[CW] Get me hooked. Reel me in. You may write about anything, but there must be no true beginning or conclusion. Pluck your story from the middle of your "book", without any context as to what may be happening.

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"What the hell do you mean the Guard isn't here? Last I knew, there were thirty men on horses supposed to be ready and waiting to meet us since yesterday!" Cursing under hushed tongue, the man jumped down from the wagon without any of the regal air one aware of his position might expect, marching quickly towards the posted soldier of the quiet outpost. "Where the hell are they if they're not here?" His voice rang out loud enough to startle birds from the sleepy looking trees along the roadside, as voices and shouts of command issued from within the barracks in unmistakable panic.

As it always seemed to be in such stations, far from the capital or neighboring cities within Doterra's regions, they were staffed by many unprepared for the shock of Command and rank to make a sudden appearance. Before the man's withering stare, a young guard- no more than twenty summers, wilted: quite obviously resisting the urge to pull down helm in defensive posture.

"Captain! No forces to report! Roads have been quiet, Sir!" The young soldier did his best to hold some semblance of proper form, spear straight beside a stiff back, eyes ahead. "No one but a fool has been travelling without significant escorts, Sir!" Perhaps he reflected on the statement as he eyed the rather significant lack of company beside the recently arrive wagon: Only six armored soldiers were present, four armored knights on horseback. As another set of boots hit the ground, the youth seemed to freeze over even further, eyes unable to help themselves as they eyed the final figure who joined up beside his Vast Superior in rank.

If the royal colors and crest atop the Captain's armor before him weren't enough to make most common-men piss themselves- a Dark Elf now stood beside him. Of all the damned and cursed things that walked the land, cool eyes stared back with a grim expression on a beautiful tanned face, and a long spade shouldered itself along slender arms with the grace that might remind any experienced man of the wilds of a dangerous beast flexing its claws.

As she stepped up to stand next to the Captain, her stare leveled on the unfortunate guard, forcing the youth to swallow down another bout of fear.

"No one but us..." Ignorant, or perhaps indifferent to the terror plastered atop the face before him, the Captain's tone seemed to calm slightly. His expression was still stern as he glanced towards the roadside, eyeing the meadow beyond the outpost of stone and tower as it continued slipping off into the early touches of evening, but his posture seemed to relax: Considering elements unknown to the simple Guard. Finally, he questioned again, "You're absolutely certain? There must still be a few stragglers heading towards the Capital at the very least."

"No- I mean: No one, Captain." The correction came quickly, side by side with another bout of fear and adrenaline. "No one has been sighted moving through the South Highway in the past Week. At most we had a Trading Caravan in complete shambles two months past, but that was the last we've seen. Roads have been quiet since the Holy Wall was breached." Under the two stares that now greeted him with total silence, the young Guard reached desperate for further explanation. "Folks are wary, if it's not the Ghouls- it's the Goblins."

The serious expressions that drilled into the Guard revealed nothing, but the Captain finally turned back towards his small accompaniment, nodding towards the waiting figures in immaculate steel armor. On his signal, the horseback knights dismounted, quickly and efficiently going about their duties. The stylish crests and colors painted upon their armor seemed vibrant, even in the dimming light of late-day.

"We'll be staying here for the night. What's your name, Soldier?" Arms crossed, the man turned back towards the young Guard. "You do have a name, don't you?" He prompted the tongue tied soldier.

"Sir! My name is Ronalde. Ronalde Monte, of the Second rank. It is an Honor to serve under your command, Sir!"" The young Guard replied, trying not to pay any mind to the sounds now behind him, as the other stationed soldiers scrambled to form. Each was (quite obviously to Ronalde's ears) fighting to fit outside the outpost's gate and line up to salute in front of the stone building.

They sounded of bumbling fools. Untrained and unkempt buffoons compared to the Knights and company that had just arrived. An embarrassment that shamed Ronalde to his core, almost enough to hang his head.

"Ah, enough, enough." A hand waved in his direction, lifting with a wide arc. "Formalities aside, I feel I must apologize for the stress of our sudden appearance, Ronalde." The Captain watched the men, passing a slow nod of either approval or amusement before turning back. "Outposts like this one aren't the Country's main priority as of recently, so I know this may be a shock."

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"No Sir, we stand ready to serve." Ronalde did his best to save face, bowing in traditional form. Anyone watching knew it was more than just a shock- even putting it in the politest of terms. Outposts like this were where soldiers either went to start their service, to retire, or were sent because they wouldn't retire. Any other position short of the city cleaners might be looked at with greater envy.

"Ah... Well." The Captain's grin held as he watched the men line up with buckles barely clasped and armor misfitting in more than just a few locations. "In that case, I do have one last question for you."

"Yes Sir. Please, ask away." The relaxed posture before Ronalde remained almost unfitting for the man of rank standing casually before him.

Wearing a sword of unmistakable wealth and royal seal at his hip, colors of deep red and velvet dye atop a shirt of silk dressing and embroidery, and lightly bearded face with an experienced stare. Ronalde couldn't help but stare at him in this opportunity. For a man of such fame and prestige, behind the bear and stern-set eyes, he guessed the man before him couldn't be more than thirty years- perhaps less. Still, it was clear that this was in fact, the Captain of the Guard. That famous and legendary figure, known to even the farthest reaches of the territories in the past season. Be it by song or proclamation, such fame set forth like wildfire with wings, but as Captain's smile turned to stone, Ronalde thought that he resembled something far from the noble soul of ballads and bards.

A hero could be a truly terrifying force to find one's own self eye-to-eye.

"Tell me honestly. Have their been any of the Church who came by this way?" The Captain asked in a quiet voice, eyes watching nothing but Ronalde's face. Peering deep as if to uncover any hint of deception.

"No sir." Came the honest answer, uncertainty creeping in. The question was not a pleasant one.

"No one?" It was asked again, answer not yet satisfied. "Perhaps not even activity along the other routes?"

"It... it's been quiet, Captain." Ronalde forced his throat to the words, mouth dry. "No one."

"No one..." The Captain repeated the words, slowly mulling them over as if tasting every portion of the statement like a fine wine. "You know what comes of lying in this, you do understand," The Captain leaned in closer, until his eyes held over the barest inches away from Ronalde's own. "Don't you?"

"Honest to the Gods and Light, Captain." Ronalde felt his knees shaking as the eyes of all and every settled on him. "Truly: I was in the city that day you came to serve, and I'm loyal to the Heir- her Majesty! Same as you, Sir!" Ronalde couldn't help but let the fear in his voice tremble, as the Dark Elf standing motionless beside the Captain tilted her head with a curiously predatory smile. "I am loyal to the Heir."

Wind through trees. Those were the only sounds as they stood in silence. Finally, the Captain spoke.

"Thoughts, Sola?" The Captain eyed Ronalde with a neutral expression, setting his hands together as if to scrub them clean before his eyes slipped past to watch the curious assortment of those few soldiers now aligned beside the outpost. "Concerns?"

"I don't think he's lying." The Dark Elf spoke quietly. "But I don't think he's telling the full-truth either." Ronalde didn't like the look of her spade. It almost seemed a shovel, if a shovel had been used to kill things before it was used to bury them.

"Well, that's no surprise." The Captain seemed to hold back a wry chuckle, "Seems to be the standard behavior for most people." He let a hand stroke at his beard, smile forming and tension dissipating as if taken by a sudden wind. "Tell me, Second Rank Ronalde: Do you have a Mage stationed here?"

"Sir?" The sudden shift of tone for the question took Ronalde off-guard, both with confusion and relief. "A Mage?"

"Yes, a Mage. A Caster. A being trained in the arts of Mana and Magic: You do have a one here don't you?" The list fired out like a barrage, taking Ronalde even further from preparation or understanding.

"Well we have-"

"Don't you dare tell me all you've got is a scribe and their word for it." The man's humor seemed to fade, stormy expression and tone hinting a sudden return.

"NO- no Captain! We have a Caster." Ronalde stumbled through the words, finding his stride as best he could. "First of Rank: Knight Gale is in the quarters not twenty paces from us. Noble-birthed and trained, he took injury last month and lost his legs below the knee, but he's still right for magic."

"That'll do. Have someone carry him up the watchtower and send a signal towards the wall for information on the local records. If anyone has information, it'll be the Holy Wall's Guard."

"Yes sir!" Ronalde replied, pausing uncertain for the barest of instants.

"Well what are you waiting for? Go!" The Captain's shout rattled out a few more birds from the treetops, sending the young Guard running off into the stone building and many more nervous looking soldiers stood at rough attention, eyes wide.

"From this night on, I want two of your standing guard on the roadside." The Captain commanded, eyes setting themselves in a slow scan across their nervous faces. "If someone shows up seeking shelter, I want to hear about it. If someone walks by, I want to hear about it- Hell: If a ghoul wanders out of the woods and you stick it with your sword, I want to hear about it. Understood?"

"Yes Sir!" Their shouts returned.

"Good. Knight William, you're in command of these Soldiers" The Captain motioned towards one of the towering figures in thick armor with a stern nod. "If anything out of the orderinary happens, report it to me immediately."

"Yes Captain." The Knight bowed, heavy gait soon approaching the local Guards.

"Good." The Captain spoke quietly under his breath as he turned away, eyes locking with the silent companion still waiting at his side as he headed back towards the wagon and those knights still finishing the last of their previously instructed duties. "Sola, I need you run up the tower and smack whatever drunken-fool they've got for a lookout awake. Something's not right."

"Never is." The Elf replied.