Chapter 379 A Quiet Departure (2/2)
”I' by the second While the girl had at least been subtle about it, her brother clearly lacked her tact
The Ranger shrugged diss Here, we judge ht, nobody will dare question your loyalty to the Imperium”
Arran smiled weakly in response His loyalty to the Imperium, of course, was as non-existent as his desire to have Kalin for a brother-in-law
The next two days passedDalia as best he could — which wasn't very well, as he spentyard
He could not help but sigh in relief when Kaleesh infor their armor of Rannoc's marks, and that they would depart the next day
”Not a moment too soon,” he said under his breath when the captain brought the news
”You sure about that?” Kaleesh gave hiht you intended to stay” He whistled between his teeth, and added, ”And I suppose you could do worse”
Arran glared at hi to,” Kaleesh confirmed with a nod ”We should reach Sacrifice in under three weeks After that, we'll spend the next year slaying monsters” With a small chuckle, he added, ”At least that should keep you safe fro, and instead, he frowned in wonder ”Sacrifice… That's a strange name for a city”
”Its proper nah everyone calls it Sacrifice Supposedly, it's where one of the Darian Gods gave his life to stop the Blight”
At this, Arran let out a sht, there was another banquet, though this time Lady Raina had invited all the lad for the diversion A few days' rest had already done therily devoured the lavish feast, they showed a cheer he hadn't seen in months — not since the Wolfsblood Company had split in two and they'd parted ith the others
But their eyes held so besidesnot far froht, they all understood that their path held ers And even if they were lucky, not all of theers the future held, they feasted with abandon, eagerly indulging in the delicacies that were laid out for the no monster's blade could take away
Yet eventually, the night came to an end And as it did, the mercenaries reluctantly retreated to their quarters, to spend one last night in a comfortable bed before they headed into the desolation
Arran, however, needed no sleep Instead of returning to his quarters, he headed into the dark courtyard, and then ht's training would make little difference, but he had little else to do but lie in bed and worry And besides, even the sht prove essential
Yet he'd barely spent half an hour training underneath the moon-lit sky when a soft voice sounded
”You're leaving tonized the voice at once, and when he turned around, he saw Dalia's slender figure, only barely visible in the diht
”I am”
Dalia reain, it was in a so?” Arran asked ”About what?”
Again, the girl was silent for athis place All of it”
It was not the answer Arran had expected ”Why do you say so?”
”Two of er rose in Dalia's voice as she spoke ”And for what? So others can follow the to those monsters as well? I have one brother left, and he can't wait to go back there, to fight until he doesn't return And you—”
She stopped mid-sentence, then took a deep breath And when she continued a few seconds later, her voice had grown calain ”This isn't even your home Why would you risk your life for a war that can't be won?”
”You don't believe the Blight can be defeated?” Arran asked Although the answer seemed obvious, this was the first time he'd heard a Darian say it out loud
”The Gods gave their lives fighting the Blight,” Dalia said in a bitter tone ”If even their sacrifice wasn't enough, what chance do we have? Thousands of years and countless lives, and all we've ht's advance”
Arran knew she was right If thousands of years of war hadn't turned the tide, then it was unlikely that throwing s Still, he asked, ”Then what do you think the Imperium should do?”
”Retreat,” she replied at once ”Go east, away froestured around her ”It's just land We can leave it behind and find new lands elsewhere”
Arran did not reply There was no need to ask anything more — it was clear that Dalia was firmly in Rannoc's camp And as u anyway, aren't you?” The was a sullen look in Dalia's eyes as she looked at Arran ”Tell er,” Arran replied Then, with soht isn't the only threat out there If the Imperium marches east, it may find the enemies there no less for too hts briefly wandered to the two supposed Gods he'd e, he could not help but wonder whether there was a connection between Chaos and the Blight
Dalia, however, ht is different,” she said ”You'll understand once you return — if you return at all”
”I suppose I'll find out,” Arran said He gave a s”
”If you return…” Dalia glanced at him, and hesitation could be seen in her eyes ”Will you visit again?”
Arran knehat he should say And yet, seeing this girl he barely knew look at hi himself to say the words ”I will try,” he said instead
A brief smile crossed her face ”I'll hold you to that”
Before he could respond, she rushed off, disappearing back into the keep only moments later
For soue sense of unease at the situation Though he hadn't said anything unusual, he could not help but feel like he'd made a mistake
Then, with a shake of his head, he resu, relentlessly practicing the foundation he'd spent— the foundation that had now finally grown strong enough to be of true use
Daas already approaching when he returned to his quarters and packed up his belongings He put on his armor, too — now free of Rannoc's mark — and then made his way to the courtyard, where he found Kaleesh already waiting
”Ready to go?” the captain asked when he saw Arran approach
”As ready as I can be,” Arran replied
”Good,” Kaleesh said ”Then let's hurry and get out of here Froht, I'd say he has half a one before he decides to act on it”
The thought had not yet occurred to Arran, but he did not doubt Kaleesh's words And so, they hurried in leaving the keep, quickly joining up with the troops ere already waiting outside
Barely half an hour later, as the sun's first rays were peeking above the horizon, they had left the fortress behind and were onceto the west
”We should reach Sacrifice in under three weeks,” Kaleesh said ”The first teeks should be safe enough But if Raina's right, there's a chance of running into Blightspawn after that”
”That ive us a chance to see e're up against”
Kaleesh gave a broad grin in response ”My thoughts exactly”