Rico paced the group as usual during the morning laps around the camp. He and the other blades had decided to run it three times in the way the captain tested it each morning. His ability to run both with and without mana had greatly increased in the week following the last test. His failure to maintain enough energy to participle in the fight weighed on him. The strike team recruits had lost badly to the skirmishers and endured a small punishment, but a lot of bragging from the other recruits. It grated on his nerves to hear them boast about winning a disadvantaged fight. He turned and his eyes met Amelia’s. He nodded and increased speed for the last lap.
When they returned to the training yard, Sergeant Yuri was waiting for them. He stood beside a few of the other instructors and bundles of equipment laid out on the ground. Rico tried to study the bundles without looking too hard, and Yuri chuckled as everyone else did the same.
“Today is the last day of the recruitment for the Wolf team. Captain Alton has made his decisions and will lead you on a mission as a last test. Rico, Miser, Letty, Ameila, Prian, Nelson get dressed for travel. You will accompany the captain on a mission for the next few days. The rest of you remain and we will discuss your potential futures in the army of Agorra.” Sergeant Yuri announced.
Rico stood still for a moment as he absorbed what the sergeant had said. He made it. Three months at the academy and another month here at the specialty camp and he made it. He would be a striker for the army and take the first step of realizing his potential. He turned and shared a look of relief with Amelia. Deep down, he had known it would be the two of them. It was a relief to have it confirmed. They spent an awkward amount of time looking at each other, each unsure of what to do after a grueling month of petty competition. Before either of them could make a decision, a large hand clapped them both on the shoulder.
“We did it! I knew it would be the two of you, but I never could tell how I stood.” Private Nelson said. “We should go change, so we’re not late.”
Rico and Amelia both agreed and turned back to the barracks. It was next to the training yard, so it was a short time later that Rico found himself standing in the small room he had shared with the other male blades for the past month. He barely had any belongings to worry about. Most of his stuff was issued by the army after he joined. His upbringing didn’t foster the environment to collect souvenirs. He changed into his army traveling clothes and then gave the room a last look before turning and walking back to the training yard.
The ones that didn’t make the team were off in discussions with the other academy instructors while Yuri and Alton waited in the middle of the yard. He walked up to them and smiled despite his nerves when Alton turned his way. He found himself craving the mans approval in a way that left him feeling confused. He didn’t need his approval or want it, did he?
“Congratulations Rico. You had an excellent showing this month, I am proud to welcome you to my team. I will explain everything when the rest of the team gets here. Until then, have a seat on the bleachers and relax. Fill your core if you need to. We leave soon after.” Alton said and then turned back to Yuri and the other recruits.
He retreated to the bleachers and took a seat just as Amelia walked in. He waved her over and let her know what Alton had said. They sat together quietly and cycled, both to fill up cores but also to settle nerves. The others filtered in and sat around Rico on the bleachers until the sergeant was ready. Relief was obvious on the faces and in the emotions of his new teammates.
Nelson and Miser were the first set of twins Rico had ever met. They were both large and towered over him by more than a foot. Both had sandy blonde hair and chubby faces that made them look young. Muscles rippled out from the cotton shirts and Rico had no doubt about their strength. Rico had sparred Miser a few times and was only rarely able to land hits. His technique was excellent and his stamina could keep pace with anyone.
Letty would be one of the utility roles on the team. She wanted to specialize as a mage and would be one of their archers. She was about his height and slender, with long brown hair that reached her lower back. Her brown eyes caught him staring at her and he turned away. Prian would be the observer of the team. He was a few inches taller than Rico and built about the same. Hair somewhere between brown and blonde, with striking green eyes.
“Congratulations, my young friends! You have risen to the very top of all recruits in the Agorran army. For that mistake, you are stuck with me. I will lead you on a mission deep in the mountains above us to investigate a fiend sighting. I expect it to take us two and three days to complete and return here. I will lead one group while Sergeant Yuri will lead the second. You will follow all of Yuri’s orders as if they were mine, and you will follow mine.” The captain explained, his last statement leaving no room for disagreement.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Rico turned as a someone walked in the practice yard. He was scrawny in build but had a belly bulging from the robe he wore. This was not a recruit he recognized from the academies and Rico watched with interest as he walked up to Captain Alton.
“Uh..My name is Lews. I…Jonah sent me.” The newcomer, Lews, stuttered out.
“Excellent! Everyone meet your new healer and mage! You are just in time. In the center of the yard is your gear for this mission. Included are cold weather clothes suited for the weather we will be facing. New weapons, armor and uniforms are there as well. There are the eight packs of the supplies that we will need. You will need to divvy the supplies up as necessary to make the weight work. I expect you to change and be ready to go in an hour. Dismissed.” Captain Alton finished.
Rico was the first to the supplies, and they began the frustrating task of sorting them by weight and responsibility. Blades needed to stay agile and be able to respond quickly to threats and double as advance scouting. Shields would take most of the weight as long as it didn’t interfere with their large tower shields. The two archers would need to quickly fire their bows in the event of trouble. This had all been covered in class, but seemed much different now that they were really doing it. It felt like they had taken longer than an hour by the time they finished and walked out of the training yard. The sun was at its peak in the sky, leaving them around six hours of daylight left. Rico took a deep breath and looked out and up at the intimidating mountains in the distance.
——
Wolf team left the training yard at just a little past noon according to Amelia’s time piece. As they marched through the fields towards the valley wall and eventually the mountains in the distance, she checked her compass for the fortieth time. She had grown up in the fields of her estate but never spent any time in the mountains that rimmed and lined Agorra. She tried not to let her nerves show as she went over the details Captain Alton provided them of the mission.
They were to investigate a cave that a treasure hunter had found full of bones and bodies. The route they were taking was based on the word of that man and they would be without any other support. It would just be the new team led by Captain Alton and Sergeant Yuri. At least she knew Yuri well enough to feel safe under his care. Alton was a wild card to her. Few men in the Agorran army had more tales tacked to their name, at least few known to her. She had heard about his skill with his famous sword and knew he was at the fifth tier from his own mouth. She hoped, both for her and her new teammates, that it would be enough.
Alton called for a halt after they had reached the trail leading out of the valley and up into the mountains. There stopped in a large clearing that had visibility from all directions. The path from there wound sharply up and Amelia could see it climb several miles in a steep fashion. Her legs were hurting just from looking at it and thinking about having to carry all of her gear up that. At least her pack was lighter than Nelson’s. She didn’t know how he did it with his pack and his tower shield. She helped him shuffle off his pack, and they both turned to listen to their new leader.
“We will camp here for the night. Climbing mountains in the dark is no fun and not something I would do without a severe need. Sergeant Yuri will instruct you on creating a defensive camp while I scout ahead. Listen and learn from him and follow his orders, but make sure you understand why he wants what he wants. A defensive camp may very well save your life one day, maybe even tonight.” He finished and Amelia expected him to smile as he often did when being purposely dramatic. This time, he did not. She felt the hair stand up on the back of her neck and shivered involuntarily.
The next hour was a whirlwind as Sergeant Yuri assigned the team various tasks. Amelia was to find enough firewood to “burn a blaze for at least one full day, two if you can.” She doubted the availability of wood here, but set off to do her best. She spent the entire time walking back and forth with bundles of sticks and dried out bushes. Yuri saw her and laughed, handing her an axe and instructing her to find the closest tree in the valley below and drag it up. He must have seen the question in her eye and told her to use her mana liberally. Wood gatherer was exempt from other duties until night watch. He must have seen the doubt in her eyes, so he sent Miser to help her.
By the time they drug the twenty-foot tree they had chosen back to camp, Amelia was exhausted and on the verge of mana drain. Nelson took her spot and helped finish splitting the tree, and Amelia took stock of the camp. Two tents had been erected on opposite sides of the fire that had been started with her sticks. She sat down near the fire and tried to cycle to recover her core, but she was so tired she mostly just watched Nelson and Miser cut the tree. They had both removed their shirts, and the twins were certainly…
“Alright everyone, gather up.” Alton was back without Amelia even noticing. “We will form two watch teams, each under myself or Sergeant Yuri. Four-hour shifts for each team. Amelia, Prian, Nelson, Lews with me. Rico, Miser and Letty with Yuri. There will be no mana lights tonight. There will also be no dinner. A striker needs to be able to go days without eating. You will need to get used to the feeling.” He finished to groans from all around.
The sun set and it got dark quickly. It was muted in the camp as the exhausted soldiers found places to sit around the fire. She could almost feel the nerves in the air. She saw Yuri and Alton passing a flask back and forth before Alton cleared his throat and leaned forward.
“I will tell you now a story from the last time I was up in these mountains, about a hundred miles north of where we are. Way up above the village of Old Barrow, when I was fresh to being the Captain of Wolf team. Listen to me now, listen to the mistakes of good soldiers, and learn.”