Penitent-Chapter 236 Book 4 Ch 17: Calm Your Farm

Ollie didn't often fly at full speed. It could be magicka intensive, especially with the barrier he needed to create in front of himself at the same time, and if something was in front of him suddenly his reaction wasn't high enough to allow him to adjust course easily on the fly. In combat it was best to stick with medium speeds since he had perfect control over his maneuverability and didn't need to give it his full focus which allowed him to more easily cast other spells at the same time. That didn't mean that he didn't enjoy flying at full speed, and at that moment he was absolutely tearing through the air as he moved just above the treeline. He saw a large lake and dove just low enough to let the tips of his fingers skim across it before launching back up above the trees at the last moment, his barrier spell knocking a few branches out of his way as he moved.

He angled upward and flew straight up to get his bearings. He could still see the main road below him, and he pulled a map from his pack, making it float in front of himself as he looked for a landmark. He was near a camp on the front lines, on what would soon be Tusinyan land, where there should be eight takers for him to bring back. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

A small flock of birds suddenly flew out from a tree a short distance away and Ollie thought he heard a yell. He jammed his map back into his pack and shot forward toward the sound. The sounds of yelling grew and he saw five men running, expressions of intense pain on their faces. Behind them was a larger group of maybe twenty men. All of them wore Stent uniforms or armor.

Ollie dove toward the smaller group, feeling his control brand react, and stopped the waves of pain the five of them were feeling as he landed in front of them.

They looked at him confused, and Ollie quickly scanned them, realizing that there was actually a face he recognized.

"Ogun! I can't believe you're still alive you bastard!"

He looked confused for a moment, then his own eyes widened. "Ollie!? What are you doing here?"

"Takers are free. I'm here to round them up and help get them started on the way to the capital."

The pursuers were coming into view, rage in their eyes as they began to close in.

"What's going on with them?" he asked.

"I wasn't sure," said Ogun, turning and drawing his sword. "They'd received a message a day ago and had all been acting strange. They killed Donnie, Yen, and Jai before the rest of us even knew what was happening. I guess they decided they'd rather us dead than free." He rolled his shoulder. "I'll take the ten on the left, the rest of you can take the other ten." Ogun was smiling with bright white teeth, but Ollie could see his body was shaking. Likely from resisting the pain of the brand as long as he had.

"Fuck off, I've got it handled," he said moving toward the charging group. He held up both of his hands in front of himself as the charging mob got closer and they paused when they saw him and realized he wasn't one of the men they'd been pursuing.

"Alright. Let's all calm your farm."

"Who are you?" asked one of the mob with sergeant markings on his shoulder.

"Ollie… Count Ollie. Here to retrieve the takers promised to Old Hume… though it doesn't seem that you're all that eager to give us our due."

"They're child-killers and monsters. The only thing they're due is death."

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Ollie sighed. "You know, I have a friend that would go out of his way to intimidate you, convince you to run, and probably spare you. I'm not like him. I would like to kill all of you. Not just for my mates back there," he gestured at the confused takers ten feet behind him, "but for me. Still, as a visiting dignitary, I'll try to keep things reasonable."

He raised a finger and moved it gently from right to left. As it moved a long finger width line was drawn in the dirt about halfway between him and the Stent soldiers.

"If you cross that line, you die."

The man snorted and started to step forward, but another soldier grabbed his shoulder.

"I recognize him," he said. "He was a taker, he fought with me when I was with Under-General Hans. I saw him throw ten fireballs in two minutes. I think we should listen to him."

Ollie just leaned against his staff in a relaxed posture.

The Sergeant hesitated, but shook his head, a scowl across his face. "Come on. He's just a mage, once we're in close he's nothing."

Ollie laughed and walked forward a bit until he was only a yard away from the line he'd drawn.

"Go ahead," he said dramatically. "Make my day."

The Sergeant rushed forward with his spear out in front of him, letting out a roar as he did so.

Ollie stayed still, and the moment the man crossed the line, his spear shattered and his head fell from his shoulders. Not even a drop of blood hit Ollie as the man's body collapsed to the ground.

Ollie took a few steps forward and drew another line in the dirt only a yard in front of the remaining men.

"Let's think carefully about this. Wouldn't want ya to lose your heads."

Ogun laughed a bit behind him. Ollie had always liked him.

The man that had warned the Sergeant about Ollie's capabilities was the first to turn and run, then the rest followed, running at full speed back through the forest toward their camp.

Ollie turned around, adjusting his hat a bit as he looked at Ogun and the other takers. He could hear Nykas's laughter in his ear.

"You all good?" he asked.

"I'm alive. That's a start," said one of them.

"Not on the front lines anymore either. More than a start I'd say."

"I could've handled them by the way," said Ogun with a smile as he embraced Ollie.

Ollie returned the embrace, "I know, but you seemed a bit winded from all the running. Thought I'd let you take a breather."

"So, what is happening?"

"Well, it's all pretty simple. Me, Marcus, Michael, and Pyotr helped out with a coup here by killing the king. Now Stent is giving all of its takers to Old Hume, and I'm here to get you." He held up his hand showing the brand on the back of it. "They gave me a control brand so I could escort you. Though there's another camp I wanted to hit before I turned us toward where some of the godly Stent folks are waiting for us."

"What's waiting for us in Old Hume?" asked one of them, suspicion thick in his voice.

"Well. Old Hume has the most rifts and they're only getting worse. All takers have the ability to seal them, so they're hoping you'll help them."

"And otherwise they activate the brands?" The man scoffed. "Just trading one master for another."

"Oh no, they're going to heal your brands. Or Michael is, anyway."

"Michael can heal the brands?" asked Ogun. Then he shook his head. "A foolish question. Who else but the man that returned my hand to me could manage such a thing?"

"If you're going to heal the brand then what's going to make us fight?"

"Your overwhelming good nature," suggested Ollie with a smile. The man didn't respond, just raising an eyebrow. Ollie sighed. "Listen, if the rift in Old Hume isn't closed, this entire world will end. Giant bugs, big fuck-off horned monsters, lizards that can throw fireballs, and harpies with claws like knives are going to tear across this whole world pillaging and enslaving everyone until there's nothing left. I'm going to fight to stop it, as are the best people I know. That said, I'm not your fucking mother. If you want to cut and run once you get to Hume with your brand healed, I won't have time to hunt you down. I'll be too busy trying to save your cowardly life for that. I will say that Hume made me and Michael, both of us takers, into nobility with land and titles. Once it's over, you'll be better off in Old Hume than you'd ever be anywhere else."

Ollie looked up and held up a hand toward the sun to gauge how much sunlight he had left.

"Now we need to head to the northwest camp. I'd like to reach it before sundown so that I can prevent what happened here, but I'll have to walk to keep you five from writhing in agony. Follow me or don't."

Ollie started walking with Ogun to his right and the rest of the men falling in behind them before they'd taken more than three steps.