Teyao

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Clive's words slammed into him like a hammer, fucking perceptive people who returned twice from the dead man, it took everything from him to not flinch immediately, what should he do, deflect, defend, or fold? It wasn't that he was against sharing his circumstances, he just needed time to figure how to do it.

"Well, whatever it is just take care of yourself ya hear? Don't want you losing your head like that Zigmund did."

Clive

...

He felt his shoulders sag, tension bleeding away "Sorry for worrying you, the whole sharing memories is just... strange, I am coping with it for now, and with the consequences" He offered the man a grin "Thanks for not pushing"

After a couple moments Barracker joined him, posture rigid as if a tensed coil, waiting for the right moment to spring.

“Sir James, I have pledged my loyalty to you. I have vowed to follow your orders in all things.” Barracker placed a firm hand on James’ forearm and looked him dead in the eye. “Everything I hold dear is in within those walls. We must… must get inside the city.”

Kass

He looked at the other man.

As a native to Mythera there was doubt he knew the way the Witch Queen conducted war so the way he reacted knowing the town he called home was about to be attacked was normal, now how to reassure him?

He was a fighter and an active person, so the best way to calm him down was to- "We will get inside, we just need to be smart about it, I can promise you we won't just abandon the people there" He gave the man a grin, reassure him and reinforces the bond "After all, that's where the people our dear friend Kassel wants to protect live, just let us see what the situation is first if we can act without being discovered all the better" -give him a plan, something to latch on and a way to act.

---

So he was correct then, he had held on the small spark of ope that the situation had been resolved long before they arrived but luck wasn't on their side apparently. As far as he could see there was a standart set of tactics at play from the part of the Army, he didn't know every single part on the sieges, his talents made him more useful as an assassin and scout but he had some experience, the barrier covering the city was a good starting move but General Saladin nothing if not a patient and clever man, depending on how many Cogheads he had they could be in trouble, that he had decided to bring the Lizard Cavalry was an ingenious move from the old bastard as they would benefit a great deal from the terrain.

As expected from the The Marquis.

He grimaced at the words of his party "Good move but less effective than you might think, see those watchtowers? Remember how Zigmund could do weird shit? Its because the forces of the army are not all human so as a rule they tend to keep someone with dark vision as a sentry, wouldn't surprise me if we found vampire fledgings as watchers" He turned towards Clive "If you are sure you can make it then I will take your word for it, I will just ask you to tell them to send a message to Fornost, doubt they can do anything to help us but they may be hit next" A thought etered his mind and after a moment of hestiation he vocalized it "And, if you have the opportunity you should try to find mercenaries, the land is ripe with war so you may be able to stumble on a company, here, is not much but it may be useful to you" He handed the other man his money pouch.

Giving the man a nod he turned to the next group Fenna and Adam were talking about using Sil as a messanger, the inheret risk with that was wither group could mistake her as part of the enemy camp and shoot at her, he jnew she was extremly agile in the air but better not take any chances, opening his bag he pulled a white rag, he had bought them as emergency bandages but now case it was their time to shine, he extended them towards Fenna "Here, is custom for messanger birds during war time to have a white flag tied to their leg, should keep her safe from the army until they realize she is with us"

It would tip of the old bastard that something was afoot but that was an acceptable consequence of remaining unknown.

Speaking off.

"I agree that we should try to get in but trying to do so in the open is a recipe to disaster, while we may be able to do so the risk is too great" He looked at their faces, knowing each of them would gladly accept more pain in exchange for reaching theri goal, pain he wanted to spare them "Luckily it is not needed, the shield blessing that I use is designed for deep ocean exploration, as a result it grants underwater breathing as long as it is active, it had not been relevant to any of our fights so far but it may be the key to reaching the city withouth engaging with the enemy, we reach the river withouth being detected it should be a simple matter sneaking in, we just need to inform the guild leader so we don't spook anyone when we burst from the canal next to the guild" A tough crossed his mind "Everyone here knows how to swim right?"

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

I will post tomorrow

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

I'm for options 2 and 4. With 4 being preferred.

Fenna is injured, but it's her shoulder that needs treatment in the hospital so she can walk. This does mean swimming is not an option for her. The other injuries were also in her torso but they're healed enough to walk and scout at this point, even more if they rest fist.

We can definitely use Sil for distractions (her Loud Screech can distract enemies) and for sending messages. With real enemies approaching, guards aren't going to pay much attention to a bird of prey.

Fenna is not keen on turning back or do any kind of fighting. In character she is very set on getting more information about the reason they're here, and they're very close to finally getting that message that is waiting for them. She also really wants her shoulder treated and the nearest hospital is in Valheim. So she doesn't want to travel to another city and lose more time. Waiting for the cover of the night is a sensible idea and she will agree with that.

Would waiting for midnight or early morning (before the sun is up) give Clive enough time to go to Cherrad and return?

@Loksfjoer

I like option four as well, Undaya blessing grants waterbreathing so we should be able to sneak under the river.

We could also divide into two groups, a ranger, a bruiser and a mage for each, half sneaks into Vallheim and the other half move for reinforcements, Sil should be able to keep us communicated

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Dreams are a beautiful thing, sometimes they show you memories and thoughts you didn't realize you had lost, serving as a mirror to some of the desires your subconscious decided you possessed. Other times they were nightmares, your fears made manifest in the worst way. But from time to time, there were those dreams that were so vivid, so calling, that one may be tempted to never wake up.

But as all good things dreams always reach an end.

He calmly opened his eyes, the last thing he remembered was hearing they would be placed in a wagon towards Valhaim before passing out, the events of the last... hours? yes hours, still fresh in his mind, he was James and a part of him was Zigmund and that was okay, he would help his party, and one day he would return to his family. There was nothing else to discuss, it was almost baffling how natural it felt to just accept it but for once he was thankful that things weren't unnecessarily hard.

As Zell sat beside him he couldn't help but direct a wry grin to the taller man "Yeah, yeah I am feeling better, thanks for asking" He let his grimace recede, just a little "Truth be told I am still dealing with some things but, well, give me some minutes and I will explain" He gave another grin to indicate that everything was in order then he turned back to watch the trees.

He-Zigmund's-He knew that the situation was pretty grim over in Valheim, he would have preferred to take his time and relax with his party members but there was a serious threat hanging over the city. At his side he heard the conversation between Zell and Kass, he knew some of what he was saying but it was interesting hearing a Paladin of Hades.

Just as he was about to speak he managed to catch the words from Fenna and had to suppress a flinch.

Right, ah fuck better to rip the bandage as soon as possible.

He stood up to a comfortable position (careful to not fail in the jousting) the cleared his throat to catch the attention of all his party members "Hey guys! I need to speak with you" Awkward opening but keep rolling "I would like to congratulate you, all of you, Second chance for beating m- Zigmund, a no small feat" He tried to direct a smile but failed midway "Sadly there is no time to celebrate, the thing I did with Zigmund was basically an exchange of memories and we got a problem, Valheim is under siege by forces of the Witch Queen, I calculate we have enough time to rest before we need to get in the thick of it again but I thought you would appreciate more being in the known" He tried to make eye contact with them "Sorry for dropping it like this but from the memories, the situation ain't pretty"

Then he directed his gaze to his resurrected friend "Especially to you Clive, I am glad you are alive and I would love nothing more than to throw a party to celebrate your return but the situation is dire" Once more he focused on his party "That should be all, please rest as much as you can, we may have to fight soon"

Then he moved to talk with the driver, chances are they heard him but better make sure, he felt bad pressuring them but if they delayed they may not even find a city intact.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Will post today

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Slowly, agonizingly slowly he patched himself as much as he could, he- Zigmund was a bastard but he was an efficient bastard, the punctures were clean enough that one may be able to see throught him, he wasn't sure if he could manage to hold until help arrived but frankly he was out of options. It rankled being left at the mercy of strangers but what truly hurt was knowing he couldn't patch his friends himself, fucking joke of a healer he was. Didn't help that he was feeling guilty about causing the injuries in the first place.

Yeah, turns out conducing surgery on oneself is oddly meditatig, who could have guess that was what would resolve his state of mind.

Okay maybe resolve wasn't the proper word, his head was still a mess but at least he could think as himself now. The Blessing was... weird, even after using he still felt like he didn't comprehend it at all, after it was activated for a fraction of a second it was like he saw, felt, experienced and became everything about Zigmund, if he closed his eyes he could vividly remember the memories of the other man, his memories now, of scurring along the streets of the capitol, of getting into mischief with his fellow rats as a wee lad, of his crimes, of his archievments.

Of his sins.

Fuck he remembered the glee he felt just a couple minutes ago when he was demolishing his friends, except that all he could feel now was the burning mix of shame, guilt and disgust that threatened to make him vomit wha little he had of breakfast.

But that wasn't him, those weren't James' actions, they were Zigmund's... right? Frankly, he couldn't tell where James finished and Zigmund started anymore, to him it felt abnormally natural, he was James who was Zigmund who was James, and that felt like the correct answer. The only answer.

He instinctively knew that if Zigmund, the other Zigmun, was still alive he would be dealing with the exact same thing, at the thought an alien yet familiar part of him couldn't help but feel bitter at the bastard for dying and leaving him as this mess, despite it being caused by his -their? Nha that felt weird, caused by his actions in the first place. But that felt like part of course didn't it? Just a stupid idiot making a mess and having to deal with the consequences.

Thinking back on the corpse, didn't that meant that James, the part that was him inside that Zigmund died alongside him? A pit opened on his stomach, that would mean he just created a copy of himself and sentenced it to die before it could fully form. A diferent coin toss and he would be the dead personality, yet he didn't find himself frightened by the though, he could easily imagine the other James would be happy to have died helping take down Zigmund.

Fucking hell that brought a new host of confusing feelings to his mind.

Speaking of confusing feelings.

Clive was dead, he killed him, except Clive was alive now and he killed Zigmund, there was some sort of irony or dark humor in that a part of Zigmund was still alive but he didn't feel like laughing when he was the butt of the joke. At least James was happy to see a comrade back.

Gods he was feeling tired.

He sat there, letting his thoughts run rampant, there was a halfhearted attempt to listen to the conversation going around him but he abandoned it as soon as he realized he just didn't have the strength to focus on anything. Instead he just stared at the corpse, the corpse that belonged to a man who lost his way a long time ago and who did things he wasn't proud of. What a fucking mess.

When the help finally arrived he allowed himself to nod off.

He dreamed of his childhood, of his loving family waiting for him to return.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

I will post tonight

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

@TeyaoStill confused except now I feel like I'm on an acid trip too! Lmao nice post. Really well-written and interesting xD

@Zool

Thanks dude! I too felt like an acid trip writing it.

That was truly amazing to read, Teyao really pulled off the concept of being in two minds literally.

@Jay009

It was fun trying to blend the two personalities.

James sharing a mind with Zigmund was not one of the things I expected to happen this battle. Very good writing Teyao!

@Zapdos

Thanks dude, truth be told neither did I

Working on something rn

@Dark Cloud

Take your time dude, your posts are always great!

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

He went down.

Two debilitating wounds that presented a serious risk to his life, if untreated they may become a bigger problem and he would be close to useless until he could heal. He barely felt them, instead, all his attention went to... somewhere

So many thoughts... so many of them... all at once...

A child raised in the Capital City. The empire. Martial arts. Hunger. Need for power. A boy grows and does what he must. The Underworld - a hidden place in plain sight. A man grown. Seedy business and big risks. A closed heart. RED. The Devil Baphomet. A contract, a sword, special training. The Antiquinities. The Witch Queen

All of this James was unable to handle, the knowledge threatened to tear his mind apart. But the comprehension didn't stop there. There was more, like a flood or a tsunami, an unending deluge that refused to stop until

Hacking. Soul Gems. Mytheria. Cursed equipment. The Colosseum... Other dimensional entities... Eretia, Eredge and Dantuin

The siege of Valheim

A part of him, a part that felt foreigner and familiar at the same time was screaming that the information was important somehow, but as he was right now he barely hung on to consciousness, his mind couldn't focus on anything, sliding from topic to topic, incapable of holding a single coherent thought, if General Shigure could see him now he would be the laughingstock of the army. He was wasting time that much he could tell and the discipline instilled by countless hours of training was all but yelling at him to get back at it, the battle was still raging on but no matter how much he wanted to join all he could do was observe from his place on the ground. He felt some faint irritation as he watched Zell use his sword, sure he had his anchor but in his opinion his swordsmanship was a silver better than the other man's... or was it? For some reason, he had the feeling it wasn't quite correct.

He closed his eyes again, he was tempted to go to sleep, he was so very tired for some reason, guess taking a nap before attacking the temple was not the smartest of ideas, at least he had taken the time to enjoy his coffee before everything went down.

A new voice.

"I will bring our best healers and medicine, don't worry!"

He left a grunt at the irritant voice of the villager, thankful that someone was there to help his party in his moment of weakness, General Saladin likely had a way to reanimate them if they fell but he was friends with them so he would prefer they keep their lives thank you.

“Is everyone okay?”

The druid

Ah! the fucking druid was making sure everyone was still alive despite being injured himself, classic from the guy really, he would have to do something good for him later he decided. Right now all he wanted was to just sleep.

The adrenaline was wearing down and he was starting to feel the way everything hurt, it reminded him of that one time in the Colosseum, he knew he was being silly it wasn't like this was the first time he was wounded like this but he guessed it was just a natural response to react like this to the extent of his injuries.

He almost protested as Mac helped him to his feet, why was she dragging him to shelter when she knew the rain would heal him? Knowing Mac she had a reason so he allowed his broken body to be dragged along, trying as hard as he could to do something resembling a walk but knew it was Mac doing most of the work, damn when had she gotten this strong? the wonders of Ascencion he supposed.

"Crazy 'Ogre plan 2.0' hmm? Magnifique, my friend." She chuckled. It was really quite amazing how in-tune with eachother they all were. "What on earth did you do to him? To Zigmund... to make him so vulnerable?"

Mac

He looked at her in confusion, him? vulnerable? just what was she talking abo-

He saw it from the corner of his eye, slumped where it had ended after Zell cleaved through it.

Zigmund's/His corpse.

Reality broke.

Two incompatible sets of thoughts appeared in his head at the same time, consuming his attention and dragging him to the depths of his mind, he was Zigmund he was James he was Zigmund! he was James! he was Zigmund!! HE WAS JAMES AND ZIGMUND WAS DEAD!!!

He wanted to rebuke it and knew it was true, what happened? why was he like... this? -The Blessing! He barely could understand it before he used it, how could he be so reckless!? He had no choice, he- Zigmund was just too strong, he should had-

He needed to focus.

James had used a Blessing that... that did something to him and Zigmund making it difficult to separate between them, James was alive and Zigmund was dead, James was going to keep adventuring with Second Chance and Zigmund's story had reached its end, those were the indisputable facts. He wanted to cry, to rage, he was afraid, he was jubilant at being alive, he was thankful his party was alive and well, he was surprised that Clive had returned from the dead, he was spiteful for the fate that befell him, he knew he wanted nothing more than keep sane and he couldn't continue tearing himself apart. Pragmatism won, a compromise was reached and James returned to the waking world. A million thoughts were running through his mind but first he had to take care of his injuries as much as he could, this body wouldn't heal from the rain and if he wanted to last long enough for help to arrive then he would need to act fast, his hands pulled his bag of medical supplies and he got to work.

He could hear Mac questioning Clive in the background. Another thing to add to the list.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

I will post tomorrow