As quick as they had been, all of the stops had pushed Mia’s time in Westbend into being much longer than she had wanted to spend. With the sun already past its zenith and on its way down, She still needed to make the trek to the gate, out through said gates, and then all the way back home. Luckily with the new “Guard boots'' it would be a much more comfortable journey. Without Old Sal bringing her in today, her feet were already starting to feel worn out and blistered. With the added weight on her back, foot sores would’ve been assured if not for her new purchases.
Making great haste down the boulevard she nearly ran over a child that was unexpectedly in her path while chasing a ball, thanks to the weight on her back making it hard to stop and change directions. And so with a few apologetic words from both sides, Mia kept trekking along as quickly as she could. Rounding the final corner before the gates she saw that the traffic was flowing quickly in and out with a few patrols entering and the new patrollers about to leave.
Approaching the gates Mia was greeted with a friendly “Hey Mia!”, a call that once again came from her friend Edgar.
“Hey Edgar! I am trying to beat the dark, so I can not stay long to chat. I am sorry, I do not want to seem rude, but I really can not stop to talk.” Mia briskly tried explaining.
“Oh, well that makes sense, but you are definitely not going to make it back before dark…. How about you go with a patrol heading your way? I believe one of the patrols will be rotating that way within the next half hour after having the current patrol return.”
“Well that would indeed change things. If I can tag along with a patrol, then that would allow me a bit more comfort on my way back.”
“Absolutely, things get way worse at ni-”
“HERNANDEZ!” bellowed a gruff voice, echoing between the stone gates of the town.
Immediately Edgar straightened to attention while spinning on one foot, in a way that only a soldier in trouble can do, in order to face his superior.
“Hernandez, what are you doing!?” Yelled a man that clearly matched his commanding voice.
“Sir, I was just trying to explain to Mia… I mean Ms. Mia, that she would be smart to wait for a patrol heading her way instead of leaving for home with dark nearing so soon!” Edgar managed to get out.
The gruff man having approached close to her friend before he even had finish speaking, the man surprisingly took in his statement with a contemplative look in his eyes. Turning slowly towards Mia the man with a much more level and polite tone asked; “Is that so…Ms.Mia?”
Startled by his abrupt change in tone towards her, Mia squeaked out her response. “Yes sir, Edgar, I mean the Private here was just trying to convince me to delay my trip home until I can tag behind a patrol heading my way.”
With a nod of his head the man continued his polite questioning. “So where is it that you live? The Private needs to get back to work, but I can figure out which patrol you need to go with.”
“I live on the ‘Pandora Estate’, I think it was formerly called the ‘Lytel Estate’”.
“Understood, let's go check the schedule. If you would follow me.” the gruff man asked of Mia before turning back towards her friend. “Hernandez, you did good. I am not entirely convinced that the talk started that way, but keep up the good work keeping people safe.” And with that said, the man waved Mia over to the guard station.
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Once inside, the man, clearly someone with authority, indicated that Mia should sit in a chair that was in front of a desk that was clearly his. As the man sat down he politely continued talking to Mia. “Sorry about the gruff introduction, you clearly know the Private so are most likely well aware that he likes to talk. He is a great soldier, but I have to keep him on task and was afraid that the shift supervisor would have come down on him if he had turned that way. Oh, I just realized that I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Sergeant Buzzy.”
“Oh, well that was nice of you. But wouldn’t it have made more sense to approach more quietly?” Mia asked with logical curiosity.
“Not really. If he was indeed goofing off then I could decide the punishment since I was clearly taking care of it, and in this case I am able to publicly draw attention to his good deed. Overall that is the best way to handle it…. But really we should leave this conversation here and get you on your way.”
Flipping through a few papers before finding what was clearly a schedule, the Sergeant flipped it onto his desk next to a map that was displayed to the side on a larger parchment. “So it looks like the patrol that you needed was … number five. Ugh, I think they left about 10 minutes ago.”
“Oh, well I guess I will - ” Mia started to say before being cut off.
“No, you will not go home in the dark. This unit has already committed to escorting you, please let us do this for you.” And in a much more quiet conspiring tone, he added; “Don’t let Edgar lose this from being added to his evaluation.” And with that, he stood and excused himself before walking further into the guard post.
Not sure what to do, but definitely wanting to help her friend, Mia quietly waited for the Sergeant to return.
Roughly half an hour later the Sergeant returned following with whom was clearly his superior.
“Ms. Mia, this is Lieutenant Dan, he is the officer in charge tonight. I explained our circumstances and he would like to talk to you.”
“Hi, as the Sergeant said, I am Lieutenant Dan. I just wanted to clarify your destination. If I am not mistaken, I saw you during the beginning of the season when you just arrived… am I correct in that?”
“Yes sir, you are. You had said that I was one of your last stops, and that you wished me well.”
“If I also remember right, you were not originally at the old ‘Lytel Estate’, am I also correct on that statement?”
“Yes sir… I moved to the ‘Pandora estate’, it was renamed, not long after the welcoming ceremony.”
“Does Brad still live there? I am sorry if I am prying too much.” The man apologetically asked.
“Yes he does, we opened a business together. Golden Tree, the future supplier of the best produce in all of the realms!” Mia said, using her merchanting skills instinctually in order to advertise the business.
“That is good to hear, I am glad that he is doing well. I remember him having had that accident, so I was worried that he had given up.” Relief obvious on the man’s face. “Well, let's get you back home young lady. I am going to send a few guys to help escort you home. I don’t want to risk a repeat of Brad’s injuries if an event starts while you are out on the road. Lord only knows that we are overdue for another one. It's either now or the next few days before the end of the season.”
“There will be another one!? Should I go buy a weapon for us?” Mia asked, visibly worried having been reminded of that tragic night that had not only really sparked her feelings for Brad, but also the night that had also taken him.
“There will be. But like I had said before, stay inside and you will be safe. Your farm may get roughed up, but just stay inside and don't provoke the monsters.”
Nodding her head vigorously Mia quickly promised her future compliance with the advice.
“Sergeant, relay to the shift lead that we need an escort for the young lady back to her home. Have them do it as an impromptu readiness exercise, it will help us in the coming days for the men to be prepared.”
“Yes sir, I will go let him know now.” the sergeant said before excusing himself in order to relay the orders.
Looking back towards Mia, the lieutenant added; “Just give us a few minutes and you will be on your way, can we interest you a warm cup of water while waiting?”