Chapter 181
Marionette in a Play
Av and Vanessa went ahead of the others to prepare the most loyal members they had for the further journey south. There was hardly a need for Valen and the entourage to camp in the fort, as there were potentially spies there that could alert the Barony to their plans. While it was inevitable that their journey would get leaked eventually, Sylas preferred it happen on a later date—at least when they had the first Barony under their thumb.
As such, rather than taking a route that had them pass by the fortress, they opted into a more rural one. It wasn't much of an issue, what with Asha clearing the way, and they eventually met up with Av and Vanessa and fourteen other people that they brought along. Joining the group after brief introductions, they continued moving south at a steady rate, at pace to reach the Barony in 4 days.
It ended up being five and a half days in the end, but they did step out onto a snow-laden plain that stretched into a hilly countryside. For the first time since he came to this world, Sylas found a piece of land that wasn't enclosed from all ends by something. Instead, the hilly plains almost caused a distant memory of Earth to resurface, but it was too blurry and vague to truly mean anything.
Though there was still snow everywhere, it was much shallower than further north, nowhere deeper than 20-30 inches, and it was also much warmer even outside of 'Asha sphere'. The sky, too, grew less murky and clouded and gray, and even the sun could be seen drifting along the curve in the high sky, dim though it still was.
The entourage rested for a bit before proceeding further inward. The closest village was supposed to be some six miles further into the territory, though it was entirely possible that the residents were relocated further south for the winter.
Either way, the journey grew slightly harder, against all odds, as the terrain had changed into hills. Though they were not particularly steep or even large, they were hills still and it took a while for carriages to break past them. It was some four miles into their journey that one of the advanced scouts returned, a young man in his mid-twenties, a panicked expression on his face.
"There's an army of at least a few thousand two miles ahead!" while the gasps of shock belched out, Sylas looked around for a moment. There was a spy in the entourage—whether it was someone from the castle or some of the people Av chose from the fortress, they had informed someone of the entourage's journey. Sylas wasn't worried. He hardly suspected he'd make any major headway within the first attempt. If he could at least identify the camp where the spy was in, he'd consider it a victory.
Furthermore, this would allow him to see the Barony's force—not just their number, but skill level. After all, he would need an army himself—or, rather, Valen would—and absorbing factions was the easiest way to obtain the numbers.
"What should we do?" was the question Valen asked out loud, though everyone thought over inwardly. They sat in a circle in a quickly made tent, worried expressions on everyone except Asha and Sylas.
"I'll go ahead alone to see what's up," Sylas replied amidst the heavy silence. "The rest of you stay here."
"H-huh? What can you—never mind," Av started to question it, but quickly recalled the huge canyon and the flatland where the village used to be. "Should we fortify our position?"
"Uh, sure," Sylas nodded randomly. "Let's have a lunch before I go, though."
It wasn't long after they left the tent that Asha dragged him to the size with a quizzical look on her face, her arms spread wide open.
"What?"
"Don't what me. What's the plan?"
"If I can't what you, how can you what me? Isn't that unfair?"
"… what?"
"Exactly."
"Hey, idiot," she pinched his shoulder. "What's my role."
"You'll stay here too," he said. "And monitor people."
"What do you mean?"
"There's a spy in the group, right now. Don't know who or how they got in. If I depart, they'll likely send the message ahead, so I need you keep an eye out for any suspicious people. Or birds."
"Birds? You… you think they sent out a message with a bird?"
"Sounds possible, why not?"
"Don't you think, genius, that a fucking bird in the sky would be very, very noticeable in the midst of, well, nothing else?"
"Ah, yes, good point," Sylas nodded, stroking his chin. "Well. Keep an eye out for suspicious people, then. It's the same."
"Sure is. What about you? Are you going to fight?"
"Maybe," he shrugged. "If they turn out to be just ordinary soldiers led by ordinary morons, it would be pointless. I'll just obliterate them and move further south on my own to see what's what."
"And I'm supposed to… what? Dance around waiting until you die?"
"Well… I drink," Sylas said. "Like, a lot. Whenever you need the time to speed up, either meditate, or drink. Like, drink."
"Haah… whatever. Fine. I'll think of something."
"I'm sure you will."
Sylas departed right after, curious. After all, this was quite a new experience for him. After being stuck within what felt like a tiny room for hundreds of years, he'd finally experienced the change of scenery, and that change was massive.
It didn't take him long to cross the two miles, just a couple of minutes of leisurely 'jogging', and he saw it--a long set of rows stretching out in a quasi-crescent shape, likely in the movement to flank and encircle the entourage upon meeting. Just as the scout reported, there were a few thousand well-armed and disciplined soldiers, though just one truly stood out to Sylas. It was a cloaked man riding a black mane next to a grandiose figure draped in what looked like every piece of jewelry the Barony held. It was likely the Baron himself, but as he was a gaudy-looking man, Sylas couldn't care less about him.
He didn't bother hiding, stepping out into the open and causing the army to stop. The man next to the Baron immediately flinched and narrowed his eyes into slits as he stared at Sylas. On the other hand, the Baron appeared angry and displeased, and that sentiment soon manifested in a couple of arrows that were shot at Sylas. He ignored them, largely because he didn't even notice them; as they touched his body, they just bounced off and fell to the ground.
The man dismounted and walked forward while the Baron raged behind him. Soon, Sylas and the man were within talking distance, some fifteen feet separating them.
"Who are you?" the man asked warily.
"An envoy," Sylas replied randomly. "The question is: who the hell are you and why are you guarding that ugly-looking thing over there?"
"... have you come from the north?"
"Have you come here to annoy me?"
"You can't have. He is there."
"And you are here. People are places. What a strange idea. Never thought of before, if you'd believe it."
"It's best you answer me honestly, or I'll simply kill you and then kill those behind you."
"Haah," Sylas sighed lethargically. "Dude, come on. I'm tired. I mean, I'll fight you, sure, that's inevitable just 'cause your face pisses me off. But before that, can't we have a semi-normal chat? Like, again, why are you defending that jackass? What's he paying you? I'll double--no, I'll triple it! Unless he's paying you a lot, in which case I probably can't do that."
Answer in words never arrived--instead, Sylas raised his left arm gently and blocked a swift strike of a sword. It was aimed for his gut, as the man clearly wasn't aiming to kill him. Shocked, the man tried to retrieve the sword, but Sylas casually grasped it wholly into his hand and held it steady. The man began to shake like a leaf in the wind while his eyes widened.
"You done?" Sylas asked lamely.
"... y-y-yes..." the man stuttered in horror.
"Good," Sylas clasped ever so tightly and the sword shattered whole, its pieces falling down onto the ground. The man fell backward and onto his behind, shaking still in horror. Sylas crouched down in front of him. "So, why are you defending that thing over there?"
"Q-Q-Q-Queen's... Queen's orders," the man replied.
"Queen's orders?"
"Yes."
"Well, ain't that fuckin' convenient," Sylas sighed, looking up at the army. Arrows soon began raining but he ignored them. "When did you get the order?"
"T-three years ago," the man recovered ever-so-slightly.
"Alright. Let me guess. You were thinking of retiring. Maybe finding a nice place in the capital or around it. But, suddenly, you were 'recommended' to move out here and 'guard' the Barony, no?"
"Y-yes, how did you know?"
"Haaah," Sylas sighed yet again, smiling bitterly. "Fuck me, they're really playing with me, ain't they? Bah. Whatever. Tell me, who is your spy?"
"Spy?"
"Yeah, who is feeding you info?"
"Uh, I don't know. The Baron gets the info directly."
"You think he'll talk if I torture him a bit?"
"... yes?"
"You seem uncertain. You'll torture him, then. He'll trust you more."
"..."
"'cause he knows you."
"..." Sylas ignored the strange look in the man's eyes and stood up, catching one of the arrows before tossing it back, killing the horse the Baron was sitting on and sending the man into a crazed panic as he began to fall. The little joys of life...