***
The Lupa Faction's transient camp was spread out over a disorganized patch that was comprised of both the stony outcroppings of the cliffside area and the overgrown green fields that led into the sparse forest of East Odalia. Julian clambered over the rocky ground as the new day dawned and threw a piece of hardtack at the Legate's head in an attempt to wake him up. Unbeknownst to him, though, Timonus had been awake since well before dawn as old military habits died hard. The Legate grasped the hardtack in his hands as he struggled to sit up in the restraints that were tied across his wrists.
For the last three days, the members of Lupa Faction had left him cold, hungry and dirty. As per Julian's orders, they had stripped him of his armor as well as his sword, leaving him only in his tunic and sandals, which were not much protection against the nighttime chill. In addition to his lamentable state, Timonus was also in desperate need of a shave and his wrists were red and raw where the ropes had been constantly chaffing at him.
He was also unsure of their location as Julian had insisted that they periodically double back and go in different directions so as to purposely keep Timonus confused. Little did Julian know that the experienced Legate had begun leaving markers on various stones within the camp and at night watched the stars so that he soon had a vague idea of what direction they were moving in. Despite Julian's misdirection, Timonus knew that they were traveling west, towards Odalia.
"Eat that," Julian pointed at the hardtack in Timonus' hands.
The Legate held it awkwardly, "How? I'll break my teeth!"
Julian took a ravenous bite of his own portion and spoke with a full mouth, "Yeah, well, I grew up on it just fine and I still have most of my teeth! Besides, you'll starve if you don't."
Timonus was quite hungry, having only been given small amounts of millet mixed with water to eat over the last few days. He tentatively tried to bite into the hard biscuit but only managed to chew off a corner, which sucked up all of the saliva in his mouth and yet, still refused to soften.
Julian sat down beside him, "So, I bet you wonder where we're going, huh?"
He shrugged, "Does it matter?"
"Yes! I mean, you want to know what our plan is, right?"
Timonus sighed, exhausted, "Julian, I've been in this camp long enough to know that you don't have a plan. You told me as much in the beginning."
"Yes, but what if I told you that just to confuse you?"
The Legate eyed him snidely, "Trust me, boy, you're not that smart."
Julian scowled as he stood back up, "What do you know anyway?" He walked a little ways away from the camp to relieve himself, though he remained in shouting distance.
"I'll tell you what I know," Timonus called out to him over his shoulder. "I know that this so called 'Lupa Faction' is a farce! You talk like you're going to rush into the Palace, bows drawn and take it over."
"So?" Julian called back, "what's wrong with that?"
"The Palace is home to a military the size of a small village. You won't make it past the gates, let alone into the Emperor's chambers."
"He's right, Julian," the N'bari girl named Camilla joined them and, after getting comfortable across from the Legate, began to sharpen a small pile of arrowheads that were resting in her lap.
Julian returned, sitting beside Timonus again, "Then what are your grand ideas?"
She didn't look up from her task as she answered, "I don’t have ideas. I just shoot the things that people pay me to shoot."
Timonus chuckled, which irked Julian, who spat out at him, "Fine. Then what about you, old man? What would you do?"
"Well, I wouldn't attack the Palace."
Julian looked at him matter-of-factly, "I have to. I started this group to rebel against the Emperor. If I don't attack the Palace, how will we be considered any kind of threat to the Empire?"
"You're a group of degenerate kids from the poorest district in Odalia. You can't defeat an Emperor. He is a man like no other in existence, with more power than you can imagine."
"Why do you still defend him? How can you when you know he is a murderous tyrant?"
The Legate's face grew grim, "Because I know a very different man from the one that you see now." He leaned back against the rock, glancing up at the sky, "You have to understand, he wasn't always like this."
"But he is now and we can't let it keep happening! He's murdered fifty-two men and women in the last month alone - simply for the worship of 'false' gods and blasphemy against the Twin Brothers! These were gods that we have been worshipping since we were born! The same gods he was brought up on!"
Timonus nodded, "I know." He knew because he had personally signed the death certificates for each one of the fifty-two.
"And now he's killing people for who they choose to love or marry? Tell me that isn't a man you still wish to serve!"
He looked at Julian, "I... I'm not really sure."
"Pff, can you believe this man?" he asked Camilla.
She shrugged as she set the arrowheads to the side and began to restring her bow, "Yes, but the Emperor is not just his commander, remember. He is also his friend."
"Aye," Timonus nodded. "Or at least he was."
"Well," she looked at him, "then I guess you have to ask yourself if what he is doing to your people is worth keeping that friendship?"
Julian declared, "Exactly! How long will you accept his tyranny? At what point do you walk away? When he starts slaughtering babies?"
Timonus looked at him in alarm, "He wouldn't dare-" but he couldn't even finish his own sentence because the truth was he no longer knew what Tiberius would or wouldn't do. No one did.
Camilla continued, speaking wryly to Julian, "Now, if I was the thinking type, I would say that the Legate here would make a much better ally than a prisoner."
Julian looked at her, hesitant, "You... would say that, would you?"
She continued to pull the string tighter, "If I was the thinking type, I would, yes."
He looked back at Timonus, "Well? How about it, then? Will join us, Legate?"
"Join you?" Timonus asked disbelievingly.
Julian attempted to make his case, "We've been out here for months, with no clear idea of what we should do. You could be the man that leads us to our destiny!"
Timonus thought the idea over. It seemed so far-fetched, so unlikely but as he looked around over the scattered members of the Lupa Faction he wondered if maybe the Mother Wolf had indeed answered his prayer after all. Maybe leading the Lupa Faction against the Emperor was what he needed to do to right the wrongs of the last few months.
The Legate started to nod, slowly at first, "Yes. Yes, Julian, I will join the Lupa Faction."
Julian jumped up immediately and began to run back into the direction of his bedroll, "I'll go get your sword!"
"Wait, Julian! You could've untied me first!" Timonus called after him.
Camilla plucked at the string on her bow then, satisfied with its tension, she took a small dagger from her belt and cut away the ropes that were on Timonus' wrists. "He's resourceful, that one, but he's not very smart."
"What about you?"
She shrugged, "There are some people around here that would say I think too much." She smiled at the Legate as she put away her knife.
A Sword Of Wrath, Book I: Blood And Dust Page 23