The Arlin Empire designates each war for territory as a campaign. These campaigns can last anywhere from weeks to multiple years depending on the strength of the nation Arlin attempts to conquer. As time has gone on, Arlin has slowed down its spread in order to manage its newly annexed lands and make them a more functional part of the empire. Despite not even passing 60 years of age, each campaign has radically changed the nature and identity of Arlin. It is currently on its 11th campaign in the northwest.
***
“You’re welcome.”
I turned up from what could charitably be called dinner to see Alex looking down at me with his classic smile.
“Huh?”
“I said you’re welcome- Woah, you ok? You look a lot worse than usual.”
Thanks, I hadn’t noticed.
The past two nights had been grueling labor under Elm trying to figure out how to put back together the burner. I was starting to get the hang of it, but I still needed to completely replace the plate and barrel with a new one, which was a delicate process. I was running on fumes and I hadn’t found any source of motivation beyond the simple desire not to lose my best resource in the escape.
“Thanks for the concern. Just tell me whatever you wanted to say.”
Alex scooted to the side, and a woman quickly replaced his spot. My sunken eyes widened a bit as I studied the person who was apparently valuable enough to require me to say thanks. She was tan, and her eyes were a deep brown. However, the main thing that stood out to me was her hair. Unlike Elm’s naturally graying hair, hers was a distinct steel color, a mix of earthy and white tones that set her apart from the rest of the crowd. As I tried to search for a possible name, she spoke.
“Holy shit, you do look terrible. Alex, are you seriously telling me this is the guy I’m supposed to follow?”
She pulled up a chair to sit down, dropping her tray onto the table and immediately began eating. Alex followed suit, looking me up and down in an attempt to search for whatever was wrong with me. I hadn’t told anyone too much about the work that Elm was having me do as I thought that it was information that would best be revealed when I could figure out how to use it. All they knew is that I was doing work with Elm and that it was part of the deal to help Sera.
“This is Elina. She’s from Irebor, just south of Nacilia, and she’s agreed to help us out.”
My eyes darted from Elina and Alex multiple times as his words slowly sunk in.
Wait, Irebor? Didn’t Nacilia and Irebor absolutely hate each other?
Elina took a break from her food to interject.
“I saw him wandering around and talking with you and used some basic context clues to assume you guys were planning something. I’ve also just got some damn good hearing, and if you tune out the right frequencies this dumbass is pretty easy to hear. When I confronted him, he told me everything and invited me on the spot”
Alex shrugged in response. It was another reminder that he was both the best and worst person for his job.
“Honestly, I don’t really mind whatever it is as long as your main thing is to break out of this shithole. I just want to live the Irebor dream.”
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Which is?
It was surreal in every way possible. I didn’t expect anyone to come to join our cause this easily, nor did I think they would be what was considered a mortal enemy of Alex’s people. Corith was pretty apathetic to them, but I never understood their culture.
“You really don’t know? Corithians really are something. Basically, Irebor has a code for warriors. The best way you can die is in the fight. Sure, living is preferred, but I’d prefer to go out in a blaze of glory than… this. This isn’t living, and I’d much rather prefer to fight for something and die than sit around like this wasting away. It’s just empty. As long as you let me do something that will let me fight and allow me to put my life truly into it, I’m up for anything.”
I wasn’t complaining, so all I could do was nod and hope that she was going to support us instead of just trying to commit some form of flashy suicide. I turned to Alex with the best smile I could muster, which caused Elina to snort.
“Thanks Alex.”
“Sure thing. I just hope you have something together really soon. The guards might start to notice something.”
Elina jabbed him in the gut.
“That’s probably because you can’t keep your mouth shut, you dumb Nacilian. Either way, glad to meet you. If you need someone who’s had experience using magore tech on the field, I’m probably the best you’ve got.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
***
I stared at Elm, praying for him to give me words of approval. I had truly put my all into it and I was sure that it would be good enough for him. As he finally placed the burner back onto the table, he let out a belated sigh.
“Well, I said it needed to be usable, and it looks like you could probably use it. Still shoddy work, and I’m pretty sure I could break it again if I sneezed on it too hard, but it’s a start.”
I pumped my fist, proud that I had finally given what I assumed was satisfaction to my newly assigned mentor.
“Don’t get too excited. You’re going to be doing a hell of a lot more work now that I know that you can at least do the most basic crap. I said I was going to make you my apprentice, and I’m damn well going to make sure you’re a fucking good one. It’s going to be a lot harder than this for the next 41 days.”
Wait, what?
“41 Days? Why?”
Elm continued to work on another burner as he talked.
“Because 43 days from now, there’s going to be a shipment of supplies to the camp. If you want to get as far as possible away from this place, you’re going to need that stuff. Do the revolt too early, and the government will get suspicious. They expect a message from Roy every 2 days confirming that everything is in order and giving updates on the status of the camp. Any earlier than 42 days, and they’ll be showing up with an army instead of supplies.”
I was unable to respond. I hadn’t heard Elm talk about the revolt in any complex details, and now he was giving me valuable information to help me along. We finally knew that we could plan for a specific date. 42 days was not as much time as I would have liked, but it was enough for me to feel confident that I could actually plan something efficient.
“Don’t act like I’m going to do the whole thing for you. The rest of this plan is on you to do. I can help with unlocking the cuffs, but I don’t want to be carrying this entire operation. You wanted to do this revolt, so you’re the one who has to lead it.”
I did a second double take as I was overwhelmed with information.
“Wait, you know how to unlock the cuffs?”
“Key is in Roy’s office. No idea how to get it, but that’s not my job, now is it?”
Although his back was turned to me while he was working on another burner, I could tell he was smiling. He was enjoying screwing with me.
“You just gonna keep standing there or are you going to start helping me? Just because you put together a single burner doesn’t mean I can’t change my mind.”
I took a deep breath before walking over to him and laying my eyes upon a new list of messes that we were intended to fix up.
I miss sleep.