Aglithia nodded, and stepped forward, pointing out several locations in the Inner Capital.
“Almost all of our secret tunnels lead to the main residence of our tribe, and from there, we have dozens of access points into the Inner Capital. We can be anywhere in minutes, and launch a simultaneous surprise attack, if we find a way to signal one group to another from far away.”
“We can use colored fires!” exclaimed Naptunie. “With the right ingredients, I can easily create fires that will blow up fast, are easy to control, and can be seen from far away!”
“Let’s do that, then,” nodded Kassian. “We can split into groups, each leading one, and start several fights in the Capital. One will be focused on rescuing the hostages, the other on invading the castle to take it back and kill the Yekara Leader, and whoever else they might put in our way.”
“Darsan will lead everyone coming from the outside and guide them into the Capital. The breach of the gate should alert the Yekara enough and force a lot of them to come out, but it’s going to turn into an all-out battle if the citizens get involved... we risk injuring a lot of people in the process.”
“I can have my people spread the word,” said Bastat. “We can suggest the citizens stay inside, or go where it’s safe, just remain out of the streets. I’ll also try to ensure the injured are taken to the Hashat hospitals. Lady Ishira and I have grown close, I’m sure we will work well together.”
“Kassian, Aglithia, Cessilia, and I need to lead the attacks inside then,” said Tessandra.
“I’m sure many more will follow us once they see what is happening,” nodded Aglithia. “If they see an organized, armed resistance, there is no doubt the other tribes will come out of hiding and help too. They may not be fighters, but they are not helpless. They wouldn’t have survived the Tyrant’s reign otherwise.”
Next to her, Naptunie nodded firmly, also agreeing to this. In fact, Cessilia, Tessandra, and Ashen thought just the same. They had seen for themselves, many times, that the Eastern Kingdom’s tribes were resilient. Although there would definitely be trouble and damage within the Inner Capital, they had to hope everyone would be able to defend themselves, at the very least.
“We estimate the Yekara troops to be a thousand people,” suddenly said Aglithia.
“...A th-thousand?” groaned Cessilia.
“Yes. At least, within the Capital. We suspect they might have more forces prepared outside of the Capital, and hired a lot more people using the Pangoja’s money. We’re talking about mercenaries, bandits, and hired fighters.”
“That’s going to be a fun bunch to punch!” exclaimed Darsan, getting excited all by himself.
“More like a lot of trouble,” groaned Kassian. “That means we will have enemies coming from all sides and without much order. Even if the dragons manage to keep their external reinforcements out, their goal will be to make the fight last until they kill Ashen.”
All eyes went to the white-haired king. His dark eyes were still riveted on the map, but he straightened with a smirk on his lips.
“They can try,” he said. “It won’t be the first time they’ve tried to get rid of me, and I’m not willing to let them win.”
“...I’m sorry to report, your... adopted brother survived,” muttered Aglithia. “He’s wounded, but some of our spies confirmed they saw him getting geared up for battle.”
“He’s mine,” immediately growled Ashen. “Let me fight him.”
In fact, Cessilia was more than happy to let him do so. Ashen’s state was, at the very least, probably as bad as his brother. She would have said something against it if she hadn’t seen that adopted brother of his crushed partially by an enormous rock. Even if he had survived, she doubted the man was back to his full capacity.
“...What about th-that woman, Jisel?” she asked Aglithia.
“No sign of her,” she shook her head, “but that can’t be good...”
Cessilia and Tessandra exchanged a glance across the table, her cousin grimacing. Cessilia hesitated. ...Should she have gotten rid of that woman when she had the chance, or left her to die? Somehow, she couldn’t, and Cessilia knew she would have made the same choice over again. A part of her just couldn’t bring herself to fully hate Jisel. Perhaps it was this sense of commonality, the strange bond of blood they shared. Perhaps it was because she found that woman pitiful, or her ever so unclear intentions. Either way, she just couldn’t make up her mind yet.
“...We will see if sh-she appears,” she declared. “Perhaps she f-fled already.”
This might have been hopeful on her part, but Cessilia wished for Jisel to disappear and never come back again. She had a feeling things wouldn’t be that simple though...
“Alright...” said Tessandra. “We have a plan, and everyone knows what they have to do. Shall we get going before my boyfriend really gets his head chopped off? It’s my first relationship and I do not want it to end in a shitty tragedy.”
“Calm down, Tessa,” scoffed Darsan, putting his fists on his hips. “We’re going to rescue that boy of yours, alright. The lad doesn’t even know what he’s signing up for, maybe he’s better off dead, haha!”
All eyes went to him, no one finding this very funny. Even Cessilia was glaring at her brother’s cruel lack of delicacy, but the one pair of eyes that seemed to melt his grin away was Nana’s. Then, Tessandra chuckled and bumped her elbow into his arm.
“By the way, Darsan. My boyfriend you’ve been making fun of just happens to be Naptunie’s dear older brother. Just so you know.”
His expression fell, replaced by sheer panic as he slowly realized his mistake. Cessilia realized, no one had referred to Sab as Nana’s older brother until now... She sighed. At least Darsan would take things a whole lot more seriously now. Ashen suddenly grabbed her hand, gently.
“Let’s get going,” he said. “Cessilia, Tessandra, and I will attack at the main plaza first to rescue the hostages, then we will part ways to reconquer the castle.”
“I’ll make sure to stay as mobile as possible,” nodded Kassian.
“I will be with you,” Lady Bastat suddenly announced. “This way, we can rally more people as we move through the streets.”
Kassian’s green eyes went to her with a hesitation.
“...Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Slowly, she took out a long, strange little rope that had been tied around her waist all this time. She removed the gorgeous ornament that was hanging at one end for all to see the dangerous, pointy blade it had been hiding all along, and she smiled back at him.
“It’s just like we said. We may not be fighters, but we are not defenseless. I will manage. I also have a score to settle for my father’s murder.”
A faint smile appeared on Kassian’s lips, and he nodded.
“Let’s go,” said Cessilia.
