Approaching Tormeus Airfield, Walled City of Tormeus, Three Weeks Later, 7:23 PM
The Christmas holidays were usually the days that much of the Italian Armed Forces would be on their leave to be with family. But onboard a C-27J Spartan, soldiers lined up inside as they sat in their respective places. Much of them casually lounged about as they waited to reach their destination. A gruff man with a light scruffy beard and short hair sat in his seat as he read a book in his hands. It was his personal copy of the Bible, and around his neck was his cross.
Michele Luca had a lot more downs than ups in his life. The reason with him being deployed during the holidays was that he volunteered for it. He had nobody waiting for him, or to wait for. A hardened man who worked for the Guidicelli Crime Family, he found his hope when he rediscovered his grandmother's old Bible during the worst night he's endured. And he has since vowed to change his ways as he opted to use his skills for the Italian Army.
Beside him was a younger recruit. Gina Setti was a relatively new member to the group. Sporting black hair, and fair skin, her brown eyes curiously watched Michele read his Bible as she tapped her foot against the floor. Gina had finished basic training and was now well on her way to her first serious mission. So she wanted to be on the good side of her comrades. So with a little smile, Gina spoke, "You've come prepared, haven't you?"
Michele looked to Gina. He then adjusted his position in his seat as he spoke, "This isn't just for the field... I've had this Bible in my hands ever since I was a little boy." He explained simply as he read the book's page.
"Ah... I thought you only brought that since we're being stationed in some demon place. Even my mother tried to convince me to wear a cross but I'm not exactly the religious type," Gina said with a shrug.
"Everyone has their personal choice. But a cross during this time is not such a bad idea," Michele said as he closed his Bible after a bit of motion sickness hit him. "Your name is... Setti, yes?"
Gina perked up at that before she smiled brightly. It felt nice that at least someone remembered her. Not like she remembers the others anyway, except for Michele, "Yes sir. And you're lieutenant Luci, right?"
"That's right, young lady. Nice to meet you more properly," Michele said as he shook Gina's hand who nodded.
Suddenly the intercom of the plane crackled to life. Every soldier inside stopped what they were doing as in humour, the pilot spoke, "Ladies and gentlemen this is your captain speaking. We're now approaching Tormeus Airfield for landing. Kindly stow away your tables and in-flight entertainment as we're about to land shortly. Please buckle as we will be landing in a moment. Thank you for flying with us on ITA Airways."
The soldiers inside laughed a bit at the joke announcement which included Gina who did as she was told. Michele was less so, instead quietly buckling up as everyone now looked outside any window they could.
The Doors to the World changed drastically during the past month. Instead of the ancient Roman fort the soldiers saw on their debriefing, the castra has gotten an upgrade. The dark torches of the street were dwarfed by the bright lights on the walls as the watch towers looked to be thicker and bulkier. There was scaffolding all over the walls as the north side of the fort seemed to have been prioritised due to it being rebuilt and upgraded by the Italians. There were way more modern equipment on the ground, as new structures popped up, meant to house the Italians behind the walls.
Outside one of the barracks, Dante watched the C-27J descend onto the air field beyond the walls, which last he saw was nothing more than a concrete lot of tents. Three weeks was only enough time to build some structures and upgrade the walls, he thought.
Dante then looked back inside as he adjusted his coat. Tommaso was in his bed as he sat silent. With a frown, the blond man entered as he shut the door behind him. Dante huffed before he replaced his frown with a smile as he approached his best friend.
Tommaso definitely wasn't as sociable as Dante, that's for sure. But he hasn't been so quiet before either. Tommaso barely spoke a peep, even to Dante. Today was attempt number billion as Dante sat across the man on his own bed, "Jeez the outside's gotten colder. I never thought I'd feel something like it."
Tommaso didn't look up. In his hand was a personal journal of some sorts. Dante eyed it before he frowned as he snapped his fingers in front of his friend's face, "Aye Tommaso, I'm talking to you."
Tommaso then looked up before he shrugged, "I guess..." He said before he looked back down. And like clockwork, whenever Dante tried to take a peek of the page, Tommaso hid it against his chest.
Dante sighed deeply, "Dude seriously... this'll be the millionth time I ask this. What's going on with you? Ever since I picked you up from the hospital you haven't spoken to me as much... Was it about us getting hit still?"
"No no, that's... water under the bridge," Tommaso said with a sigh as he shoved the notebook into his bag before he laid down. "I'm just tired..."
"Dude... we've known each other for what, ten years? This is not you being tired. Now seriously, what's going on?" Dante asked more firmly.
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"I said it's nothing. Get off my case, man..." Tommaso said more hesitantly as he hid under his blanket. With a simple sigh, Dante just decided to leave him alone.
As Tommaso kept the blanket over him, he frowned deeply. He felt awful that he was distancing himself from Dante after everything they went through together. His memories of Timutheus messed with his head, and he truly couldn't tell if what's real and what's fake anymore with his past life. Especially now that his dreams were vivid enough for him to feel a pain in his soul.
Tommaso wondered now if he should have stayed back in Italy for the holidays. Even if that meant staying in an apartment alone while everyone around him celebrated with their families.
...
As the truck approached the Doors to the World, the soldiers all looked out in immense curiosity at such a gargantuan ancient structure.
Gina looked out like a young tourist on holiday. As she took in the sights of the immense fort, she would notice an incredible mix of modern and medieval all over. There were Italians speaking with the locals, as some Topan soldiers appeared to be enjoying some new technology. Medieval cavalry units rode alongside tanks as they guided the iron beasts within the walls, all the while bright street lights were enough to dwarf the torches and lanterns that some houses hung up for the night.
The truck then came to a stop. Gina was the first to hop off with the others as she eyed the building in front. Some sort of house with an old tavern sign. Looked to be abandoned before it was converted as the Italians' little information centre. Michele followed soon after as so did the others. Through the window, Gina could see rows of seats lined up in front of a projector.
Across the street, two individuals watched the new group unload from the truck as one, a half-human, half-elf stood with his hands on his waist. His brown, messy hair made him look almost immature much like a teenager if it weren't for the impressive armour he had on him. Gai Kronos eyed the sight before him as he spoke, "More of them just keep coming huh? I've never seen Tormeus be so busy."
His friend meanwhile nodded. He stood beside Gai as he sported long blond hair, his sword on his back as he wore an even more grandeur set of an armour. The leather headband with a small ruby on it definitely showed that Moah Mades was of noble descent, fit for a high elf like him, "I know. That's the... sixth carriage of them I've seen so far."
Gai rubbed his chin, "The boss said they're descendants of the War God Emissaries right? But... they don't look like them. At all."
"I know, but it's what he said. I believe him anyway. Thousands of years can change a lot of the Emissaries' culture. They have those ancient letters on their iron carriages as well," Moah said.
Gai was about to speak before the door behind them opened up. A wave of calmness washed over the young halfling as he smiled at the person in front of him. A young elf woman with shining blonde hair and bright green eyes had a big smile as in her hands was a paper bag. A new little curiosity brought by the Italians were some desserts. And when the local bakery announced it was making them, Elei Ruina had to buy some, "I got it! I got the last batch, thank the gods." She said with a laugh.
The two men then eyed the bag in Elei's hands as she opened it up. Gai and Moah both took a look inside. It was... some sort of thin pastry wrapped around a cream topped with what looked like cocoa. If it weren't for the smell it was emanating, Gai would have been skeptical about it, "Oh wow... what is that?"
Elei had a look of excitement, "The Emissaries call them cannolis! Mister Baron took this recipe to create on his own last week. He said it's absolutely amazing." She said as she reached into the bag and handed the two men one cannoli each.
Moah eyed the pastry in his hands. It certainly looked and smelled inviting. Not wanting it to get cold, he immediately took a bite. After a few moments, the high elf went wide eyed as he spoke, elated, "Holy— this tastes amazing!"
Gai had his own childish look on his face as he wiped some cream on the side of his lips, "This is the sweetest thing I've tasted...!"
Elei was just as giddy if not more as she jumped a bit in place, "Ahh this is definitely my new favourite now... Those Italians know how to make good food." She said with a little laugh.
As Gai chewed on the dessert, the skepticism he had of the Italians lessened all thanks to some food.
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Main Gate, Topan Isthmus, Four Days Later
Wind blew through the pine trees near the Main Gate of the Doors to the World as snow lazily fell. Much like the walls of Tarmeus, the first and frontline wall was now better built thanks to the efforts of the Italians. There was now minimal scaffolding on the backside of the wall while the guard towers were now made of sturdier materials than wood though some had to be content with sandbags and barb wire. The spotlights of the wall pierced through the thick snowfall of the blizzard as on the watchtowers, Gai had in his hand another cannoli as he ate.
Beside him was Moah who drank a cup of instant Italian coffee. Cheap to the Italians, but practically gourmet to him. Gai took a moment to adjust his coat as he thought about how much things have changed since the Italians' arrival. Topa as a whole has become a whole lot more busy with the descendants' arrival, and all Gai could think of was that the cannoli was a blessing.
Moah meanwhile looked to the side. In another watch tower were two Italians who were quite focused. One of them held a strange weapon called a 'machine gun' which was perched between the sandbags. He then looked to another tower. The soldier there held what was called a 'sniper rifle'. Ever since the start of the Italo-Topan defensive pact, Moah took it upon himself to learn about the weapons of the visiting soldiers.
In the nearby tower, the aforementioned sniper yawned as he kept himself and his rifle in position. There wasn't much that they can see through the blizzard. Even with his scope he could only discern shadows among the fog. Tree. Tree. Rock. Person.
Wait... person? No... persons. People. A crowd. The sniper went wide eyed as he shook himself more awake. He then focused. There was a crowd of some sort. And they carried... blunt weapons? And, one no, two of them was huge! At least as tall as a small house, surely. He then yelled.
"Unknown persons, inbound!"
The Italians immediately moved. Everyone aimed their guns as the lights shined through the fog.
Gai and Moah immediately perked up. As Gai then quickly finished his food while Moah set his coffee aside, both of them grabbed their binoculars.
Moah brushed aside some of his hair as he narrowed his eyes. With the spotlights he was able to discern who it could be. In the distance, there was a figure who looked to be sitting. And yet he was moving, as if he was being carried.
The figure hard a huge set of horns. He wore some sort of goggles. He had the body of a man yet the legs of a goat. And he looked bored as he leaned against the armrest of the wooden throne. It... it was...
"It's Nosgorath!!"