A few months had passed since Celeste had joined the Vanguard. Nothing extraordinary had happened in the first few days. She had trained with Marjo and showed Aldrich what they were capable of. Then they had been assigned to a team, had gotten known to them, trained with them and had gone on practice missions where they had learned to work together. Their teamwork was not perfect, but it was good enough for Aldrich. He had finally decided that Celeste and Marjo were ready for their first mission.
"What do you think we have to do?" a man with long silver hair asked. His name was Marcent; he was an excellent archer.
Celeste shrugged. "No idea. I never went on a mission before, so I have no idea what to expect."
"A lot of crazy stuff can happen on such missions," another group member said. Her name was Jenez, and she was a sorcerer. She was not an Anxoyal but made up for this with her abilities. She was a valuable asset to the group.
"You have been on missions before, right?" Celeste asked into the round.
"We have. This mission will be my fifth one," Jenez replied.
"It will be my seventh mission in total, but it's my fourth under Sergeant Crownwell's lead," Marcent responded.
Celeste's gaze fell on the other woman in the group besides her and Jenez. "What about you, Marceile?"
The brunette's gaze fell on her. "Fourth mission for me." She was not a very talkative person, so she didn't say anything else.
"Third mission for me," said another person. It was a male with short raven hair and a thick moustache. A long and thick ugly scar covered his left cheek. Celeste didn't know his real name; all she knew was that he called himself Raven.
"So, most of you weren't together from the start," Celeste concluded.
"Some members of the original group left, but we also lost some on dangerous missions," another person said. Celeste's gaze immediately fell on them. He was taller than the average Anxoyal, his skin was similar to Celeste's, and he had no hair on his head. His name was Parcu. "The only remaining member of the original sixteenth group is Sergeant Crownwell."
"Speaking of him, where is he?" Marcent asked.
"I'm here," a raucous voice said. Celeste turned her head and looked at the one who spoke. As usual, Sergeant Crownwell wore a helmet that protected his whole head. He always wore it; Celeste had never seen him without it, nor had anyone else. She had asked the other group members if anyone had seen his face before. No one ever had.
"What is our mission about?" Jenez asked.
"We need to go into Yxal territory and steal a certain object of great importance," Crownwell responded.
"What kind of object?" Marjo asked.
"It's a green artefact that looks like a wand. It contains enormous powers. Our spies have reported that the Gore-Eater Clan obtained this object not long ago. We have no idea where they got it. All we know is that they used it against another Yxal Clan and almost annihilated it by only using the powers of that artefact."
Celeste let her gaze wander, noticing the shocked looks on the faces of the others. "How can something like that be so powerful?" she asked.
"There are lots of powerful objects in this world, objects that can cause a lot of damage in the wrong hands," Crownwell said.
"I think we can agree that the hands of the Gore-Eater Clan are the wrong ones," stated Raven.
"True. That's why we must steal this object from them before they use the artefact's power against our people. I don't care if they kill other Yxal. I don't mind if they kill mordeurs, tainted or other Vanquished. Nevertheless, I don't want them to do our people any harm. That's why we need to get that artefact before they can use it against our kingdom and its inhabitants," Crownwell explained.
"So, what's the plan?" Parcu asked.
"We know where the settlement of the Gore-Eater Clan is. We will go near there and strike if we have an opportunity. You are a stealthwalker, Parcu. Your task will be to steal the object while we distract the Yxals. That way, they cannot use it against us even if they still want to use it despite their people being around us. The Yxals are reckless creatures; it's not unlikely they will sacrifice their own people to end us. That's why you must steal the artefact without getting seen."
Parcu nodded. "I understand."
"How many Yxals are there?" Celeste asked. "We are only eight."
"The last time our scouts reported, the Gore-Eater Clan consisted of a few hundred of these fiends. That was a few years ago, but who knows how many they lost in the meantime? As we know, the Clans fight each other for power, resources, slaves and territories. They outnumber us, but we do not plan to fight them openly. All we have to do is distract them," Crownwell answered. "I'm sure we can execute this solid plan without problems."
"I think so, too."
"All my thirty missions have been a success with only minor losses. I don't want to break this record."
"We will give our best, Sergeant," Celeste replied.
"Great. We will develop a more detailed plan once we have scouted the settlement. Our scouts saw them bringing the artefact to their settlement, but they couldn't get close to it because of the small groups of Yxal warriors patrolling the area."
"You expect us to be able to scout the settlement while others did not manage to do that?" Celeste asked, surprised.
Crownwell nodded. "Yes, I do. Let's say Parcu has a way to bypass these patrols without being seen."
"Alright, when will we set off?"
"Tomorrow in the morning. I want all of you to be in this room at eight o'clock."
"So be it," responded Celeste.
"Any other questions?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"Great. I will see you tomorrow then."
---
"Did I mention that Yxals have better night vision than we do? Good for us that we can hide behind this huge rock; otherwise, they might have spotted us already," Marcent said as he peered out over the top of the rock.
"The environment has done us a big favour so far," Marjo replied.
"It did indeed," Raven said.
"Hush! I don't want the Yxal to hear us," Crownwell whispered.
"Sorry," Raven replied quietly.
"Rather keep an eye on the guards who are about to get taken out by Parcu. Marcent, keep your bow ready. Just in case."
"As you wish, sir."
"Don't forget, we have to climb the walls. That also counts for those among us who have wings. Flying up there is way too conspicuous. Remember, our wings have a vast span," Crownwell reminded.
"Thanks for the reminder, sir," Marjo said.
"Hush! It is about to begin."
Celeste's eyes fell on the wall section before them, where two guards stood on top. Due to the torches behind the battlement, she could clearly see the two Yxal. They had clearly recognisable facial features that were not too different from the facial features of the Keristians. These two guards were taller than the average Keristian, and the shape of their bodies was similar to the body shapes of the Keristians. The skin of the left guard was red, and the skin of the other was blue.
A pair of horns came out of their foreheads; the horns of the guard on the left were much longer and thicker than the horns of the other. They were pretty skinny, and their armour, if it could be called armour, was not thick either. They weren't as valuable for protection as the suits of armour Celeste and the others wore.
Their necks were exposed, and Parcu made use of that. He put his hand in front of the mouth of the left Yxal as he rammed his dagger through his neck. The Yxal was dead before he could scream. The second Yxal had no idea what was happening when Parcu turned invisible again due to his dagger's magic and approached him. The second, Yxal died without making a sound, just like his comrade.
No other guards were in sight, so the group sneaked to the walls and threw ropes with grappling hooks upwards. The grappling hooks wedged firmly into the battlement so the group could climb up.
Crownwell handed everyone three torches. "Ignite them and set as many buildings as possible on fire once you are on the ground. We need to hurry and buy Parcu as much time as possible. Get out when you hear the horn." He looked at his group, receiving nods in return. "Move out! Now!"
The group climbed down the walls the same way they got up there, ensuring no one saw them. They hid behind a building and waited for Jenez to conjure a flame above her hand. The others held the heads of their torches into the flame and ignited them that way.
"Now spread out," Crownwell ordered. The group did as they were told. Celeste and Marjo moved to the left while the others headed in different directions. The buildings' walls and roofs were made of wood, making them easily flammable. Once a building caught fire, they moved to the next.
After they had set the third building on fire, they heard loud shouts for the first time. "Seems the Yxal noticed what is going on; we need to hurry," Celeste whispered to Marjo.
"Should we split up?" Marjo asked.
"It's better if we stick together. We will throw two torches into larger buildings after igniting their roofs but keep our third one to ignite more buildings."
"Sounds like a plan."
They heard loud shouts but couldn't understand any of the words being said. It seemed that the Yxal spoke a different language. They didn't let themselves get distracted by the loud shouting and continued their task.
They spotted dozens of Yxals running through the streets; the expressions on their faces spoke volumes. They had no idea what was going on. Some Yxals entered a large building that hadn't yet caught fire and returned with buckets. As it turned out, the buckets contained water, which the Yxals used to extinguish the flames.
"Seems we caused enough distraction. Half of the buildings are on fire," Marjo commented.
"Now we have to wait for the signal to retreat. We are not supposed to fight. Only when necessary."
"No one spotted us so far."
Celeste spotted three Yxals hurrying in their direction. "Shit, three of them are coming to us. Hide!"
Marjo didn't need to be told twice. He crouched and moved as fast as he could, hiding beneath a cart. Celeste ran in the opposite direction and took cover behind a house. She pressed her back against the wall, taking a quick look at the Yxals.
The three Yxals had stopped not far from Celeste's and Marjo's previous position and had begun to check their surroundings. Judging by their looks, they were fighters. They wore armour and carried weapons in their hands. The two males had axes; the female in the middle held a large mace with a massive head in her left hand. The female was broader than the males; Celeste couldn't tell if she was more muscular or had thicker armour.
Celeste knew she had to avoid the mace at any cost if it would come to a fight. She could only hope it wouldn't. She was praying that the Yxals didn't find her or Marjo. She hoped they would walk away as soon as they were convinced that no one was there.
Unfortunately, they spread out and started looking closer at their surroundings. One of the males searched the area near Marjo's hiding place while the female came in Celeste's direction. It was only a matter of time until they would find them.
Celeste still had the chance to move away and find a new hiding spot. She didn't want to leave Marjo, but she had no choice. Otherwise, the female Yxal would see her. Celeste had no doubt she could take care of her, but the other Yxals would most likely be alerted in the process, which would be pretty bad. She had to avoid a fight at any cost.
She stepped away from the house and sneaked to the left side, taking a peek. The other male was not searching the area near Marjo's hiding spot and was walking towards her new hiding spot. Celeste couldn't return to her previous spot because she would walk into the female if she did. She had no choice but to wait for the Yxal to pass her.
She drew her sword from her belt, her spear still resting on her back. She didn't need it for what she was about to do. She waited for the Yxal to pass the corner she was hiding behind. He didn't see her because he was looking straight forward. A fatal mistake.
Celeste sneaked behind him and pressed her hand on his mouth before she thrust her sword through his neck. The Yxal resisted the first few seconds but didn't endure long. His body became slack after a few more moments. He was dead. Celeste pulled his body back to the corner she had been hiding behind, dropping him there.
She went back to the spot where she killed him and picked up his axe, throwing it through the open window of the nearest house. She hid behind the next building, spotting the female Yxal out of the corners of her eyes. Unlike her comrade, the female turned her head, checking her surroundings repeatedly with each step she made.
Celeste looked away and checked her surroundings, spotting another patrol in the area to her left. They were not walking in her direction, but their mere presence prevented her from moving further to the west of the settlement.
She wondered how much more time Parcu would need to steal the artefact. She couldn't leave this place without hearing the signal first. And even if he would blow the horn, she couldn't be sure if rising in the air and flying away would be safe. She would be everyone's target if she would do so. It was risky. The best way to escape was climbing over the walls, but she still had to wait for the signal first.
She looked back at the female who was coming closer to her dead comrade. It was only a matter of time until she would find him and then alarm the others. More Yxals would come and find her eventually. She had to prevent that. The only way to do so was to kill the female before she would raise the alarm.
Celeste sneaked from cover to cover, approaching the female who wouldn't need long to reach the corpse. Celeste regarded her from head to toe, trying to find anything about her that she could use to her advantage.
The woman's whole body was covered by black armour, except for her head. Massive bent horns came out of her forehead; they could be counted as deadly weapons, meaning Celeste had to avoid them at any cost. The only thing she could use to her advantage was the woman's long, light purple hair that reached over her shoulders. She could pull on it in case she gets close to her, but she didn't plan to do that. She wanted to keep her at a distance because she didn't want to get hit by the mace.
Besides that, she didn't spot anything useful. The woman had beautiful facial features and purple facial tattoos in the form of a spark that decorated her pink skin. The tattoo started above her left eyebrow and ended near the corner of her mouth. The expression on her face, her looks and the way she walked made her appear very self-confident. Celeste had no doubt she was strong. An opponent she shouldn't take lightly.
She had no other choice than to take care of her. The best chance of winning was to take the Yxal by surprise and kill her before she could react. Celeste waited patiently until the Yxal had walked past the cover she was hiding behind. Then she jumped over it and landed without making a sound. She walked hunched over and got closer to the woman without her noticing. She slowly pulled her sword out of the sheath as she got closer.
Even though she had pulled the sword out as quietly as possible, the woman had somehow heard it. Celeste was only a few steps away when the Yxal turned around; her facial features derailed, and caution was quickly replaced by anger. She said something in a language Celeste didn't understand. But judging by the expression on her face and the accentuation of her words, Celeste could only assume that it was an insult.
She quickly drew her spear from her back, put her sword back in her sheath, and made a significant leap backwards. The Yxal didn't hesitate to run towards Celeste, but she had to stop and jump to the side to avoid being impaled by Celeste's spear.
The Yxal shouted something at her; Celeste assumed it was just another insult. Celeste didn't hesitate to try to hit her opponent again, succeeding this time. Sadly, she didn't manage to penetrate the woman's armour; all she had achieved was to leave a deep groove in the piece of armour that protected her left upper thigh.
The Yxal didn't seem to be impressed by that. She charged forward but then had to jump to the side again to avoid Celeste's next attack. Celeste moved backwards and tried to keep her opponent at a distance, but the Yxal was fast despite wearing heavy-looking armour.
Suddenly, she leapt into the air and landed not far away from Celeste; the ground beneath her feet split in the process. Celeste knew she had to prevent the woman from landing on top of her. Things would not turn out well for her if the woman were to land on her, considering the impact her landing had.
The woman was no longer in Celeste's spear tip range, so Celeste had to improvise. She swung her spear around, attempting to hit the Yxal's head with the shaft, but her opponent ducked beneath it and got closer to her. She leapt forward and swung her mace, but Celeste was able to jump to the side to avoid her skull from being crushed by the heavy mace head.
She took her spear in her left hand, drew her sword and struck a swift blow, but the woman blocked it with her bracer. A metallic ding could be heard when metal hit metal. Celeste noticed that the bracer was damaged but not shattered.
Celeste attempted to hit her with the spear's shaft, but her enemy caught it with one hand; the other held the massive mace as if it were nothing. With a forceful pull, the Yxal snatched it out of her hand. Within a second, her spear was discarded behind the pink-skinned woman.
The blonde Anxoyal had no choice but to fight with a sword, her only remaining weapon. She executed a swift swing as she avoided being crushed by the massive mace. The Yxal was strong, but her moves were not as fast as Celeste's.
A painful scream escaped the Yxal's lips as Celeste's sword pierced through the same bracer this time. It was a clean pierce through flesh and bone. Due to the moment of distraction, Celeste could snatch the mace out of the Yxal's hands, but she had to discard her weapons to do that. She couldn't have done it with one hand and kept her sword in the other because the mace was too heavy.
Both women were without a weapon, but the Yxal was still stunned by the pain she felt, so Celeste was able to connect her clenched fist with the Yxal's jaw.
Another painful noise left the Yxal's mouth, but that didn't stop Celeste from bringing more punches to her opponent's face. After a few more hits, the Yxal finally managed to pull her guard up and block Celeste's punches. Celeste stopped punching her and went for another move instead. She jumped at her, threw her to the ground, and landed next to her. She acted quickly and put the other woman in a headlock, fixating her legs with her own to prevent her from getting up.
The Yxal did everything she could to get free, but she failed. Celeste's headlock was too tight. Although the Yxal was taller and more muscular than Celeste, she didn't manage to free herself. Celeste had the upper hand and didn't hesitate to cut off her opponent's air supply by throttling her. The Yxal didn't stop resisting, and it didn't seem she was getting any weaker. She endured much longer than Celeste had expected. She was much stronger than she looked.
The Yxal was still conscious as Celeste suddenly heard footsteps. She turned her head and looked in the direction from which the footsteps were coming. Her eyes widened when she noticed that half a dozen Yxals, who wore armour and heavy weapons, were approaching her.
They looked anything but pleased.