Disclaimers:\u00a0 See part 1<\/p>\n
by AJ Marks<\/span><\/p>\n Part 11<\/span><\/p>\n Tess paced back and forth on the transport in the small area, as a few people watched her. Gallic seemed to be looking more at Lisa, and the few women guards, than anything else. She had the feeling that if Lisa suddenly stripped he would be trying to take a picture or something of her. Lisa, for her part, had ignored the Segic quite well, at least better than Tess would have.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you going to sit down?\u201d Lisa finally said, as Tess paced in another circle.<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Tess finally replied, looking out the window once more seeing, finally, the looming buildings of the 2nd army HQ. She sat down for the landing ignoring the looks she got from both Lisa and Gallic this time.<\/p>\n Once on the ground, she quickly exited the craft heading towards the main offices looking around in case Becca had been outside. She found her general staring at a map and looking up a bit surprised when Tess walked in.<\/p>\n \u201cEmpress, you\u2019re early,\u201d Becca said. The look on her face indicated that she was both relieved and trouble about something.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s the situation now?\u201d Tess asked, hoping what worried Becca was not too bad.<\/p>\n \u201cGregory\u2019s group, or at least we think it\u2019s him, retreated after doing several calculated attacks. They targeted several people, some they kidnapped others they killed,\u201d Becca said, leaving Tess to wonder if Ami somehow used her as Becca continued. \u201cIt really makes no sense, and we can\u2019t get in touch with Carrie anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n Tess felt a bit concerned about that. Her highest level battlemage, gone missing. \u201cWell, she can take care of herself,\u201d Tess said to them both, she still had things to worry about, like what Gregory planned next.<\/p>\n \u201cI know, but she has no backup,\u201d Becca replied, concern in her voice. \u201cAdd in the fact that I haven\u2019t heard from her since last night when everything went calmed down. I don\u2019t like this.\u201d<\/p>\n Tess had to agree. \u201cAny information that we can actually use to hunt down these people,\u201d Tess replied.<\/p>\n \u201cSorry, but we don\u2019t\u2019 have anything,\u201d Becca said.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you have any ideas, or still have nothing?\u201d Tess said, looking right at Gallic who merely looked uninterested at everything. \u201cGreat, we have a madman out there who wants to resurrect an evil ancient magic sucking creature and no idea where to even begin to look.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGeneral, general,\u201d a young scout said, running into the room straight towards Becca. Tess turned to the young man waiting to see what might happen next. Becca read the note before turning towards Tess handing her the note.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we might have something here,\u201d Becca said.<\/p>\n Tess took the note, quickly reading it, seeing that it came from a scout noting that they had a general direction Gregory\u2019s army had started to move. Tess took a moment to look at the direction, then the map, seeing where it was headed. She felt relieved that the army was not headed towards the capital but there were a few heavily populated cities in the direction. If anything happened, civilian causalities could escalate rather quickly.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you think?\u201d Becca said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have no idea exactly what their target it, but we can\u2019t wait for them to finish their move,\u201d Tess said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou should move now, waiting any longer and things might become irreversible,\u201d Gallic said.<\/p>\n Tess looked at Gallic, then Becca, before finally making up her mind. \u201cWe move now, if we wait we could lose an opportunity to capture, or stop, Gregory one and for all,\u201d Tess said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll inform the troops and we\u2019ll start moving right away,\u201d Becca said exiting the room. Tess looked over at Gallic, who said nothing only nodding his head. Tess could only hope she made the right decision. Her army would be fighting someone soon she only hoped she had enough information to provide who she fought.<\/p>\n She also hoped to find Ami, and figure out once and for all which side the small blonde was on. Tess had allowed herself to feel for the blonde, and desperately hoped she had not been betrayed. She pulled out a small bracelet and put it on. It would tell her if Ami was nearby, provided the collar was still on. At the moment it showed nothing and Tess figured either the bracelet had been destroyed, too far away, or there was some sort of magical interference.<\/p>\n Tess found herself wishing it was the latter, and that Ami had gone against her will. Tess made a mental note to keep the bracelet on in case she got close enough or the protection surrounding Ami disappeared.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Ami watched, unsure about what to do. Everyone seemed to quickly gather up supplies and other objects. She recognized some of it from her history classes as crude guns. They had made a small arsenal of weapons from their world, to fight in this one. Ami figured the weapons to be somewhat successful if they were going to use them, but had no idea what the difference between these and magic would be.<\/p>\n \u201cYou ever fire one f these?\u201d Mary asked, holding up the crude weapon.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, not sure I want to either,\u201d Ami finally replied.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t want to feel the pleasure of killing someone up close?\u201d Mary said with a slight smile. \u201cI mean it\u2019s exciting, I never fired on till I got here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo why were you sent here?\u201d Ami asked, unable to stop herself from asking.<\/p>\n \u201cDidn\u2019t pay attention to the news, ah, youth, so simple-minded,\u201d Mary said, falling silent for a moment making Ami feel quite uncomfortable. \u201cYou might say I killed anyone I could, mostly arsenic, makes a very nice method, watching them suffer, those stupid men, and those stupid girls for getting in my way.\u201d<\/p>\n Ami took a step back at the malice in Mary\u2019s voice as she admitted to the crimes. She did not want to know how many had been killed to be sent here and felt sorry she even asked.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy don\u2019t you take that off,\u201d Mary said causing Ami to flinch as her collar was touched.<\/p>\n Ami reached up touching it and realizing for the first time it was still on.<\/p>\n \u201cUm, I didn\u2019t know it was on still,\u201d Ami replied. \u201cAnd, well I was told that to try to remove it could kill me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo go ahead and remove it,\u201d Mary said.<\/p>\n \u201cI-I thought I would wait until going back home, where magic doesn\u2019t exist, you know,\u201d Ami replied quickly.<\/p>\n \u201cHmm, I suppose,\u201d Mary said, almost looking disappointed for a second. \u201cWell, here,\u201d she said handing Ami one of the crude guns. Ami almost dropped it due to its weight. She had not expected something so heavy. She looked at it a bit closer, as Mary went though explaining how to work it. Ami paid her a little bit of attention, not really caring about shooting it.<\/p>\n She took the bag of gunpowder, a few of the bullets and a rope which clipped onto the firing mechanism. Ami recalled a major drawback to the weapon, in rain the gun could be rendered useless. Part of her hoped the weather would call for rain, and a lot of it.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone ready?\u201d a voice called out.<\/p>\n \u201cOh yeah, been ready for this for years,\u201d another voice said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou just want to go back and get revenge,\u201d a female voice said. Ami recognized it as the girl with spiky hair.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll all have our chance at revenge,\u201d Gregory said, as Ami watched him look over at everyone stopping for a second on her. She thought he knew she somehow was not like the rest of them. She also had a distinct impression that he did not care about it or any of them. She wished she had asked Tess more about this him, or even the Zero-Mages, but at the time she did not care. Ami wanted to forget about her past life and concentrate on this life.<\/p>\n \u201cYou really think this will work?\u201d the spiky haired girl said.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course it will work, are you doubting me,\u201d Gregory said, walking up to her as the two looked in each others\u2019 eyes for several long seconds.<\/p>\n \u201cI doubt everything, you know that,\u201d the girl finally said.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, makes me wish you had stayed over there,\u201d Gregory said, turning around to looking at the rest of the group. \u201cIf everyone is supplied and armed then let\u2019s get moving.\u201d<\/p>\n Ami followed the group out of the room down a few hallways, and finally outside into the bright sunlight of the day. Ami somehow thought it might be nighttime being inside so much. She squinted against the sunlight, shielding her eyes for several seconds until they grew accustomed to the light.<\/p>\n She emerged into a camp full of soldiers very much like the camp Tess left her in, which seemed like an eternity ago. Ami thought if she could do it over again, she would try to go with her somehow. She had no desire to return, or be with this group.<\/p>\n \u201cAll right everyone, let\u2019s get going and be careful, reports are the empire has mobilized some of its army to fight us. Be careful and don\u2019t engage enemy troop without support,\u201d Gregory said to the group.<\/p>\n \u201cStay with me newbie,\u201d Mary\u2019s voice said to Ami. She sighed slightly hoping she might find an opportunity to escape this nightmare. The last thing she wanted to do was go back to the other world.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Tess led the column of infantry down the road, hopefully in the direction of Gregory\u2019s army. Beside her, and still quiet, was Gallic who she thought appeared even quieter than normal. She wondered what he might be thinking about or even if he was thinking of anything. She looked behind her, seeing Becca and Lisa following, and the rest of the troops, the combined troops of the Royal Guard and the 1st army behind them. The 2nd army was still scattered around protecting the border from any threats in case Gregory launched any further raids.<\/p>\n Tess stopped at the approach of a scout. She motioned for Lisa and Becca to join her, but for the rest of the army to continue moving. One of the captains nodded, taking over the lead of the army and continuing on down the road, as Tess stopped, along with her shadow, Gallic, and Lisa and Becca. Tess waited for the scout to report in.<\/p>\n \u201cEmpress, am I ever glad to see you,\u201d the scout said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happened?\u201d Tess asked, feeling the excitement in her blood at the thrill of an approaching battle.<\/p>\n \u201cWe ran across a battle, didn\u2019t recognize either group, there were a few survivors though,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cHow far away?\u201d Tess asked.<\/p>\n \u201cJust over that ridge off the path, there\u2019s a clear field over there,\u201d the scout replied.<\/p>\n Tess gave a whistle gaining a few captains\u2019 attention. \u201cCall a halt, ask for a scouting group and medics over here at once,\u201d Tess shouted out.<\/p>\n She watched as the army came to a halt, and several captains walked over. A group of scouts walked over along with some of the medics already looking around for some sort of injury.<\/p>\n \u201cFollow the scout here, there was a battle nearby and a few survivors. See what you can do and find out who is involved,\u201d Tess said to the captain. \u201cMake haste captain and report back to me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes Empress,\u201d he said, giving a whistle, before motioning to the scouts and medics to follow the scout, who bowed towards the Empress and took off down the road.<\/p>\n \u201cIs it wise to stop?\u201d Lisa asked.<\/p>\n \u201cI need that information, tell the men to take a break,\u201d Tess said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou think you\u2019ll gain some information doing this?\u201d Gallic said.<\/p>\n \u201cEither way there is a battle between groups that are not part of the empire, it\u2019s important. We\u2019ll make time for this,\u201d Tess stated finally.<\/p>\n \u201cTime, a strange thing, we have lot, so because of that, we have no time,\u201d Gallic said confusing Tess. She looked over at Becca, who had gone over to inform several captains to take a breather.<\/p>\n Tess knew that with any new information she might be moving the army hard, so resting them now might help in the future. They had marched for almost half a day now. She pulled out a map looking down taking their position and where she thought they needed to be based on the direction of Gregory\u2019s army. She sat down next to Becca who took the opportunity to eat.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you think?\u201d Becca finally asked. \u201cWho are they?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know, but I don\u2019t like it,\u201d Tess replied honestly. \u201cTwo unknown groups fighting in my Empire.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThought so,\u201d Becca said. \u201cCan\u2019t say I\u2019m too happy about it either, and we have yet to hear from Carrie has me even more worried.\u201d<\/p>\n Tess nodded at that, hoping the fiery red-head had not gotten herself into trouble.<\/p>\n They sat there for about an hour until a captain came up to her. Tess recognized her as the same one who had gone with the scouts.<\/p>\n \u201cEmpress, I have a report,\u201d he said giving her a bow. Tess motioned for him to continue but instead he handed her a note. \u201cIt was from one of the survivors.\u201d<\/p>\n Tess frowned looking down and noticing her name and that the handwriting looked familiar. She quickly opened it seeing that it was from Carrie and she motioned for Becca to come over as Tess started reading it.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat the?\u201d Tess said to herself frowning at the note. Carrie was telling her that she was part of a group called the Protectors and that if she was reading this note, her mission had failed. Tess wondered what this group the Protectors was, but kept on reading. She then saw the name Enokrad and that the mission of the Protectors was to keep the location of the beast a secret from the Awakeners.<\/p>\n \u201cSomething wrong?\u201d Becca asked, walking up to her.<\/p>\n Tess ignored her for a second looking at the captain. \u201cThe person who gave you this, did she survive?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAh, I don\u2019t know, when I got this I came right back,\u201d he said, uncomfortably as Tess handed the note to Becca.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going back with you, I think we\u2019ll finally have a location of where Gregory is going. I want the en ready to move out the moment I get back,\u201d Tess said as Becca read the note with the same frown Tess had. She waited a second until Becca looked up and finally acknowledged the order before running off with the captain.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Tess walked into the clearing seeing the soldiers cleaning up a battle, as the captain led her over to a tent. Inside she saw a group of medics who working on several people. Tess quickly looked them over seeing the familiar red-head on the ground nearby.<\/p>\n She knelt down grasping the hand, relieved at the warmth. She was alive, and not dead like Tess imagined. Green eyes blinked open a second later before focusing in on her.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re here?\u201d Carrie said, her voice sounding weak.<\/p>\n \u201cYou need rest,\u201d Tess said a bit relieved.<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Carrie replied, her voice gaining strength. \u201cYou must stop them!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI will, don\u2019t worry, the 1st army is nearby,\u201d Tess said.<\/p>\n \u201cAn army won\u2019t stop Enokrad,\u201d Carrie said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou knew what it was?\u201d Tess asked, looking into Carrie\u2019s green eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cStop them before they awaken it,\u201d Carrie said. Tess thought about saying something else but Carrie seemed stuck on one thing.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t worry, I\u2019ll stop it, but I need to know where to go?\u201d Tess asked. She had an army marching along with no idea where they were going. If she could get a location, she could stop everything much easier.<\/p>\n Tess watched as Carrie went slack, still breathing, but unconscious.<\/p>\n \u201cMedic!\u201d she yelled out watching as a med-mage ran over quickly checking on Carrie. After a few seconds he finally looked up at her.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is alive, weak but alive. She probably fainted,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Tess released a deep breath before looking back at the med-mage. \u201cIs there anyone awake I can talk to?\u201d she asked, frustrated. The medic thought quickly before answering.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I\u2019m not sure how well they will answer you though, I had a hard time getting anything from him,\u201d the medic said.<\/p>\n \u201cLead on,\u201d Tess said, walking with the medic over to an injured man who had lost his arm. She knelt down watching as his hazel eyes looked up at her then back to the sky not saying a word.<\/p>\n \u201cSee what I mean Empress,\u201d the medic said. Tess watched as the injured man\u2019s eyes gave a hint of recognition before returning to the same stony look.<\/p>\n \u201cI need information, now my friend over there says she wants me to stop some group from raising Enokrad, but to do that I need to know where to go to stop them from doing that,\u201d Tess said, her eyes never leaving the man\u2019s face.<\/p>\n \u201cI cannot tell someone like you,\u201d he replied back to her.<\/p>\n \u201cSo you want this Enokrad to be awakened, which if that does happen then your life will be for nothing, is that what you want!\u201d Tess said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are evil,\u201d he finally said after a few seconds pause.<\/p>\n \u201cI might be evil in your eyes, but I also don\u2019t want to destroy the world. I have people who need protecting and you\u2019re preventing that because of some stupid grudge,\u201d Tess said going on a hunch. The widening of his eyes told her that she had guessed correct.<\/p>\n Tess grew frustrated by the lack of information she received.<\/p>\n \u201cLook my friend over there, the battle-mage Carrie, she fought with you to defend this and kept this secret from me, but the time is past, we need to stop whatever is going to happen and do it now,\u201d Tess said.<\/p>\n She waited a few more seconds before he finally seemed to come to a conclusion. \u201cFine, bring me a map,\u201d he said. Tess pulled out a map watching as he pointed to a spot. \u201cThat\u2019s all I know, it\u2019s there.\u201d<\/p>\n Tess looked at the map then at the medic. \u201cHow many medics do you need for the injured?\u201d<\/p>\n She watched him seriously consider the question. \u201cAbout two should do, we\u2019ve stabilized those we can.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cVery well, select two men and then return to the main army. I\u2019ll send over a squad for protection, we need to move quickly,\u201d Tess said watching the medic look at her, the injured man and then the map before quickly heading off. She took a look back down at the man. \u201cDon\u2019t worry, I\u2019ll make sure that it\u2019s not awakened,\u201d she said honestly. She always tried to keep her promises but knew that he did not consider her word to mean much.<\/p>\n She stood not expecting an answer, heading back to where the others were gathered before they started heading back to the main army. She looked back at Carrie making a vow to make sure that the Enokrad would not awaken. She had not believed in the existence of such a creature until now. It seemed that there were groups out there protecting the existence of it.<\/p>\n End part 11<\/p>\n Continued in part 12<\/a><\/p>\n Comment below or send to AJMarks01@aol.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Disclaimers:\u00a0 See part 1 Fortunatus Light of Dark by AJ Marks Part 11 Tess paced back and forth on the transport in the small area, as a few people watched her. Gallic seemed to be looking more at Lisa, and the few women guards, than anything else. She had the feeling that if Lisa suddenly […]
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