This is unedited.
I had to break the chapter into parts then break those parts into parts becuase it was too long. This first one just about reached 10,000 words. I don't want to force my readers to sit down for an hour to just read one chapter.
Since I really wanted the chapters to end on Chapter.25, the split parts are going to be labeled as :
Chapter.(Chapter #).(Peice #)-(Name of Chapter)(Part #)
Casting Effectiveness has been changed to Support Effectiveness. It was pointed out that Casting includes an extremely wide area. Support Effectiveness makes more sense because most things that will benefit from it are supportive abilities/spells.
An oddity I had noticed during out trip is that my ability, [Gambler], stopped working. I'm not quite sure what happened, but every time I try to use it, I get an error message. I wish I could figure it out..
"How can we be expected to charge into the port without proper protection!?" I tune back into the meeting to one of the human captains yelling out in a rage.
The Queen quickly responds with exasperation. "If the plan goes well, you won't need protection. We will have a stealthy approach and the enemy troops will be disorganized."
This so-called 'Strategy Meeting' had turned into a complaining session almost as soon as it began. When we first walked into the dedicated meeting room aboard the Iadine, I was extremely surprised. It is so simple for a royal meeting room. Granted, it is on a ship, so it makes sense that the room wasn't anything too complicated.
The room essentially had one large circular wood table in the middle. Around it were about twenty chairs. There was nothing else in the room aside from lanterns hanging off of the walls. Me and Queen Ysifel were the first in the room. I wanted to be dark and mysterious when we first met the raid captains, so I had sat in a chair without moving. I also pulled my cloak extremely tight around me so that almost nothing of me would be seen except the cloak. The only thing that could be seen was my Emulate perching on my shoulder. It was in the form of a fox this time.
The other captains were mainly elves, but there were a few humans. Most of them had on a set uniform of green and silver [Steel Leaf Armor], the elven specialty armor. The Queen wore a gold and black variant of [Steel Leaf Armor]. I, personally, disagreed with their choice of wardrobe. It made them stand out too much; however, I did not say a thing. It was their funeral for wearing something flashy to a battle. Anyone that knows anything about America's Revolutionary War can attest to the fact that fancy uniforms made it all the easier to assassinate the leaders.
"How do we even know if this will work? I can't just steer my ship into a port that could fully well be a trap!" The same annoying human shouts.
The Queen smiles coldly at the man, "You are mistaken. These are all my ships."
The human shudders for a second as he hears the Queen's icy voice. Now, without a proper reason to continue fighting, he turns to me. He yells at me with all his built up rage. "You! In the cloak! You haven't contributed anything at all so far! You aren't even a captain! Say something you useless freeloader!"
The Queen had previously told me that if anyone questioned me, I have the authority to do whatever I want. I plan to take advantage of that fact. "Oh? Are you questioning me? I don't have time to answer insignificant flies. Now be a good pest and shoo!"
Did his eyes just glaze over with red?"How dare you! Do you know who I am? I am a captain of the Royal Armade! Who are you to talk down to me!?" Oh good, he is standing up now!
"I am the strategist that came up with the plan." I say calmly.
The human captain laughs manically at me, "So you are just a coward then! Instead of fighting yourself, you want to sit on the backline and command from afar!"
That just goes too far... Using my dexterity to the maximum, I dash in front of the unsuspecting human as I summon out one of my [Serrated Barbed Broadhead Arrows] and use [Lightning Arrow] to put lightning racing through it. As I arrive in front of him, I put the arrow directly in line with his throat.
Using my Fox Emulate as a secondary vision, I have to admit, I look BA. To the fox, all that it saw was a blur before I appeared before the man. The evil looking lightning arrow is pointed at his throat in a wicked way. My position is on top of the table in a battle ready stance.
I look terrifying, but my calm voice offsets the terror, "Do not get me confused for you. Don't think I don't know what you are trying to do. Whine and moan about until you get assigned to the back so you won't have to fight. And I will be on the front line, just like you. I am the assassin that will infiltrate the city and murder all of their commanders so you, coward, can have a nice and safe vacation on your ship."
At my aggressive movements and words, I catch sight of most of the other captains looking around in bewilderment. Most of them stop when they see that the Queen has not intervened and is just sitting there. It really is nice to have a strong backer sometimes.
The human captain has a terrible scent on him and a small puddle at his feet. Did he just pee himself? "N-n-m... I- c..." He stutters incoherently in fear.
"Why don't you sit down while you still have a speck of dignity?" I lightly pat his shoulder before returning to my previous still movements next to the Queen just as quickly as I left. Me and Queen Ysifel stand there like nothing happened. If someone were to walk by, the only notion they would have that something is wrong would be the full grown man shuddering while sitting at the table.
The Queen claps her hands together to get everyone's attention, "Now that there aren't any more dissenters, we will go over the plan a final time." I can see her glancing around the room before she continues. "Our plan is a simple five step process. One, blow a storm into the port. Two, under the cover of the storm, assassinate all commanders. Three, attack and destroy all defensive devices from the boats. Four, Go into the port and take it over by putting troops on the ground. Five, capture the port while freeing any slave you see.
"The first objectives should already be done, so don't worry about the storm. Our wind mages have also put up small bubbles around our boats to deter strong winds. This should keep the Royal Armada stable.
"The second objective will be taken by Wyx and Bishop." I notice one of the elves jerk just a little as Bishop is called. "Once the deed is done, they will notify us via magic crystal. We will only move in after this objective is done first."
I study my new partner.
{Ding! Bishop(Elven Wolf Skirmisher(lvl:26)) (Author's Note: I have decided to do away with being able to observe someone's attack, defense, and health unless a tool is used. The tool could be a scanner, magic eyeglass, runed glasses, etc;. The tools will also show more things, like skills, titles, and abilities. More will be explained when Wyx has a tool or somebody scans her. Also, the person's name, class, and level will ALWAYS be shone unless something blocks it like [The Wolf Queen's Mask] or the observer isn't high enough level.)
Bishop is another Elven Wolf like Teras, but he seems more combat focused. If I remember correctly, [Skirmisher]s are considered to be 'dirty' fighters. They use any method to win a fight. I think most [Skirmishers] were like a mixture between bandits and knights. They were really good at Guerilla Warfare, had strong instincts, and used strategies like setting traps to win. If I wasn't offered a unique class, I might have picked [Skirmisher].
Bishop isn't like most of the other elves here. Instead of the flashy [Steel Leaf Armor], he wears a simple black cloak over leather armor. I can't see much, but it looks like he has a small but strong build. He has a small round shield strapped to his left arm like a gauntlet. I can't see his weapon, but it is probably a shortsword, like most of the other elves. His face is just like the other elves. Long, sharp, and angular, except his features seem to be more rugged than the others. More weary and less baby faced. His long ears jut out of his white hair. Blue eyes that seem to radiate with a drive to succeed take up half of his face.
"The third should be the easiest. Our long range bombardment will devastate any defensive structures like ballista and catapults. Also, we need to aim for the city gates if at all possible.
"The fourth is the hardest and most important part. It will decide if this is just a raid or a successful capture. The city layout discourages landing ships on the docks, but we have a way around that. Zanithar's walls reach all the way around the city and out into the ocean. They have a system set up so that they can raise and lower a stone wall to block incoming ships. Our work around is Bishop and Wyx. They will lead a group to attack this mechanical system and disable it. With the system disabled, our fleet will be able to enter the port and offload troops with ease."
"The fifth part of this plan is mainly just cleanup. We will capture high priority targets and block off the city gates. This will make it so that nobody can sneak out. With all exits blocked, we will issue orders as the new rulers of this port. Firstly, all slaves are to be set free. If the citizens do not comply, we will publicly execute them. Remember, they see us as invaders. We do not need to be kind to them since Eratos started this war by attacking my daughter. I'm not saying go out of your way to be destructive, but do not put up with anything just because they are civilians. If someone attacks, any member of the army has permission to kill."
The Queen pauses and takes a sip of water before continuing. "After we capture Zanithar, we will use this place as our forward base. We already have a quarter of the army here, but we need to wait about a month longer until the other three quarters arrive. Once all groups are together, we will push out from here and take over other cities and forts. Our goal is the complete capture of Eratos. Once we have Eratos, our goal will instead change to the eradication of Senkar on the West Continent. That is for a future discussion. Any questions?"
Nobody says anything except for me, "Can I have a pirate hat?"
A few of the elves chuckle and the levels of stress go down just slightly. Good, a tense and nervous soldier will make more mistakes than a calm and collected one.
The Queen sighs in exasperation before standing up, "This meeting is over now. You all have your jobs and missions, so don't disappoint me. Let's get to work." Queen Ysifel is the first out the door.
-------
It was just a few minutes after the meeting that I was transferred to another ship. This one has the unfortunate name of Broken Mirror. It is a much smaller craft than the Iadine, but that makes it better for stealth and speed. Aboard the ship, I stand near the bow railing by myself.
I have just a slight worry about how well this raid will go off. In theory, my plan should work without a hitch. In practice, something will probably go wrong. The difference between a good soldier and a bad one is their ability to adapt when the plan goes bottoms up. A good soldier will continue to fight back with all they have, but a bad one will admit defeat. Of course, training, equipment, and leaders also play a large part too.
Contrary to my previous thoughts, I am not terribly nervous. I have seven years of battling much tougher foes than this. If anything, excitement is the biggest emotion running through me. Not only will this be my first large battle, but I also go free after this. While going to the East Continent wasn't bad, it separated me from what I could do. Since the elves collapsed, I didn't really have much knowledge of the East Continent. Now that I am back on the West Continent, I can utilize my memories better for quests and items, as well as gaining influence.
As I lean against the railing, casually sucking on blackbeard's wick, the sound of approaching footsteps rings up from behind me. Since my [Smoke Emulation] is resting on my shoulders, I don't have to turn around to know Bishop is the one walking towards me as I glance through its eyes. His face is utterly calm, and he looks like he is ready for battle. His leather armor is covered by a cloak still, but this time I can see chainmail underneath the leather. The small wooden shield is strapped to his arm, right above the wrist. It covers a small part of his arm and most of his hand. He also has a small pack tied to his back.
I can also finally see his weapon. Or should I say weapons? I can see an odd shaped dagger strapped to his waist. Is that a push dagger? Interesting, I didn't expect to see one here. Push daggers are small weapons favored by close range assassins. They look roughly like a vertical blade attached to a horizontal handle. Meant for extremely up close battles, the dagger is held inside the palm with the blade pointed out between the index and middle or the middle and ring fingers. Speaking of daggers, I need to get me one before stage four of our plan happens.
He also has a small spear strapped to his back. It is also a fairly short weapon. Rather than most spears or polearm weapons, his spear looks like it has just slightly more range than a normal sword. It has a lethal blade on one end and a small spike on the other. I have heard of these small spikes before. I think they are called "lizard-killers". It has something to do with attacking feet or the groin, though I can't really remember.
Near the spot where his push dagger is sheathed is a small pouch. Judging by how it bulges out, I think it might either be ammo or throwing weapons.
Interesting... he isn't anything like most of the elves I have seen. Almost all of the other commanders use swords and heater shields. The few that don't are either mages or archers. I wonder what his fighting style is like? [Skirmisher]s don't really have a set style. Unlike how most melee classes specialize in a specific weapon, [Skirmisher]s don't have a specialized weapon. The only rule is: If it works, use it.
He walks up and stands next to me. Almost as if sensing my mood, he doesn't say anything. We watch as the city lights in the far distance. The storm the mages found is truly something. The lights are almost drowned out by the rain falling in torrents. Lightning cracks through the air, disturbing the land as it strikes down with a vengeance. I watch a bolt and silently count.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
The thunder enters my ear drums like an old friend. As time goes by, the time between strike and rumbles gets reduced. I count one more time before I say something. 6 "Are you ready Bishop?"
He replies to me without turning his head, "Absolutely. The sooner we get there, the better. These infernal ships will kill me long before a blade does."
I can't help but chuckle lightly at his joke. "I agree. Did Queen Ysifel tell you about how we are going to enter the city?"
This time he turns, giving me his full attention. "She has not. I'm assuming you have a plan, Wyx?"
"Of course I do. What kind of assassin would I be if I didn't?"
"Do you plan to enlighten me on your plan?" He arches his eyebrow at me curiously.
I think for a moment before nodding my head. "My original plan was to sneak in as a messenger, but that won't work anymore. The Queen didn't tell me I had a partner until just a while ago. At least it is only us two that need to break in since the rest of the group will wait with the ship."
I reach into my satchel and make sure the water repellent blankets are there. I had requested them when I realized that the rain would probably affect my instruments negatively. Continuing with the equipment check, I see that my inventory has shortened down considerably. The only things inside are [The Wolf Queen's Mask], [The Wolf Queen's Lute], [Server Announcement Voucher]*3, both sets of arrows, the lyre and [Hallowed Honey Poison]*30.
I have taken everything else out and left it with the Queen. These are the bare minimum items for tonight. I want to have additional storage just in case I need it. Speaking of storage, I also cleared out my satchel. Inside I only have the water repellent blankets. The side sheath has the [Ceremonial Blade] instead of my old [Steel Sword]. The reason I have only two of the instruments is because I found that it is incredibly hard to play three instruments while shooting with a bow. Maybe if I raise my intelligence stat I can have more?
"Let's make a pact. You don't speak of my secrets and watch my back, in return I will tell you my full plan for tonight along with making sure stage two will be smooth sailing. What do you think?" I smile brilliantly as I try to act as innocent as possible.
He groans slightly as he takes off his pack. Setting it down on the planks of the boat, he pulls out two red potions. "I agree upon one extra condition. You also keep my secrets and watch my back. There are some things I would rather not have spilled about my fighting style. I would rather have an ally than an acquaintance."
As he finishes speaking, [Pact Magic] activates. Almost instantly, he downs one of the healing potions. After he finishes, he offers me one. "I'm good. I don't need healing."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, it'll be fine."
He puts the other potion into his pack before readjusting it back onto himself. "Okay then, what is the plan?"
The boat drifts toward the beach a little ways away as I fill him in...
------
The boat hitting the sand of the beach jolts me out of my thoughts. Me and Bishop split up a minute ago, the latter saying he had to get the magic crystal. It would've been bad if he forgot that since it is our only connection out of the city.
As I stand there, waiting, the sailors and troops are all watching the hills above the beach nervously. A small group of the awaiting elves breaks off and runs up into the hills. They are a little out of their element since the area is hilly and not a forest, but they make their way nonetheless. They should be the forward scouts for the Broken Mirror.
Bishop approaches me and we both leap over the side of the boat. The fall isn't more than a person's height, so there is no need to fear breaking something. My feet sink into the sand uncomfortably. I'm not sure about my previous world's beaches since I had never been to them, but I hate beaches here. They get sand everywhere! In your clothes, hair, mouth, and anywhere else you can think of!
"Are you alright Wyx?" Bishop calls out from beside me as he sees my sour expression.
"Beaches are the worst." I start to lightly jog away from the boat, up to the hills. I need to get off of this sandy trap. Bishop quickly follows as we run towards Zanithar.
As we run, I try to take notice of our surroundings. The area is completely covered in hills. Since there are no trees, we can see the port city extremely easily through the storm. It is the only thing around that isn't a hill and it glows. It isn't long before we reach the city.
I stop when I see a road leading to a gate near the city wall. Outside of the gate are dozens of caravans and other assorted humans. Much like at Walpist, the gates are completely sealed off during the night.
Bishop stops cold as he sees the caravans. I can't really blame him since over half of them have shackled elves cowering near them.
I nudge his shoulder slightly as I pull him to the right, "Come on. The best way to help them is to succeed in our mission. If we get caught now while only saving a few dozen elves, who will free the hundreds inside of Zanithar?"
"I know. It's just difficult to watch without doing anything." Bishop sighs out between clenched teeth.
"I understand, but we really need to go." He sighs again before following me.
We walk to the right of the gate slightly far away. We are far enough that nobody will notice us if they aren't looking, but close that we can see the glow from the camper's torches and fires. This is step one of my master plan to break inside of Zanithar. The port city is famous for its steadfast and strong tall walls. I have a theory I want to test though, how far down do the walls go?
Smirking to myself silently, I cast [Elven Manipulation] near the stone walls. The image inside of my head is clear, a tunnel leading right underneath the walls. After a minute of picturing, fifty of my mana drains away and a small hole opens up in front of me. I expected a few more attempts, but it seems that the city walls were built upon the sand instead of the stone. Since [Elven Manipulation] is not a bard spell, I can cast it freely without needing to sing.
Bishop is the first into the earthen hole. This was prearranged since he is a melee fighter. Only once he is inside does he light a candle. As I walk behind him, I carefully observe the tunnel. It travels down and at an angle for a short distance before the dirt pathway straightens itself out. When it straightens, the roof also changes. Instead of the dirt, the roof is the bottom of a stone wall. We follow along for another short distance before the stones disappear and the tunnel angles up. The tunnel leads straight to a wooden floor above us.
Bishop takes his spear off of his back before stabbing upward into the wooden floor. From my estimation, this should be somebody's house. Bishop and I were already prepared for this eventuality, so we know what to do. It is only a few seconds before Bishop opens enough of a hole for us to get up into the room. Bishop kneels down and motions me over. Seeing his plan, I step on his outstretched hands and get boosted up into the building. Once up, I quickly glance around the room. It appears that we broke into a store room of someplace. Judging from the barrels of alcohol everywhere, it seems to be a wealthy person's house.
After confirming that the room is cleared, I stretch my hand down into the dark hole to pull Bishop up. What is that sound?
My body moves before my mind can catch up.
--------
[-379]
An obese human drops to his knees, then to the ground, dead.
I wipe the sweat off of my brow. I had heard a girl crying from down in the store room. After I had Bishop out of the hole, I raced up the stairs to a large room. The door was already open, so it was no problem to draw an arrow, point at the despicable half-naked human standing over a chained elf, and release. This red room became just a shade darker after only a few seconds. I can't help but feel impressed. Someone should hire this man as a painter! In just a few seconds, he painted the entire room red!
Bishop appears next to me a few seconds later, "Why did you run off? We need to keep to the miss-" His voice stops as he enters the room with me.
"If there is one thing I can't stand, it is sick people that would do this type of thing." A trace of anger seeps into my voice. Even with my skills at keeping an emotional mask up, a trace seeps out. That should just go to show how truly p*ssed off I am. I kind of wish I picked the high-priestess class just so I could resurrect the human. I have a few... 'conversations' I want to have with him.
I walk towards the dead human and quickly retrieve my [Serrated Barbed Broadhead Arrow]. Next, with no small amount of effort, I roll the fat man off of the shaking elf girl. The elf girl is staring at me with pure shock on her face as the chains keeping her in place chatter.
I pause for a moment. If I was an obese human with way too much free time, where would I hide the key?
Thankfully, Bishop solves my problem with an ingenious solution. He strikes forward with his spear and quickly shatters all of the chains. The elf girl collapses and rolls up towards me. She tries to talk, but can barely get anything out through her chattering mouth, "Th-th-t-t-tht-than-"
Instead of dealing with her, like a responsible adult, I cast [Sleep] on her with a short lullaby. She passes out in an instant.
I glance up and see Bishop watching me with a hint of curiosity in his eyes. "What did you do to her?"
I reach down and grab her into my arms. "I used [Sleep]. It should keep her out for a long time."
I cart her out of the blood-red bedroom and down to the storage room where we came from. Although it is kind of weird that there aren't any servants anywhere, I could care less. If there were servants, I would probably just kill them. Of the four countries under Sekar's control, Eratos is the worst. They have it deeply in their heads that their slaves are nothing more than property to be played with as they please. Even the commoners that can't afford slaves believe this. Because of this and my trait, [Predatorial], I would feel no regret towards executing the civilians.
Bishop stands outside the door, waiting for me. He has a grave expression on his face as he stares at the sleeping elf. "Will she be okay?"
I nod my head as I check my status. "Of course! She just needs some R&R." My stats are all at 100%! See, good things can come from taking out the trash!
I walk out of the storage room and head towards the front door. Just before I reach it, lightning cracks down, highlighting the city beyond through the house's windows. Bishop silently follows as we head out the door towards our first target. We both adjust our cloaks to cover ourselves before we leave the house grounds.