A "Motivational" Speech

Looking at the soldiers clustered around the large crop of boulders, Haalfrin sees some grown men break down and actually start bawling their eyes out and wailing. With the cavalry running about and murdering half their troupe, they probably think they're going to die, and they can't take it.

The young mage feels uncomfortable seeing this. However, he tries to ignore that feeling as he makes sure to keep most of his weight off his left leg and leans against the largest boulder for support.

Haalfrin looks over and notices that Prince Tallus is somehow still alive, and he's shouting at his men to run away – back the way they came.

Haalfrin just shakes his head and thinks, 'That's pretty stupid... Still, I'd be surprised if he kept a cool head at a time like this. Either way, this kid prince isn't going to save himself if he has his men run away.'

If they ACTUALLY flee the battle right now, they'd definitely get caught for desertion. Execution for this crime is one of the worst ways to die.

However, if they all stick together and pull their own weight, these people here would be more likely to survive… though it's still, admittedly, not very likely.

Of course, the prince himself might not get executed – only his men would…

Then again, this is what makes Haalfrin so furious. "Thinking about your own neck, eh?" Haalfrin mutters under his breath with poison in his voice.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" the prince is screaming into an enchanted medallion around his neck, which is amplifying his voice loud enough for his soldiers to hear him. "WE CAN'T WIN!"

No longer able to tolerate the vexed feeling in his heart, Haalfrin hobbles up behind the prince and socks him right in the back of the skull - instantly knocking him out.

Everyone stares at Haalfrin in shock. He… dared attack a prince?

Just as Haalfrin is about to step away from Tallus's unconscious body, one of the soldiers next to him grabs him by the sleeve and hisses, "Oi you! Aren't you that mage from earlier? I mean, you ARE a mage, right?"

"Yeah... so?"

"What're we supposed to do?" the soldier asks pleadingly. Mages always have a special position in society. In some ways, they're treated even more respectfully than nobles, though it's mostly the commoners who do this; there IS an air of mysticism around a man who can do unnatural things.

"How would I know!?" Haalfrin shrugs. "I'm not your commander."

Before Haalfrin can hobble away, the soldier pulls Haalfrin back again, then gestures to the few survivors among Tallus's troupe; all of them are looking up at him.

The soldier then bends down and yanks the prince's Far Speak medallion from around his neck – the tool the prince used to amplify the voice loud enough to be heard by his men in battle. He then hands it to Haalfrin. "Come on. Say something."

"...Fine." Since this man won't let him go without him saying something, Haalfrin decides to just get up and say whatever random things come to his mind. Who cares if his words actually help these people out?

So, Haalfrin puts the medallion around his neck and shouts at the survivors, "Today is the day we die, boys!" He laughs a little at this, like a madman. "If you want to die like cowards and be remembered as pigs who die squealing, then go ahead! You're not children! Pick up your sh*tty weapons and die like men! HAHA!"

Instead of being moved, all the soldiers below look at him like he's crazy. They freeze up and go wide-eyed.

'Serves them right for trying to make me their leader. I didn't ask to be up here,' Haalfrin snorts.

Haalfrin then has a crazy idea. Since he's going to die anyway, he'd like to die in the most spectacular fashion possible.

So, he points his sword in General Kaalhyme's direction and shouts out, "Me!? I'll die taking the general's head! Then, I'll have a great story to tell my brothers in Freyya's basement!"

'That's right!' Haalfrin thinks, 'I'm a Kareen warrior! We're thrill seekers and adventurous! I shouldn't die squatting around with an arrow in my neck. I should die heroically at the hands of a worthy enemy! A true warrior's end!"

The idea is so romantic to Haalfrin that it almost brings a tear to his eye.

He licks his lips and thinks, "I hear that Kaalhyme up there is really strong. Everyone's afraid of him. If I'm going to die, it'd be cool if he kills me. My brothers won't believe me when I tell them. Eh heh."

…Sometimes, Haalfrin comes up with the most spontaneous ideas.

After laughing like the madman he is, Haalfrin briefly looks over the battlefield and sees the hills going up to the base of the cliff. He thinks to himself, 'Sneaking through the hills would be the best bet on how to get to the general. We could hide easily there, and we're also a small group, so we can dodge the cavalry going through the hills easier. It'll be tough, but it's better than just plowing through the army.'

He shakes his head, 'No, I'm not trying to win a battle; I'm just trying to get myself killed. No need to think of strategies or anything.'

So, he points at the general's tent and dictates, "Well boys, I'll charge right through the middle of the army and see how far I get! You little children can stay here if you want!"

'Yes! What an awesome way to die!'

One of the soldiers immediately gets terrified hearing this, so he taps Haalfrin on the shoulder, and mumbles in his ear, "Um... sir? I think we should take the safer route through the hills. It's easy to hide there, and the hills go all the way up to the cliff that the enemy general is staying at."

'We?' Haalfrin thinks, 'when did this become "we"? I said I was going up by myself.' He then looks over and sees the determined look on all their faces. "Fine...," he mutters.

Haalfrin coughs uncomfortably and shouts out, "Change of plans! We're going through the hills!"

'That's right,' Haalfrin thinks, 'I'm not the only one here. Just because I want to die, that doesn't mean I should get other people killed; I kind of like some of these boys now, so I wouldn't want them to suffer.

Just as they're about to run out, one of the men searches the unconscious prince's pockets and hands something to Haalfrin. "Here sir. You'll need this."

Haalfrin looked down and sees a bottle with a shimmering blue liquid inside – a healing elixir. Of course, the prince had one of those expensive things on him.

Sighing, Haalfrin takes the thing and carefully pours the contents onto his broken leg – healing it up in a matter of seconds. "Finally, I can walk again…" Haalfrin grumbles out a "thanks" to the soldier, and they all turn to leave.

"Um… sir?" another soldier taps him.

"What?!" Haalfrin spins around.

"You forgot these?" In the soldier's hands are 4 more healing elixirs.

Indeed… Haalfrin still has other injuries.

Now that Haalfrin has at least SOME of the men listening to him, he holds his hands up to motion for them all to wait.

Patiently, Haalfrin watches for the right moment… And soon it comes. The enemy cavalry, in their effort to be unpredictable, goes to attack another part of the Alastan army, leaving an opening for his men to run for the hills (literally).

Once the enemy cavalry turns away from them, Haalfrin points with his upheld arm and shouts through the Far Speak medallion, "Move, MOVE!"

A few moments after Haalfrin and his men break away from the army, the Far speak medallion around Haalfrin's neck buzzes hot, and an angry voice shouts into Haalfrin's mind, "Prince Tallus, this is General Baalri. Where are your men going!? If you don't turn around, we're going to shoot at you!"

Haalfrin holds the medallion up to his mouth and replies calmly, "This is mage Haalfrin. Prince Tallus has fallen and may be injured or dead for some reason… Anyway, I'm taking all my men and circling around through the hills; I'm going to see if I can get up that cliff face and assassinate Kaalhyme."

Haalfrin doesn't give the general time to reply; he just cuts off his mana circulating in the medallion, and he lets it drop back down to his neck.

What Haalfrin would never know is that his general recognized he was that lone mage with the powerful "fear" spell. Because of this, the general has an exaggerated view of Haalfrin's abilities, and he's fully confident Haalfrin can do what he claimed.

So, Baalri quite happily lets Haalfrin go to trouble the enemy general, rather than disrupt the entire battlefield like before.