84 Inglorious Bastards (1/2)

”Are you sure you're ready, Luca? I asked in concern. ”I don't mind if you want to sit back and relax like Qwipps.”

My little brother, ever the errant knight shook his head. ”I'm good to go, Dean. And please don't compare me to Qwipps…”

I sighed. It really was difficult having such a responsible and capable little brother. It always made me want to do better.

Moonlight from the golden moon filtered into our command tent through the open flap, reminding me that the night's battle would start soon.

”Alright...” I patted Luca on the shoulder. ”Let's get this show on the road.”

”We're still down a few hundred soldiers, Commander,” Varda reminded me.

I glanced over to my quartermaster standing confidently on the other side of the strategy table in a new set of midnight blue magician's robes underneath her sparkling dwarven chain-mail shirt.

”Darah promised me more soldiers for this mission.” As I said this, my gaze moved from Varda to Aura who was standing next to her. ”Any word on their arrival?”

”I expect they'll be here any minute now, Dean.” Aura had just finished wiping her golden half mask clean with a silk handkerchief. She put it back on before she continued with, ”This plan… it seems to rely too much on possibilities, don't you think?”

”The possibilities that the new enemy commander of the center army either wants Dean dead or wants his autograph,” Luca expanded.

He had his arms crossed over a borrowed electrum-grade chain-mail shirt. His old one was full of holes that even Zarz couldn't repair in one day. I noticed that it was a little too loose for him.

”I think it fits our style,” I said, disagreeing with their deduction.

”True enough, Commander,” Varda agreed. ”It's definitely got that foolhardy label we're getting known for.”

”That's not a good thing, Varda,” Luca sighed.

His fingers fiddled with the handle of Shaqs' double-bladed battle-ax which he'd taken as his replacement weapon in honor of the fallen troll who'd defended his life.

”You sure that's not a little too big for you?” I asked while eyeing the heavy-looking ax.

”It's not that big… about the same size as my broadsword really,” Luca explained.

To prove he could actually carry the ax, Luca lifted it off the ground with one hand and draped its handle across his right shoulder, perfectly mimicking Cloud Strife and his Buster Sword pose.

Regrettably, my follow up jab at how Luca looked smaller now was interrupted by the sound of the tent flap opening wider. I glanced behind me and saw Zarz, our unit's gnome artificer, walk in with a cloth-wrapped bundle in his hands.

”You've got a bunch of centaurs and elves looking for you outside, boss,” Zarz announced in his cherubic voice.

”About time.” I eyed the package in Zarz's hands. ”Is that what I think it is.”

Zarz's grin was so wide it looked distorted on his cherubic face. ”Updated design. Should do its job properly this time unlike when we were rescuing Luca.”

My own grin may have looked equally villainous to others. 'Good. Give it to Edo so he can put it in our bag of holding.”

Satisfied with how things were coming along, I readied myself to meet our new guests. But as I was walking out of the command tent, Aura called out to me, ”Dean, the plan—”

”—will work,” I said, right before I walked through the tent flap. ”As Sun Tzu said, know thyself and know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.”

I heard Varda ask, ”Why's the commander talking funny?”

Outside our command tent, Edo was chatting cheerfully with a familiar-looking centaur. He was a brown-skinned young man with short curly hair from the waist up, and the white coat body of a stallion from the waist down.

”Xanthor!” I called excitedly.

Xanthor clopped closer to me and gave me the fairy version of a soldier's salute, that reversed fist to the chest thing Varda did a lot.

”Howdy, Commander Dapper!” Xanthor said, revealing rows of gleaming white teeth as he smiled. ”Surviving members of the Dash Kadash unit requesting to board join your crazy party.”

”Request granted,” I said while reaching a hand up to the much taller centaur.

No, it didn't annoy me one bit that he was way taller than me. He was half-horse so it didn't count.

Edo came over to stand beside Xanthor. ”The Dash Kadash survivors brought another fifty centaurs with them.” Edo pointed his thumb behind him. ”Looks like we've got cavalry now, Dean.”