The capital was on fire. That was easy to see from a distance, but it was not something anyone present wanted to believe. After all, what did this mean for them? Was the emperor dead? Was there anyone left alive? There were too many questions that had to be answered, and no one to answer them.
"Veronica, do we continue?"
A deep voice asked from her right side. She did not even need to turn her head to know who was speaking. He was someone that stood by her for the last ten years. A capable fighter and commander.
Yet, she thought his question was foolish. Continue? Of course, they would.
"They are right there Eric! Right there!"
Veronica shouted at him as her horse sped up a little bit.
"I know that, I can see them. But, do we continue? The damage, it's too much. No one can survive that, and now that they are inside the city they will be able to defend against us. We don't have the numbers to trap them inside."
Eric explained his point of view.
Veronica clenched her teeth as she listened to him. She knew he was right, and that is what pained her. These rebels had the upper hand and it was unlikely her unit could stop them. At least without suffering any major losses.
Was it really ok for her to fight a battle that was already lost?
In reality no, but this was the capital they were talking about. The Emperor was there. The last remaining heir to the Valorian Empire. If he died, then were they even an empire anymore? If that was the case, what were they?
Turning to the side, she looked him in the eye. Eric need not say one more word, as he knew what that look meant. Veronica was dead set on seeing this to the end.
"I must find out. We must know. Our future, everyone's future depends on knowing. If he's alive, that is all that matters."
Glancing over her shoulder, she raised her sword high into the air.
"Charge!"
Veronica shouted.
War cries emerged from behind her as the soldiers under her command urged their steeds forward. They would follow her, even if it was the place they were going led towards death.
'Tsk. If only those two didn't turn around once they received the news. Things may have turned out differently.'
Veronica thought.
---
"Go without me."
Jacob said as he stared at his group. They were a decent size, but down here in the sewers, he could not see them all. There were no wagons as they had planned. All they had was what they could carry, which was not much.
Angelia stared at him lost. She was questioning his sanity but soon felt that itself was a lost cause. She should have known best not to follow him after the stunt he pulled. Pulling her in with false hope and a half-baked plan to save this city or what of it he could. Yet, she followed him anyway. Not because of what she saw, but because of what his future foretold. Angelia wanted to see it firsthand and what better way to do it than be by his side.
Yet, he failed her. Maybe it was all an illusion and his future would be cut short by his greed.
"Alright."
Angelia responded after thinking it over for two seconds. She wanted to ask him what he was thinking, but then again it was best not to know. If he wanted to do something stupid, she was not going to stop him. Someone else can waste their energy on doing that.
Jacob raised his eyebrow slightly then cracked a smile. Seeing how she responded made him feel as if some kind of weight was lifted off his shoulders. He assumed she would try to stop him, but knowing that she wasn't going to do that made him feel much better.
"What?"
Angelia could not help but ask after seeing his expression.
Jacob shook his head slowly.
"Nothing. I'm just glad is all."
"I don't mean to interrupt, but can we get moving? Those explosions above are driving me insane!"
One of the priests yelled out which caused both Jacob and Angelia to glare at him. He swiftly shut his mouth and pretended he said nothing.
"Get everyone out safely. I don't know when we will meet again, or if we will meet again, but can you do me a favor?"
"What is it?"
Jacob looked behind Angelia at Teressa who was carrying Jack on her back. He was still unconscious but at least he was safe.
"Just stay with him until he wakes. That is all I ask."
Teressa was carrying him for now, but she was sure to pass him off to someone else so she could follow Jacob. The same could be said about Matthew. Both of them were his knights so they would follow him anywhere. Jacob had a feeling that Jack would as well, but he wouldn't want to risk it. Not after what he saw.
Angelia hesitated for a moment then nodded in agreement.
She planned on going far away from here once they were outside the capital. Her family did have a lot of acquaintances, so it should not be too difficult to find somewhere to lay low until things calmed down. The question in the back of her mind was whether would they accept her and her mother. Now that her father was dead, it was time to see if they were true family friends or just dogs following the pack.
"Thanks. We just take this tunnel north until we reach the fork then turn left, and at the next fork should be a place we can go above ground, right?"
Angelia nodded again.
Jacob just wanted to make sure he got it right, after all as soon as they split up he could not ask for directions again.
Getting the confirmation he needed, Jacob turned to Leah who stood in front of the other priests. His smile was a lot less confident than before. He was sort of embarrassed.
"Where are you headed after this? South to Ruczin, or across the sea to Eena?"
Both of those places he named were cities that housed temples that worshipped Mother Nessa. They were branches, as the main headquarters was north. If she headed north Jacob could only pray she would be safe. Once the news spread the entire empire would fall. The small fractures that were caused by the nobility, the ministers, and some military officials would show. Without the emperor around people would begin to rampage.
Skirmishes that were put out by the generals would go on with no end. People would begin to question if they were even an empire anymore. After all, what is an empire without an emperor?
While the situation all over would be terrible, the north would be extremely bad. If events played out in a similar fashion to how they were written, then the Order of Mother Nessa would slowly crumble. Within the next two years, their influence and power would diminish to essentially nothing.
"Resfelt. The temple there has a good standing with the citizens, so that is where I am headed. Amelia and her mother are coming along, as for the rest I believe most will go somewhere north. With our numbers, it would be hard to find a temple with vacancies, especially if one wants to keep their rank."
Leah replied.
She knew where the others were going and wanted to avoid them at all costs. If they wound up in the same area then it was only a matter of time before they spread vicious rumors of how she caused their temple to fall. Even if it was not true, there would not be many who would doubt them once news of the capital spread.
Resfelt was not a city but a village worthy of respect. Not to mention she's heard some ok news about the person in charge there.
Hearing the name of that village almost made Jacob chuckle. It was hard not to considering if he made it out of this in one piece he planned on being close by. So it was safe to assume that their paths may cross again in the future.
As for the rest of the people in their group, Jacob did not bother asking them where they were headed. He released them of their duties so they were free to go where they wanted.
Teressa passed Jack to one of the male priests. After which she joined Jacob and Matthew as they headed north. It surprised her that no one was complaining about the smell down here, but I guess since they did not run into any enemies they were more than thrilled to be safe. Luckily the water down here was so low that it did not go above her ankle.
"You know it is not shameful to turn around and head in the other direction."
Teressa commented.
"As much as I want to, I don't believe that is the right choice. Amber should be there by now and I don't want to leave her behind. If her condition is like yours then someone would have been sure to have healed her by now. But..."
Jacob did not even want to finish that sentence. It was times like these that he wished he had a messaging system to conversate with people far away. He didn't, and there wouldn't be any technology like that anytime soon. At least a reliable way, one that did not rely on magic.
"We could have let him go with them then. He doesn't even have proper protection, and the sword he's wielding is just a common blade. If they do have more people in their army like that Ian fellow, then we are screwed."
Teressa added.
Jacob had to agree with her. Matthew just grabbed what the temple had to offer. His combat effectiveness would be severely lowered compared to if he was wearing his own equipment. But, he was still a knight and a veteran one at that. Even without good gear, Matthew was still better than a normal soldier.
"Don't worry about me, you should worry about yourself instead. Nothing we taught you will be worth a damn if we run into anyone like Ian. He was one of a kind, so the chances of that are low, but then again, you can never be too sure."
"It should not matter too much. We are just going to get Amber and leave. Harald's group should have been able to hold the western gate, so we don't even need to come back down here. Everything we are doing is for a better tomorrow. For our future."
Jacob reassured them.
"Keep telling yourself that."
Matthew said in a low voice.