by Randi Darren
“This one would know what your plans are with her,” Petra asked quietly. Her helmet gave her voice a hollow echo.
“Not sure I understand your meaning. My plans are fairly simple. Take you home, get you situated, do the summer market, hunker down for winter. We’ll be cutting it close at this rate, but we don’t exactly have a choice.”
Vince could see in the distance up ahead the trees were starting to thin out. They hadn’t taken this route previously, so it was new territory.
By his request, they normally traveled at night and camped in as secluded a spot as possible during the day.
They were doing everything they could to limit the possibility of being spotted. By anyone.
Today, they’d changed it up so they could cross the expanse ahead of them during the night.
“But what of this one?” Her armored fist made a soft thump as she struck her torso.
“I don’t understand. The same as Fes and Meliae. Live, be happy, try to survive in this shithole of a world,” Vince said it offhandedly. He was distracted by the fact that up ahead the tree line wasn’t just thinning, it was actually gone.
And there was a smell in the air that rose the hair on his neck.
“This one understands.”
“Good, get your rifle out. We’ve got a change in landscape up ahead and I smell smoke. Too early to be cooking food.”
Turning his head, Vince made eye contact with Meliae and motioned at his side.
Up ahead, Fes had stopped behind a large tree trunk.
Creeping up beside her, he watched as she lifted a hand.
Somewhere between two and three hundred yards distant, he could see what looked like a village. It was settled against a hillside. To his eyes, it had the look of something that splintered from a larger settlement.
Planned civilization.
Wooden buildings had been built and clustered closely together. A single avenue running from the main road in the distance brought them trade and traffic.
Truth be told, it looked like it could easily hold a hundred citizens. Vince could imagine it as a peaceful place.
If it weren’t for the fighting in the streets and around the buildings.
Everywhere, there were groups of soldiers and villagers battling one another.
Vince frowned, his brow furrowing as he concentrated on the scene.
“This one thinks that this is… not correct,” Petra said.
He spared the woman a glance before he turned his head back to the battle.
“In what way?” Vince asked. It hadn’t looked quite right to him either, but he couldn’t put a finger on it.
“They fight more aptly than the soldiers. They are also well armed, though without armor. They are not what they seem. At least to this one, that is how they appear.”
Now that she’d said it, Vince couldn’t help but see it too. The villagers weren’t losing; they were systematically driving the soldiers apart. Losses weren’t piling up, but it was obvious that the weapons were breaking through armor, and it was only a matter of time.
“Right. Executive decision time. Unsling rifles and keep ammo counts. I’d like to retrieve as much brass as we can. Start shooting at villagers when ready. Fire at will. We’re in the Kingdom of Washington, so I’m going to assume these soldiers are lawful in their business here.
“Fes, I’d like you to remain vigilant and on watch. They could just as easily send someone our way to take care of us as ignore us,” Vince explained, pulling his Springfield from the saddle holster.
Fes grunted while unhitching her blade. She took a few steps away from the rest of the group and rolled her shoulders.
Vince found himself thankful for the time they’d spent practicing shooting on the trip. It hadn’t taken very long for everyone to get fairly acquainted with their new weapons.
“I’d mark it at something like two hundred yards. Petra?” Vince asked.
Of all of them, she’d proved to be the most versatile with the weapon, and seemed to have a good eye for distances.
“This one dislikes to correct her master, but she would put it at two hundred and fifty.” Petra had already lifted her rifle to her eye and was staring down her iron sights.
Vince sat down and lifted his knee. Laying his elbow against the top of his knee, he folded his arm under the barrel of his rifle and gripped his other wrist.
Leaning into the iron sights, he let out a slow breath.
The crack of a rifle shot to his left gave him a jolt. Glancing over, he watched as Petra operated the bolt on her rifle and fired again.
Smothering a nervous smile, Vince lined up the iron sights again. He was no crack shot, but he’d do the best he could at this distance.
Throughout the town, the battle was instantly changing. The soldiers had caught on slower than the villagers, but both sides were aware fire was coming from the tree line.
Squeezing the trigger, he watched as a villager pitched over.
Cycling the bolt, he eased the barrel to the left. A rifle crack went off to his right, followed by another from his left.
Vince sent another bullet downrange and hunted for yet another target.
There were some shots he didn’t feel comfortable taking due to the proximity of friendly soldiers.
The last thing he wanted to do was to go blue on blue.
Pulling the trigger, Vince pulled the bolt back to chamber another round.
Gunfire continued around him, and soon Vince lost himself in the simplicity of target finding and firing.
There was a brief period that the sound of swords clashing reached him, but he dismissed it. Fes would have called out if she needed assistance.
What felt like hours passed, and Vince found he couldn’t identify any other targets.
“I’ve got a clear board. Anyone got eyes on?” Vince asked.
A crack of a rifle to his left was the only response.
“This one has no enemies in sight now.”
“Nothing over here. I get the impression quite a few dove into buildings. Using them for cover.”
“None stand in opposition of us,” Fes growled.
She wasn’t fond of the rifles. Vince was sure it went against her sensibilities. He imagined she’d rather have been charging down into the fray than what they had done.
The dead can’t feel honor, and only the living care.
Looking to the Orc in question, he found a small cluster of corpses at her feet. Apparently four people had been sent against them and Vince hadn’t even noticed.
“You alright, Fes?” Vince called.
The Orc woman bobbed her head, and waved a hand at him. She was moving to the back of the group to rest, he imagined. Putting down four by herself couldn’t have been a fun experience.
“Petra, could you pull out the Washington banner and tie it to your spear? Would you mind being my flagbearer? Eventually they’re going to send people this way. If we don’t remain, they’ll just send people after us, and I’d rather not have to be dodging people all day. Meliae, check on Fes?” Vince requested.
“Of course, Sweetling,” Meliae purred at him.
“This one obeys.”
Vince nodded his head and began cycling the bolt, the unspent ammo being ejected.
Looking to the right, he found a pile of brass casings. Doing a quick search and count, he was able to locate one for every shot he took.
Shouldering his rifle, he went about collecting the brass from everyone and putting them in the container they were using to hold them.
“Patrol. Three; two grunts, an officer,” Fes called out.
Vince didn’t react; he’d been expecting it. Soon enough, they’d get an idea on what had happened here and be able to continue on with their stupid patrol.
Three young men dressed in Washington colors closed within ten yards.
“Hail. Lieutenant Wallace, Washington army. F—”
“Vince. Ranger. What was going on down there, Wallace?” interrupted V
ince.
“Oh. They were a forward operating base for Portland. They’d cleared the town, and moved an entire regiment in.”
“Cleared the town?” Meliae asked.
“Eliminated all the inhabitants. One of the men had family here; it’s how we found out there was a problem when we stopped in for a routine patrol. Became a real clusterfuck of street fighting from there. Honestly, I don’t think we would have survived if you hadn’t come along.”
The lieutenant seemed ill at ease. Something was bothering him.
Vince scratched at his cheek.
Bold plan to take an entire village. Good plan, though. Having a village like this as an operating base would have provided critical information about troop movements coming down the main road.
“I take it war has been declared?” Vince asked.
“Yes. A week and a half ago. There’ve been no main engagements, but a series of raids and skirmishes. We didn’t expect to see them so deep in our own territory,” said Wallace, shaking his head.
Vince said nothing to that but waved at the soldier instead. “With that being said, I’ll leave you to your work.”
Turning, Vince started to turn away.
“A moment, Ranger. There’s a standing order to tell all Rangers to report to the capital,” Wallace said quickly.
“I’m on special dispensation by the Portland guild authority—”
“That’s him, then,” said one of the line soldiers.
“So it is. If you’re the one who was sent on border patrol, I’ve received special orders for you. You’re to report to the capital immediately. I’m to report having spoken with you directly about this matter immediately with the Portland guild authority,” Wallace said, as if reading from an actual order sheet.
Vince grunted at that.
So much for getting out of here.
“Fine. Got it. We’ll be heading there next,” Vince said, completing his turn and walking back into the woods.
Petra fell in beside him. Just on the inside of the tree line, he found Fes with Meliae beside her. The Orc was slumped against the base of a tree and had one hand pressed to her bloody side.
“Damn it, Fes,” Vince cursed, moving over to her quickly and kneeling down.
“Bad, but not life threatening. Not bleeding badly,” Fes grumbled through clenched teeth.
Meliae looked from the Orc to Vince, but said nothing. She didn’t need to.
“Alright. We camp here until you’re able to ride. We’ll hit the guild hub at the capital, then head for the castle.”
“The guild hub first?” Meliae asked, her hands laying on top of Fes’s. There was a soft glow playing back and forth between their hands.
“Yeah. There’s something wrong with the whole situation and it’s getting worse. Looks like this’ll be a lot more work than I planned on. We’ll check in with the hub, get an idea of their take on it, go from there,” Vince said. He gestured at Fes. “What do you think?”
The Dryad pursed her lips and her eyes slowly became a solid green. A full minute passed before she responded.
“Deep. Pretty bad, actually. Thankfully it isn’t fatal or even life threatening, and I’ve been working on it.
“She’ll need rest. I can continue to help mend it, and keep it clean, but it’ll take some work on my part. That and close proximity. Rest on her part,” replied the Dryad.
“Right. We’ll get to the guild hub, get a room elsewhere, bunker down to heal up, send a message to our own guild hub, and Petra and I will meet Al,” Vince murmured, giving Fes a smile when her eyes met his own.
“We’ll get you put to rights, Fes, then we’ll get back home. I think I’ve adventured enough for a while.”
Fes gave him a pained smile and a small nod of her head.
Chapter 13
Vince was pretty happy with their progress. They’d made it into the capital unchallenged. Getting into the Ranger hub wouldn’t be as easy, though. The guild had taken the old regional airport as its base of operations.
Sitting smack dab in the middle of the airstrip was the guild hub, with a wide view of everything around it. It was a squat, ugly building made of heavy stone and arrow slits that a rifle could fire through.
It’d been built as the frontier hub, meant to be the end cap for the guild.
Of course, that was before Vancouver had been resettled in the north. Now it just served as a paranoid reminder of a darker period.
Walking down the road that led straight up to the main gate, Vince took it slow. Fes wasn’t terribly mobile right now. Meliae was doing everything she could to keep the Orc warrior’s wounds together and mending.
Her power had been far greater for him, since he was her tree. Fes was merely another humanoid.
Both she and the Fes looked worn from the effort.
Before they’d made it halfway down the approach, two things happened: the gates before him opened, and Petra rejoined him.
“This one has arranged accommodations per her master’s orders. Does Master wish for the key?” Petra asked, sinking down to his own height.
“No. Thanks, though, Petra. Give it to Meliae. They’ll need it more than we will. I’m sure we’ll end up ‘quartered’ in the capital building. Guests,” Vince muttered.
“This one complies. Armed men and a woman come this way. Does Master believe they are friendly?”
“I sure hope so. Here, Petra, help with Fes. I’ll go greet our hosts,” Vince said. Sliding his shoulder out from under Fes’s arm, he waited for Petra to get into position.
Taking a glance at Fes and then Meliae before he moved off, he felt his guts squirm. She looked a sickly pale green. Her hair was lank and sweat soaked. Meliae had a wan appearance and the look of a plant left too long in the sun.
An older woman with short gray hair and armored in leather stood waiting for him at the entry. She was flanked by two helmeted Rangers with drawn weapons.
“Greetings from the south,” Vince called as he approached them. “I’m Vincent, from the Modesto guild hub. May I approach and present my membership card?”
Vince kept walking and pulled out his card between two fingers. Holding it above his head in his right hand, he kept his left hand visible as well.
They looked pretty on edge, and he didn’t really want to spook them anymore than he had to.
“Fine,” grumped the woman.
Getting within arm’s reach, Vince came to a stop and held out his card.
Miss Sourpuss took it from him and inspected it. Flipping it over, she ran her thumb over the markings and symbols that only guild hub leaders seemed to understand.
With a grunt, she handed it back to him. “Good to have you here, Vince. Took you southerners damn long enough to get here. It’s been damn near half a year.”
That’s not right. That’s not right at all. Something is seriously wrong here. Trained pigeons don’t just… ah.
“Ah, no? I’m on a commission from Al, the hub leader for Portland. I’ve had my charter enacted and I’ve been told to report to the capital. Where he’s staying with the king,” Vince said as smoothly as he could.
It wouldn’t do to panic her, and honestly, he wasn’t sure how much he could say in their company right now. He glanced at the two Rangers behind her as if to make the point that they were there.
“I see.” The iron-haired woman looked behind her and flicked her hand at the two guards. They walked off to one side out of earshot. The hub leader was looking to the side and seemed lost in contemplation.
“I was wondering if you could answer a question, hub leader?” Vince asked, sliding his membership card back into his vest.
“Name’s Macy. What is it?” she asked, not taking her eyes from the ground beside her.
“In Portland, all the Rangers have been sent away on duties, missions, or long-range reconnaissance. The hub is all but deserted. Would you happen to be experiencing a similar problem, or something that has isolated you?”
It was a s
tretch, but Vince felt like he had a fairly solid grasp on the situation now. Al was the reason for this pit of shit up to his neck.
“What? I… yes. We’ve had no contact with the south for too long. Not even the normal requests for tax reports,” said Macy. Her lips turned down into a severe frown.
“I see. I believe our situations are linked. You are of course aware that Portland and Washington are at war now?”
“What? That can’t… no. Perhaps I’ve played right into their hands,” whispered the woman. “I ordered the fort sealed up and only resources and members are allowed in or out. A few of our numbers left and never returned, so we stopped taking on commissions. I thought we were being hunted, but… I never thought they’d go to war.”
“I am of course not a hub leader, Macy, but I would imagine you have a spy or two in your midst. I’d also wager, given the situation, that Al has surrendered control of the Portland hub over to Washington in a back-room deal.
“This is of course guesswork, but… it seems like the situation has been escalated. If I were in your shoes, I’d order the immediate withdrawal of all supplies, personnel, and anything of value. Tonight, even. Before troops can be brought in to surround the guild house after it’s reported that I visited you.”
Macy looked up and met his eyes with her own. Slowly, she nodded her head as she came to a conclusion.
“If you have anything you need, best you take care of it today,” Macy said with finality.
“Only that you provide two of my number with a temporary room so they can rest for a time. That’s all I would ask,” Vince requested, gesturing towards the slow-moving trio coming up behind him.
The hub leader followed his gesture with her eyes and then looked back to him.
“Done. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Macy said, turning on her heel. She marched back into the fort and disappeared.
Vince turned as the trio came abreast of him. “You have room and board. Petra, give them your sword and spear for safekeeping. I imagine they’ll take our weapons anyways when we meet up. Better we don’t let them fall into the wrong hands.”
Vince unbuckled his saber and draped the belt over Meliae’s shoulder.