Chapter 44: Inquiry and Battle Plans
What greeted him from the girls were incredulous stares, not entirely sure how to react to his statement and lots of swearing from the head in the ground along with threats causing Braedon to sigh and focus back on the head.
"Elena, if you could please wrap your roots around him and slowly break his bones one by one, multiple times for the larger bones or even flat out crushing them each time he says something other than answering my question." Braedon says looking down at the figure, "Sure thing, master." Elena replied snapping out of her daze with a large grin on her lips.
"Now mister head, let's start off easy, what's your name?" He began, crouching as he stared at the head only to be met with more swearing than screams of pain.
"Spike! They call me Spike; my partner was Stitch. The names were meant to be ironic since I have the stitches and he had the spikes!" the now named Spike said, through pain-filled yells.
"I see, now the next question, what were the two of you really doing here? I very much doubt it was just for the girl over there." Braedon continued with his next question.
"It was for her, but also to take anything she may have found. This area is considered restricted, but we never told her, instead trying to use it as a trap so we could rob her under the pretense of her breaking the set rules!" He replied, whimpering, earning a deep scowl from Rebecca. Alice, though, didn't seem to care much as she went back to pecking on some fresh fruit that had just been brought out, enjoying the flavor in her own little world.
"Now, where is your base camp, how many of your allies are there, and what would I expect if I head there? Oh, and who is the strongest person there?" Braedon questioned further, planning to use this information for his planned attack on them.
"The leader is Blade because of how he uses a weird sword and is fairly well known around here. I can't tell you more though, or else I'm a dead man!" He said frantically in his pain, clearly scared.
"And you will be a dead man now if you don't tell me all you know, simple. At least this way you have a chance to escape alive." Braedon says threateningly, a bloodthirsty smile on his lips sending shivers down the guy's spine.
"There're still twelve others including Blade! Everyone thinks it's the main base, but it's just a forward one we established! The real one is hidden from everyone while we grow our side to overthrow and take control of everything! They're far stronger than us!" He says, trying to force himself out of the ground, only aggravating the already broken bones.
"So, a wild dog planning to bite its master? Anything else to add?" Braedon says shaking his head, but pretty much already expecting something of this nature. Seeing him not saying anything, he gave a nod to Elena, causing Spike to let out more screams of pain as more bones were broken.
"The others should be heading back now to the base from their scouting and possibly with captives! They should be moved on tomorrow to the slave market or fight pits! But that really is everything I swear!" He screamed, as more of his bones got broken.
"Now, if you had just answered properly from the start, this wouldn't have been needed. Elena, kindly let Spike go, push him out of the ground for us." Braedon says calmly, a small smile on his face with an amused glint in his eyes. A swift raise of her hand and Spike was pushed out of the ground, his hand visibly mangled and a leg badly mangled, with an angry yell, he lunged at Braedon only for a chain to wrap around his neck from behind and pull him to the ground with a heavy thud.
"Really? Jeez, talk about reality mimicking fiction, you get given a chance to get away and instead you try to attack me, did you really think I didn't expect it? Well, sucks to be you, Elena, feel free to use him and the big goons of his as fertilizer or whatever you want, he had a chance and wasted it. The only reason he even got the chance in the first place was because it's something John would do." Braedon says, turning away, walking over to Rebecca and a grinning Alice, almost bouncing in excitement.
"Wait! NO! Please! I'm Sorry it was a mistake! Let me go! plea-" Unfortunately, his screams and pleading were cut short as roots quickly sprang from the ground, wrapping around him and pulling him under. The goons who previously had heads still sticking out also sank down, all that was left of the lot were some blood stains on a now smooth ground.
"So, what's the plan, fearless leader? Do we go in weapons hot and swinging, taking out anyone and anything in sight? Because that sounds like fun to me." Alice says, walking over, excitement in her eyes and her bloodlust slowly seeping through, her thirst for blood and a fight visible. Rebecca, though, seemed tense and harder to read, whereas Elena had her own eyes closed, a content look on her face, no doubt focusing on her own meal and food reserves she had just gotten.
"I'll be having you and Rebecca do so. Well, she will be storming the front, you will swoop in when they charge her and attack her, taking them by surprise as you free the blood from their bodies. I'll be trying to slip past them and take them from behind, providing support as best I can, taking shots at them from behind." Braedon explains the simple plan to the pair, getting nods in return, reluctant in Rebecca's case but a very excited Alice.
Raising the dagger, he swung it down, to point in front of him. "And onward we shall go once Rebecca has her gear back on. Elena, is it possible to get the gear off the goons and put them in front of me, please? I want to see if some of them can fit me." Braedon says, dagger still pointed forward.
"Uhm, actually, they're that way; I'll show you the way once I go get my armor back on." Rebecca began before deflating, and her tone going lower as she quickly slinked away as he looked at her, all while Alice laughed her ass off through the whole thing, enjoying the show.