“Well, if there's anyone that would know what the flag represents, it’d be Mors.”
Snapping a picture of the flag, I quickly created a physical copy before disconnecting from the drone. I assumed control of my Ashray infiltrator and made my way towards the cabins at the summit. I took my time walking up the path, as I was confident that the soldiers would remain in their camp for the rest of the day.
“[Even if you are confident that the soldiers are done for the day, I advise you to not take your time.]”
I sighed mentally and redoubled my pace. Suddenly, I saw a vague silhouette coming down the path. It took me a moment to recognize Mors, and he seemed surprised to see me as well.
“Lord Evan! I was just coming to look for you!” he exclaimed.
“What a coincidence, I was looking for you as well,” I replied.
“The elves wanted me to request some writing materials on their behalf. They said they wanted Myrill and Kynia to work on their reading and writing skills.”
“Done,” I nodded, sending a mental command to Fuxi to fabricate some pens, highlighters, and a few stacks of lined and blank paper.
“Anyway, I was hoping you would be able to help me identify this flag,” I said as I handed him the picture. “It belongs to a company of soldiers that are camped a distance away. Do you recognize it?”
Mors spent a few moments analyzing the photo of the enemy camp. “This is an amazing painting! How did you capture the shadows and light so clearly? If I didn’t know any better, I would say I was looking at it with my very own eyes!”
“That isn’t a painting, it’s a photograph.”
“A pho-to-graph?” Mors asked quizzically. “How is it different from a painting?”
“I’ll explain later, “ I said with a hint of impatience in my voice. “Do you recognize the flag?”
“Ah, yes. That would be the flag of the Wild Hunters, the resident monster hunting corp of Ocaephis. They are sent out as soon as word of a monster pops up, to kill it hopefully before it kills someone.”
“Interesting,” I said under my breath. “Who’s their leader?”
“I’m guessing that would be Lady Venari, Lord Drusus’s sister and daughter of Lord Marcus. I had the chance to meet her at one of the socializing events Lord Marcus hosted. I must say, she was quite the striking young lady. She was tall and imposing, and had a good understanding of the Law of Water.”
“She’s a mage?”
“Indeed, and a talented one at that. I heard whispers that she was bullied by Lord Drusus during her youth, as he was jealous of her talents. Of course, this was never verified, but there always has been some tension between the both of them.”
I nodded and listened intently as Mors kept speaking. “Even though she was a mage, she started training with weapons at just 10 years old. She’s good with a sword, but she has a real knack for the halberd. She enlisted in the Wild Hunters at around 16, and worked her way up to second in command, only under Captain Sequor.”
“I thought you said that Venari was their leader?” I asked confusedly.
“Technically, she’s still only second in command, but she’s been leading the Wild Hunters on expeditions more and more often. Captain Sequor has been staying in the city both due to his aging body and to deal with all the paperwork.”
“Should I worry about this Captain Sequor?”
Mors shook his head. “I do not think so. Captain Sequor used to be a great warrior, but his time has long since passed. Last I heard, he was planning to retire completely within the next few years, and have Lady Venari take the position of Captain.”
We were interrupted by the appearance of one of my robots. It held the writing supplies requested by the elves in its hands, making sure not to crush the delicate objects in its powerful grasp.
“Shall we talk on the way?” Mors suggested, to which I readily agreed. The robot followed Mors and I as we walked up the hill, and the Deathwalker explained a bit more about the Wild Hunters. As he had said before, they were a unit of soldiers dedicated to killing monsters in the areas surrounding Ocaephis. To help combat the Law power wielded by monsters, the Wild Hunters had a greater number of mages among them compared to other squads.
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While the city guard and army worked under the Governor and his generals, the Wild Hunters were an independent force that only followed the orders of their captain. The status of the captain was on par with the generals of the city, giving his advice and orders the same weight.
“It sounds like the position of captain is a very desirable position,” I remarked.
“Oh, most definitely, but getting it is not so simple. Not only do you have to be a capable warrior, you must also have a level of political acumen to deal with the other high ranking officials in the city,” Mors said sagely.
“Did you ever consider attempting to become captain?” I questioned.
Mors smiled ruefully. “No. I was already in the employ of Lord Marcus, and becoming captain of the Wild Hunters wouldn’t have left me time to attend to my other duties. Plus, Deathwalkers aren’t very popular among most folk. I’m afraid that had I taken command, I would have had to deal with quite a few protests.”
I nodded and fell silent, walking alongside Mors until we reached the cabins. As we got closer, I could hear the sharp clanging of steel striking steel. I paused for a moment.
“Is Aurea still training?”
“[Aurea is currently training with an instructor robot.]”
“Ah ok.
“You go ahead,” I told Mors, “I’d like to see Aurea for a bit.”
Mors nodded and walked towards the elves’s cabin. I ordered the robot to follow him, to which it gave a beep of acknowledgement. I followed the loud clanging until I reached Aurea’s training area, a wide clearing with training dummies and blunted weapons scattered around on the ground. In the center, Aurea was sparring with the instructor robot that resembled a medieval knight. She wore a simple cloth tunic that fluttered in the air as she moved. Opposite to her, the robot wielded a shortsword, holding it diagonally across its chest.
In a sudden movement, it sprung forward, thrusting the sword at Aurea’s midsection. Using her claymore, Aurea parried it to the side. Realizing the instructor was too close to use the claymore effectively, Aurea grabbed her own sword halfway down the blade. The grip allowed her more control of the point of the sword, which she used to thrust at her opponent’s joints. Realizing that it was in danger, the robot retreated slightly, knocking the attacks away. Seeing it back away, Aurea chased the advantage, swinging hard at the robot. Unfortunately, she had overcommitted with her attack. The robot dodged with a deft bit of footwork, getting in close and putting the training blade to Aurea’s throat. She froze in place, and gently pulled away.
“Sloppy,” the robot instructor said in a monotone voice. “Your desire to attack led you to make a rash decision. You must never put yourself in a position where you cannot defend, especially when using a sword as large as yours. You also need to improve your footwork. Footwork determines distance, and distance determines whether your attack is going to land or if you will be able to defend. If you don’t practice your footwork, you can and will be killed.”
Aurea nodded with disappointment clear in her eyes. But she perked up when the robot added, “Your use of the half-swording technique, however, was excellent. Keep in mind that the joints are not the only vulnerable points. Throats and eyes are also good targets.”
With that final piece of advice, the robot declared the trained session to be over.
“Having fun?”
Aurea turned at the sound of my voice, catching her canteen that I had tossed at her. She nodded gratefully at me, taking a long drink. Once she finished her water, she wiped off the sheen of sweat that had accumulated on her forehead with the back of her hand.
“Where have you been?” she asked, ignoring my question. “I haven’t seen you for like a week!”
I laughed sheepishly. “Sorry. I kind of just lost track of time,” which was true. It felt like every day there were new problems to deal with and more tasks to finish. If I didn’t have Eve to help me, I probably would have been completely burnt out by now.
“Well, just so you know, I missed you,” Aurea replied curtly, but underneath the annoyed tone I heard the smile in her voice. I laughed and thanked her for the sentiment. I then inquired as to what she had been up to for the past week.
“Well, a lot actually. Mr Gladio has been teaching me how to use momentum to use less energy when attacking with my sword.”
I asked who Gladio was, and Aurea explained that it was what she had named the instructor robot. Apparently, only calling him “instructor” was getting a bit old.
“Anyways, Mors has also been showing me some unarmed combat. Just yesterday he taught me how to take someone down and pin them!”
I raised my eyebrow at that.
“Magic, swordsmanship, and now unarmed combat? Even one of those disciplines takes an entire lifetime to master, and yet he’s proficient in all three?”
Aurea looked around furtively at her surroundings and leaned in close.
“I swear Evan, Mors is lying about his age or something.”
“Really? What makes you say so?
“He says he’s 73 years old, but he’s as strong as an ox! Just when we were training, I felt like he could overpower me pretty easily.”
“That’s weird. Maybe it’s a side effect of the magic?”
“[It is a viable possibility.]”