While we walked back to the bandit’s camp I told Sarah about my time at the academy. We didn't know each other that well but we had fought together. And she seemed genuinely interested.

“Ah, the field trip. Your discovery of the vampiric nightshades has certainly made some waves.” Sarah said, as I told her about that part of our adventures.

“What do people say about it?” Cassie asked.

“There are a lot of rumours. Some even think Duchess Valeria planted those seeds herself.” Sarah responded.

“That makes no sense. The lumber industry is important to her and those plants would have hurt it.” Skadi said.

“I agree. A more credible theory is that Ilestria is stirring up trouble. Or that another duke is trying to hurt Duchess Valeria. It could also be an independent organisation. That you have found more seeds here makes me believe someone is targeting the kingdom itself.” Sarah theorised.

“Clearly Ilestria. We should burn some of the border forts. Show them not to mess with us.” Edith commented.

Sarah sighed. “We can’t just attack a nation on a hunch. You know, it could be someone trying to provoke a war.”

“Eh. You can never go wrong with thrashing some lunatics.” Edith responded.

“I take it you are not very fond of Ilestria?” Helena asked.

“Nope. They are just a crazy cult pretending to be a nation.” Edith said.

“What would a vampiric nightshade infestation even do? Why would someone want that?” I asked.

“Well, in Korrah it would hurt the industry. And it would politically weaken the duchess, since she would have failed to protect her subjects. Here? This forest is mostly a hunting ground for nobles. They come here for entertainment. And it’s controlled by the king himself. It would hurt the royal family if visiting nobles got attacked. It would also draw a lot of soldiers here. Generally, if someone were to create a lot of problems the army would be busy.” She explained.

“Isn’t our army quite large anyway?” I wondered.

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“True. But we also have a large border. The north is constantly fighting against monsters and we need to keep our roads and villages protected. While the nobles can have private armies, it is the responsibility of the king to ensure that monsters are kept under control.” Sarah said.

“Wait, aren't local nobles in charge of keeping their territory safe? You said it would look bad for the duchess if stuff happened in her forest.” I pointed out.

“Here is where it gets complicated.” Sarah said. “The royal army has bases and troops in every duchy. They have their own command structure and are responsible for keeping the villages, cities and roads safe. They protect trading routes and ensure that our food supply is not compromised. But they do not cover private industries. So the duchess has to protect her lumber with her own troops. There is often a bit of a fight over who is responsible for what. Anything the royal military protects is taxed higher. Often there are local deals on what falls under royal protection.”

I scratched my head. “Do nobles have any power over the royal army?”

“Kind of.” Sarah said. “Ultimately the royal army serves the king. But local troops are supposed to follow the local nobles, as long as it does not contradict their orders. That is especially true for the 5th legion who is responsible for internal security.”

“So you are part of the 5th legion?” I asked.

“No, I am part of the 1st. Do you know about our legions?” She asked.

“No.” I admitted.

“Ok. So the 1st legion is sometimes called the royal legion. The royal guard is a part of them. They handle a lot of the investigations, protect the palace and handle a lot of direct requests from the royals. We are their errand boys and girls. We are also the smallest.”

“Wait, isn’t every legion the same size?” I asked.

“No. The biggest is the 5th legion. They are mostly a peacekeeping and monster suppression force. Then we have the 2nd and 3rd legions. They are our main offensive force. They also protect the borders. If there were too many internal problems, like a monster surge, they would help the 5th legion. The 4th legion is handling our navy and protects our ports.”

“Thanks, I did not know any of that.” I admitted.

“You will learn more about the military structure next year. The first year at the academy focuses a lot on personal progress. They want to make sure you can fight. Afterwards they teach you more about giving orders, logistics and other boring things.” She explained.

“So, why are you here? If you are from the 1st legion.” Cassie asked.

“Because we are investigating disturbances on behalf of the king.” She answered.

“So they don’t trust the 5th to handle it? Or suspect they could be involved?” Helena asked.

“Now that is a dangerous line of thought.” Sarah said with a smile.

“The 5th would probably think those seeds are candy and eat them.” Edith commented.

Sarah looked at her.

“What? You know I am right. I used to serve in the 5th.” Edith added.

Sarah sighed. “Who knows what the royals think. But we tend to get all the investigation stuff.”

“So you are really good at investigations?” Cassie asked.

“No. I am really good at stabbing things. That would have been too useful for the 5th so they gave me this job instead.” Edith complained.

Sarah sighed but she had a smile on her face. The fact that Edith spoke so freely indicated that they had a good relationship. Most commanders wouldn’t have tolerated her behaviour.

After some time we arrived at our destination. We had looted most of the stuff but you could still see some things lying around. Like broken weapons and parts of corpses. I had animated all viable ones but some had been too damaged. Or belonged to undead that I could not reanimate.

Sarah looked around the area. “That must have been quite the battle. Now let’s see if you girls missed anything.”