Kindred Spirits

//Chapter 14: Stormy Horizon//

It's a few days into your campaign against affogato's reign, and things are getting dire. While many of the prisoners you had rescued followed you, Taffy belt, and Caramel Arrow in the advance to dethrone this pretender, morale was in the abyss with how low it had fallen. Despite attempts to weaken his hold, forces loyal to him end up proving to be stronger than a ragtag group of half starved watchers, untrained bandits, and whatever villagers volunteered to stand against this pretender. Still though, despite everyone's mood being the in the gutter, you must press onward. If you do not oppose this tyrant, what then would happen to the rest of this little alliance the ancient cookies had formed? 

Whatever the case, things needed to change now before they got even worse and this little struggle of yours ends with a defeated, pathetic whimper. The mere thought of all the people affogato might hurt in the course of getting his way was motivation enough for Caramel Arrow, and you obviously wanted much the same. So, with Taffy Belt, you two begin concocting a new plan. It had to be well thought out and well prepared for, as this was likely the best shot you were gonna have at defeating affogato and restoring the cacao kingdom to the status you preferred it in.

"So. What kind of weaknesses can we exploit with Affogato's reign?" You ask, immediately getting right down to the subject matter as you three had little time for pleasantries these days. "Whatever specific weakness should be prefaced with this. The regime change is still rather recent, so his forces are still rather disorganized as they try to secure whatever land is in the hands of resisting tribes." Taffy Belt chimed in helpfully, doing his best to make the best of a bad situation. The three of you then sit in silence for a few moments, desperately seeing who will break the silence with a way to beat this tyrant.

Caramel Arrow eventually took the lead with her knowledge of the lands surrounding the citadel. "There's this canyon, a little ways west of the citadel. It's obscured by a tree line, so there's a good chance affogato doesn't know about it. If we can get our forces through there, It'd catch him so off guard that we could end it before the rest of his army has time to scramble any effective defenses." She stated, pulling up a map of the citadel and pointing to whatever area was relevant to her statement. You and Taffy Belt merely nod along, not having any better ideas yourselves to deal with such a thing. You grab your katana, Taffy Belt readies his now less makeshift armor, and Caramel Arrow says a silent prayer to the dragons for strength.

[Two Hours Later]

Trekking through the wilderness of dark cacao lands was difficult enough with the biting cold and the wild animals, much less with a small army hunting for the three of you as the beacons of this resistance. But you managed to do it, slipping past any patrols that got even slightly too close for comfort. Arriving at the canyon, you see no obvious signs of activity which seemed to confirm the suspicions you had. But this was only the side you had access to, and the side near the citadel would need further investigation. "Go on ahead. I'll act as our rear guard, I can take whatever patrols they send this way." Taffy Belt offered, taking up position behind a boulder to keep watch.

Deciding to accept this offer, you and Caramel Arrow press on ahead. It's mostly silent, and the canyon is covered with sparse trees so it wasn't like there were good places for ambushers to hide. You say quietly to Caramel Arrow "What are we gonna do when this is all over and... well... what if it turns dark cacao is dead?" A valid question to ask, considering affogato's ambitions for this kingdom. Caramel Arrow thinks on it for a moment before saying "I don't know. I'm not counting on that being the case. I hope he's alive but... I just... I..." She's clearly stressed out a lot, wishing that her king was ok and would come out of this alive and well. You place a comforting hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down.

Intensive Calming would need to wait, as a large boulder suddenly crashed down behind you two blocking your way back to Taffy belt. From behind the canyon trees emerged a few watcher archers ready to fire upon you two with a flurry of piercing shots. And among them is an oddity. Your friend turned second nemesis: Orange Choco Cookie. "Ah, Commander Caramel Arrow and her predictable suck up. I thought I might find you here. Took a few days of waiting, but it was worth it. This resistance of yours? It ends now." he says with a relish that was not unlike him. You scowl, draw your katana, and shout "Then why don't you come down here and face us like men?!" 

"Love to. But sadly, Lord Affogato has important business that requires my aid shortly. So I can't spare anymore time for you two. Fire!" Orange Choco said, barking an order that prompted the expected reaction. The two of you quickly dive for cover in the scattered rocks, knowing how deadly cacaoin bows could be in a fight. Most are avoided, but you take an arrow to the back and fall over before you can fully get in cover. You try to get up, but as if by magic a log of wood is rolled down and dropped upon you. "Let that be a lesson for you, Commander. Watch as your favorite dies a slow death. Be seeing you in hell, I'm sure." Orange Choco said coldly, gesturing to his small unit to get out of there.

The log was extremely heavy and the back arrow was dug in deep thanks to it. Caramel Arrow keeps trying to lift it but finds her strength unable to do anything. You close your eyes and tell her "It's alright... I fought... until the very end..." "No! It's not alright! I can get you out of here! I just... just... Agh!" The first watcher shouts in reply, still trying and failing to lift the log. To you, it was the end and there was no sense in fighting it. But Caramel Arrow keeps going and going, determined to not let this fate befall you, befall the cookies of the cacao kingdom. Once more, she grabs the log and starts to lift.

She begins to scream and shout, and the log moves slightly. This surprises you as it didn't even budge before. Was the log merely trapped and she unknowingly dislodged it to move? She screamed and cried, saying "I will not let you die! No watcher leaves a fellow watcher to die like this!"  The log moves again this time being lifted for real. You crane your head around and see clearly that the log was not trapped and was in fact extremely heavy. So what the hell...

With one final scream, this one more beast like, Caramel Arrow tosses the log into the side of the canyon wall with relative ease. She pants heavily, the adrenaline of the situation affecting her greatly. You were in great shock, and not just because of that. No one cookie should've been able to lift that much on their own. And she had this revelation too, staring at her hands and muttering "What... What was that... Am I... Wait... Could it be... No..." She looks to you, broken bones and arrow lodged in deep, and quickly starts to help. She yanks the arrow right out, patches up the wounds with some cloth she has on hand, and picks you up as she leaps over the boulder with inhuman agility. Something was clearly different about caramel arrow. Something that you found quite... appealing.

Now, I know what you're thinking.  But there is one thing I can tell you that will explain all this... and a bit more. It will shine light upon the truth of the first watcher and the reason she's only half-related to the milk tribe of the cacao kingdom. The last part of my little tale. *ahem*

"Seeking to ensure its own survival, the spawn began to try and look for something to eat. Eventually, it came upon something that tasted different than what the old man had given it. It tasted... good. The spawn began to consume, and slowly found the strength to move on its own as it continued to eat and eat. In a twist of fate, the old man would provide sustenance for the spawn even in death for his crumbled remains became the spawn's food. In a matter of minutes, the spawn had consumed all of the crumbles and began to transform."

"The transformation would end with the spawn becoming a newly baked cookie. A newborn to this world. The kindness and caring of the old man would breathe new life into this world, even if he did not live to see it. The Child would also bear the lineage from what had created it. And this child, alone and confused with all these new senses, did the only thing a child could really do: Cry."

"These cries were the final thing that saved the child from certain death. A young cookie, searching in the wilderness after the old man's pained scream, heard them. With her motherly instincts kicking in, she quickly came across the child in the cold protected only by the old man's clothes. She quickly took the child and brought it to her home within the village. There, she introduced the child to her husband, and he was most perplexed by the occurrence. Despite the oddity of the situation, the two would decide then and there to raise the child as their own. After all, there was no other place for the child to go and it would not be right to just abandon it. And this child would live a life as a cookie, the same as all the others despite its mysterious origins."