"After the three devised a plan to steal the artifacts and move the war to Final Valley, they parted ways in different teams. Dorian went with Whisker while Seraphine went with Sarohan. As for Ascent and its lord, he had to stay in their zone in case another city attacks.
The feline was anything but chatty. After the initial nod he gave Dorian, the rest of their journey was spent in silence. Although he would have felt bored before, he found a new appreciation for peace and quiet.
The two did not travel on foot, but rather used a wagon driven by a soldier. It would take them hours to get to their destination without a wagon, a ti they did not have. After so ti in silence, the feline was actually the one to open his mouth.
"What do you know about Ironspire?" asked the feline while sharpening his gauntlets. His bestial eyes examined the blades with a zealous worship without shifting toward him.
"A city of iron," said Dorian with a shrug as he stared out of the window, watching their wagon infiltrating the forest. "My father taught that if you need a good sword, Ironspire has a blacksmith for it."
"Then, it would be a city of blacksmiths," said Whisker with a nod as he hid his gauntlets. "After we finish this mission, you will have to fight against your own father. Are you prepared to kill him if the situation demands it?"
"That's not a good opening subject," said Dorian with a smile as he turned toward the feline. "If the situation demanded that you kill Alexie to bring peace to the second floor, could you do it?"
"I would kill the entire second floor for his sake, not the opposite," said the feline without a hint of hesitation, surprising Dorian. "At first, we just wanted to advance through the ranks and leave the second floor. However, Alexie decided that we need to end the war before leaving."
"Is he a saint?" asked Dorian in all seriousness as he knew that their journey has been delayed for a long ti because of that single decision. "I have seen the burden he carries, and only a saint would still care about others."
"Don't let him hear you," said the feline with a smirk. "Alexie is not a complicated man. If there was an embodint of paradoxes, he would be their human form: ruthless but kind, creating but destroying, and free but selfless."
"Free but selfless?"
"A man cannot be free without being selfish," said Whisker with a smirk as he rose from his seat and grabbed the window's edge. "Although he chose you, I still can't believe the change you have gone through, Dorian Stormblade. Answer my question: would you kill your father if he was evil?"
"How can I decide if he was good or bad, if he was never there?" said Dorian with a smirk that said the man in question was irrelevant. "I have one older sister and no one else. She was as beautiful as the moon and sun combined."
"How is that relevant?"
"Everything is irrelevant when you don't matter," said Dorian with a shrug. "I had to grow without a father because he was obsessed with my sister, and without a mother because I killed her at birth. Naturally, I grew among beautiful maids and bountiful liquor."
"A child in this situation would grow up to be insecure rather than arrogant," said Whisker with an interesting smile. "How co you beca the most arrogant man beneath heaven?"
"Beneath all the arrogance is the need for acceptance. I had to accept myself and believe that I was the chosen beneath the heavens. In this manner, I made sure to make myself the center of attention everywhere I go."
"And what changed?"
"My sister disappeared all of a sudden, and my father almost lost his mind looking for her," said Dorian with a laugh. "I never bothered looking for her, though. After realizing that he is without an heir now, my father tried to ta . However, it was impossible now."
"Then, he t Alexie, the one youngster stronger than you are," said Whisker with disinterest as he knew the rest of the story. "It might never occur to your father that his own son might not even hate him, but simply disregard his existence."
"Before I saw the black sun, I disregarded everything other than myself," said Dorian as he closed his eyes. "Then, I heard voices that I can never forget. Countless souls yearning for revenge, but I understood their desire originated from injustice."
"A young lord learns about empathy," laughed the feline as he opened the wagon's door, letting the cold air burst inside. "Imagine how it feels to be the one hearing those voices all the ti."
After saying that, the feline jumped from the wagon as it ca to a stop. Dorian rose as well as he looked through the door to find themselves standing before a giant iron fortress. His eyes widened in awe as flas signified this fortress was inhabited.
"We have reached Ironspire, the city of steel!" said Whisker as his robes fluttered in the wind. His feline face, looking like a giant cat, grinned at the impenetrable fortress. "We have to find a way to steal their artifact!"
"No sane soldier would let you inside," said Dorian as he jumped from the carriage to land on the soft soil, which his feet sank into. As he almost tripped, Dorian looked down at the soil. "This soil has been unturned."
"We can discuss the geographical landscape later," said the feline, not understanding what Dorian ant. "I have my ways to get inside, but I need so distraction. As a young lord, that should be a piece of cake."
"I can talk to them, but I will probably be killed before we manage to escape this fortress," said Dorian with a shake of his head. "We are too close to infiltrate. The soldiers might have already seen us."
Ironspire has built their fortress in nothing but a short few hours since the war began. Although Dorian did not understand how, he knew that this fortress was impossible to break into. Their location was also ideal for them amidst countless mines where they could use for their weapons.
"I have an idea," said Dorian all of a sudden. "These people worship weapons, but they don't have anyone as good as the great Dorian Stormblade."
"…elaborate without the arrogant part."
"It seems you don't know what they call or what I can do," said Dorian with a smile as he took out his spear. "People call the Weapons Master. There is not a weapon I cannot utilize. Any weapon I touch, I master in the sa instant."
"And how would that help us get into the fortress?"
"As a Weapons Master, that ans I understand the items more than anyone. Even if a blade is slightly curved, I can tell without even touching it. Ironspire worships weapons and their craft, so that makes their greatest tool."
"Is that so?" muttered Whisker with a grin that uneased the young lord. "Since you volunteered, then go and open one of the windows from the inside. I would then sneak into the fortress and steal the artifact."
"…and how would I get out?"
"Through revival?" asked Whisker before he raised his hood and disappeared. Dorian stood there with a speechless face as the feline seed serious about asking him to die. However, he was already gone.
Dorian swallowed hard as he looked at the fortress before tightening his grip on the spear and heading forward. He asked the soldier who drove their wagon to wait in a nearby camp in case they needed to run.
Ironspire seed like a fortress of doom, created entirely from iron. After hiding his spear in his spatial pouch given by the tower, Dorian approached the trench surrounding the fortress.
"Enemy spotted!"
"Raise your arrows!"
Dorian heard their shouts before he hurried to raise his arms in surrender. There was no way he could talk them down, and he just hoped that they would be curious enough to ask him.
"I ca in peace!" shouted Dorian toward the fortress. "My na is Dorian Stormblade, son of Marshal Stormblade! I ca to offer my services to the almighty city of Ironspire!"
There was a period of silence as the soldiers raised their arrows at him. Dorian could see their figures through the glass windows that have been covered with iron bars like a prison. After a few seconds, the bridge was lowered connecting the two sides of the trench.
Clang! Clang!
A group of soldiers covered in armor ca to et him. The one in the lead was almost three ters tall, making the already-tall Dorian raise his head to look at his helt that has been shaped like a lion.
"Dorian Stormblade?" asked a gruff voice from behind the armor. "I heard that you betrayed Xeloria and ford an alliance of three cities. Do you expect that we would believe you?"
"If I was the lord of Ascent, would I co here and hand over my status?" asked Dorian with a laugh. "I indeed brought the three cities together, but the lord of Starhaven seized that position. I ca here to take revenge on both Ascent and Xeloria!"
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