Even with how dire the circumstances were, Commander Dahl was feeling more and more comfortable with the situation that he and his city found themselves in. He could tell that everyone in the Command Hall felt the same way. There was a sense of control permeating the room that had been absent up until now.

  Their training, the battles and conflicts they’d faced, and everything they knew about commanding troops revolved around knowing their enemy. Being caught off guard by the kobald’s presence in their mountain had shaken them. But it had been the lack of intelligence that had ultimately made them feel like they were unable to do their jobs.

  Now that he could see the difference, he was surprised that he hadn’t realized it before.

  The commanders, sub-commanders, aides, and support staff were all moving around the hall with purpose, their confidence and competence with what they were doing fully on display. Where before there was a lack of focus, now there was once again a sense of efficiency.

  Having the ability to scry on the enemy and tactically evaluate the best way to combat them made everyone here feel in control of the situation… even if they all knew they weren’t.

  “Commander! There’s been a… development with the volunteer assault on the enemy ritual in the throne room!” the sub-commander in charge of the situation in the upper tunnels called out.

  Looking up from the hologram in front of him tracking the reorganization of the troops in the lower city, he asked, “If there are less than 500 willing to try, cancel the order. There is no point in them wasting their lives. We’ll need every soldier we can for the planned assault to close it.”

  Shaking her head with an uncomfortable expression on her face, she replied, “That’s not what’s happening, sir. While I expected some of the more stubborn team leaders to want to try and push through, I thought most would see reason. However, it seems that almost everyone in Forward Operating Base 3 is willing to attempt to stop the portal from opening. The base commander sent an alert that he and his entire complement would be leaving within 10 minutes.”

  While Commander Dahl was typically a rather reserved man, the news was enough to have him shooting up in his seat like a fresh recruit hearing his deployment orders for the first time. He didn’t know if he was feeling excitement, concern, or confusion.

  “The entire F.O.B. is mobilizing? But… why? They must know that they’re all going to die,” he uttered in total shock.

  “It’s not just them, sir. Two other F.O.B.s are moving out as well, in addition to 34 teams from the F.O.B.s that have acknowledged the retreat,” she said while leaning over the table and manipulating the hologram to display the upper city’s map.

  “They’re planning to work together to assault this encampment in what was formerly the noble quarter,” she said while highlighting a kobald position.

  “Considering the distance between the F.O.B.s, our troops should be arriving in waves from two different tunnel systems. The commanders who’ve agreed to take part in the operation have coordinated their assault timers and have made it clear that they’ll be leaving their F.O.B.s undefended. They’ve only bothered to alert us because of the possibility the kobalds might try and take advantage of the situation by deploying their troops from the other defensive positions they won’t be engaging. While more likely they’ll be called in as reinforcements to protect the ritual, the commanders wanted us to be aware of what was happening,” she said quickly, practically speed-talking to get the information out as quickly as possible.

  Standing up from his seat and leaning over the table to take a closer look at the map, Commander Dahl asked, “All together, how many troops are being deployed?”

  “11,324, sir,” she replied curtly.

  Sighing, Commander Dahl replied, “That’s not going to be nearly enough. And even if it were, they would have to move at a run the entire way to make it in time. The portal will already have been opened by the time they get there. Why are they doing this?”

  “Because of this, sir,” she replied while opening another hologram to display a memory engram from a soldier who’d been close enough to observe Lord Walker’s speech.

  There wasn’t much time to watch the whole thing, and he really should be focusing on the matter at hand instead of playing catch-up, but instead, he found himself staring at the young lord’s face. Lord Walker looked…no, he felt confident. And while it wasn’t the most rousing speech he’d ever heard, there was something about the call to adventure that resonated with him. Something that he assumed resonated with most of the soldiers who’d agreed to go along with him.

  ‘Maybe it wouldn’t be impossible to stop them?’ he wondered to himself before shaking his head to clear the illogical thoughts from his brain.

  The loss of over 11,000 troops would hurt. He’d only been able to free up 35,000 from the forces in the lower city, and the remaining forces above ground weren’t going to be available for a while. He needed to focus on the aftermath after the young lord failed. Conservative estimates had them needing at least 50,000 troops to close the active portal, and he needed to find enough troops to do it.

  Standing up straight, he looked over at the sub-commander and said, “Well, we don’t have time to cancel the order for volunteers. We gave them the option, and they’re taking advantage of it. If this is what they want to do, then we’ll just have to accept it. The commanders will hopefully be able to pull back before the losses become absolute. If not, at least we’ll have more intelligence on what the kobalds are capable of.”

  Nodding in understanding, she replied, “I’m sorry, sir. When I allowed for the possibility of volunteers to try and close the portal, I didn’t expect something like this to happen.”

  Reaching out to pat her comfortingly on the shoulder, Commander Dahl replied, “It’s not your fault. Good men and women have always been led to their deaths by charismatic leaders. That’s just the way the world works. Our job is to ensure that civilization stands after people like him,” he paused to point at the hologram showing Lord Walker before concluding what he was saying, “fail.”

  —--

  Nero stood near the back of the tent, watching the meeting progress with an expression of confusion on his face. He hadn’t expected the response to his call to arms to be met with a war council. Instead of everyone rushing through the tunnels screaming for blood, Cathleen gathered everyone together for a rushed planning session.

  At the head of the table, the woman stood like a miniature force of nature, her height belying her profound presence in the room. Even though everyone stood taller, looked more intimidating, and generally held themselves more like soldiers, not one of them was willing to contradict her.

  “Forces from here and here will arrive first. Their job will be to engage the enemy and have them focus on this tunnel system here. If they utilize the kobald tunnels we’ve discovered, they should be able to hold the enemy's focus long enough for our arrival to be a surprise,” she said evenly, her voice tinged with an undercurrent of bloodlust.

  With a wave of her hand, she altered the map to show another system of tunnels. “After we wipe out their defenses, we’ll have access to the higher floors. We’ll split off teams to harass and slow down any reinforcements that they will call from the other defensive encampments. Our primary assault force cannot be allowed to be slowed down by constant fighting. If we’re going to make it in time, we’ll need to move quickly.”

  One of the commanders asked, “Is that why we’ll be leaving the spell cannons behind? You know that some of the upper chambers are large enough to put them to use. We might end up regretting not having that kind of firepower behind us.”

  Cathleen shook her head and replied, “The engineering teams move too slowly. We’ll just have to make do with what we have. A lot of the upper floors have large chambers which were used for shopping centers and parks. Almost every tunnel system funnels into them, and that’s where the kobalds have gathered. From what we’ve seen, they mostly ignore the residential areas and housing structures preferring to swarm in larger numbers. While the spell cannons would be helpful, the kobalds haven’t set up any defenses that would require that kind of artillery. We’ll be able to make do with steel and magic.”

  For Nero, it was a novel experience to see them planning the offensive. On the one hand, it was very similar to what he had seen in the movies, powerful leaders in fancy armor and ornate tabards discussing the upcoming battles and making plans. But it was the lack of paper orders and the details that made the situation feel somewhat different than he’d expected.

  Every one of them had their links lit up on their temples, making it clear that they were in use. Nero could just tell that they were all multitasking, sending out orders while calmly discussing things like professionals. The lack of physical movement undercut the feeling of haste that all of their essence fields were projecting.

  Nero tried to use his link to follow along with what they were doing, but he quickly got overwhelmed. He still couldn’t figure out how they were able to pay attention to so many things at once. While he had assumed people like Nick and Vera were outliers, he now had hard evidence that a lot of people were able to function like normal while they did all kinds of things on their link.

  Cathleen, who Nero knew to be a physical fighter, was clearly coordinating an entire war effort while holding a serious conversation with these serious people. Something he was absolutely positive he would be unable to do. Clearly, he needed to work on his mental skills.

  Setting that aside for the moment, he focused on the ether in the room. Everyone’s sense of urgency was coming together to stir up the essence flows. The disconnect between how the situation ‘felt’ and how they were all just standing around was making him feel agitated. Considering how the essence felt… just standing around was torture.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  He felt like he needed to move… NOW.

  Luckily, the meeting was almost over and everyone soon broke off to handle their assignments. Nero, not knowing where he should go, followed Cathleen. The tension in the ether outside the command tent was just as strong, if not stronger than it had been inside. He couldn’t stop himself from repeatedly clenching his fists in anticipation of what was coming.

  When they arrived back at the mustering ground with the Wackos, Cathleen approached Knight Angleton who was standing alongside former Sergeant Blackwood.

  The knight was standing there with his eyes closed and his arms crossed, his link’s bright light making it clear he was in contact with the Battle Hub. Yet, the moment Cathleen approached, he opened his eyes and said, “Teams are assigned and ready to move out. Just give the word.”

  Nero, standing in between them felt like there was a conversation happening he wasn’t aware of, like he was missing out on a private joke… but without the levity.

  Cathleen didn’t audibly respond, but she must have made her intentions clear because Knight Angleton offered her a nod before turning to the Wackos and shouting, “All right Wackos, listen up! We’re moving out! Team leaders, get your Wackos in formation and firm your resolve. We have an enemy to wipe out!”

  Turning to Cathleen, Nero was about to ask about his assignment but didn’t have the chance. She was already gone. Frowning in annoyance at her rudeness, he placated himself with the fact that she was probably holding multiple conversations and simply didn’t have time for him right now.

  Looking around the chamber, he could tell that every single person knew what they were supposed to be doing. It was an eerie feeling, knowing that he’d put all of this into motion by declaring that he intended to stop the portal from opening whether or not anyone else was willing to come along. He felt like a kid who’d told his parents that he wanted to see the Grand Canyon and was then set down in the corner so everyone else could work their asses off to plan the entire trip.

  He felt like he should be doing something, and be more involved in the planning. Not that he had all that much to contribute to that kind of thing.

  Turning back to Knight Angleton, Nero was about to ask him where he was needed before pausing for a moment. Did he know the guy’s first name? And if he did, why didn’t he ever use it? The guy wasn’t a captain anymore and was now part of his house, so he should probably be on a first-name basis with him. He referred to everyone else by their first name, so why not him?

  Tapping the incredibly tall man on the forearm to get his attention, Nero looked up at him and asked, “Hey, what’s the protocol here for using first names when you’re talking to someone? Have I been making an ass out of myself by calling Cathleen, Cathleen? I don’t have to start calling Nick, Lord Verena, do I? Cause I’m not doing that.”

  Knight Angleton looked down at Nero with a confused expression on his face. The normally stoic man had been looking particularly heroic as he watched over the Wackos preparing to move out, but now that image had been shattered by how utterly baffled he looked.

  “Uh… I’m sorry, my lord. What?” he asked.

  Nero, feeling like he needed to explain his thought process, replied, “You know. You were Captain Angleton, but now you’re Knight Angleton because you changed jobs but are still a knight. I’m not sure exactly how all that works, but I’m guessing it’s like a doctor's title. Once you’ve graduated from medical school, you’re always going to be a doctor even if you don’t necessarily work in a hospital. So, I get calling you Knight… it makes sense. But what I don’t get is the social convention about what I should call everyone else. And since I’m your lord or whatever, shouldn’t I be calling you by your first name? Or is that rude? Or is it rude that I don’t? Do you feel like my being less familiar with you than I am with Cathleen and Natalie undercuts your authority with the Wackos, or am I undercutting theirs by not using their titles… if they have any that is? Does Cathleen have a title? Battle Leader, right? But I can’t call her that when we’re finished with the war, can I? Or is that like the knight thing, now that she has been a Battle Leader, will that forever be one of her titles? What I’m trying to ask is how I should be addressing people so I don’t sound like an asshole.”

  If Nero still had access to a phone, this would have been a perfect time to take a picture of Knight Angleton’s face. The man looked poleaxed, his jaw dropped open and his eyes glazed over in absolute befuddlement.

  “Have you not discussed this with Lady Verena, or Vera if you will?” he asked.

  Shrugging, Nero replied, “I don’t think it ever came up. Or if it did, I wasn’t listening. I do that, you know… not listen. It’s important to acknowledge your faults, that way they can’t be used against you. Never give the enemy ammunition, am I right? But, back to my question, I need to know the social protocol here.”

  Snapping his mouth shut, Knight Angleton’s expression became a little more serious as he mentally focused on the question. It was clear the man had never considered how the culture he’d grown up with dealt with things like titles, not so directly at least.

  “Well, my lord. Typically how you address someone is dictated by how you are interacting with them at the time. In social situations, you could easily address them with their first name or their title interchangeably. However, using a person’s title will set the tone for what you mean to discuss. For example, outside of war, you could address Ms. Averett as Cathleen if you wish the conversation to be personal rather than professional. As lord of House Walker, you are expected to always be the one in charge of the conversation's tone. Using a person’s first name implies that you don’t intend to discuss anything important… usually. I believe that your… unique personality may somewhat alter how people perceive that dynamic,” he said cautiously.

  Nero, not understanding, replied, “How do you mean?”

  Looking somewhat uncomfortable, Knight Angleton replied, “My lord, are you sure we should be discussing this right now?”

  Gesturing with his gauntleted fist, he waved at the assembled Wackos who were now standing there staring at them in anticipation of the order to move out.

  ‘Right. The portal. Not the time for small talk. Got it,’ he thought to himself.

  Coughing into his hand to cover his embarrassment, Nero replied, “Of course. We’ll circle back to this later. Carry on with the deployment of our forces. I’ll just return to my team and… yeah. Anyway, good talk.”

  Not waiting for a response, Nero scurried off to find Natalie and the rest of his team. Slipping through the lines of the Wackos, he ducked his head as he could feel everyone he passed looking at him with various levels of confusion mixed with adoration.

  ‘When I dubbed them Wackos, I’d not expected them to turn out to be this crazy,’ he thought to himself.

  Quickly realizing he had no idea where he was going, he connected with his link to find out his assignment. Granted, he should have already checked it, but he’d been busy at the time overseeing the war planning… or at least that’s the excuse he’d use if anyone bothered to call him on it.

  It took him only a minute or two to find out where in the formation he was supposed to be, and through judicious use of the link along with his perception field, he slid up next to Merrick as the entire formation began moving out.

  Whisper-talking up at the man, he said, “Hey man, how’s it going?”

  Merrick, looking somewhat amused at Nero’s familiar tone replied, “Very well, my lord. Is there anything you need?”

  “Nope, I’m good. Ready to go to war and all that. Kinda crazy how we’ve been sitting on our asses with our thumbs up our buts for days doing nothing, and all of a sudden we’re now rushing off to end the threat of an interdimensional invasion. Mondays… am I right?” he asked jovially while wiping his sweaty palms on his pants.

  Nero hadn’t realized how ‘off’ he’d been acting until now, but seeing the utter confusion on Merrick’s face at what he was saying made him do a quick self-check on his mental state. Looking at how he’d been acting somewhat objectively, he’d been acting a bit looney.

  Once he recognized that fact, he quickly figured out the cause. It was the ether, or more specifically the sense of urgency and tension in the essence flows all around him. The fact that everyone was broadcasting their nervousness was playing havoc with his state of mind. The more ‘in tune’ he got with the ether, the more it seemed to be affecting him.

  Whatever response Merrick had to what he’d said, Nero missed. He was too focused on his recent discovery of his susceptibility to emotional groupthink. Whenever he got nervous, he babbled… like everyone did. His brain needed an outlet for all the nervous tension, and focusing on pointless questions and quips he would normally waste time looking up on his phone was historically his go-to response.

  The moment he realized that he almost connected to the Thought Hub through his link so he could find an answer to his social protocol question, but he managed to stop himself. Now wasn’t the time for that. He was, quite literally, going to war. He should be focusing on that.

  Taking a few deep breaths to center himself, Nero forced his swirling emotions to calm down. He needed a clear mind, but it was surprisingly difficult to combat the prevailing sense of nerves that flooded the ether all around him. While individually, each person was capable of dealing with their stress on their own, the overlapping tension was enough to overwhelm him. It wasn’t affecting anyone else because they weren’t capable of feeling it to the degree that he could.

  For them, it was like an itch in the back of their mind. That feeling of tension in the room when something was about to happen. The subtle herd mind that shared the groups' emotions with the individuals that made it up.

  Nero on the other hand somehow was able to look at it from both a member and an outside observer. Once he’d gone looking for it, he couldn’t miss it. It was obvious.

  Rather than join in with it, he needed to separate himself from it. Otherwise, he’d end up being nothing more than a reflection of what the predominant emotion of the group was feeling at the moment.

  While quick-marching alongside everyone, Nero tried to focus his mind on something else. He opened his link to check in on the orders they’d received so he could understand the overall battle plan. Even though he’d been in the room when Cathleen and the commanders had decided it, he figured it would be a good idea to review it and use it as a medium to focus on so he could calm himself down.

  With his position in the Battle-Hub, he was able to see the grand plan laid out like a bullet point. All of the teams that had agreed to come along would be using the kobald tunnels to move through the upper city to save time. Rather than being restricted to the main tunnels, the kobald tunnels cut through portions of the city directly, allowing the army and his forces to get where they were going faster than the army’s tacticians had accounted for. Nero couldn’t recall who’d specifically come up with that portion of the plan, but it had been inspired.

  From there, everyone would be focusing on a singular kobald encampment to push through, leaving the others alone. After they got past them, they’d be leaving troops behind to stop the other encampments from chasing after them. No one expected the troops to stop them outright, only that they’d slow them down enough for them not to matter.

  Then it was a straight shot through the larger chambers in the upper floors and onto the throne room where the ritual to open the portal was taking place. Nero hadn’t said anything, but he already had a plan for that when they got there.

  Surrounded by taller Wackos, Nero kept his head down as they made their way through the tunnels. Considering how tight the walls were, their formations were only 5 people wide.

  ‘Ok, big guy. Focus on what you need to do, let the emotional crap flow around you. You’re a leaf in the wind and all that,’ he told himself while doing everything he could to keep his mind clear of any outside influence.