Despite Aexilica and Vari's methods, the battle didn't end up being won. Apparently some interference from farther down the lines had thrown the entire thing out of balance, turning what ought to have been an easy victory into another reluctant, sluggish stalemate. Aexilica felt the sting of that, as well as something more.

Everything she'd done had been rendered pointless by events that hadn't even happened within visual range of her, miles away. Dozens of miles away. Beyond her reach, beyond her power. But not beyond reaching and holding power over her. This was war on the scale of nations, blotting out an entire landscape.

But it wasn't Aexilica's biggest concern, not right now. Emma was still missing, and that took precedence over everything else. She'd been led back with the grey-coats once all the killing was done, trecking back over sludgy mud for another few miles before she found herself ushered down into yet more trenches.

These ones seemed different than the others, reinforced with wood wrapped in some strange material Aexilica couldn't quite identify. The ground was wet, though not as puddled or clammy as in the blue-coated men's trenches, and there were far more corners in need of navigating.

"Why do you live here?" Aexilica frowned, as she followed the leader of the grey-coated men. He glanced over his shoulder, frowned just as she did.

"Anything above-ground gets shelled to oblivion, you think we're just doing this for fun? We have no choice."

Shelled. Aexilica didn't understand his use of that word, but she imagined he didn't mean it in the conventional way.

"The…fireballs?" She asked. "The ones that were blowing great holes in the ground when we ran?"

"Yes." The grey-coat nodded. "Artillery shells, like I said."

Aexilica would have to figure out these strange people's lexicon later, but for now her priorities were clear enough regardless. She wasn't left waiting much longer before reaching her apparent destination, a particularly deep section of trench which led to an entire room submerged under the ground. It was lined with wood, but also metal and stone, and in the centre there lay a large table riddled with maps and curious bits of metal.

There was a man standing by the table, tall and dressed similarly to all the rest—albeit with odd bits of medals pinned to various parts of his breast and clattering with every significant motion. His hair was blonde, like some Sculds, though cut far shorter, spiking and clinging close to his scalp. His features were sharp, eyes a Scurlgan blue, and face calm and placid. He turned on his heels to eye Aexilica, hands held behind his back and body stiff and rigid.

"These are the strangers who aided the attack so thoroughly?" He asked, speaking with an odd accent and a mechanically precise cadence.

"We are." Aexilica replied, before thinking. It had been so long since her time back home that she'd almost forgotten what it meant to speak with a leader of men, almost overlooked the deference expected of her by Cinta and the rest of Aethiq's Priesthood.

She'd answered him back and spoken without being given permission to, Aexilica almost winced. That could have brought her a lot of undue trouble, and withered her favour with this man whose favour she needed so badly. But it didn't.

"Then I owe you one." The man told her, sounding friendly enough but not quite smiling.

Owe you one? Where had Aexilica heard that before? A curious phrase which stuck in her mind for some reason. The man was speaking more before she could dwell on it.

"My name is Reinhardt Kruger, Supreme Commander of the Unified Order." As he said it, the men behind Aexilica stiffened bolt upright and made some strange, unified gesture. Some ritual she imagined, or else it would not be so coordinated. Another mystery, for later.

"Aexilica," Said Aexilica.

"Vari," Said Vari.

Neither of them had fancy titles, and she felt almost silly for highlighting the fact. But Aexilica had been given this man's name, to deny him her own in return would only invite irritation. She needed to do without that now of all times.

"You are from Aethiq and Scurlga?" Kruger asked, genuinely surprising Aexilica.

"Yes…" She replied. "How did you know?"

"I've made a study of various names and their corresponding regions." He explained. "Though I've far from mapped all of them out. The two of your countries are neighbours, am I correct?"

"You are," Aexilica confirmed. "Do you know whereabouts we are now?"

"You are in Gorgoschia." Kruger explained.

"And where is that?" Aexilica had never heard of the place, and her ignorance was sitting painful and sharp in her mind. "How far from Aethiq, I mean."

"Give me one moment please." Kruger turned, sifting through the papers piled across his table before withdrawing one which seemed illustrated with a great many landmasses Aexilica had never seen. "Here we are. Yes, it seems you are about eight thousand miles from home."

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Aexilica should've been getting used to shocking, gutting news hitting her. This piece still knocked the wind from her however. Eight thousand fucking miles. Aexilica tried to imagine it, and gave up within seconds. There simply was no envisioning a figure like that. It was just…Absurd, but then everything in this land was. A world of giant things and places.

"This must be overwhelming for you, I am sorry to have broken it to you this way." Kruger's voice didn't sound particularly sympathetic, though the man didn't strike Aexilica as being in any way expressive in general.

"Don't apologise." She replied without thinking. "You've helped me by telling me this, thank you."

He smiled, again without much warmth, and nodded shortly.

"Onto other matters," Kruger continued. "I have been told you wish to receive help from me, is that right?"

"It is." Aexilica felt herself stiffening up now, raising her guard again. Putting her into a sense of ease was just the sort of tactic a negotiator would use if he wished to get something from her. She shouldn't have thanked him for telling her how far Aethiq was, it'd just serve as more ammunition in his quiver if he chose to make some demand of her. Stupid fucking mistake.

"I would like to offer it." Kruger nodded. "I really would, but as you've probably seen already I have my hands full dealing with other…Inconveniences."

"The fighting?" Vari asked, suddenly eager-sounding again. Aexilica really was getting tired of being alone with him. Gods save her from the Sculds and their incessant fixation on combat.

"Yes, the fighting." Kruger did not seem awkward to have the topic broached so clumsily, most men would have. Even most men of power. "You've seen it for yourself already, what do you make of it?"

It was the most confusing, terrifying thing I have ever seen. If I ever live to see my Gods go to war, I imagine they will keep hounds akin to your metal beasts. Cast spells like your invisible fireballs, conduct battle-lines like your national fronts. I want to flee, and spend the rest of my life as far from such conflicts as I am able.

The truth rarely served Aexilica well, and she had no illusions about Kruger being an exception to that general rule. If control over one town made men into tyrants, what might the scale of authority she'd seen him conducting do? No, best to stay safe.

"It's beyond me to judge." Aexilica told him cautiously. "I've never seen anything quite like it, I have no basis. Nothing to compare it to."

Kruger grunted, sounding mildly annoyed and impressed at once. "Fair enough, at the very least I can appreciate that you know when your experience is useless. And either way my offer to you remains, though your apparent fear of this battlefield might make you choose not to accept it."

"You'll help me find my friend if I fight for you?" Aexilica had to resist wincing. It seemed there were disadvantages to power, too. She was too strong now for any commander not to try and snatch up.

"Not quite. I already know where your friend is, and in fact I can tell you where this very moment. But given that she is currently, to the best of my understanding, among the enemy, actually reaching her would be…difficult."

Aexilica resisted yet another destructive impulse, this one more literal. She wanted to punch the nearest support beam in her rage. Given the newfound strength she possessed, and the great mass of earth being suspended over her head by such beams, it seemed inadvisable to do so.

"So we need to fight through that army to get her?" She growled, doing her best to restrain the anger which was growing more uncontrollable with every moment it spent boiling in her gut. Kruger arched an eyebrow, silently disapproving of her obvious rage, but saying nothing about it.

"I am afraid so, yes. Granted you could simply wait for me to win independently but…To be frank, I am not certain I will. Particularly now that this newcomer to the enemy's side has joined them. If she emerges again, in later battles, it will make a dent in my attacks."

"Wait." Aexilica blinked, frowned. Felt the conclusions practically making themselves, but all done slowly. The whole process was addled by disbelief. "Hold on, what newcomer?"

"I'm not surprised you haven't heard," Kruger noted. "According to my reports, a small woman wielding exceptional power. She fired streams of energy able to flip over tanks—those metal animals you described—and tore apart entire groups of riflemen by hurtling projectiles she conjured herself. She fought clad in strange, translucent armour that could even withstand gunf—hits from our staffs."

Aexilica felt the urge to punch the wooden beam all over again, instead settling to merely grab her own face and pull in frustration.

"Fuuuuuuuck!"

Kruger, clearly, was lost. She almost didn't want to illuminate him, but…No. Better for him to find out now than do anything mistaken.

"It sounds like your newcomer is…Our mising friend." Aexilica volunteered, wincing as she said it.

Kruger stared at her.

"She killed fifty-eight men." He noted. "And immobilised an armoured vehicle weighing twenty-five tonnes."

"She's easily confused," Aexilica explained, though even to her it sounded weak. "Emma—my friend—she has a tendency to…Panic."

"Panic." Kruger echoed, blinking. He didn't seem enraged as much as simply disbelieving. "Panic?"

"Yes. She probably found herself just as dazed as we were at the battle, was she attacked first?"

Kruger hesitated. "I'm unclear on that."

If nothing else, that uncertainty was something Aexilica could use to buy time until they actually found Emma. At which point the girl would talk, and there was no telling what would happen.

"Well, it sounds to me like she was panicked when one of your men attacked her without provocation. She probably just went with the side which wasn't trying to shoot her."

Kruger frowned at that, thoughtful, but not overly hostile at least. He sighed. "I will have to see this myself but…Fine, you have my word that I'll at least try to free your friend. Will you be joining in the efforts?"

This was the question Aexilica had been dreading, because it was one she'd failed to properly answer before. Would she be freeing Emma? Emma, who had saved her several times by now and never even seemed to realise she was doing something great in the process?

Of course she would.

"You'll have our help, as long as you promise not to kill our friend if you can avoid it."

Kruger's face twisted, as he transparently went through the mental considerations of what that would entail.

"I won't specifically target her, that's more than you'd get otherwise given how dangerous she is as an enemy asset."

Aexilica nodded stiffly. It would have to do, she suspected this one had already given her a strange amount of leeway given her relatively non-existent bargaining power.

"One other thing." She added. "Your accent, it's different from your men."

Kruger looked somewhat impressed.

"Keen ear." He noted. "Yes, it is. I'm not from here. My home is…Somewhere called earth, I doubt you'll have heard of it."

But of course, she had.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.