Chapter 84: Weapon Kits
"So, we'll assign a sword, shield, and a side-weapon to everybody. Just fighting with swords is extremely dangerous, especially for those who are not trained like Orion's soldiers. We'll have the advantage of extra defense, and we'll need it. Just like what I had smuggled back from Orion's base, they have certain nutrients that boost strength." Tavian said.
The two of us had regrouped with Dani, Lia, and Carl at the armory and we were back to normal. The only difference was my motivation was dead set now, and I would be a better asset to the team.
We all joined Tavian inside of the armory and spent some time looking around. There were tons of swords, shields, daggers, halberds, maces, hammers, and every other weapon I could think of. Even some armor was here as well.
"Pick whatever you think looks cool. You'll have time to find out what works with your fighting style, so experiment with everything." Tavian explained. I spent time looking at the swords while listening to him, realizing what had happened to my Blue Midnight blade. I lost it at the coliseum.
"Do you think Drake is going to hate me when he finds out what I did with the sword again?" I said, turning to Dani. She slightly nodded with her arms crossed and a disapproving look coating her face. It was soon destroyed by the several colorful daggers in front of her.
"You can't win them all Sky. Oh! That's shiny too!" Dani yelled out, running over to cool-looking shields. Even I had to admit they were flashy and visually appealing. "Do you have any weapons that fast people use?" She asked Tavian.
"Yeah. You would need daggers or rapiers... something you can dual wield with. Can you use both hands?" Tavian asked Dani. Dani shook her head. I didn't have that problem, I was ambidextrous, so I could use anything on any hand. Not that it mattered much, since I only had one option now.
"I can use an axe pretty well. We'll get Charlie and Mandi longswords. Hey, what do you think Griff and Jeff would want to use?" Carl and Lia were stuck in a conversation with each other. Since Ellie trained us with the same basic longswords, that's what a majority of us only knew how to use. Given that we have enough time to learn a new weapon, we might have some variety finally.
"So, these weapons and our very basic plan, it's safe to say that after some training, we'll be good to fight. Are you sure there aren't any other skills we should learn?" I asked Tavian.
"Doesn't matter, if there are any, we still have about three weeks to learn them, so they'll come to us over time." He explained.
"And why hasn't Orion attacked us yet if the war is getting this close? If he gets to us while we're preparing, he would definitely win," Carl stated.
"If I had to take a guess, it's because I wounded him pretty bad. I wasn't sure if you were conscious at the time, but I placed a cut deep into his face. Chances are that he'll wait until it is healed before he comes in to attack again." Lia clarified.
"Plus, Orion is a man who is famous for conquering. He sends his strongest soldiers to take over villages they investigate and then wipe them out, turning everybody into slaves. Well, his soldiers never found our base, and the ones that did couldn't report it before they died. If Orion spreads his forces that thin, we could come from the back and wipe out his home base before his soldiers could come back. He needs to keep the forces coalesced in his home, otherwise, we'd use that opportunity to attack from his backside and take out everybody." Tavian added.
Carl shook his head. "That's way too much of a jump. How are you sure he'll do that specifically?"
"Well, you're looking at the former main-strategist for captivating villages. I was sent on every expedition and told him to strengthen his defenses while we were out, so a counterattack didn't happen. Orion isn't smart enough to think about that, so he's kept that piece of advice in mind every time we left. When the raids happened, he started to instinctively strengthen the force on our backside without me even suggesting it. He took the idea and now he does it without thinking. His backline is reinforced now and will be until February Twelfth… so on February Eleventh, we make our move and attack his base directly." Tavian stated.
"And if you're wrong? What happens then?" Dani asked. Tavian closed up the armory, walking along the planks back towards his home.
"Then we die. There's no way we can practically take on that many soldiers…" He said. Tavian turned to me again.
"I appreciate the sentiment, but you're really overreaching my boundaries on what I can be used for," I told him. His look of defeat would've made me feel bad if he wasn't suggesting that I kill them all myself. We just talked about this too.
In fact, it was at that moment when he turned back to Dani and the others that I had a strange feeling about Tavian. One that blinded me from seeing him as a good person, as all he wanted to do was put my life on the line to get him to Scorched. Maybe… maybe he wasn't as good of a person after all. Can I really blame him though?
He picked apart my thought process and what I was really fighting for. Was it dependence on him that made me feel this way? I was strong, I knew that, but he seemed to be relying on me too much. I had a bad idea anyway, might as well try it out.
"I'm having a hard time trusting you right now. I don't believe it's a wise decision." I told him. Everybody turned to me, thinking I was joking, but the look on my face showed that I was dead serious.
"Come on Sky now isn't the time for jokes. I was just kidding on sending you to kill everybody." I shook my head.
"That wasn't what you said. It's what you implied. You see, when we do make it over to Orion's base, you planned for us to split up to fight off Orion's strongest soldiers, but that's the exact strategy you gave to Orion as well. You're splitting up our group, endangering my friends' lives, and opening up our backline. You informed me that your relationship with Noboki was severed the day your family died, so what evidence do I have that since Ellie and You, who I still don't frankly trust all of the way, aren't going to make amends by offering our lives to them?" I asked him. Tavian had a look of surprise on his face, as did everybody else.
Tavian handed me a dagger, by the handle first. "Then kill me." He told me.
"What? Don't be stupid, I'm not going to do that." I responded.
"I figured you'd think that. After all, your background is filled with betrayal and chances given to you on a whim. Just in case I needed to do this, I have this necklace on my neck, do you see it?" He asked me. I stared at him, looking at the necklace that appeared to be in the shape of a teardrop.
"It'll explode if you see fit. I'll give you a switch and you can control my fate if you'd like." I was confused.
"Why are you carrying a bomb around with you?" Dani and I asked him at the same time.
"It's a long story. Anyways, I'll get you a switch as well. Would that make you feel better?" Tavian asked with a smile. I was stunned in confusion.
"If I take this off, it'll explode, if you hit that switch ten times, it'll explode. It'll effectively end my life at your discretion. I don't mean to betray you, and I'm sorry you misunderstood my joke, but you can trust Ellie and me." He replied. I was hesitant, but this did make me feel better.
"Sorry. I'm just looking out for my people," I said to him. Tavian shook his head.
"It's fine. Well, we have some training to do, is everybody ready?" Carl asked us all. Tavian put his arm in a circle and we all joined him. Lia, Tavian, Dani, Carl, and I all formed a new group now... at least it seemed like it.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone