Tia's gaze flickered to her sister, who sat a few feet away across from her. "I wanted to end the fight quickly. I thought it would be easy."
Grendal scoffed while shaking his head. The man was disappointed, and she couldn't blame him. She had overestimated herself and almost got a husk killed. It was idiotic.
"I don't want quick fights. I want fights that I'm guaranteed to win," Grendal said. He then looked over at Lucy. "You did well. Thank you for sticking to the plan."
His icy gaze then snapped back to Tia, causing her to jump. A sigh escaped his dry lips as he rested a hand on his hip. "I know you meant well—I do. But if you don't follow my plans when I need you to, that can put us at risk."
He's right, I was stupid. Father would have had me in the fields till late afternoon for a stunt like that, Tia thought. She lowered her head and gazed at the floor.
"I'm sorry," she said, looking up at him. "It won't happen again."
The impressive bunker door slid open and revealed the husk Tia had been controlling. Grendal frowned as he watched it pathetically limp across the room to the vat. He then looked back at her. "I accept your apology. Don't let me down. Now, I'd better check on our new friends.
Grendal marched away, returning to his chair, and the heavy atmosphere faded. Tia glanced over at her sister—she could guess what she was thinking. Why could she not just stick to the plan? But that was it. She could—at least, Tia believed she could.
A sharp hiss and the sliding of something caught Tia's attention. She looked behind her to find that her poor little husk was suspended in the vat as bubbles fumed off its body. A large concentration came from its faceplate and broken arm.
"Rest well, little buddy," Tia said, turning back around and adjusting herself in the chair. The new arrivals would be here soon, and she could do with some sleep.
A little while later, Grendal pushed off his chair and turned to her and Lucy. The disappointment in his eyes had faded, and he now seemed in good spirits. "Guss and the other two will be here soon. Let's head out to meet them."
"More Braxians?" Lucy asked. She jumped up from her chair and dusted off her jeans.
"I didn't ask, but probably." Grendal turned and walked towards the door, his footsteps echoing off the metal stage. "It doesn't matter, though. The empire is gone."
Tia met her sister's gaze and inclined her head. She had told her earlier. The empire was dead, and so was the kingdom. It was up to them to make a new place to belong.
With a grunt, Tia pushed off her seat and stood up. Her Orb CI popped out of its socket and flew to her side. The blue orb bobbed, and she smiled. It was almost like a little pet, though it had far more use.
She followed Grendal out of the door into the cool night air, with her sister a few steps behind. Tia smiled as she took a deep, refreshing breath, practically drinking the air. The bunker was great, but the air inside was almost suffocatingly stale.
Goosebumps began to form on her arm, and she gestured Lucy closer for a hug. The girl was probably as cold as she was, and it wasn't like there was a blanket they could wrap up with.
"Are you okay—how is your foot?" Tia asked, wrapping her arms around her sister and giving her a rub. "You can wait inside. I'm sure Grendal wouldn't mind."
"No, I'm okay. My foot is feeling better. I can't stay on it too long, but it's manageable." Lucy gave her a weak smile. It didn't look forced, so it would be best to take her at her word. Tia nodded, and the two sisters continued walking.
The two girls approached the edge of the clearing, and Lucy squeezed Tia's hand. "What's up?" Tia asked, raising an eyebrow at her sister. She made sure not to slow down, not wanting to be far behind Grendel when they met the new arrivals. First impressions were everything, after all.
"Where are we going to sleep?" Lucy asked. She glanced back at the base with a worried look on her face. "The chairs were comfortable, but we can't sleep on them."
Tia sighed as she continued to guide her sister along. "Worse comes to worst. We can sleep on the floor. The metal was hard, but I'm sure if we get some leaves and pad it down, it could be comfortable-ish."
Lucy grunted an acknowledgement as the two girls came to a stop. Grendel stood further ahead, his clear brown eyes focusing on the forest. They would meet their new comrades soon, and the man was no doubt nervous—not that he needed to be; he was the one with the creatures that could tear Goblins to shreds.
"Do you think they will join us?" Tia said, removing her arms from Lucy's shoulder and instead grabbing her arm.
"I don't see why not. After all, these guys have nowhere else they can go." Grendel glanced back at her, and Tia gave him what she hoped was a reassuring nod.
A moment later, Husky burst from the bushes and marched towards Grendel. Behind him, the group of three prisoners followed. A man with salt-and-pepper hair carried another badly beaten man with brown hair on his shoulders. The bushes shook again, and a ginger girl approached, falling in line with the other two men.
"Welcome to my humble abode," Grendel said, spreading his arms wide. "We don't have much, but we can provide some relative safety."
Instead of replying, the group of three stood with their jaws slackened. Tia smiled and glanced back. The tower and the bunker stood out like sore thumbs, and these three had no doubt expected to come to a little camp with tents and maybe a fire pit.
Sure, the husks looked sleek and clean, but that by no means meant the base would be. After all, who would have thought Goblins would live in anything but a mud hole? Yet they had a camp to call home.
The man with salt-and-pepper hair gulped as he lowered the person on his back to the floor, never taking his eyes off the view in front of them. "This is a mighty fine camp you've got yourself."
Grendel chuckled, glancing behind him. "Yeah, it's still growing. But as I said, you are welcome here, and I would appreciate it if you stayed."
"I would be more than willing to stay. Hell. If it weren't for you, I'd be dead, probably food in some goblin's stomach. So the way I see it, I have a debt to pay, a mighty big one at that." The man smiled and then directed his attention towards Tia and her sister. "It's nice to meet you two lasses. The name is Guss."
"Nice to meet you too, sir," Tia said, reaching forward to shake the man's hand. "Is your friend going to be okay?"
"I sure hope so." Guss held a finger to the man's throat and nodded. "His heartbeat is still strong, so I hope that's a good sign." He then glanced at the girl behind him. "Oh, and this is—"
"I'm Sharon, Sharon Nightingale. I'm glad to see my fellow Braxians are doing well," the girl said, stepping forward. "I also have to say your camp is looking very nice. If this is what you can do now, you will no doubt go far in helping to rebuild the empire."
The girl wore a proud look as if she could practically see the Braxian's so-called emperor standing before her, congratulating her for her efforts. To her, the empire was still alive and kicking.
Grendel chuckled and scratched his neck as silence settled among the group. "About that... you do know that the Empire is gone?"
"What is wrong with you people?" Sharon said with a sneer. She folded her arms and locked eyes with Grendel. "Its lands may be shattered and its people split across the so-called infinite realm, but the empire lives on through us. It is our duty as citizens to re-establish it."
A stiff wind blew across the clearing as Grendel chuckled, "If that is what you think, go ahead, but I have no plans to re-establish the Braxian Empire."
Sharon's face fell as anger crossed through her eyes. Tia considered saying something, but before she could, Lucy spoke up, "Also, we aren't Braxians. We were from the Florian kingdom, but much like your empire, it's gone."
The atmosphere then became more tense. Sharon raised a bony finger at Lucy and fixed Grendel with a glare. "You consort with dead landers? Are you serious? Have you no shame as a man of the empire?"
"Calm down, lass," Guss said, coming to his feet. "We are all in this together now. There are no empire or dead landers."
"Shut up, you fool! How can you tolerate this? Where is your Braxian pride?" Sharon stomped her foot and got up into Guss's face. "I tolerated you because I thought you had years of wisdom, but it was all a lie, wasn't it?"
A dark look flashed across Guss's eyes, filled with trauma, fear, and anger. It was so suffocating that Tia's breath caught in her throat. Then, in the next second, it was gone.
"Did you feel that?" Lucy said, her voice barely a whisper. "For a moment there, I thought he was going to rip her head off."
Tia nodded and watched. Guss was a big man, bigger even than Grendel, and dwarfed Sharon, so to see her talking to him like that, the girl had a screw loose.
Guss stroked his beard and moved his tongue across his lips. "Listen, girl, and listen well. I won't be repeating myself."
Sharon took a step back as her mouth fell open. The realisation of what she had done seemed to settle in.