What in the Void just happened…?
Those were the only words that came to mind when Cedric left him at the Poor district entrance. The Imperial Guardsman wondered if he had heard correctly, but he had. It was just shock and Tristan hadn't quite grasped the meaning of the Kades words until Roklah spoke.
"What that mean, Tristan?" The Orc asked, grunting at Tristan to get his attention. He had overheard the conversation as he had been following Tristan at the time of this meeting. The Qadir had invaded Regalia. At first, the Lamperouge wanted to charge the Qadir, brandish his claymore and hopefully kill enough to get a battle started but caution prodded at the Guardsmans mind. He stood and watched as Regalia was taken. He had wandered, aimlessly for a while until Roklah found him and handed him a note. Following the notes instructions, he headed for the Poor district and found Cedric waiting in the shadows. The once thick-haired guardsman was shaven, even his mighty beard. Once more Roklah grunted and Tristan turned his head to stare at him.
What does it mean? Is Cedric insane? I can't do this. I'm no liar.
"I've been… ordered to… join the Qadir. I am to act as one of them." The words came out of his mouth quite smoothly, but slowly and he felt dizzy suddenly.
What is he getting me into? The Qadir won't believe me. They'll kill me in a second if they question my loyalty. I was an Imperial Guardsman. I took Oaths!
He wanted to shout, hit something, fight until he was dead but he merely stared at the ground in question. Everything had been settled, though. Paperwork had already been filled out and he was on their side the moment Cedric told him officially. He wouldn't abandon his orders and there was no turning back now anyways. He had seized the Duchy of Southern Anglia, effectively becoming the new Regent of the Kade Lands to the south of Axford without him even being aware. He was even a guard to the Second Consort of the Sultanate now. Could he pull this off? The Orcs had been handed over to his ownership too, posing as his slaves. They wouldn't take kindly to it; Roklah was already questioning it as they walked back to the hideout. He had to handle this carefully or the Orcs might not be so friendly.
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Later in the night, Tristan pulled himself from his cot. He had finally fallen asleep, but awoke from a nightmare suddenly. Qadir surrounded him in his dreams and the sun was set high in the sky, though shadows as dark as the Qadir were cast everywhere. A dragon fell from the sky, blinded by a sudden flash of light. It hurtled towards the sand to where Tristan stood and he found it impossible to move from underneath its mighty size. Just before the beast crushed him, he awoke. It had taken him hours to fall asleep. Now he was back where he started.
The sounds of Orcs and Cedric snoring in their sleep had kept him up all night, or so he wanted to believe. He knew it wasn't the case. He had fallen asleep in their presence many times before. Now it was his stomach that was bothering him as he woke with a sweat; nerves too. Tristan made his way down the steps, out the front door, and to the edge of the water. He promptly vomited as soon as he saw the sea-foam. Part of him was thankful Cedric hadn't seen that, but he knew the Imperial Spirit mocked his courage and faith for the Ailor cause. He cast a weary look to the sky and sat down on the stone, his legs dangling above the water as he positioned himself comfortably.
Looking down, Tristan inspected the bruise on his stomach. Even with his Imperial armor on, Rohghash had knocked the wind out of Tristan when he first heard of the slave news. Rohghash was the last Orc he expected to hit him, but he respected him too much to try anything back. Plus, Roklah and Nilrem wouldn't be too happy. They were only standing a few feet away from him when Rohghash attacked and Tristan feared their strength also. N'omiel had jumped in the way of another punch and then Rohghash withdrew. The Klein was also with them now, oddly enough. Tristan couldn't turn her away and feared for her safety, admittedly. He had never been fond of small things being hurt. After that, they left for the slavery auction, where Tristan purchased Cedric as his 'slave'. It didn't sit right with him that he had to treat his Commander as such.
Turning his head to the left, he caught sight of the Imperial Tower out of the corner of his eye and his thoughts paused momentarily. He had looked at it few times today for only a few seconds. From here, there was a perfect view and he stood out of respect for the lonely building. The tower was somewhat sentimental to him, having spent his first few months as an Imperial in that tower during his free hours, or when he had to do work there after securing a lawbreaker in its cell. Now it only hurt to see it covered in Qadir colors.
