The Foolhardies 160 Bloody Birthday

They didn't have much of a choice after Verania impaled the head of their commander on a spike and then placed it where all could see the b.l.o.o.d.y thing.

Right afterward, she threatened the defenders below with the execution of their other officers we managed to capture in the oasis.

The soldiers of the Sunspire Dominion had no choice but to capitulate. They lowered their weapons and surrendered to my Foolhardies, the Millenium Hawks, and Verania's Moonlight Marauders who had arrived too late for the start of the fight.

In fact, except for Verania and her crack troopers made up entirely of pixie flyers, the rest of her unit was lazing around at the back of our two units' defensive lines. They didn't even bother to join the battle until it was over.

All in all, it really was a b.l.o.o.d.y affair, one I didn't wish to have on this particular night of all nights.

"I can't believe she did it again…" I sighed. "Things can't get any worse than this… right?"

"I'm not so sure about that… anything's possible whenever Verania appears," Al Sheridan replied, sighing as heavily as I did.

"So…" I glanced sideways at him. "Should we consider this a draw?"

Al shrugged. "I guess… you can hold onto your Leprechauns for now."

"Funny," I countered. "I was about to say the same thing to you."

"So, what are you two incompetents whispering about?" Verania interrupted in a mocking tone whose sting wasn't any less dampened by her silky smooth voice. "Are you discussing which of you is more irrelevant or would you like me to point that out for you?"

Both Al and I turned to face her, our faces wary and worried in equal measure.

"Why are you even here, Folkor?" Al asked. "You must be tired of stealing our kills?"

"Yeah," I nodded in agreement. "This is the third time you've screwed us over."

Verania's flashed us an indignant face, but neither Al nor I believed she was in any way hurt by our accusations. We were proven right seconds later after Verania's frown morphed into her devilish grin.

"Steal your thunder?" she asked innocently. "Whatever do you mean? I am simply here to provide aid as instructed by Great General Grimthorn who," she flashed twinkling eyes at both of us before she turned around and walked away with one last stab in our guts, "who didn't feel like the pair of you could accomplish such a simple task as reclaiming the oasis."

As she strutted away from us, I could tell that Al was imagining the same thing I was—strangling Verania's throat with my bare hands.

She stopped and glanced over her shoulder at us as if she'd forgotten one more thing.

"It's alright… there are three other smaller oases for you both to fight over," she said as she flashed another mocking smile our way. "The B-teams have their uses too."

Verania was out of earshot when Al's head finally exploded.

"I'm going to kill her," he said with gritted teeth. His hand had even reached out to the glaive strapped to his back.

"Don't bother," I said with a shake of my head. "Just wait for Aura to climb up here. That'll rile Verania up for sure."

True to my statement, the moment Aura reached the oasis, Verania's mood visibly soared.

But Aura ignored the cross-armed posture and pouting face of her childhood rival and made her way to Al and me who were waiting for her by the entrance of the mana pool.

As Aura was secretly the highest-ranking member of the Trickster Pavilion present, it was her right to enter the mana pool first. Of course, this meant I would get to go in with her.

"Good work to the both of you," she said in almost a whisper.

It wouldn't do if Verania's or Al's officers wondered why Al and I were being submissive to the clan's disguised princess. It was a very Mulan-type situation. And I supposed Edo was a stand-in for the loveable pet dragon, Mushu. They both had horns after all. That joke made me laugh inwardly.

"Shall we enter together?" Aura asked.

"Shouldn't you be offering this boon to the officer who won the field, princess?" Verania asked in a louder voice than I would have liked.

This pixie was really looking to get punched in the gut or something equally demeaning.

Aura turned to face Verania for the first time since their last encounter a few weeks ago. The sparks flying between them then was a little less smoldering than the gazes they gave each other now.

The staring match lasted a while and only ended after I cleared my throat in audible fas.h.i.+on as if to say, "Please continue with your stare down while we patiently wait. Not like I have better things to do."

"Of course, Commander Verania…" Aura said after the long staring match was over. "Would you accompany us into the mana pool?"

"Us?" Verania raised an eyebrow. "Why do they get to go?"

"They," Aura glanced warmly back at me and Al, "cleared the way for you to… achieve victory. Shouldn't they share in the spoils?"

The subtle implications in Aura's statement were not lost on any of us, causing me and Al to smile at this reverse of fortunes. Make no mistake, no matter what world one was in, knowing the right people was the best way to get ahead in life.

Verania bit her lip and I was almost certain she had something nasty to say but wisely chose not to say anything.

Wordlessly, she followed Aura through the circle of stones which symbolized the fairy fort that guarded the secret garden of the mana pool.

Al went in next, but not before looking back toward me to ask, "Are you coming?"

I looked over to Edo and Luca who were in the middle of managing the surrender of the hundred and forty surviving enemy soldiers in the oasis.

Many of these enemies were cl.u.s.tered together as they sat on the sand with their hands tied to their front.

After Verania's proclamation that she would slaughter all who didn't surrender, Al and I had a hard time dialing down the tension. We each promised safety and freedom to return to the Dominion's territory for all who surrendered.

As a whole, my group and Al's had slain a total of sixty enemies with only three casualties for Al's riders and one from mine.

A visere from Ashley's s.h.i.+eld squad had been struck down by an arrow to the throat while they made the climb. His name was Wren Lokai. He was thirty-two and the father of three.

It was a sore spot in the otherwise flawless victory we might have had if Verania hadn't swooped in to steal the show.

I made a note in my head to make sure his family back on Mudgard received proper compensation for his sacrifice, and I would ask Varda to add that to the list of priorities for the rest of the night.

Later in the night, I would learn that there were more casualties among the Foolhardies from the northern slope's battle, but that would be after the trip to the mana pool. Right now, I was feeling devastated enough with the loss of one soldier.

Luca noticed the scowl on my face and gave me the thumbs up as a kind of rea.s.surance. The cheeky brat thought I needed comforting even though he was still bleeding from another wound on his left arm, and there was a cut on his cheek too. It was another reason to feel bad, putting my younger brother in enough danger to get injured.

Luca didn't seem to mind though. In fact, his new wounds were just the excuse he needed to make Pike fuss over him—the little t.u.r.d turned Casanova.

"Be right back," I mouthed.

"We'll be here," he mouthed back.

Then I turned around and followed the others into that secret world within the fairy fort of circle stones.

A step past the circle stones and I found myself transported into a place of verdant gra.s.s and trees much like the first fairy fort I'd ever visited.

There was a myriad of colorful flowers scattered among healthy shrubs that would have been unable to grow in a desert.

The smell of lilacs, thyme, rosemary, and roses filled the surrounding air that was like a soothing balm to the weary warrior in me.

I glanced above me and saw that the sky was different from the clear starry sky I'd just left behind. In its place was an aurora of green and blue and purple hues. It was a reflection of the light coming from the small glowing pool at the center of this otherworldly place.

As most fairies knew, this was the secret that all fairy forts held. This garden of Eden that could survive even the harshest climates as if it were separate from the rest of the Fayne, and more importantly, the pool within this garden that filled this s.p.a.ce with magical energy.

Ahead of me, Aura stood beside the pool while my two rival commanders fidgeted in front of her. I could guess why as I noticed that Aura had taken off her mask and hood. That was natural as there was no reason for her to hide who she was in this place.

Possibly, like me, they were both enamoured by her otherworldly beauty. Yes, even Verania, who was gorgeous to look at herself, seemed captivated by Aura who I likened to the G.o.ddess of love.

Aura beckoned me over with a regal hand, and I quickly hopped to follow.

"The mana pool here will be used for the clan, but each of you may take a jar's worth of mana for yourselves to share with your warriors," Aura instructed.

She offered each of us a jar that was the size of a large pitcher of water.

This might seem small to the uninitiated but us experienced people knew better. A single sip of mana was enough to provide all kinds of benefits to a fairy or human, things too numerous to mention now.

"I give you this boon as thanks for your recent achievements for the clan as well as to prepare you for what comes next," Aura explained.

"What comes next, princess?" Al asked in a voice that was all reverence and respect.

Aura offered him a smile. Then she turned it on Verania and frowned.

"Care to explain the news to them," she asked politely.

Verania frowned herself but relented to Aura's request.

"The Council has acquiesced to the proposal of Great General Garm," she revealed. "Very soon, the Trickster Pavilion will declare war on the Sunspire Dominion to reclaim the entirety of the Westersand Desert from their grasp."

We all knew it was coming, but I had to ask the question in all our minds, "Why now?"

Verania turned her cold stare on me. "Besides the increasing hostilities over the past few months, you mean?"

I nodded. "That's not enough to go to war, right?"

"It's always been the plan to expand our borders and slowly consolidate our power in the central region," Aura reasoned, glancing meaningfully at me as she did. "Although we achieved this expansion on our eastern border, reclaiming much of the Calmlands from the Magesong Clan, there are those who believed we failed to achieve much as the Spellweave River Valley itself was stolen away by the Scarlet Moon from right under our noses."

"And now that the Scarlet Moon is in a protracted war with the Hermitage up north, now's an ideal time to strike without fear of them interfering again," Al guessed.

Aura nodded. "The elders seem to think so, and my brother approved of Great General Garm's plan."

"So… war is coming once again, huh," I confirmed.

Aura nodded.

She stooped down toward the pool and dipped an Erlenmeyer flask into its waters. She filled it up to nearly full before pulling it out of the water and corking the flask.

Aura stepped aside for the other two to fill their jars. Then she walked over to me and pushed the flask into my free hand while she whispered into my ear.

Her breath smelled of mint and honey and all good things, addling my brain enough that I almost missed what she'd said. But I heard that last part well enough.

"Happy sixteenth birthday, Dean," she breathed.