Crusade Gone Awry Ch. 17

"Renard!" she cried in disgust.

"BOOM!" Renard said, backing away. "Officially down to twenty-two drinks owed!" He began walking away. Hesta looked down at the seven gold coins. She picked one up and began doing math in her head and quickly realized that he was right. Before she could be impressed with his arithmetic skills, Renard bounded back over and leaned over the bar, that smug grin on his face.

"By the way, I'm in a committed relationship now, so I'm going to have ask you to stop hitting on me so much."

Hesta's eyes lit up with fire as she reached for her belt and held up a knife in the stabbing position.

"RENARD...!" she shrieked in anger.

"Ah! I said no flirting!" the foxman shrieked before scuttling away, the human guards quickly on his heels.

*

Days later, as all armies began to move, Lilly was in a brand-new quandary. The first of the centaurs managed to invade the dreams of some of the soldiers. As humans were prone to do, they dreamed about past situations and, in particular, what led them to this terrifying desert. Lilly had expected to get information back eventually, but not so quickly. Almost as soon as a centaur invaded a dream, one of them came running back to her to show her something that shocked even her.

Marcus entered her tent, looking puzzled. He had been summoned at a rather crucial time. The queen's army was being armed and trained. The crusader army had left Tarbat. All of Lilly's spies and saboteurs were in contact with the enemy. It seemed to him that the small group of crusaders he led would be the least of her worries. He found Lilly sitting on her throne restlessly. Standing beside her was one of unicorn centaurs. Marcus approached, eyeing them both.

"What is this about?" he asked. Lilly and the centaur glanced at each other, as if unsure of what to say. The queen sighed and sat back in her chair.

"I'm not sure whether I should show you this or not," Lilly began.

"Show me what?"

"If you knew there was something that would contradict everything they believe and it would hurt them deeply, would you tell them or keep it to yourself?"

"That would depend on what it's about."

"If I show you what I have it will rip open every wound you have. It's the truth, but it is unbelievably ugly. It might be better if you don't know, and you just leave everything as it is."

Marcus began to feel fear well up inside of him. Whatever Lilly was dancing around was clearly upsetting her, and she was convinced it was going to devastate him.

"How big is this?" Marcus finally asked.

"The very core of your being," Lilly replied. "Everything you have ever believed."

Marcus's heart pounded in his ears as he rapidly tried to think. Lilly wouldn't be talking like this if she wasn't serious. She didn't know he held the secret to the arcane knights, so this wasn't a trick to get him to talk. She was doing this because she cared about him and was giving him the choice. She knew what she had would be world-shattering and didn't want to risk his health. All the same, humans always desired the truth, even if it destroyed them. It was up to him.

"I want to know," Marcus finally said. Lilly closed her eyes and motioned towards the centaur. The monster turned towards him and approached.

"The first person I went into the dreams of," she began. "was one of the guards watching Renard. He was a royal guard that accompanies the king. He dreamed about something he saw that didn't make sense to me, but when I showed it to the queen, she said it was something you might want to know...or not know."

Marcus tried to steel himself for whatever was coming. The centaur lifted her hand.

"I'll project it directly into your mind. Hold still, this won't hurt." She put her hand on his forehead. Images quickly filled the colonel's head.

*

The guard was standing in the chambers of the king. He was one of the king's personal bodyguards, and he took his job seriously. It didn't matter what the king said or did, it was his duty to make sure no one harmed him. The king was talking to a powerful bishop named Riker. The two of them were sitting at a table, drinking and plotting together. Although the guard was used to such things, what the two men talked about rattled even him.

"So, everything has been taken care of?" Riker asked.

"Easily," the king said, scoffing. His usual veneer of pleasantry was gone, and his arrogance was on full display. "So many people talk about the greatness of the church, the sacredness of the holy election, the saintliness of the archbishop...blah blah blah! In reality, all it takes is a few coins and some well-placed poisons and it all comes tumbling down. Abrams will be dead within the month, and you'll be elected. Simple and easy. Now we can get this first crusade started to clear out the officers in the church's army. Then no one will stand in your way. I'm tired of having empty coffers. Once we have the demon's treasure we'll be drowning in gold."

"I'll drink to that," Riker said with a smile, taking a swig from the glass. "The property you wanted has been cleared of the family that refused to sell. As far as anyone is concerned, the people died as a result of a mistaken inquisition. I had the inquisitor executed and I put the blame on one of those families that supports that duke you hate. You can arrest them too if you like."

"Will there be any problems with that colonel?"

"Oh no, far from it. I had hoped he would be useful when he became a General of Vordan since I could hold this over his head. Instead, he turned into a quivering mess. I knew he'd believe whatever I told him if I wrapped it up in some pretty words. He's one of those true believer types. He thinks he's unforgivable now. Spends his days weeping like a woman and begging for a way to absolve himself. It's probably a good idea just to have the best of the church's army wiped out in the fake crusade. They're not worth much, to tell the truth."

The king sneered in disgust before taking a few gulps of his wine. "Simple-minded peasants. What do they know about anything? Goddesses coming down from the sky? Absurd! If their goddess really existed, she would have stopped us by now."

The archbishop chuckled. "Indeed, it's quite easy to manipulate people when they believe someone magical will save their lives."

"Did you ever get into the Holy Rectory?" the king asked. The royal guard stiffened at the mention of the place. It was the most sacred site in the entire world. It was the place where Vordan supposedly ascended back into the heavens. The building was sealed with the heaviest of locks and security. Only the archbishop could enter.

"Oh yes!" Bishop Riker readily admitted. "Abrams is so old and senile he just trusts me to do all of his work for him. If there hadn't been that group of bishops in my way, he might have just handed me the archbishop's crown himself. He's nothing but a drooling, simpering waste, anyway. He let me go into the rectory to do all of his ceremonies. You wouldn't believe what those texts say!"

The king's eyes gleamed with excitement as he grinned gleefully. His disdain for the church and their beliefs apparent on his face. He couldn't wait to hear the dirty truth that he had been denied from seeing.

"What's the truth?" he finally asked.

"Oh ho ho! How precious our little Vordan truly is!"

The story that then came out of Bishop Riker's mouth rocked even the royal guard to his core. He even felt queasy as the supposed holy man of the church gave out the deepest and darkest secrets of their entire religion so casually. For his part, the king let out riotous laughter and slapped his knee, drinking the wine straight from the bottle. It was all he had been waiting for and more! The church was corrupt to the core, just as he always knew!

*

The moment Marcus was freed from the vision he let out a guttural cry of fury. He charged over to a nearby table, away from anyone. They used him! They made him commit unforgivable sins! And for what!? For those people's PROPERTY!?!? Marcus felt rage he didn't know he was capable of billowing out of him. His vision bled into red, and his body acted on its own. He slammed both of his fists onto the table, cracking it in half with a single blow. Lilly dismissed the centaur, who quickly dashed out of the tent. Marcus grabbed each and every object on the broken table and slammed them back onto the ground. Many gained impressive height as the items ricocheted around the room. Lilly didn't move. Even if any of that hit her, it wouldn't do any damage. Marcus destroyed everything around him, wordlessly letting out as much of his fury as he possibly could. When there was nothing left, he stood still, panting for breath.

"They USED my faith against me!!!" the crusader bellowed.

"I know," Lilly said calmly. "I'm sorry. I know the truth can break us, but sometimes it's the only way to move forward..."

"They have a weakness!" Marcus shouted, turning around.

"What?"

"The Arcane Knights have a weakness!" he continued, marching to before her throne.

"Marcus you don't have to...!"

"They can only cancel out magic when it leaves your body!"

Lilly paused, blinking for a few moments. "What do you mean?"

"They can only nullify magic after you cast it. If you keep it inside yourself, they can't touch it. Use your magic to strengthen your body and they're no better than regular soldiers."

Lilly sat back on her throne, her face becoming serious. "I see. So, they don't know how to do that...or maybe they don't have enough power to. Why would you tell me this Marcus? You're selling all of your own people out, not just those who betrayed you."

Marcus caught his breath for a moment before kneeling down, surprising the demon queen.

"For this information I ask for only one thing," he said, his head down.

"Which is?"

Marcus lifted his head. "I want Archbishop Riker, and I want him alive!" Lilly stiffened in her seat. Marcus was a little cleverer than she thought. He blurted out the secret before she could stop him, putting her in his debt. He then asked for something quite reasonable. However, Lilly knew that if she gave the archbishop to Marcus, he would do something unthinkable. Something that would likely taint him forever. Lilly could have probably refused the request or talked him out of it...if he hadn't already told her the secret. Even if she thought it was bad for his soul, it was what he wanted. Ultimately this was his religion, his sins, and his decision.

"Very well, Colonel Marcus," Lilly said formally. "I will bring Archbishop Riker to you, alive. His life will in your hands."

"I thank you," Marcus said, equally formal. He then stood up and began marching out of the room.

"Marcus!" Lilly called after him.

"NO! I need to be alone!" he yelled, storming out of the tent. Lilly sighed and closed her eyes. He wouldn't want to be alone for long. She already warned him, any strong emotion would draw him towards her. It was only a matter of time before he returned.

Except now there was a brand-new problem with that. Having sex with her at the palace was one thing. There was nothing but humans around. Humans, even if they were descendants of the demon king, weren't really affected by a demon's power unless they had a lot of demonic brands. When Lilly had sex now, she would lose control and her power would bleed out uncontrollably. All of the nearby monsters would be overwhelmed...and become just as drunk on lust as Marcus. She couldn't exactly leave, considering all the dangerous monsters she had to keep from killing each other. The only thing she could do was warn everyone. She lifted her finger which began to glow. She sent out a message to all of the monsters. It was only a matter of time before they would be overwhelmed by her power. She knew some wouldn't be able to find partners...but they could at least know it was coming.

*

Eliza was sitting on a stump near where the crusaders had made a camp, whittling spears. She wasn't doing it as punishment, but to actually help the Demon Queen's army. Normally she wouldn't pick sides, but Hound was going to be forced to fight. This should probably be Oren's job, but he had to leave with his "wife" now that they were harassing the crusader army. Before leaving, Oren had managed to whittle twenty-three spears, with only 977 to finish his punishment...which he probably never would. At the first chance he would ditch all of them. He never even wanted to be in the church's army in the first place.

Eliza sighed and looked up from her work. The sun was setting, and the grand total of her whittling labor was three. Hound was nearby, lying on the sand. Apart from him, she was alone. Colonel Marcus was called to see the Demon Queen and hadn't returned for quite a while. All the others were off with their respective partners. The only one who wasn't was Talia, who wasn't feeling well and was lying down in a tent. Considering that Renard, her new lover, was now in the den of the enemy, that was to be expected. The whole area was tense and quiet. The monsters, despite their nature, were nervous about the upcoming battle. Eliza had seen it on their faces, the ones that had human faces anyway. In fact, there was only one of them that didn't seem afraid. She turned to face him, lying curled up in the sand.

"You comfortable buddy?" she asked, teasing. Hound opened one of his eyes and glanced at her, He then snorted and closed them again. "So, all that death and mayhem doesn't bother you? You just gonna take a nap?" The hellhound flicked his tail at her. Eliza scoffed. She wished she could have the serenity that monster did.

Abruptly, Hound's head shot up off of the sand. He faced the direction of the demon queen's tent, blinking. Eliza's eyes darted between him and said tent, hoping to see something.

"What?" she asked. "What is it? What did she say?"

Hound got to his feet and trotted over to her. He placed his head in her lap and began gazing around cautiously, as if afraid someone was going to get her.

"Are we being attacked?" The hellhound shook his head. "Is someone coming to get me?" Hound glanced at her but didn't indicate anything more. Eliza thought for a few moments, trying to ask the right question.

"Something is going to happen?" Hound nodded. "It's because of the demon queen?" He nodded again. She wracked her brain for a few moments and reached for the ridiculous.

"Is there gonna be an orgy?" She was shocked when Hound looked at her instead of shaking his head. "Wait, are you serious!?"

Their conversation was interrupted. Talia came fumbling out of the nearby tent, staggering a distance away from it. Eliza took a breath and stood up. This wasn't the first time the captain had done this today. Talia fell to her hands and knees and wretched as she vomited into the sand. At least she was considerate enough not to do it in their tent. Eliza quickly walked over and knelt beside Captain Fenner, stroking her back. Hound was on her heels, still keeping a wary watch over her.

"I'm sorry Talia," Eliza offered. "Can you keep anything down?"

The captain wiped her mouth before answering. "I can keep most of it down, it just strikes suddenly. I've been queasy ever since I left the turanta village. It just seems to be getting worse. Oddly enough, I'm actually really hungry too, so I'm caught in the middle. Must be some weird desert disease."

"Yeah, a disease," Eliza said, unconvinced. She didn't consider love sickness a real disease. "Hopefully it's just something minor."

Talia sat on her behind and caught her breath. That was when something unusual happened. Hound leaned in close to her, quickly alarming the captain and causing her to jump.

"Oh, he's friendly, don't worry," Eliza said.

"He growled at Colonel Lionheart," Talia retorted.

"Well...a lot of people do that, actually!"

Hound seemingly ignored them. He sniffed Talia's face and then went down her body. The human cringed but didn't move so as to not frighten the monster. The hellhound reached her abdomen and settled there, sniffling over and over. Finally, he lifted his head and yipped at Eliza.

"What?" the redhead asked.

"Does he know what I have?" the blonde asked.

Hound yipped twice more and pointed his snout at Talia's stomach again. Eliza furrowed her brow and began to think. What was he trying to say?

All at once, it struck the red-headed crusader. She took a deep breath through her nose and tensed up.

"Uhhh...Talia...?" she asked, sounding ominous.

"What!?" the captain asked, clearly alarmed.

"When do you feel nauseous the most?"

"Uh...right when I wake up."

"Right, and you're always hungry?"

"Yeah...?"

Eliza licked her lips and cut her eyes away. "And you've been sleeping with Renard...?"

"Okay? I don't see what that has to do with..." Abruptly, Talia stopped talking and her face fell. Every gear in her head ground to a halt as she felt a pit in her stomach. For several seconds, she didn't move as her brain seemingly refused to process what Eliza was hinting at.

"Congratulations...?" the redhead said, an uncomfortable smile on her face.

Talia lowered her head and put them in her hands. She let out a grunt as she suddenly felt dizzy. When she lifted her face again, she looked a little pale.

"Is that thing sure...?" she asked weakly. Hound yipped again and nodded. His nose must have picked up the scent. Talia gripped the sides of her head and let out a haggard breath. "That damn fox better come back alive!"

"He doesn't know?"

"I didn't know! I've been so busy I didn't even think about my period! AH!" Talia turned up towards the sky, trying to center herself. She knew it was a possibility and she didn't mind it in the moments they were together, but it happened FAST. Moreover, it happened now that Renard was in quite possibly the most dangerous situation possible. Her stomach twisted in a painful knot. What if he didn't make it back? What if they caught and killed him? Could she do this on her own? No! She couldn't think like that! She grew paler by the second as the spinning in her head picked up. She began to feel light-headed and started to sway.

Hound suddenly licked the side of Talia's face. Talia made a noise uncommon to humans and turned her head, shocked. The hellhound yipped at her and pointed to her stomach again.

"See?" Eliza said, smiling. "I told you he was nice! He's trying to tell you to be strong...for your baby." Hound nodded in agreement.

Although it was gross, the hellhound did manage to break her out of her spiral. Talia closed her eyes and caught her breath. She would have to wait for Renard to come back. As much as the fear tore her up inside...she would have to have faith in him. Then they could talk about it together. Until then, she had to be strong.

"I'm alright," Talia finally said. "I just needed a minute...and I think I need to lie down again."

"Yeah, you should get your rest!" Eliza said. "You'll need it!"

Captain Fenner groaned and got to her feet. She then stopped, cocking her eyebrow. "Uh, Eliza?"

"Yeah?"

"Hound is the last hellhound, right?"

"I think so, why?"

"Then what are those?"

Talia pointed past the two of them. Eliza and Hound instantly perked up and turned, with the human getting to her feet. At least ten monsters were approaching them. They were all giant canines, in colors ranging from black to spotted. They had been sniffing the air, following a familiar scent. Once they spotted Hound, the one they were after, they all began bouncing and yipping.

"You're not the last one!" Eliza said with delight. Hound let out a loud bark and began galloping over to them. They all met and melted together, sniffing and howling with other. Eliza smiled, folding her arms around her stomach. She was happy for him. He spent all that time by himself, probably thinking he was the last of his kind. Now there were more. With all of them together, their species could continue. It made Eliza feel a little sad on the inside that Hound would be spending more time with his own kind, but it was for the best. It wasn't like he would forget about her or anything.