After the bridge battle, Zan expected Winters to assign him and Jiehong more assignments, like the bridge capture.

But he didn’t. Not really. He assigned an odd scouting mission here and there, but that was it. Mostly, Zan spent his time doing nothing more than riding with the men, wishing they received half-a-dozen more breaks than they got.

Their journey across the provincial border spanned the course of three-and-a-half days. Zan spent is in physical distress over the nonstop biking he did; though he used the bike’s magical enhancement several times throughout each day to maintain his pace, even with the mass acceleration provided from the magic, the bike only shot ahead so far up the long caravan of horseback riders.

During their travel, it was impossible to speak. Unless one screamed at the top of their lungs, that is. With so many horses trampling the ground, and the sounds they made besides, even screaming rarely resulted in mutual understanding. Communicative ease, then, only was a reality during the breaks.

During one evening, Zan asked Winters if his performance during the bridge was unsatisfactory.

“What? Why would you think that? You did well. My men even said so,” Winters replied.

“I ask because you haven’t given us anymore, sir. I figured Jiehong and I’s strategic use would have often seen us used as assets. Instead, we’ve done nothing but ride.”

“That is true. But it is only the nature of the conflict, Zan. Tell me? Do you see me assigning other men to missions without you?” Winters asked.

“Well… no, I guess not. In my defense, however, I do not know the entire trappings of how you command your men. Neither do I hear everything which happens. It is not as if I

would’ve known if you sent others out on missions,” Zan said, defending himself.

“Very true. Very true…” Winters’s repeated. “Something for you to pick up, then. Social observations. An important yet under-looked aspect of conflict. How people move in both light and the shadows.”

“True… I have trouble with that at the best of times.”

“Try to and you’ll improve. But! Back to the issue: No, Zan. You and Jiehong’s efforts at the bridge were great. There have been no missions because we have simply needed to travel to make the reach into the neighboring province. Once we cross the local border, there will be many more chances for you to prove yourself. Believe me. Once we get started, there won’t be any end to your missions!”

“That is good to know, sir. Thank you.”

“You’re thanking me for missions?! Ha! You kids kill me. I would throw my back out if one of my veteran soldiers thanked me for a mission. Oh, before I forget, I think it is time for another flag lesson…”

At that, Zan did sigh.

“I know flags seem more confusing or of a hassle then they are worth, but once you understand the simple sublimity of the flags as not merely a tool, but a system, you’ll see them as an indispensable unit of war making!”

Winters’s lesson lasted over an hour.

It was nothing Zan hadn’t heard before. Though this time he actually remembered the content, allowing himself to ask questions, and to ask Winters to repeat himself. Winters made for a good teacher. Zan wondered if earlier in his life he had maybe been a schoolteacher.

“Alright! I trust you have a better handle on the flag stuff, now?” Winters asked.

“I do,” Zan replied truthfully. “I know what they do now. I think part of my confusion stemmed from getting the first lesson so suddenly, then the hours of riding. Kicked things around in my head, right?”

“I know what you mean. Back when I was at the military academy, I often had trouble with remembering everything my teachers told me. Like anything else in life, it is a skill, though, Zan. Don’t let yourself let you down. You’re only a youngster still, remember? You have a lot of life left to live. Which means you have a lot to learn!”

Zan slept well that night despite the uncomfortable earthy accommodation. His head swam with Winters’s fatherly advice and lesson. Waking, he almost did not want to ride. He wanted to sit with his thoughts and feelings and ruminate like a sage in the sun.

His life was on the road, though. At least right now, it was. He put himself together and shoved off with the rest of the riders.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

The gods granted him mercy after another day of riding. This time, his ass was not so sore, though Zan knew he was only by now accustomed to the strain, not the actual endurance. Endurance came later.

Many hours of hard riding later and they arrived at their destination.

The private villa of lord Gallant.

Colonel Winters ordered his men to spread into several locations surrounding the villa. The size of the lord’s estate took Zan by surprise. It sat atop a large mesa but had additional properties at its bottom. Encasing the properties was a large defensive wall. ‘House? This is not home,’ Zan thought. ‘This is some lord’s private little town. Dozens of people had to live in that village.’

Winters took the whole day ordering his troops around and was not free to chat about Zan and Jiehong’s role in the imminent battle until later.

In the meantime, Jiehong struck up a conversation with Zan. Something he hadn’t expected so readily of Jiehong. Maybe the long ride rattled his brain? Then again, who knew what Jiehong was going through these days. He seldom talked with Zan anymore about his internal state. Though it saddened Zan to think about the changing nature between he and his friend, everything was changing. He could do nothing else but hold tight.

“Zan. You as tired as me?” Jiehong said.

“Yeah. I am antsy. I should sleep, but I can’t… it is a lot.”

“I know. I brought some sleepy tea if you’re interested…”

Zan considered it. Did he want to go to sleep? He should rest. If there was something he did not want to deal with on top of tiredness, it was being sleepy and exhausted on top of fighting in a military engagement. Not ideal.

“Sure. Brew me a cup and I will have it with—” Zan said. Hearing a beep in his ear, he turned to Jiehong and said, “You hear that too?”

“Yeah. Must be the Wardens. Let’s answer it together. One, two, three — hit that button, bro!” Jiehong said, unusually lively.

Zan did and spoke for both he and Jiehong. “Hello? Wardens?”

On the other end, both Zan and Jiehong hearing, was Screen Master Simulacrum.

“Zan! It is I, the Screen Master. I have a question for you. Has Whiskey arrived yet with the special package?” the Screen Master asked.

“Uh, wait… Whiskey? Special…? I’m afraid not. We don’t know what you’re talking about. We will keep our eyes peeled for it, though. What is this special package?” Zan asked.

“Do you remember the experimental device I talked to you about in the command center’s war room? Sigma-Prime and I finished its construction. So many years and it is finally done. I have sent it your way by entrusting it to Whiskey. Though she is not a formal member of the Order, she is an At-Will member by the nature of her soul and its purity. As you remember from her entering the command center, I am sure,” Simulacrum said.

“Yeah, I remember,” Zan said. “Still have seen no one who can enter the command center who isn’t an Order member. I guess aside from the chef… but maybe that means he too is…?”

“Yes, Zan. Good. Keep your eyes peeled for Whiskey. Once Whiskey has delivered the item and it is in your hands, let me know right away. That is all. Over and out.”

“Okay. Will do, I guess. Over and out,” Zan said, finishing the call.

Zan looked to Jiehong. Jiehong looked to Zan. The same old song and dance.

One of them said, “Wait, Whiskey is on her way? What?”

#

WHILE the boys wait for Whiskey, we will attend to another matter.

Far away from the loyalist camp, but still within shot enough to eavesdrop on their presence, our intent lied. Specifically? Imperial engineer first class Rictus Dawson.

Dawson looked over the landscape. "Beautiful," he said.

The hectic journey across provincial borders tuckered him. Never had he been so demanded of in his line of service. Though he undertook the ride under favorable conditions. Meaning, no overdue harshness of weather or threat of enemy, the engineer had not expected a shift of such intense expectations. Finally, receiving a breather at the end of another lengthy day of riding, he saw what his clients were so eager over. It was a local lord’s estate.

‘An estate?’ the engineer had asked himself and shadows. “Capturing the local aristocracy could be a huge factor in ending the war!’

Yet…

‘These young lords I protect come with no armed brigade. It is only them. What could they hope to gain from staking out some baron’s estate without an armed host?! What are these kids up to? I really wish I knew.’

While staking out the estate, the engineer continued to notice odder things yet about his unusual clients. They did not eat? Or if they ate, they had little to no appetite for cooking things. The engineer came to this realization when he noticed no smoke ever left their base.

How many days passed, the engineer knew not. He remained vigilant in his lookout nest. Jotting down, as his lords demanded of him, every little detail about the villa. Not that there were much… columns of our troops laying siege to the estate. Hardly an unknown sight.

Nothing of note happened until who else but Zan and Jiehong came following the emergence of the loyalist reinforcements.

‘An emergency relief force?’ the engineer said to himself upon seeing the band led by Colonel Winters, though having only a faint idea of who the Colonel was in relation to local politics.

He wrote this too and all the information he could see about the enemy force.

Knowing his employers would want to know this information right away, instead of at the evening briefing, the engineer scrambled down the tree.

He rapped his fists against the makeshift door his clients used for privacy.

Dawson’s noise found its answer. The client leader came to him. The leader said nothing. He waited for the engineer to speak first.

Rictus cleared his throat. “An enemy host has appeared. They threaten the estate siege, milords,” Rictus said.

“Thank you for letting us know,” the leader said, and then slowly closed the door.

‘Did I do something… wrong? Right? I thought they would have been happy… huh,’ Rictus thought.

Returning to his nest high in the tops, Rictus resumed his vigil. It was his job, after all. His job he had to do for his family’s sake. A job he gladly did for his masters, the High-Born.

Setting his doubts aside, Rictus took up his seeing lenses. He whispered to himself, ‘my master’s will be done.’