Bodanen: Cobalt War

Chapter 5: Tole of War

Twelve hours had passed since the first blades clashed and the first drops of blood spilled. On multiple troop transports toward Burkhart were five thousand of the kingdom of An-ox's finest lead by the four surviving soldiers of Boris' squad; even some of the king's private guard was counted among them, this being an attack so close to the capital. A trip from the capital to Burkhart should take about half a day driving; the soldiers' transports made it there in three hours. As the warriors entered Burkhart with the first lights of day, the town's small bell tower rang out six in the morning. The sight that lay before them left them all speechless, and at the same time, began a tale that would travel between the two kingdoms and give hope to those who had lost it; some could still stand up to 'Father' and his artificial mortal army. A giant pile of headless bodies lay in the centre of town, and sitting atop them were two figures. One was Sergeant Boris Hext, who sat bare-chested with his back against his fellow warrior, Siegfried Bähr, a local farmer, neither of whom were moving. The sight of these two men sitting back to back atop the pile of bodies in the morning light put all who witnessed it in awe. But the commanders of this new force still needed to do what they were sent there for; stop the company of artificial mortals. One of the soldiers that had fought with Boris, the female light elf, one medical Private Olympias Katsaros, was the first to climb the mountain of bodies to check the two men. Upon her arrival at the top, she was brought to tears, as both men were not only alive and conscious, but they were victorious. They had done the unthinkable and held the line against an unfeeling horde and won. Beaten and battered, the men were helped down the pile and were checked by the medics on hand. However, one of the heroes could not stay still now that he was given energy again. Siegfried began to walk away from the soldiers, unsteadily towards the town hall. Nearly falling, he was caught by Olympias, who wanted to help her new hero, the man who time and again defended her from blues that were lucky enough to break through the defensive line Boris held with his all. She helped him over the rubble of the town hall, with one wall having fallen inward from the force of a body flying through it. There he went to retrieve the body of the old Boss, but he found that though the Boss was on death's door, he had a few breaths left to share.

"'Bout time ya got 'ere, boy; I was gettin' tired o' waitin' fer ya." The boss forced out a chuckle, joined by blood filled cough, as Siegfried's right eye began to tear up. "Ya did good, boy. Heh, I gotta say, I raised ya well. I don' 'ave anything left ta teach ya. Ya surpassed me long ago."

Siegfried shook his head, "Boss, stop; you still have so much to teach me. This town still needs...no, I still need you!"

"Ya 'aven' needed me fer a while now, boy. Ya'll do jus' fine. I was 'oldin' ya back...I didn' want ta see ya go so soon, didn' wan' ya ta leave da nest; I'm sorry. Ya may not be da most talented fighter yet, but ya have it where it counts; ya got heart and a will dat'll never bend or break. Dat Boris kid and ya should rest, den head ta da capital. Go see da king; if 'e 'asn't sent fer ya yet. Tell 'em dat ol' Mr Kemp sent ya; dey'll let ya in. I wanted ta see ya grow a little longer...ah well, guess da gods 'ad different ideas."

"Boss...please, don't go." Tears began to roll down Siegfried's face in full force.

"Ya needn' cry, my boy; ya 'ave long since surpassed me, now go see ta it dat our work is finished...though I'm sorry I 'ave ta leave ya dis burden."

"I...I don't understand, what burden, who's 'we'. Boss, please, the medics are here, just save your breath. They'll get you patched up. You'll be fine." Olympias gingerly placed her hand on Siegfried's shoulder and shook her head; all the blood in Siegfried's face vanished instantly, but he didn't argue. Instead, he just hung his head low and was quiet as the Boss finished.

"Ya'll be fine, my boy; looks like ya've already found some good friends ta call on." as his breath grew harsher and more cumbersome, the Boss felt his time was nearly up and planned on going out on a high note. He inhaled as deep as he could through the pain and shouted to the heavens, "my brother, I'm sorry, but I've got ta leave our battle ta da next generation. We fought 'ard and got far, but 'ere's where our journey ends, and deir's begins. I'll see ya soon...my friend; my brother!" Catching his breath, the Boss began to cough up a lot of blood, much to Siegfried and Olympias' dismay.

"Sir, please. We can't save you, and I am sorry, but at least rest easy; I can make your final moments peaceful; it's the least I can do. So please, rest." Tears were starting to well up in Olympias' eyes as she watched the father and son say their farewells.

"I'll be fine, lass; I know I don' 'ave long left. If ya could do an old man one favour though, keep an eye on dis boy; keep 'im from doin' anything too stupid." With a tear filled nod from Olympias, he turned to Siegfried and smiled, "ya found a good'un, so ya gotta keep 'er safe and protect 'er, ya 'ear me boy!" Siegfried could only nod weakly, not fully grasping the Boss' meaning, but his smile grew brighter all the same. "Good man; good man...I'll leave the cottage ta ya, boy...no." With tears finally welling in the Boss' eyes, his final words shook Sieg to his core. "Siegfried Bähr. I couldn't o' asked fer a better son, live long and live well, yer free of dis tiny town. Ya be a good man, and I'm proud of ya. Thank ya for makin' these last years' worth livin'. I love ya, my boy; my son." With a final, beaming smile, his breath left his body for the last time.

"Thank you...Dad." Those were the only shaky words Siegfried could muster.

What looked like a civilian casualty to the soldiers that had just arrived was, in truth, a hero that saved countless lives by being himself, by being more stubborn than a mule and kinder than any other. After the tears had dried, Siegfried walked towards the cottage with the help of Olympias. She helped him retrieve shovels from the tool shed at the cottage; he then began to dig a grave just in the front, though he struggled with exhaustion and fatigue. He was pleasantly surprised when he was quickly joined by Boris and Olympias and then other soldiers in digging. After placing and covering the body, Sieg planted an oak sapling over the grave and silently said his final goodbyes to his father. Then, since there was no enemy to fight, the five thousand soldiers were ordered to clean up the town and clear it of bodies. The commanders then got the entire story from Sieg and Boris as the two were treated by the medics on hand.

#

A week passed as Burkhart was put back together, its citizens saying goodbye to their old friend, and thanking their healing heroes. Finally, after a week of rest stuck in that little cottage, Boris was happy to receive new orders. He got a summons from the king, and it called for the man named Siegfried Bähr to join him. "This is an important opportunity, Siegfried. Not many civilians are summoned by the king, but...do you think this is what the Boss meant? He did mention that you would be called by the crown."

After a moments pause, he replied to his newfound friend, "I'm not sure, but I plan on finding out. I need to know what burden the Boss left me; what task he left to me. I plan to see it through. Then, I'll see to it that that bastard Father and his blue monstrosities can never harm anyone else. After all that, then, perhaps, I'll rest."

"You plan on taking on the horde and Father? That will be quite the undertaking, you know that, right?"

"I'm not the only one who's lost something to those beasts; no more. The Boss won't rest easy with those creatures still wandering this world...though it will be tough to do on my own...care to join me, Boris? You're an excellent fighter and a good man; want to take the fight to those blue bastards?"

"It would be an honour, Sir Siegfried Bähr. Once we find out what the Boss wanted, we can head out and destroy those monsters." The pair crossed fists with melancholy smiles, then left the cottage they had been resting in, and stepped onto a bloody path of valour, heroism, might, and sacrifice. "The fall of a farmer; the rise of a warrior," Boris mused quietly.

"Yeah, there's a lot of work to be done. And it's Sieg; you of all people have earned that, Bor. All I can say now is, let's get to it."