Scourge Fifty-Five - Organized

Scourge Fifty-Five - Organized

Scourge Fifty-Five - Organized

The Templar are waiting by the edge of a forest about a hundred paces from the road leading into Algecante. At a guess, theyre trying not to be seen from the city in the distance, which actually makes a fair amount of sense.

Most of the Templars have gotten off their steeds and are brushing the horses down, adjusting their barding, or checking their weapons. As my friends and I step into the little temporary camp theyve set up, more than a few of the Templars glance at us but they continue working to prepare for a fight.

Lieutenant Obrero, the man who accompanied Commander Nunez to our peace talks, jogs over to us. Ladies, he says after a moment of hesitating. I think hes looking for the right title to us and ends up defaulting to ladies which I guess is fair enough.

Hello, Lieutenant, I say with a little wave.

He nods to me, glances at my friends, then looks past us. I can guess why.

Behind me is a small army of monsters carefully stalking their way out of the woods. Weve got mantis monsters and wolves whose eyes glow with cultivated power and a bunch of other, fun monsters who are slinking out of the shadows.

Commander Nunez will want to speak with you, he says. I get the impression hes having a hard time not staring at the monsters.

His Templar pals are having the same issue, with more than a few of them with hands on hilts, but my monsters are well-behaved and other than a protesting honk from the pentagoose (though to be fair, one of the templars looked at it, which is practically asking for a fight as far as geese are concerned) they mostly remain deathly quiet.

I glance at my friends, then make a snap decision. I really should leave at least one of my friends behind to watch, but... well, I dont want to. Come on, girls, I guess the Commander will want us to organise things a bit more than usual.

More than usual implies that we organise things at all, usually, Felix says.

Hey! Im organised, Esme protests.

Bianca just follows along with a little smile and a shake of her head.

Commander Nunez is, predictably, at the head of the Templars with his other lieutenant whose name Ive entirely forgotten. He has a spyglass out, and is using it to stare at Algecante from between a few trees.

Commander, Lady Malvada is here, Lieutenant Obrero says stiffly.

The Commander nods, then turns while handing the spyglass to the man next to him. I see that. And youve brought an army.

A small one, I admit. I made the monsters over the last two days. Theyre specially designed to counter zombies and the undead.

One of the Commanders eyebrows perks up. Truly? I didnt know you could make monsters here, so far from the land of monsters. For that matter, I didnt know monsters could be made.

So, thats the plan? I ask. We charge over, break in through the south gate, then... rampage our way through the city?

We will first capture the gatehouse. It would be wise of us to protect our path into and out of the city, in case we need to retreat or reinforcements arrive. Purging the city of undead will not, Im afraid, be an easy task.

I nod slowly. That makes some sense, I guess. I can send some flying monsters over to the gatehouse right away. If they can scare off any necromancers and kill the undead there, then they wont be able to close the gates ahead of us.

Commander Nunez grins. That sounds exceptionally useful.

Yeah, useful.

I turn to find Lily walking over with the expression of someone who is just walking into a fart cloud.

Are you going to win the day for us, Luna?

I glare. My names Valeria, I say. And no, Im not going to win the day. My monsters arent suited to a lot of things, and I dont have the time to make all the different kinds of monsters I need.

Cant you get a dragon or two to help? she asks.

Well... probably. But dragons are the opposite of delicate, and were here to get rid of the undead and save Sempers books, not raze the entire city to the ground.

Yeah, lets save the dragons for plan B, Esme suggests. Or maybe plan C.

Plan D, for Dragon, Felix says with a snort.

The commander doesnt seem as amused. Do you ladies have a way to keep up with us as we move towards the city? he asks.

We can fly overhead, I say. If you want, I can have my monsters lead the charge. Theyre a lot more expendable than your Templars. I dont want to see your people die for nothing, not even the annoying ones. I shoot Lily a look, to make sure she knows that last bits aimed at her.

She sticks her tongue out at me, but straightens up real fast when the commander turns her way. Alright. No point in dallying. Templars! We ride in five! Mount your steeds and prepare your steel and your hearts. Today we make our lord proud.

I whistle, then gesture and my mantis monsters pour out of the forest around us and circle around to the very edge of the forest. I can tell that theyre eager to get stabbing. The Templars eye the monsters warily, probably because the mantises are as tall as they are on horseback.

Alright, I say. Lets see what we can do about those undead.

***