Things were strangely quiet for most of the day.
The elven artificers finished moving the stone into position and dropped it into the hole.
It was a very anticlimactic ordeal.
I had thought it would energize up and start glowing like the oed stone or flash brightly—but it remained lifeless after being packed in with earth.
I guess now they wire it up? Or… is it already wired since they buried the bottom part?
If only Rias were here to explain the techno-bits to me.
I glanced at my new companions and decided against coming right out and admitting I didn't understand the very technology we were employing to wage war.
I gotta build up confidence before they find out I'm not fit for this job.
"Your Majesty," Alistaire's call came over the communirune, "We've got movement coming from the city. Two individuals are hard-lining it straight to us."
"Got it. Are your teams going to intercept?"
"Affirm, the division leader wants to make contact before they get into range to attack with spells."
I acknowledged the plan, told them to be careful, and filled my party in on the update.
We repositioned ourselves to keep watch over the runestone and see where the boy's group was heading.
Sure enough, two tiny figures way off in the distance were covering the ground between us in no time. Not incredibly subtle but they were quick, if nothing else.
I cast my inspection spell to be pleasantly surprised it activated at this range but perturbed by the results.
- - - - - - - - - - - - {TARGETS} - - - - - - - - - - - -
[BIANCA]
[HEALTH]: (675 / 675) | [STAMINA]: (229 / 300) | [MAGICKA]: (50 / 50)
- - -
[VICTORIA]
[HEALTH]: (300 / 300) | [STAMINA]: (543 / 615) | [MAGICKA]: (250 / 250)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
They were in the same average attribute area as I was, and if they had any tricks or powerful items they would likely be a problem for the defense team that just went to intercept them.
I warned the boys over the communirune, "Hey, you guys, let your captain know those two are around my level. They aren't punks like those two-bit assassins. Stay on the defensive if you can. I'm calling Julius for backup."
After I got an acknowledgment, I cut the channel to standby and called both Julius and Hanna.
Hanna picked up first, "Paladin Hanna, go ahead."
"Hanna, it's Airis. We have two inbound from Axio that might be too tough for the defense team. Anyone who can be spared should be deployed out to the second runestone site."
"Ah, I copy. I'll get people moving. Stay safe, Your Majesty!"
Alright, now that we've got backup coming… How do I deal with this without leaving the stone undefended?
I glanced back and noticed Aisling's knights were still with the stone, "Oh." I said aloud.
"Oh?" Aeko questioned my seemingly random outburst.
"I was just thinking how to go help the defense team. I'd forgotten there was already a group of knights stationed here without us extras."
"Oh." she nodded in understanding.
"Well, let's go then, shall we?" I asked my guard knights.
Everyone was ready to go, so we followed after Alistaire and Soren.
-✵-
Knowing that Hanna would be sending us reinforcements soon, my primary focus was sighted in on ensuring the boys survived this encounter—and as many others as we could, of course.
Even with the heavily armored Viktor leading our front, we made quick progress covering the distance the defense division made between us.
"We're here to support the defense team, not replace them," I started giving orders to my guard knights, "Follow Flik's lead if things get out of hand, and remember our goal is to intercept and deter. Taking out an enemy here would be beneficial but not if it costs lives to do."
"First and foremost," Flik called out, "Keep sight of Her Eminence at all times. If you're moving to follow her orders and assist the defense team, do so without being split from us."
My guard captain donned her scarlet helmet and readied her weapon—my other knights did the same.
Feeling a little left out I pulled a dark metal circlet from its usual resting place, a small pouch hidden away behind my crimson divisional officer's coat.
The band of black sparkled in the open air, sunlight catching the fiery veins of red and orange.
I placed the Crown of Retribution atop my head and felt it settle firmly into place—a feeling both unnatural and slightly unnerving. It was the same proper feeling that Dáinsleif gave off when I held it in my hand, but it didn't provide the same sense of comfort.
It felt like I was a pretender.
The fake empress of an already long-dead empire playing a game of war like a child.
I sighed and steadied my thoughts.
I'm not a fake. This isn't a game.
The two presumed attackers from Axio came into view and we were all surprised.
They looked no older than having barely become teenagers—younger than Taryn, maybe. I cast a quick inspection to make sure I put a proper name to the target but realized I could've just assumed by their status titles.
Bianca, the White Rose, had pure white hair while Victoria, the Black Rose, had deep black hair.
Both wore matching outfits, elegant dark-gray dresses with Renaultian-blue accessories. They looked like they'd prepared to socialize at a gala, not fight against an invading army.
When they got closer I was able to see that their eyes had the same eerie blue glow to them as Hikita's. Aside from hair color, they looked like twins.
I checked their statuses again but there was no note about either of them being influenced by a curse.
"Behold, sister Bia," Victoria pointed in my direction, her voice reverberated unnaturally, sending a chill down my body, "Our quarry already arrived."
"How fortuitous, sister Ria," Bianca answered back, her voice equally as disturbing, "It would seem our Great King's useless retainers will no longer need to throw their lives away."
"Shall we wrap this up quickly then, dear sister Bia?"
"Let's do so, dear sister Ria."
The two girls touched their hands together…
… And a massive arc of empurpled magick ripped the earth asunder, blasting toward the defense team's members center point.
It was bearing down a direct path to my guard knights and I.
"Aeko and Pearson, split right! Hawken, left with me!" Flik shouted orders and my knights moved.
Viktor locked the visor on his helm down and readied his weapons, "I won't let anyone or anything through, Your Majesty."
He took a small potion from his hip and poured it over his shield. A green crystalline barrier spread out from his shield and enveloped the two of us.
It was a flask of protection—a magick imbued concoction that would deploy a protective barrier. In this case, it seemed to be one of earth magick, based on the shimmer of the spell.
I cast AURA OF LIGHT for the party and BRILLIANCE on myself. I restrained myself from activating PHYSICAL ENHANCEMENT, it wasn't needed just yet and I didn't want to risk draining too much magicka and having to rely on the connection to Capricorn.
The two young girls continued their approach, passing by the impact site of their previous spell.
My knights were in a position to apply pressure, but Flik was keeping a clear head instead of rushing in. We had no insight on what kind of fighters these two were—they attacked with a magickal spell at first, but then didn't follow through and began to close into melee.
Not rushing into a fight also gave time for the addled defense team to recover, which some of them had already.
A group of knights had closed the gap and struck at the girls from behind.
Bianca held her arms up towards the sky and a crackle of dark purplish energy split the air apart. A dark emptiness filled the space where the air had parted, and an ebony battleaxe dropped from the tear into her open hands.
She swung it in an arc, beating back most of the assailants.
Victoria performed a similar action, holding her arms out at her sides and grasping onto two blackened daggers that emerged from an identical void.
Victoria's chilling voice seemed to seep in from every direction, "The fodder are stronger than we were told, sister Bia."
Bianca responded with a grunt, as she defended against another attack by the defense team's recovering knights, "I shall handle the gnats, sister Ria. You can strike the target."
"I won't allow it!" A boyish shout preceded a heavy strike against the dagger-wielding Victoria.
Soren had gotten into the fight and circled past the axe-wielding Bianca. His attack had been deflected by Victoria, but now there was one more person in her way to get through to me.
"Pearson!" Flik shouted.
"Let's go!" Pearson responded.
The two of them engaged Victoria along with Soren.
Pearson's aggressive swordplay called a certain moment to mind in which she'd held me at sword point and accused me of being a spy. Her strikes battered the small framed Victoria over and over, each one deflected with extreme precision.
The dagger-wielder attempted to parry an attack by Flik, only to cry out and leap backward.
An arc of lightning crackled between their weapons.
Soren rushed Victoria—but a blur of motion to his right sent him flying back.
Bianca had disengaged from the defense team when Victoria cried out and brought her axe down over Soren, but right before the attack made contact, Alistaire threw himself into Soren, knocking him out of harm's way.
Alistaire was clutching a rounded targe shield tight against his body. The attack sent sparks flying as the metal of Bianca's axe desperately tried to bite into the shield.
Her weapon cut a groove across the surface, eventually finding a weak point.
Alistaire cried in pain as his shield caved and the axe blade pierced a hole through it and his arm on the other end.
I was already on the move, with Viktor keeping step just ahead of me. Viktor blocked a follow up attack by Victoria, smacking her daggers, slowed by the protective barrier, back with his shield.
Dáinsleif's flames greedily sought after Bianca as I activated WILD STRIKE and closed the distance between us in a flash.
Flik stepped in on my left and followed my attack with a thrust of her own.
Bianca didn't raise her weapon to attempt to defend herself, instead, she seemed to vanish—becoming translucent—and Flik's sword passed right through her.
"Do it now, sister Ria!"
"Pawn takes Queen, as they say, sister Bia."
Victoria's small body distorted and she became like a mist. She passed through the barrier magick with ease and I was enveloped.
My surroundings changed in the blink of an eye.