CH 219: Battle preparations

Given the nature of the monster they were up against, Duvain’s mayor mustered up what women she could to aid them. They met up with the Captain of her Guard at the edge of town. The guard was twenty women total, but the chimera had claimed the lives of five. Memorials of the fallen women were right next to the makeshift fortification they built.

A lady in full knight armor approached the carriage. Elsie stopped the horses to talk to her. “You must be the Scarlet Seraphs. Thank the Gods.”

“We are,” Elsie nodded. “You must be Captain Reynolds.”

“Please, call me Rebecca or Becca,” the mid-thirties woman smiled at the twins. “Not used to the title of Captain yet.”

“Well, okay, I’m Elsie and this is my sister Ana,” Elsie nodded at her. The two descended from the driver’s seat to meet the woman. “The rest of our party is in the back.”

“Ah, you two must be the mages Sara mentioned…” The woman exhaled deeply. “Its hide is too tough for our weapons; we need magic to defeat this beast.”

The back of the carriage opened, revealing the rest of the Scarlet Seraphs. Claire, Hannah, Ursa, and Jasmine were clad in their gear with their weapons ready. They approached Rebecca, who had a confused look on her face.

“What’s a Knight of Lady Efreit doing here?”

Hannah smiled behind her helmet. “My Lady’s grandson recently joined the party.”

“Grandson?” The woman tilted her head. “The singer? He joined an adventurer party? Wh-what…”

“Long and complicated story,” Hannah stepped forward and patted her shoulder. “From what I understand, your previous Captain was one of the women killed by this monster.”

The woman nodded her head. “Sacrificed herself to protect us…”

“We’ll avenge her,” Hannah pulled the woman into an embrace. “I promise. These are very competent adventurers.”

“Hello, I’m Jasmine.” Jasmine waited until Hannah pulled away from the captain. “I’m your contact. We brought a mage capable of using both fire and lightning magic, which should prove very effective against the monster’s hide.”

“A dual-element mage?” The woman blinked. “Her? She’s so young, though…”

“I know,” Jasmine nodded.

“Hear that?” Elsie poked Claire with a smug smile. “She’s in disbelief.”

“Jazz didn’t want you to hear that,” Claire laughed back.

“Okay, well, the chimera will be back before nightfall,” the woman let out a long exhale. “We’ll aid any way we can, but… I can’t let too many women get sacrificed, or else…”

“It’s okay,” Jasmine reassured her. She, too, patted her shoulder. “I understand that you need as many women as possible until our Lady’s knights can reinforce your guard.”

“Only the Gods know when that will happen…” Rebecca scoffed.

“Not a fan of her, either?” Hannah laughed.

“No one outside her circle is,” Rebecca said before spitting. “She cost us good women by ignoring our request for more guardswomen.”

“That’s why we’re here,” Claire said from the side. She didn’t even realize she started talking. “She is letting her people rot, making my job necessary.”

There was a hint of recognition in Rebecca’s expression. “Huh? What do you mean?” “Claire, is now a good time?” Jasmine whispered to her.

“Yes. I’m the Champion of a new Goddess. An unnamed Goddess,” Claire continued with more confidence. “She gave me a divine mission to free our men. But I plan on taking down our Lady as well.”

“Oh, so those rumors are true?” Rebecca pursed her lips. “There’s a new Goddess?”

Claire took a deep breath. She was worried about word of Her spreading in case the Queen, or even Lady Lloyd, heard about it. But also, she was glad that the rumors were spreading so fast. “Yes. She doesn’t have a name yet, but She’s here.”

“Liberate our men?” Rebecca muttered to herself. “So you’d make it easier for folks like us to have kids?”

Claire nodded. “Not just that. Bring back our fathers, brothers, and sons. Let men be as free as women.”

“Apologies, we’re saving up for kids of our own. It’s been on my mind…” Rebecca smiled. “Enough of that, we should get ready for the chimera. Have to have you prove your status as Champion before we talk further on the subject.”

“That’s fair,” Claire nodded. She didn’t mind being doubted, especially since she was still eighteen. She took a deep breath and continued. “I’m sorry for your losses. I’m sure they were good women.”

“They were very good women,” The captain nodded. She took a moment to glance at the memorials. “Thank you. I have a lot to live up to when it comes to my predecessor.”

“I have no doubt that you will exceed expectations,” Claire smiled. “Let’s discuss our plan for this chimera.”

“Right,” Jasmine said as the captain led them to a map. “We have our own plan for the fight, but we could use your women as support. I understand you don’t want to lose any more guards, but we could use the help.”

“That… can be arranged,” She pursed her lips and motioned for one of her guards to step forward. “This is Catherine, she’s our city’s healer. She has some combat experience, but not a whole lot. She can support your mages and you. Then,” she points to another woman. “Jean. She’s an archer. She’s the only one to have damaged the monster so far.”

“Took out one of its goat eyes,” The brunette smiled.

“Yes, and saved us from more casualties.” Rebecca continued. “She’ll support you as well. We were able to acquire a ballista, which she’ll be using. The rest will secure this position and aid you if needed.”

“And you?” Jasmine asked.

“I’m the only one who knows how to operate the ballista, unfortunately,” Rebecca pointed to the machine behind them. “Helped build it with my wife.”

“Okay, that’s fine.” Jasmine rubbed her chin. “We have our own plan ready. We’ll bait the monster in with our frontline, then have Elsie and Jean fire at the beast. We hope that their attacks can cripple the beast or else…”

She glanced at Ursa, who had her ax slung over her shoulder. She gave Jasmine a nod as her eyes ignited in red light.

“We have one backup plan, but if we have to use it,” Jasmine continued. She looked around at the guardswomen surrounding them. “You have to swear you do not let its nature leak. It’s something we’d much rather keep secret.”

Rebecca studied the Ravian woman. “Understood. Let’s hope we don’t get to that point. And I think I have my own idea.”

She motioned towards a civilian. The woman stepped forward and introduced herself. “I’m the captain’s wife, call me Gina.”

“Yes, honey,” Rebecca moved over to an assortment of supplies. “Do you think we could attach these chains to the bolts? Anchor the monster down and make control its movements.”

“Not a bad idea,” The blonde picked up the chain and went for her utility belt around her waist. “I could probably do that. But I’ll need quite a bit of help. Not only just muscle.” “I can help with that,” Jasmine stepped forward. “Can’t believe I’m regretting not bringing my sister… She’s a blacksmith, so I have experience with mechanical parts and stuff.”

“Okay,” The woman grabbed as many women as she could and had them haul the chains towards the ballista. “Let’s hope it doesn’t get here soon.”

There was a moment of silence as they shuffled out of the meeting area. Claire felt a weird sensation permeate at the back of her neck, she reached back to touch it and looked towards the sky. Her eyes widened.

“Too late,” Claire pointed to the horizon. There was a shadowy mass flying straight towards the town. “Looks like it’s already here.”

“Man your stations!” Rebecca commanded the women not helping with the ballista. “Stall the beast as best you can.”

“Jazz,” Claire took a deep breath. “Now’s the time to trust us. Help with the ballista and we’ll deal with it.”

“No they-”

Ursa cut her off with a growl. “Listen to her. It will be faster with you helping.”

Hannah stretched her arms and readied herself. “Agreed. We’ll be able to hold out for a while.”

Jasmine bit her lip. She wanted to argue, to get defensive. But now wasn’t the time.