Earthbreaker's Promise
Chapter 8 - Tiller

Tiller was initially overjoyed to hear that Arlington had survived the slaughter they had come upon. The battlefield looked as if an angry god had carved it into pieces. In all his years, it was one of the most lopsided battles he had ever seen with so many of their soldiers dead and nothing to show for it except the blood coating Arlington’s blade. Yet, Tiller’s good mood had evaporated quickly after seeing the crazed expression on Arlington’s face.

The younger man was currently stomping a furious path back and forth across the temporary tent Lawson had set up while night had fallen. Outside, the soldiers were just finishing up with the burials of their fallen allies. Tiller sighed in what he knew was temporary quiet. This was the first pause Arlington had taken since his arrival.

“Our window of opportunity is wasting away, Commander!” He hissed through clenched teeth.

“So you would have us march over the bodies of our own men?” Tiller asked, keeping his voice calm despite his own building frustration.

“Yes! I would! God knows they’ll still be there when we come back. The abomination is distracted, we can-”

“Would you listen to yourself for even a moment? Abomination this, monster that, I know you hate them more than any of us but have you gone completely mad? We have no way to know just how many are still within the kingdom, nor how many may remain in the castle itself.”

“I don’t care how many there are!” Arlington yelled and spittle flew from between his lips. “Why are you so intent on keeping us here throughout the night? Has one of the beasts gotten to you?”

“Of course.” Tiller scoffed. “A vampire managed to sneak through eight thousand men and overwhelm my own will to compel me. Why would my decision be based on decades of experience leading men into battle?”

“Then lead damn it!”

“Have you not heard a word I said? I will not send these men to their deaths in the darkness. Your charge was launched in broad daylight, in a field without any obstructions and look what happened.” Tiller waved a hand to the outside of the tent, indicating the battlefield they were set up on.

Finally, the fight seemed to fade from Arlington and his chest stopped heaving with heavy exhalations. “Of course I know.” Arlington said, voice tight. “I was there. Front and center to the massacre of what used to be my own team.”

Tiller let the commanding tone of his own voice drop away. “Then you understand why I am reluctant to send another eight thousand men to the slaughter?”

Arlington took a deep breath before releasing it. “Yes, I understand.” He said, eyes actually focusing instead of staring outwards in unseeing rage.

“Excellent.” Tiller said. “Then maybe I can tell you another reason as to the delay without us coming to blows.”

“I would never attack you, Commander” Arlington said, frowning.

“Then why is your weapon in your hand?”

Arlington glanced down and his eyes widened. In a smooth movement he spun the blade and slid it back into the sheath on his back. A soldier had helped him put his dislocated arm back into position but he still moved it slowly as he wiped dirt and sweat from his face.

“I apologize, sir. The day may have gotten to me more than I expected. For the record, I stand by what I said. They are abominations, each one a crime against nature with their unnatural lifetimes and abilities. While the Earthbreaker appeared much more normal than the rest, she is the worst of them all.”

“And don’t tell me you disagree.” He said as Tiller opened his mouth. “We’ve already killed men, women and children alike on this Crusade. Hundreds of them. Your morals didn’t seem to stop you from doing what needed to be done.”

“Lives are lost in war. I can live with our actions as long as it means our families back home will be safe. If my conscience speaks up I drown it in the screams of those women who were targeted by the Nursery Vampire.”

Both men shared an unspoken moment of silence at the memory. The atrocities that vampire had committed would surely never be forgotten. The fiend had a particular taste for babies or mothers who were heavy with child. That had been one of the prime examples Tiller had taken before the King when he asked for permission to recruit men for the Crusade.

“Hmm, that was sobering.” Arlington said and the ghost of a smile crossed his face. “I apologize again for my outburst, it galls me to know that I can’t take the fight back to them right away. In the meantime, tell me why you want the army delayed.”

“Lawson, if you would.” Tiller said and held out his open palm. In moments his young steward had slapped the rolled up parchment into his hand and retreated to his previous corner.

“Is that one of the scrolls the old fellow gave you?”

Tiller’s face and voice were grim once again with the prospect of what the scroll contained.

“It is.” He said.

A hollow laugh, a poor impostor of his normal one, left Arlington. “Well then what does it contain? And why does the boy in the corner look as if his entire world has been turned upside down?”

“Because it has.” Tiller said. “The scroll contains various accounts and tales of an enemy the Beldala and Others call the Void.”

“I’ve never heard of them.”

“No one has, which is the problem.”

Arlington smiled and some of the charisma had returned to it. He could almost smell the danger. And for the Laughing Death, danger was something to smile about.

“Get on with it Commander. Now that I know we won’t be raiding tonight I’d like to get some sleep.”

Tiller released a heavy sigh before moving to sit, waving for Arlington to follow him. “Lawson.” He said. “Will you fetch some water for us.” As he disappeared, Tiller started speaking.

“We haven’t heard of the Void because they are ancient. As far as I can tell, they predate humanity completely. And since a time unrecorded, they have been locked away inside a vault somewhere within Mt. Hartt.”

Arlington motioned for him to go on.

“The woman you faced, the Queen, the Earthbreaker. She is not the first. In a way I don’t fully understand, the power she possesses is passed down to a successor. Blood relations are irrelevant and only females can wield the power.”

“What does that have to do with this so called Void?” Arlington asked.

“It is the job of whomever holds the mantle of Earthbreaker to maintain the Vault inside the mountain and they are inexplicably drawn to carry out this duty. Meanwhile, the Void are sentient and they don’t appreciate being trapped. As the centuries go on, they constantly beat against the walls of their prison, thus weakening it over time.”

“Ah.” Arlington said, inclining his head to Lawson as the boy appeared with water and filled their cups. “I think I see where you’re going with this.”

“You do?” Tiller asked. He didn’t think it would be that easy.

“The Queen,” Arlington spat the words, “seemed distracted towards the end of our little exchange. Given what I’m hearing it must have been something to do with this Vault.”

Tiller nodded and Arlington continued.

“It would make sense. With the power she displayed she surely could have ended our attacks before it started. Unless she was occupied with other business. Like keeping whatever these things are sealed up. What are they exactly? You haven’t told me.”

“The scroll isn’t specific,” Tiller started. “Entries range from the Void being too terrible for the human mind to comprehend to them looking like foreign bests of different shapes and sizes. Take a look at this.” He said, unrolling the parchment and passing it to Arlington. “Tell me what you make of it.”

Arlington frowned at the strange depictions. “What am I looking for?”

“Keep going, you’ll know.” Tiller said.

Arlington glanced down the page until he found drawings of what he imagined was supposed to be rows representing Man or possibly Others. Above them, drawings of the Void seemed to extend downwards until they touched certain figures. Those affected had an outline around them when they were drawn below once again. Then in the next row they were depicted in violent struggles with those without outlines.

“I admit, Commander.” Arlington said after long moments spent studying that section over and over again. “I don’t think I understand what this means.”

“Early on, the scroll speaks of the Void as if they are some kind of all consuming force. Except what do they consume? If they existed out there in the nothingness of the universe there would’ve been no sustenance. Neither Lawson nor I could make sense of it until we got to those images you see now. Then it made sense. The Void do not eat, they infect.”

“They infect.” Arlington muttered. Then his eyes widened as he realized the implications.

“Which is why I delayed the army. I need time to read the rest of the scrolls. Time to determine how best to approach. Leading our men inside those walls unprepared would be as good as jumping headfirst from a cliff and hoping there were no rocks at the bottom to break your fall.”

“Does this mean we’re recalling the army?” Lawson spoke up.

“The boy presents a good question.” Arlington said, still smiling even after the recent news. “Will we pull out now and hope that the Earthbreaker continues doing her job?”

“Of course not!” Tiller said.

“But sir.” Lawson started. “What if-”

“What if the Earthbreaker fails?” Tiller finished for him. “With what she did to our army I think she can last the night. How bad is the wound you gave her Arlington?”

“Hmm.” He grunted. “I’ve seen those abominations heal from worse.”

“Then after a short rest we will march to the castle.” Tiller stated. “We will destroy any resistance we replace, including the Earthbreaker if necessary. Although I would prefer to take her alive.”

Arlington laughed and the rich, warm sound of it had completely returned. “I like this plan more by the second.” He said.

“I don’t.” Lawson said. “If the Queen has to maintain the Vault shouldn’t we leave her to it?”

“And do what boy?” Tiller asked, eyes cold. “Pack up and head back to our homes? Knowing that a threat that puts us all in danger is in the hands of our enemies?”

“Unacceptable.” He continued. “We came here to rid ourselves of one threat and found another instead. So we’ll finish what we started with the Others and then deal with the Vault one way or another. Even if it means killing the current Earthbreaker and capturing the next one to take her place.”

Arlington’s laughter at the proclamation echoed out into the night. Soldiers close enough to hear it grinned. All who heard that sound knew it signaled up and coming bloodshed.