Brotherhood

The day after Grim locked up Kailani the Foolhardy in the cage at Fangfury Watch for sneaking out of Black Citadel and going to her flying machine against orders, he went back at daybreak to let her out as promised. And he took a beating from her, as he knew he would. But as long as Grim and tribune Brimstone had known her as a friend, taking a physical beating from her was preferable to beating themselves up inside had they not taken her back to the Citadel at the beginning of hostilities, with the possibility that she could have been hurt or killed.

It was the first time anyone had ever seen a male charr simply stand in one place and get pounded on by a female, and not do anything. At all. The soldiers cringed and laughed; the centurion’s nose began to bleed in the middle of the tussle at some point as he stood and looked at Kailani while she yelled and hit, and he accepted what was coming. For his friend. She finally got tired, then sat on a rock looking up at Grim. ‘Why didn’t you fight back?’ she asked, catching her breath.

He sat down next to her and explained why he did what he did, and that it was simply for her own good, not meant to be vindictive or out of anger. He then stood and told her he had to go back to the Citadel, and she took hold of his shoulder, ‘Thank you, centurion. Without charr like you to beat on once in a while, I wouldn’t be able to return to my flying machine, or might not even have one. Thank the tribune for me as well.’ She leaned in and touched her nose to his cheek along with a half hug.

When he trotted into the city by Hero’s Canton heading toward the Citadel itself, he noticed a few charr here and there turned and saluted more than usual. Hmm. Entering by the front desks, those who saw him immediately snapped a salute where they stood. Bewildered, he saw Dinky by the stairs.’Where have you been?’ his legionnaire asked, ‘The imperator and Brimstone have been waiting!’ Grim stopped, completely baffled, ‘Why?’

‘You mean you don’t know? Wow, this will be priceless, haha! Let’s get to chief’s office.’ Dinky chuckled turning to trot upstairs with his boss.

When they entered Brimstone’s office, Imperator Ruinbringer turned to see the centurion and his legionnaire snap a salute, he and the tribune returned them. ‘We’ve been expecting you, centurion. I’m proud to finally meet this Blood Legion warrior I keep hearing of. At ease, both of you.’ Grim relaxed, ‘I’m honored to meet you sir. Sorry I wasn’t here sooner, but I have no idea what is going on and didn’t know you needed me.’

‘Really?’ The imperator chuckled, ‘Even better. Because I have some news for you, centurion. Or should I say Primus Centurion.’ Dinky already knew it was coming, it was all he could do to hold back laughing, not hiding it very well behind a huge grin. The tribune was grinning as well, and snapped another salute. Grimcrotch stood with jaw dropped slightly, eyes wide as if in a daze, silent. The imperator said wonderingly, ‘Well, what do you think soldier?’

Grim looked down at the tribune’s desk for a moment, then out the window to the Bane below, soldiers walking by or standing around talking and joking. He gazed out toward the devourer spawning grounds, the trees and hills below in the distance. ‘I’m sorry sir, but unless this is an order that I take this promotion, I’d rather not have it.’

Dinky’s grin dropped to a frown, wondering how anyone, especially his friend who deserved it, could turn down something like that. Next stop after that rank was tribune! How could he do that?! ‘Don’t think I’ve ever been turned down giving a well deserved promotion, centurion. You want to tell me why, soldier?’ The imperator raised an eyebrow toward Grim.

‘I appreciate the consideration, sir, as well as whatever input the tribune here had in making it so. I’ve never considered promotions when I do things, it’s simply what needs to be done. I don’t know anything about sitting behind a desk; I did a few times out in the field and hated it, chopped it up into firewood. All I have ever known are my soldiers, and the few belongings that I have in a box in the (Hero’s) Canton. I even sleep out in Ashford Plain, don’t think I’ve ever slept in the same spot twice.’

——

‘I’m a soldier, sir. My home is with my charr in the field, and this cub,’ Grim swung his right arm back to deliberately thump Dinky in the chest, half grinning at him in a glance backward, ‘not stuck hanging around the Citadel doing paperwork.’ Grim drew a deep breath and clasped paws behind his back.

Brimstone and Ruinbringer looked at each other, then turned back toward the centurion. ‘Alright, centurion, if that is what you wish. I must say I’m still dumbstruck as to how someone could turn down an offer like that. However, I do have some things for you that I refuse to take no for an answer on.’ He reached over to what looked like a couple of very nice weapon cases sitting on the floor behind the tribune’s desk.

Standing in front of Grim he opened the long thin box toward the centurion, revealing the most beautiful longbow he had ever seen. Grim’s eyes grew wide and he stumbled out an ‘Oh my…’, reaching up to slowly run his claws along what looked like three perfectly mirror-polished blades that spanned the entire front of the bow, and the intricate pattern around the handle. ‘What are you waiting for, soldier, take it! It’s not gonna bite haha!’

The centurion took the box and started to remove the bow when the Imperator said ‘Ah, hold it, don’t take the bow out yet. That thing is awfully sharp, this office is small, and having this other one out at the same time could get rather dicey.’ He turned from picking up the other weapon box, set it on the tribune’s desk, and opened it toward Grim, revealing a greatsword matching the same mirror polished blade and intricate design of the longbow.

‘Rytlock informed me you’re well trained in most weapons, but prefer your longbow and greatsword. The least I can do is make sure the charr, who turned down a promotion, is well equipped to keep doing what he does best in the field. Congratulations soldier, you have earned them.’ The imperator and tribune saluted the centurion, he saluted back. ‘Thank you sirs, I don’t know what to say, other than I’m honored.’

Brimstone spoke up, ‘I’m having a secure room made as we speak, where you keep your things. It should be done shortly. Weapons like those need to be kept out of sight and out of reach. And you’re very respected around here, centurion. It’s time you took the reigns of this beast you’ve created in the Bloody Twelfth, by becoming the blade of my Sohothin.’

It sunk in what the tribune was telling him, he was to be Brimstone’s right paw charr reporting to him only, while they shook paws all around. Grim and Dinky took the cases and carried them out of the tribune’s office, both quiet; Dinky wondering and let down, the centurion incredulous.

Later in the evening, as Grim, Dinky, Elexus, Fyon, Wrathclaw and others were enjoying their cups in the Hero’s Canton, celebrating the centurion’s non-promotion, imperator Ruinbringer strolled in for a drink and joined them. The night wore on and he began to get tipsy headed but moved as if he drank no alcohol. A seasoned drinker. ‘……so whe…when did Ash and Iron finally drag themselves up to Monger’s Sink from cry…crying, centurion. BAHAHAHA!’ Bangar slapped Grim on the shoulder.

‘About when we were wrapping up the fight, sir. They were left the crumbs to the north as ordered. Then we sent them to the humans to replace our warhounds and to apologize for Blood’s trashing their city as we went through, heh.’ The imperator laughed, ‘It’s bee…been so long since I’ve been in a good fight, I’m itching to go. I….nice bow…’, then nodded his head forward and began snoring.

Grim snapped out of nearly dozing off himself to look around. His legionnaires were passed out on the table, except for Dinky, he was sitting up asleep under a table near a pole a few feet away. ‘Dinky…,’ he said, slowly standing. ‘DINKY GET UP.’ He stepped over and pushed the legionnaire’s leg with his foot. His second opened his eyes and tried to look around in a fog. ‘We have to get the imperator to my new room in bed, get up and help me,’ Grim said.

‘Why’d you do it, Grim?’ he mumbled, slowly getting up from the floor. ‘Do what?’ The centurion said, watching him. ‘Turn down the promotion, are you stupid? You would be one step away from being Brimstone’s equal!’ From Dinky’s look he was angry. ‘I was happy for you and turned things completely around! What the hell, Grim!?’

‘I told you, I would hate being stuck in the Citadel every day, only occasionally getting out into a good fight or two. It would drive me crazy. And you guys are the only ones I really like in this whole city. I can’t make an office for all of you, so I’ll keep my office out here using rocks for seats and desks, under the trees with birds crapping on me while getting shot at, swords being thrown at me, thiefs stabbing me, fireballs lobbed at me, hammers pounding me, flamethrowers torching me, minions slinging magic at me, pets trying to bite my kneecaps….you get the idea.’

Dinky stood there and grinned, ‘Ya, things wouldn’t be the same killing all these flame legion out here without you as their target being blown up, shot at and whatnot, heh. They hate you, you know.’

The two best friends put arms around their shoulders, and helped each other walk out stumbling into chairs and tables. ‘I feel like a steak, how about you?’ Grim asked Dinky. As they walked out the front door of the canteen the sun was poking above the horizon. ‘Sounds great buddy,’ he replied slapping Grim on the back, both forgetting about the imperator passed out in the canteen.

The Fire & The Fury: Aftermath

The Steeleye Span fight was the nail in the coffin of the latest flame legion offensive. After Brimstone secured Steeleye, patched up his soldiers and buried the dead, the 9th battalion joined him bringing his total charrpower to 1,020. On the cliff above the Span, they broke for a few hours and had a bite before the final push to drive the flame legion out completely.

To the north Grimcrotch had a few more things to do. With word of Brimstone nearly breaking the flame legion completely at Steeleye, he decided against going to Kailani’s flying machine with the engineers since they could all go there soon enough. But he had heard, by way of the courier, of her sneaking out of the Citadel and going there herself. He sent word to Fangfury Watch that she was to be arrested and held.

Flame legion being holed up in Shattered Palisade became obvious when Terra was found nearly empty. Grim ordered the war wagons and tanks to keep pounding the buildings until told to stop. Over the next ninety minutes the structures were all but razed to the ground; while the mechanized units blasted away, many of the enemy could be seen trickling out south toward Brimstone and Pockmark Roughs.

The centurion sent word to Rytlock he was beginning his entrance to Heretic Plain, as the tribune had begun unloading everything he had in a massive northward sweeping line from Soot Road to Griffonclaw Peak. Ogre camps were flattened by the eight war wagons and ten tanks with him; hidden pockets of flame legion were dropped in seconds from the overkill, the bodies left where they fell and driven over.

Brimstone and his wagons turned the ogre fort in Gastor Gullet into a black crater to its northern entrance and halted there in the east, while the rest of his western force captured and held their territory to the south Crater Rim road, blocking every southern exit leaving Pockmark Roughs.

Mid-Blazeridge Steppes, Pockmark Roughs and surrounding area

To the north, Grimcrotch had several Iron and Ash legion warbands join him from Iron Marches as he passed through Shattered Palisades to Heretic Plains down to Unbroken Expanse, ticked off that they weren’t invited to the party and starting fights with his soldiers while forcing the flame legion back. They sealed off the northern exits leaving Pockmark Roughs from Deserter Flats east, then moved war wagons onto the roads and cliffs, same as Brimstone to the south.

Except for the occasional potshot from the 382 enemy surrounded in the middle of Pockmark Roughs, looking around wondering why the inevitable wasn’t happening, the soldiers of Grimcrotch and Brimstone, along with 13 war wagons and 17 tanks, sat not firing a shot, engines running. Smoke rolled high from the engines being revved, filling the sky with the blackness of what was about to happen.

Brimstone gave a shout; 1,477 charr with heavy armor opened fire in a frightening, earthquake generating barrage of solid lead, charrzookas, mortar, tank and war wagon shells. The air in the crater of the Roughs completely filled with black and grey smoke, dirt so thick you could walk on, bodies and parts disintegrated…for a full minute. The center of Pockmark Roughs was made another 10ft. deep. Then the tribune had his men stop firing, along with Grim’s, the vehicle power plants making the only sounds.

Smoke continued to roll in the crater, dirt and body part juice slowly stopped raining down, no shots or voices could be heard. ‘BAHAHAHAHA!!! FOR BLOOD LEGION!!’ Brimstone roared, raising his legendary greatsword above his head, the entire Blazeridge Steppes filled with the roar of the charr armies gathered around the burial plot of the flame legion offensive.

The centurion walked over to his tribune through the revelry, getting a shoulder slap as he walked up. ‘Damn fine job, soldier, damn fine. Any better and I might think you’re gunning for my job, haha!’ Grim shook his head, ‘No thanks. I’d rather camp out here with the flame legion than have your job. Uh, no offense, sir.’ Brimstone nodded, ‘So would I. But then I might miss out on all the fun like this, heh. Come on, let’s get a drink.’

Tribune Rytlock Brimstone concept art

The tribune told the soldiers to sweep and clear the area, then get camps set up for the night. He had the quartermaster break out cases of sour mash, while others didn’t have to search long for deer or other animal corpses to clean and cook up. With the exception of those on guard duty, it was a well deserved break after a long hard fight.

The next day Grim and his battalion headed south to Fields of Ruin. Trotting past Fangfury Watch he told them to go ahead, he had something to take care of. When he got near Kailani’s flying machine, he saw her walk around the corner of it, wiping her greasy paws with a rag as she looked up and saw him, her eyes grew big and he grew angry. She turned back to her machine as he walked up; a heated discussion began to grow louder, being heard but not understood from the post.

Suddenly hollaring could be heard, ‘AAAAAAHH!! PUT ME DOWN BY LIGHT!!’ Grim came walking around the corner and down the hill with Kailani the Foolhardy over his shoulder, the cat beating on his back and trying to grab his tail he kept swishing back and forth, smacking her on one side of her face then the other with it, laughing as he fought her wiggling and beating. The soldiers stared open mouthed, not believing Grim was doing what he was.

——

‘OPEN THAT CAGE!’ he yelled to them; one of them snapped out of it and ran to the lock and opened the door. He bent down and forced her back into the cage then slammed the door before she could stand. ‘Now, I told you to stay at the Citadel and you didn’t listen, this is what you get. Be glad you’re not dead.’ He turned to the soldiers, ‘She stays in there until tomorrow. If I find out you let her out before sunrise I will hang you by your round and fuzzies, am I understood?’

The Fangfury Watch guards stammered out ‘Yes sir!’ and managed passable salutes. ‘I ordered her arrested, why wasn’t this done?’ he asked, paws on hips. One soldier nervously replied, ‘Sir, you saw how she acted with you. We were just, uh….’ ‘Afraid? Grim answered for him, ‘You were afraid of her?’ The soldier mumbled a quiet ‘Y..Yessir.’ Grim looked away and shook his head, ‘Alright, I’ll let it go this time. Don’t blame you, she almost whipped me and I have weapons.’

Grimcrotch began to laugh, the other soldiers looked at each other then began laughing with him, the nervousness disappearing. The centurion looked back over at Kailani, her hollaring this whole time about wanting out. ‘Keep her in there, I’m not kidding, I’ll come let her out tomorrow. All you have to do is give her food or something to drink if she wants it, be nice, it’s only a few hours anyway. Good luck.’ The soldiers saluted, he returned it then trotted away toward Ebonwatch Hold and his battalion, knowing he was going to get beat up tomorrow.

The Fire & The Fury Pt. 5

Grimcrotch and his Whispers crept into Blazeridge Steppes from Hellion Forest with the engineers Grimpaw Grindgear and his asura friend Poppler Swizzlestix in silence. The scouts near the forest entrance hadn’t reported any movement into their area from Blazeridge, seemed strange. But then the tribune was giving the flame legion a heavy pounding after his entrance there to the south, so they were probably busy.

When the 9th Battalion entered the Steppes from Ashford Plains, the war wagons immediately started firing at the flame legion that surrounded Steeleye Span, the tanks sped off to the right and riddled them with a hail of lead and flamethrowers. The last of the Blood Legion soldiers in the fort, about a warband, were in bad shape and desperate. Any ammo left after the rationing a few days before had to be found scattered around the floor inside, so they were in a near constant hand-to-hand battle.

More flame legion began falling back to Steeleye, retreating from Brimstone’s forces, so they had to speed it up; the tanks took out many of them as they reached the fort so their numbers didn’t increase significantly, giving the tanks freedom to run south along the east cliff wall of Blightwater Basin while the 9th continued the fight there. The flame legion wanted nothing to do with the brand, so other than their soldiers around the fort they wouldn’t be doing much in the basin, making a quick run for the vehicles and three warbands to Tumok’s Last Stand.

S. Blazeridge Steppes, Brimstone theater

Upon Brimstone’s Blazeridge entrance, the flame legion razed Foewatch Encampment and apparently thought cutting the bridge across the canyon would help, when there was access to a road level causeway across the creek below from both sides. A few blasts from war wagons cleared the boulders blocking the way. When they made it across, his forces split, half going Ferrusatos Village the other half Splintercrest Fort.

After reaching Tumok’s, the 9th tank and warband group that broke from the main force could hear the big guns of the tribune’s wagons so they continued on to Ferrusatos, helping to completely surround the village. Not one flame legion made it out alive. Brimstone’s forces surrounded Splintercrest Fort and sent several warbands with the 9th’s tank and warbands group to Soot Road, killing the retreating legion.

A final push by the 9th on the enemy surrounding Steeleye, with the few from Brimstone on the east road, brought on a deathly silence with a tin-sounding echo inside the steel building, resting in the middle of a strangely absent brand in their own territory. A tough fight in the cliffs surrounding Pockmark Roughs to the north was coming up next.

When word of the centurion’s rout of the flame legion around Monger’s Sink got to Brimstone, he made sure to secure each village and fort, then moved on to the Span to inform the soldiers. A cheer of sorts went up, but there were a lot of dead and wounded in Steeleye, they were busy patching and burying.

——

Grimcrotch motioned for his Whispers to spread out around the front of Skara Braevus, keeping watch on the flame legion guards roaming inside the structure. Grimpaw and Poppler quietly slipped up to the huge door and placed a small barrel of the Dinky formula (named after the legionnaire who came up with it) tied and hanging on each of the lower hinges, connected detonation wires, then quietly jogged back behind a rock.

The centurion motioned for his unseen mercenaries to move back, and told a soldier to inform those waiting on the Hellion Forest side of the road. In the distance they could hear the war wagons get fired up and begin moving their way. Grim motioned for the engineers to make it so.

Just as the barrels filled with gunpowder and explosive gel detonated, blowing the doors off their lower hinges, the first wagon gun sighted the doors as it rolled up and unloaded an explosive shell, blowing them the rest of the way off their restraints.

The first war wagon moved to the side and lost sight of the heavy artillery inside the fort, but as the second rolled around the corner it had the gun dead in its sights and fired twice, the first denting its shell then, as the gun rotated around to attempt firing, the second wagon shot hit the base of the gun barrel, blowing it off to the side, useless.

During the explosions what was left of the flame legion inside the fort who hadn’t gone south to reinforce the fight there, came running into the doorway further into the fort before looking, only to get picked off, the rest were overwhelmed. Grim’s soldiers cheered as they rushed forward to secure the nearly empty fort

The centurion gathered his legionnaires. ‘We’re going right across brand territory to Brokentooth Maw. Stay tight, we aren’t here for them we’re just passing through. The 5th Battalion is coming north from the Ashford Plain exit of Dragonwatch road and will secure this entire side of the basin at the passes. Iron and Ash are mopping up in Iron Marches.’

Most of the brand had disappeared; from the looks of it between the flame legion and the blood legion, they didn’t have a chance. They may be branded but they weren’t stupid, and had left while they could, so the crossing of the basin in brand territory was uneventful. When Grim and his soldiers arrived at Brokentooth Maw fort, they were greeted by silence.

——

Before the push south from Brokentooth Maw, Grimcrotch and his soldiers were taking a break, getting the regular cook of that fort back to work. Hearing of the centurion and his men going to retake Monger’s Sink then his home fort, he joined the forces in Ashford Plains as they rolled through.

He may have ‘bitten off more than he could chew’, as it were; when they took back the fort, he got so many deer and wild animal corpses tossed in a pile to be cleaned and cooked that no one would ever be fed that day. So Grim ordered the entire 12th Battalion to help him. As it turned out, he had so many people getting in his way, the centurion told him to sit back and watch as his men cleaned and cooked all that meat for him.

‘Damn near a hundred charr in the 12th, SOMEBODY in there’s gotta cook a decent meat, even on accident.’ he said grinning, leaning back in his chair with the centurion.

‘We are clearing out Terra here to the east,’ he told his legionnaires later, pointing on the map. ‘Expect heavy resistance down here in Shattered Palisades. So many nooks and crannies for them to hide in we may have to go in and root them out.’

‘Depending on the resistance, we should be linking up with Brimstone just south of there, and maybe we can be mopping up this mess soon. In the meantime, make sure everyone has their gear in working order and a full belly. We could have a long fight ahead of us there if we have to go in and find them. Dismissed.’ The legionnaires saluted smartly and sauntered off to relay the info to their soldiers.

N. Blazeridge Steppes, Grimcrotch theater

‘Wrathclaw…,’ he called to his legionnaire as the commander pulled back the tent flap to leave, and motioned for him to come back inside. They spoke for a moment, then the legionnaire saluted and left as Grim began putting on his Whispers gear. He wanted to see what shape Kailani’s flying machine was in, and was taking Grimpaw and Poppler for repairs straight through flame legion held territory.

Wrathclaw sent a few charr to Black Citadel in two tanks the long way around to pick up repair parts, using the supply trailer to haul the flying machine back to the city if necessary. If they knew what was good for them, they wouln’t have told her so.

When Kailani first got wind of the area around her flying machine in Fields of Ruin being cleared of flame legion, she sneaked away from the city and went back. When the repair supplies arrived before Grim and the engineers, they told her of the plan and mentioned using the trailer on the return trip if needed. Soldiers patrolling around Fangfury watch told it like this; ‘We saw the tanks pull up and waved, not thinking much of it.’

‘A few minutes later, out of nowhere a lioness roaring “You aren’t doing anything of the sort, by light! I don’t care if they melted it down, you aren’t taking my machine anywhere! Now get away from it before I slash your throats myself!!” I turned to my buddy and we gave each other a wondering look, but you couldn’t pay me enough to go over and see what the tussle was, that’s one mean cat.’