Out-Planning (3)

Belmont scurries from one unit to another while explaining the situation to his troops. Having an understanding of their current situation and goals will make for more effective fighters. Any little advantage he can gain is worth the effort. The suns begin to set, and the sound of the alarm slowly fades. The forest coldly refuses to return his men. Earl Belmont staggers to his tent, exhausted. His mind is racing with excuses he can use to avoid Duke Avaritan's gavel. Given the information he had at the time, there was no chance for him to behave any differently. Any leader in his position would have done the same thing. Hopefully, the Duke understands this and can at least retain his territory. The chaotic tempest in his mind only calms as he drifts off to sleep.

A bizarre dream unfolds that night, or perhaps a fortuitous one.

He suddenly finds himself on the deck of a large wooden ship. Huge cloth sails flutter softly in the breeze. The bite of winter has been usurped by the warm, salty air produced by the vast ocean in front of him. Waves gently lick at the hull of the ship, causing it to rock slowly back and forth. Belmont has seen ships before but has never been on one himself. The experience is thrilling.

"Belmont!" The gruff voice of a grizzled sailor draws his attention. The Earl turns to see a gray-haired old man standing behind him, covered in lean muscle. Years at sea have sharpened his body like a whetstone. "Get back to the helm. We need you to steer the ship."

"Me?" The Earl asks. He's perplexed by the demand as he has never steered a ship. "I don't know how."

He tries to back out of the assignment, but the sailor insists. Feeling pressed, Belmont begrudgingly agrees and ambles his way across the deck. As he's walking, he notices the vast open ocean filling the sky around him. The waves of green and purple crash haphazardly against each other. Belmont pauses for a moment to admire the view.

"Is that you, Belmont?" A deep roar calls out from behind him. A tall man with a red beard is the culprit.

"Captain Avaritan!" One of the sailors cries out. Unsure of what to do, the Earl meekly replies.

"Yes, sir, I'm Belmont."

"Get your ass to the helm. There's no one steering the ship right now. If we crash, I'll have your head!"

"Yes, sir!" Belmont darts across the deck and grabs ahold of the wheel. The wooden spikes have been replaced by various objects and animals, making it difficult to control, but he does his best to avoid them and focus his eyes on the front.

The endless sea is suddenly filled with obstacles. Tall rocks and giant monsters rear their massive heads above the waves. The Earl does his best to avoid them, but there are too many. The wheel spins dramatically left and right as he struggles to control the course of the ship.

'Bang!'

The starboard side impacts an array of rocks.

"We're taking on water!" A distant cry alerts him to the ensuing danger.

'Bang!'

The port side of the ship is rammed by a massive fish.

"She can't take much more of this, captain!" Another voice rises from within the hull.

"What the hell are you doing, Belmont!? Get us out of here, Now!" Captain Avaritan screams directly into his ear. The chaos surrounding him is too great to handle. He spins the wheel as far as it will go to the left. If he can just turn the ship around, maybe they can make it out of here.

As if to mock his efforts, a massive tree rises out of nowhere to block their path. The ship is already turning full port, so there's no way to avoid the impact.

"God dammit, Belmont, you've doomed us all!" The captain raves.

"I'm sorry. I tried my best."

"Well, your best was terrible! Get the hell off my ship!" Captain Avaritan grabs the Earl by the arm and lifts him into the air.

"Please, no! I did everything I could!" He begs his Captain for mercy, but his words fall on deaf ears. Just as he's about to be thrown, the ship collides with the tree.

'BOOM!'

Belmont is tossed into the air. The world falls out from beneath him as he dives into an endless abyss. The horrific weightlessness causes his stomach to turn. He flails his arms and screams. The all-consuming blackness rises to greet him.

A flash of light causes him to open his eyes. The morning chill seeps into his fluttering blanket. Earl Belmont can see his tent flapping above his head and the table wobbling by his bedside. He sighs a breath of relief as he realizes it is all a dream. The sea, the monsters, and the captain were all figments of his imagination. What's odd is that he still feels weightless. The Earl closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, but the feeling only worsens. When he opens his eyes again, he finally sees it. The tent above him flies away, revealing the leaves rapidly falling away from him. He looks to the side and where the walls of the fort are collapsing on top of him. The entire camp appears to be falling into a giant pit.

"No."

His mind races back to the hills of dirt. The fairies kept him locked up behind the walls just so they could dig out a cavern beneath his camp.

"No!"

All the orders he gave to remain in the fort. How many times could he have sent out a patrol and discovered this plot? He was entangled in a trap from the very beginning.

[The boy! He set me up! They must have known I was listening in on their conversation. All the information I gathered was used against me! How is this possible? I was so careful! I planned every single step of the way!]

Darkness begins to consume him as the space above is consumed by debris. The years of working his way up from a lowly knight all the way to an Earl are wasted. This supposedly simple operation ended up costing him everything.

"NOOO!"

The nightmare awakes.