Chapter 30: Trnava

Eliza

October 29, 1786, Realm Timeline, Trnava, The Slovakian Protectorate

"We're not seriously considering this, right? Sandra, what the fuck are you doing?" Eliza yelled as the helicopter turned.

"Sorry, Liz, but you're not my boss. I roll with Penny on this. Take care, babe, promise?"

"Promise," Tristan said, going to the pilot and pecking her lips. "Get us to the south of the village while I have a word with my team."

"Why are you encouraging him?" Eliza whispered to Sandra while Tristan went to speak with Dorian and the thrall.

"He'll do it anyway. Would it help if I showed I'm afraid?" Sandra hissed.

She has a point... This is the most stubborn idiot I've ever met. Beats even Sam... Well... you know what they say, Liz. If you can stop them, join them.

"I can transport you and the Thrall to the ground faster," Eliza said. "I can't help Dorian."

"I'll jump," Dorian sulked.

"Name's Janosh, miss," the Thrall said at the same time.

"Missis, actually," Eliza said.

"Oh..."

The man looked disappointed, and that amused her. Would Sam be jealous if I took a lover? Problem for another day...

"Get ready," Sandra said. "Where's your chute? Hey!" she screamed when Dorian opened the door and jumped.

"Follow me," Eliza said.

She opened the Shimmerwalk tunnel, shaping it in a spiral to control the descent's the speed, and went through first. Tristan followed second, and the Thrall third, after crabbing the gun bag. They landed near Dorian's body. He was still out.

"Whoa! That's so cool!" Janosh yelled.

"Beurch!" Tristan retched.

"Poor guy..." Janosh said, kneeling to close Dorian's eyes, only to roll away screaming a second later.

"Bleep, it hurt," Dorian whispered, rising onto all fours and shaking his head.

"How do you keep doing this?" Janosh yelled.

Ignoring whatever explanations ensued, Eliza looked around. They were at the outskirts of the town, and an irregular line of soldiers was coming out, approaching fast, some still dressing while they ran. An officer saluted, yelling something she couldn't hear. Her heart was beating fast and strong in her chest and ears, and she was shivering. Could they beat three thousand Tatars? And even if they evacuated the population, what would stop the raiders from hunting them down?

She shut her eyes tightly, raising a prayer. Praying was not something she did often, but it felt like the proper thing to do. Like reading her mind, Tristan crossed himself.

"Men!" he shouted toward the town's troops, beckoning them closer. "This is every warrior's dream. To fight for our lands, for our people, and for glory. Are you with me?"

"Aye," most soldiers yelled, albeit anemically.

"I can't hear you!" the officer shouted, and the soldiers repeated the 'Aye' with more enthusiasm.

"That's more like it," Tristan said. "We'll use the town as a fortress and force them into street fighting. First thing, sound the alarm. Ring the church bells, whatever, but do it fast. Evacuate the civilians to the hills around, in several groups. Send the bounty hunters with them. Divide three-quarters of your men into groups of two or three, put them inside the houses, cover the intersections. The Tatars have arrows that release a poisonous gas; keep that in mind. Don't fire too soon, or they'll know it's a trap. Once the enemy is on the streets, you're free to shoot them."

"When you shoot, don't show your rifle through the windows; keep the barrel inside," Janosh said.

"That's smart," the officer said.

"Hide the rest of your people, barns, behind trees, wherever. The same, two or three people. Fire, then pause, so they don't figure out where you are. Wait until the enemy is in range and don't shoot just because you hear my friend shoot. His weapon shoots from very far," Tristan patted Janosh's shoulder.

"We know what a sniper rifle is, sir," the officer said.

"Good. We let their scouts pass, and we fire only when the main group arrives. Understood?"

"You've heard the man!" the officer yelled. "Third platoon stays outside; the rest, return to town."

"Stay with me, I have a few more questions." Tristan grabbed the man's arm before he went away. "Can you call someone in Zilina, gracious mistress?"

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"I don't know anyone in Zilina. I'll call... Fuck! Penny's not answering. Give me a few minutes, I'll call the base and get a contact."

"Forget it. Do you have... err... train pilots in town?"

"A few train engineers," the officer said. "Why?"

"There's a Polish army coming to attack Bratislava," Dorian said.

"Can you block the rails somehow? Preferably as far as possible toward Zilina?"

"There's a freight train ready to go to Zilina in the morning. In the proper place, no one could move it without heavy equipment."

"Get an engineer and tell him to push it as far as you can. Any mile helps."

"Understood," the man said, running away as fast as his age and weight allowed.

"What now?" Eliza asked. Deep inside, she was impressed with Tristan. The clumsy 'kid' was totally transformed, looking more like a seasoned soldier.

"We hide somewhere they can't see us. When the Tatars arrive, Janosh will use his skill to kill the officers."

"I can choose only the first target, boss, but I can't tell where the bullets will bounce."

"How many bullets do you have?"

"Two magazines for the rifle, that makes ten shots, plus six bullets in the revolver."

"Keep those as a last resort."

"I can make another tunnel if we need to run," Eliza said. "I leveled a lot, siphoning XP from you, and my skill has two daily charges now."

"This is good news, gracious mistress. I think the hill behind us would be a good place for us to hide."

Tristan opened the way. Instead of climbing directly, he chose a ravine. He followed its edge, putting it between them and their potential enemies. Whoever wanted to reach them had to cross the valley under direct fire. Unsurprisingly, they met a group of ten guards who had chosen the same spot. They were chatting together.

"Spread out," Tristan ordered.

Janosh picked a spot and put together the rifle, including a silencer. The hardest part was the waiting. The weather was still nice, but cold enough for Eliza to wish she had dressed in warmer clothes. The rusted leaves they lay on were wet, and her jeans were absorbing water like mad. Despite that, she dozed off at some point, waking up when Tristan shook her by the shoulder.

"They're here. The main group, the scouts have come, toured the town without entering it, and left. Don't shoot until we do."

"I have no gun," Eliza said.

"What?" Tristan hissed.

"Sorry... should have told you. I never liked guns. I use blades..."

"Can you throw them?"

"Sure... I have only one, though."

The look in his eyes was evidently not flattering. Great. He thinks I'm not only ugly, but also useless...

"Boss, what if they shoot that poison?" Janosh asked.

"Good point. Milady, you'd better go further behind. If the battle turns to our disadvantage, we join you, and we run."

"I'll stay here," Eliza said.

"You know, I could use a bit of leveling up, boss," Janosh said.

"True... A Constitution of over thirty would resist that poison."

Eliza sighed. Hers was way lower.

"How high is yours again?" Tristan asked Janosh.

"Fifteen, boss."

"Fine. I'll switch the XP to eighty-twenty in your favor. But don't get used to it."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Janosh said.

"Okay, from now on we only whisper."

[Eliza]: Or we can use the chat.

"How do I turn it on?" Tristan asked. "I forgot."

[Eliza]: Just focus on projecting your thoughts. It's instinctive.

[Janosh]: Like this?

[Eliza]: Exactly. Good job.

"There's an officer in sight. Take the shot as soon as possible," Tristan said.

On the last syllable of possible, Janosh fired. The distance was over half a mile, and without a scope, the Tatars were as tiny as led figurines. One of them was literally cut in half, and two others flailed their arms before falling down. Horses neighed, and about fifty Tatars separated from the main force, coming at them at full speed. Janosh continued firing, adjusting his aim. Three incoming Tatars fell, then three more.

"They're not shooting their poison gas," Janosh said.

"They don't see us; shooting at trees is futile," Eliza said.

"Or they're out of ammo," Tristan said.

The Thrall shot twice more, then the mechanism clicked empty.

"Shit, there's a bullet missing!" Janosh yelled, extracting the magazine and slapping the next one in.

The soldiers on the hill also opened fire. From the incoming attackers, twenty were dead. The rest, though, were near enough now, and started to fire their bows, pistols, or muskets. A tall Tatar on a tiny horse was rushing toward Tristan, lance at the ready, followed by a few others. Eliza activated Lightstep and jumped up. As the man passed underneath her, she stabbed him in the temple. Almost at the same time, Tristan made a lateral step and swiped his spear, beheading another Tatar in a single hit.

Janosh started firing again, using his handgun, and Tristan ran forward. On his way, horses buckled.

Bloodlust? Killing Intent? Vampiric Aura?How come I don't have them? Eliza thought, jumping on a tree to bounce in the back of another rider.

The last ten or so Tatars fled.

"I'm level ten," Janosh announced. "Lots of XP."

You, your Minion, and his Thrall have killed a total of 32 Elite Tatar Raiders. You have leveled up x1.

Fuck! This is insane!

"They're running!" a local soldier yelled. The main group had split into smaller ones and was going away from the forest.

"No, they're going to attack the town," Tristan said. "I'm going in. Who's coming?"

One by one, the local soldiers exited their cover. There were only eight of them left.

"I have good news and bad news, Sir," Janosh said. "I have enough points to raise my Constitution to thirty, but not my Endurance. If I go into town like this, I'm dead. The good news is the bullet that was missing from my magazine must've been the one hitting your head. If that barely made a scratch on you, chances are muskets won't do shit."

"Great! Where's Dorian? Dorian!"

"He took a bullet for me, sir," a guard said. "Saved my life, but... Ah!" the man screamed, crossing himself.

Stretched with his face down forty feet away, Dorian was snoring. Tristan went and kicked him in the ribs.

"Wake up, you lazy bastard. We have work to do. Milady, please stay here with Janosh," Tristan said. "I wouldn't forgive myself if something happens to you."

At least he's polite...

"Don't get yourself killed. That's an order."

After Tristan, Dorian, and the soldiers left, Eliza sat on a fallen tree. Janosh came to join her, lighting a cigarette and offering her one as well. She breathed in the smoke avidly. In the distance, the soldiers in position near the town began firing. The Tatars seemed adept at identifying their hiding spots and spread toward the locations. Ten minutes later, the firing had ceased, and the enemy entered the town.

Shooting started again, and then some houses started to burn. Eliza's XP bar grew by the second. Within the next hour, she had leveled up twice, then the XP slowed down to a trickle. Finally, Tristan and Dorian returned, their clothes in tatters, reporting the Tatars had taken the town, but were not pursuing the civilians into the hills, for now, looting the houses. Every other defender was dead.

The reason he had returned, Eliza realized, was to protect her. It made her feel weak, and she resented that, but couldn't do a thing except promise herself to train harder. They moved deeper into the woods, and higher. Luckily, no one discovered them; the raiders were too busy plundering the town. In the morning, twelve combat choppers arrived, dropping nerve gas over Trnava, and machine-gunning every single Tatar that tried to flee.