by Iliev, Neven
“Why did you not escape immediately upon freeing yourself?” Underwood inquired. “Why take the extra risk to find the prisoners’ belongings?”
“Because we wouldn’t get far without them,” she answered curtly. “Facing the wilderness without the right tools is tantamount to suicide.”
Her mood seemed to improve as she said that, as did Faehorn’s. He felt proud that this girl remembered his ramblings, even under those dire circumstances.
“Did you run across these papers while searching for your equipment?” Silus continued.
“Not exactly. I only just found our stuff when Sandman started making noise and the whole camp rose up in arms. I was desperately running from cover to cover, trying to stay hidden and too afraid of being found out what with all those soldiers running around. I somehow stumbled upon this big tent with a bunch of important-looking charts and stuff. I figured they might be useful, so grabbed as many as I could and stuffed them in the bag while I had the chance.”
“I see, so that’s how it was. Tell me, this ‘Sandman’ character, do you know him?”
“No,” she shook her head. “We did meet though, back in Azurvale. Well, not ‘meet’ meet, but… You know…”
“You had an encounter.”
“Yeah, that.”
“Alright, and what happened afterwards?”
“Well, some guards showed up and took me in, then gave me a stern talking to.”
“They did what?” Silus raised a curious eyebrow.
“Yeah, I didn’t get it, either. I was the one that got mugged, yet I still felt like I was being arrested. It took forever before me and my, uh, roommate were allowed to go home.”
Faehorn failed to stifle a chuckle while his colleague pinched his nose with a sigh.
“I meant, what happened after you got those papers?” he clarified.
“Oh! Right! Sorry!” Keira apologized messily. “I, uhm, I followed after the path that guy opened up. He was just cutting his way through their camp, you know! He was super strong and really amazing! He had all these tough-looking demons and these flashy lights, then these huge fiery rocks fell down, and-”
Underwood raised a hand to interrupt and calm down the overly-enthusiastic catgirl.
“And that’s how you re-joined the others, did you?”
“Ah, yeah. That’s right. Sir.”
“Very good, miss Morgana. That’s all I needed to hear from you.”
The stern-looking elf stood up, leaned over the table and whispered gently.
“I know some excellent people that can help you deal with any and all emotional troubles you might have. I can point you to them if you ever feel the need to let something heavy off your chest.”
“I… I don’t-”
“Remember, the wounds we can’t see are often the deadliest. Best to get them treated immediately.”
“I see… Just a wound, is it? I think I’ll do that, then. Thanks, mister Underwood,” she said with a weak smile.
“Think nothing of it, trooper,” he answered with a faint smile. “Now then, it’s a bit sudden and informal, but we’re in a bit of a rush, so please bear with me and step outside.”
“Y-yes, sir. Right behind you.”
Underwood’s face tensed up once more as he stood upright with his hands behind his back. Keira and Faehorn followed him out of the room and into the hallway, only to be met with over thirty people that seemed to be waiting for them, most of them adventurers. They were lined up on either side of the hallway and wearing their respective guild uniforms. Among the familiar faces were Keira’s team members—Lola and Jules—as well as several other classmates and fellow adventurers she hadn’t seen in a while. The other former prisoners were naturally present, and even Fizzy was there for some reason.
“Legionnaire Keira Morgana of the 3rd Republic Legion’s 1st Scouting Battalion!”
Silus called out the catgirl’s full rank and name, causing her and the others to stiffen up and stand at attention. The redhead tracked Underwood with her eyes as he walked up to her and stared at her intently. She didn’t move a single muscle.
“For your exemplary service to the Republic,” he said in a clear, commanding tone, “for showing outstanding bravery and ability in the face of adversity, for going above and beyond the call of duty, for risking life and limb to safeguard the lives of your fellow countrymen, you are hereby awarded the Golden Crescent.”
The elf reached into his coat’s inner pocket and took out a tiny black box. He opened it to reveal an award with a very literal name. It was an eight-centimeter-wide golden crescent. The medal was delicately engraved with various decorative patterns and the initials ‘K. M.’ clearly stamped in the middle of it. Silus deftly pinned it to the right breast of Keira’s green tunic with the edges pointed upward, almost as if it were a smile. Once he finished, he stood aside while the others applauded and cheered in a rather disorderly manner.
Underwood waited for them to quiet down for several seconds before continuing.
“For your meritorious deeds, firm decision-making under pressure, and commendable strategic thinking, you are also hereby promoted to the rank of Decanus,” he declared with a polite smile. “We expect great things from you, Miss Morgana. Now, take a good, long rest and report to my office first thing in the morning the day after tomorrow for your next assignment.”
“Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!”
Keira gave a genuinely enthusiastic response as applause and congratulations poured down on her once more. Of course, Boxxy was happy. Granted, it wasn’t quite sure what sort of significance this award had, but it was a uniquely shiny thing that made all that extra effort worth it. As for the Decanus thing, it simply meant Keira was now a non-commissioned officer in the Republic’s military forces. It was roughly equivalent to the rank of Sergeant in the Imperial army, which gave her the authority to lead and command a squad of up to ten soldiers. Not the most glorious of assignments, but still a monumental achievement for a sixteen-year-old rookie.
“People!” Faehorn shouted, causing the noisy atmosphere to grind to a complete halt. “There’s a time and place for celebration, you know!”
The others looked at each other with difficult expressions, as if someone just farted in their salad.
“Which, by the way, is thirty minutes from now, and in the mess hall. Drinks are on me!”
The cheers resumed as the gathered rabble dragged the hero off to celebrate. Faehorn watched them with a smile, while Silus maintained his serious expression. Once the rabble cleared off, the two veterans stepped back into the tiny, soundproofed interrogation room.
“She’s clean,” Silus immediately said. “Well, she probably feels sullied after what happened, but she seemed genuine enough.”
He’d lied through his teeth when he said Keira wasn’t under suspicion earlier, although the brief chat blew most of his worries away.
“That’s good,” Faehorn sighed with relief. “I’d hate to have to put her through any of the more… rigorous interrogation. Especially considering what she brought us.”
The plans Keira brought back were still undergoing analysis, but they clearly showed the Imperials’ aim to siege Fort Yimin within the week. This was much earlier than anticipated, and the forces they were sending were overwhelming.
“I just hope the poor kid isn’t traumatized by the end of all this,” said the worrywart of a Ranger.
“Indeed. Well, that’s why it’s important to let her and the others make happy memories while they can.”
Objectively speaking, their chances of holding the fort were next to nil. An ambush in the wilderness was one thing, but a siege was where soldiers had the definite edge over adventurers. The Empire’s military completely outclassed the Republic’s in every way that mattered, and the humans would bring quite a few powerful individuals of their own. At this point, the question wasn’t whether the 3rd Republic Legion could hold Fort Yimin, but how much damage they’d be able to inflict on the enemy b
efore they fell.
“This Sandman character worries me, though,” Faehorn changed the subject. “Just how is he related to all this?”
“I can’t say. His motives, methods, and movements are all unclear at this point. However, like it or not, we do owe him.”
Silus reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a torn, wrinkled and slightly stained piece of paper.
“Literally,” he stressed while passing it to Faehorn.
“What’s this?”
“Something that was dropped off in front of the gates earlier today. It was nailed to the dismembered head of one Lord Hayhurst, former commander of the 8th Imperial Expeditionary Force.”
Faehorn took the piece of paper and looked at it with ever-widening eyes.
“Is this a joke?”
“Do I look like I’m laughing?”
The Ranger looked down at the note once again, both impressed and disgusted at the shamelessness of it all.
INVOICE
From: Sandman Assassinations Inc.
To: To whom it may concern, 3rd Republic Legion
Invoice #000001
For services rendered:
Imperial soldiers x 700 – 7,000 GP
Commanding officer x 1 – 1,000 GP
Next-day delivery – 300 GP
Subtotal: 8,300 GP
Boxing tax: 5%
Total: 8,715 GP
Payment terms: To be received within 5 days. Tell the red cat-eared beastkin to drop it off at the 600-year-old hylt tree south of the fort.
We appreciate your patronage and look forward to doing business with you again in due course.
Chapter Five
Making Connections
Part One
There was a sharp knock on the door to Silus Underwood’s office. The man himself was already hard at work organizing the information from the stack of reports on his desk, despite it barely even being dawn. He hadn’t slept the night before, though he certainly didn’t let his fatigue show.
“Enter,” he called out while scribbling on a document.
The door swung open and the newly-appointed junior officer walked in, announcing her presence with a salute.
“Decanus Keira Morgana, reporting as instructed, sir!”
It was an all-too-chipper voice that swept away the stale atmosphere of the messy office, making it the slightest bit more jovial. Her full-faced smile and gently swaying tail gave the impression of a person who had obtained true happiness. It was hard to believe this was that same frightened girl who seemed terrified of admitting she’d been allegedly violated just a few days ago.
“Ah yes, please have a seat, Decanus. I’ll be with you in a moment.”
The beastkin did as instructed and seated herself in the chair on the opposite end of the desk. Silus continued working on his estimate of the casualties should the Empire’s impending siege of Fort Yimin go unhindered, but his mind was elsewhere. He stealthily appraised and observed the catgirl out of the corner of his eye, watching every tiny mannerism, twitch, and idle motion. The reason for this scrutiny was that, in Underwood’s opinion, she seemed far too happy considering her circumstances.
Even though her behavior seemed odd and out of place at first glance, prior conversations with those close to her suggested this was actually normal for her. Her mood here at base supposedly swayed back and forth between gloomy and cheerful like a pendulum, to the point where one could call her volatile or unstable. Yet out in the field, she displayed a surprisingly serious and calculating demeanor. It was as if there were several different people living in that head of hers. Granted, it would be difficult to find an adventurer who was ‘playing with a full deck of cards,’ as it were, but the near-total lack of animosity in her was noteworthy.
In fact, the only time she showed any genuine hostility was whenever the topic of the Empire’s military came up. She seemed to hold some sort of grudge towards them, but it was important to note this was limited to their soldiers. She had no issue communicating or working with any human adventurers that sided with the Republic, which spoke favorably of her character in Underwood’s personal opinion. Indiscriminately hating the many because of the actions of the few was the sort of thing that fanned the flames of this damned war to begin with.
As for the girl’s character, Silus was able to reach the painfully obvious conclusion that she was too easy to read. She didn’t hide her feelings and her thoughts floated onto her face without hesitation. There was already somewhat of a rumor within the barracks how bad of a gambler she was. Her bluffing skills were so bad that some of the soldiers actually felt bad for taking her wages whenever they played cards. At least three of them had gone on record stating that it felt like bullying, especially since the girl kept blaming her losses on her own inadequacies.
Long story short, Keira’s currently fluffy state of mind was most likely caused by something that had happened very recently.
“You seem to be in a good mood,” said Silus after putting away the report.
“Hm? Ah! Yes, uhm, that is, I just got a letter from home, you see.”
“Good news, I trust?”
“Hehehe, that’s one way to put it,” she declared with a goofy grin.
The letter was from an individual called Rowana Slyth. It had actually arrived the day before, but Underwood used his authority to delay its delivery to read it for himself. The colorful language made it clear that she and Keira were more than just ‘roommates,’ and honestly made the elf uncomfortable. Spying on his subordinates like that may have been a necessary thing in his line of work, but that didn’t mean he liked it.
At least the invasion of privacy had been helpful. Knowing that Keira was in a romantic relationship made it easy to understand why she hesitated to speak of what transpired two nights ago. She was probably trying her best to purge the unpleasant memories from her mind. Well, that was possible in the literal sense with the help of a Psionic, but that was a rather extreme measure. Whether or not she actually visited those mental specialists Underwood mentioned during her debriefing was up to her, though it was unlikely she’d get the chance to while the war was going on.
It was unfortunate, but her mental health was a relatively minor thing when compared to the sort of issues Silus was currently struggling with.
“Now then, I must discuss a very sensitive matter with you. What I’m about to tell you is strictly on a need-to-know basis. You are not to speak of it to anyone outside this room unless I personally tell you to, understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
Keira’s giddy demeanor disappeared, replaced with a more serious one as she saluted while puffing out her chest. The sharp movement made her new medal glint pointedly. The Golden Crescent was a relatively common award given out to distinguished individuals and was ultimately nothing more than a fancy trinket, but she clearly wore it with pride. Silus, for his part, was glad she earnestly accepted the gesture for what it was
“What do you make of this, Decanus?”
Silus reached into a desk drawer and took out the invoice that he had received several hours before the catgirl’s triumphant return and slid it across the desk. Keira picked it up and her expression went from surprised, to curious, to grim, then downright shocked as she scanned it top-to-bottom.
“This… Uhm… Is this a prank?” she asked with an incredulous voice.
“I said this was a serious matter, did I not?” he repeated sternly.
“Y-yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”
Her initial reaction had been more or less the same as everyone else’s who had seen that ridiculous scrap of paper, so Silus couldn’t really fault her for it.
“But still, a prank? What makes you say that?”
“Well, even if you ask me that… I don’t even know where to start. Sir.”
“Then start at the first thing that caught your attention.”
“Yes, sir. Uhm, it feels weird for the Sandman to ask for money. Isn’t he an ally of justice?”
“You know that would technically make him our enemy, right?”
“Eh?”
“The Empire claims Teresa herself is on their side, you know.”
“Oh, right.”
Even if Teresa’s devoted most certainly took part in the war, whether the Goddess of Truth and Justice personally supported it was another question entirely. Mere mortals could not hope to comprehend the will of the Gods, but it was already public knowledge that Teresa’s Hero was slated to take part in the conflict was undeniable. That aside, the concept of ‘justice’ relied entirely on one’s perceptions and preconceptions. The virtue was a matter of perspective that could change at a moment’s notice. Silus was not a man who could trust in something as vague and fallible as that.
“To be frank, I’d be far more relaxed if this invoice was the real deal,” he admitted. “A motivation of wanting to make money is something I find easier to believe in than altruism.”
Of course, one needed to be wary of loyalty bought with coin. That wasn’t to say mercenaries and sell-swords were untrustworthy. It all depended on how professional they were, and whether or not they abandoned their contracts when it suited them. This was the kind of common sense the pragmatic Boxxy expected the elves’ higher-ups to employ. However, Keira was supposed to be a young, idealistic girl. Therefore, it made sure to show a troubled and uncomfortable expression at the elf’s words.
“So, then… this is the assignment you mentioned, sir?”
“That’s right. Although I do wonder why he singled you out. Do you have any idea why he would do that, Decanus?”
The shapeshifter had named itself courier so that it would know in advance what sort of funny business the elves would try to pull during the hand-off. It was also a question of whether they would pay willingly, but then it would just take what it was ‘owed’ through brute force. Should that happen, the stingy elves would only have themselves to blame. Besides, even if they were short on military personnel, it wasn’t like the Republic’s coffers were light. The shapeshifter was quite sure they’d have no trouble preparing the request funds on short notice.