Kelston was a city, but only now that Rane was older did he understand the military’s influence on it, which was to say that the entire city, including the civilian sectors, were all meticulously planned and fabricated by the Moderators of the Empire. Auryck could be described as sprawling, with houses, shops, and warehouses littered throughout various districts of the city by class. Keltson had no such de facto influences on its layout.
As Rane and his squad walked through the western gate, he could see nearly all the way to the fort in the center, where all important personnel worked. To the North, there were shopping districts and civilian homes, but none of those had direct roads. Those roads tended to follow irregular ‘z’ patterns, and either looped back to the same road, or ended in a dead end, greatly limiting how many ways an attacking force could move through the city, even in the event that the gates were breached.
They followed the road for a while, ignoring the cries of the myriad street vendors lining the main road. The price of goods to be purchased here was awful, and they got rations for free, anyways.
After walking deeper into the city, the blurred voices of the vendors began to grow quieter, and upon the first military checkpoint, disappeared altogether. The checkpoint itself seemed like an extension of the city itself, with the two buildings on their left and right suddenly protruding into the wide street, forcing all traffic into a couple doors barely wide enough for two carts to pass through simultaneously. Atop was a flat roof that contained a unit with a rare set of gear.
The squad atop the checkpoint was nearly all in on range. They could not see clearly from below, but each soldier stationed on the building would be carrying dozens upon dozens of bolts, yet without a crossbow in sight. Their specialization was in range of direct control, and could wield such weapons with sinister accuracy.
The gate was already open, and the only member of the squad to stop at the checkpoint was their captain, who would need to sign the checkpoint log. There was no need to hold up familiar faces.
“You heard?” asked the gate captain.
“No, been out on patrol today, and most of the week,” responded Puddles.
“Major orders finally coming in, High Commander Havertz gonna give the address within the week.”
“Ah,” remarked Puddles, “so they’ve finally decided that it’s time to push the front.”
“Seems like it,” the gate captain paused for a moment. He was a grizzled man, clearly nearing the end of what his service in the military of the empire could be. “It’s rough out there. You youngins stay sharp.”
“We’ve been pushing steady for the past two winters, my squad knows how to handle themselves.”
The man sighed and shook his head, “snot’ the same. We’ve all run circles around Kelston for years. It’s barely even real bush anymore. Out there, beyond the first peaks? There’s true monsters about.”
Puddles kept a smile and nodded in recognition of the advice. “I guess I’ll just take your word for it, sir. Have a great night!” Puddles said as he put down the quill and rushed to catch back up with his squad.
Their first stop had to be a tannery. They were not capable of working with the tough hide of the fenull themselves, and now, Puddles knew that they would likely not get another chance to get this done for a long while. A deployment like this would complete their first terms.
The squad moved in a loose pack through the streets of Kelston in a loose formation by pure force of habit. They stuck close and laughed often as they turned a corner that would take them closer to both their barracks and the armory district.
Soldiers, while given uniforms, were held responsible for keeping their own gear and weapons. The best soldiers needed little in the way of weapons, but everyone could benefit from a warm cloak or a leather gorget to protect the neck.
Other than absolutely vital areas, most soldiers remained very lightly armed, as most classients could close a wound, or at least staunch their bleeding, which covered the basics of what would kill most participants in combat.
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They dropped the fenull’s pelt off and set out for their barracks, where they would meet the rest of the 72nd, and hopefully hear the briefing from one of the tallies. The military district was bustling more than usual, abuzz with rumor, hearsay, and outright lies, but, if one listened, there was consistency to it all.
Soon, their stay in Kelston would come to an end. The campaign to push the borders of the Ambient Empire was on the horizon. The mood was not somber, or contemplative. Soldiers have not often been known as great philosophers. Excitement hung in the air like a thick mist. Someone was yelling loudly at every street table, and in such an environment, an argument could heat up quickly. Rane saw more than one spat on their way back to their place of rest.
The district of primarily young men could taste adventure, and Rane’s own squad was no different. Rane was no different.
“Captain, is it true?” Rane asked, matching his stride to walk beside Puddles.
“I spoke with the gate captain on the way in, and it seems that way. Major orders’ gonna come before the week is out, and there is only really one major order we could get. Well, I guess we could also be getting attacked here in Kelston, but an order like that would have the city on lockdown before sunup. There are procedures in place for it.”
“I can’t wait. Another week of walking circles around Kelston may have been the end for me,” said Aabe.
Sven weighed in, “That’s nothing. I used to dream of girls. For the past month, I just dream that I’m walking through the woods again. And worse, sometimes you guys are there. Then I wake up, and spend the WHOLE DAY WALKING THROUGH THE WOODS.”
The rest nodded in agreement. If there were any dissenting opinions, they mattered not. When the orders came, they would simply follow them. There were no other options, even if elation was not a requirement.
As they arrived at a wide, three story building that was their barracks, they were greeted by Low Tally Gap.
“Welcome back, Captain Puddles. Your squad is the last I have to account for. Meet half past sundown in the courtyard for the briefing.”
“Yes’sir,” their captain quickly replied before turning to them. “You’ve got about 30 minutes to get presentable. We smell like cat piss right now. Dismissed.”
Rane hurried to his room, shared with Klein and Aabe. Squad captains got their own room, leaving the rest of the squad to split evenly. If Rane had known that, he may have tried a bit harder to reach officer status. At the time, it hadn’t seemed like anything except a slight change in pay for more responsibility, but after sharing a room with two other men for over a year, sometimes Rane even missed the drafty walls of his home back in Auryck.
The men burst in the door and began shedding clothing, all of it being thrown into piles near the head of their cots. At the foot were chests containing the rest of their clothes and personal belongings. For now, though, the only one that mattered was getting their sponges. Rane had scoffed at these being a part of their kit, at first, but that was before he had been assaulted by an angry ferull. He swore that even their blood was more pungent than other creatures.
The nearly nude trio filed out of the room just as quickly, their speed born from spartan efficiency. They made it to the washroom of the building at the same time as the other segment of their squad, with their captain following not even seconds behind.
They took seats along a singular stone aqueduct that went from one end of the room to the other and immediately got to the work of washing the day away. The water was cool, and somehow, everyone was silent, despite the tension around. The sound of flowing water and the soft scrape of sponges against bare flesh was the only thing filling the room.
It was a reprieve that Rane wished to take it for longer. As he ran his sponge down his side, it occurred to him that he likely had few of these reprieves left. Soon, they would be weeks away from the closest thing to a washroom. Such a small thing, but one that would surely take a toll as the weeks turned to months, and men began to reek the same as beasts.
“We’ve spent enough time getting pretty, boys. Go grab plainclothes and head straight to the courtyard,” Puddles ordered.
*****
The courtyard was loud with whispers. It was not a large space for the gathering of over 50 men. Their low breathes stacked onto one another summatively, resulting in a constant drone of noise that filled and echoed throughout the space full of hedges, and surrounded by brick.
As High Tally Hertz entered the courtyard, the drone fell to a buzz, then to a murmur, until, in the span of mere moments, they could hear the sound of leather boots shifting nervously on the stone tiles. Hertz made his way through the middle of the crowd and continued. He would not address them with men behind his back. He made a point to face everyone directly when speaking.
“It seems that I have your attention without having to cry out or threaten you with foul duties. This is good. It speaks to how far you have come as soldiers. No,” he shook his head, “not just soldiers. You were that as soon as you left the training camp outside of Auryck. Professionals. You have faced combat, loss, and the edges of the Kelston Great Wood. Now, soon, we will be given orders to face it in earnest. You are all ready, and the Commander is in the fortress as speak here, poring over maps with moderators and the other commanders. We will meet them tomorrow at the Kelston Fortress Plaza, where High Commander Havertz will give the final orders. Take care of your affairs here, as before the week is out. We will be deep in the bush. Rest well, and sharpen not your blades, but yourselves.”
High Tally Hertz left the courtyard on the opposite side of his entrance. Low Tally Gap gave the dismissal before the murmurs could drown the order.
Rane looked to the open sky above the courtyard. Clouds were gathering around the bright moon, threatening to hide its light from the dark world. He would sleep well tonight.