Unity: A Tale of Arcadia

by Kieva Lynn

Book Two: Chapter Nine

Book Two: Wizard Quests

Chapter Nine

XXXXX

Colonel Kubritz wore a smirk as she stood by the back door of the transport van, motioning for the team to get in. "Come on, come on, don't waste my time. You've lost, you're surrounded, there's no way to escape. Make this easy on yourselves."

"Will you listen!?" Rainbow dash shouted, "We're not the bad guys here!"

"The whole world is in danger!" Jim added, "The guy that attacked where Arcadia was? He's worse than you can imagine!"

"And I'm worse than you can imagine." Kubritz replied. "But, if you all insist on doing this the hard way..." She raised a hand and motioned for the rest of her troops, waiting in hiding in the brush, to advance. But nothing happened. Kubritz motioned again, with the same results, and it was only then that everyone present, herself included, realized just how quiet everything had gotten.

"Something's wrong." Twilight said, eyes darting about seeking threats.

Kubritz was about to demand to know what they had done to her soldiers, when she was struck in the neck by a tranquilizer dart. The Colonel kept to her feet for several seconds, even managing to pull her gun, before she collapsed. Then, a man still holding the dart gun came into view from around the driver's side of the van. Aja and the ponies didn't recognize him of course, but the Trollhunters...

"Mister Evilman!" Blinky exclaimed.

"Um, isn't he supposed to be dead?" Toby whispered.

Rainbow Dash could only laugh. "That's your name!? 'Mister Evilman!?'"

The man spoke in a precise, clipped German accent, "My name is Otto Scaarbach."

Dash blinked. "Okay, yeah, Bob Evilman it is then."

"Again, he's supposed to be dead." Toby said slightly louder.

"What are you here for Otto?" Claire demanded.

"Aside from pulling you out of the fire?" Otto asked, glancing meaningfully down at the Colonel. "I'm here to offer you a deal."

"Part of the deal is explaining how you're not dead right?" Toby asked.

Jim ignored his friend's question to ask one of his own: "Why should we trust you?"

Otto answered "Because there is little choice. Look, I know that you see me as little different from a demon, and rightly so. But while I may be a demon I am at least a noble one. I did give you the Creeper's Sun antidote did I not? Even when Vendel's staff was already in my hands, meaning there was nothing forcing me to do so? I do not give my word easily or often. But when I do give it, I keep it. I keep it even when I don't have to, even when doing so is to my own detriment. And I am giving it to you now. You have my word the offer I bring is not a trick."

"Can you give us a minute?" Twilight asked, and pulled the group into a huddle out of Otto's hearing. "Who is this guy?

"An Auf." Jim said. "A polymorph Auf who can take multiple forms. He's supposed to be dead, like Toby's been saying."

"Is he telling the truth about being trustworthy if he gives his word?"

Claire explained "I think he is. When Jim was in the Darklands and Arrrgh was turned to stone by creeper's sun, he made us a deal for the antidote. And, he's telling the truth on that at least, the way it played out there was nothing forcing him to make good, but he did."

"We should at least hear his offer, yes?" Aja suggested.

"Right." Twilight agreed. They broke the huddle, and Twilight stepped forward. "Okay, so how-"

She was interrupted by Toby screaming "-How are you not dead!?"

Otto chuckled. "That was another polymorph you fought in the ruins of the Janus Order headquarters. Not me."

"We'll hear you out at least... What is your offer?" Twilight finally got to ask.

"I am no longer loyal to Gunmar. His betrayal has insured that. But I need your help to prevent my people's situation from becoming even worse." Otto said.

"We're listening." Jim said, suspicion tinging his voice.

Otto explained "There were never very many Aufs. Worldwide, our total population was only about twenty thousand. And, thanks to our blind obedience to Gunmar's orders, over fifteen thousand of those were in our Arcadia Oaks command center when Gunmar betrayed us and slaughtered them all. Now, Gunmar is heading north. North towards Portland, where the Order's backup command center, and over ninety percent of us still alive, are located."

"You think... He's planning to kill them all?" Twilight asked.

"When he's finished with them, yes." Otto said. "My loyalty now is to my own people. I must save them, but communications were cut and they won't know about what happened to the others, nor would they simply take my word for it."

"And this is where your offer comes in, yes?" Blinky deduced.

"Exactly. I will get you ahead of Gunmar using the van. After that, you need only do whatever I assume you already have planned, slowing him down, in the process buying me time to evacuate my brethren."

"But evacuate how? You just said that they will not listen to you." Aja said.

"They won't listen to the truth. I am a masterful liar."

"We have to get in front of Gunmar somehow." Claire said, "And Otto's kept his word before. I'm thinking we can't afford to not risk it."

"Agreed." Twilight said. "Especially since the Colonel here will be waking up really mad sooner or later."

Jim activated his armor and held the Daylight Sword towards Otto. "Agreed. But if I see the slightest hint of betrayal..."

"I would expect nothing less Trollhunter." Otto nodded. "Now everyone on board, we've got a long drive ahead of us..."

XXXXX

The 'long drive' took about a day. Blinky was safe in the back since there were no windows other than those in the cab, and even they were heavily tinted. The tinting allowed both Twilight and Rainbow to take turns sitting in the front passenger seat without any danger of being seen, and they were amazed at the amount of traffic flowing along the highways in both directions.

Otto drove the entire way, explaining that Aufs needed very little sleep and there was no risk of his nodding off. Still, if neither of the ponies was in the front passenger seat Jim or Claire was, and Toby, Aja, and Blinky kept watch on him from the back at all times. There was of course a natural expectation that the Auf would betray them at some critical moment, word or no, but he remained on his best behavior.

Just past sunset, Otto parked the van behind a deserted shopping mall. "The Janus Order base is ten miles due north of here." He said. "I will go there at once. In the meantime, given the speeds Gunmar is capable of, I expect he will be arriving in the vicinity well before sunrise. Engage him anywhere you can, though I wouldn't stay right here. Police patrols are likely to notice this van within a few hours and as soon as they run the plates or the V.I.N. that Colonel will know." He turned and walked away.

"So what's the plan?" Toby asked.

"I think there should be three parts." Twilight said. "First, we'll need a way to trick Gunmar into sending Drall, and hopefully just Drall and not this Angor Rot too, after someone. Rainbow Dash, most likely. Then, Jim and Claire can engage Gunmar and keep him busy while Toby, Aja, and Dash busy Drall while I prepare the spell. Finally, once Drall is free of Gunmar's control we'll need to run for it before Gunmar can catch and kill or enslave us all."

"Angor Rot is the problem in that plan though." Jim said. "He's tough. Tough enough Claire and I would be in trouble if we had to face both him and Gunmar at the same time."

"I can't risk him interrupting my spell though..." Twilight mused.

"Guys are we ignoring the big issue?" Toby asked. "Gunmar's gonna be walking right into a major city."

"We're not ignoring it Tobes. I just don't know what to do about it." Jim sighed.

"Can't we just figure out where he hides from the sun come morning and attack then when we can move and he can't?" Rainbow Dash suggested.

"But what about Drall in that case?" Toby said.

And Twilight suddenly smiled. "You know what we've got here? A jigsaw puzzle. And each of us has some of the pieces but not all of them."

"Then, how do we assemble the pieces?" Blinky asked.

"I'm glad you asked." Twilight smiled. "Here's my idea..."

XXXXX

Gunmar the Black trudged through the deep forests, dragging chained-up dead weight behind him. Not the Treasonous Arrrgh; that trash he had abandoned to Angor Rot's trap in Merlin's Tomb. Nor Drall, who was under his control again after departing the tomb and walked alongside. No, to the troll dictator's disbelief, he was being forced to drag Angor Rot. The assassin had seemed perfectly fine when they left the tomb, but mere hours later he had clutched his head and fallen to the ground chanting over and over some nonsense about the Pale Lady being gone. Whatever that meant.

Being Gunmar, he had considered simply abandoning Angor Rot, but the assassin was a favorite of Morgana, and even had a sliver of her soul within his revived body. She probably wouldn't take kindly to Gunmar leaving him. Wouldn't take kindly to his trying to use the Decimar Blade on Angor's mind either, though that Gunmar had attempted, without results. And so here he was, slowed down by the need to drag this failure behind, slowed down enough, in fact, that he would need to shelter through one more day before reaching his goal the following night.

Slowed down, which gave him time to think. The fleshbag town called Arcadia Oaks was gone. Surely the same was not true of Trollmarket, though the armies of this era were powerful enough to just maybe injure even Gunmar, and he had retreated rather than risk himself in a fool's errand. There were still some Aufs to the north. They would aid him, then feed him. Still... "Gone... Gone... Gone!! Gone is the Lady Pale! Morgana has gone!" Angor Rot was chanting again. Angor Rot, who had a sliver of Morgana's soul, insisting Morgana was gone. Gunmar was no fool. It had to mean something, yet surely the Pale Lady herself could not be destroyed. He needed to think on things.

And so it was that, with less than ten minutes before sunrise, Gunmar had found a perfect place to shelter through the day. It was a small cave, barely large enough for all three of the trolls to fit inside, but still better than the Darklands, and at least the entryway opened to the north and had a rock shelf protruding from the cliff above it, so even an errant ray of direct sunlight was unlikely. Gunmar shoved Angor Rot and Drall to the back wall, then sat down by the entry to think.

Gunmar pondered over all of these questions, trying to find how they fit together. He was at a loss, though. Closing his eyes the troll prepared to sleep, but was interrupted by an odd sound. He opened his eyes again, to the sight of a rainbow colored pegasus hovering just out of reach. "...What?"

"Um, hi!" Rainbow said, rubbing the back of her head. "You're a troll right?"

"I am Gunmar. Does that name not strike fear into your heart?"

"Never heard of you." Rainbow lied, causing Gunmar to growl. She continued "But maybe you can help me out. I'm looking for a troll friend of mine. His name's Drall."

"So you knew Drall did you?" Gunmar rumbled. This would be entertaining, at least. "The Drall you knew is gone. But his shell serves me now. Drall!"

Drall emerged from the cave, eyes glowing. Keeping up the act, Rainbow pretended to be delighted to see him. "Drall old buddy! How are you!?" She cocked her head, as if in confusion. "Drall? Something wrong?"

"You did not comprehend my words." Gunmar said. "Drall is mine now." He turned to the troll in question. "Kill her."

Rainbow let out a yelp as Drall charged, then fled, purposely staying close to the ground for fear that altitude would cause him to realize there was no hope of catching her and turn back. Keeping to paths shaded enough to protect Drall from the rising sun, Rainbow made her way back towards where Twilight and the others were waiting. She hoped this would work.

Meanwhile, Gunmar settled back at the cave entrance to wait. He could have used his control over Drall to observe the chase through the other's eyes, but he really did need to focus on the bigger questions at hand. Then he heard a branch snap as someone stepped on it. Assuming Drall was finished already, Gunmar rose to meet him. And instead saw...

"Trollhunter."

Jim drew his sword and fell into a combat stance. "Gunmar. Round two..."

Comments

[Herald of Opera]

"Angor Rot is the problem in that plan though." Jim said. "He's tough. Tough enough Claire and I would be in trouble if we had to face both him and Gunmar at the same time."

No, to the troll dictator's disbelief, he was being forced to drag Angor Rot. The assassin had seemed perfectly fine when they left the tomb, but mere hours later he had clutched his head and fallen to the ground chanting over and over some nonsense about the Pale Lady being gone. Whatever that meant.

Yay for convenient circumstances that someone more familiar with the source material would probably have predicted, but that the heroes couldn't have!

Rainbow let out a yelp as Drall charged, then fled, purposely staying close to the ground for fear that altitude would cause him to realize there was no hope of catching her and turn back.

Canon too often forgets to give her a good reason not to just fly straight upwards to evade ground-bound trouble, although when others are in the same danger it gets a pass on the basis of "the Bearer of Loyalty isn't going to abandon her friends". Good job on making that normally stupid choice critical to the plan.

[Venerable Ro]

Gunmar pondered over all of these questions, trying to find how they fit together. He was at a loss, though. Closing his eyes the troll prepared to sleep, but was interrupted by an odd sound. He opened his eyes again, to the sight of a rainbow colored pegasus hovering just out of reach. "...What?"

Good thing they found him when they did, Gunmar sounds like one of those villains intelligent enough to actually reevaluate his plans and disappear off into the bush to strategize for a few years.

[badninja]

Well I think I can see where this plan is going. Let's hope when we get back to this group Twilight’s plan is going well.