The Curse of the Brand von Aylatha ================================================================================ Kapitel 26: Skrimir's Pride, Skrimir's Folly -------------------------------------------- Their last mission had been a complete success and the Laguz Alliance was now camping at the eastern bank of the Ribahn. The begnion army had retreated into the mountains. "I'm late, my apologies", Soren said as he entered Skrimir's tent. "Ah, here comes the great strategist!", the lion announced. "Don't be shy, come sit next to me." Soren stared at him. "Not if you begged, Skrimir." He rushed over to his usual seat next to Ike. "Soren!", Titania exclaimed. "I'm sorry", she added, turning to Skrimir. "He's always rude, to strangers especially..." Skrimir waved a hand dismissively. "Doesn't matter. Anyway, what do we do now? We gave them quite the beating last night!" "I suggest we propose a peace treaty to the begnion army", Soren said. "What?! You can't be serious! I must ask you to think harder!" "We haven't as much as touched the Central Army, not a scratch!", Soren replied. "We can't just stop now! How am I supposed to tell my men?!" "Skrimir's right", Tibarn agreed. "If we were to stop now, I'd have to go round knocking every single of my men unconscious." "Same here", Ranulf said. "This isn't just about beasts or birds, but how we laguz are as a species. Once a battle starts, we can't see anything except the enemy in front of us. We kind of lose control." "What a mess", Ike said. "Soren, can you think of something?" "It'll be difficult, but I think I can work out a strategy to get us out of this mess. Yes, I got it. Now listen carefully, all of you." Ike and his mercenaries got into position. The plan was to lure out a small enemy platoon and crush it. Ike had just received news that Tibarn's decoy force was working. Kyza, a gallian captain who served under Ranulf, came running. "Sir Ike! Bad news. An enemy platoon appeared to the south of General Skrimir's, their leader challenged him to a fight. Rash as always, the general agreed. Our strategy has failed." "Curse that hot-headed lion", Soren muttered. "The one who challenged Skrimir, what did he look like?", Ike asked while getting a very bad feeling. "He was tall, with black hair and green eyes." "Zelgius! Oh no." "We have to do something!", Ranulf said. "Or Zelgius is going to kill him." "The two of us might be able to save him", Ike replied. "Kyza, show us the way!" The tiger nodded and sprinted in the direction of the fight. "The general chased Zelgius up those cliffs. But I doubt those begnion soldiers will let us pass easily." "Like I care! Greil Mercenaries, move out!" Kyza's men and the mercenaries cleared a path for Ike and Ranulf. The horses had difficulties moving on the narrow paths, but Haar managed to destroy the enemy ballistae before they could do much damage. Ike drew his sword, Ettard, and beheaded an enemy soldier. Both he and Ranulf needed to save their strength for the oncoming battle, because of that the cat stayed in his human form. The enemy commander blocked the only way leading to the place where Skrimir and Zelgius were fighting. "None shall pass! General Zelgius forbids it!", the man shouted. "Oh, shut up. Soren! Get him out of my way!" "Yes, sir." Soren strode forwards, chanting in the Ancient Tongue. "What's that, a kid dressed up as a magician? Ridiculous!" Soren unleashed a strong gust of wind that smashed the man into the rocks, tearing his armour to pieces. "Nice spell, Soren. Stay here and make sure no-one disturbs us. Come on, Ranulf." "Right behind you." They dashed down a narrow ravine and around a bend. Reaching a larger plateau, they stopped dead. "Oh no." They were still fighting, but Skrimir was bleeding from several wounds whereas Zelgius seemed unharmed. And Ike knew exactly where this was leading to. With a loud roar, Skrimir flung himself at Zelgius, aiming for his unprotected head. Zelgius simply dodged him and Ranulf growled. Zelgius' sword flashed and Skrimir collapsed. He lay there, motionless, in a puddle of his own blood. "Skrimir!" Ranulf started forwards, but Ike restrained him. "Wait!" Zelgius, however, ignored them and walked over to the edge. "Hear me, soldiers of Gallia! I am Zelgius, General of the Begnion Central Army. Your general has fallen to my blade in single combat. This battle is over! I demand that you retreat now. I will order my men not to pursue you." From below came the cries of the gallian soldiers who couldn't believe their ears and wanted to fight on to avenge Skrimir. "No!", Ranulf shouted, dashing towards the edge. "Stand down, all of you! I swear I'll take Skrimir back with me, at all costs! But you must retreat!" "A wise decision", Zelgius observed. Ranulf turned to face him, but again, Zelgius paid him no attention. Instead, he turned to a halberdier who had just appeared. "Levail, make my orders clear to everyone. I will have no insubordination!" "Yes, sir." Levail bowed and left. "As for the heir of King Caineghis, if you treat his wounds quickly, he should recover soon." "You didn't finish him off?", Ike asked, surprised. "Why?" "Whenever there is a way to avoid taking a life, this is the path I will choose." "You could have easily wiped us out." "True, and that is exactly what the senate wants. The apostle, however, feels dif­ferently. I give you three days. Propose a peace talk within that time. If you do not, we will attack." "You expect us to start a peace talk under the current circumstances?", Ranulf asked incredulously. "Your perfect opportunity was after you crossed the river. You missed that chance, and now look where you are. Three days!" Zelgius turned and walked away. "What a mess", Tibarn said gloomily. Everyone except Skrimir had gathered to discuss what to do now. Rhys and Mist were tending to the injured. "I told you to propose a peace talk, didn't I?", Soren asked. "Yeah, well, how should we have known that Skrimir would be stupid enough to accept a challenge from Zelgius?", Tibarn asked furiously. "One look at his face should have told you that. He's been too impatient ever since we left Gallia." "Well, I suppose a peace talk would be far from pleasant", Ranulf said. "This means the war's over for us." "Agreed. The Laguz Alliance will disband temporarily. You make your way for Gallia, you have a lot of ground to cover before Begnion attacks in three days", Tibarn replied. "We'll stay here and try to gather some information." "We'll use Seliora Castle as a base for now", Ike decided. "We're on no-one's pay­roll right now, so the empire should leave us alone." "In that case, I'd like to leave Reyson in your care. I'm not about to take him along when I want to spy on the enemy." Reyson made a face, but didn't object. "Of course, we'll keep him safe for you", Ike promised. Hosted by Animexx e.V. (http://www.animexx.de)