With Mira, Belle, and Eudora gone, the responsibility to plan the battles to come fell to me. The war wouldn't pause just because I wanted it to, and neither would Edith cease scheming while I dallied in pleasure. Demons were out there hurting people. More towers had risen to funnel magic to whatever perverse experiment Edith had planned.
Worried as I was about those two I sent to Ferellis, a hope inside me whispered that they would be fine. Until they returned, I could only do all that I was able to.
Lantessa, Alira, Eleanor, and I sat together at the gazebo inside the tower. It had magically repaired itself, as all things did within the forged world. They were no more illusions of a blueprint than an imagination in one's mind. It might break, but the memory of its structure remains.
"I've only been to the Eternal City once, and that was five years ago to swear my allegiance to the Council of Kings as all enrolled witches do. If we're to lay siege to Thanreas, we need to understand its layout. What can you tell us?" I asked of Eleanor as all eyes fell on her.
The former knightess' arms were folded across her chest, eyes screwed shut and deep in thought. Sharp brows furrowed so close they nearly connected.
"Thanreas is shaped like a pentagon. Each five point extends a wall and is mounted with ballistas on a network of rails. This allows them to respond to any enemy siege weapons and armies by pinning them from three sides. This will be your greatest challenge outside of the city." Eleanor drew a simple map of the city and its walls, using stones to portray our forces.
Already it was beginning to show how difficult it would be to break Thanreas from the ground. Attempts to fly over would likely be met with aerial demons and a barrage of ballistae. Zeke and the harpies wouldn't stand a chance. Moving ground units too close to the wall left them vulnerable to fire from above as well.
"Then a direct assault is no good," Alira concluded for us. "What if all witches fly down from the clouds and neutralize one side of the pentagon?"
"Blindly and unsure of what you might encounter from within?" Eleanor retorted, her voice almost daring Alira to commit what sounded like a suicide attack.
"Then what do we do? It's starting to sound like you're trying to dissuade us from attacking Thanreas. How can we be sure you're actually on our side?" she fired back.
The knightess brushed aside the accusation with a scoff and rolled her eyes. Tensions grew thick. All of us shared Alira's frustration, and Eleanor was no exception. It wasn't that she tried to turn us away from this foolhardy venture, but the reality of the situation was that Thanreas had never been laid siege to in centuries and was designed to be impenetrable.
Lantessa hadn't so much as said a word since we began the discussions. The many snakes on her head had fallen asleep, limp like thick dreadlocks.
"You knew Eudora best. Any idea what she would do here?" I asked the gorgon.
"The one who knows Eudora best is herself. If you want a suggestion from me, I say dig a hole," she said in jest.
This was getting nowhere. Once again, I wished Eudora was here. She always had something planned, schemed possibly just as much as Edith. There was no need for the rest of us to think but to simply follow her instructions, and things worked out in the end for all of us.
However, the same could be said of our circumstances. Wasn't that right, Eudora? If this was also part of her plan, to send us to safety and stay behind as a sacrifice, then how could I live up to that expectations?
"That people call Thanreas impenetrable or incapable of being besieged are sorely mistaken. A tree left uncut does not mean it cannot be cut— simply that no one has tried yet," Eleanor said.
"A frontal assault is no good. An aerial assault is tantamount to suicide, then…" It hit me harder than a spell could. Everyone's eyes turned to me as they realized I'd come upon something might flip our luck. "We have the greatest siege weapon this world has ever known— this tower."
Alira and Lantessa caught on first. They were among the many who were aboard the tower when we sieged Lotherain. Eleanor didn't express the same surprise or share the relief of having progressed in our plans. She fell deeper into thought, resting her chin on a hand.
"You might be able to land in the Granite Promenade's wide open street. I'm sure no one will miss those statues anyway," the knightess suggested.
"But how do we raise the tower? Eudora never shared any of her findings or know-how. If anything, I think she burned any grimoire she found from witches of old after committing them to memory," Alira said.
I put a hand to my head and groaned. Leave it to Eudora to destroy ancient texts. Though I suspected she did so to prevent Edith from getting her hands on them, otherwise we would be facing floating towers ourselves.
"Leave finding that out to me. Alira, I need you to coordinate with the other witches. Once we touch ground, we'll need one group to raise a barrier around the tower and another willing to kill their former headmistress. Lantessa will work with Kati and Clem to form a blockade at each entrance into the district to prevent enemy reinforcements." As I doled out orders, it was like Eudora's spirit had taken over in my stead. Our plan was not to ransack or destroy the city, Edith was our only target. Given that demons were unleashed into our world, the war might not end with her defeat. There would be much to do if we won, but I'd rather that than the alternative.
The discussions concluded for now. There was much left to talk, but it did no one good to suffocate under pressure like this. Countless might die. We knew this. Thanreas was a densely populated city. I'd shoulder that burden, but it hurts.
Eudora, Mira… How did you two do it?
As I searched Eudora's alchemy laboratory for clues to how I might raise the tower, Lantessa entered the room and offered a hand in the search.
"What are your stakes in this?" I asked her. "I didn't expect you to be such good friends with Eudora to stay and help us."
Lantessa grimaced. "You think us friends? Ha! That woman owes me more than I owe her. Can't very well collect favors from a dead witch, can I?"
That gorgon wasn't being entirely honest with herself. It made me even more curious, but now wasn't the time to make small talk. We spent the better part of the afternoon, turning the place up and down but couldn't find a single thing related to the tower Eudora had built.
"Couldn't she have just written it down in a notebook or something? Why did she have to make things so difficult for me?" I grumbled. Just when I was about to give up, my hand grazed an incredibly subtle etching on the side of the brick hearth. It was a rune about the size of my palm.
To the untrained eye, a young witch might pass them off as spell etchings like the ones created for teleportation circles. This one was more intricate, it had a faint glow that if I wasn't actively searching, I wouldn't have seen and nor would my brain have registered it. Now that I saw it once, my eyes scanned the living room and uncovered more all along the walls and ceiling. Even places as innocuous as underneath the couch and rug.
"That sly bitch," Lantessa and her snakes hissed.
"The next question is, how do I move it?" I asked out loud.
The door swung open. Noelle returned, dressed in his knight's raiment and long, golden hair fluttering behind him.
"Ellori, Lantessa! I'm back from liberating Durai and Morane from the demons. They stood no chance… at…?" The feminized knight paused when he saw us inspecting the runes on a shelf. His legs squeezed together, causing the metal plates to clink and creak. "A-Are we moving the tower again…?"
Lantessa and I stared at each other, then back at Noelle.
"You know how Eudora moves the tower?" I asked.
"Not exactly… but whenever she does, she plays with me and Aurelias…" he answered and quickly turned red.
The three of us went downstairs to where the former knight of humility had been made a sex slave of. Alraune tentacles still pleasured every hole she had and suckled on her breasts. Lantessa ripped each appendage away, the mindbroken woman squealed in protest as they're taken from her.
"Wait… I want more… I don't care about fighting anymore, just fill me up…" Aurelias begged sweetly.
Noelle, who had since stripped down to nothing, had his dick fully erect and swallowed hard staring at his colleague in such a state.
"Alright. What exactly does Eudora do with the both of you?" I locked eyes with Noelle, who, if it wasn't for the erect penis, would be indistinguishable from a woman with those breasts and soft facial features. Staring at him for too long was beginning to stir a reaction from my loins.
"She… She has sex with both of us…" Noelle said.
