TBATE - What if Tessia was the legacy ? - The legacy of it all

Dreamer

{Tessia Eralith}

-Now little miss, why don't we make a deal?" Said Ion in a calm, controlled tone as he kept Hannadreda against himself with the blade of his sword pressed up against her throat.

Meeting the dwarf girl's eyes, I could feel all of her fear and pain as she slowly cried and weakly whipped, visibly exhausted from what I could only assume were horrifying days of captivity.

-Let go of her." I hissed as I felt a boiling anger grow inside me, pressing me to kill all of those bastards as I carefully observed her body for any wounds or signs of abuse.

-We both know I can't do that." He answered with a painful smirk as my anger grew even more, knowing that the man was acting under the influence of the artefact.

-What do you want?" I snapped, trying to contain my emotions.

-You're going to tell your guys to step back, let my man escape and, in return I'll let go of the little girl." He answered while using his free hand and head to point at what he was saying.

Clenching my hands around my sword in frustration I knew that the deal he was offering was a good one since it allowed us to minimise casualties on both sides, but I wasn't sure if I could even trust him.

For all I know Blaine might have ordered him to slice Hanna's throat the instant the special forces escaped the Unity bases regardless of whether I was dead or alive. On the other hand, I didn't even know how precise the artefact "mind controlling" power was. Could it register a full plan with dozens of variables and force the Lance to follow different variants of the plan based on how it was going, or did it only impose the vague will of the king.

Either way, considering my current predicament, I was weighing between an unknown chance of Hanna dying by accepting and an almost certain death if I refused.

-I'll let half of your man escape, you let go of her and only then do I let the other half get out." I explained in a tone that made it clear that I wasn't ready to make any compromise.

-Sounds like we have a deal." He answered with a hint of relief as he stepped forward toward me and the cavity I was standing on top of. "Now, why don't we start slowly making our way down."

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-Twenty, Twenty-one, twenty-two." Counted Ion as another of his soldiers got past the hole in the ceiling and regrouped with the member of special forces who had already escaped.

-That's half." I said in a loud, oppressive tone as I stood a few metres away from him and in front of my army who had encircled the enemy's position and were ready to start raining hell down on the intruders at any instant.

Narrowing my gaze on the man, I heard the sound of the remaining human soldiers raising their shields and hesitantly placing their hands on their achieved sword and wands, unsure of how the situation was about to unfold.

Seeing Ion slowly moving his sword down and away from Hanna's neck I felt tension continue to grow as everyone here knew that she wasn't in the clear until he had completely let go of her.

Hearing the faint sound of my soldiers grasping their equipment tighter and leaning forward, I knew that any rash action from anyone here could send everything crumbling down.

Finally moving his arm completely out of the way we all watched as Hanna stumbled forward, struggling to stand on her legs as she slowly made her way toward me before falling in my arms.

-I-I'm so s-sorry, i-it's my fault, I-I-

-It's okay, everything is fine, it's going to be okay." I said in a recomforting tone as I gently patted her head as she leaned closer against me, tears continuously flowing down her cheeks. Unable to articulate her words any longer, the girl's voice devolved in a series of hiccups and single syllables.