Second chapter for the week!

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Chapter 26: Kazimir’s Gambit, Part Two

The village of Abaza was a regular mid-sized village near the southern border of the Klavan Empire. Torches burned bright across the entire village as three groups of people were in a stalemate in the village square. The bright lights made a sharp contrast against the near pitch black of night on the plains. If one was looking at the village from afar, they might have thought that the villagers were celebrating some sort of religious festival.

Inquisition forces lead by Chekov were standing in the eastern side of the square, fuming silently as they glared sullenly at the group standing to the west. Calmly standing in the western part of the square were the Janaroian forces led by Father Alessio. Finally, the villagers were standing in the northern part of the square in front of the Drunken Cossack behind Temur. The villagers of Abaza were the most anxious out of the three groups present. Never had they really experienced being caught between two military forces, each of which could wipe out their village without breaking a sweat.

“Shit. It was a really rude awakening to find out that two groups of soldiers had come to our little village in the middle of the night.” Muttering quietly, Temur’s back had already broken out in a cold sweat.

“Do..do you know what they want?” Standing just behind Temur, one of the older farmhand’s voice nearly cracked as he whispered.

“I have no idea, Viktor. The Gods didn’t grace me with the gift of Prophecy. As best as I can tell, both groups came here looking for something or somebody. I don’t know if both groups are looking for the same thing, but I hope that it isn’t. Things could get very violent, very quickly if that is the case.”

“What about Kir? He doesn’t know a thing about this. Do you think these soldiers did something to him? He must have heard the commotion from their meeting even from his hut.” Gerel’s question sent a jolt through Temur.

“Ah, damn it. I forgot about Kir in this mess.” Temur’s gaze shifted from one group to the other, looking for a clue to peacefully resolve the situation. “There’s nothing I can do about it now. Can’t you feel the tension? The peace in our little village is hanging by a thin thread of wool. Ancestral enemies generally don’t take kindly to meeting one another when busy trying to do something else.”

Blowing the air out of his nose in frustration, Chekov walked out towards the Janaroian forces with his hands at his side. Smiling gently, Father Alessio did the same. The two leaders met in the middle of the square. Far enough from anybody else such that their conversation would not be easily heard, but close enough to their own troops such that if any attack happened both would have immediate backup.

“What are you and your own doing here? This is sovereign Klavan territory.” Gritting his teeth, Chekov tersely spat out his words. “I shouldn’t have to tell you that if you try anything here you’ll be surrounded on all sides in a matter of days.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. Young Inquisitor, I have my own reasons for coming to a country as uncultured as this.” Still smiling, Alessio snapped his fingers. Very quickly, two wooden stools cracked into existence behind both men. “Sit, sit. Don’t stand on ceremony with me, both of us are men of integrity.” Not waiting for Chekov’s response, Alessio sat down.

“Don’t ever do that again near me.” His face darkening by the minute, Chekov sat down with a huff. “Good to see that the priesthood is still wasting mana on useless endeavors.”

“Now, now, Summoning magic is a sacred and holy art. It is one of the oldest magics in the known world no? If it can make life easier, why not use it to?”

“It wasn’t necessary. Are you so old that standing for a couple minutes tires you out?” Chekov snarled at Alessio as the inquisitor put his elbows on his knees and leaned forward. “What the hell do you want? There’s nothing here for you.” Speaking of which, how the hell did these cowering fools get past the Blood Citadel? As far as High Command is concerned, the security of the Pass is greater at the moment than even the Imperial City’s. Although, no security can be better than the Imperial Palace’s….

“There’s no need to be so testy. Are we not descended from the same ancestors?” Bringing out a metal flask from the insides of his robes, Alessio popped the cap off and started to drink from it. A sickeningly sweet smell spilled out of the flask, and permeated the air around the two men. “Ah, there’s nothing like a little sweetwine after a day’s hard ride.” Not even bothering to offer Chekov any, Alessio returned the flask back into the confines of his robes.

As the two men began to mindlessly banter in anticipation of the actual negotiation, they were an odd sight. Chekov was a young man, nearing his prime. Alessio was best described as an old codger, his prime apparently long past. However, the priest was filled with a vitality unseen in many others his age. His samite robes were dyed the purest white, with gold streaks inlaid in a protective Sigil pattern. The metal staff resting on his lap reflected the torchlight, exposing some of the sigil patterns carved onto it.

Seated directly across him, Chekov couldn’t have looked more different. His gaunt face made him look like a starved man, but the unseen power in his muscled frame proved his strength. Dressed in dark purple leather armor that seemed to absorb light, Chekov’s appearance gave an feeling of subtlety towards observers while Alessio’s robes exuded extreme arrogance. Chekov’s only weapon was a curious metal baton that hung at his side. As to its function, only those who wield it or those unfortunate enough to be its victims could say. However, the aura of command that both men gave off was the same even if the respect paid to Chekov came through fear while the respect paid to Alessio came through awe.

“I can feel your patience waning, so I’ll get to the point.” Alessio’s smile never left his face even for a second. The man was very, very good at infuriating others with his seemingly benevolent attitude. “I want some of those colored flasks which contain potions. The ones that enhance a soldier’s physical abilities.”

Sitting straight in his stool, Chekov pondered the validity of Alessio’s words. This explains why he’s so deep into Klavan territory. This is a huge risk that a man of his rank is taking. If there wasn’t a suitable payoff for this risk, Janaro High Command wouldn’t send him on such a mission. But there’s no way that I can give him the actual potions. But I need to see if I can negotiate for their leaving with something else. Time is of the essence now. My target might escape while I’m occupied by these sleazy bastards.

“I can’t give you any of those. They happen to be state secrets. I can offer to let you and your men return to Janaro with peaceful passage through the Pass. Otherwise, I will have to take action. You might not like the consequences of those actions.” Eyes, narrowing, Chekov rested his forearms on his knees.

“Ah, but my friend, don’t you see that you are in a disadvantageous situation too? If I’m not mistaken, you’ve recently suffered some losses in your ranks. I know Inquisition strike teams travel with twenty four people, but I only see nineteen present. There can’t be anymore since you would’ve attacked my group by now if there were. This must mean that you’re outnumbered. Come, we can make a deal, can we not?” Grinning even wider, Alessio felt that he had gained the upper hand. The Janaroian strike force that he had with him numbered twenty five total, any more and it would have been too hard to travel undetected, even through the desolate plains.

Watching Chekov gnash his teeth silently, Alessio didn’t give him time to formulate anything to say. “It doesn’t even have to be a large amount, just give me a few potions. I’m not a greedy man, just one looking out for his country. If we start a fight here, what would become of these villagers? The battle between our forces would surely destroy the village and kill many villagers. At the same time, even if your soldiers did manage to kill all of mine, many of yours would die too. A pyrrhic victory for such a small thing might not be worth it at all?”

“Watch your words. These potions are a state secret that’s worth more to the Empire than all of our lives.” Chekov’s face darkened further as he realized that he was in a deeper hole than he had first imagined. Alessio’s forces did in fact outnumber the Inquisition team. If his five scouts hadn’t been killed by undead groundhogs, this entire exchange might not have happened. Thinking about the almost confirmed possibility that Kazimir was a necromancer leading them on a wild goose chase, Chekov could only swallow his anger at the moment. Even more infuriating at the moment was the fact that the little bastard had to be nearby, but Chekov was unable to search for him properly because of Alessio’s interference. “Give me a moment to decide.”

“Of course, take all the time you need. I’m in no rush here.” The maddening smile still on his face, Alessio took out his metal flask and started to sip on his sweetwine as Chekov silently considered his courses of action.

Meanwhile, Kaz’s attention was split as he tried to do two things. Monitoring the stalemate in the center of the square with his reaper spirit, Kaz was also using part of his mana to accelerate the healing of the wounded blood spirit. The blood spirit had a much higher natural healing rate than the reaper spirit, which is why Kaz had used it to take the huge risk of provoking the Janaroian strike force. Fortunately, Alessio’s aim had been pretty bad. Otherwise, Kaz might only have one spirit minion left at this point. Highly stressed at being trapped in the middle of two dangerous forces, both of which would be bad for his physical well being to encounter, Kaz could only try to heal his minion as best he can in case he was forced to fight. Still in the storage warehouse, the necromancer was surprised that he still had not been discovered.

It’s a good thing that both Chekov and Alessio can’t detect the magical fluctuations of Blood Magic. Mages need to first carefully search for magical fluctuations that are different than theirs in order to sense it naturally. Because necromancy and its associated magics have been unused for so long, nobody alive would be familiar with its magical fluctuations. Well, nobody that Ahriman or I know anyways. Speaking of Ahriman, where is that old fox when I actually need him? Two minds are better than one, I need all the help I can get here. Sighing to himself, Kaz finished restoring the blood spirit. Not forcibly restoring his mana by absorbing the mana in the air, Kaz waited for his body to naturally regenerate it. Absorbing external mana would cause a fluctuation in the atmosphere that the magical senses of all the Inquisition and Janaroian mages would notice. They don’t know how to detect necromancy, but I’m certain that they know how to detect aberrations in the mana existing in the air.

Kaz’s mage sense was also necromantic in origin, so he could extend it as far as he could normally without much risk of being discovered. Although both Chekov and Alessio were on high alert for each other’s magical fluctuations, they were both so preoccupied with detecting what they were familiar with that they all but ignored anything else. With this in mind, Kaz hid his reaper spirit behind the roof of the inn. Straining his mage sense closer and closer, the two men’s conversation reached Kaz’s ears.

“I cannot give you any of the special potions that we have. I suggest you leave Klavan immediately, my force will accompany you to the Pass, where we can negotiate your return further with Lord Zhakar. If you don’t comply. I’m afraid that I will have to use force.” Chekov slowly gave his ultimatum. It wasn’t necessarily a bad decision, because the villagers here were loyal to Klavan. At the very least, they’d be able to soak up some damage if any fighting started. Temur as the village chief was subordinate to Chekov after all. If the Klavan military got word that Abaza defied orders from an Inquisitor, the villagers could expect an extremely harsh punishment. On the other hand, if the villagers suffered due to following Chekov’s orders, then the Empire would reward and compensate them fully. Klavan law was full of extremes like that. Moderation was not in their nature. If you gave a Klavan an inch, they would try to get the whole mile out of the deal.

“Now, you and I both know that your answer isn’t something that I wanted to hear.” Alessio’s smile suddenly disappeared as the priest’s demeanor finally turned serious.

“It seems that you don’t quite understand your position. True, your men do outnumber mine, but what if I didn’t care that the villagers are in the way? All I need to say to my commanders is that they died assisting me in fighting the Empire’s enemies. Every Klavan citizen knows to heed the call to arms. Dissent might exist, but the authority of the Inquisition knows no bounds here. Our talk is finished.” Standing up, Chekov looked down at Alessio with a smirk. Alessio’s face now was a mask of anger. True, if he truly wanted to, Alessio could probably fight his way out of this mess. The priest was not worried about his personal safety, and he considered his men expendable in the long run. In fact, these weren’t even his personal troops, but those provided by the Cardinal. As such, they were to be used as Alessio saw fit. The Janaroian Cardinals were never short of willing bodies for their personal armies and guards.

“Then this talk has been fruitless, to say the least. We are still at an impasse, but now without the illusion of a possible peaceful resolution.”

At this exact moment, the reaper spirit bursted out of the Drunken Cossack’s roof and swiped his mana sword at Alessio. Unable to dodge at such a close distance, Alessio was struck head on by the mana blade. The mana blade, a baleful blue, slashed at the priest’s chest. Sparks flew as the mana blade collided head-on with the sigils on the priest’s robe. With the robes magical protections in place, the reaper spirit was unable to directly harm the priest. Instead, Alessio was launched a couple of steps back. Seeing that his attack has failed, Kaz commanded the reaper spirit to commit to the backup plan. Retreating quickly into the air before any attacks could be launched by the stunned crowds of people, the reaper spirit’s raspy voice rang out.

“Apologies, Master Chekov, but I am unable to wound the priest.” With that said, the reaper spirit flew off into the distance.

“You cowardly mongrel! How dare you launch a surprise attack then the both of us were meeting under the pretext of peace!” No trace of his previous calmness could be found in Alessio’s face now. “If you wanted a fight from the beginning, you should have just said so instead of trying to trick me.” With a flash of multicolored light and a loud crack, Alessio disappeared from the middle of the square and reappeared behind his troops.

“Damn it, I was framed by that shitty necromancer! He knows that he can’t escape with two special forces groups near the town, so he seeks to cause us to weaken ourselves.” Sprinting backwards towards his own forces, Chekov signalled for his men to break into suburban fighting formations. The Inquisition forces quickly divided themselves into teams of four to five soldiers each, and quickly dispersed around the buildings near the square. As for the Janaroian forces, Alessio commanded his troops to stay in a defensive formation as he and his subordinate priests casted spells. The villagers, seeing the two forces break out into a full blown skirmish, ran away from the square. Temur led some of the villagers into the inn, while other village leaders led groups of the villagers to the north away from the square.

Sensing that all of the villagers were safe so far, Kaz finally stopped holding his breath. The only people that he did not want misfortune to befall were the villagers who had treated him so well these past few weeks. Although Kaz did not think that the Janaroian and Klavan forces would turn immediately on the villagers, it was a possibility that weighed on his mind.

Back in the square, Alessio was outraged that the Inquisition forces chose not to engage the Janaroians in a headlong assault. “You filthy cowards, why are you hiding? Could it be that you don’t think you can handle the might of Janaro’s finest?” His face as red as a ripe tomato, Alessio shouted many obscenities at the quickly retreating Klavan troops. “Julio. Burn down this inn. If they will not fight us proper, we will have to force a confrontation. Although Chekov cares not for the villagers personally, torching this village with impunity will certainly hurt his pride and provoke him. Let’s see if he is prudant enough to avoid being provoked. Either way, there is no drawbacks for us since these peasants are not our people.”

A swarthy man in red robes next to Alessio nodded. “By your command.” Raising his staff, he chanted for a couple of seconds. As his chant finished, dark red flames started to come out of the end of his staff. Pointing it to the Drunken Cossack, the staff lit the wooden building on fire. The villagers that were trapped inside started to panic and scream.

Temur’s eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets as he saw that the invaders were setting the inn on fire. “Viktor, try to gather some people and put out this fire. Olga and I will lead the rest of the villagers here through the Inn’s back door.” However, some of the villagers were already scared hysterical. They tried to run out of the front door since that wasn’t on fire. The moment that they stepped out of the inn, they were cut down by the swordsmen under Alessio’s command. Waiting patiently under a mana shield casted by his mages, Alessio surveyed the square, trying to figure out where the Inquisition troops would come out from.

Kaz’s face fell as the sensed the violence erupt just moments after he had thought no villagers would be hurt. I was too naive. In retrospect, there was absolutely no way that the villagers would not be caught in the crossfire if two foreign powers fought a battle in the village square. However, I didn’t think that the Janaroians would intentionally attack the villagers. Even if it’s to lure out the Inquisition troops, isn’t this too cruel?

Even if the villagers were dying, Kaz felt that he couldn’t do anything to help. He was still too weak, and did not have any minions other than the two spirits with him. I owe the villagers something, but my survival is much more important. Even if I’m selfish now, I might be able to repay the villagers later on? Maybe I shouldn’t have stayed in this village so long, but it was so nice to not be worried about where I would have to go or what dangers are around me.

Deciding to sit in place and wait for the whole thing to blow over, Kaz silently waited in the storage warehouse. At the very least, there was abundant death energy in the air due to the deaths of the villagers and soldiers. Morbidly, Kaz hoped that somebody would die near one of the gates. Death Warp would result in a hell of a noise, but it would not seem unnatural in the heat of battle. Trying not to pay attention to the carnage in the middle of the square, Kaz looked around the village’s buildings to see if there was an opportunity to escape.

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Thanks for reading!