Magma Rebels (Fragment)

[Ara Av-Toa]

Here is a part of a story I'm writing, Magma Rebels. This fragment comes from the first version of chapter 1: "It's give or take".
“He was fleeing into the east, into the volcanic region. This means that, should we want to capture him, we must chase him. I know what you’re thinking, and it’s dangerous. But we don’t have a choice. We must face the eruptions and earthquakes. He’ll likely try to seek out a hiding place, and there’s no shortage of those there. Plenty of cracks and caves and similar, each riskier to search than the other. We’ll have to move with caution.” “Perhaps we should explore the area a bit better. Besides, we have no clue just how deep in the region he is. This gives us an added risk, in the centre, you are more likely to get into an eruption or an earthquake. So chances are that there is exactly where he went.” “Isn’t it easier to just starve him out?” “Actually, no. You see, there are several villages in that area that exploit the fertility of the landscape. I hate going there, but it’s how we know all of this.” At those words, he tapped on the unrolled map they were studying. The map showed Steal’s full kingdom, aside small parts of neighbouring countries. It laid on a plain box filled with hay. Six of Steal’s soldiers were discussing their plans around it. They were: a tactician named Show Mart, two swordfighters named Fight Ierce and Slash Enseless, one archer named Snipe Wift, a larcenist named Pierce Rotect and last but not least the promising axe knave Grind Reat. “So we’d have to cut off every source, then. There’s no way we can do that. It would take too many men”, Show remarked, “We have the advantage that the nearby river is not fit for drinking.” Snipe knew, “Yeah, but in those villages they happen to make special alcohol-arm beer. They've never gotten sick of that. No magic, my friend.” Soldiers with the same rank saw each other as peers. Grind lashed out. “Still! If that fellow manages to get a bond with even one of those villages he’s golden. We explained him the situation there ourselves, in fact. Who’s to blame in this case?” Slash shrugged. “Not us. We just did our job. And, if you like it or not, none of us saw this coming. So… I guess it’s safe to say it’s not our fault.” Show sighed, “Back to the matter at hand, he can be anywhere and we have no option but risk a search.” Pierce mumbled, “We mustn’t forget the age-old prophesy either.” All others stared at him, confused. He sighed before continuing, “I’ll best tell it from the beginning. Ever since the Elfishes started their rule, a rumour went around. A prophet foresaw the fall of the empire, coming from, you guessed it, the east. He saw the following: from the east, a large wildfire spread. It took control over the entire kingdom and it could not be extinguished. The fire reached the castle eventually and it became a ruin. That’s where the vision ended. But the story has not been fulfilled yet. If Dash is the wildfire, we have a serious problem.” Worried, Grind asked, “Should we let the king know?” Pierce shook his head. “Better not to. He knows of the story, but he never paid it any heed. He was convinced it wouldn’t happen under his rule. Even if it was just ‘because his ancestors never saw it happen’, if you know what I mean. Besides, he’ll be furious if we turn up without him. Dash, I mean.” The others contemplated the vision. Fight asked Pierce, “Now you mention Dash, does he know of this?” “Not that I know. But, you know, you never know. He might find out. He could’ve also found it out already. I don’t know.” “That’s a lot of not knowing,” Slash lazily said. “I know!” “…Right. True or not, we have to scout all of the area. So much I DO know,” Show concluded.