Brian's writing a new short story prequel to the plot of Unto the Breach, and here's an excerpt from it! The story follows Alex, Conrad, Lucy, and Ali right before the game starts, and covers the events leading to the four of them meeting and starting their epic journey together. Enjoy!

Unto the Breach: The Gathering

Day One

“Our world of Terranis was first settled over fourteen hundred years ago. Only a few centuries after the first human set foot here, the Judgment War erupted, and the Great Enemy nearly destroyed everything we had built. A thousand years have passed since the Fall, but still our lives are ones of near-constant conflict.”

-Excerpt from the Encyclopedia Terranis, by Johann von Luther, AF 1012.

A breeze whipped up from the east, caressing his face. He could feel the ends of his bandana flap behind him as he inhaled the fresh scent of ocean air. It was an unfamiliar smell to him, having never been this far from his home in the mountains. He smiled slightly.

From the top of the hill they were cresting, he could see the sprawling port city of Jorandek spread out below, thousands of white buildings behind walls the color of earth. Hundreds of boats, barely specks on the water, swarmed around the city like ants. In a few hours they would reach the city, their destination.

Alex looked about him, taking in the sights of the countryside. To their north spread a dark forest, the trees densely packed and covering the ground beneath them in darkness. Not long ago they had passed a fork in the road that cut right through the forest, but there were no travelers on it. Far to the south, and growing increasingly behind, he could see the low peaks of mountains, and a little bit of the coast. More immediate to his location were low hills and cliffs, interspersed with tall grasses and sporadic copses of trees. And of course the people he was with.

Their caravan was a trio of wagons, pulled by mules and loaded with goods, with a half-dozen civilians, accompanied by an equal number of mercenary guards hired to escort them from Varennes to Jorandek. So far the journey had gone without incident, but they remained wary. They spoke little, leaving nature to fill their ears. Though even nature had grown morose and silent today, giving them only the wind and a few birds flying above for conversation.

One of the others walked up beside him. A few inches taller than Alex, his hair and eyes were both a dark brown, in contrast to the pale brown hair and brilliant green eyes of Alex. A beard ran along his jaw line. In one hand he held a large spear. Only his head was visible; the rest of his powerful body was covered in bronze plate and silvery scale armor. Alex nodded as the other approached and spoke.

“So, we’re almost there. Any thoughts on where to go next?” Alex shrugged, his own armor clinking slightly from the motion. His armor only consisted of a breastplate with attached paldrons on his shoulders, greaves for his lower legs, and guards protecting his shins and forearms. All his armor was a creamy brown, covering dark blue clothes underneath.
“I suppose we can stay in Jorandek for a while, work out of the guildhall there. I’m not sure if I want to cross the ocean. I’ve never been that far from home.”

“True, but I think we should at least consider it in case work is hard to come by in Jorandek. Besides, it couldn’t hurt to see how the women look across the sea.”

“Heh, I guess there is that.” Subconsciously, Alex reached into his pocket and fingered the necklace inside. A gift before she left, it still smelled of her almost a year later. His thoughts drifted to pleasant memories and imaginings of what might have happened after her departure, only to be interrupted by a slap on his shoulder. He smiled before apologizing.

“Oh, sorry Conrad, was just thinking about something.”

“Mmm-hmm. Anyway, I know you didn’t want to go too far from home, but I think it’d be our best option.”

“Maybe, yeah.”

“It’d give us the greatest sampling of experience and knowledge, so we can come back to Montblanc the best possible fighters we can be. And give us the best shot of recruiting others to come back with us, too.”

Before Alex could respond, a shout came from one of the other mercenary guards. He looked behind him and saw the man was pointing to the north while drawing his sword. Following the gesture, Alex was drawn to rapid movement near the forest, moving towards them.

He squinted to make out the shapes, but his heart began to hammer as he realized they weren’t human. He unslung his shield and drew his sword, the blue tassel attached to the pommel flying wildly as he warmed his wrist up. The shapes came into focus.

Monsters. Beasts. Demons. Creatures known by a hundred or more names, inhuman servants to the Great Enemy, existing solely to corrupt and destroy all life. They were the reason the Mercenaries’ Guild existed, why guards were needed to travel from one city to another, why it was utter folly to go beyond the borders of civilization alone.

The shapes were close enough for Alex to make out details. In front were a pair of massive basilisks, four-legged reptiles with scales of a crimson red and mouths drooling viscous saliva. Behind them sprinted a half-dozen kobolds, stunted humanoids with beady eyes and small horns, and covered in dark fur and crude armor. Finally, urging them all on were a trio of montug, gigantic humanoid lizards slightly larger than a man, wielding full-size weapons. The montug needed no armor - their scales were thick enough to protect them from all but the strongest of blows.

Alex had fought monsters before, and his mind raced to recall what he knew about the capabilities of each. The basilisks could spit their saliva over thirty yards with deadly accuracy, and there was something in it that caused paralysis and seizures if it came into contact with a human’s skin. Beyond that, their jaws could pierce armor if given an opening. The kobolds’ saliva was poisonous, and they often chewed on their weapons, making them just as deadly. He saw most of them wielded spiked clubs or daggers.

But they were all low in intelligence, possessing little more than animal cunning. The montug, on the other hand, were the intelligent ones. Almost as smart as a human, any of them could have years of fighting experience and be a deadly opponent. On top of that, they were tenacious fighters, as their natural regeneration made them heedless of injury. He saw one wielded a massive axe, another a mace, and the last had a sword in each hand.

The basilisks were some yards ahead of the other monsters, and reached the humans first. The mercenaries had formed a defensive line between the monsters and the caravans, and the civilians hid behind the wagons, grabbing daggers and axes just in case. One of the basilisks came towards Alex, the other picking another guard. Both spat their deadly venom, but Alex blocked the glob with his shield. He heard it fizzle slightly as it ate into the metal, but the sound was quickly drowned out as one of the other guards caught the shot in his face and fell to the ground spasming and screaming.

With only a few yards left, the basilisks leapt at their targets. The far one slammed into a second guard and toppled him as it immediately sank its teeth into his midsection while the other guards stabbed at it. The other leapt at Alex and he leaned back with his shield raised. The basilisk smashed into his shield, throwing him back with its weight. He pushed back and up with his shield as he fell, sending it tumbling past him. Rolling right back to his feet, he brought his sword up and stabbed it downwards into the underside of the basilisk’s skull as it struggled to regain its feet. It twitched for a few moments before dying.

Withdrawing his sword, Alex looked around at the situation. The other basilisk was down, but it had grievously wounded one of the other guards, and another was attempting to find something in the wagons to restore the paralyzed guard to normal. The kobolds were seconds away from reaching Alex, Conrad, and the remaining guard. He thought about utilizing some of his offensive magic to help balance the fight, but then he remembered the kobolds were creatures of Earth, and his Fire magic would merely heal them. Gritting his teeth, he raised his shield and charged towards them.

Two came at him; one leaping with its club above its head, and Alex slammed his shield into the kobold, knocking it to the ground. The other came along the ground, swinging its club at his leg, which smashed into his shin-guard and nearly knocked him over. Luckily, the armor absorbed the worst of the blow. He regained his balance and kicked the kobold in the face, sending it reeling. The first came at him again, swinging its club wildly, but Alex parried and pushed back at it, bringing his foot up and slamming it into its chest. Keeping his foot on it and pinning it to the ground, he brought his sword down into its neck.

He heard a grunt behind him and turned. The other had regained its feet and was charging at him, already in mid-swing, past the point where Alex could react. Suddenly, from the right edge of his vision, he caught a blur of motion and a spearhead pierced the kobold’s chest, punching through its armor and arresting its momentum. The kobold squealed in pain as it tried to wriggle free, but it was held fast.

Conrad took a step forward, grinning at the impaled creature. He shifted his weight and spun the spear in a broad arc. The creature slid free and sailed through the air, slamming into one of the montug and sending both crashing to the ground. Alex nodded in thanks to Conrad and rushed to rejoin the rest of the battle. The kobolds were defeated, but so were most of the humans. Only one other guard besides Alex and Conrad was still standing, and all three montug were still fighting, though one looked badly injured.

They both charged towards the two healthy montug, Conrad gripping his spear in both hands and pointing the head at the one with the mace, Alex focusing on the one with the twin swords. As he closed the distance, Conrad jinked his spearhead around the montug’s mace and impacted it straight into its chest. He carried through on the momentum, slamming into the creature and knocking it over. Knowing the wound wouldn’t stop the creature, he pulled his spear out and leapt atop the montug. It snarled at him as it struggled to free itself, and Conrad jammed his spear through its open mouth, ending its struggle.

The montug with the swords hissed and came at Alex. He quickly sheathed his sword and clenched his hand as he conjured the energy for a Metal-element spell that would defeat the creature. Muttering his focus words, Alex thought of metal: cold, hard, ancient. He could feel tingles down his spine as his very body shifted and changed to direct the energy into his fist. From his hand, small shards of metal began to emerge. The montug swung one of its swords, but Alex blocked. Distracted by the action, he could feel the energy slipping, and he struggled to maintain his concentration.

Feeling his body starting to strain from the spell, he realized it was ready. Drawing his fist back, he punched it forward, opening his hand as it reached the apex. Dozens of shards of metal shot out from his hand, catching the montug square in the chest and face. It flew backwards from the momentum of the impact and crashed into the ground, dead.

Conrad exhaled and pulled his spear out of his foe’s mouth. He heard a scream and saw the last montug swinging its massive axe into the chest of the last guard, hacking through his chest and sending him flying over the carts, blood spraying from the wound like a contrail. Conrad hefted his spear in one hand, aiming down the length of his other arm, and hurled it at the montug. The spear crossed the distance almost instantly and caught the montug in the eye, burying itself deep in the creature’s skull. The montug sank to its knees before toppling over, the spear sticking up into the air.

Silence reigned for a few moments as Alex and Conrad assessed the scene. The monsters were all motionless on the ground, but Conrad and Alex inspected them all to make sure. The civilians emerged from behind cover, staring slack-jawed.

“Well, come on, help us clean this up,” Alex said, annoyed. Typical civilians, he thought. Oblivious to the dangers others protected them from until those dangers came charging at them, screaming for blood. They had even repelled an attack shortly after leaving Varennes, but no one had been killed. Alex had argued with the caravan drivers when they first hired him and Conrad that they should bring more guards, but the drivers were certain the six of them would be enough.

Only by the grace of Alex and Conrad’s training at the Ryukendo School of Combat, one of the finest private schools in Saniel, did they survive this fight. And yet, even that training wasn’t enough for them to save Montblanc when it had been attacked and nearly destroyed a month prior.

Alex cleared his thoughts of home as he focused his anger anew against these idiotic caravan drivers. After some yelling and arguing, shovels were extracted and the four slain guards were buried. By the time they finished, the sun was starting to set, casting their surroundings in a golden hue. They finished their journey in silence, finally arriving at the gates to Jorandek after nightfall. The city guards let them in without incident after inspecting their papers. They passed through winding streets, their way lit by both street lamps and lights from inside the tightly packed houses. Few passed them on the streets, only merchants heading home after a day’s work, or carousers heading from one pub to the next, or the occasional city guard patrol. The creaking of their wagon wheels echoed off of the buildings they navigated past.

At last, the merchants arrived at the warehouse they sought, and laborers came out to unload the wagons under the directions of the merchants. One of them approached Alex and gave him a bag with their reward inside, as well as a tightly rolled stack of papers for the two mercenaries to turn in at the guildhall. Exchanging curt words of farewell, Alex and Conrad headed off into the night.

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