Redux: Lineage

The morning came and the four of us were taken to the armoury at around eleven o'clock by one of the castle's stewards before being left alone to figure out our strategy. We conversed and threw ideas around, switching up our usual, conventional roles, drawing up ideas, and crossing them off soon after.

"I think it's an obvious statement to say that Zane is gonna be our hulking defender," Annerose said as she dragged her feeling over the sheath of a sword mounted on the wall. "He's the only one of us here that can probably take a hit from our fair lady without getting our skeleton knocked out."

"True," I nodded, knowing that the magical and genetic enhancements Zane had undergone during his early stages of training had made his body far stronger and more resilient than any normal human beings. "Though we should still equip him to do damage, though. If this plan goes well, then we'll have a mage on our side that can probably give us a few elemental wards to protect us."

"Though I doubt she's strong enough to give that much energy to every one of us and the army we're hoping to build without killing herself," Grael pointed out. "We're going to have to pick who we need protected, besides us."

"We can worry about that later," Zane said, walking over to a greatsword forged in the aesthetic of a great dragon, with scale-patterns running along the hilt and crossguard, with the monstrous blade being shaped like a straight dragon's tooth. "There's no point in setting our strategy in stone when we don't even know what or how many units we're going to be working with."

Zane picked the greatsword off the wall, chucking it back and forth between his hand before settling into several stances, swinging it in a clear space in the room, before nodding in satisfaction. He twirled it around in his hand, being careful not to hit it off the floor, before whistling at me to get my attention.

"Think I'm gonna be using this one," he said. "Sharp enough to cut, big enough to do blunt damage, and wide enough to block a good number of attacks."

He then threw the sword at me in a passing manner, wanting me to catch it. I did, but only now, as soon as its size and momentum hit me, did I realise that this thing weighed well over three hundred pounds. It slammed into me, knocking the wind from my lungs and me to the floor almost immediately, and a small groan of pain was released from my maw.

"Prick..." I wheezed, barely being able to shove the thing off me and crawl out from underneath it.

Zane chuckled quietly, walking over and picking me up by grabbing a scruff of clothing, setting me down, and dusting me off. He then proceeded to pick the weapon up with the same level of effort a grown man picks up a kitten, resting it on his shoulder and smirking widely.

"Yeah," he nodded, looking up at the black blade. "This'll do fine."

"Gonna need a shield, as well," Annerose said, walking over to the other side of the room and checking a rack of rapiers. "Preferably a tower shield, something we can all hide behind."

"The shield section is behind the armour stands," Grael said, sitting on his haunches as he examined a wall of daggers. "There should be a few of them big enough to choose from."

"Sweet," Zane said, turning and strolling away with his sword in hand. "What're you thinking of doing as your job, Rick? Speed striker?"

"Not a good idea," Annerose said. "Richter might be fast, but he refuses to use weapons that don't require a huge wind-up. If he decided to use a katana for once-"

"-we've been over this a thousand times, Anne," I sighed, rolling my eyes. "I don't like using the toothpicks because they've got no striking power and are worthless against any type of armoured enemy, and I could never be fucked to learn those stupid stances and swings to not break the fucking thing the second I used it."

"And how many times have you gone up against the Alberian Crusaders, Richter?" Annerose asked, crossing her arms. "Practically every bandit and brawler we've ever fought as a group has been lucky to have a loincloth, never mind a full set of plate armour. The katana is faster than most of the weapons those idiots carry and could cut through them like a hot knife through butter."

"To be fair to Richter, here, a katana really isn't gonna work in the west very well," Zane said, patting Annerose on the shoulder. "Especially if you're up against someone with a long sword or a broadsword. Skill aside, the katana is so light and so fragile that a clash with any western sword that isn't a rapier or a fencing foil is most likely going to snap the fucker in two."

"I still like it," she said in a huffed manner.

"And some people like think the world is flat," I shrugged. "That still doesn't change the fact they're wrong."

"How about you and I pick our favourite weapon and see who comes out on-" Annerose began, only to be cut off with a squeal as Grael sprung forward, knocking her to the floor and giving her a long, slow lick on the face.

"Annerose, with all due respect," the wolf said as he retracted his tongue. "Shut up."

"Ha," I smirked, crossing my arms in a victorious manner, only to become suddenly worried as the enormous wolf turned around on me.

"And you-" he began.

"No you fucking don't!" I exclaimed, attempting to run for the door only for the monstrous beast to gain on me in a matter of strides, tackle me, and give me the same, horrible, wolf-slobber lick that he'd given Annerose.

"-stop egging her on," he said, taking his hand-sized paws off my chest and sitting down, allowing me to sit up and wipe the slobber off my face.

"I think some of that went in my mouth," Annerose said in a disgusted manner.

"When was the last time you had your teeth brushed, man?" I asked, physically repulsed by the sensation of the thick drool coating my face.

"A few days ago," he said, smirking in a proud manner. "Thank you for reminding me to get that done at the bathhouse soon. Now, both of you stop bickering like damn children and sort yourselves out."

"She started it," I said.

"Do you want a lick in the ear?" he asked in a threatening manner.

"Fuck no!" I exclaimed in terror, scampering away from him. "Your tongue feels like a skinned fish when you do that!"

"Then try to get along," he said, plodding his enormous paws back over the the rack he was examining earlier, Zane chuckling quietly in the back of the room as he examined the shields.

The two of us stood up, wiping ourselves off with sleeves and hands, before going back to discussing our plan of attack.

"So... Zane's already got his role sorted out," I said, still able to feel the spit coating my pores. "So I think we'd best sort Grael's out."

"I agree, my usual scare-corral tactics aren't going to be effective against a creature the size of a mansion," Grael nodded. "Unless I bark really loudly."

"So what are you going to do?" Annerose asked, walking over and giving the wolf a pat on the back, looking rather comical standing next to him as he was five inches taller than her, seeming more like a person standing next to a small horse than a wolf. "What can you do?"

"Maybe you'll just have to sit this one out?" I proposed. "We usually use you for scare tactics, corralling, and mauling, but... you can't scare or herd a dragon, and your teeth aren't going to be much good against her scales."

"I hate to say it, bud, but you might be relegated to emotional support this time around," Zane said with a sorry expression.

"Joy" he growled in an irritated manner. "The most dangerous thing my ward has ever gone through and I'm going to be forced to sit on the sidelines and cheer..."

"Maybe act as support or something?" Annerose suggested, sizing up a black-sheathed katana on an armour display stand. "If you see someone losing their footing, getting stuck in a dangerous situation, or needing to be taken back because of their injuries, you might be able to drag them to safety?"

"Shall I wear a cask of whiskey as well?" Grael asked in an annoyed manner. "I am part of a species of apex hunters that stalk the Ice Plains in packs of ten, striking fear into the hearts of man and beast alike, wandering where we wish and killing all that stand in our way. I refuse to be forced into the role of a damn rescue dog."

"I hate to say it, Grael, but what else can you do?" I asked, walking over and gently stroking his chin. "It's either help those in danger or sit at the camp and watch dinner cook."

The wolf was clearly disgruntled, refusing to look down at me with his nose high in the air, his usual pridefulness getting in the way once more. I sighed quietly, gently patting him on the cheek, before turning away from him, giving him a minute to think by himself while I examined a few sets of armour in the far corner of the armoury.

"Well, since Grael's being a child about this," I shrugged. "I guess we're picking a role for you, aren't we, Annerose?"

"Same as always," she shrugged. "Pinpoint-piercer and combo-coordinator."

"Is that going to work this time around?" Zane asked. "This enemy's a little better armoured than the others."

"Doesn't change the fact she's gotta have weakpoints, right?" Annerose asked.

"Armpits and stomach are unarmoured," I pointed out.

"The whole stomach?" Annerose asked with a smirk. "Fuck, this is gonna be easier than I thought. Zane, think you can topple her over?"

"Won't know until I see her," Zane shrugged. "But I'll let you know when I find out."

"Brilliant," Annerose chuckled, taking a red katana from the wall and belting it to her side. "Then that's me sorted out."

"Same here," Zane nodded, taking down an enormous, rectangular black shield that was about seven feet tall and three feet wide, clearly only being usable by Zane because of his inhuman strength. "I could probably sled down a mountain on this fucker."

"So, we have two and a half out of four, right?" I asked, looking around the room.

"I'm not a rescue dog," Grael said in a snarky manner.

"Of course you're not," I smirked, patting him on his haunches before looking down at the floor. "So it's just down to me then?"

"Yup, we're all waiting to see how you fuck this up for the rest of us," Annerose nodded.

"Is she getting a lick for that?" I asked Grael.

"Your wish is my command," Grael nodded.

"No, no, I'm sorry!" Annerose exclaimed, backing away with her hands in the eye. "Please don't lick me again."

"Good girl," I smiled, turning back to Zane. "You gonna be on the front line as defence?"

"As always," Zane nodded.

"Then mind if I act as a little present behind the shield?"

"What're you thinking?" he asked me, leaning against the bare spot on the wall.

"I'm thinking that, at first, she's gonna be holding us all back with her breath attacks and size, but then you can get up close to her, blocking breath and swipes with your shield, but have me behind you as you're doing it," I said, describing the scene. "Then, once we're close enough and she stops to breathe, I can dart out from behind and distract her, get her focus off the mercenaries and you guys, maybe doing some damage as well, so a few more can advance forwards and start swarming her, then Zane can hit her with a power swing, break a few bones and cripple her, maybe the wings, or maybe the cut the tail off so we can get to her backside-"

"-you being an ass man and all," Zane chuckled.

"You know it," I said, winking and clicking my tongue twice at him. "And then once we take out the wings and the tail, she'll have limited close range attacks and no way to escape, at which point, we all move in for the kill, attacking the stomach, eyes, and mouth, and before you know it: she's gone."

"Sounds like a good plan," Zane said. "It'll be helped out if we can get some mercenaries with bows to lay down some cover for us."

"And a few spear-men, just to get her attention," Annerose added.

"And then Grael can bring the whiskey for us-" I began, only to get pounced on once more, this time the enormous wolf saw fit to merely lie down on top of me and not let me up.

"So that's our plan then?" Annerose asked.

"Seems so," I nodded, the air being squeezed from my lungs under the three-hundred pound wolf. "Grael, what type of whiskey do you like again?"

He then proceeded to smack me with his paw, knocking my head of the floor and getting a pained chuckle in response.

"It's part of the plan," Zane pointed out. "We shouldn't march in there with all our eggs in one basket in case something goes wrong, like not being able to convince the mercenaries or the mage to help us."

"He is right," Annerose nodded, trying to pull Grael off of me while I was still conscious, but the six-foot pile of attitude refused to move. "We'd better come up with a good few back up plans."

"One for each scenario?" I asked, Grael's adjustment of weight allowing me to actually breathe again. "Say, if we get the mercenaries but not the mage, vice-versa, or neither?"

"It couldn't hurt," Zane nodded. "Anybody got any ideas if we don't get either of them?"

"Kill ourselves and save the dragon the trouble?" Annerose offered.

"We'll keep that in mind, but not focus on it," I nodded, smirking to myself. "Maybe we can send Grael in there with a flask of whiskey to get the dragoness drunk, and then-"

He proceeded to bite me on the back of the ear for that one.

"Ow!" I yelped. "I thought you were supposed to protect me?"

"I hurt, because I love," he said, nipping me again. "I love so much."