The Shadow of Death

chapter 7

Garret couldn't have been more accurate in his guess. It took them exactly two days to reach Xolas, the capital of Cealta. It probably would have been longer if Garret hadn't pushed everyone to keep marching into the late hours of the night. He had to admit he was exhausted, but now that they were outside the city gates, they could take some time to rest and prepare alongside the other generals.

The city was about an hour or two on horseback from Revalias border and was built around a large desert oasis. From where he stood in the Red Desert, Garret could see the glimmering white buildings protected by a high wall and shining golden gates. They would need ammunition to get through those walls. They were built solidly.

Anika and some other materialists specializing in more stone-like materials had scouted ahead to the wall to find its weak points. So far, it didn't seem to have many. The wall had been standing for at least a hundred years.

"Why would they even need a wall this big when their only border enemy is Revalia?" Dante muttered as he sat polishing his armour.

"Cealta was founded mainly by bandits and pirates, as silly as it sounds. Hundreds of groups wandered the coast and the interior, looking for resources and oases. The founders have fought to keep it for themselves since they first came across it. They probably keep the wall up more for tradition than anything at this point. Or to keep us out." General Reyes explained.

"You're just a walking history book then, aren't ya?" Garret said with a smile, raising an eyebrow at the older General.

"I find it fascinating learning about other places and how they came to be." He responded with a shrug.

"Well, it is important info to know. Could help us interact with them more peacefully." Wing General Kaiser said with a nod, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Both Garret and the second wing General Asper scoffed and rolled their eyes.

"We aren't here to make friends. We are here to take a city. Once we have this one, the rest of the kingdom will be ours." General Asper said stiffly, but Garret could see her hiding a smirk.

He looked at her and nodded in agreement, balancing his sword on his knees. "If they've kept it secure this long, it'll be a tough battle. But once we secure it, we will have no problem keeping it secure, using their resources to build it up, and waiting for the rest of our army to get here. If their soldiers try and fight us, we will just kill all of them. If they are locked in a city surrounded by walls, a few fires here and there will do the trick."

"You are still a young General, Garret, still in your glory days. We've got to be smarter about our interactions with people. We can't just burn a whole city down. If-"

"Yea, yea, I get it. If we are nice to them, they'll be nice back, and the world will be all sunshine and rainbows and flowers and puppies! Cause that's exactly how the world works!" Garret said in a high-pitched voice, dripping with sarcasm.

That wasn't how the world worked. Kindness could only get you so far; Garret had experienced that firsthand.

"I'm going to walk around and check up on my soldiers," Garret grunted, sensing the displeasure of every general but Asper sent his way. He slowly stood up and grabbed his sword, sheathing it around his waist as he walked off, still feeling all the other generals' eyes on his back as he went.

"Hey Garret, wait up." General Asper called, jogging to catch up with him.

"Come to scold me?" He asked the older General.