Chapter 83

Yet despite how smoothly things were going, you couldn't really help but be annoyed with yourself for not coming up with this ridiculously simple Idea of yours right from the start as you waited for the last Squad of their Reserves to vanish into the Woods. But since their Reserves had finally been spent, you supposed that your Desire for faster Gains might sound a little greedy all things considered, especially since you had been able to tell just how much your Map had carried you while you lied through your Teeth before their Commanders.

Sigh, it seemed like you were still a bit of a Perfectionist at Heart if you were seriously losing your Focus to the Mistakes of the Past while you were still in Mortal Danger. Though, as you heard the Reaction to your Companion's special Treatment once more, you found that your Mind was still in working Order as you managed to swiftly refocus on the present where you silently drew one of your drugged Daggers to take care of your fellow Guard.

And take care of him you did, as you cut and offered him a few Apple Slices laced with one of your non-lethal Favourites to make sure that the Risk remained as manageable as you could make it, since every Second of potential Warning was one you couldn't afford. For while your Confidence in your Companion's Ability to shrug the Poisons off had only grown, there was still a decent Chance that you would need to make a hasty Retreat if your Confidence had been misplaced.

It took a few more moments to hide him behind the Hatch and to open the Wooden front Shields of the Tower, but once everything was done, you found yourself alone with your loaded Sling and the Sight of a wide open Field filled with a Sea of enticing Targets. And the longer you observed it, the more that already quite gruesome Sight before you resonated with your Soul as you could feel that this was truly the Opportunity of a Lifetime while you slowly built up momentum for your first Throw. You needed a little longer to properly aim since it would need to hit your Companion straight on to properly sell the Illusion to his Opponents and to make sure you would still have a Way out in Case worse came to worst.

And so with everything set up as good as you reasonably could, and every Asset at your Disposal utilised you let the first Vial fly across the Battlefield where it shattered against your Companion's Back the moment it made Contact. There was a distracting Silence shortly after, but with each following Vial the tenacity of the Struggle picked back up as the Men closest to your Companion made clear what was happening as they dropped with Screams of Agony one after another. And while most Men would have backed off by now, these Clansmen had spent far too much Blood to just withdraw, even if your Aim was simply Abysmal in their Eyes as only one out of five Vials actually hit your Gore covered Companion.

Though despite being covered in a dozen slowly evaporating Poisons, your Companion looked unbothered as he kept on swinging like nothing had changed, which for obvious Reasons was in equal Measure both good and bad. For it meant that the optimal Scenario you had imagined might actually come to pass as it allowed you to throw ever more lethal Concoctions onto your Companion and your shared Enemies without the Need to worry about him, which would help you with the creation of the necessary false Hope. It was such a Weight off your Shoulders that you nearly overlooked the equally massive Problem of his still missing Reaction, which could mean only one thing, namely that he was back in control of himself too soon.

And while it was admittedly true that his darker Side was a bit too dangerous for your Taste, you couldn't help but complain Internally how much the adaptability of his darker Side could have helped you by playing the Part of the poisoned Monster for a bit. Or so you thought as you watched how the Clansmen below suddenly began charging your Companion as they had when he first knocked down their Gate who knows how many Hours ago. The Sight left you confused as they should have learned what a massive Folly that Course of Action was already, but with all the rapid Movement you couldn't get a decent Look at your Companion through the kicked up Dust either, so you just kept on throwing till you suddenly understood why they had like Madmen charged through the Poison filled Air surrounding him.

For despite struggling with the Dust and the lack of Light thanks to the slowly setting Sun, you eventually managed to see that your Companion had suddenly begun swinging his giant Warhammer with just one Arm. And after focusing you finally saw that the Top of a broken Pike belonging to one of the deceased Mountain Knights going by its apparent sturdiness had managed to wedge itself between the Plates of his upper and lower Arm where his Gambeson had finally given in to wear and tear.

It was surprisingly good Fortune since the currently dominant Part of your Companion had no Talent for acting, opposed to his sadistic and wolflike Side that enjoyed playing with its Victims. But you supposed after a short moment of thought that the true Question was if your Companion would be able to deal with his Impediment, since even such a lethal Mix of Poisons would still take a few moments to destroy the Human Body enough to neutralise whatever brave Fool had stepped into it.

Their Casualties to your Poisons already stretched into the hundreds, so the lost Speed of your Companion wasn't really the end of the World, but since they had managed to incapacitate one of his Arms in the time it took for the Personality Change to finish, you couldn't help but worry. And well, if they managed to immobilise your Companion properly there was no Way for you to free him, and neither was there a Way for you to gain the Recognition for the work you did Today. It might be a little bit selfish to think about yourself in the current Mess, but so was his Insistence to attack this specific Host of the Mountain Clans, was it not?