253 Hostage Situation

The survivors of the Temple Knights Expedition gathered around an odd dinner table laid out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by wreckage. Sir Jared, Sir Fate, Sira Fel, and Sira Damnaith were sitting around the table with Mindy, each looking sorrier than the last, and none as gloomy as Damnaith. But that last part was normal.

Bright side? The chicken survived more or less intact. Fel's maids were serving it to their guests with pride and gusto and much cleaner hands.

Also, one of them managed to find a jar of cranberry jam to go with it. It was actually meant for turkey, but at this point, nobody was complaining.

All around them, the knights' survivors made camp. And around the camp… well…

They were surrounded. Tier 6 and 7 Wilds had encircled them and bared fangs were on every side. On occasion, if a soldier got too close, or if one of them felt like it, they'd take a snap or two, often almost taking a good bite out of somebody.

But those were just random occurrences. Generally speaking, the fighting had come to a pause.

Darian appeared in human form, having released his Silhouette.

"Stay back, or she will suffer for it." Sir Jared said straight out.

"Better listen, boy. She is our prisoner and we are holding her hostage against your Wilds!" Sir Fate emphasized.

"Whatever happened to a knight's honor?" Darian asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Forget honor - at this point, we're a bunch of desperate, shipwrecked survivors with our backs to the wall." Fel explained. "If push comes to shove, Mindy's safety and well-being cannot guaranteed."

Darian paused, glancing upwards to where a little flotilla of nine corvettes remained in the sky, the only human airships still in the air. [Any thoughts on this?]

George's thoughts were calm. [Right now, she is a guest and visibly treated to dinner. Clearly, rescuing her is not an urgent matter. Attempting rescue would put her at risk.]

Darian considered it. [So… after dinner, then?]

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[Yeah, that should do it.]

***

Interestingly, as Mindy and the others ate chicken with cranberry jam, the other expeditions began to react very strangely.

Half the foreign expeditions turned around outright. A few more scattered to steer very, very clear of the battle site. Two ascended to absolute maximum altitude and pushed the limits. One more decided to land and make camp for a while.

All of them avoided the battle site and the besieged Temple Knights camp like the plague.

[Why doesn't anyone want to come over?] George wondered out of curiousity.

[Probably because you're still up there.] Mindy rolled her eyes. [You and those scary nine corvettes.]

[Haha. Very funny.] George snorted.

[No, I'm serious.] Mindy told him. [You have no idea how all this looks to everyone else.]

George paused and considered it for a moment. [Care to explain?]

[Think about it. A powerful fleet of knights left Kara-Goth, and then a little squad of nine corvettes chased them. Ordinarily, you'd think those nine corvettes would be crushed, but when you finally do catch up, you see the scenes of a huge battle, and the entire knights' expedition has been wiped out… while all nine corvettes are still intact, and hardly even look scorched.]

Darian burst out laughing, but he didn't dispute her words.

[And I suppose about a hundred Tier 6 and 7 Wilds don't factor at all?] George mused.

[Wilds seem to be more of a natural hazard. I'm afraid the other expeditions view them as vultures and jackals circling the fallen after the battle.]

[So… they all think WE did it?!] George groaned. [There goes our trade exports…]

[Relax. This could be a good thing for Kara-Goth's image.] Mindy consoled him. [At the very least, it could be a deterrent to piracy.]

[Just being in the Wildlands is deterrent to piracy. Or any sort of human activity.]

[You know what I mean. Having a reputation of a powerful military force can only be good for national security. Less people would dare muck around with a force that's so powerful.]

[There is indeed so powerful a force out here. It's just not us.] George grimaced.

[Doesn't matter. Any sky pirates out here would probably get sunk all the same.] Mindy shrugged. [So, I'm about done with dinner. Any plans to rescue me? Or shall I just get the Flame Emperor to rain fire and fight my way own out?]

[About that… you might want to brace yourself.] George advised.

[Why?] Mindy asked.

At that, the ground disappeared.

"Urghk!" Mindy shrieked, as she fell straight down a deep, deep hole, chair and all.

***

"Mindy?!" Fel blinked.

"Where is she?!" Fate was on his feet.

"We're doomed!" Damnaith cackled. "The earth is going to swallow us all!"

"I don't think that was the earth's doing." Sir Jared frowned. "I'm sensing magic. But it's… deep. Very deep down."

Sir Jared, of course, had never heard of Tier 6 Land Wyrms, the very same kind that tunneled right under Kara-Goth and through the pit long ago (or maybe not that long ago). Using such a Wyrm to tunnel under Mindy and rescue her would normally be a tricky venture, but then there was Remian, and he took care of the more sensitive details like the last layers of soil below Mindy, and catching her, and quickly spiriting her away down the giant wyrm tunnels atop the back of a grinning Carrie.

Once they were past, the Land Wyrm helpfully collapsed the tunnels beneath them, causing a tremor than shook the dinner table and then a sudden land sink that had everyone except Damnaith yelping and leaping to safety.

"The earth knows I'm already dead! It knows I should be buried!" Damnaith moaned as she sank deeper and deeper into the ground. "Farewell, cruel world…!"

"Get out of there and stop being lazy." Sir Jared scolded his student.

Darian cleared his throat. "Now, let's deal."

"Deal? With what? We just lost our hostage!" Damnaith cackled almost hysterically.

"Exactly! But we haven't." Darian said.

"What are you talking about?" Sir Fate frowned.

"I'm talking about you guys." Darian pointed out. "Send a message to Ecclesia warning them off our territory for good. Have them sign a treaty, or you and the other knights here are going to get it."

"I get it! This is a whole new hostage situation." Fel exclaimed.

"That's right." Darian nodded. "From now on, until that treaty is signed, you guys are our hostages!"