The four knights stood in a circle with their helmets off. They were just finishing what appeared to have been an equipment inspection as we approached. Multiple duffel bags made of a mid-tech polyester and stitched leather medley lay at their feet. The way all four pairs of eyes fell upon us made it clear who would be doing most of the packing before we set out.

I suppressed a sigh. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing. If any big monsters came our way, it wasn't like Elli or I would be doing the fighting.

Sir Alain Hembersworth stepped forward first, surprising me by stripping off and dropping one segmented, white-enameled armor gauntlet to the ground before reaching out a hand in a gentleman's greeting. My eyes widened as I hesitantly brought my own hand forth, and he chuckled before seizing it in a firm grasp.

Standing this close to him, I noticed how much he towered over us, the monster core surgeries of his class having added at least a couple of feet.

“We meet again,” he said, giving my hand a torturous squeeze before turning to Elli.

To her, he gave a slight bow, and she returned it.

“I am indebted to you both for finding that phase gem. It played wonderfully in combat trials on the field, and I expect it will give me quite the advantage in battle.”

“You're welcome?” I asked more than answered.

Elli shook her head, while the other knights standing behind Sir Alain chuckled at my nervous discomfort. They wore the striped orange and black chest plates of their auxiliary rank—knights, but not of nearly the same status as Alain himself. The fact that he was giving us such a warm greeting boded well.

Well, it would if I weren't ham-fisting our meeting.

Elli stepped forward.

“Thanks for the words, but you paid for the installation work and paid well at that. That's at least two months' estate tax on the hangar, good sir. We're happy to be here in such a beneficial and cooperative agreement.”

Elli stressed those last few words heavily, and I realized that there was some sort of negotiation going on here. Sure, we had documents and contracts, but what was being sorted out now was the means and manner in which those contracts would play out during the journey.

Sir Alain seemed to be enjoying the antics. He swept his bare hand through his short, sandy blond hair, his blue eyes glinting like sapphires in the rising sunlight.

“You really aren't a pushover, free woman. A shame. I feel this serf here would lick my boots were I to simply say the word.”

Electricity sparked through me.

“Like fuck I would,” I growled.

“Oh ho ho!” CD said, his words rolling through my mind. “Ape-on-ape combat is such an amusing way to pass the time.”

I stiffened, only to relax as he laughed delightedly.

“You found your tongue, serf! How wonderful! Ellinor, you have done good work and I find you to be one of charm and ability. Do you vouch for this man?”

She stepped next to me, her body touching mine as she flung her arm around my shoulder.

“He's only a serf because life fucked him over. But he's never stopped fighting, and he's as tough as any one of you.”

Sir Alain nodded.

“Good enough for me. No fuckery, knight's honor.”

Behind him, the other knights stirred, clearly a bit put off by all that had just occurred. Sir Alain heard the creak and shift of their bodies and turned to them.

“Unless there are some complaints? Come, let us parley. Introductions are in order. This woman here is the free woman Ellinor Nedare. A mech mechanic and engineer. She does good work and I would very much suggest her services, assuming you don't piss her off during our journey.”

Elli bowed, and Alain turned to me.

“This is a serf scavenger who found me a phase gem, and who Ellinor says is good at what he does. Looks solid enough.”

Alain punctuated the end of his introduction with a surprise shove to my chest. I stumbled slightly backward but didn't fall, and the other knights nodded appreciatively.

“Alaric. My name's Alaric.”

“No surname?” one of the auxiliary knights asked.

He stepped forward from his gaggle, a man with cultivated dark curls that bounced as he moved. He bore green eyes, not much different than those of the monsters Elli and I had watched from the city wall. I noticed that he had added his own enameled designs of dragons and beasts to his auxiliary plate.

“Sir Guillaume de Montfort,” Alain proclaimed.

“Not yet, Sir Guillaume,” I answered. “But I plan to have one soon enough. Just after I buy my freedom from the Scavenger's Guild.”

He nodded and smirked.

“Why don't we give you one, just for the lot of us? Would make me think a bit higher of your status.”

The others chuckled, and I wondered if I were the butt of a joke. Whatever that was all about, I didn't get it.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Yeah, call him Alaric Dinglenuts. He might be of age, but he ain't no man, not with no service honors.”

I could feel my anger start to rise again.

“I wanted to join. My testing recommendations suggested I be allowed into service but the guildmaster turned it down."

“Sir Conrad von Falkenstein,” Alain proclaimed.

The man looked like an eternal crank, with a sour face under long, flowing black hair and gray eyes. His face bore a week's worth of beard, and it was patchy as if he had a rash underneath. His armor looked the same—dented, cracked, and ill-maintained.

“A real man would have found a way,” he growled, staring me straight into my eyes.

“A real knight would have fixed his armor,” I growled back, not backing down.

The rest of the knights oohed at the comeback, and Sir Conrad nodded.

“Yeah, he'll do. No objections here.”

The last of the knights stepped forward.

“Well met,” he said.

I looked over at Alain, knowing the greeting protocol quite thoroughly by this point.

“Sir Eadric of Wessex,” he stated.

I looked back at the knight, over his broad-shouldered and imposing figure, a bald head and thick, dark beard poking out of his armor. If his skin were green, he'd look like a gigantic, bearded turtle who'd learned to walk upright.

“Not gonna try to piss me off or make jokes?” I asked.

“Why bother?” he answered. “I was alright with you when I saw you could carry your own pack, Alaric. It would seem we are a party now. For that, I shall call you neophyte.”

“We work as a team, and get what’s get, got it Alaric Neophyte?” Sir Conrad asked. “Out there, we all got more rights than what the papers say we do.”

I smiled at that, stretching out my hand. Sir Conrad shucked off his gauntlet, gripping my hand firmly.

“Good to know,” I said.

Sir Guillaume stepped forward next, his green eyes glinting with amusement.

“Well met, Alaric,” he said, shucking off his gauntlet with a flourish and offering his hand. I took it, feeling the strength in his grip as well.

Sir Eadric was the last. I didn’t see his gauntlet come off, but his hand was already bare when it met mine.

“I see good fortune in this travel. Watch us, listen to our advice, and we’ll all come out well.”

“Alright then,” Alain said, his voice cutting through the morning air. “Let's get moving. We've got a lot to pack.”

I glanced around at the scattered duffel bags and equipment. The knights' mechs stood nearby, their armored forms towering over us and looking quite intimidating in the rising light. I knew that each mech had large storage compartments set into their cockpits for military campaigns and adventuring sorties, but looking over the supplies on the ground, I realized they were twice as voluminous as I'd previously guessed.

Elli finished her own round of little bows between her and the knights, and moved to one of the duffel bags, her hands deftly checking the straps and fastenings.

“These look heavy,” she noted, lifting one with a grunt. “Must be carrying a lot of gear.”

“Everything that was in the mission contract and then some,” Sir Guillaume replied, surprising us both by stepping forward and grabbing his own duffel. “Extra armor maintenance kits, rations, emergency medical supplies. We don't go into the wilds unprepared.”

Elli and I shared a glance and chuckled. He smiled at us.

“You too?” he asked, indicating our own bags with a nod.

“Yes.”

“Smart,” he said, lugging his duffel over to one of the Toxotois. “Come with me and drop your packs in with mine. We’ll be rotating who you ride with, and I’ve got you for day one. Plus I’m really looking forward to the company.”

We came with him, and he dropped his bag, climbed the adjustable mounting ladder to the cockpit, and then stashed his bag inside. I climbed next, marveling at the distance and effort required to get my goods from the ground into the head of the mech. I tried to take Elli’s bag and do it for her, but she kindly told me to get out of the way and take care of it on her own.

We all spread out, helping wherever we could. As we worked, the knights' personalities began to come through. Sir Conrad, despite his earlier gruffness, was meticulous in his packing, making sure everything was secured just right. He might have looked rough, but there was no denying his professional competence. He knew what he was on about.

“You know,” Conrad said, as he adjusted the straps on a bag, “A poorly packed mech can be a liability in battle. Everything needs to be balanced, or you risk throwing off the entire system.”

“How so?” I asked as he stepped to the foot of a ladder.

“If you put too much weight on one side, the mech’ll be more likely to fall over. And if you don’t secure it right, it’ll all break open and you’ll be clobbered by as many stim packs, armor plates, and hard rations as you thought to carry,” he answered, laughing. “If I weren’t already suited up, I could show you a nice gash I got from some untether cooking knives. Found an opening in my mail, they did.”

“Yeowtch,” I replied, wincing at the thought of it. “Thanks for the tip.”

Sir Guillaume, on the other hand, kept things light. He joked and bantered as we worked, his charm making the time fly.

“Careful with that one, Alaric,” Guillaume said with a grin, nodding to the bag I was struggling with. “It's got good wine in it. Wouldn't want to waste that on the ground.”

I laughed, adjusting my grip. “Wouldn't dream of it, Sir Guillaume.”

Sir Eadric wasn’t much of a talker. He worked quietly and efficiently, occasionally murmuring his thanks when I got over to help him with his mech.

Throughout it all, CD's voice buzzed in my mind, offering annoying advice on how to pack more efficiently or reminding me of items I might have overlooked. I got the feeling that he was starting to feel lonely.

“Watch your back with that one, ape. No, not that angle. You are lifting wrong!” he advised.

I ignored his nagging and wondered if Elli was getting the same treatment.

As the sun rose higher, the holds of the mechs slowly filled. Alain supervised, his keen eyes missing nothing.

“Make sure those medical supplies are easily accessible,” he instructed Elli, who was working on another mech. “We don't want to be fumbling for them in an emergency.”

Elli nodded, securing the last of the bags in her mech's compartment.

“All set,” she said, stepping back to admire her work. “Should be good to go.”

When we finally finished, Alain stepped forward, drawing out an old scroll case from his pack. He unscrewed it, pulling out a series of maps, their edges worn and faded. Unfurling one, he held it out wide in front of himself.

“Here's our route to Chic-A-Go,” he began, his voice authoritative. “We'll follow this old numbered road, should take us out of the buggy stench of the forests and swamps and give us some good surface to walk on.”

“What's a numbered road?” Elli asked.

Sir Alain smiled.

“The ancients made great tracks for journeys between the cities of their empire. These are the numbered roads. This one I am seeking is called 80. They named them with numbers, so many they were. These roads are wide and even walled in places. They are all old tech and even though they might be cracked and overgrown, they still usually provide a clear path. They were built to last, and we'll make good time if we stick to them.”

Elli and I leaned in, studying the map. The route was dotted with notations and numbers, so many cities and other things that we didn't really understand.

“We’ll have to be cautious,” Sir Guillaume added, his tone serious. “The numbered roads are convenient. That makes them hunting areas as well. We can't stay in a mech more than 24 hours in a go, with 8 hours in-between re-entry, or we risk severe mech sickness, so when it comes time to camp, we have to keep our own watch. Or else double our camp time to cycle everyone. Which given there's 4 of us, would take a long time."

“It's a good break, anyways,” Sir Eadric rumbled. “Just remember to stay alert, and keep in mind that during those 8 hours, it's blade and bow time. Anything comes our way, mechs aren't doing shit.”

Sir Conrad remained silent, his intense gaze studying the map. He held up a hand to show he was finished, and Sir Alain rolled it up and returned it to the scroll case. “Let's move out. We’ve got a long journey ahead, and daylight's wasting.”

Each of us took to our assigned mechs, Elli and I to Sir Guillaume’s Toxotai, and we started lumbering off through the forests of The Wilds.