Hope Besieged
Gerald Bubbles pushed his way through the crowd, dodging knees and flying ankles, until at last he could take it no longer, and started stepping on their feet. While most had the grace to get out of his way, someone clearly had sharper reflexes, and cuffed him in the back of the head on his way past. By the time Gerald turned around, the perpetrator was already lost in the sea of people, all clamoring to get closer. This struggle was getting him no closer...
He felt his morals slipping away like sand in an hourglass.
Gerald: "Fine! Aziz!"
Aziz: "Yes?"
Gerald: "You-- You can pick me up..."
Aziz: "I could." Gerald breathed out through his nostrils, and made a silent prayer to the Devil. Gerald: "Could you please pick me up?" Aziz had an infuriating habit in these types of situations -- he smiled without actually smiling, never toeing past the line of propriety. Gerald wanted to feed him a special cupcake in these moments, but then remembered all the good times they'd had, and raised up his arms in defeat. Aziz grabbed him from underneath the armipits, his hands almost big enough to surround his torso, and lifted his head an extra four or five feet off of the ground. From his new vantage point he could see everything. Eastgate was surrounded by soldiers, making sure the gate and main road stayed clear, while a procession of black and red wagons poured into the city. Hellknights riding infernal horses acted as their guard, flying the banners of the northern lands -- a white flag with six black spires, evenly surrounding the ruby crest of Asmodeus. The news had spread through town like a wildfire. Two months after his disappearance, Kesil had been spotted at the Nameless Spires. The Hellknights and the Swords of Absalom were to begin peace talks, and return to the battlefield as a joint force against the Cult of the Eldest Geometry. Ever since the Tarrasque had started terrorizing Avistan, their forces had amassed inside the Twisted Wood, gathering Kaiju for some kind of rush assault. Felix Bray had sent out a nationwide call for aid, but word was no one had responded -- the Tarrasque roaming the countryside had put a damper on inter-city travel, after all. Aziz: "There. The Lictor." Aziz pointed to a wagon that had just passed the gate, which flew three separate standards of the Hellknights, decreeing their allegiance, Order, and the officer inside. Gerald didn't recognize the Order, and neither did Aziz. Such knowledge was taboo in Absalom, and was of little use to anyone outside politics or warmongering. The wagon was surrounded on all sides by wicked-looking warriors, their armor chipped and slashed by monstrous claws, but never truly broken. The news said that these men were here to mediate, but you didn't send a Lictor all the way south just for talk... Gerald: "They're getting ready to fight, aren't they?"
Aziz: "It would seem so. But..."
Gerald: "Yeah." The Hellknights were looking for a fight, but who was the target? The Goblin horde? Their demon queen? The Tarrasque? Or, if these talks went awry... Well, a force like that would have even odds of taking Absalom from their weakened forces. Aziz: "Let's report back." Gerald nodded, riding on Aziz's shoulder until they were out of the crowd, his thoughts heavy with implications. Although he loved his lord and master, Absalom was not ready for his rule... Avistan was at a breaking point, and any more pressure might crack the whole thing in half. They weren't demons or daemons -- there were rules to such engagements, and laws to be upheld. Chaos in the streets would not serve the Devil's purpose. So he just had to believe that Asmodeus had a higher path, one that he could not see. And if the Lictor should decide to act in the Devil's supposed interest, instead of his dogma... The Starwatch would answer in kind.
Aziz: "Yes?"
Gerald: "You-- You can pick me up..."
Aziz: "I could." Gerald breathed out through his nostrils, and made a silent prayer to the Devil. Gerald: "Could you please pick me up?" Aziz had an infuriating habit in these types of situations -- he smiled without actually smiling, never toeing past the line of propriety. Gerald wanted to feed him a special cupcake in these moments, but then remembered all the good times they'd had, and raised up his arms in defeat. Aziz grabbed him from underneath the armipits, his hands almost big enough to surround his torso, and lifted his head an extra four or five feet off of the ground. From his new vantage point he could see everything. Eastgate was surrounded by soldiers, making sure the gate and main road stayed clear, while a procession of black and red wagons poured into the city. Hellknights riding infernal horses acted as their guard, flying the banners of the northern lands -- a white flag with six black spires, evenly surrounding the ruby crest of Asmodeus. The news had spread through town like a wildfire. Two months after his disappearance, Kesil had been spotted at the Nameless Spires. The Hellknights and the Swords of Absalom were to begin peace talks, and return to the battlefield as a joint force against the Cult of the Eldest Geometry. Ever since the Tarrasque had started terrorizing Avistan, their forces had amassed inside the Twisted Wood, gathering Kaiju for some kind of rush assault. Felix Bray had sent out a nationwide call for aid, but word was no one had responded -- the Tarrasque roaming the countryside had put a damper on inter-city travel, after all. Aziz: "There. The Lictor." Aziz pointed to a wagon that had just passed the gate, which flew three separate standards of the Hellknights, decreeing their allegiance, Order, and the officer inside. Gerald didn't recognize the Order, and neither did Aziz. Such knowledge was taboo in Absalom, and was of little use to anyone outside politics or warmongering. The wagon was surrounded on all sides by wicked-looking warriors, their armor chipped and slashed by monstrous claws, but never truly broken. The news said that these men were here to mediate, but you didn't send a Lictor all the way south just for talk... Gerald: "They're getting ready to fight, aren't they?"
Aziz: "It would seem so. But..."
Gerald: "Yeah." The Hellknights were looking for a fight, but who was the target? The Goblin horde? Their demon queen? The Tarrasque? Or, if these talks went awry... Well, a force like that would have even odds of taking Absalom from their weakened forces. Aziz: "Let's report back." Gerald nodded, riding on Aziz's shoulder until they were out of the crowd, his thoughts heavy with implications. Although he loved his lord and master, Absalom was not ready for his rule... Avistan was at a breaking point, and any more pressure might crack the whole thing in half. They weren't demons or daemons -- there were rules to such engagements, and laws to be upheld. Chaos in the streets would not serve the Devil's purpose. So he just had to believe that Asmodeus had a higher path, one that he could not see. And if the Lictor should decide to act in the Devil's supposed interest, instead of his dogma... The Starwatch would answer in kind.
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