Ten of Swords (Draft Only)

Chapter 16

Leaving the grove so soon felt rushed, but Rieza would not permit them to stay any longer than she had already allowed. Elise didn't blame her. After everything that had happened, she would have done the same thing were she in the archdruid's shoes. The rebels were clearly identifiable by their makeshift armour and the logo poorly painted on it. A relic from when the previous king ruled, and they were not a rebellion, but an organization. Hands of the holy spirits. Now instead of offering food and shelter to those in need, those hands wielded destruction and flame.

The path they had taken into the grove was now unrecognisable on their way out. It had been widened by the invading forces, who used blades and fire to carve a path through the forest. Along that path was the corpses of would-be invaders and druids, who bodies had yet to be collected. Their remains would be used to fertilize the soil after they were stripped of their gear. It was unlikely anyone from outside the grove would come to take them back home.

It was only Elise, her son, and the Mage now. Legom would join them at the edge of the forest after he had taken care of some things. He had to make sure he had everything that he and his cats might need, and that he knew what the archdruid expected him to accomplish. That left the three weary travelers to walk the path of destruction without a guide. It was clear to see the direction that the forces had come from, so they didn't need one.

Samson rode alone, not ready to talk yet about what had happened in the wildfire. Too exhausted to take the reins herself, Elise rode on the back of the mage's horse. Though she tried her best to make her mind quiet, it was as noisy as the raging fire had been. Her head rested on his back when the thoughts became too much to bear. She didn't have a plan. Not yet. There wouldn't be time to grieve properly. With the rebels making such bold moves it would be safe to assume that they wouldn't stay idle for long. The sabotage they had planned would happen soon.

The loss that the rebels endured at the druid's grove wasn't just strategic failure. Weapons and manpower that could have previously been used to keep the resistance against the crown going for a little while longer had been lost to them. Desperation would spur them into action, just as it had prompted them to stat making such awful plans in the first place. Stopping now to cry would mean giving up on stopping Corden and the others from causing much greater suffering than they could ever prevent or end by overthrowing the king.

"We need to start catching up to them." She knew what they had to do. If the rebels were going to use tactics of sabotage, flame, and dark magic to make up for what they lacked in numbers and resources, then Elise and her group would have to undermine those strategies.

The new scars on the mage's body told her that they couldn't rely on more storms. If fire spread on city streets, they would be unable to stop it. They likely wouldn't be able to face dark mages alone, and the only way to prevent sabotage was to have insider knowledge or greater security against it. She hated where this all led her, but they had no choice. Crushed, she looked off into the forest behind them as they waited for Legom to catch up with them.

"There are a few things we need to do. Investigate the rebel presence here, contact the thieves' guild, and try to get an audience with the king."

Her teeth grinded as if she was trying to chew on her last words. Like doing so would make them disappear or untrue. The likelihood of them being able to talk to him or get anything out of the exchange outside of a hanging was very little, but they couldn't do anything alone. She knew how she would do it though. Alone. She would try to talk to him. She couldn't risk her sons life by having him testify beside her, and the others would need to stay safe as well so that at least someone still knew what was at stake. They might succeed where she had failed. Not in getting their voices heard by the crown, but in minimizing the suffering that would be caused. That, and maybe, somehow her sacrifice would make up for all her mistakes. All the lives that were lost because of her decisions. Because of her failures as their leader.