Somewhere Someplace

A column of large transport wagons flanked by ten horsemen on each side came rushing way down the single leading road, before diverting course to the bumpy plains as they headed straight for that Humbleberrien camp. Five of the wagons were transporting ten infantrymen each, numbering fifty in total; the rest were empty. As soon as they arrived to the front palisades, the Company infantrymen disembarked with haste and proceeded to enter that fortified camp in an organized and disciplined fashion, following the lead of their commanding officer.

Meanwhile, the twenty horsemen had broken off from the wagons and redirected course for that hill atop which a specific wagon and a specific party had been so waiting.

"Oh."
"Great…"

Red and Blue both spoke at once, reacting in unison despite diverging in affect.

"You know…" Red turned his head to the wagon; "I knew you were in bed with the Company, but I didn't think you were married to them.."

"Ha. Ha. Ha." Novea, having sat herself up in order to…ready herself for the impending contact, so 'laughed'.

"How many I counted, huh?" Red began to muse… "twenty horsies, ten in each wagon, so… A whole fucking platoon? They sent a whole platoon for us?"

"That platoon hardly seems interested in us, though…" Blue remarked.

"Yeah, just the twenty horsies." Red was staring right at them.

The Company horsemen did not immediately gallop up their hill of waiting. Instead, the horses dispersed and took positions around it whilst their, presumably, leader and his stallion ventured upwards alone to initiate this…contact.

"What a…muscular horse." Blue observed.

"Guess that's their lead." Red remarked as well.

"Yep…" Novea was peeking her mask-obscured head out from the wagon's edges, eyeing.

Antica, remaining silent and enigmatic, also tacitly observed, although she did not readjust or completely turn her figure.

The Company stallion came to a gentle clopping halt as soon as it arrived before them. "Ah. You must be the adventurer Red." This Company soldier immediately eyed from atop his stallion those two before him.

« Hmm… » That voice, Antica noticed.

Red meanwhile remained guarded and cautious in his stature and tone. "Yeah…"

"Hm." the mounted soldier mumbled; "I have heard of you, 'Dragon Slayer' as you were called. Your preceding reputation aside, you were responsible for an incident in the East; the murder of a divine dragon."

"So, you've heard, huh?" Red simply muttered.

The mounted soldier then glanced at the freelancer next to him. "And you must be 'Blue', his ice mage companion."

"Huh?" Blue popped a little blush. "Y…yes?" She became a little nervous. She was perhaps flattered somewhat that he even knew of her. Red, she could understand… But her herself? She had no reputation at all, let alone notoriety.

"You two were the ones who must have discovered what happened to Fuerte del Fillyo, considering the…" The mounted soldier proceeded to look at the unicorn which proceeded to look into him in turn… Something within felt compelled to look away from its piercing gaze, which he so promptly did.

"Now, how in the Demon-Kings' severed headhole do you know that?" Red's distrusting breaths nevertheless so muttered, interrogating.

"Huh?" Novea, meanwhile, was confused. She obviously had little context as to what exactly was being referred to here… And this made her feel…slightly angsty deep down within; that she was out of the loop regarding something—a gap in her knowledge that needed to be filled eventually.

The mounted soldier returned his gaze to those two. "Well, pleasure meeting your acquaintance, adventurers." Promptly, his stallion gently clopped closer to the wagon proper, his eyes looking at those situated within…

Novea, naturally, had moved herself front and at his attention. "So, you are the Company man." she simply spoke, being capable of maintaining a strict and stern persona…although it certainly felt like only barely so.

"And you are the Raven." and the mounted soldier simply replied. His eyes turned to the enigmatic and silent other who was situated directly next to Novea; he merely looked, not acknowledging, asking, or remarking.

Novea meanwhile did not immediately reply; instead, her own corvid mask-hidden eyes peered at him, inspecting.

This Company man did not seem to be anyone too fancy. Blackish coat, thus probably Exiled Legion, and a tricorn hat—not a bicorn… He did not have any typical 'officer'-denotating wear or item and did not seem to be too dissimilar from ordinary Company infantry in fact. She was not exactly privy to Far Western military conventions, but their dedicated cavalry tended to have…distinct and pricier denotations.

"So… Who are you?" Novea decided to ask.

"Sergeant-Major Hathway, at your service." His eyes returned to that Bureau bird. "Seventh Mounted Free Troop, Thirteenth Grand Regiment of Light Guard."

Ah. Antica knew it; she knew that she knew that voice… Albeit he seemed to be speaking more…'formal', or something like that—it was difficult to describe or really…identify, but it was different.

Deliberately pompous.

Regardless, Antica was already acquainted with this soldier… He was one of Colonel Faulkner's 'most trusted enlisted personnel'. While she was allowed some liberties during her stay at the Company headquarters in Strawberry, Colonel Faulkner ultimately kept her under near-constant surveillance, with which this so-called 'sergeant-major' was encharged; they kept 'randomly' bumping into each other, consequently.

Indeed… She was really not surprised that he was the one whom Faulkner had dispatched.

"…grand regiment?" Blue meanwhile was quick to tilt her head.

"Means a regiment that's double the usual size and can do shit on its own without support." Red was quick to answer.

"…oh. And a free troop?" Blue asked.

"Means a dinky force without a commissioned officer." Red answered.

"…oh. And…so, what is a commissioned—"

"Seriously, Blue?" Red nearly sighed.

Novea continued staring into that mounted infantry soldier, or now thus 'Sergeant-Major Hathway'. Her eyes began to squint… "Hm… Thirteenth, huh?" She sounded as though she was familiar.

"The thirteenth grand regiment is with whom you and your…"—he looked at Antica— "partner…"—he returned his look to Novea—"shall be cooperating; we already have been."

"Of course… Honestly, I don't know why it hadn't immediately hit me…" Novea was more mumbling aloud than replying to him. "Well, that explains a lot…"

It seemed that, in contrast to Strawberry where Colonel Faulkner was adamant in ensuring secrecy appertaining to whom Antica was now beholden, the Thirteenth were now being more open about their…involvement. Such made sense; now that there was active cooperation, such secrecy was not only redundant, but potentially an impediment.

Novea took out the Security Office's notice of subpoena, holding it close to Hathway's sight. "Just remember, though: before anything else, this comes first."

"Naturally." Hathway acknowledged, plain.

"I am going to assume we are both with the same know…" Novea withdrew the notice, refolding before…shoving it somewhere beneath her cloak. "So, words? News? Stuff… Things? You bring anything?" she began to interrogate; "You obviously know, but to remind, we've been in a camp for a whole week… So, we aren't exactly fully aware of what's been happening since."

"Yes… My mounted troop was dispatched as soon as it reached our ears regarding the raid. We were supposed to catch up to you and ensure that you were safe." Hathway thus spoke, yet the lack of a constructive second-person plural in 'normal' dialect ensured that it was unclear as to whether he was referring to them or a specific her exclusively. "However, we were held up in Riverberry along with the rest of the Company that was sent in."

"Held up in Riverberry?" Novea prodded.

"Yeah. The Riverberriens had closed off access due to an overflow and panic. We were stuck there for nearly five days before the Company's riverine fleet took control of the Divide."

"Took…control?" There was added intonation in Novea's voice.

"For an orderly controlled crossing of civilians and military persons, with permissions from Riverberry." Hathway clarified. "The Strawberry headquarters dispatched many detachments from its garrison—almost half of it—, but my troop was exclusively sent by orders of the colonel of our grand regiment to find you and…clarify your situation. But once we crossed, we received a falcon informing us on your…predicament. We were provided a letter to relay to the commander of your capturers' camp only when we were close to arriving."

"I see…" Novea tried to hide any affect from her voice… Seizing the Divide, that was a huge and bold move; knowing the Company, these 'permissions' were likely less than what Riverberry had intended to consent to.

"My troop has been instructed to escort your party out of Humbleberry and ensure your arrival to Grandberry. You will be under our protection to ensure that there aren't any more incidents…or delays." Hathway stated.

"Hm… Although, your officer, your colonel… He sent a whole platoon to fetch us for an escort? I'd be flattered, almost…" If she did not already know that this was only for one specific person.

"No. The colonel only dispatched my mounted infantry. That platoon"—he gazed off in that direction—"aren't with the Thirteenth. We were travelling in the same direction and to the same destination. After I spoke with their officer, we decided to support each other. But they were heading here for something else."

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"That being…?"

Meanwhile, loud shouts and tumultuous hurls continued to echo out from the distance behind.

"Every man here who is a peasant or a farmer levied against your will, you are to collect your belongings and prepare for departure immediately!"

So on and so forth, the Company soldiers scavenged for every and all peasant-looking souls they could find. Choice, consent, or acceptance mattered not; they pulled, shoved, poked with their guns and bayonets, and ultimately made sure that those needing to be collected were, indeed, collected, assembled, and tossed into the empty wagons.

"Look…" Blue was observing the scene happening at the fortified camp afar, she and Red having distanced themselves from those…discussing two; "They are…rounding up people?"

"Yeah…" Red so replied, observing in kind.

"Why?" Blue wondered…

"Fuck if I know."

-||-

The sky was clearer, and the air was calm; the world around so somber and quiet… Wheels turned as hooves clopped. Red's eyes remained dead front, his stature hunched as he held the unicorn's harness; silent and focused, more in his head. Blue's arms dangled outwards from the wagon's edges, looking at the hills and fields ahead. Antica's hooded head was slightly turned as her mask-obscured ignited eyes glanced behind, observing in kind. Novea was quiet and barely awake…albeit she certainly tried to keep herself attentive.

Flanking both sides of their wagon were, of course, Hathway's mounted infantry; they were divided almost equally between the two sides into two columns. Two mounted infantry were positioned further and at an added distance both front and rear, thus four total, who acted as screeners and advanced eyes. Sergeant-Major Hathway's horse, however, clopped closely to the wagon—right near Novea's seated position, in fact. He was able to communicate with their effective leader as well as keep an eye on that specific enigmatic volunteer.

Antica, however, had long noticed that his eyes were seemingly stuck on her more times than not.

Indeed, he was staring and kept staring. Perhaps it was because he had been ordered to have his eyes glued on her always… Or maybe—and more likely—that 'sergeant-major' was just curious. After all, in Strawberry she was in her other so-called 'form'. None of the Company personnel stationed in that headquarters had observed her smart-cloak and other…Remnant peculiarities.

Regardless, they had been on the road for perhaps an hour or less. Even so, it felt unusually quieter. Blue and Red would have at least engaged in some kind of banter, remarks, or…arguing by now; however, such had not occurred. Perhaps the presence of these…twenty escorting strangers—these Company mounted soldiers—was presenting a mediating pressure to their normal behavior. Although, none of the Company soldiers were speaking or chatting either; they were professionally silent.

"Another balloon…" Blue mumblingly remarked, her eyes cast to the sky afar; "Such a strange contraption…"

In the distance afar and passing overhead beyond, was a Far Western balloon… yet one unlike any of the basket balloons seen in Strawberry. The base of it was almost a 'boat'-like shape, with a propeller of sorts that extended from its butt; its large air-filled envelope being much larger, pointer, and more aerodynamical in shape, with a soft fin jutting out from the back.

This was hardly a typical air-balloon, indeed… These aeronautical contraptions were amongst the more technically sophisticated, being capable of independent and guided movement with a crew capacity of upwards to fifteen personnel, albeit the majority of whom were for hand-driving the large propeller. Such balloon-crafts were typically utilized by Far Western militaries for aerial reconnaissance and survey; these ones were by no means the most advanced, either.

This balloon-craft was merely the third of its kind witnessed within the last hour alone… All amongst many other indications of a growing presence.

Some brief time passed before one of the mounted infantry from the rear guard appeared, his horse moving slightly faster than the rest. He was too distant to be heard, but could clearly be seen; he gestured with his arms and hands to the rest, alerting.

"Move right!" shouted one of the mounted soldiers; "Move to the right, off road!" This was repeating over and over.

"On it… On it…" Red so acknowledged, having understood the first time.

With a rightward tug to the harness, the unicorn thus dragged the wagon in that direction, the horses of the mounted infantry following in synchrony. Off road, they stopped and waited, the mounted infantry reshaping into a different formation now that they were stationary.

Time and time passed; although it was not so long, it certainly felt so… Until, finally, what had caused this off-road halt…rather rapidly became quite clearly audible, never mind observable. The speed, weight, and vibrating sound of the heavy galloping hooves and weighty wheels shuck the pebbles and rocks of the dirt road; a small train of larger wagons came passing through and by, transporting both Company soldiers and, indeed, many-many levied peasants and freemen.

They waited for this wagon train to pass…and then waited somewhat longer for them to be at a reasonable distance…before finally recontinuing. Once back on the road, it was once again so very silent… Until another hour later, when the front guard gestured and the others so shouted and Red yet again so halted the wagon aside; another wagon train rapidly passed by, this time heading away from their intended direction.

Such would ring on and on as if a bell on repeat, over and over, as they made their journey through the desecrated rural-lands of Humbleberry, the sun too making its own journey across the sky, falling down. Balloons up high, wagons on the roads, and occasionally camps in the fields being assembled where many of these repurposed levies were being sent.

Novea, struggling though still managing to keep herself from crashing, eyed and looked and eyed and looked. She saw the world far behind and in front of her sight. Company this and Company that; not a single Humbleberrien or vassal affiliated.

Indeed… Even though the last week had been totally inert in many respects, such was not to say that the world itself had stopped spinning; for the world, indeed, had certainly kept turning.

"Hey…" Novea so turned to that sergeant-major hoof-clopping close enough; "So, are you…finally going to tell me?"

"Tell you…what?" Sergeant-Major Hathway, however, was confused.

"Oh, I don't know… The camps we've been seeing. The transporting. Why is the Company all over the place here?" Novea clarified, quite straightly.

"Hm." Hathway's eyes looked ahead… "The Company headquarters in Strawberry had struck a signed arrangement with Humbleberry County regarding its expected surplus grain from the coming harvest… The Company prepurchased it, and they were to organize shipments to Strawberry."

Antica was silent, obviously, although her ears were paying attention… Right, she remembered hearing murmurs regarding this amongst a few administrators during her time at their headquarters, in addition to…concerns regarding Humbleberry's 'viability'. Of course, at that time, she had not quite understood what they meant, but now she most certainly did. Elements within the Company must have had some awareness that something was going to happen here; they just did not know the when… Still, such raised questions, indeed… Why strike such an accord with a high-risk locality?

"Suffice it to say," Hathway continued, "since seizing the Divide, the Company has been pouring in by the day; I've also seen a few Wandering Frog camps too… But they have been assessing the extent of the destruction; what has been lost and what can be…recovered, essentially, from this."

Blue, listening along, gently sighed… "That's why you never prepurchase perishables…" she so remarked quietly.

"Hm…" Novea meanwhile mumbled. "Alrightly… And, so, why are you rounding up this realm's peasant levies?"

"I'm not aware of the peculiars." Hathway answered. "From what that platoon officer said, there is a shortage of hands for obvious reasons… However, because the ransacking was primarily the villages, the peasants who were levied were, ironically, spared. Thus, they are being gathered and sent back to the villages—wherever hands are needed."

"Uhuh…" Novea followed along… "But what do you need these hands for? All I have seen so far are torched villages with nothing to salvage…"

"That is not exactly true." Hathway looked at her… "We still have to salvage the bodies, lest disease blight the land."

"Rightly…" Novea recognized… Right.

"We are heading west, closer to Grandberry—the origins of the attackers. The attack began this way." Hathway continued. "I am only aware of what I was told, but—according to that platoon officer—observations from above are seeming to show an…uneven degree of destruction."

"What do you mean?" Novea naturally inquired.

"Not every village was destroyed equally, and in fact, the attack seems 'incomplete'—I don't know the peculiars. But many villages remain unscathed and others, whilst devastated and massacred, still have their fields intact." Hathway answered. "Again, the Company is still assessing what exactly happened here. Much remains unknown."

"I see…" Novea, nodding, withdrew her head. "Well, that is…interesting." Indeed, it was, even if not telling.

Hm… Antica, meanwhile, had remained quite attentive to this…discussion. It seemed that even the Company's forces here were ignorant. However, already from this short talk, there were indications that the Company was slowly unraveling…discrepancies and signs. It would not be long at all until they would begin connecting with the witnessing communities, if they had not already, in addition to uncovering the still lingering…residual evidence.

Indeed, she could reasonably presume that the impact sites have been discovered by at least the Company's arial forces, with ground forces perhaps being in the process of hearing those villagers' testimonies… She could send Bee to quickly snoop, however she thought it best to not return her sentinel to that scene, for other things could also be potentially…investigating.

Truly, either way, it really was only a matter of time. And Antica would prefer to be out of here before any recounting words and news could rendezvous with them.

"Hm…" Novea mumbled, thinking and reflecting as she gazed out the wagon's edges, observing. "I need to know," she relooked at the sergeant-major, "this isn't an occupation, rightly?" She was blunt, even though she knew he could not honestly answer that.

Indeed, Hathway was…too slow to reply for her comfort. "The Company has…exclusively relegated itself to the countryside—the farmlands. No major towns or the city… And, to restate, all activities here are by Count Humbleface's formal consent."

"…of course, always that." Red quietly grumbled.

"Pardon?" Yet it was not as quiet as that adventurer would have hoped, for Hathway shifted focus to him. "You have something to issue?"

Red was quick to glare. "Yeah."

"Red…" Novea meanwhile was, indeed, unamused.

"Don't think we don't know what this actually is." Red, however, nevertheless continued; "Everything is always about appearances and 'decorum' in the Far West… 'Officiality' and 'civility'. You Far Westerners always need to have a 'just cause' or rationalizing justification or whatever other legitimization that you pull out your asses, never ever saying it how it is…" he thus accused. "Oh, 'we didn't invade and annex this land, we sent an intervention by permission of the native king who then surrendered his domain to our supervision by formal treaty'." his voice mocked a Far West accent, almost stupidly accurate.

There was silence, though Hathway seemed…piqued. "Well, adventurer… You seem to have ideas. What do you think all of this is, then?"

Red looked at him. "A statement." he so said. "Don't think I don't know the type of dance your 'diplomatic plays' are… Seizing the Divide, shoving so many of your people here to 'help' and 'salvage'… The Company's telling Grandberry 'fuck you' without saying it, because you wanna stay buddy-buddy 'officially'."

"Hm." Hathway merely mumbled. "You are smarter than you look." His eyes then shifted front and forward, reflecting. "I'll be honest, everything has happened far too quickly… There is much I don't know of this…situation." His voice was forthright. "The Company had ratified and signed an agreement with Humbleberry, months of diplomacy… And Grandberry was…informed…of the importance, from what I know. That enough should have deterred…"

"Wait…" Red's demeanor shifted. "So, Grandberry, the duke, was warned ahead…and did this anyway… Is what you're saying…?"

"Essentially." Hathway stated.

Red nodded his head, his breaths tensing slightly. "Oh, Gods fuck me…"

"What?" Blue was quick to become…reactively disconcerted by his change in affect.

"And this response," Hathway continued, "was only from whatever was already close enough to respond to the Strawberry headquarters' urgent direction. There has been silence in New Wellington; none of us have any clue how corporate is going to…reply." He looked into that wagon and all the souls within… "So, let us get you to Grandberry before…things escalate."

There was a sudden and silent weight in the air. However…

"New Wellington?" Blue abruptly inquired, curious indeed. "That is…an obviously Far Western name. 'Wellingten'."

"Alright, seriously, Blue?" Red, taken out of the moment, glanced with bland eyes; "You don't know what that is? You're from fucking Rainbow!"

"Uhm…" Blue turned her eyes to him, staring bluntly in kind; "What part of 'I was born an illiterate serf' must I repeat? I did not even know other realms existed, to tell you the truth."

"Yeah, but… You've worked with merchants and traders! How've you not—"

"Almost nobody outside the Company refers to New Wellington directly." Hathway, however, freely intervened himself. "So, it is no surprise that she doesn't know." He looked at Blue. "New Wellington is the…capital of the United Central Company; it's where their primary authorities and agencies are located; everything else are outposts and regional districts."

"Ah! So, it is like the…Citadel and the Guild, then?" Blue remarked.

"Precisely." Hathway replied.

Red grumbled somewhat, turning away. "Hmh. Except the Guild used to have ten citadels while they only ever had two wellingtons, the other one being Gods know wherever fuckwhere…" he muttered.

This sudden banter, perhaps by Blue's own deliberate intentions, ultimately lightened the mood from what had felt rather…heavy. Yet Novea remained quiet, not wanting to become too comfortable… Indeed, she absolutely distrusted these soldiers' intentions.