Approaching
After breakfast, the trio went to drop off Grenneth’s letter and enlist. They made their way across town to the Legion barracks they had seen on their way into town last night. From an outsider’s perspective, the whole operation seemed to run quite smoothly. Men and women filed in and out at impressive rates, everyone knowing where and how to move to remain maximally efficient.
They walked up to a kiosk stationed on the outside of the gate surrounding the barracks. The young woman inside appeared to be the only relaxed worker on premise, because as they approached she had to bring her feet down from their kicked up position on her desk.
“How may I help you three today?”
Gregor stepped forward and produced the message.
“We have been sent here to deliver this missive from the Mayor of Alteep Village to the Legion members stationed here. We also wish to enlist, if that isn’t too much of a bother.”
“No bother at all,” The woman said as she took the letter from Gregor. “You’re hardly the first, after all.”
“Haha, yes, well I have my Assessment Card here, if you need…-” Gregor said while taking a small note card from his bag, before he was interrupted.
“Nope, we haven't done that here since the recruitment efforts began. We don’t have the manpower, so all recruits are being assessed on site at Marineford. You can show off when you get there.”
“Recruitment?” Amar asked.
“Yeah, the war effort. Or, well the higher ups are just calling it a regular recruitment drive, but I’ve never seen a push like this. Everyone knows it's because Grecia has fallen to Harth in the North. The rumors have been swirling about the battle. Apparently the High King led the charge himself, killing the Grecia’s Aegis in single combat, and the country fell within a day. Some whisper that Svell was allied with Harth as well, but no one I trust has said it yet.”
This lady liked to talk. She barely even took a breath before she continued.
“Regardless, ever since those rumors started spreading, the Captain here has been in a frenzy about in a twist about getting numbers up, the way he only gets when the people at the top start shouting orders, you know? And it seems all you newbies have only got the rough and dirty version of basic before getting shipped back here, so I hope you already know what you’re doing.”
Logan gulped.
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The three of them were directed to a caravan at the edge of the town’s palisade that was decked out in red and silver, apparently the legions colorscheme. There were a handful of wagons there, with maybe 40-50 people looking like they were getting ready to leave. As the trio walked up, they were approached by an official looking man.
“Hello there, more recruits?” The man’s voice was somewhat gruff, but he was clearly trying to be amicable.
“Yessir!” Logan said with a salute.
The man looked puzzled by Logan’s actions, but went on to say, “...Well then you all are in luck, as we were just about to head out, and we have just enough room to squeeze three more aboard. Welcome.”
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From showing the group from Alteep to where they could grab a tent come nightfall, and who to ask for food, the man had practically shown them the entire setup. It wasn’t complex, but it was an efficient formula for moving people with minimal resources.
“Well, if you all have any more questions, just look for me. I’m Grant Cobald, by the way. Hope you three enjoy the trip.”
With that, the man bid his adieu and left the three to their own devices. They didn’t have much to distract them, so they ended up just waiting for almost a half hour for the caravan to get rolling.
Although they had wheels, the wagons were not any faster than walking. In fact, Logan often found himself limiting his pace to remain even with the wooden monstrosities. Logan’s ass was sore just from looking at the way they were bouncing around. Or maybe it was from all the physical exertion he had done, but Logan thought the first option was funnier.
Regardless, as the hours slipped by, Logan found himself more and more worn down. The aches in his legs were ever present, and no amount of stretching seemed to avail any relief. When Remy scampered ahead as the sun was almost setting, he had no energy left to pursue.
-Woah…-
What is it, little guy?
-Lots of… water.-
Cresting over the hill, Logan saw what Remy was chattering about. Just ahead, beyond a military outpost and the largest town Logan had yet to see here on this nameless planet, was an ocean.
Yeah Remy. That’s the sea. Pretty awesome right?
-Yeah!-
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As they were finally approaching the encampment well after dark, the new recruits were brought to an empty barracks and told to orderly decide on sleeping arrangements. Of course, the men and women were split off, and Logan ended up bunking with Gregor.
The two of them had claimed the farthest bunk, and had kept to themselves since arrival. Both still hadn’t fully processed the intense battle from days prior, but there was shit that still needed to happen.
Logan was worried about Gregor, mostly because it was easier than worrying about himself. Amar was obviously distraught and subdued since Jeremiah’s death, but Gregor had been totally fine after the battle. Logan didn’t know too much about this place, but he suspected their scramble against the horror spiders wasn’t a regular occurrence, from the fuss Grenneth had raised.
As Logan inspected the young man across from him, he noticed that he was fidgeting with a small white note card. Logan thought Gregor had called it…
“That’s an Assessment Card, right? What is that?”
“Ah, wha- Of course, this is an Assessment Card, yes. It is… a collection of the measurements of my characteristics. It categorizes me by Tier, and ranks me accordingly. My father once paid for a Guild worker to come out to Alteep and test me with ritual magic.”
Oh, so maybe Logan wasn’t a genius when he thought of making a statsheet. It appeared that others had the idea, just Jeremiah hadn’t been aware enough about the larger world to know. Also getting the young man talking sounded like a good idea to get him out of his own head.
“Could I maybe see that real quick?”
“Sure, it will help to familiarize with it, all new Legion recruits eventually get Assessed, so you should get a card too.”
With that Gregor handed over his card.
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Name: Gregor Greatwood
Tier: D
Body: S Rank
Mind: A Rank
Spirit: A Rank
Affinity: N/A
Abilities:
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N/A
Blessings:
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Battle Meditation
Logan wasn’t sure exactly what the ranks were, but he assumed S Rank meant Gregor was pretty kick ass.
“Can you explain a little what this means?”
“Of course. The Tier that one is indicates how many times they have kindled their spark. For D Tier, that number is between 10-25. We use cutoffs at certain points because there is a sudden jump in power there. At ten, for example, one’s body hardens and strengthens to a decent degree.”
“Interesting. Then I assume the Ranks are scaled against other people within the Tier?”
“You would be correct in that thinking. I… you know about Blessings and Abilities, right?”
“Yessir, I should be good now. Thanks for letting me see this, I had been using a system to keep track but this seems a lot more efficient.”
Logan said as he handed back the card. Learning that there was a system out there reassured him, because since the battle, Logan had been convinced his own methods wouldn’t hold up long term. Not only was it inefficient to require someone stronger than him to check, but the numbers themselves didn’t seem like they would scale that well in the future. Regardless, this system appeared much more lean than his own.
“No problem, I hope you found it helpful.”
With that, Gregor went back to his bed. Soon, the whole barracks had settled down, and after trekking all day, sleep claimed them all with a vengeance.