Days of Travel
The next few days passed to the tune of hundreds of steps in close to unison. The Company’s march up North was a very structured affair, stopping only to rest shortly during the night, and once a day at noon for a small yet hearty meal. They had taken all the provisions they required with them in a collection of supply wagons that trailed along behind the Legion troops.
Logan even got a chance to talk to Kelvin, the quartermaster, on the road. Not that he would take another, if it were offered.
“...and that’s why beans are the most efficient food to stock for an army, Logan. Not that I enjoy the inevitable smell at night, of course, but they are simply such an efficient food-”
“Oh, sorry Kelvin sir, I think I hear my Captain calling for me.”
“Oh- sure, of course, young man. Don’t let me hold you back.”
Logan had already started walking away. The older man had been chatting his ear off for hours now, Kelvin’s psychotic ramblings on beans just the latest installment in a never ending series. Logan had decided to just use his duty and younger Captain as an escape, and it seemed like it had worked. Now though, he needed to talk to Gregor to see out the ruse.
“Hey Gregor what’s up?”
The Captain looked over, startled, as he had apparently been deep in thought.
“Oh- Ah, Logan how are you doing? Not too sore from the march?” The officer asked from upon his mount.
“Ahaha not yet, how about you, Captain?”
“I’m fine. My thoughts are ahead, on other things.”
“Ah.” Logan quietly said.
The conversation died as quickly as it started, with the impending hardships looming just around the bend. It would only be another day before they could see Errstile Fort, and just beyond it, the Austen Kingdom’s border. The two young men could do nothing except look to the future.
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On the second to final day of the journey North, Amar found herself with an unexpected visitor. The Goddess of Life, Selerys had casually popped into her head, and started chatting with her.
‘Hello dear, just checking in. How are you doing?’ The Goddess said out of nowhere.
Amar almost fell over in shock. Instead she managed to turn it into a stumble, and resume her march.
Ah, hello Goddess. I am doing well, and yourself?
‘Well my dear, well. However, I am not here to talk about myself. As I understand it, you have been traveling North, have you not?’
Oh, yes Goddess, we are marching North towards Errstile Fort. I… I must admit to being nervous…
‘Oh dear, sweetie, I would love to tell you not to worry… but that would be a lie. War is not safe, and it's totally normal to be afraid.’
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Ah, ok…
Although the Goddesses response was true and what Amar had expected, it would have been nice to have a little reassurance to boost her confidence. But when she realized what she was thinking she shook her head. Amar could make her own confidence, she didn’t need to rely on anyone else, even a Goddess.
Thank you for the advice, Goddess.
Selerys’ beautiful laugh sounded out for a while before she responded.
‘Hahaha, I’m glad to help, little one. Would that I could protect you myself, but even the Gods have limits. These days more than previous… Anyways darling, if you ever have need of me, or just want an ear to listen to you, call my name. I will always be listening.’
Thank you. I truly appreciate it, Goddess.
‘Oh, no need to be so formal, just call me Selerys already, Amar. Using my title makes me feel so lonely, dear.’
Ah ok. Well, thank you Selerys.
It was my pleasure, dear. I’m afraid something else is claiming my attention now, so I must go, but remember to rely on me if you need to.
With that, the comforting presence of the Goddess of Life faded from the back of Amar’s consciousness, as she let out a sigh of relief. Although the Goddess was very kind and understanding, talking to a being of legend so casually made her very stressed out, and she didn’t need anymore stress right now.
Instead, Amar focused once more on the rhythm of her feet, and the road ahead.
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With just one more day of travel before they would reach their destination, the Legion convoy stopped for the night. The Company had managed to find a large clearing just the side of the road that could just barely accommodate their large party size. All the various Squadrons had set up separate camps and fires, with the Greatwood Squadron being no different.
The Squad was all set up at their campfire, enjoying the last night before their training and duties would resume. Logan and Larry had convinced Kelvin to let them ‘borrow’ a barrel of ale, and everyone once again had a pint in hand.
Logan had been talking to Sophia and Lucius, but when he started getting too drunk both his memory, and his motions started failing him, and they had eventually waved him off with a laugh.
Wandering around, he plopped down right next to Amar and Gregor, who were watching the fire. Not saying anything, the trio just sat there for a while, letting the flickering flames slowly feast upon their logs.
Eventually, Logan spoke up over the crackling and merriment.
“We’ve already come a long way from Alteep, haven’t we?” Logan asked.
Quietly, Amar answered, “Yes, we really have.”
“And we have even further left to go.” Gregor added, standing up.
He raised his mug, and cleared his throat, attempting everyone in the Squad’s attention. Jerry and Arasaka stopped their conversation on her enchantments, and everyone else stopped the drinking game they had been playing. Only once everyone was completely focused on him, did Gregor start speaking.
“I’ve already said what I wanted before, but I wanted to say just a few more words. We have to stay smart, stay focused, and most importantly, stay alive. I want everyone to come home from this assignment, do you understand?”
When no one responded, Gregor repeated himself.
“Do you all understand?”
“Sir, yes sir!” came the chorus of replies.
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The next leg of the journey was their last, and the Company once again set off, come sunrise. The Greatwood Squadron had resumed their positions relatively towards the back of the convoy, and the march continued.
Logan took the time to inspect the changing scenery, as the Company continued Northwards. Down at Marineford, one of the more Southern parts of the Austen Kingdom apparently, the forest was closer to tropical. But up here, the trees were of a more moderate variety, with a healthy collection of oaks and spruce. It reminded Logan of the Inaug Forest, where he had first entered this world, and met Jeremiah.
The noise the Company made as it marched along was enough to scare the wildlife off, but Logan could still hear the birdsong in the distance. It was relaxing to listen to, and let him just continue plodding along. That was one of the things that Logan missed most from Earth, the abundance and access to music. His ears were sad after just hearing people grunt while they worked all day.
Logan was startled out of his thoughts by a commotion further up the lines. He couldn’t really make out what they were saying, but it could only mean one thing. They had arrived at their destination.
It took some time more before the Greatwood Squadron was far enough down the road to see the cause of the commotion. When they could make it out however, Logan immediately understood.
Over the tops of heads of those in front of him, Logan could make out a massive tent city. There must have been over a hundred different tents, all set up in a massive circle, surrounding the center. There, an even larger tent was situated, easily as tall as a three story building back on Earth, with Blue and White stripes making it seem more official than its peers.
Reinforcing that idea was the single wooden structure in the camp, located directly next to that central tent. Small watch towers also formed a circle around that tent, mirroring the larger ones ringing the camp.
At the front of the line, Logan heard Major Frear speak to the Company.
“Welcome to Errstile, people. Let's close this last stretch before we can rest, eh?”