The Foolhardies 217 The Retrea

Even if he stuck around to try and defeat my unit, Edo's unit had already broken his back, and without him leading the charge, they would get wiped out. 

He gambled. He lost. Now, he was willing to move on. If nothing else, I could respect that about him. 

"It seems playtime is over, boy…" Garm reached a hand forward, and like Azuma's spear, his greatsword flew back to him. "Tell my niece she's won this round… but this victory will cost her dearly." 

Just like that, Garm sheathed his greatsword and walked away from us. I would watch his retreating back up until the Black Rider arrived with an extra mount for him to ride on. She gave me one steely-eyed glare, but like Garm, she didn't attack me anymore either. 

Together, they rallied their frontline troops and charged back to the rear to rescue what remained of their flank. 

The crisis averted, I limped over to Azuma and checked to see if he was breathing. 

His eyes were close and his face was b.l.o.o.d.y and bruised but his chest heaved up and down. Looks like Garm had only knocked him out.

I realized then that Azuma had gotten much weaker since I first met him. The Azuma of then could have fought toe to toe with Garm without mine or Ty's help. But that was before when he just couldn't die no matter what wound you inflicted on him. The Azuma of now was frailer, and I'd like to think it was just cancer keeping him down. I was afraid to think it was we who were holding him back from his potential. 

My brow furrowed. "Ty?"

"He-here," he answered groggily. 

"Could you make an ice pack for Azuma?" I asked. "And can someone call Ian for me!"

Ian Grimmjaw never arrived. It was Tina Lovegood—the ax-wielding, curly-haired, and gla.s.ses-wearing teammate of Luca—who answered my summons. It was also she who informed me that Ian had pa.s.sed away. He'd been skewered by a pike in the throat from an a.s.sailant who'd gotten a lucky shot. 

I lowered my head in frustration. My brow furrowed even more. This was the nature of our job. We were warriors. But, whether they were my teammate or an enemy I slew myself, every death stung all the same after the battle was over. I doubt I'd ever stop feeling that way, and I hoped I never would. 

Tina and a few other Ravagers helped me get Azuma and Ty back to the rear while our frontline, under Arah's guidance, continued to hound the enemy's heel. 

Aura told me that she'd gotten the report that we'd successfully pushed Garm's forces back on all the other routes thanks to the leaders.h.i.+p of our squad leaders. In fact, it wasn't just Edo's troops who were in the midst of attacking Garm as we spoke. Both Liu Xiang's and Thom Blackthorn's units were also part of the a.s.sault. 

Yet, despite the nearly six thousand troops attacking their flank, Garm managed to lead the remainder of his forces into breaking through Edo's lines, thereby escaping the pincer attack and fleeing back past the mouth of the gorge. 

"One thing's bothering me though," I said. 

"What?" Aura asked as she dabbed a wet cloth onto Azuma's brow. The concern on her face at our injured comrade was touching to see. 

"He chased us all the way south… why was he so quick to flee now?" I asked. 

Aura shrugged. "I'm not sure… maybe he was too pressed for time?" 

She was half-right as it turned out. 

Back when we'd repelled the attacks of Garm's reserve army, I'd sent Fila on a mission to Great General Grimthorn and Darah with a message explaining the details of Garm's betrayal. And despite a lack of physical evidence of his betrayal at the time, the word of the princess of the Trickster Pavilion and her Sense Knight was taken into consideration. 

The truth, however, was far simpler than that. The ruling council had already decided at the time to strip Garm of his t.i.tle, and so they'd already had an army in reserve, ready to charge west at a moment's notice. Darah had been tasked with this job. 

As soon as she got my message, she marched west with a seventy-thousand strong army from central along with a writ from the council that would take away all Garm's authority. Although no one believed Garm would step down quietly, and Darah had expected a battle. 

A battle did occur, but not with Garm. The battle came in the form of a fifty-thousand strong Scarlet Moon army that had been waiting in the northern wastes of the Westersand Desert to make their move. 

They intercepted Darah's march and stalled her long enough for Garm to return to his forces, gather those loyal to him, and then flee north to lands outside the Trickster��s territory. 

Of course, I wasn't aware of most of this until the next night. I'd hear about it later from Fila who'd had a message from Darah telling me, "You suck! How could you let Garm escape your clutches when he was already within your reach?" 

Nope, that message came later. At the moment, I was too busy leading the remainder of my borrowed army south and away from the Westersand Desert. 

After we'd exited the southern mountain range, our unit and Liu Xiang's army of pilgrims would finally part ways but not before I insisted that Arah come with us. I expected them to disagree but they were quick to let her go actually. 

"Kitsune has admirable performed two of the three tasks we'd set for her," Liu Xiang. 

"Two of the three?" I asked. 

"Help them connect with you and a.s.sist in the training of their army," Arah said while she raised two fingers. "Luckily, I managed to hit two birds with one stone. Train their army in a real battle plus help them team up with you." 

She turned her two raised fingers into the peace sign and showed it to me. 

"And the third?" I asked, still unsure about this deal she made with them. 

"The third will come later," Liu Xiang answered. "To fulfill Kitsune's contract, we require that you meet with our leader, the Charlatan, in the near future." 

"Kitsune's contract?" I asked again. 

This was turning into a round of twenty-one questions. There were too many things about the Pilgrimage and Arah's situation that I just didn't know about. 

"She contracted us to bring her into the Fayne," Liu Xiang explained. "We knew she was a close acquaintance of yours and deemed it a good investment."

I set Arah my best imitation of the Rock's smoldering gaze. 

"You made a deal with them just to jump into the Fayne?" I wrapped my arms around my chest. "Are you insane?" 

"You wouldn't take me," she shot back. "I had to find an alternative… I wasn't about to let you and Ty get into trouble while waiting helplessly at home like some damsel in distress, Dean!" 

I sighed. We'd had this argument a number of times already on two different worlds no less. 

"If I meet with this Charlatan… you'll release Arah's contract?" I asked Liu Xiang. "What does that mean, exactly?"

"The price for coming to the Fayne through our services is worth this much." Liu Xiang brought out a roll of parchment and unfurled it so he could show me the number. "As you can see, it isn't a small sum at all." 

My eyes were as round as Oreos. 

"Th-this price… Isn't it extortion," I reasoned. "No way could a high school girl pay that much money…"

Ty, who'd been standing quietly between me and Arah leaned over to me to get a look at the parchment. "S-so many zeros…" 

I turned on Arah and slapped at the paper in Liu Xiang's hand. 

"And you accepted this kind of deal?" I asked incredulously. 

"The things they asked of me were pretty easy to accomplish. So why wouldn't I?" Arah just shrugged. Then her brow furrowed. "Unless you're saying you won't meet with the Charlatan?" 

"Of course I'll meet with him," I said without hesitating. "How else am I going to keep you from acquiring such a huge debt?"

It was only for a moment, but Arah smiled after I'd said what I said. 

"Thanks, Dean," she said in a voice that was barely a whisper. 

"Alright, Liu Xiang, when do we meet your boss?" I continued. 

"We will contact you at a later date," he replied. 

"And that's all you want?" I pressed. "For me to meet him?" 

"Well," Liu Xiang's eyes darted toward Aura. "We would like you to bring your brother and the princess as well."

He raised his hands in surrender before we could protest.

"The Charlatan only seeks a discussion… we have no plans to harm you or your friends," he promised.

"Alright," Aura answered for me. "I'll go if it means helping Arah."

And with that proclamation, we parted ways with the Pilgrimage. They continued in a western direction while we traveled southeast. 

"Where are we going? Arah asked. 

I looked up at the night sky. Idunn was barely past its zenith which meant dawn would take a while longer to arrive. That wasn't an issue though. We had another hearth we could all rest in. 

"Home," I answered.