Bloodline

Waiting (2) - Part 20

(Same as the last part, all events happening here are happening in days recorded in logs, as to shorten the story for the conclusion.)

Day 15 - I've seen something moving in the forest, but it wasnt like the animals that passed by every now and then, and I dont care what Damian says, I'm going to find out what it is. With the dark army at our doorstep, we cant take any risks, and if it means I'll be closer to fulfilling this path of revenge and fulfilling what my gem was meant to mean, I'll be complete. I shall head out when the first star is seen. Watching that big white circle in the sky annoys me as I wait.

Day 15 (nightime) - They're standing there, just waiting for the camp watch to leave for a minute before striking, and two of this five man squad stand out too much. They must be more of the assassins made from the king, after our first encounter all that time ago I can see this better, their movement, their positioning, it seems familiar now that I see them from here. It's funny how they're supposed to be stalking us in the camp, but here I am, watching their every move. Those other scouts with them are pretty much just targets in the way, but once I deal with them, this will be a huge blow to them once I dump their bodies out above the cliff.

Day 18 - the threat the army sent seemed to be a bluff so far, at least for now since dropping the bodies down directly into the fort from the cliff, the troops seem more at ease now that their threat hadn't been made real yet. Though I'm sure they're already plotting a way to get us now that I took down their scouts. Speaking of which our scouts have discovered a strange part of the mountains near the cliff I mentioned before, there is a large crack in the side which may drop a load of rocks if say...some explosives were to be used. We could surprise them and maybe even block the tunnel to the castle if we try this, but whether the explosives will drop large enough rocks or where the rocks fall could change everything about our plans to directly storm the castle. We're this close but we're stopped by this one barrier, and soon it'll come down. Damian seems to agree with my idea of a small rock avalanche into the base but with how the Colonel has been lately, I doubt we'll be going with it soon.

Day 19 - Today was a stranger day than most, especially since nobody really knew what happened. As we stood watch somewhere in the camp, a sudden boom happened from out of nowhere, and nobody could find out where it happened. There was no smoke, no fire, nothing to show that the boom came from anywhere we could see, and everyone wondered what it could mean. On another note, we all got back into the tent after we were relieved of today's duties and had another drink. Tesath seemed more at ease with everyone when we all finally had a bit of rest after a few days of scouting, destroying, infiltrating and managing the camp were over. She especially had a few things to say to me after our run in with that fort a few weeks ago. It was almost like I was a different person she said, and I dont blame her for thinking that, especially since... well, my gem isn't really as bright as I remember it being now that I look at it again. Speaking of gems, the amulet from way back when proved to be a good guide for a road I found earlier in the day, which led to a town that wasnt destroyed, hell, it wasnt even recognized by the eastern army. They welcomed me in and I gave them the rundown of the situation at hand, and in return, they offered us a few supplies they had stockpiled, like food, water, and materials for weapons. It was a welcoming sight from some when the small supply chain of crates came by, and after getting the trust of some of the soldiers, they seem to appreciate me more now.

Day 22 - A plan has finally been made with Damian and the pain in the ass Colonel over how we'll assault the fort, and though I can see many flaws in it, I'm sure Damian has a backup plan in his head to prevent the Colonel from killing us all. Once we finally got things working, and Damian finally got a break after dealing with checking on the soldiers, making a plan of action, and giving a small speech that boosted moral of the soldiers, we finally had a chance to strike the dark army first. We all had a chance to take another break again after we all got everything done and everyone together. I never thought I'd be happy seeing Maralyne again, especially after we got news that her scouting party had been discovered and attacked by archers, of course she also gloated about taking some of them down with her bow but still, it felt nice hearing that again after days of preparing for an assault. Though he hasn't been seen much, it turns out Lutol also managed to help out way more than we thought he would be able to, especially since he found an iron deposit in a mountainside opposite from the direction of the village I found. We got to gain raw iron and with the help of the villagers, we now have iron and steel to reinforce our soon to be fort with, especially since we got news that our reinforcements and caravan would be here in a couple of weeks. Our good luck noted, everyone finally had their break they desperately needed, Tesath using a lot of her energy healing the wounded soldiers in a large tent with other medics. Speaking of Tess, it felt good talking with her again, and though I'm embarrassed to say, I did let her stroke my hair again, but only since she asked to.

Day 25 - Tesath wanted to do something now that she had more time since fixing up the last soldier, and since I really didn't have anything else to do, we went on a walk earlier today. It's strange having a small time like this to do something other than fight in a war, and the forest seemed like a good place to walk in since it felt natural. Of course she didnt go in without a bit of hesitation but after some encouragement, we had a nice walk in the forest. Something about the trees covering the sun and the sounds of animals scurrying away as we barely catch glimpses of them were nice, especially with her by my side. Our conversation about what we'll do after the war was nice, and it definitely felt nice opening up more about something with her, though I cant say that after that walk I didnt develop more feelings towards her, and I only hope that she doesnt find this journal, but that's a concern for another time.

Day 27 - Now beginning to prepare for the construction of the fort, we now saw some combat when a force of what I would assume to be a couple hundred came by and attacked. Our fort preparations mustve been obvious to them and now I think they must be trying to prevent that from happening. It was a large force to clear out but we took them out way faster than I thought we would've. Some of our forces took serious damage though, but with Tesath's magic they will heal as if they didnt even get touched. Though I do know better than to just let her heal them by herself, especially with the days before yesterday where she was using all the energy she could, maybe I'll drop by and assist her if she needs to. Dropping soldiers from out of nowhere was kind of fun while the battle happened, they would've never expected me to pop out of nowhere and take out their leading officer. Speaking of which, after looting some of the soldiers, we got our hands on a strange container with a weird color-changing liquid. Where and what this liquid is is beyond me, and since we dont have the right people to see what this is, we'll have to hold it off for later, though, I think I may want to look at this myself if I could take it from the Colonel tonight...thieving plans aside, there was also a small plan to the inside of the fort, so we now know the inside of it, and It'll definitely help once the plan of action takes place. Getting everyone together, I came up with a plan of counterattack, but it all depended on them. Luckily, they decided to go along with it, and soon the siege may come earlier and easier than we expected. Some of the forces have also begun to start the construction of the walls to the fort, and soon once we get it set up, we'll be able to continue on and even push them back into their land more. This tyrant of a king must be putting all his bets on this one heavily protected fort to keep us away. Theres also the vial that was found containing that substance that change different colors, so far for no reason. Tomorrow I'll see if theres more I could do, but I should help Tess with the wounded right now.

Day 30 - Tesath appreciated the help I could provide, and now that I have my hands on this vial, I may be able to look into it myself, especially since after looking through the glass on the vial and shaking it, it had a composition almost like blood, with the way it acted after a second of shaking. The container it was put in definitely means it is meant to be injected into something, perhaps someone upon seeing a small needle that was covered by a small cover. I of course know better than to inject this into myself but just the sight of it gives me a strange feeling of greed, almost like it was I was meant to get it from the soldier I killed all to myself. Leaving these thoughts aside, Damian gathered us together and discussed a backup plan from the one he and the Colonel came up with, just as I thought. Overall, if their plan doesnt go well, which it wouldn't, we and a third of the troops would then form a defensive ring and hold a shield line, as they come to attack us, with the help of a few smoke bombs Damian tasked me with making, I'll then throw them around and near us, and as they scramble to find what the deal was with the smoke, we'll split into four battalions and push into them, using the shields for cover and striking through them and around the shield lines. Though I'm sure we use the plan as an offense, we'll just have to stick with it being like this. While writing this, I've already gone ahead and made four bombs, keeping the vial with me watching it turn into all the colors I know, plus others I've never seen in my life. This plan will be the only thing keeping us alive if all else fails, and even if the bombs dont go off at the cliffs crack, we'll have to give it our all, it's just a matter of time.