RavensDagger

  Chapter Two Hundred and Fifty-Four - Joint Strike Fighters

  “So, how do you fight an amphiptere?” I asked.

  The general hummed, and I was happy he was actually sidering my question. Not that we had too much else to do on the ride over. The burdeles were cool, but they werely fast. Stable, and they walked at a very even pace--more so than a horse or donkey--but not fast.

  “I wish there was a single, reliable answer, but the truth is that the method will depend upouation. An amphiptere is fast, fly, and use brutish magics. Fighting them in the air isn’t possible for us, so we try to hit them when they’re resting or roosting. Theter bees one of positioning.”

  “You mean like attag them from above?” I asked.

  “Amphipteres make their homes in crevices and mountainside caverns. Those sometimes be caved in or ed over. Sometimes the beast be lured out and into a trap where mages will hit them from many dires at once. We have the greatest earth mages in the world,” the general boasted.

  I nodded along. That made sense. A people that lived mostly underground would want to have mages who could move earth around. And I guessed their way of fighting naturally relied on that.

  The carts rattled ohe bumpy road until the quarry appeared in the distahe general spent some time ferring with his officers in low, whispered tones. Mostly they seemed worried over how to work alongside the sylphs who would no doubt be there already.

  As we crested another small hill, we came upon a trail of wagons and soldiers. Some hundred or so sylphs in lighter armour, with a pair of wagons at the head. They were walking in a formation, spears bobbing up and down with every step. That is, until they caught sight of the group of mole people ahead of them.

  The two groups slowed to a stop, the moles and I above the hill, the sylphs he base. To our left was the road leading into the quarry.

  I felt the tension rising for a moment before I spotted ander Warmwood sitting in one of the wagons. I jumped up and down, one hand waving above me. “Hey! ander Warmwood! We’re here to help!”

  The aared, then he ughed, a single, loud bark that somehow dispelled the tension. “Greetings, Captain Bunch,” he said before l himself off the side of his wagon. General Holey did the same, nding with a thump on the road before he started to waddle ahead.

  I hesitated for a moment before deg that joining them robably the more fun option. So I bounced down and hopped after the general.

  He stopped a good three or four paces from the ander, and theared at each other. “Uh,” I said. “ander Warmwood, this is General Holey. General Holey, this is ander Warmworanite Springs.”

  The general nodded. “A pleasure,” he said.

  “Likewise,” the ander replied. “You here to kill that flying garden snake?”

  General Holey snorted. “We’ve killed our share of them.”

  “Well, maybe we show you a trick or two.”

  “Oh, I’m certain we do the same.”

  I was nervous that things would deteriorate, but then both of them stepped up and their hands met with a big meaty smack. It looked as if they were both trying to squeeze the other’s hand as hard as possible. The muscles in their arms bulged, and both of them leaned into the handshake, which didn’t actually have much shaking to it.

  “I’m gd to see you both getting along!” I cheered.

  They let go of each other, her of them doing more than moving their hands open and closed a bit, even though it felt like both of them wao wiggle their hands free of the pain.

  “I’m certain the mole people set aside any differences for the day,” ander Warmwood said.

  “Yes, I’m certain the sylphs let go of some of their snobbishness for an afternoon. I will, of course, be leading this assault.” General Holey nodded, as if it were a fone clusion.

  “You will be leading?” ander Warmwood asked. “Why exactly is that?”

  “Aren’t our nations allied?” the general asked. “Besides, we have more experience dealing with these matters, and, not to put too fine a point on it, I do outrank you, ander.”

  “Yes, I suppose you do,” the ander replied. “Though I wonder about the value of being a general of such a... small army, from an equally small nation.”

  “Oh-kay!” I said as I stepped up betweewo of them. It looked like they were gearing up to do more than shake hands really hard. “This doesn’t seem like the frie situation, so how about we all just... not be mean to each other for a minute or two?”

  ”We were cordial,” ander Warmwood said.

  “Dht polite,” General Holey agreed.

  They gred at each other until I slid to the side, blog their line of sight. “This isn’t very productive,” I said.

  Both of them... well, they didly pout, because they were big tough guys, but they certainly wore plicated expressions for a bit.

  “Thank you, Captain Bunch,” General Holey said. “I do believe you’re essentially correct. ander, we o find a way to resolve this situation. I’m certaih have protocols for mixed troop as, and I don’t believe those protocols call for any sort of p.”

  The ander nodded slowly. “That’s n. Though a little bit of p is good for morale.”

  They both chuckled darkly, and I smiled even if I didn’t quite get it.

  “Let’s move over to the quarry,” General Holey said. “Captain Bunch, is there a staging location?”

  “I don’t know about that, but the Inquisition people did set up a small camp.”

  Both men shen they looked at each other. “You don’t look forward t with the Inquisition?” General Holey asked.

  “I would rather avoid it, yes,” ander Warmwood agreed. “But I don’t think that will be an option.”

  I wasn’t sure if both of them agreeing to dislike someone else was a great middle-ground to meet on, but it was something at least. “We should keep moving then. We’re burning daylight.”

  “Indeed,” they both said at the same time.

  The general returo his cart and the ao his wagon, and I stood there for a moment, not sure which way to go. So instead I shrugged and bounced ahead and into the quarry. The quarry workers were gathering up near some of the barracks-looking buildings. I guessed that work had been celled for the afternoon, at least, so they didn’t have much else to do but stare at first the mole people army then the sylph army rolled past on the way to the far end of the site.

  I found the Inquisition camp a hive of activity, with soldiers moving crates around aing up tents oside of the camp. Some were ying out stretchers, and what looked like a medical tent was going up uhe watchful eyes of an officer.

  I found Bastion by the side of the camp, frowning at a map held in Major Springsong’s outstretched hands. “Bastion!” I called out.

  The padin looked over and his frown turned into a smile. “Broccoli,” he said as a way of greeting. “Things went well?”

  I nodded. “Yup. I met Captain Ward on the way over. He took off tranite Springs. And General Holey agreed to e. He brought a couple of carts worth of mole people soldiers. A few mages too.”

  “That might well be helpful,” Bastion said.

  “The general and ander Warmwood doly get along,” I said. “I think they were doing that macho thing where they try to one-up each other. They both agree that they don’t want the Inquisition in charge though.”

  Bastion’s frowurned, but it was Major Springsong who spoke up first. “The Inquisition was here first, and while we don’t have as many troops on the ground, we do have most of the informatioaining to the situation at hand.”

  “Yeah, but I think everyohinks you’re being all secretive and... well, the way you hahe molefolk's letters is, uh, not a great endorsement of your leadership... sorry?”

  “Captain Bunch is likely correct,” Bastion said. “Perhaps instead of waiting for delegation of leadership to be settled--which might well take weeks with the hardness of the heads involved--we distract everyoh our current pn, then work our way from there. It’s a simple ruse, but it has worked on mixed-troop deployments before. Eaanding offieed only worry about their part in the greater pn.”

  “So, what is the pn?” I asked.

  “Perhaps we should go over it only once,” Bastion said.

  The ander and the general were ing up behind us, their wagons and carts rolling into pce, the dozens of soldiers all f up into two distinct groups.

  “Broccoli, could you ihe ander and general to the a? Major Springsong, I’d advise you to remain... quiet, for the moment. We’ll try to set things up as quickly and as effitly as possible.”

  “Got it!” I said.

  It didn’t take very much to get the general to e over, though he insisted some of the other officers in his retinue apany him.

  The ander, on seeing General Holey moving over to the a with his aides, wasn’t about to be left behind and gathered his owly one more than the general—and moved over as well.

  Was there always this much p before stuff could actually get moving? The soldiers seemed very focused on standing straight and sometimes jeering at each other when their leaders weren’t looking, but at least the banter on their side seemed almost friendly.

  It made me think of the way Amaryllis liked to poke fun at her friends.

  I had to wonder how my other friends were doing. They’d be pretty impressed with all of my work, I bet.

  No oopped me from entering the a, so I slipped past the vas draped over the entrand took in the room. At first, it looked like three camps had formed around the table. Major Springsong on one end, ander Warmwood across from him, and General Holey he back. But when I really looked, it was clear that Bastion was f a lonely fourth camp, without any of his own aides in the background p. So I joined up and stood behind him, my most presentable smile on.

  “Since everyone is here,” Bastion began. “Let’s go over the situation one final time.”

  “Please do,” General Holey said. “I do like bei informed.” This st was delivered with a gre to the major.

  Bastion nodded, ign that st bit entirely. “There is a amphiptere he site of the new quarry. This quarry, as you likely all know, produces a specifid of stohat is used in enting and in some alchemical processes. It’s imperative that we tio supply this stone for the foundation of the kingdom’s new fortresses along the border. And of course, we ’t threaten our neighbours while doing so. Here’s what we know about the beast so far.”

  I listened as attentively as I could, ears ramrod straight on my head, with only the occasional twitch to turowards whoever eaking. But to be entirely ho, a lot of the pn flew over my head.

  Well, pns usually didn't st long enough to matter, anyway.

  ***

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