-Callen-
I gave another look over to the men who had assembled under my command. I nod to myself and them in self-assurance as I put my earlier nervousness to rest. While I wasn’t thrilled about a certain participant, I could set my grudge aside for now. At the very least this snatcher didn’t join in the invasion of Port Town. Right as I was about to dismiss the group for one last night's rest before we set out, I noticed someone rushing over. I paused and turned to face the newcomer. Her fox ears and a familiar sword on her back skidded to a stop just a few steps from the group.
“My Lord, it is my good fortune to meet with you again.” She dipped into a professional bow before continuing. “I have heard that a team was being assembled to track and fight the elves who are running. I would ask that I be granted the honor of accompanying you.” She dipped into a deeper bow as she finished her statement and awaited my judgement. I couldn’t help the faint frown that climbed onto my face. If I’m honest, my first instinct was to agree, but I also had to consider the perspective of the task and the team. As a maid, I would vouch for her professionalism standing at the highest degree. This, however, wasn’t a question of maid work or even professionalism. Callia and I got lucky bypassing the skill limitations, but we were the exception, not the rule. The difference between having relevant skills and not can make a world of difference. As I hesitated, my eyes locked back on the sword. It wasn’t the kind of thing to be possessed lightly, but her having it was also a form of vouching from Baron Meccas.
“Tell me how you came into possession of Baron Meccas’s sword.” I pointed at it while watching her intently. I may not have much experience reading people's expressions, but nothing was stopping me from trying. I notice her expression flicker from a professionally blank mask to a hint of sorrow for a brief moment. Then resolve flared back as she looked me in the eyes.
“His lordship gave me the sword and a task. He has permitted me to wield his sword until I become its rightful owner by earning peerage and taking up his name and legacy.” I could see the sincerity and resolve in her statement. I made no comment on the task and instead gave a nod. If she had this level of resolve and the baron entrusted her with his legacy, then I felt that she had what it took to be on the mission. I gave one last question to be sure.
“If you join, you will be the weakest and slowest member of the team. If the elves retaliate and we need to retreat, they will run you down and kill you. If we get into a difficult fight, you may well lose your life at any moment. Can you accept that joining us is very likely to have you in way over your head?” I suppose I shouldn’t have expected a simple threat like that to make the slightest impact on her resolve. I could only shake my head and turn to the group.
“Sirs Luther, Jolen, and Wellman, as well as Bellam, Polo, and Uther,” I pause and glance out our extra. She perked up while announcing her name.
“Yana, my lord!”
“And Yana, take tonight to rest and meet me at the eastern gate at the break of dawn.” We could set off immediately, but we were tracking a large force, and our scouts just spent the day searching through the forest. The knights nodded, Bellam saluted, and the conscripts were waving goodbye as the group broke up for the night. I started walking away but stopped when the sound of footsteps behind me tapped out lightly against the relative quiet. Yana had quietly followed in step behind me and stopped when I turned towards her.
“My lord, I have what may be an impudent and rude request, but I would like to request you to become my mentor. Whatever I must do to prove myself and earn your approval, I swear to accomplish.” I blanked a bit at the request before my brain kicked in, piecing together the request. I wasn’t a knight so she could ask to be my squire, and I wasn’t a commoner, so a master-disciple relationship wouldn’t make sense unless I was having a crisis raising my future heir. However, that didn’t mean it wasn’t a bold request. I really didn’t want to think over the whole issue at the moment, so I decided to pass the issue to future me.
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“Show me your determination on our mission. I’ll consider it then.” With that, she finally turned back, leaving me alone to get some rest for the night. My mind seemed to jump erratically between the elves and my mission, so I reached out to Callia. While I hadn’t had time to keep in touch with her, I also hadn’t felt her reaching over to me since my previous battle with the elves. It was more of an observation through me and not an attempt to contact me, so I delayed the issue, but now it has been going on for nearly half a week with nothing. For Callia, that was very unusual. Upon checking I let a soft sigh out. I suppose checking after the sun has set isn’t the best time. All I know is that she is sleeping. With my distraction set aside, I finally let my last night in quality accommodations get put to use.
Before the sun rises, I force myself up for the day and set off for the gate. Yana is already waiting for me there with a massive pack and her increasingly familiar expression of determination. The others aren’t far behind me, with only Uther actually showing up after the sun breaks the horizon. As we move into the forest, a subtle look is all the signal our scouts need to take the lead. Since I have companions to handle physical senses, I focus my mind on scanning the mana around us as we go. The initial dip into the forest brings us to a stop at the slightly trodden camp of the elves. Not a single soul in sight, and without our trackers specifically pointing out the traces, I wouldn’t have even noticed the signs of an encampment.
“Ha! Ed, I found them first!” Bellam calls out from the north side of the clearing. We had to wait for our scouts to find the tracks the elves left before we could continue. We all had assumed it would be to the east, so we scoured that direction, then we assumed it may have been the south or even the east. On a different note, I mentally recorded Wellman’s nickname as Ed. We don’t waste time talking as we settle back into our formation moving north. A half day of following the slight marks of passage leads us to the location where the elves stopped caring about stealth. However, the direction was unchanged, just an unwavering, unflinching rush north. On the way we passed the remains of one of their campsites, roughly two days old. We pushed on until the sun started to get low and Uther got to work. In no time at all he used his axe to carve an elevated burrow into the side of a large tree like some kind of deranged super beaver. Seeing his smug look of satisfaction almost made me want to summon my travel bunker to compare with him, but it was still an impressive work. It was kind of a novelty anyway, a burly lumber worker smiling smugly with his nose raised while showing off a hole carved in a tree. It was cramped inside but tolerable as long as at least one person waited by the entry on watch. I split that burden between Luther, Jolen, Polo, and myself.
On the second we passed another camp much earlier on the second day, which served as confirmation to me that we were closing in on the elves even if it was slowly. By the end of the day we came upon the all too familiar sight of devastation and ruins. Meccas City, standing and empty. The inside was left with nothing but charred ruins that bore traces of intensive searching.
“I think the elves weren’t attacking solely for the sake of genocide.” Luther was usually quiet, but over our short stint tracking them, it was apparent the elves rarely intentionally left traces. It was a reasonable conclusion to make seeing the carefully sifted ashes. However, it also sparked realization for myself as well. Freema’s ring, the one that gave her moderator authority. That wasn’t the kind of artifact anyone would normally let go lightly. From her story it was just a lucky coincidence and entirely undefended, so I hadn’t connected it to the invasion, but I also didn’t understand the mechanics of whatever it was controlling the elves. Still, for now it didn’t matter since Freema wasn’t with me anymore, and regardless of motive, we still needed to defend our people from the invasion. Reaching the northern wall, I couldn’t help but grimace at the stench of decay. The corpses of countless soldiers were partially scavenged or rotted, including the withered bodies of various elves. At the center was the mounted head of Lord Meccas, his perpetual scowl ruined by the missing eyes and gray, bloodless flesh.
Psalm 23:5 NIV - You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
