“We really need to make some gliders,” Anthony said. “So we don’t have to wait until they park the ship.”
“Didn’t you pick a water bending card?” Sonya said. “Plus, we can always gate down there.”
Anthony didn’t want to leave the ship. If would be undefended. Of course, there were several people on it, including Gigi and Stella, the head of security. The ship would be secure.
He just didn’t want to fall. As the ground got closer and closer, he felt a lot more balanced.
He could deal with battles.
He needed to speak to the legion commander.
---
Cedric Alexander, commander of the seventy-sixth legion, was not having a good day. There were reports of a messenger directly from some sort of noble or princess that had crossed the Southern Ocean to Sunderland. He hadn’t received a full report yet, but the word on the street wasn’t good. And then earlier that day, there was an interesting flying shift that just took up residence above the town. It was his time to return to the Peace Turtle tribal lands, to check in with his wounded veterans and see about his requisition requests. He hated leaving his legion out in the jungle, but his sub-commanders had become faithful and very well trained in how he needed them to be while they were here.
He might begin wrapping up the campaign and moving on to another area if there was a request.
There was never an additional request. But he still had to figure out a way to raise money to fund their ongoing efforts.
Cedric was happy that the hospital that they had sent up on the southern border of the Peace Turtle lands had become a hub for trade. It had been a constant problem for the legion to interface with the public of a foreign nation, then get permits to do things they wanted to do. They weren’t mercenaries. Under the Irumian Kingdom’s flag, they operated. They just every so often went back home.
If there was a partner to the kingdom that needed some help to quell a monster uprising, then that was where they would go.
Arriving at the front of the tent, two of his legionnaires saluted him. He returned the salute, a stiff motion placing one fist over his chest. Inside the tent, about three dozen dwarves sat there in various states of unrest. A third of their number attended to them and their needs.
“Where is nurse Ameliah?” He said, scanning the workers.
“Right here, commander,” the voice said.
A blonde-haired dwarf with long braids washed an apron off next to him. A large basin of water was reddish brown with the color of dwarven blood.
“Ah. Please clean up and then, if you would, your report?”
She smiled, continuing to scrub.
“Commander,” she said. “We will have three dwarves returned to duty by the end of the day and another dozen by the end of the week. The rest remain. Have you heard the news?”
“No. Please apprise me if the news. Have the turtles decided that our lucrative lease is up?” He said, admiring her quick work. She changed her apron, which made her look fresh. The dried blood underneath her fingernails gave him pause. He wasn’t a dwarf to shy away from a fight, but he didn’t have the stomach at the moment.
“We are expecting a chosen to visit us soon,” she said.
Cedric blinked several times.
“One of the chosen? Here?” He said.
He had seen the weird floating ship.
“The messenger from the yellowtail tribe was very clear about this point,” Ameliah said. “They met with their chief and received a message, but unfortunately I didn’t hear it directly.”
Cedric cursed.
Everyone had heard something, but no one knew who had heard it first. The rumor mill was churning out facts and figures that he wasn’t able to support. It was getting ridiculous. He had half of mine to walk down to the center city where the airship had been parked and go get them a piece of his mind, but that had nothing to do with his duties. He did not go to the chosen. The chosen would come to him if they wanted to talk.
And his youth, one of his mentors, had told about chosen coming in to help and the dire situation that had led to it. Chosen might be powerful, but they were still people.
“Sir, did you want to talk to them?” Ameliah said.
“Of course,” he said, following her lead.
He spent the next hour going through and talking to every wounded dwarf in the field hospital. Despite the situation, they were all in a good mood. The high morale pleased him.
When he was done, he felt rejuvenated and ready to take on the rest of the day. Ameliah led him outside.
“Are you heading over to supply next?” She said.
“Unless those chosen decide that they’re going to come down here from their line contraption soon. If they are the chosen,” he said.
“Sir,” the dwarf on guard, probably Standish, said.
“Standish?” He asked.
“Sir, they fly the irumian flag. My soul card enhanced my vision,” Standish said.
For as pleased as Cedric was that he could name the soldier on duty, now he was concerned.
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“Send a representative,” he said. “They will look for whoever is in charge.”
“Yes, sir!” Standish said, running to the rear detachment command tent. Cedric was going to have to follow along at some point and check in on that sub commander, but he felt no urgency. They would come to him.
---
Anthony and his small crew of six had gotten directions from one of the peace turtle guards. With a promise to not break the peace of the tribe, they could drop an anchor near the business district.
“I’m really grateful to Finley for getting us that long rope ladder,” Sonya said. “It’s really coming in handy. I’m also glad that you gave me some pants so that I can traverse down the rope ladder with ease and no one can look up my skirt.”
“Whatever you need, dear, that’s what I’m here for,” he said. The tropical climate was one that made him still wear as little as possible.
She was wearing his scrubs, which he had long slimmed down too much to use. His lean figure was because of months on the road and hard fighting. Though he hardly ever walked anywhere, it wasn’t like there was Bodega on every corner for him to shop at and get snacks. In fact, every meal was a deliberate thing that had to be done. Just another task that he could give down to somebody else to take care of on his behalf.
The road was empty. As they walked up to where the guards were telling them to meet with the dwarves, they kept passing by more and more ornate buildings.
“What is going on with all these buildings? It’s like they were all mined from the same vein of marble?” Sonya said.
“Maybe they all shop at the same place?” Anthony said.
“For sure,” she said. “Lizard Depot?”
“Probably.”
They passed by hundreds of lizard folk just doing their thing. Mostly, it was walking around and talking. Every single lizard folk that they saw was talking to somebody else, either in pairs of two or more. Walking by themselves unless they were walking with an extreme purpose that radiated in their actions.
To continue on the southward up a small hill where the marble gave way to an open plain and a sandy expanse between the city and the southern jungle.
There, Anthony could see actual dwarves doing actual dwarf shit. Mostly standing around and drinking beer, though a few were on duty. He turned to see Valerie and Gigi, arm in arm, both crying profusely.
“Valerie, are you ready?” Sonya said.
“I guess,” she said, her face snotting up. “I never thought I would see this day.”
“Anthony, let’s let them have a moment,” Sonya whispered. She motioned to the monks that were pulling a security detail and they stepped out, giving the dwarves a perimeter. It was the least that they could do.
Sonya led him to the side closest to the drinking dwarves. One let out a belch before wiping his mouth. They had built up a small tavern out of palm tree wood. It had to have been some sort of project of love.
Somehow there were day drunk dwarves dilly dallying around mid day.
They were singing something, and Anthony itched to join them.
“Humans?” one yelled. “What are humans doing here?”
“Leeroy, didn’t you know that they’re sending their best here to buy up our legion contracts? We’re going to be rich!” The second one said, slurring regularly.
“And then we can retire, right?” Leeroy yelled. “You keep saying that, but we’ll see. Hey human! are you here to buy us out?”
Anthony chuckled.
“Not particularly!” He said. “We have other things for you to do.”
“See! They’re not here to retire us, so stuff it!” Leeroy said.
“Oy! What are you humans here to do, then? You want some of this thick dwarven muscle?” the second one said.
“Am I being cat called by drunken dwarves?” Anthony said. “I love my job.”
“Oh, stop it,” Sonya said, squeezing his arm closer. “They are too short for you and probably too male. You wouldn’t know what to do with one of them, anyway. Though their beards are nice.”
Anthony pulled on his own beard, inspecting it. True, he was smaller than the dwarves, but he would not get beard envy. He was secure in his masculinity.
Then he looked, and he saw both doors were missing at least part of one of their legs. He really wanted to ask about what was going on there, but he did not know what to ask and he didn’t know them really well. He went the distance, trying to see if he could get something out of them. And that was when he saw what had to be someone in charge.
This dwarf was wearing full plate armor with very well polished silver. As he walks, he had a following of at least two guards and one person wearing an apron with blood caked all over it. More importantly, he was making a beeline towards Anthony, Sonya and the rest of the group that he walked in with. Anthony turned to face the man, his red hair a fresh sight among the usual brown and black-haired people that he had encountered in this world.
The man stood for the dwarf four paces. In between them. They locked eyes. Both men stood tall.
He stood and raised a fist to his chest in how Valerie had instructed him. The dwarf returned this alone.
“I am Commander Cedric Alexander, leader of the seventy-sixth legion. With whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?”
Suddenly, Valerie and Gigi flanked him. Valerie held a salute.
“I am Commander Anthony Hernandez, chosen and commander of the Queen’s guard. This is my adjutant, Princess Valerie Lightfoot, and duchess Gigi of Gloucester,” he said, showing one, then the other. “We have come here with grave news that we must talk to you about, regarding the state of the Kingdom.”
Cedric stood there, standing at attention.
“Your graces,” he said, addressing both with a bow.
“Please be at ease,” Valerie said. “We have a difficult thing to tell you, and it might be best if you gather some of your senior leaders before we do so.”
“I would ask the chosen to tell it, your grace,” he said.
“Which chosen?” Valerie said.
“Which...?”
Four people turned to look at him and salute. Anthony, Sonya and Brandon and the monks all stood at attention.
“Five chosen?” He said.
---
Cedric Alexander dropped to his knees. In the darkest hours of the Kingdom, when they were to overcome terrible odds, the gods sent one chosen to guide the people.
Today? They had sent five.
“You’ll pardon my lack of decor in your graces, but this is an unprecedented act in our entire history. Never has more than two chosen appeared at once and to see five?” He said.
It felt like he was being stomped in the gut. For this many people to show up? It must be an incredible event. An incredibly destructive event that heralded in something that would change his life forever.
“These are only five of the many that have been summoned,” the princess said.
His mouth was dry, and all thoughts of lunch disappeared from his mind. He was going to need a lot of time to process this, but he didn’t have time. He had a legion to manage. There was a thin line between management and leadership.
Right now, he needed to manage his feelings and lead his people.
“What has happened?” He said, his voice cracking. He straightened up, standing a strong, tall dwarf for all to see. His moment of weakness would go down as one of the things that changed him.
“The kingdom has fallen,” Gigi said. “It has been overrun by a dwarf. Shells of their former dwarves’ selves have claimed every city.”
Behind him, one of his retainers coughed. Another threw up. He didn’t feel bad about feeling bad about it. He did what every dwarf would do. For the kingdom’s needs, he wished for a secure Homeland so the legion could spread good faith and diplomatic efforts.
He sent a messenger to convene all the leadership back here. They were going to have to make some sound decisions in the next coming days. To have not one but five chosen to show up asking for him and his legion meant that the easy days of taking monster quelling quests were over.
The legion was going to have to go home.
Considering the work he’d done to build a profitable business, he could finally pay his staff. It wasn’t necessary for him to do all that. He just loved his people so much. He hadn’t been home in so long.
That was going to be so much movement and paperwork in the next couple of days that his head hurt. Just thinking about the meetings and the planning that was going to have to go through. But he had people for that. Now. They have been trained and gone through the fire, being baptized and returned stronger.
Now he was going to take them and throw them into the fire again.
His legion was going home.