Knights Apocalyptica
Chapter 81: Sleeping Beauty

“Oftentimes, those above don’t offer this advice. But I think it prudent. It’s unwise to push yourself too far, too quick,” Dame Robin spoke with a bemused tone. Erec rested next to her as they watched their small group of soldiers march through the wasteland. Together, the two had scouted out the local area—but this close to the army encampment, anything that posed a threat would’ve been picked up long ago.

Mostly, this scouting mission was Robin prying into what he’d done since they’d last met.

“Those at the top aren’t always deserving of it. From what I’ve seen, at least.” Erec said.

“It is understandable to feel that way. You’ve run across our aristocracy's less-than-noble side for most of your life. You have us now, though. Boldwick, me, and your Order. Though it is true, many make it to Knight Protector without knowing the first thing about what makes for a good leader. I think it’s clear that progressing from Initiate to Knight Errant is only a matter of time. But, little is spoken about how getting from Knight Errant to Knight protector is mostly a matter of power and accomplishment. After that, a lot tend to stagnate.”

“They do?”

“Within this Order, that is typically the majority of our men and women. They live fulfilling enough careers and serve for a time to garner prestige and if they’re moderately successful, wealth and status. Then they retire to form their branch of nobility or take their household's mantle.”

“I don’t understand why they don’t aim for more?”

Dame Robin shook her head slowly. “With each tier, the path narrows. It gets harder to climb into power. They get frustrated they can’t display what we want to see in our Knight Lieutenants. Let alone become a Knight Commander. Most never reach their full potential; some are plain unlucky and taken away from us before they get the chance. Do you happen to know what the main gripe of those within the Knight Protector rank is? The reason they claim why they cannot climb?”

“How stressful leadership is?” That would make sense. He’d gotten a taste of it, and the responsibility was heavy; even if he’d bid for more of it, that didn’t mean he liked the feel.

“Wrong. They blame others. When someone else does well, they proclaim how lucky they are. However, I don’t think my main worry over you is about that.” Her voice broke for a moment there at the end. She cleared her throat.

“You’re worried I’ll end up like Alister.”

“Am I wrong? Anyone with their head screwed on right would be thinking that too. None of us can deny your uncanny growth, but it’s the stars that burn the brightest the fastest that tend to vanish the quickest.” Dame Robin’s voice shook, and a strange sensation passed through Erec at her worry. Almost… Guilt? “You don’t choose to chase glory, but it leaves me wondering. Do you keep getting in these situations to save others, or are you looking for more fights?”

“I’m trying to protect other people,” Erec snapped back. Too quick. He wanted her to not concern herself over him—for things to return to normal. Though, it was a lie.

He didn’t know the real answer to that question.

Dame Robin slipped into silence, and Erec forced his attention back onto their expedition. Sir Jefferson trod along easily with other unknown Knights—Sir Boldwick spared them another Knight Protector and an additional Knight Errant. Both of them were nominally answering to Dame Robin instead of himself. Technically, Erec was reporting directly to her to.

The Army issued them with only ten more men, including a lieutenant and captain; those two, however, consulted with Erec as the lead Knight.

Overall, a bizarre command structure that broke convention. But, Boldwick’s reputation made others go along with it after a bit of goading from the well-regarded Master Knight.

For all intents and purposes, Erec was in charge of the mission. Even if he and the Knights above his rank ‘reported’ to Dame Robin. As long as she took no major grievance with anything, his decisions were defacto hers.

Though that mattered very little to the men and women who bravely followed Erec out here, unlike most of the army, they rode high on a renewed purpose following their last victory. Thanks to their recent fight, and Erec following through, they were one of the few units in the hunt that felt any success against the White Stag.

They were his soldiers.

Erec let that settle in for a long moment, along with the knowledge that he’d asked them to volunteer to head with him back into danger. Was it right? Moreover, what did that say about him? For so long, he’d compared himself to his brother, but would even Bedwyr go this far?

There’d been so little news about any other initiates in his Order, let alone the others. Most of his reports were directly about him and what he was doing—he knew very little about how they were doing overall, other than not well.

“It makes me nervous; this whole thing does. But I didn’t see a way to get the work I thought needed to be done unless I pushed for it myself.” Erec admitted to Dame Robin, breaking the quiet again.

“This path may make your goals easier to reach in some ways. But, I’m sure it’ll be far tougher in the long run for you, but then nothing worth the effort is easy, and the things you will learn will be valuable.” Dame Robin clamped her gauntlet on his shoulder. A gesture of assurance. “Let’s find that Stag; we can bring this hunt to an end and return back to the walls.”

“Eventually, we’ll just leave again,” They had that planned trip, and that was its headache with how it felt like they’d played into the duchess’ hands. He’d have to trust that Boldwick knew what he was doing.

“It’s always like that. Time runs in circles, there are lulls where you can rest and recover in the safety of friends and family, and then there are moments where you have to put everything on the line. It’s only easier to see that for people like us since the harsh nature of reality throws itself in our faces.” With that, Dame Robin finally broke off the conversation for good and rejoined their group.

Erec let them drift ahead before picking up his own trail parallel to theirs. Walking with himself felt right, and with a quicker speed, he’d pass the group and sink more into scouting. This land was safe for now. But the practice might be invaluable for later.

Besides, the only company he wanted at the moment was his own.

— - ☢ - — - ☼ - — - ☢ - —

Each day sent them off further from the safety of the Army. Each night, Colin used their glyph to correct their course and regather their direction. Throughout a couple of days, that became less necessary with the revelation that their bearing didn’t change much at all.

The White Stag wasn’t roaming the wasteland. No, it’d centered somewhere to the east, toward the glowing sea.

That direction was a place that Knights tended to avoid, and the scouting expeditions headed that way made sure to do so quietly. Erec hesitated and wrestled with the decision for days, knowing plenty of strong monsters might lurk out there.

His people steeled themselves for the danger. And they were hunting after a cataclysm-ranked monster anyway.

The decision wasn’t that hard to make.

However, the real difficulty ended up being far more personal. With the growing density of running across monsters and the average level of power higher, he worried about himself.

What if he threw himself into a battle outside of his capabilities? Could Robin save him?

So he resisted the tempting fights, and with Robin’s help, they kept themselves hidden.

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They came across a group of silent monsters roaming over the wasteland. After making the report and that they were headed toward the main force of the Army, they found another group of silent ones.

These things were moving with coordination, like pawns on a chessboard, positioned with the invisible eldritch mind of the Stag.

Thanks to their smaller numbers, it was easier to move their castrum discretely. But the unease at discovering more groups of Silent ones and the paranoia of discovery sent a shiver through all of them. Nightmares of the White Stag became common as they dove deeper into the enemy's territory. Erec grew paranoid that one of the groups noticed them—that the White Stag might be baiting them into a trap.

But the discovery wasn’t for nothing. After repeated sightings of the Silent Ones, the Army immediately responded and shifted to follow Erec’s direction to handle the marked groups. Dame Robin worked ceaselessly to scout out the land around them. They found another group of Silent Ones.

Within weeks, the Army moved to begin engagements.

Then they found it—normally, it might be mistaken for another abandoned feature of the wasteland. The dull color of the walls around the place and a massive rusted fence belittled the discovery—an abandoned military encampment from the old-world.

Open in the middle of it were several Rifts. Spewing Silent ones, filling up the insides of the tanned buildings and fortified position with plenty of monsters.

But, as they took a look, snuck as close as they dared, they found the true horror.

Near the Rifts, a massive White Stag lay, its head curled into its side as its huge antlers gave off a shimmer. They had the same distorting light of the rifts reflecting off them as it slept nearby.

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