Leaving Naiad behind with Awilix and Toy, Vale returned to Floor One of the dungeon.
While talking with those three was a nice respite, that was all it was: a respite.
It was ti...
Ti to begin Vale’s war below in earnest.
To take the fight to the other dungeons.
To that end...
Mias, Salo, Sivian, and Vale sat in comfortable chairs surrounding another diorama of the gorge. A third one that had been crafted in the room with the floor transportation device.
In fact, the entire old core room had been remodeled into a lounge and Salo’s bedroom.
Most of the comfy chairs they stole from Liora were strewn about alongside so ornate rugs and decor.
Vale sat down on the red couch, next to Mias, and said:
"This situation is quite troubleso."
The smoky specter, who’d still yet to receive any connection from his other half, nodded.
"Indeed."
Vale sighed at the dismal prospect of the fight to co, then said:
"I inford Akkuron not too long ago. Sadly, they will not provide us assistance directly, nor will they allocate us any resources; however, they did say they’ll be watchful over Celestia and ’respond accordingly.’"
The snake hissed to herself:
"It’s sothing..."
Salo shrugged.
"I’d rather not receive their help."
Vale smiled lightly.
"I agree. It would be best for us not to beco reliant on them."
Thankfully, his Legion wasn’t as handicapped as before. After much internal deliberation, Vale had decided to call both Salo and Mias into his world to tell them they were allowed to be seen and that Sloth was always watching; however, they should still keep themselves hidden to an extent.
But that allowed the two to move much more freely. Though Salo still stayed confined as warden of the teleportation orb, as she was the only one he absolutely trusted to do that job perfectly.
Well, Xina could do it too, but he didn’t want any coming up from Floor Two to be executed without a chance to defend themselves.
Aside from that...
Vale had been apprehensive about saying anything to Mias and Salo because he thought they might figure out he t the oracle and spout sothing that would catch Sloth’s attention, but he eventually decided if Sloth already knew he t Diligence, hiding it didn’t an much.
The only thing that mattered was hiding the content of that discussion.
Vale looked over at Mias, then said:
"I believe we’ve already discussed that our most important directive should be clipping their wings. To that end..."
Vale pointed at the diorama, which had all of the known dungeon locations marked; specifically, Vale pointed to the nearest Nascent Dungeon.
The dungeon was a little bit north and up another tier, but it was the most obvious and easy target.
Mias nodded.
"The only concern is the Ergent Dungeon between us and them, plus the predictability of our targeting."
"I’m well aware it’s predictable. But the only thing predictable is the why, not the how."
Mias chuckled, then asked:
"What do you have in mind, Master Vale?"
"I believe you can cloak others with [Nevermore], correct?"
The Reaper’s onyx eyes narrowed.
"Not many..."
"But would you say you’re able to hide four or five warriors?"
Mias, despite usually knowing everything, tilted his head.
"Do you intend to send a suicide squad?"
"Not in the slightest," Vale laughed. "What I want is for you to take Diable, Diana, Edith, and Sivian."
Mias scowled.
"That sounds like a risky gamble, no? They are all integral parts of the Legion. Sure, we may be able to kill a Nascent Dungeon with that small force, but escape?"
Vale’s gaze lowered.
"I agree; however..." Vale pointed at the other nearest neighboring dungeons. "We can send detachnts to block reinforcent routes. That fact, combined with this being the first skirmish to break out, ans our enemies won’t react properly. And from there, it’s rinse and repeat until we alone are left in the Scar."
Salo leaned back and adjusted her hair with her hand.
"Sounds cut and dry, but a little optimistic, don’t you think?"
"It is..." Vale shrugged. "But we’ll simply adapt as our enemy does. That’s how a smaller force beats a bigger one. It’s much easier for us to change our regin and maneuver than them."
Mias looked up at the ceiling as he said:
"There are ups and downs, but this raid in particular has the potential to end well."
’Potential?’
Now that was a little unnerving to hear from the scholar.
Vale would much rather have absolute certainty. In fact, he’d felt certain that at least this attack would go smoothly.
’I wish he would speak his mind.’
Sadly, that was impossible for him.
"Ahem," Vale cleared his throat. "With that in mind..."
Vale went on to detail his fastidious plans.
First, smaller, inconsequential detachnts would exit as if foraging for supplies. Those groups would ander around and eventually co to occupy chokepoints in between the target and the others.
At the sa ti, Mias would lead a little expedition and wait outside the dungeon for the signal.
That signal would co when Xina took a position at the entrance of the nearest Ergent Dungeon, blocking them inside.
The only problem they had to worry about was the other side of the gorge...
While on foot, it would typically take too long and be too risky for reinforcents to cross, then climb. These were beasts. Not humans.
So could fly, others glide, and so could climb extraordinarily well.
That was what Mias was concerned about.
And it was definitely not groundless, seeing as he was the spy who’d been keeping tabs on these dungeons and marking their attributes.
In particular, they had to worry about a group of Ergent dragonkin directly across the gorge from the target.
’This... isn’t going to be as easy as I thought.’
Not that Vale would be doing anything.
His goal in all of this was to sit just inside the dungeon and spectate — be the eyes watching enemy movents.
User Comments
0 comments from readers