The next day, in the early morning.
Zaria returned to the outpost and saw Taz and Caleb chatting near the tent. Zaria approached, glared at Taz and snarled, "Explain yourself, you Persian-looking whore!"
Taz looked at her and said, "Remember what happened the last time you tried to pick a fight with me."
Zaria gripped Taz's collar and snarled, "Who's the man in the capital!?"
"I don't know," Taz said.
Zaria shook Taz and said, "You know who I am talking about!"
Taz shoved her and said, "I don't know!"
"I found a man who looked very fucking similar to your uncle, who's named Kaiden!" Zaria growled.
"The only men in my family are my uncle and my cousin; the rest were killed," Taz said.
"He swore by the moon goddess! Who's worshipped by your tribe!" Zaria growled.
Taz became confused and said, "No, it can't be."
"Where did you find this, Kaiden?" Caleb asked.
"He was accompanying the Persian general," Zaria said.
"Shit," Caleb muttered.
She and Taz looked at him, and Zaria asked, "You know him?"
Caleb pointed at the capital and said, "That guy isn't some double agent or a traitor. He's a mercenary called the remnant." He looked at Taz and said, "Now that Zaria said he looks like your uncle. I can see why they call him that."
Taz approached him and asked, "Who's he!?"
Caleb sighed, then said, "Details about him aren't much, but if he's here, we must destroy the capital while he's in it. He already killed many arrows, and we need to put an end to him."
Taz frowned and said, "Caleb, I need you to answer me truthfully. Is that man related to me? Is he my uncle!?"
"Tanaz, whether he's your uncle or not. He has killed many of our brethren, and if the story about your uncle's deal is true. What will happen if he discovers the people who betrayed him are alive and prosperous?" Caleb said.
Taz sighed in distress and said, "He will seek revenge. Just like I would do."
Caleb glanced at them and said, "Gather everyone. Our mission's deadline has changed."
Evening time, in the tent.
The squad gathered around the table in silence. Their mission turned from difficult to impossible.
Caleb stroked his beard, sighed and said, "We have to make a choice."
"Either take out the remnant or destroy the city," Athir said.
"Have you alerted our command?" Zaria asked.
"I did, but their suggestions make things worse," Caleb said.
"What about the espionage agency?" Zaria asked.
Caleb looked at Taz and said, "The advisor is coming here."
Taz looked at him in awe.
The sound of wind was heard from outside, followed by footsteps. Ahmad entered the tent with a grim look in his eyes.
Taz looked at him and said, "Uncle..."
Ahmad nodded at her. He went to Caleb and stood beside him.
He glanced at the squad and asked, "Which one of you saw him?"
Zaria raised her hand and said, "I did."
Ahmad pulled out three sketches, placed them on the table and asked, "Which one looks like him the most?"
Zaria pointed at the third sketch and said, "This one."
Ahmad picked up the third sketch, gave it to Taz and said, "Memorize his face."
"Is he truly my uncle?" Taz asked.
"Yes, the eldest son of Amir," Ahmad said.
"You told me they're all dead!" Taz argued.
"They're dead! But Kaiden is too powerful to kill," Ahmad said.
"You lied!" Taz snarled.
"What do you want me to say? I couldn't kill him. Even Safira was almost killed by him," Ahmad argued.
Caleb cleared his throat and said, "How do you want us to proceed, advisor?"
Ahmad looked at Caleb and said, "Prioritize the capital. The remnant is here to collect his fee and leave. I expect he's hired to attack our armies."
"Advisor, the remnant's head is worth more than the capital," Athir said.
Ahmad looked at her and said, "Kaiden is too smart and cautious. Whatever plan you had, he'll see right through it and escape. We'll deal with him later. Stick to your mission."
"Do you have any ideas on how to kill him?" Zaria asked.
Ahmad looked at her and said, "Your only hope is an ambush attack. If he sees you, it's over." Then he left.
Caleb sighed, then said, "Let's go over what we know about the capital."
Zaria leaned on the table and said, "The capital's morale is stronger than ever. It doesn't feel like they're letting up."
"Have you learned why?" Athir asked.
"Faith in their gods," Zaria said.
"We can use that," Caleb said.
Zaria stared at him in confusion.
"Part of our training in sound magic is deception, but we need more effects to make the people believe it," Caleb said.
"Visual deception?" Athir asked.
"Yes," He looked at Zaria and said, "That's where you come in."
"You want me to create a god out of fire?" Zaria asked in confusion.
"Not the god of fire himself, but a messenger spirit," Caleb said.
"I can create a fake spirit, but I can't make it talk," Zaria said.
Caleb looked at Athir and said to Zaria, "That's why I'm assigning Athir to you. She'll be your tongue." He looked at Taz and asked, "How's your lightning manipulation progressing?"
"The theory works, but there's a problem with it," Taz said.
Caleb looked at Zero in confusion.
Zero approached the table, leaned on it and said, "It turned out using her body as a conduit gives her lightning burns."
"Are they lethal, wolf?" Caleb asked.
"I can suppress them with healing magic," Taz said.
Caleb stood straight and said, "The Jinn told me about a thunderstorm coming our way." He looked at Taz and said, "This would be the ideal environment you were looking for."
"How strong of a storm is it?" Taz asked.
"It hasn't stopped roaring since it was first seen," Caleb answered.
Caleb looked at everyone and said, "The storm will be arriving in two days; that's how much time we have." He looked at Zaria and Athir and said, "You two work together to make a fire spirit." He looked at Taz and said, "When the decoy works, and you see the citizens out of their homes, that's your signal to rain down lightning on them." He looked at Zero and said, "While that happens, Zero will guard Athir and Zaria, and I will clear the garrison to ensure we won't encounter any troubles."
He looked around and said, "Does everyone understand their roles?"
"Yes," They answered.
The next day, with Athir and Zaria in the late morning.
The two went to an area and started practicing their theatric deception.
"Since you're going to be the tongue for the fake spirit. Can you change your voice to be more divine?" Zaria asked.
"What's wrong with my voice?" Athir asked.
"It doesn't display power, and it's too soft," Zaria said.
Athir frowned and said, "Fine." She cleared her throat, then spoke differently, "How about now?"
"You sound like an old woman," Zaria said.
Athir sighed, changed her tone and said, "How about now?"
"You sound like our royals," Zaria said.
Athir changed her tone to a slightly deeper, sharper, feminine one, then said, "How about this tone?"
Zaria clapped her hands and said, "Impressive."
"Now, conjure this spirit of yours," Athir said.
Zaria extended her hand and conjured a fiery human-like being. She looked at Athir and asked, "How about it?"
"It looks plain," Athir said.
Zaria frowned and asked, "Are you jesting?"
"It barely has any notable features. We want to convince the people this is a divine spirit from their gods," Athir said.
Zaria added flaming hair and defined the spirit's figure. She looked at Athir and asked, "Is this good?"
"Make her more feminine," Athir said.
Zaria sighed, then muttered, "For fuck's sake." She altered the spirit's appearance to a feminine one. She displeasedly looked at Athir and said, "Is this good?"
Athir rubbed her chin and said, "Give her a halo above the head."
"Dammit, Athir! You know its final size will be a hundred times bigger!" Zaria lashed out.
Athir sighed, then said, "Fine! I'll ask the Jinn to pose as accessories."
Meanwhile, with Taz and Zero.
They kept their training as usual, but amid their exercises, Zero stopped. He looked at Taz and asked, "I thought you'd be concerned about the remnant?"
Taz stared at him, then said, "It's not like I care about him. For all I know, he's a threat to my uncle."
"So, you'll kill Kaiden in cold blood?" Zero asked.
"I talked Rizza's wife into dying because she was a threat; I killed Asad because he was a threat. If I don't kill Kaiden for posing the same danger because he's my uncle, it would be hypocritical and asinine," Taz said.
Zero smiled at her and said, "That's very mature of you."
Taz giggled, then said, "You're not as bad as you look. You should work on your first impressions."
Zero laughed, then said, "A man tends to be vulgar around Caleb. Don't let his innocent-looking eyes fool you."
Meanwhile, with Caleb.
Caleb went alone to strike a deal with his new furry friend. He went to the cave where he first heard the manticore having intercourse.
He approached the entrance and announced, "I came here in peace, manticore."
He peered inside and found no one but heard noises from the Manticore family. He entered the cave and pulled out a small lantern powered by a magical shining stone.
As he ventured deeper. He sighed, then announced, "I came here in peace."
The beasts never replied. He suspected they might be afraid of him or plotting to ambush him, but a sound user reigns supreme regarding closed spaces. So, the bear had nothing to fear.
He entered a large area, looked around and said, "I hear the heartbeats of four, and I hear your grumbling bellies. All I ask for is a conversation."
A female manticore emerged from the shadows, climbed on a stone and sat. She stared at Caleb while she twisted her scorpion tail and asked, "It's not common for a human to know which beasts talk and which don't."
Caleb furrowed his eyebrows and said, "You're not him."
The female manticore tilted her head and said, "You've met my mate."
Caleb approached her and said, "I have; I thought he would be here."
"He hunts while the sun is up and returns when the moon appears," The female manticore said.
"Can you call him?" Caleb asked.
"And starve our children? I cannot do that," The female manticore said.
"I promise my offer is worth the hunger," Caleb said.
The female manticore looked down sadly and said, "I'm too weak to roar for him. We barely fed ourselves for the sake of our cubs."
"How do you roar?" Caleb asked.
"Same as lions," The female manticore said.
Caleb faced the exit, activated his magic, took a deep breath, cupped his hands and began to mimic a lion's roar. He kept doing it till he heard heavy footsteps coming his way.
The female manticore stood and said, "Such force, how can you roar like us so loudly?"
Caleb looked at her and said, "A lifetime of training my vocal abilities."
The male manticore entered the cave and roared deeply. He walked in on Caleb and the female manticore and stood.
The male manticore looked at Caleb and asked, "You're the one who roared?"
"Yes," Caleb said.
The male manticore ambled past Caleb and said, "Never do it again, human." Standing beside his mate, he said, "Finding food is hard enough. I don't want to worry about other beasts."
"I came here to repay the favor," Caleb said.
The male manticore sat and said, "I only told you about a prophecy."
"To be fair, this offer I want to present to you is mutually beneficial," Caleb said.
"You're going to destroy the capital, and you want me to take the corpses?" The male manticore said.
Caleb furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "How did you know?"
"The Jinns you brought with you are chatty," The male manticore said.
"Well, that's close to what I want to ask of you. The capital will be destroyed entirely, and corpses there will be burned to a crisp. I wanted your help with the garrison," Caleb said.
"What do you want me to do?" The male manticore asked.
"That garrison will be useful to our armies, but leaving the carcasses there would spread a plague. I'll handle clearing it out, but I want you to take the corpses as food," Caleb said.
"Even human males don't accept gifts without struggle. What makes you think I will?" The male manticore argued.
Caleb smiled at him and said, "Neither of us will be fighting. The soldiers there will slaughter one another."
The End