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"LONNI!" An all too familiar voice calling my name echoed over my hammer slamming into what might be my finest work yet. It'll take time, but if I can get these mass produced, maybe Korbin will take my advice in opening a chapter devoted to tanks specifically. At the very least add more rigor to the training required to enlist as one. An eager series of knocks slamming at my door snapped me from my thoughts, as I rushed to the door to greet my old friend.
"The Savior is here! The gods truly smile upon us today!" I teased, swinging my door open. Tom smiled, reaching for a handshake that became a quick hug.
"It's damn good to see you, Lonni. How the hell are you?!" Tom asked, stepping into my home that doubled as my workshop. Terra was walking down the road behind him, not even bothering to say hello. It was weird, even Zack had visited more often the last few weeks. According to Korbin she's nothing less than swamped 24/7 by her own design, though that was never really her style. Terra valued her 'me-time', as she'd called it.
"You good big man? I think all that slamming on steels all day's fucking up your hearing." Tom called, sitting on my favorite chair behind me. If it were anyone else, I might be a little upset he chose that seat of all places. Then again, half of Tom's humor's a measure of how pissed off he could make you. Honestly, I find it hilarious.
"No doubt, maybe if you stopped ripping through your enemies gear we might be able to reuse some of that shit. Instead they got me supplying your all boys protection." I retorted, grinning from ear to ear heading for the couch behind my front counter. Korbin offered a seperate home, or even an expansion of the residential section of my shop. Quite frankly, I found more comfort in tighter spaces anyhow.
"So what have you been up to? I'm sure you've been thoroughly enjoying the coddled lifestyle here in Elysium?" Tom asked, placing a foot on his knee.
"Same old shit, outside of a few trips me and Korbin had to make outside the settlement. That Larry fellow you sent here is an awesome fucking shark, and really friendly for a predatory land-fish." I said, recalling the metals Larry, Korbin and I left to collect from a mountainous region roughly 50 miles west into the woodlands. Larry never strayed far, and appeared to enjoy head pats much like my old dog, Max. Damn, I miss that German Shepherd.
"Oh, you know Larry?! Man, I didn't know he was such a sociable shark." Tom said, smiling to himself over his work as a tamer.
"Oh yeah, definitely my favorite fish you've sent back here so far. Most of them are pretty snippy with anyone not associated with their mission. Larry on the other hand, you got to convince the guy to hurt something." I replied.
"Well he's a fish, not a guy. But, I'm glad he's panning out! Kind of wish it resulted in some levels though." Tom said. I couldn't help but chuckle at his response.
"Something funny, chuckles?" Tom asked, feigning offense.
"Yeah, I didn't realize you still monologue about being power-greedy. Fuckin' missed that." I replied between laughs. Tom tried to hold back his smile, keeping his brow furrowed diligently as air escaped from his nose in bursts.
"Hey, how's Cassi been? I figured you guys wouldn't be back until the Jaia deal was completed." I asked, curious at how the absolute gem of a woman was doing.
"Oh, she's uh, she's been better. We had a rocky start to the Jaia wars, having some Harpyja ravage through a huge portion of our soldiers. We had a few other slips we recovered from more gracefully, though I figure Korbin's especially upset over that one." Tom answered, sounding far less enthusiastic.
"What the hell is a Harpyja?" I asked, never hearing of such a beast before.
"Ugly. And way to fucking fast, pray you don't meet one." Tom answered, rubbing his forehead.
"Faster than the Cantis-"
"-Pantheras? Yep, and it's not even close." Tom said, finishing my question for me.
"Woah, that definitely doesn't do my nerves about joining you guys any favors." I responded, considering the magnitude of powerful beasts in store for me.
"Wait, you're coming with us? Since when?" Tom asked, sitting up in my chair.
"Oh, yeah. Korbin informed me this morning, I thought he would have told you by now. We're a-" another set of knocks pounding at my door interrupted me. Tom and I both looked at each other, giving unknowing shrugs before I got up to open the door.
"Hey Lonni, can Tom come out to play?" Korbin asked as I swung open my front door. Behind him stood Cassi, her eyes glued to the floor. Further back stood Derrick and that archer lady that stopped in with the other giant snake a while back. Derrick was a renowned Lithomancer, one dearly missed this last week at his shop from what I hear. I turned back to Tom, who was already on his feet.
"Boss wants you." I said through a smile, pointing at Korbin standing not 3 feet away.
"You too, big man. You're coming along this time around, remember?" Korbin snickered, gesturing his index finger to follow as he headed towards Tom's place next door. I made my way to the dark haired archer, hoping to introduce myself to a new comrade before we were in arms together.
"Hi! I don't think we've officially met. I'm Lonni." I said, extending my hand.
"Oh, you're the famous Lonni." Phoebe said, glancing over my shoulder. Looking back, Cassi and my eyes locked for a millisecond as she turned and headed for Tom's house. The archer strutting by snapped me from my trance watching Cassi go, realizing the lady had just walked away.
"Wait! I didn't get your name?" I asked, catching up with the archer.
"It's Phoebe. Phoebe Hayes." She answered over her shoulder. She slid between Tom's closing front door quickly after, which I promptly opened like a normal human being and entered through. Inside, everyone was standing in the middle of Tom's quaint little home.
"Lonni, make sure that closes behind you." Korbin instructed. I juggled the door, making certain he knew it was shut.
"Everyone, I have an update on how the conquest will proceed moving forward. Now, this is by no means intended to be a permanent situation, however I will be acting as our army's general for the time being. Lonni here will be joining us as well, ensuring our soldiers have an extra layer of security. Bottom line, we've not been doing things as…efficiently as we could." Korbin announced to us, earning a few phony-surprised looks from Derrick and Phoebe. Unfortunately, I knew Korbin was taking the reins for quite some time. He never explained why he was going, and I figured he was just getting stir crazy pushing paperwork all day.
"And what of Cassi?" Tom asked, unbridled resentment riddling his tone. Korbin cocked his head to the side, staring at Tom with a twitching nostril before answering.
"I was getting there. Cassi has been temporarily demoted to captain, and will either be shadowing me during sieges and defenses, or joining Tom-Squad if needed." Korbin answered, slowly regaining his composure as he explained.
"Is there anything we could have done differently?" Phoebe asked, almost pleading for a scolding. It was admirable, judging by the way Cassi had refused to lift her eyes from the ground yet. Clearly, she'd heard her fair share today.
"Oh, don't worry. You'll be honing all of your respective weaknesses training between sieges. And, why are we acting like me joining is such a punishment? I should make this clear; Cassi is by far the most qualified here besides me to lead this army. I'm fully aware of that, it's why she was placed in the position at all." Korbin exclaimed, Cassi finally peeking up from her feet at that last part.
"Besides, this Jaia contract needs to be fulfilled in order to ensure the giant's assistance in our conquest in other regions. At this point, it's a thorn in our side that needs to be removed in order for us to remain on schedule." Korbin continued with urgency in his voice. Everyone nodded in understanding, including Cassi. Everyone, except Tom.
"So, when do we leave again? We still have a few more demigod Pylons to take, right?" Tom asked, returning Korbin's eagerness.
"Tonight. We should arrive back to the Porphynaen settlement you defended before coming here by sunup. From there, we'll move on to the next." Korbin answered. He pointed two fingers at Tom and Phoebe.
"You two, go collect your serpents from their homes. And Tom?" Korbin said.
"Yeah?" Tom asked, stopping at the door.
"I sent you some TP into your ring, go upgrade your fucking armor at the Pylon marketplace." Korbin instructed. Tom smiled ear to ear before running out of his house. Korbin returned his attention to the rest of us.
"Derrick and I will go grab our new necromancer friend from the guest residential. Lonni, Cass, you two inform the recruits I sent to the docks we leave in half an hour. Better get your beauty rest on the vessel, folks." Korbin said, before strutting out the front door into the settlement. Everyone but Cassi and I hurried out as well. I opened the door, holding it open for her as she slowly walked over.
"Hey Cass! It's uh, really good to see you again." I said, realizing we still hadn't even greeted each other. She smiled weakly walking past.
"Hey Lonni. It's good to see you too." She said, pacing out into the settlement. I walked beside her, both of us heading for the docks across town.
"Hey um, I'm sorry about you getting demoted. I'm not sure what it's about, but I d-"
"It's…it's fine, Lonni. I appreciate you trying to help, but don't want to talk about it right now." Cassi said, cutting my words short. It was probably too soon anyhow, stupid me.
"Right. Well um, how about something else? How's your profession coming along, I know you hated just being an 'instructor'?" I asked, hoping the change of topics would do her mind some good.
"Ugh, talk about a 180. Now it's the 'War Duchess Of Elysium'. It's crazy what Korbin's contracts can do, though leveling it requires me to be at least partially responsible for my soldiers leveling and…" Cassi's words trailed off, as did her eyes.
"Hey, you're still a Captain. You will most definitely play a heavy role in this conquest, Cass. It would be a waste not to utilize your talent, I assure you Korbin agrees with me." I said, regret billowing in my chest at mentioning that last part. Cassi's eyes shot to mine knowingly.
Oh shit.
"You knew I'd be demoted?" She asked angrily, scanning me up and down.
"…he mentioned it. I told him it was harsh to knock you down a peg like that, but he seemed insistent he was being more than kind in doing so." I explained, hoping not to get my jaw broken in two. Not that I expect her to hit people whenever she's upset, I just know this was probably among the worst times to 'poke the bear', so to speak. Cassi squinted her eyes skeptically, before flashing her patented nefarious grin.
"…you're sweet for that. Next time, sneak a messenger bird for me, would you?" She said, earning a sigh of relief from me. I'm admittedly not the greatest in dealing with overly-complicated problems, but I'm glad I could still get her to smile for a second. Of course, it was short lived being able to visually see Cassi recall the current situation, her smile fading.
Before long, we'd made our way to the docks. A group of roughly 40 new recruits all stood waiting, bouncing eagerly and sparring one another. I smiled, recognizing a few from their training every morning with Korbin in the courtyard behind my shop. It was secluded enough to be away from civilians, and the soldiers ready to be shipped for battle typically occupied the official training facilities. Cassi slowed her pace, indicating she would let me inform the crew it was time to move.
"Alright fellas, it's your time to shine. Get this beauty loaded with supplies and ready to go, you got 30 minutes before Bossman himself comes through. Starting 8 minutes ago." I announced, the soldiers scrambling to grab the crates loaded with weapons, armors and potions onto the ship. It was insane seeing the sheer size of their vessel Korbin had purchased for the conquest again. I always wanted to see the interior, though I had all the opportunity in the world now that I'm joining the fray.
"I always forget you served, until you do some shit like that." Cassi said through a half smirk, walking up the ramp leading onto the ship. Not entirely sure if that was a compliment or not, I chose to ignore it and catch up with her.
"Hey, what did you guys end up naming her?" I asked, dropping down onto the town-sized vessel's deck.
"Naming who? The ship?" Cassi asked, confused.
"Yeah? Don't you know it's bad luck not to name your ship?" I asked, recalling the superstitions my uncle used to tell me every fishing trip. They always made me laugh how he worded it, though they were often stories of death by extraordinary circumstances at sea. All because your ship didn't get a name.
"That…that's cute, but very stupid. All the same, I do like the idea of the ship being a 'her'." Cassi replied.
"Okay so, for one that was hurtful. Two, all ships are given feminine names." I said, earning a chuckle out of her.
"Now why is that?" She asked.
"Actually I'm not sure, maybe because ship captains like to stare at theirs so much." I guessed, half jokingly. Most of those boat-club guys definitely spent more time on their ships than with their wives according to uncle Rodney.
"Or maybe because they know the best thing a man can have when he's lost is a good woman." Cassi shot back, smiling proudly at her wit.
"Ironic, considering all the sailors I knew were divorced." I said, referencing the man, myth and legend uncle Rodney himself once again. Cassi bursted out laughing a deep belly laugh at that, even snorting trying to catch her breath. I couldn't help but chuckle at that, which she got rather offended by smacking me on the shoulder.
"Don't laugh at me asshole, I'm still a higher rank than you, you know." Cassi said. I considered correcting her, though I didn't feel it would do her ego much good. Unfortunately, Korbin didn't show as much care for her feelings leaping down from the ramp onto the deck.
"Actually you don't. I promoted him a week ago, to help me deal with some pesky raiders fucking up my supply lines. Don't worry, I'm sure he'll still let you boss him around." Korbin said with a smirk, walking to the ship captain's quarters. Cassi's mood immediately plummeted back to when I'd first seen her, locking her eyes to the deck as she turned away.
"Hey uh, thanks for cheering me up. I got to pick up a new room now that Korbin's taking mine." Cassi said, walking away.
"I mean I have to pick mine out too if you want company?" I asked.
"Think I need some time to myself to be honest. I'll see you later, Lonni." She answered walking away without even turning back to face me. Whatever Korbin said to her got Cassi really, really down on herself. As much as I appreciate and understand how little I comprehend what Korbin does for us, I can't help but feel like he went overboard. Whatever it is he said to her. A tap on my shoulder brought my attention behind me, the hooded metallic mask not a foot from my face making me jump away.
"Woah shit!" I yelled, pushing off the dark figure.
"My apologies, dear towering warrior. I mean you no harm." The man said. He sounded odd, which was the only description Korbin gave of the necromancer that Tom brought here.
"You must be the new guy." I said, extending my arm for a handshake.
"Names Lonni."
"Hayden, it's a pleasure to meet you, sir Lonni." The necromancer replied, accepting my handshake.
"Pleasures mine. I've never met a necromancer before, and I can't wait to see how you fight." I said, hoping to provide our new ally a warmer welcome than I'm sure he's received. Our community is…tight knit for a lack of better words, learning the value of being allowed to live in Savants Elysium quickly after Korbin returned home.
"Well, hopefully you won't need to utilize my services too much, given how strong Tom is. Tell me, does this Korbin fellow fight anything like Tom?" Hayden asked.
"Oh for sure, he trained him after all. Though I don't doubt Tom's picked up plenty of new tricks since he's been out there. Who knows? Maybe Tom can beat him." I said, thinking out loud. This Hayden guy chuckled, holding his belly.
"Ah, sorry I'm finding it difficult to imagine two Tom's fighting one another. The sheer power on display must be quite the sight." Hayden said, between laughs. He had a point, those two were by far our best warriors, and I could only imagine what kind of sparks would fly if they truly went at one another.
"It certainly would." I replied.
It didn't take long for the rest of our squad to file onto the boat, along with their respective serpents that groggily slithered up the ramp behind them. Clearly, both snakes already turned in the evening before their tamers pulled them from coiled slumbers. I still can't get over the fact Steve has fucking wings. Tom strutted proudly across the deck, rocking a brand new set of light armor. Though his cowl looked just about the same, his armor selection hardly varied in visual characteristics than his prior, keeping the black on dark blue esthetics. Not sure where his two swords he used to keep at his hips went though, would've loved to have made use of that metal. I hustled after him, hoping he might have an update on Cassi's situation.
"Wait, Tom!" I yelled, chasing after him. Tom's head wrapped around, his smile barely visible under his dark hood.
"Hey, Lonni. What's up?" He asked, turning to face me.
"Hey uh, you've known Korbin longer than anyone here. What do you think he said to Cassi?" I asked in a whisper.
"PSHH, uhh…my honest opinion?" Tom asked, rubbing the back of his head nervously.
"Please." I answered.
"There's a good chance he would've kicked her out of our faction entirely if she said something stupid in there. Otherwise, either he's actually upset at her wasted resources, or he's lying about it for the sake of teaching her to be a better leader. In any case, I don't see a reason to worry. Cassi's smart, she'll figure it out." Tom explained, smiling reassuringly.
"You're awfully confident for someone opening with exile being on the table." I shot back, feeling frustrated at Tom's lengthy explanation. He basically said anything could've happened, but he thought it'd be fine.
"I'm awfully confident I'm going to win during sieges too, when death is on the table. I recommend you get back in touch with that confidence, before the city-boy's knocked out for you." Tom responded, a tinge of malice in his tone.
"Look, I'm sorry I'm just…I worry about her. It's not an easy role she's taken on." I said, realizing I'd gotten snippy with my friend.
"And I'm saying don't. I don't know about you, but personally I respect her abilities enough to expect her to learn from these mistakes. Sure, she's taking it pretty hard right now. But there's no better place to refine yourself into someone you want to be than at your lowest. Trust me." Tom said. As much as I hated it, he wasn't necessarily wrong. Cassi's the smartest woman I've ever met, and it probably is fair to assume she's going to be fine. Still, it felt wrong to just dismiss her sorrows like that, even if they're temporary.
"Look, I got to get some rest. We got a lot of shit to do starting in a few hours, and I've grown pretty fond of this down time. I'll see you in the morning, okay bud?" Tom said, already flipping his hips toward the staircase leading to everyone's sleeping quarters.
"Sure, sure yeah." I said, unsatisfied with his answer but unwilling to bother him further. Tom shared what he would, there was no point in pressing his buttons at this point.
"Goodnight. Get some rest yourself, Cassi will need a rested shoulder to lean on, after all." Tom said through a toothy grin. With that, he was off to the staircase, heading below deck.
Once everyone was settled, Korbin gave the official order to disembark for the Jaia settlement, where we'd march on foot to meet up with the rest of our troops. The vast majority tucked themselves into their quarters for the night to get some rest before the long hike in the morning. Unfortunately, my nerves were getting the better of me tonight, until eventually I decided to hop out of bed and get some fresh air on deck. It took a few minutes to ascend from the residential quarters below, though I just had to follow the cold air gusting through the corridors.
I walked over to the guardrails at the back of the ship, taking in the ocean air when a faint whimper drew my attention overboard. Inside one of our smaller emergency boats strung up to the ship sat Cassi, her knees tucked to her chest with her arms wrapped around. She looked up at me, revealing the streams of tears falling from her eyes.
"Hey, Lonni." She said, wiping her face and sniffling. Without thinking, I hopped over the railing, slowly climbing down into the boat with her.
"I'm not sure this thing can handle both of our weights in here, Lonni." Cassi said, looking at the supports holding the lifeboat to the ship.
"Then Korbin got ripped off. I'm sure he'd like to know sooner than later." I replied, sitting down next to her. She chuckled, her eyes glued to the wooden floor.
"Korbin said he overestimated me. That, he'd given my rapid progress and inherent genius for tactics too much credit. He blamed himself…for trusting me." Cassi said, another tear streaming down her cheek.
"Why? I get you guys had it rough out there, but what exactly did he expect you to do? Have you ever led anything of this magnitude before?" I asked, not understanding Korbin's argument.
"He thought I'd gleaned something key that he only saw in Tom before, but Tom never had the mind for this kind of role. Nor the attention span, for that matter." Cassi said, rolling her eyes.
"And what exactly is that?" I asked.
"…he wouldn't say. He told me it wouldn't do me any good to walk me through it, since he'd already tried that with the simulations. He told me I had to see it for myself for it to even matter." She replied, her brow furrowing as she recalled Korbin's words. Clearly, she remained as clueless to what that's supposed to mean as I did.
"Why is he making lessons about leading an army sound like the spirit of a holiday or something?" I asked. Cassi laughed much more at that, finally turning to face me.
"I suppose it's a more personal kind of growth he wants me to go through for myself. Maybe a skill that's dependent on earning rather than learning. Who knows with him anymore. I just wish I even knew where I fucked up, outside of the results obviously." Cassi said, being sure to articulate that last part as if I was going to correct her.
"I get it, Korbin does that shit with me whenever we train, too. Most of the time whenever I realize what he's trying to teach me, I can't help but feel like I would've learned much sooner and in a far less painful way." I said, trying not to stare too much into Cassi's ocean blue eyes. She needs a friend right now, not a drooling doofus I usually involuntarily act like around her.
"Have you ever mentioned that to him?" Cassi asked.
"Yeah, but the only answer I ever got out of him was just another question." I replied. Cassi scooted closer to me.
"What did he ask?" She pressed on, excitement overtaking her sad eyes. I smiled, shaking my head remembering how purple and blue my calves and quads were from that training day.
"He asked me, 'Lonni, what if I said I already told you how to win?' It fucked me up for 3 days, and I still haven't figured out what he was referring to." I explained, fully laughing at the absurdity of what was at the time truly miserable.
"Doesn't that bother you though?" Cassi asked, her voice hearing far sturdier than before.
"Not really. I ended up getting pretty good at checking kicks anyhow. It took a while, but in a way I'm proud of having worked out the technical kinks myself." I answered. Cassi squinted her eyes, looking in deep thought for nearly 30 full seconds before speaking again.
"You think that's what's going on here? That I'm just working out the 'technical kinks'? I wish that were true, but my failures got people killed along the way. I'm not so sure he'd just throw his soldier away for the sake of my learning process." Cassi said, her eyes following to her lap.
"…yeah I don't know. I've spent a decent amount of time with him the last few weeks, it might've been a risk he was willing to take. Either way, he wouldn't keep you around if he didn't know you are a damn genius, Cassi. I watched your simulations, I couldn't follow your moves per se. But I know a victory in battle when I see one. You just need time, maybe more than he assumed." I replied, placing my hand on her shoulder. It was strange seeing her so defeated, it wasn't something I figured she'd be capable of given her talents. She smiled at my words, then she did something that made my chest sink into my stomach.
Leaning onto my chest, Cassi's voice interrupted me trying to mentally force my heart to slow the fuck down.
"Thank you, Lonni. Do you mind just hanging out here for a while, I don't think I'll be afforded another moment of peace like this for a while." Cassi said. My arms hesitantly fell around her, waiting for her to shrug them off. Instead, she only leaned more into me, losing her eyes. I smiled, realizing I'd fully succeeded in cheering her up for the time being.
"Of course, Cass. Don't worry, you won't be alone."
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