Chapter 603 - 603 Unreasonable Request

603 Unreasonable Request

The early morning hours were far busier than normal, drawing the majority of the residents from their beds. Before the sun was up in the sky, the majority of Dragonhorn was awake and moving. As a few loaded up their wagons and horses, most just came out to see who was leaving.

Out of the roughly ten-thousand people, only three thousand or so were up for the purpose of actually leaving. Neighbors gathered in groups, and openly discussed the ones packing with a mixture of emotions. Most were just surprised, but a handful, mainly mages, watched them with disgust.

The most common insults were ones like ‘traitors’ or ‘cowards’, but a there were more unsavory ones heard throughout the town. A few fights had also broken out due to the harassment turning personal. The mages that were stationed members of the RMC had a hard time keeping the peace, but they had little choice considering some of the shit-starters were their own men.

Zas, Tidas, and Shasta were what the RMC members strived to become, so their lack of faith in the General had triggered several mages into taking petty actions. Wheels on stagecoaches suddenly snapping, or sinking into snow-covered mud. Horses scared to the point of bucking, or had their reins loosened.

The whole mess put the convoy behind schedule, but they did manage to leave before Hugo could see the army in the distance. He relayed what he’d seen to Nicolas, who had instantly grown more dismayed. When Maevis asked what was wrong, he had to take a breath to straighten out his thoughts.

After the convoy had left, Maevis used her magic to cover their tracks as far as she could with traveling too far from town. She knew the areas up north very well, and created new roads that connected to others. That way, she was more or less hiding the side road that branched off towards Moonshire; the one the convoy was traveling on.

Maevis prayed that Lucas would find out about the people traveling through his land, and ride out to question them.. ‘As it stands now, we won’t have time to fly to Moonstone Castle.. Please, Please! Let them not be home..’

Once Maevis had returned; her, Nicolas, Jonathan, and Cu Sith hid themselves outside of the gate. It was right along the starting line of the dragon bones, where the forest’s edge branched out. Cu was using her magic to conceal them in shrubs and plants, which Jonathan was not a fan of.

The weeds growing around them gave off a terrible smell, but it was there to help hide them from Zas. As he forced down a gag, John listened to Nicolas explain; “Something’s not right.. Hugo says that there’s two types of emblems on the soldiers, and only half of them have swords.”

.....

“Well, what are the others carrying?” Maevis asked.

Nicolas shook his head; “He said shovels and picks, as odd as that is.. But that’s not the part that worries me..”

Maevis huffed; “What, then?!”

Nic looked directly at Maevis; “Hugo can’t identify everything. He says that there’s a large group in the middle of the formation that’s carrying some kind of...sticks? Metal sticks?”

Maevis scrunched her face in thought; “Pipes? Or maybe something we’ve never seen?”

Nicolas sighed heavily; “I don’t know-”

“Well, we’re about ta find out,” Jonathan whispered; “There’s the General...but I dinna recognize the man with him.”

At the front of the army, General Zas and the man called Benzo walked towards the gates of Dragonhorn with completely opposite expressions. Benzo looked like he was walking into an amusement park. While Zas looked like he was about to enter a funeral.

As the soldiers began to fan out and encircle the town, Cu Sith made the vegetation around them grow thicker. Maevis also helped them avoid detection by leveling out the ground several feet away from them, and she made the ground around them rocky. As the soldiers walked and chatted as they passed, Maevis and Nicolas’ hearts sank..

The soldiers surrounding the town were all carrying rifles, and not ones that Nicolas or Maevis recognized. They looked much bigger, and had the largest clips they’d ever seen. As the soldiers passed, one mentioned how excited he was to finally get to shoot his ‘tommy’ at a live target, then disappeared into the woods.

They were scattering themselves around the outskirts of Dragonhorn, most likely to catch anyone trying to flee. As the truth of the situation began to sink in, Jonathan said what they were all thinking..

“The gods have mercy. They’re all about ta be slaughtered..”

Zas stood with a stony expression while Benzo came up to his side, and spoke with a smug face; “Don’t forget to use your least-scary voice. You don’t want us killing Everyone, right? ...I mean, I want to, but our King said to give you a chance to talk some sense into these people. So don’t fuck this up, Mr. Kitty.”

Zas glared at Benzo; “I’ll handle this, you just keep your gun-toting idiots in line. If ANYTHING happens without my say, I’m coming straight after you..”

All joviality left Benzo’s features as he stepped closer to Zas, and spoke with a threatening tone; “Oh, I’d love to take you on, furball, but my King’s orders come first.. Like the one he gave that says if you fight against us in Any way, then your entire family dies.”

Zas’ entire body stiffened as Benzo grinned, patted his shoulder, and added; “So, keep that in mind when the fun begins..”

As the townsfolk started to gather at the gate’s main entry, soldiers poured into the town, and began to pull people from their houses and businesses. The ones that refused or fought back were beaten, then dragged out before being beaten again. Others tried to intervene, but they were given the same treatment, then shoved towards the center of town along with everyone else.

Jonathan and Cu were speechless over what they were witnessing, but the scene brought back tragic memories of similar instances from the old Faes’ pasts. Both Maevis and Nicolas knew how the situation was about to unfold, and were torn about what to do.

Every moral fiber of their beings urged them to go, and talk with the general. To reason with him, and make sense of this insane situation before it devolved into pointless bloodshed. But the logical side of their minds told them exactly what I was about to happen, and that the same thing was about to happen to Warrick Forest if they didn’t leave to warn them now.

Suck with their heartbreaking indecision, all the four could do was watch as the fall of Dragonhorn began..

With every person within the town gathered, Zas addressed the frightened crowds; “I have sad news for you all...King Magnus has died, and Prince Marco has been named the new King! All hail the King!”

A small murmur of repeated words rang out before Zas continued; “I know that the appearance of the military in our quaint home is upsetting, to say the least! But I swear to you that they Are here to safeguard the kingdom! The Sync kingdom, as well as the Highlanders threaten our lands and homes-”

“But we heard that the Highlanders are allies now! How did they come ta be our enemies?!” a random person shouted.

“Did they kill the king?!” an older woman yelled.

“Where are Prince Tidas and Princess Skye?! Aren’t they the ones who got’em on our side?! Have Them fix it!”

The voices and questions from the crowds grew louder, and soon turned angry. Before the situation turned dire, Zas roared as loud as he could, which had instantly quieted the crowds. As their stunned attention fell on him, Zas tried to reason with the townsfolk again..

“King Magnus did, in fact, die from poisoning, but a culprit has yet to be determined! That is why the new King isn’t taking any chances with his people’s lives! All he wants is for our kingdom to be safe, and to prosper! Trust me! What we are doing is for you Own Safety! Now! As citizens of Alcon! Can you Help us?!”

The people seemed divided over whether to trust the new King or not, but they did trust Zas. Many elders had known him since they were children themselves, so almost everyone grew up with the comforting fact that he always looked out for their best interests. As they all came to terms with the idea of the military being around, one man stepped forward, and asked the obvious question..

“What exactly is it that you need from us?!”

Zas swallowed hard before replying; “I need all citizens of Dragonhorn to evacuate!”

While the people had foreknowledge of what was going to happen, many still began to rant and complain about having to leave their homes. When another person asked when they needed to leave by, Zas hesitated to answer before replying; “By sundown, all non-military personnel Must be gone, or they will face harsh labor as punishment!”

“What?!”

“That soon?!”

“That’s impossible! What about our stuff?!”

“Leave it! Take only what you can carry!” Zas screamed, praying that the people would listen; “I know that this seems unreasonable and unfair! But please! I Swear that this is for the safety of the kingdom! And most importantly: You! Please! Do as you have been asked to do-”

“When can we come back?!”

The question caused a loud ringing to start in Zas’ ears, forcing him to pause. He bent them back and forth in spasms, trying to get the noise to stop. As everyone stared at him, Zas felt real terror creeping into his soul as the reality hit him..

He knew the people that he lived with very well, and knew that there were many that would fight back once he gave the answer. A knot formed in the pit of his stomach as bile fought to rise up. Zas took a deep breath, and tried to think of how to word it without setting off the crowds..

“You can return after we’ve completed our mission, but I doubt you’ll want to,” Benzo announced with an evil grin on his face.

“Stop it, Benzo! I need to be the one to tell them!” Zas practically roared at him.

“Yeah? Well, you’re taking too long,” he replied as he clasped his hands together; “You had your chance, and now I’m bored. So we’re gonna get this show on the road, okay cupcake?”

With a motion of his hand; four large soldiers were at Zas’ sides, to keep eyes on him as Benzo broke the truth to the townspeople..

“You make come back to this land when we’re finished, but that’s all that’s gonna be here!”

“What about our houses?! Our stuff?!” a man shouted as he angrily stepped in front of Benzo.

Benzo grinned like a devil before replying; “They’ll already be Long gone..”

After wrapping his arm around the man’s shoulders, he stabbed him in his stomach with a dagger as he whispered; “Just like All of you..”