96 The Last of us XI
"You all will be fine, there is no need to worry as long as you all stay here."
Jacob took his time answering Ava, afterall he did not want to lie to her nor himself. This world was similar as Pathfinder, a world that he helped build. He had to use what he knew about the world and the skills in it to his advantage. That was how he would survive, that is how they all would.
Ava let out a weak smile, as Jacob's words did not hold much confidence behind them. Still, he has not let any of them down yet. It was ok to believe in him, especially when they had no real clue what was going on.
"Tell me, how can we help? Is there anything we can do?"
Ava asked.
Jacob was going to say no, but he could remember his coworkers words.
'Take it easy, we are doing this together.'
Many of his fellow companions told him something similar when they saw him taking on a large part of the project. Jacob would stay late at night fine-tuning the skills everyone worked hard to come up with. Balancing the classes, and changing the stats on weapons.
They were right. He did not have to do this by himself. There were capable people by his side, with skills beyond the average person.
"Go into my study and bring me a map of the city. The detailed one underneath the world map that shows all the guard posts, entrances, shops, barracks and the palace."
Jacob let Ava take in his words before he continued.
"Clear the kitchen table and make room. I want the map laid out. I'll also need my fountain pen and ink."
Ava nodded in understanding as the other maids under her awaited their orders.
Jacob did not tell them to do anything besides take orders from Ava as they have already been doing. He moved his attention to the brother and sister pair.
"You two know how to reach the barracks from here?"
Jacob asked the pair.
Both of them blinked, wondering where this was going.
"What do you need to go there for? The guards and knights should already be fighting, right?"
Priscilla asked as she was worried what Jacob might ask of them.
Jacob shook his head.
"We do not know that for sure. If the streets are full, then fighting is sure to break out wherever we go. I was hoping for a more discrete route I could take to the barracks."
Jacob explained.
"You mean the alleys?"
Daniel spoke up.
Jacob nodded.
"I don't know how to get there from here, but by that old man's bakery you can get to it in five minutes."
Daniel said.
Jacob had no idea who the old man Daniel was talking about, but it would come in handy. The two of them survived on the streets for a long time, their knowledge of the alleys were more extensive than anyone here.
The alleys would be more helpful for maneuvering than the main streets.
Jacob patted Daniel on the head two times before he rubbed his hair.
"Stay here, I'll be back."
Jacob told them as he looked at Melina for a moment. He said nothing but turned around to leave out the front door.
The others were waiting on him, but there had to be a better plan. He needed to use everyone and play to their strengths.
Outside he found the gang standing at the gate, chatting while also looking around for anyone suspicious.
"Amber, stand guard the rest of you come with me."
Jacob ordered them as he returned back to the mansion. In his mind he was slowly putting the pieces together. Sure, they had to be fast if he wanted to make an impact and change the course of history, but he could not be hasty and make the wrong mistakes.
Inside the estate, Jacob motioned for the brother and sister pair to follow him as he headed towards the kitchen. There he saw Ava flattening out the map he asked for.
Trickling in behind him was those he called for along with Melina. He wondered if she was up to anything and made a mental note to keep a watchful gaze on her.
"What are we doing here?"
Angelia asked as she looked at Jacob then the map laid out on the wooden table.
"Preparing. I was rushing which was wrong of me, so now we'll take our time. With this map here, I'm hoping we can discuss strategies. At least see what our best options would be."
Jacob replied as he grabbed his fountain pen.
"Do we even have time? From the looks of what we witnessed outside the gates, it does not look that way."
Matthew asked next.
"We have allies, but we are too far apart to communicate with each other. We should fix that first."
Jacob told Matthew as he turned his attention towards Angelia. The key to his plan laid with her.
"You remember how the headmaster looks do you not?"
Jacob asked her before he went any further. Even if she did not, he was sure she could recall Amelia from the temple.
Angelia was silent for a few seconds trying to paint a pillow the man in her head.
"I can make him out."
"Good."
Jacob dipped his fountain pen in the red ink as he circled the knight's academy.
"Contact him just like you did me, inform him that his forces should safeguard the western gate."
Jacob glanced at Matthew and Teressa, both of which were knights that came from that academy.
"From what you two know about the knight's and knights-in-training, how would you divide the numbers up? Then, how skilled are they compared to what glimpses of the enemies you've seen?"
Jacob asked the two knights as he looked at both of them.
"There are thirty-five knights there, but they are on a rotating schedule so probably twenty are present. Skills would vary, but easily able to wipe the floor with what I've seen. Even the trainees could be more than useful."
Matthew answered.
"If that were the case, the city would be in better hands, however that is not the case. The headmaster informed me that their inventory is bare as of right now. Meaning they are lacking a lot of equipment. Equipment that we have yet to see on those present in the city."
Jacob revealed what Lord Kurtwell told him as he also had to account for that when trying to come up with a viable plan.
"That doesn't include the personal belongings of the knight's, nor those who brought their own with them to the academy. That would only be a handful of the well off nobles."
Teressa added in as she recalled a few students that were allowed to use their own gear while training. It was not every student, nor was it every noble. Only the top ten in each class was allowed such a privilege, and even then there were only a few that could afford their own knight equipment.
"I count forty-two in total. I remember those shitters because of the arrogance they displayed."
Matthew spoke up as he gave out a number of those students who had exclusive gear.
"If we count those along with the knights in the academy, we are left with roughly sixty-two personal that are able to fight. The number could be more or less, but it gives us something to work with. How many students were present?"
Jacob asked.
"Around a two thousand or so."
Matthew answered.
"That was when we left, it's been a while since then so some may have quit, are on break, or have graduated. The numbers change daily."
Matthew told Jacob.
"It was more than I was expecting. The academy is located here by the western gate, but there are also the night watch commanders barracks here."
Jacob pointed to a building on the map that looked a short distance away from the knights academy.
"We do not know exactly where those explosions occurred earlier, but they could have targeted key places. Such as the grainery, guard post, warehouses, any stores that would have useful items and some nobles homes. We do not know that for sure, but in worst case they did aim for those buildings that means the forces on the streets will be heavily lowered and at a disadvantage. Not to mention if we do manage to secure the gates and shut them, our food supply wouldn't last us a day."
"Probably did not help you stored a vast amount t for yourself."
Jack said as a few others agreed with him.
"It's like you knew this was going to happen and we're preparing for it, why did you not speak up beforehand?"
Matthew questioned him with a stern look.
Jacob did not know how to answer him, but even if he did now was not the time.
"We do not have time for this, focus at the matter at hand. We need to secure the western gate, link up with the guards in the city, and shut them before anything else happens!"
"You just said if we shut the gates, we would stare in a day. Why shut them? Why even go after them?"
Teressa raised her concerns as it did not seem like a sound plan in her eyes.
"Because, it is the only option we have. I'm not sure how big their army is, but this is not just some random rebellion. This has been in the works for years, and I can assure you that we haven't even seen a tenth of their numbers. If we leave the gates open, their army will flood us and none of us will be left standing."
Angelia explained.
"If we take over the gates, we take our chances with no food. If we leave them in the hands of the enemy, we die by their hands. Both situations sound terrible."
Jack sighed just thinking about it.
"We aren't helpless if we stay here. One thing we have going going us is the food we stored, it's enough to last us until the generals realize what is going on. Although..."
Jacob stopped himself from continuing that statement, as it would not improve their mood.
"What we do have is the force to overturn this situation. The rebels main force has yet to arrive in the city, so we can take them down and stop their main force from approaching. If we happen to find the leader, even better. But, back on topic."
Jacob slammed his hands on the table.
"There will be a lot of casualties, we need the priests to work to try and prevent us from having a massive loss. I'd also like to obtain the ring of Saint Michael, but I'm not sure if they have it."
Jacob continued to discuss the plan with those by his side. The more they discussed, the easier it became to see what they had to do.
There were some things that Jacob left out, but he definitely could not tell them. If he did, they would question his entire existence.
Jacob knew the Marshal was still here in the city, but he also knew how his fight against Mikhal would turn out. There was a reason Mikhal was able to take down the man overseeing all the empires forces. The man who was titled the strongest in the Valorian Empire.
It was because of this that Jacob never brought his name up. It was nice to have him around, but useless at the same time.
"You think this is enough to stop what's coming?"
Melina finally said something after bring silent for the longest time. She only spoke up when Jacob was the last one left in the kitchen.
"Not even close, but it's a start."
Jacob admitted.
"It's good that you aren't being overly confident. I can see that you take after your mother in that regard."
"And who does Angelia take after? Her scheming father, or the cunning mother?"
Melina cracked a smile.
"Think what you want, but what my husband did was for the interest of this empire. It would not have been long before someone else decided to use him for their own purposes. At least there is a way you can stop this."
Melina said.
"And what will it cost me?"
Jacob asked.
"Dezmond agreed to help the rebels out, but do you think he's stupid enough to leave someone like him on the loose?"
Something in Jacob's brain clicked. In the story they wrote for the game, Mikhal was a threat that upset the balance and was the trigger to start a whole lot of wars. However, he was too powerful to be left living, which is why he died. No one killed him, he died due to a disease.
Jacob knew this about him, and even knew the day he died. Yet, there were a few lacking details in their story. Such as what disease killed him, when he contracted it and how.
The rebel army fell after Mikhal's death. Without their leader and figurehead, their army just crumbled into dust.
"What do you want?"
Jacob asked.
"I'm the last of us Vulcan. Me, Dezmond, Victor, and Rosalind. Out of us four, I'm the last one alive, what do you think I want?"
Jacob mulled over it yet nothing came to mind.
Melina sighed.
"Just leave the north gate open and let him come in. Everything will end there."
Melina said as she let the words enter Jacob's mind giving him something to think about. There was too much that she's lost over the years. A lot she sacrificed in order to help fulfill Dezmond's goal.
