Dressed and prepared for a fight, I went and found Captain Rebecca to discuss our game plan for dealing with what would likely be a larger force

  “You’re fucking mad, Mage. Mad as a god damned hatter,” she snapped at me. “There is no way in hell they would be willing to listen to you. Our best bet still is to hold them off while we make a steady retreat down into the chasm.”

  “Even without knowing what we would be getting into down there?” I asked. We were all stressed about the upcoming confrontation. “I can’t see that as a sound plan. Besides, are they going to attack first, ask questions later?”

  Rebecca thought about that for a moment. “No, that’s not SOP. Huh. I still think it won’t work, but maybe it could work as a distraction,” she said, trailing off.

  “And if I were distracting them, more people could go over the edge safely before they were noticed,” I replied. “There’s still the issue of whether that will be noticed or not. Could we get everyone ready in waves?”

  It didn’t take too long to get everything set up for the retreat. Our biggest problem was the horses. We settled on the cooks and the farrier who had joined our minor rebellion would leave with the horses, riding east. They would circle around after a few days and wait for us to come back up if it was safe to do so.

  The second issue was how to get people down without it being noticed. This one was kind of clever. It came down to line of sight. Military camps were usually noisy, so the noise of getting people rappelling down wasn’t going to be an issue at first. But the distance from the edge of the camp where we were going to confront the Allied Army contingent, and the cliff was enough that the tents could block their view of the soldiers going down.

  All it took was a little rearranging of the tents so there weren’t any gaps.

  Then there was the issue of me. How the hell was I supposed to disengage and get to the cliff’s edge? For that matter, how were the volunteers who were going to stand with me supposed to? It was going to take a major action of some sort.

  The answer came in the form of Corporal Crabs, the Warlock. He had access to several different spells through his, uh, patron. I had already seen his fireball spell, of which I was a little jealous of, but he had some eldritch spells that could do some pretty neat things with time and perception. Though I couldn’t shake the unease I had when I saw him.

  Rebecca motioned me over from where I was talking with Arilyn. She had just dismissed a scout. He and his exhausted horse headed toward the other side of the tents. He was going to have to join the cooks and farrier as soon as his horse cooled down.

  “Yes, Captain?” I said once I had walked over.

  “Everything is in place, and we have maybe ten minutes before they get here,” she said. “Are you ready?”

  I thought about it for only a moment. “I am. Hopefully they actually listen. Or at least want to take me alive.”

  By the time they reached the perimeter of the camp, all the scouts that had warned us were making their way east to the meeting spot for the horses. We watched them come, Vessa on my shoulder and Arilyn by my side, from behind the line of twenty of the 303rd.

  The approaching soldiers stopped fifty yards from us and just sat there for a tense minute. Finally, three of them rode forward at a walking pace. When they were close enough to be heard, they stopped.

  “303rd, I am Colonel Apsten. I have been sent by the Council to take into custody one Finnegan Walsh, a Mage. Per the council, if you hand him over willingly, all is forgiven. Is this understood?” he asked in a loud, deep baritone.

  Captain Rebecca stepped forward and laughed. “Do you really believe that horseshit, Colonel? Come on. We’re both old soldiers and have seen how these things go.”

  “Ah, Captain Rebecca. I am—aware—of your escapades in flouting orders. I suppose that is a no?”

  “Oh, that depends. You know why we are here, right?”

  The colonel nodded. “I am aware of your mission to recover the body of General Venegas.”

  “Then you must also know that he mentored Finn.”

  Colonel Apsten’s horse pawed the ground nervously, and the colonel patted its neck. “That doesn’t change the fact that he is, as you said, a Mage. He needs to be locked up for the safety of everyone.”

  That was the moment I stepped in. I walked up, past the line of the 303rd. “Colonel Apsten? I think we need to talk,” I said. “I’m Finn. Finn the Mage, I guess. Or at least that’s what the Voice calls me.”

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  He waved off his guards or aides and walked his horse closer. “So you’re the one who’s got the council, and just about everyone else in a tizzy,” he said, giving me an appraising look. “Is that a dragonkin on your shoulder?”

  “She is. She’s also an important part of the quest I’ve been trying to complete at the behest of the Voice. The riddle quest,” I replied.

  “Interesting. Are you going to come quietly, Finn the Mage?” he asked slowly.

  “Oh, I don’t think any of us are going anywhere, Colonel. You see, before I can continue my quest, I need to retrieve the body of my friend and mentor. Juan is the reason I didn’t die the first weeks I was here. He taught me a fraction of what I needed to know, but more than enough for me to risk my life to honor him,” I stopped for a moment, taking a long look at Colonel Apsten and his large contingent of soldiers and raising my voice. “The question for you and your men, Colonel, is whether you all can in good conscience not drop this bullshit and help? General Juan Santino Venegas was a war hero, for fuck’s sake!”

  There were grumbles among the colonel’s men, and they seemed uneasy. He seemed to consider this, but did not look back at his troops.

  “Young man, I don’t think you understand what—”

  “Are you really talking down to me here?” I said incredulously before raising my voice. “I have fought a demon! One who sought to turn me into a power-hungry monster! I have lost everything only to be reviled and hunted. All because of an arbitrary choice!”

  The colonel’s face flushed, and he yelled right back at me. “That is all well and good, but—”

  “I’m not done!” I roared. Apsten’s horse took a few steps back. I could feel Vessa’s encouraging almost-thoughts in the back of my mind. “I am here to honor a man who has done more for the Twelve Kingdoms than any of us. After which I, with the help of all who are willing, will hunt down those responsible for his death. And then, only then, can I continue on my quest to get the Earthborn home! Who’s with me?”

  The last part had come unbidden, and I had howled it at the top of my lungs. To the surprise and shock of both Colonel Apsten and myself, both the 303rd and his contingent of around one hundred soldiers began roaring their approval.

  Wide-eyed, Colonel Apsten looked around, untethered within the moment. As the soldiers quieted, he appeared to regain control of himself. I was pretty sure that he was going to smoothly pivot the focus back to arresting me, but then he chuckled. The chuckle turned into a full belly laugh, deep and rich.

  Once he finished, he looked at me and shrugged. “Young man, that is perhaps the best speech I’ve heard in a long time. I think there’s merit to your words. General Venegas is also a personal hero of mine, someone against whom I wish to measure up!”

  And that is when Harper showed up. She slapped her hand on my shoulder and leaned in. “Finn, what the fuck is going on here?”

  Harper listened as I explained what our plan had been. Once I was done, she shook her head in disbelief.

  “I don’t get it. Your charisma is what, thirteen?” she asked.

  “Eighteen,” I corrected.

  “Yeah, okay, but like that’s not enough to be able to sway all those soldiers—at higher levels than you—into changing their allegiance to you and what we are doing!”

  “Well, that’s what happened,” I said. “I don’t understand either. It was supposed to be a stalling tactic, and I got carried away, I guess.”

  “You know what,” she said intently. “You need to check your status sheet. Like, right now.”

  “Okay, okay. Hold on,” I said. I pulled up my status sheet. “What the… I leveled up again. And I have a new skill.”

  “What is it?”

  “Rousing Field Leadership. Level one,” I replied.

  “Well, pull up the description of the skill. I’ve never heard of that one before,” she said.

  “Um, how do I do that?” I asked. I hadn’t known that I could pull up more information on skills. How much had I missed out on?

  “Really? The old man hadn’t gotten around to that yet?” she asked. Before I could respond, she put up a hand. “Never mind. Just… just focus on the skill for a moment, and it’ll give you more information.”

  I did as she said, and a description box, oddly labeled description box, opened up before me.

  Description Box

  Skill: Rousing Field Leadership

  Level: 1

  Skill Type: Rare, unlockable skill

  Cooldown: 30 days, 5 hours, 14 minutes, 23 seconds

  Rousing Field Leadership is only unlockable under very limited circumstances. You must be on the field of battle when you give a speech that inspires not only your allies, but your enemies. This rare skill only becomes available starting at level fifteen. Once triggered, this skill gives plus five to charisma. It also temporarily reduces the target’s resistance to charm effects, allowing for the affecting of allies and enemies up to twenty-five levels higher than yourself. The effects of this skill fade over time. This is an active skill.

  *

  Harper listened as I read the skills information and description out loud. Then she sat there, stunned.

  “I’ve never heard of a skill like that. Don’t get me wrong, I’m aware of leadership skills, but this is a new one to me,” she said. “I wonder if it is class specific.”

  Vessa, who had been strangely quiet, finally deigned to say something. Well, think something. “Finn, was there anything different about that description?”

  “Yeah, actually. There seems to be an astrix at the bottom of the description,” I replied after repeating what Vessa asked for Harper’s benefit. Focusing on the astrix, yet another description box popped up.

  Description Box Description

  This skill is only available to the Dragon Lord and Dragon Rider classes, as well as a designated Dragon Guardian.

  “Dragon Guardian? Vessa, this is related to you, why didn’t you tell me I’d get bonus skills for being there for you?”

  “I didn’t know. I didn’t know, and I’m sorry I didn’t know. When you read it, something triggered in my mind, and somehow I just knew… there was something more to that skill,” she said worriedly. “Can you forgive me?”

  “Of course I can!” I replied with a wide smile. “This skill was a surprise bonus for me. I’d much rather have a skill like this and not have to rely on poorly intimidating lower-level enemies!”

  In fact, I could see this skill being very useful in the days to come.