Theft of Decks 4, CH 43

“Thirty years. That is how long it should take me to secure Salvation. Slowly expanding, adding defensive items where necessary, maintaining a principle of carefully screened secrecy that allows defenders to control some items, leaving me with the bare minimum of necessary supervision. Then, I will finally be able to end the sham of my illusionary doubles and reign my capital supreme.” Pits. That is insane! It also proves we were right to act. But… this means there are defenses in the palace that should still operate at the hands of specific guards? We will have to find those! (Book 3, Page 2.)

Chase stretched inside the tiny dip of the land. He cracked his neck, slowly unsheathed his short sword and clucked over a nick in the blade from their latest fight. Then, he sat back down, and waited for Kith out to ruin the day for a certain Tier six.

Inside the camp, the early hours of the morning carried little activity with it at first. A few workers were preparing meals, mending clothes and the like, but the vast majority of the camp was still asleep. As they had learned for themselves on the Waves, you learned to ignore constant movement and noise, tuning out anything that wasn’t likely to go for your own throat. As such, the working day had clearly started for a good number of the servants, but not for the fancy Lightborn.

On their way from Salvation, Kith had toyed around with his new Tier five cards as much as he could. It hadn’t been nearly as much as he’d wanted to, given that his summoned chariot was necessary most of the day to ensure their speed. Yet, he’d tested each and every one, to see which of the other cards might be the more efficient in any given situation.

Internal Spark, he’d already tested in the battle just past. It was wonderful – especially combined with Twice the Fun, doubling the number of his summoned creatures. Not only did it help the summons understand and interpret his commands better, it also granted them a slightly improved sense of self, helping them to fight wiser and less mechanically. He said it resulted in better results all around. Better survivability, more damage, faster reaction times. He was able to manage more summons at the same time, to better effect, with less micromanagement.

Monument of Liberty, obviously, was a thing of joy back in Salvation, but not something he could truly test out, except for hearing about the impressive average rarity of cards that the other summoners had gained back in the city.

Light of Day, Day of Darkness, though… that one had taken some getting used to. At first, the summon seemed hard to use. Not due to a lack of efficiency, truly. Rather, it was that what should have been a subtle instrument arrived as a beacon in the night, or a swathe of night during the day, shouting out its arrival for the heavens to hear. That was the cause for many cusswords from Kith at first. Summoning a dozen very obvious humanoids, which immediately turned everything between them into the polar opposite of the current hour of day wasn’t as much a tool as it was asking to have your card cancelled immediately. Also, commanding a dozen humanoids at once was an instant ticket to migraine city. The very first time he activated it, Liam actually had to step in and heal him.

After a dozen tries, however, he got it. It was all about mental space and focus. Not only did the summoned beings not have to engage their effect straight away – you could also ensure that they themselves neither shone, nor emitted darkness. On top of that, Kith learned that he could actually command the beings one, two or four at the time instead of handling them all at once. Finally, he had realized that there was no true upper limit for distance – the only difference being that the effect was gradual – the larger the area they had to cover, the less severe an effect they were able to bring to bear.

Kith had spent the last couple of hours preparing. The humanoids surrounded the army at a safe distance, prepared to act.

Chase smiled as he spotted the first sign of movement. One of the humanoids moved slowly past him, just a few hundred feet away. It was a dull shape, like a lump of clay given a vaguely human outline and then a semblance of life.

Had it only been the one, nothing would have happened. However, right this moment, twelve identical beings started moving from each their spot and moving inward, straight for the Lightborn camp. And in between them, darkness brewed.

It started off nearly imperceptible. Nothing more than the shade of a cloud crossing the sky following the break of dawn. However, once the effect truly started, it built and grew, as the humanoids moved closer to each other. The truly notable detail was that the effect was active everywhere between the dozen summons. Meaning, at this point, darkness sprouted over an area more than three miles wide.

Chase waited for his cue, coiled up like a spring, ready to leap into motion. When, at long last, the first shouts arose, he froze for a split second. Then he was off, cards flashing. His first Sticky Fingers took hold against an indebted woman freezing from the surprise, granting him a point to Mental Power, even as Nights of Criffhaven activated, starting a slow upward Agility tick. Furthermore, One with the Soil came alive, letting him feel perfectly in control with the soil, an unwavering balance granting him the sensation he’d be able to fling himself head first to the ground and still land upright.

The first person to spot him was another indebted. He cried out, raising a trembling hand at Chase, without even going so far as to raise the long sword he’d been granted.

Chase shot him a grin and a wink, before utterly ignoring the man and racing straight for a Lightborn about three hundred feet from where he’d been hiding – a man with a short bow and enough focus to keep trained on the outskirts even after hours of inaction.

The Lightborn reacted within seconds. His bow rose in impeccable motion, aimed solidly at Chase, and he aimed and released, while a card flashed on his arm. The arrow gained a warm glow, pulsing with deadly promise.

The arrow flew true. For most people, that would have been the end of their lives, the plan extinguished just as it started. Yet, Chase was not most people. At this point – Sera had done the calculations – he had as many attributes as about five non-wielders combined. When the arrow whooshed at him, he barely had to engage his brain to take a single, dip, bend his neck just so, and allow the arrow to pass at a safe distance.

The archer was shocked enough from the miss that he simply stood and gawked for ten seconds. He managed to loosen another arrow when Chase came within twenty feet, only, this time, the card effect was on cooldown.

Chase contemptuously deflected the arrow. Seconds later, his blade sliced across the man’s jugular. All around him, cries of shock arose. Chase took them in, then continued, on the hunt for his next victim.

Meanwhile, behind him, the web of darkness gathered and tightened around the Lightborn camp.

For the next minutes, Chase hunted. He raced around the Lightborn camp, keeping well out of arrowshot from the embankments, as he located and felled the Lightborn rogues and ranged attackers arrayed outside of the defensive structures. Every fifteen seconds, he used Sticky Fingers, which, along with Nights of Criffhaven, sent his attributes exploding upward.

The Lightborn soldiers outside of their defenses were professionals, no doubt about it. They were alert, well-armed and armored, and well-used to ordering the indebted around to use as meat shields instead of the Lightborn. Only, they were not used to somebody like Chase.

He ignored any indebted, racing among them, waving merrily where he could, winking as he aimed straight at the Lightborn before shooting off into the distance again. Yet, any Lightborn in his path died, quickly and efficiently.

The people inside the camp noticed him. Of course they did. Only, he was outside their range – and they had other things to worry about. He knew that, right this moment, they’d be fending off summoned creatures pressing in on them from the summoners on all sides of the camp.

The Liberators had all been instructed the same – all summoned creatures should press straight for the Lightborn army, and not engage with any of the indebted. They’d complained of the inefficiency, but eventually relented.

The effect was a Lightborn army finding itself waking up a few hours before they were supposed to get up, promptly dipped into a growing darkness, before finding out that they were being attacked on all sides by an unknown number of enemies.

Predictably, chaos ensued.

Of course, it couldn’t go on forever. The darkness kept thickening inside the camp as Kith’s summoned beings moved closer and closer together – meaning, the summons themselves were approaching the confines of the camp, moving into clear sight of the indebted and, soon, the defenders of the camps themselves.

Mere minutes after darkness started assaulting the camp, it gradually brightened again, and, seconds later, yet again as people started taking out the humanoids bringing the darkness with them. Soon, the unnatural shadows were entirely gone, leaving only a Lightborn army finding itself beset by an underwhelmingly small number of summoned creatures and… something else.

Chase reached two thirds of a full encirclement of the camp, when the horns announced a shift in the game. Within seconds, he noticed the armored shapes leaping over the battlements, followed by a massive spear of light rushing across the sky in his direction. He promptly switched Nights of Criffhaven for Fight another Day, sacrificing Agility for sheer speed, and turned to flee, in the opposite direction of Kith and the rest. He’d nearly done his part. Now, he needed to draw them away. Only time would tell whether their real aim had been successful.

He loped off into the growing light of day. The warmth of the sun rivaled the growing hope in his heart.

“Get up, slowpoke. We’ve been waiting since forever.” In contrast to his smart-ass comment, Kith lowered a hand to Chase and patted him on the back when he leapt up into the chariot and promptly collapsed.

Panting, Chase didn’t say anything straight away. He rested his head against the floorboards of the chariot. They felt kind of tingly. Had to be the magic inside them. Eventually, he shuddered and said. “Light scourge me, that was rough. I led them on a merry chase, and easily managed to keep away from them, but they just kept following somehow. I think one of them had a card that let them find me. Then the boosts from Sticky Fingers ran out along with most of my energy. Almost fainted. From then on, it was a long, long grind. I…” He trailed off.

“You’re rambling.” Liam said, not unkindly.

“Probably am.” Chase said. He rubbed his eyelids and yawned mightily. With an effort he sat up. “I think my part was a success. How about – wait. We’re missing somebody.”

Kith nodded with a distant gaze. “Gelly. And that summoner with the Light summon that fired beams from the eyes.”

“Betan.” Liam added.

“Right. I saw Betan fall to arrows, right when I was riding the chariot back to pick them up. Gelly just never showed up.” Kith grimaced.

“Damn.” Chase fell silent for a while.

“We made it, though.” Kith. “All those distractions worked exactly like they were supposed to do. My Coils of Shadow had already made it into the camp safely and undetected, and were lurking in a supply tent. When we attacked, they were given free rein to attack the company of casters and summoners. It was… it was ugly. But it worked. They’re all done for!”

“It wasn’t worth it.” Banes shook his head grimly. “You’ll need to do better, kid. We’ve lost two Hearts, and for what? For a shot at their casters that we would’ve had anyway. You’re tossing-”

“Stow it, Banes.” The elderly Gavin cut him off. “The sacrifice was worth it. We lost two of our number, yes. But they knew the risks and joined us regardless. And for that, we have managed to take out the majority of the wielders who were truly able to cause damage against us from a distance. Now, we will be able to harry them from a distance, attack from the shadows, with little risk of reprisal. Two lives, for a chance at actual success? I’d pay thrice that and consider it a fair cost.”

Chase grimaced at the cold assessment. Even so, he didn’t disagree about that part. He spoke up softly over the rumbling of the chariot’s wheels slowly distancing them from any pursuit. “We might have succeeded regardless of the rest of us stepping up, yes. I agree. It’s a possibility. But I doubt it. You all know they have healers divided throughout the army. Kith’s vipers are killers, but they are not fast killers. It would just take a single healer with a card against poison, or a single alert squad noticing their presence to take them out. Our distraction worked, and the poison of the vipers wiped them out. Also, I managed to end the majority of all scouts they had out in front of the army. It is as Gavin says. They’ll be much less capable of striking back at us now – and they’ll also be less likely to spot us in the first place.”

Banes’ face scrounged up in displeasure, but he eventually assented. “I don’t like it none, but okay. Better make sure it’s worth it!”

“That’s the plan.” Chase nodded. “Speaking of plans. Those Lightborn being able to follow me? It’s got me kind of spooked. Especially with Gelly gone and unable to scout. I think that maybe we should put extra distance between us and the army until we strike next time and keep watch.”

Kith groaned. “I can already guess what you’re about to say. I’m on shade duty while you all rest?”

Chase shrugged. “Sera could likely sell this one better, tell you how talented you are until you think it’s your own idea.” He grasped Kith’s shoulder. “We need you to keep us all safe, Kith. And yes, that includes sacrificing some sleep. Can you do that?”

“You know… I think I’d actually prefer it if you tell Raudt and Svart how wonderful they are.” Kith grumbled.

“Yeah, that’s not happening.”