The Fell War - Chapter 14 (Patreon)

Four days at sea – and by extension four days in extremely close quarters with three thousand other people – was difficult for anyone. Alfre found little privacy aboard the ship, even when she went desperately seeking it out and clambered down into the small spaces of the engine room. She could never stay there long, though. It was claustrophobic down there in a way that she didn’t understand how anyone could stand. The top deck was fine and dandy for privacy depending on the time of day – night time was the best for that – but was often crowded with those who were seasick and barfing over the sides. Which was hardly pleasant, but Alfre wasn’t going to complain too much. The sea breeze kept the smell from hanging about too long.

They spotted the landing sight late in the afternoon, the ships from Clover already crowding the bay. Alfre could see the smoke from campfires dotting the beach, clenching her hands on the railing nervously. These were people she was about to lead into war. These were people who were willing to stand their ground and fight injustice in the most literal way possible. These were people who were her responsibility. The realization made her feel a bit sick.

“Alfre.” She turned at the sound of Elias’ voice, her eyes finding him standing among her friends and the rest of the council. “It’s time to go. The landing craft are ready.”

She took a deep shuddering breath to calm her nerves and stepped away from the railing. “Right. Let’s go.”

The council crowded into a boat alongside Alessio, Hadi, Wally, Abital, and Canus, hardly as crowded as many of the other boats, but the others didn’t have to share with a nervous direwolf that desperately wanted to pace.

Einmora and Briar Fox met them at the shore, surrounded by curious Fell from both Heart and Clover who’d not yet met the woman who was going to lead them into war.

“Welcome to hell,” Einmora greeted gruffly.

“How is everyone doing?” Alfre asked, letting Canus scoop her up form the boat and carry her to shore like he’d done before.

“Well enough,” Briar Fox answered. “They’re getting restless. Most of them can’t wait to actually start fighting.”

“They’re going to have to,” Ren stated plainly, stepping onto land with the others. “We have to wait for Diamond to get here first. And then after that they’ll have to wait until after the infiltration mission is already underway.”

“Have their been any problems?” Spica asked, eyeing Wally as he rushed off towards a supply boat that had just landed.

“Not so far,” Einmora said as she led them through the base camp and towards the entrance to Sandfur’s Den. “I think Granato and their pet Fell have decided that no one would dare come back after we got the last of the refugees, ‘cause they haven’t shown up yet, and we’ve been here a good two days.”

“That’s good,” Alfre said with a sigh of relief. “We’ll need that element of surprise.”

“How many do we have for the infiltration mission?” Ren asked as the group gathered around a map of the continent, far more detailed than the world map back in Spade.

“You’ve got ten volunteers from our contingent,” Briar Fox informed her. “Five assassins, three clerics, and two monks.”

“Plus a magician and a summoner from my guild,” Einmora added. “More will be coming with Selphie and Makoto.”

“Plus you should have at least five from Spade,” Alfre said. “Spica and June will be going with you I know. I’m not sure about the others.”

“Silver is coming with me,” Ren said, because of course Silver was going with her. “Hunter is lending me one of his druids, and Maldrom’s dragonling girl is coming along as well, Sage or whatever her name is.”

“Basil,” Alfre corrected. “She’s a sorcerer, I think.”

“Her, yeah,” Ren muttered, obviously distracted. “Do we know how many I’ll have from Diamond?”

“Not nearly as many as from the others,” Briar said. “Diamond’s pretty heavily populated with the clunky armored type.”

“Makoto will be with you,” Hadi said. “That much I know. As for any others, I couldn’t tell you.”

Ren dismissed him with a casual wave of her hand. “It’s fine. It’s just good to know. I don’t think we’ll need much more than twenty people for this anyway, otherwise we run too many risks.”

“This is true,” Einmora agreed. “Too few and you won’t have the impact necessary. Too many, and it’s too easy to get caught before you can get the job done.”

Ren nodded, her foot tapping impatiently on the sandstone below. “I’m almost tempted to just forget the guys from Diamond and go.”

“Don’t you dare,” Alfre warned. “We need to wait for Diamond to get here before we do anything. I can’t have you taking off while we’re stuck here missing a third of our army. We wouldn’t be able to come after you like we need to.”

Ren sighed in frustration. “Fine. Fine, I’ll stay put. But only until everyone I need is here, and then I’m out. You hear me, snowflake?”

“Aye, I hear you,” Alfre shot back.

Alessio raised a curious brow at the interaction, unused to seeing Alfre interact with Ren. “Should you not be referring to Alfre as your commander?” he asked. “That is what she is, after all.”

Alfre blanched at the idea. “Please don’t.”

Spica smirked. “No, no. It’s a good idea. Best to be clear who’s in charge of what. Can’t have a dozen people running around claiming to be in charge. The army would fall apart that way.”

Alfre hated how much sense that made. She really didn’t want to be addressed in any specific way, but if doing so kept every together and on the same page, well she was going to have to.

“Fine,” she groaned. “I’m ‘Commander’ or whatever.”

Ren grinned. “Would that make me Lieutenant Commander?”

“Sure,” Alfre agreed casually. “Spica and Elias too. And Alessio, since he’s going to be running the behind the scenes portion of this whole mess.”

“For something you keep calling a mess, we’re honestly not that unorganized,” Elias argued mildly.

Alfre rolled her eyes at him. “It’s still a mess. A huge mess. War can only ever be a mess.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Elias sighed, his ears drooping. The perked up again at the same time Briar Fox’s twitched, the two of them picking up a sound.

They turned, causing the others to as well. Down the tunnel came a rather flustered looking bard. “Um, excuse me, I’m sorry, but there’s someone here to see Abital and Canus…and ‘whoever else is in charge of this’. That’s what they said, I’m sorry, I’m just repeating what they told me.”

Alfre shared a concerned look with the two gods. They led the way back out of the tunnel, Alfre blinking against the near blinding sunlight. When she could finally see again, she found two women standing before them. The first, an elven woman with dark skin and earthy brown curls. She was dressed in earthy tones, a crown of summer flowers in her hair. She clutched her cream colored skirt with shaking hands. The other woman was smaller, her skin lighter in shade but still darker than Alfre’s had ever been. She was human, supposedly, though something about her seemed more than that. Her hair was white and short; her sharp, lavender eyes cut right through any she leveled with her gaze.

“Koseret,” Canus said by way of greeting. “Orli.”

Alfre felt her heart stop. These…these were the last two gods of Wonderland. Were they here to stop us? Would Abital and Canus actually fight them if they tried? Could the players actually defeat them if we fought them?

“Canus, Abital,” Orli said, her voice deeper than expected, “it is good to see you. But I must admit, Abital, it is strange that you’re so far from your throne. Perhaps you should return before the dead all get loose.”

That definitely sounded like a threat, Alfre decided. Her hand twitched towards her rapier.

“Don’t even try it, little Fell,” Orli snapped, her eyes locking on Alfre. “You could never defeat me.”

“Wanna bet?” Alfre hissed, reckless and angry.

Orli took one small step forward. The next thing any of them knew, Canus had pounced on her, the fur of his wolf form bristling in rage, his jaw hovering over her throat.

“Keep your threats to yourself, brat,” he warned. “Lay one hand on snowbird and Gloomy and I will make sure you don’t get it back.”

“Canus, please, enough,” Koseret pleaded, her voice wavering. “Orli, do not antagonize them, we did not come here to fight.”

“Perhaps you did not, Koseret,” Abital said. “But she most certainly did.”

“You’d really kill me over a Fell?” Orli demanded, offended and angry at the turn of events. “A Fell?”

“Not just this Fell,” Abital informed her coldly. “The Fell who have been run out of their home. The Fell who are trapped. The Fell who want their city back. If you try to interfere with this, we will end you.”

“But yeah, we’d also kill you over snowbird specifically,” Canus added, his voice sharp and mocking.

“The Wonderlanders are our people,” Orli reminded them sharply. “It is our duty to protect them.”

“Even when they are selfish and cruel?” Canus demanded. “The Fell are our people just as much as the Wonderlanders are, or have you forgotten your clerics?”

Orli did not react. Koseret, on the other hand, seemed shocked by the reminder, maybe she had forgotten about the clerics. Her green eyes scanned the gathered crowd, growing wide with some emotion Alfre couldn’t place.

“These people deserve our protection just as much as any Wonderlander,” Abital said, gesturing at the gathered players with a grand sweep of his arm. “Those who say otherwise do not deserve the position they hold.” He glared at Orli, still trapped beneath Canus.

“It is not our place to interfere,” she said, voice surprisingly calm despite the position she was in, her words contradicting what she’d said just moments before. “This is between the Wonderlanders and the Fell. Let them fight it out without sullying our hands.”

“I beg to differ.” All eyes were on Alfre as she stepped forward, hands clenched at her sides. “If these are your people as you claim they are, is it not your duty to lead them back to the proper path? Is it not the duty of gods to make their feelings known? If they have done wrong, how will they know unless you tell them? If you are displeased with them, then you must show them. Yeah?”

Koseret, at least, seemed to ponder her words.

“Canus, get off her,” Alfre ordered. “If you were actually going to do anything, you would have by now.”

“You dare give a god orders?” Orli hissed. Her anger gave way to shock, however, when Canus actually did as he was told, trotting back to Alfre’s side without complaint. “Who are you?”

Before Alfre could say anything, Alessio stepped forward to answer for her. “She is Alfre, the Winter Blade, Commander of the Fell Army, Favored One of the Wilds, Death’s Chosen Champion, and Guild Master of the Alliance of the Frozen Stars.”

“And a stubborn as hell Scotswoman,” Alfre added with a wicked grin.

Orli picked herself up, a scowl marring her pretty face. She was taller than Alfre, not that that was hard, but not nearly as tall as Alfre had imagined. Abital and Canus were near giants, and Koseret also seemed extraordinarily tall. Orli just looked like a normal person, save for the unusual color of her eyes. But, in Wonderland, even those weren’t that unusual. She didn’t honestly seem like a god, perhaps that was why she tried to hard to control everything.

“Do what you want,” Orli hissed, dusting herself off. “Since you obviously love this Fell more than your own people.”

Abital frowned, more so than usual, his eyes growing sad. “She was kind to me, Orli. You know how rare it is for anyone to show me kindness, even Wonderlanders.”

Orli’s eyes widened, insulted. “You’d threaten family over a Fell who showed you kindness? Is that all it takes to buy your loyalty?”

“We are not. Family!”Abital shouted, his voice reaching a volume Alfre had never heard from him before. It boomed like thunder, shaking the dunes around them. The Wonderlanders cowered in fear. “You came up with that narrative all on your own. We share no parentage, no history, no blood. And if we were family, then why do I spend all my days trapped underground while you float about the world on the sun and stars? Why is it that the only company I have are the Fell who come to fight me? You’d think family would visit. You care not for anyone but yourself, Orli. Do not play at the idea of family.”

Orli stumbled back as if struck. Koseret stared in awe at Abital, as if seeing him in a new light. Canus smirked as well as he could in wolf form. Alfre stepped towards him, taking his hand in her own, desperate to show him some comfort. Her heart ached for him. She wanted so terribly to take that pain away from him. To shield him and Canus both from Orli’s anger. Orli’s eyes widened in astonishment at the display, and then narrowed in disgust.

“Do you love him, little Fell?” she asked mockingly. “Is that why you showed him your ‘kindness?’ To tempt him away from his post because of some misguided infatuation?”

“Aye, I love him,” Alfre admitted, finally coming to terms with her feelings and feeling a weight come off her shoulders that she hadn’t realized was there. “But that is not why I showed him kindness. I did it because he just seemed so sad and lonely. I wanted to understand him, to help him feel better, even if just for a short while. I grew to love him over time, like I grew to love Canus…and Wally.”

She heard a gasp from the crowd, glancing out of the corner of her eye to see Wally standing at the edge of the circle beside Spica and Elias. Spica looked far too smug for Alfre’s comfort, but that she could ignore. She turned back to Orli, who looked visibly shaken by her confession.

Alfre released Abital’s hand and moved to grip the hilt of her rapier. “So if you think you can hurt them anymore, you’ve got another thing coming!”

“You’d fight me for them?” Orli looked about ready to laugh.

“Aye,” Alfre agreed. “I’d fight you. I’d fight anyone who hurt them.”

Orli looked like she was going to say something, but was cut off when Koseret stepped forward. She walked forward, footsteps strangely silent on the sand, eyes fixed on Alfre. Alfre gripped her weapon tighter, reading herself for a much more physical confrontation.

Instead, Koseret threw her arms around Alfre, pulling her into a hug. Alfre looked to Abital and Canus, thoroughly confused by the turn of evens. The two gods merely smiled, the tenseness in their bodies gone.

“Thank you,” the goddess whispered. “Thank you for being so kind to them. Canus has told me what you did for his wolves. I should have known you would have extended the same kindness to Abital. Thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Alfre muttered, unable to help but notice the scent of cinnamon and earthy spices that permeated the air around Koseret. “I was just being a decent human being, is all.”

Koseret released her, a soft smile on her full lips. She turned to Orli, who looked well and truly abandoned on the other side of the clearing. “Orli, I think we should leave.”

Orli scowled. “So you’ve abandoned me as well, Koseret? I thought you loved the Wonderlanders. What happened? Did you fall for this Fell’s honeyed words as well?”

Koseret threw her shoulders back, her green eyes hardening. “I do love the Wonderlanders, Orli. But, unlike you, I am not blind to their cruelties. I came with you because I’d hoped to find some way to resolve this conflict between you and the others peacefully. But it seems your bitter stubbornness cannot be reasoned with.”

Canus stared at the goddess with wide eyes. “You mean, you weren’t here to stop us from helping the Fell fight?”

Koseret shook her head. “I know the Granato have been cruel to the Fell. I will not defend them, nor will I stop you. These are the consequences they must face for their actions. I am happy, I must say, that you have not let their cruelty taint your perception of Wonderlanders as a whole. I see many of them here, and I am grateful to that.”

Alfre shrugged. “Alessio is my friend. I never asked him to fight with us; he came of his own volition. Besides, Wonderlanders and Fell are the exact same. There are good people and bad people. The Granato just happen to be some of the bad, just like the Fell that work for them.”

Koseret nodded with a smile. “That is something that people tend to forget.” Alfre got the feeling she meant Orli. She flinched when Koseret hugged her once more, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“You have my blessing, little one,” she whispered. “May it keep you and your people safe.”

“Thank you,” Alfre whispered back, her cheeks growing pink.

Koseret released her, smiling fondly at Alfre in a way that seemed almost motherly. She then turned to Orli, her smile falling away. “I am leaving, Orli. Whether you come along peacefully or stay and attempt to fight is your choice.”

Orli scowled, watching as Koseret walked passed her and disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Her lavender eyes returned to Alfre, who met her gaze head on without flinching. She turned away sharply, taking a few steps before vanishing in a blinding flash of light, leaving a circle of jagged glass where she’d stood.

“Canus,” Alfre said, “I don’t think ‘a bit up her own ass’ was the right way to describe her.”

Canus laughed, morphing back into his human form. “Yeah, I guess not. You did good, though. I’ve never seen a Fell stand up to her like that.”

“I think,” Alessio spoke up suddenly. “That I’m going to replace the shrine to Orli in my city to one of Abital. After today, that seems like an appropriate response, I think.”

Alfre grinned. “Sounds like a wonderful idea, Your Highness.”