Champion, Chapter 23: In This Together

AidanThe RealmsSecondday, 3rd week of the 9th month, Age of the Chosen 1Late MorningNear Ceallach Macht, Mistvale Highlands

It took hours to identify the dead, catalog the destroyed materials, and gather together the survivors. In the meantime, Aidan assisted Ailis and a few other mages with healing and talked with the Council. With all four of them present, they were able to decide on how to address the tribe.

"I should have had the elementals escort both caravans in from the edge of my territory," Aidan said with a sigh.

"Aidan," Brighid started to say, but Eilwen cut her off.

"Horseshit." Aidan blinked in surprise. Eilwen never beat around the bush, but it was unusual for her to be so rude about it. "We had a hundred warriors and Ysbail with us; nothing short of a dragon or a full-scale invasion from a neighboring tribe would have been a threat." The venerable centaur glared at Aidan. "You are arrogant, Aidan. Not everything is about you."

He wasn't sure how to respond to that. "I wasn't trying to make it about me."

"Horseshit again. This was our failure, not yours. We chose to split the caravans, and we decided not to set out enough scouts. You were not even invited to that planning meeting, as I recall."

"At your insistence, Eilwen," Fionn pointed out.

"I know that!" she snapped. "I was a fool. There! I said it! Are you happy now?"

"Perhaps we should set aside the question of blame for the moment," Gerwyn interjected, "and instead turn our attention to our response."

"Agreed," murmured Anwn.

"Fine with me," said Eilwen. "Thankfully, this could have gone much worse. No! Shut it!" The grandmother shook her finger at Aidan when he opened his mouth to object. "If you told any of us a month ago that a dragon would attack, we would have voted to abandon our territory, and it would have been unanimous."

"She is right, lad," Gerwyn confirmed. "If I knew there was even a dragon active in the region, every decision I made would have been devoted to going in the exact opposite direction from it."

"Coming out of this with half the caravan still alive is a miracle no less impressive than what you accomplished against the Taig, Aidan," Fionn added his opinion to the pile. "If we lost twice as many, I would still have counted this as a stunning victory, if crippling in cost."

"That said, we did not kill Karsarrym," Anwn's dour words cut to the heart of the issue. "He will be back, and he will be better prepared. It may still be best to abandon the territory." The wolf at her side shifted at that but stilled when she scratched its neck.

"Or we could hunt him down," Aidan proposed. "He's wounded pretty badly, or he wouldn't have retreated. He didn't use any magic against us or show any kind of regeneration, so he may be weakened for a while." A thought occurred to him. "Also, what are the chances we could get the nearby tribes to help us in this? If a dragon is such a threat, maybe we can create a coalition?"

Gerwyn stroked his beard. "Hmm. It is hard to say. Leaving aside how rare any sort of alliance among the tribes is, you would have to convince them that not only is there a dragon to fight but that you stand a chance of killing it—and that they stood to gain from helping us instead of attacking us while we are weak."

"The first part should be easy," Aidan said and gestured to the severed dragon tail. "We have proof of the dragon's presence and our ability to fight it."

"There are two additional problems," Anwn again acted as a damper. "First, your elementals were instrumental in driving off Karsarrym; we would not have access to them if we hunt him to his lair. Second, we have no idea where he retreated to."

"He flew off to the southeast."

"Yes, and that is a third problem," Fionn noted. "Whether he stopped in their territory or not, we would have to go through Mist Stalker lands to find him. Any Starchasers who trespass on their borders would be killed on sight."

"Any Starchaser, or any centaur?" Aidan asked.

His question was greeted by silence as the Council members looked at each other. "No!" Brighid was the first to speak, "Please, Aidan, my love! You cannot go to them alone! They are slavers and murderers!"

Aidan shook his head, "I don't believe that any group of people is wholly good or evil. Leaving that aside, we only have three valid choices that I can see here: hunt down Karsarrym while he's weakened, fortify Ceallach Macht and hope we can fight him when he's at full strength and better-prepared, or flee. Of those three, I think taking a defensive posture is the riskiest; who knows what resources he has at his disposal? He was overconfident today, but next time it won't go so easy on us. The second and third options also put the civilians at risk, which I am loath to do."

"All three do," Eilwen rebutted. "If you go to the Mist Stalkers to negotiate or scout, that leaves the rest of us without your presence. Like it or not, I admit that you are the most dangerous Starchaser at the moment."

"Not as much as you might think," Aidan rebutted. "I can give secondary control over the elementals to Brighid or Ailis, and we will be getting some allies soon."

"Oh?" Gerwyn perked up. "What do you mean?"

"The Ash Shroud Sisterhood sent a delegation to Ceallach Macht a little while back. They proposed a formal treaty between the Sisterhood and the Starchasers. I couldn't sign off on anything for the tribe as a whole, of course, but I took the responsibility of negotiating a tentative treaty for you all to review. As the Lord of Ceallach Macht, I also invited them to take up residence in the city. I have it on good authority that they will return within the next few days to establish a permanent embassy."

"Indeed? That is excellent news. What were their—no, we can talk about that later, once we return to the city." Gerwyn looked as eager as Aidan had ever seen him. "But you are right; that does change things. I would also note that the Sisterhood has a more cordial relationship with the Mist Stalkers than we do. If you can convince some of them to join you, it would both be safer for you and give you some help in scouting for the dragon."

Brighid snickered. "I know at least one harpy who would be offended if you did not ask her, my Lord."

Aidan chuckled. "Yes, I'm sure Sunnild would agree. I'll talk with her once she gets here—assuming we agree on the course of action?"

"I think," said Fionn with a measured tone, glancing at his fellow Councillors for confirmation, "that a diplomatic and information-gathering mission is worth pursuing. Whether we decide to hunt, fortify, or flee, it is still better to know more about our situation and to gather allies." The others nodded in agreement.

"Alright, then. My understanding is that the Mist Stalkers are the only tribe that is openly hostile to us, correct?" Again, the Councillors nodded. Aidan continued, "Then my suggestion is that we send out similar diplomatic parties to our other neighbors. We don't need to tell them about the dragon upfront, but surely the Sisterhood isn't the only one nervous about the new Age and looking for allies. We can invite them to send delegations to Ceallach Macht to discuss things. I'm willing to swear an Oath to defend any of them that are attacked within my territory if needed."

"I have contacts with the Snow-Water Riders," Gerwyn said. "I can get them to listen. At the very least, they will be interested in meeting you, Lord Aidan."

"I think Mother knows one of the Ebon Bone-kin shamans, too. Maybe she could go to them?" Brighid proposed.

"And we can ask Sarpedon about the gargoyles. I already invited them to the city and didn't get a response, but maybe a dragon will be enough to stir their interest. I know there isn't much that can hurt them, but after fighting him, I think Karsarrym may be on that list."

Fionn rubbed his side. He'd been beyond bruised and battered when Ailis found him, with multiple broken ribs in both his upper and lower torsos. "He might be at that. I have not taken a single hit like that... maybe ever. Certainly not since the war. There are many preparations we will need to make before we fight him again."

"Well, I have good news on that front as well," Aidan smiled. "Caer Macht has a Labyrinth entrance in it." The Councillors looked at him with blank expressions. "It's a giant dungeon we can gather resources and experience from," he said by way of explanation. "Ailis and Sarpedon know more about it; I'll ask them to make a presentation. Either way, it's a chance for us to train up our warriors and a tempting reward to dangle in front of potential allies."

"We are agreed then? Do I need to take a formal vote?" Fionn asked his colleagues.

"No, Fionn, there is no need. We will do as the... as Aidan suggests."

"Very well. Unless anyone has another issue to raise?" He glanced around, then continued, "We will adjourn for now, then. Let us get our people to their new homes."

AidanNoon

"I still do not like it," Brighid told Aidan. "I know you feel that you need to do it, but even with Sunnild to protect you, I do not like you going into Mist Stalker territory." Aidan walked beside her; neither of them felt up to riding with their bodies as battered as they were.

"Neither do we," agreed Cai, gesturing at herself and Llwyd.

"I can't explain it, but ever since I proposed it, a part of me is saying it's something I have to do. Maybe the Brighaid is giving me a subtle hint, or perhaps I'm just developing a savior complex." Aidan shrugged.

"You will cast your dream spell on me every night," came a demand from Brighid.

"Oh? Look at you giving me orders," Aidan teased her.

She blushed but held her ground. "I will not try to stop you, my love, but I never want to be away from you again. If I could figure out a way to join you, I would."

"No, you wouldn't." Aidan's rejection was firm, but he pulled Brighid's head down for a fierce kiss. "I'll order you to stay if I have to."

"I obey you out of love, not duty," Brighid responded. Aidan's eyebrows rose—this was a spectacular display of defiance from her. There were tears in her eyes, he noted, and her voice was rough with emotion as she explained, "I love you with all of my heart, Aidan. You mean the world to me. But that makes it all the harder to let you face danger alone. I do what you tell me to because I love you and it makes both of us happy, but that is for play." She sniffled and nuzzled Aidan's neck. "I do not know what I would do if you ordered me to leave you to die. Please do not ever put me in such a position."

"Hey, hey, none of that," Aidan soothed her, stroking her hair and back. "It won't go that badly, I promise. I'm going to plan things out with Ailis, Gerwyn, Fionn, and the Sisterhood delegation first. If they decide that it's too dangerous, I'll cancel the mission. I know that the Starchasers and Mist Stalkers don't get along well, but I want to help bridge some of those chasms. I don't want to count them as enemies without ever having met them."

Then he grinned and tickled Brighid's waist, drawing a squirm and a giggle from her. "Besides, I caught up to you now. We're both level 19. I think I can be trusted to hold my own in combat at this point, and I'll have Sunnild to guard my back."

"The Mist Stalkers do not fight like we do, my Lord," Llwyd cautioned. "They prefer to strike from hiding and then fade back into the mists. If they decide to attack, you may not see it coming until it is too late."

Aidan nodded, "I'll keep that in mind, and all the other advice I get. Believe me, I don't want to die again. The first two times were quite unpleasant."

"Speaking of which," Brighid said, "was that your Soulfire spell I saw you use against Karsarrym?"

"Um, yes? It was the only thing I had at the time that would hurt it."

"Have you explained to Mother that you are using your soul to fuel some of your spells?"

Aidan didn't like where this was headed. "Ah, no?"

"You will do so before leaving, or I swear I will have a couch made just so that you can sleep on it."

"Now, see here, from what I remember, if we ever get a couch, it's you sleeping there, not me."

"That is acceptable as well; you take the bed, and Sunnild and I will take the couch."

"Hey, now, that's fighting dirty! Leave Sunnild out of this!"

"And do not think you will get any more sympathy from Mother, either!"

"Okay, okay," Aidan laughed, fending off pokes of Brighid's fingers, "I promise I'll talk to her about that, too. I'm a little more aware of what it costs me now than I was at Ceallach Macht, flame of my heart; I didn't use it frivolously."

"I know," she said, "but I worry. I intend to grow old with you, love, so you had best keep that in mind."

"Yes, ma'am!"