, a single mount came loping toward them. Chase admired the beast – one of the antlered beasts, faith deer, often employed in Lightborn armies. They were hardy creatures, known more for their endurance than their speed or maneuverability. This one didn’t wear any barding or armor, and the light leather armor Lightborn on the mount indicated that he was a scout. Said scout shouted in greeting. “Throw down your weapons and surrender. The forces of Light demand it.”

Kith snorted in response. “Yeah. I don’t think that’s happening.”

The young man looked at them in astonishment. “Are you blind, man? Do you want to die?”

Chase smirked and slowly rolled up his pants leg, letting the scout catch a glimpse at the card on his leg. “This is slightly outside of your league, friend. Kindly rush back to your commander and ask him to come over for a polite chat. Oh, and don’t try to surround us. You won’t like the outcome.”

The scout took one disbelieving look at his audacity. Then he — wisely — decided this was for his superiors to decide, turned his mount and rushed back to the oncoming army.

It seemed to take forever. An army in motion, it would seem, is not something you just stop from one moment to the next. A short while later, however, the army was arrayed before them – not prepared for hostilities, merely paused while they handled whatever was in their way.

Eventually, two persons sauntered into view, flanked by a guard of ten mounted troops. Or rather, one person sauntered, and the other walked slowly and, it would appear, rather painfully. The limping person was a Lightborn, maybe middle-aged, his bald head criss-crossed by scars too methodical to derive from battles. His eyes gleamed with fury. He was elaborately dressed in the garb of the Church of the Circle. The other was the prettiest man Chase had ever seen. Tall, handsome, with just the right balance between pretty and masculine. His jawline was practically begging for statues to be carved in its honor.

As they drew closer, the pair paused, and the taller man reached out, slapping the priest on the shoulder, laughing uproariously. “I told you!”

The priest inclined his head slightly, submissively, and said something in a low voice.

Chase looked at the oncoming pair, scratching his neck. ”I wasn’t sure what to expect from meeting my first bunch of real invaders. Backslapping and guffawing was not my first guess… or my tenth.”

”Oh, worry not.” The well-clothed Lightborn picked up the pace, leaving the priest to falter behind him. Somehow, he’d heard Chase’s whispered voice from fifty feet away. “I am simply merry, because I was right. I do so love being right.”

“Nice. That means we do have something in common.” Chase spoke up. “I was not expecting that either. How about invaders? Do we also agree on how those should be treated?”

“Oh, I am sure we do. Fire. Swords. Leave no survivors, etcetera.” He waved it off and shot an annoyed look behind him. “Would you keep up, archbishop?”

“Archbishop. I… was not expecting to meet the archbishop today. Or, ever, really.” Kith’s gaze looked panicked. “Shouldn’t there be, like processions? Kids with flowers?”

The Lightborn finally stopped, ten feet in front of them and bowed. “Oh, I only stand on formalities when they are to my advantage. Still. Let us do this right. You are speaking to Lord Euronimous de Beforant, Lord Commander of Stradeburg and archbishop Desahl, leader of the united Church of the Circle.” He waited expectantly.

“That sound impressive. You think we should, what’s that thing, prostrate ourselves before them?” Liam asked.

Chase squinted. “Probably. Anyway. I’ve heard about the archbishop before. He had another name back then, though. But I’ve never heard about you. Lord Commander. Are you some sort of city guard?”

Beforant laughed, a loud melodious sound, seemingly carefree and joyful. “You could say that. My noble house guards Stradeburg. And by extension, the rest of the lands of Light.”

The archbishop caught up to him, stubbornly striding forward with a determined gaze.

Euronimous slapped him on the shoulder, ignoring the wince. “The archbishop here is a new version, as you noted. The old one proved troublesome.” His eyes, though glinting with barely restrained mirth, were cold and calculating. “Now. My former outburst predicated on the fact that I guessed that I would find you again.”

“Again?” Chase frowned. He was keeping up with the banter, if barely, but he was dead sure a third of the conversation was hanging right out of his reach, mocking him with context, missed pointers and things that might actually make a difference. If only Sera were here… no. “Did I rob you at some point? You nobles tend to look the same. After the first fifty or so, you kind of blend into each other in the mind.”

“Did you rob me?”

The mirth died down slightly. For a second, it felt like there was real pressure roiling down on Chase. Then it faded, and he wondered if he’d imagined it.

“I guess you could say that you did. The missing hand and dark skin would make you Chase. Which means that the blindingly handsome young man here is Liam, and the recalcitrant rascal behind you both would be Kith. I would ask about your female friends, but that is not important by now. What is important, nay, crucial, is that you understand that I know who you are. I also know what you did.”

“You mean… run from the people trying to enslave us?” Kith raised an eyebrow.

“Kill an inquisitor?” Chase asked. “Because you can only prove we did that once. No. Twice.”

“You made me look bad.” Beforant snapped. “Like I care about the lives of any inquisitors. They are cheaper to buy than good boots.”

“My Lord!” The archbishop gasped audibly.

“Shut it, you sniveling cretin. There is nobody here to hear, and you know it to be true.” He ignored the cavalry behind them both, pointing at Chase. “You. Ruined my plans. I momentarily lost face because of you. You could have had it all. A luxurious life back in Stradeburg, all the pleasures street slum like you could ask for, with few responsibilities. Yet, you decided to trick them all and run away. And you ran right here, with the clear intentions of snatching yet another deck for yourselves.”

Chase drew back slightly before he realized he was giving away his shock. Catching the hint of satisfaction in the lord’s gaze, he had to admit that the game was up. He nodded. “How did you even know?”

“It is the only logical deduction. Your stunt back in Isarn reverberated throughout the lands of Light, you must understand. The realization that the deck of Darkness was real, and that its wielders were hostile. Oh, the lamentation of clergy. Oh, the fearmongering.” He snickered. “I must admit, for a while, I listened to their cries and found them almost realistic. Especially when you exposed the scheme of the Church to steal decks in the Elemental towers. I did fear a greater conspiracy at that point, though it made little sense to me at the time. Why would you spend so much time there, only to end exposing yourself to counter the Church? Was it because you were plotting a theft yourselves, or because you wanted to expunge their influence?”

“They are clearly heretics. Why you would even entertain this talk, Lord Beforant, I fail to-“

“Shush now.” Euronimous raised a finger, stilling the archbishop. “I’d say that the grownups are talking, but then I realize just how young you three are.” He tapped his lip slowly. “No. My fellow nobles were fearmongering, but you are not moved by something as dark as that, are you?”

Chase considered the situation, then figured he had nothing to lose. The more they talked, the better the chance that they would be able to take the Lightborn by surprise or even talk them into not attacking. Not that he had high hopes of that. This Euronimous person seemed like somebody who was used to getting what he wanted. He sighed. “We simply wanted a home.”

“Chase!” Kith scolded.

Chase shrugged. “We’re not gaining anything from holding back at this moment. It’s all we ever wanted. A home for all of us, where we wouldn’t have to fear to be attacked while we slept. Where we wouldn’t have to fear getting targeted by preachers foaming at the mouth.”

The lord chuckled. “Oh yes. I see it now! You attacked the instigators in the towers, simply because you realized they would ruin your future home.” He clicked his tongue. “Of course, dear Tatiana Skysworn realized that, even though you had saved her home, you could not stay – and so she cast you out, did she not? So cold-hearted.”

Chase nodded softly. He glanced down to not let the relief show that he hadn’t guessed that they were collaborating with the high Elementalist. “We gave her cards, and got some help. But she still ordered us to leave.”

“You were being hunted, by then. Inquisitors everywhere. So, you turned to the only professed enemies of our empire, the Furyborn. And somehow, you convinced them to take you in.”

Chase shook his head and lied. “Yes and no. We paid them off, gave them a secondary Deck of Darkness, too.”

“You never allied with them? My!”

“No.” Chase searched for something that would sound feasible. “While they did not doubt that we were running from you, we were not of the blood. We weren’t born in Furyborn lands. So, the best we could get was an agreement that they’d distract you all and let us slip away, at the cost of earning Dark cards.” He grimaced. “How did you find us, by the way?”

“Scouts.” He smiled. “You were distracted, fighting some Guardians, as you were travelling toward the border of Liberty lands and they spotted you.”

“Radine! I’ll skin that bird!” Kith fumed. “She was sure nobody was watching.”

The lord smiled. “Liberty, then. Why go to Liberty?”

Chase could see the opening now. It was a gamble, but then, everything about this confrontation and the conversation had been a gamble. At best, he could likely earn a ceasefire, a temporary reprieve. It would still be worth it. He smiled mirthlessly. “Same as it’s always been. We want a home. Just a place where we can stay, among people, and not have to worry about being killed every moment of every day. At that point, it seemed like the safest choice was to see if we could make it into Liberty lands.”

“Then why did you not accept the invitation from the Lightborn?” Lord Beforant seemed honestly perplexed.

“Really, man? Kith snorted. “Invitation? That armsmaster, what’shisface-?”

“Armsmaster Rillek.” Liam said and spat on the ground.

“Yeah. He held us up at swordpoint, and said we’d be slaves, guarantees for Chase’s good behavior, while hinting that Sera and Cilia would be… used. Meanwhile, that Inquisitor Vorbis promised us death and torture. You call that an invitation?”

Beforant rubbed his forehead. “Can you see how hard it is to get competent help? They are all stuck in their preconditioned ideas of their own power and position in the world, and refuse to change, even when presented with new information.” He shook his head. “I am not the same. I was… miffed with you over my loss of face. However, now I see that you could not be blamed for that. My apologies for the misunderstanding. Blaming you would be senseless – and trying to do what others have done before me, even worse. Hence, I offer you exactly what you wanted. I offer you a home. Free of responsibilities. Free of fear. The only thing you need to grant us in return is what you have already given the other nations. Cards.” He pointed in the direction they’d been traveling.

Kith sneered. “You’re not even going to pretend you’re doing this for the sake of Light or something?”

“Come now. Why put on an act, when we all know this would be something done in my own interest. This is why I brought archbishop Desahl in the first place. In order for you to learn that I have the church solidly under my thumb.”

The archbishop’s gaze was fixed with subdued hatred, but he didn’t say anything.

Lord Beforant continued. “You come from the lands of Light. It has been a long, arduous journey. But you need not suffer any longer. Come home. To a real home, that you can choose and create for yourself. You won’t have to worry about anything except enjoying your life.”

Chase considered the offer. Truly considered it. What surprised him the most was the fact that he didn’t even find it tempting. He wondered why that was. It wasn’t that he thought the pompous bastard couldn’t deliver. He was clearly rich and powerful enough that he could order just what he offered. Rather, it was the unspoken fact present behind the noble’s words. ‘We are going to keep doing what we’ve always done and keep down anybody else while we take over the world.’

A year ago, he'd have leapt at the chance. Guaranteed safety and luxury? Yes please. Now, he only considered the offer in order to see how he’d be able to manipulate the situation to their advantage and give Liberty a break, to solidify their strength and be able to stand up to the Lightborn.

“I like the idea, Lord Beforant.” Chase began. “Which assurances can you give us?”

“Euronimous, please. Anybody important enough that I desire to haggle with them in person can call me by my first name. Also… which assurances would you like? I have most of the Lightborn lands at my beck and call, own entire brothels, hundreds of businesses, command thousands of soldiers. I am at your disposal.” He bowed.

How to frame this, then? They’d have to seem amenable to the idea, but could not afford to give away too much. “Okay. Euronimous. If you are as rich as you claim, that part won’t be an issue. We honestly won’t require that much.”

“Chase. What are you doing?” Kith hissed, alarmed.

“Taking care of us all. The way we’d all want to be taken care of, including Sera. You think she wouldn’t want to get back in touch with some in her family?” Her family which had betrayed her at the tip of a hat. He couldn’t say it any more clearly to Kith in front of the noble.

Fortunately, Kith subsided gracelessly. Liam took it better, simply accepting that these kinds of talks were not his forte and waiting for a decision.

Chase continued, gaze directly on the nobleman. He seemed so at ease, so in control, it unnerved him. “The single thing we want above all is safety. And, because you’ve been honest with us, I’ll grant you the same courtesy. We have been promised a safe haven within Liberty. We intended to take it, but… didn’t expect the fog of their defenses to be deactivated in the process. This is why we were here today. To see if we could meet your forces and handle the situation before war ensued.”

“Ah. And have you found your answer?”

“The answer just became a bit more complicated than I expected.” Chase grimaced. “I thought we’d have to run back to our defensive position with you on our heels. Only, it truly feels like you’re giving us the best offer here. So, how would you go about letting us do that, without putting ourselves fully in your power, Euronimous?”

“That does present a conundrum.” He admitted.

“How about this?” Chase squinted, tapping his leg. “Unless I misread you completely, you’re not the type who makes rushed decisions.”

Euronimous dipped his head, conceding the point.

“You don’t have to invade right this moment. Further, I mean. First off, I doubt you’d be able to actually win, and second, this does not feel like a situation where you are pushed on all sides to solve it instantly.” Chase raised an eyebrow, saw the infinitesimally small nod and continued. “So, the real issue here is trust.” He pointed at the ground at their feet. “Set up camp. Right here. Reinforce, do whatever it takes for you to feel safe. We will go back to the Liberators and tell them we are negotiating on their behalf. A year from now, we will know that you are the type to stick to their word, that you won’t use violence, coercion and the like to get what you want, when all it takes is patience. Then, we will defect to your side and hand you Liberty on a golden platter.”

Euronimous paused for a moment, considering the offer. “Truth be told, that does not sound like a bad arrangement. I would have to promise my peers that the offer was made in good faith, of course. Also, I could not show up empty-handed. Do you have any decks you could give me?”

“Not right this moment.” Chase said honestly. “Also, that would very much tip the agreement in your favor again. Why would you even suggest it?”

Innocently, Euronimous smiled. “I was just trying to decipher just how much you were keeping back. Then I would, at the very least, require that I, as well as a handful of chosen people, were granted Dark cards. That way, we would be able to show our peers that the offer is real.”

A drop of cold sweat ran down Chase’s spine. Of course he could’ve done that. Only, the deck was back in Salvation. “We will have to think about that. I rather do like the rest of your deal. Give us a few days, and we will debate it, see if we cannot come to an agreement.”

From one second to the next, the magnanimous façade cracked. “No.” The word rang with finality, a death sentence. “This farce has gone on long enough.”

“I told you, Lord Beforant. You cannot trust the spawn of Dark!” The archbishop spat.

He smiled wryly. “Spare me your gospel. This has nothing to do with the Dark, and you know it. This is simple dissembling.” He sneered at the trio. “If you let amateurs talk for long enough, they will let things drop, that they would rather have kept secret. Such as the fact that they have already established a Wellspring.” He shook his head dismissively. “Trying to buy me off with empty promises, while you establish yourself and spawn further Guardians and decks. It is a rather opaque stratagem. The only thing I still want to know: did you actually tell the truth about your time with the Furyborn and Elementals? I know you have access to Elemental cards.”

Chase smiled a self-ironic smile at the noble. “Eh. Bits and pieces were true. Did you actually tell the truth, when you promised us the world?”

Euronimous tilted back his head and barked with laughter. “Oh, that is rich. Chase. Chase. Chase. Such a ridiculous moniker. I would have loved to have known you earlier, so I could have established proper control over you. You are the most wonderful package of insouciance, street smarts and a sharp tongue, all wrapped with a bow of raw power! The answer, of course, is no. Had I a way to truly control you? Most definitely. Yet, allowing you to live freely would be an ever-present dagger hovering near my back. Five Tier-threes and -fours, who might, with enough incentives, switch sides at any moment? Too powerful.”

“I knew it. I knew he was a back-stabbing bastard the moment I laid eyes upon him.” Kith spat. He slowly drew his hand axes.

Ignoring him, Chase asked. “So, what happens now? We go back to Liberty and see you on the battlefield?”

With a puzzled smile, Euronimous answered. A light burst into the air above him. “Why would I ever do that? What happens is, I take by force that which should rightfully be mine.”