A bright, burning angel was spotted outside, hovering over the white fortress-city of Den Zollum.
To its many residents, it felt as if a nearby star or blazing comet was shining on them, its radiated warmth bordering on the unpleasant.
It seemed as if it was searching for something, moving from spot to spot, slowly but surely heading towards the center of Den Zollum, descending, towards their base of operations.
Its heat could be felt even within the thick city halls, increasing to more uncomfortable levels the closer it got to them.
Sweating profusely, Richter made his way outside towards the source of the radiating heat.
There, the angel hung in the sky, like an ominous second sun.
It hurt to look at, and even its reflection on the polished stone pained his eyes.
He covered his eyes like he’d do on an early morning, heading sunwards.
Behind him, Dieter appeared, growing dark, lightless wings of his own, contrasting the blinding, scorching wings of the angel hovering far above them.
‘Lord, might this be our captive swordmaiden from before?’ Richter hesitantly wondered.
‘Captive no longer, it seems,’ Dieter returned, the frustration palpable in his voice.
A dark grimace entered both of their faces as they realized what that could entail, seeing what happened with its previous captors.
‘Perhaps we could still reason with it,’ suggested Hendrick, as he wiped away the sweat from his brow.
Hendrick was one of the three strategists that had travelled in a different detachment from them earlier.
Young, tall but unhealthily thin and pale, he wore a red noble’s doublet with fitting, fine clothing.
Wearing a white wig, as was common in his field, he looked less like a noble and more akin to a painted corpse, waiting to be presented at a funeral.
‘And just when the city’s finally calmed down.
Had she come an hour before I’d flown up there without any sort of hesitation, but now?
I fear I would lack the strength to oppose it, if things turn sideways.’
‘So we wait?’ Richter asked.
Dieter shrugged while covering his eyes.
‘If it starts attacking the city, I’ll grow strong enough to deal with it in minutes, if not seconds.
Best not to get caught before I get the chance to do so.
Which..puts a heavy limit on our options.’
‘You think it can see us from here?’ Hendrick wondered.
‘If I may, I could stand in as representative and guide it towards the city’s central plaza.
If things do turn awry, the citizens will undoubtedly birth a chain of terror we can use to stop it in its tracks.
And hopefully, I’d be able to persuade it to listen, and preferably, to obey.’
‘There is a good chance you will die in the attempt, so I forbid it.
There are little things as valuable in a siege as someone of your profession, and I will not throw away such a boon with the hope that the wild beast behaves the way I want it to.’ Dieter switched his gaze to him.
‘The same holds true for you, Richter.
Without a keeper, we are sure to lose Den Zollum in a matter of days.
No, I hate to say it, but it has to be me.
Anyone else, she is just too likely to kill.’
‘Except,’ Dieter continued, now facing Hendrick, ‘The city’s plaza would serve us well as a meeting spot.
Even in the worst case, if I avoid any early lethal blows we should end up carrying the upper hand.’
‘We still don’t know what manner of emotion fuels it.’ Hendrick wisely remarked.
‘It could be the case that it too will grow significantly stronger during your confrontation.
Once again I’d advise against meeting it head on at first, and I ask you to put your trust in me.
Unlike with our keeper, you still have two, if not three subordinates who could fulfill my role proficiently enough if the worst would come to pass.’
After a long silence Dieter finally responded.
‘It’s your funeral.
Or rather, a cremation, if its blazing wings and our previous experiences are anything to go by.’ He gestured at the two high ranking city guards standing with them.
‘Go, prepare the plaza.
Tell the folks in that quadrant to gather around it, use whatever excuse you can think of.
Force them, if needed.
I myself will join you both later, obscuring myself inside the crowd in case the worst happens.’
With a salute, they were off to prepare the lower level for the angel’s inevitable descent.
As Richter was about to head inside, for reasons mostly related to the now unbearable temperature, Dieter stopped him.
‘I have a task for you, keeper.
Take a handful of soldiers with you and retrieve your crows from the surrounding woods.
I tire of our blindness, and I need proper intel of our surroundings, not the sub-par hearsay that we’re currently relying on.’
Amused with his own foresight, Richter half-laughed.
‘There’s no need, Lord.
Earlier, when we were in the midst of our descent through Mulloz Ned, you asked me if I had perhaps sneakily hidden my wings below my garments.
I only responded with a half-truth, and I apologize for the misdirection.
Truthfully, I did bring my own set of wings, multiple even.
You have to understand that without their companionship and protection, I am truly lost.’
Richter undid his thick, furry cloak to reveal a myriad of small cages, filled with three of his favorite crows.
Dieter laughed loudly, which was rather unlike him.
An almost proud smile was drawn on his uncannily simple face as he looked down on him.
‘A lesser Lord would censure you for your disobedience.
Especially since I explicitly told you not to bring any crows with you, in case we got searched.
It could have gotten all of you killed, or worse.’
Dieter paused for a bit, likely enjoying his uncomfortableness in the moment.
‘But, as you know, I’m rather unorthodox when it comes to my methods and ways of enacting warfare.
Richter, remember this above all else.
I will never punish insubordination if the ensuing results are to my liking.
But if they’re not..’ Dieter’s smile deformed into something significantly less kind and much more disturbing.
‘When you go down that road, your instinct has to be infallible, like Lukk’s or with Diederik.
You cannot afford to make mistakes under my command, if you intend to keep your position.
And in some cases, your head.’ Dieter stretched his arm down towards him, as if he expected him to take it.
‘My own instincts have been lacking recently, I hate to admit.
I disregarded you as another odd, introverted beast-lover like many in your profession, but you are so much more than that.
I have said it before and I will say it again; you are of value.’
‘Richter, once we leave the smoldering ruins of Den Zollum behind us, I’d like you to become my personal keeper.
You will become the arch-keeper of my own Legion, the famed and beloved Heralds of Despair.’