“Mr. Wollojek, we are going to exit the village through the emergency escape tunnel, and work our way around to your son. I need you to talk to him, to keep him calm, and relay some questions we have for the bear. Does that work for you Mr. Wollojek?”
I am trying to keep this fire from flaring up. If we can keep the kid calm, and the bear calm, this might just be a footnote in the monthly report. Although, I doubt they will let me say anything to anybody, and certainly not writing it down in a report. In the meantime, we need to wind our way through the village to the back exit and work our way around.
“Ah, Yes, sir. Is there someone we can talk about this? Some sort of expert in bonding?” His huffing and puffing must be from the healing, it usually takes a lot out of a person and having that kid do it…poor guy.
“Not that I know of Mr. Wollojek. Bonds are rare to begin with...something like 1 or 2 in a thousand people. Most are tiny animals, birds, squirrels, or rats…small things. I knew a guy in the army who had a tri-horn melon beetle. According to him, the beetle knew what he wanted with just a thought. But you said your son is talking with the bear?”
“That’s what he said…but…well, wouldn’t the tuning administrator know something about this. Maybe this is normal. I know the bear is scary, but I feel like we are over-reacting. I rode the bear for almost an hour or more, nothing happened.” He is already trying to save his son, but, sad as it may be, that kid and his bond are going straight into the military. The duke will probably deliver him to the training center himself. It will be another point to leverage with the King.
What matters now is the safety of the village. Whispering Village is one of the Duke’s special projects. The number of high-end crafters here is several orders of magnitude higher than any other village under his control. And to the man’s credit, he means to keep them alive. Redundant multiple, transports and beast bunkers, extra thick walls, with double gating, enhanced, merchant roads were just some of the identifiable investments. The people supporting the crafters were also the best, all paid more than any other village. This place was special. This was the Duke’s money maker. A final product could be put together from end to end and shipped. Providing security for the type of items produced, and allowing some deniability to the amounts produced. The savings from the King’s taxes were probably quite high.
“Mr. Wollojek, it’s not my place to argue for or against. I just know that we have a light bear of such power, that most of my staff are left open mouthed, just outside my gates. We didn’t even feel him coming. Mr. Wollojek, I can understand your concerns, but understand, if that bear turns on the village, nothing will be left.”
As we make our way through the last alleyway, we come upon a wide street with almost no people in sight. Turning left we stride towards the back tower of the village.
As we come into sight of the rear gate, I can see a group of from Duke. The muddled colors of the elite force stand out against the plain brown walls of the village.
“Commander Willicks, is this the boy’s father?” It doesn’t take me long to realize this is Marshal Fellows. The Duke’s problem solver and, for the most part, an actual decent human being.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Yes sir, I just picked him up from the healers. Mr. Wollojek, this is Marshal Fellows. He is the man in charge of the situation at this point.”
“Marshal Fellows…ah, nice to meet you, I think we did some work on a staff for you last year or so.” I have to give Wollojek some credit, he is playing this situation a lot cooler than most people.
“Ah, the night staff…that was you? I am sorry, it was a gift from the Duke for my 15 year service, I didn’t know who made it. It’s in a display cabinet in the ducal barracks.”
“That is ok sir, we knew that it was going to be a display piece. The daily battle staffs are made by the Kerishic family in the village. Unless you have one of the black staffs? Those are made by my family. The Kerishic family process is superior for the type of wood they use. We specialize in staffs that exceed that quality, but the cost comes from the type of wood we use, and the length of time it takes to produce.”
“Ah, yes, well…let’s get back on track here, your son has bonded with a light bear? Yes?”
With the two of them talking, I decide to back away, heading to my men guarding the tower.
Whispering, “Sergeant Charles, status.”
Whispering in response, “Sir, nothing going on back here. The Duke’s men arrived 5 minutes before you showed up. I assume you talked to them about talking with the boy, so I kept silent.”
“Good, and yes. They caught me at the main tower and we worked out a simple reconnaissance. We really haven’t had time to talk to the boy, or the bear…I guess. If we go in there like an invasion force, we are likely to trip a response from the bear. The good news is that Duke is not sending an invasion force at this time, but they are on standby. So if things start going wrong, don’t panic, and begin gathering the villagers and pushing them to the transport pad. Get one of your squad to run to the towers on either side and spread the word. I haven’t had time to spread this to the other towers. So tell your men to keep running until they get to the main tower. The main tower bell will be your signal to begin. That will be your indication to start herding the people. Don’t argue with people, grab them, throw them over a shoulder, push them with your staff, just get them to the transport pad.”
“Ah, yes sir, understood.” With that Sergeant Charles turns back to the tower and sends the two tower guards scampering left and right to spread the message. Just as the two young men begin running away, a third man comes flying out of the tower. Clearly shocked by the number of senior guardsmen and the Duke’s men standing around, the man comes to a confused halt, panic lighting his eyes as he searches for his Sergeant.
After a few head swivels, he catches the eyes of Sergeant Charles, and quickly steps up.
“Sir, main tower reports a Strong has entered the perimeter. Requesting confirmation and triangulation.” His voice carries on the empty streets drawing the attention of the Marshall.
“Novice, how far out?” The Marshall doesn’t even step in, just shouts his question out across the 5m distance. I can see Mr. Wollojek going white with the news of a Strong heading in.
The poor kid turns to the Marshall, notices the rank and then pales. I think I will step in.
“Marshall, we have our main scout in the main tower, and two back up scouts on the back and main south tower. Due to our Influencers ranges, we usually only have one active at a time. In the case of an event, we then have to wake up, or track down, the others to triangulate the beast and form a plan.”
“That seems to be a bit lax Commander Willicks.” His tone is cold.
“Ah, yes sir, but our scouts have the longest range in the Duke’s service. According to the scouts themselves, they were the prime scouts in the King’s Military as well. Typically, we have 3 hours before contact, so 15 minutes to find a scout in a small village is not a big risk. Sir.”
“Ah, is that so. Lieutenant Wallace, follow the Novice back up the tower and find this Strong heading in.” A man in all black steps passed the Marshall and heads towards I group. I nod towards the Novice and they begin to head back up the tower.
“Commander, your village is just bustling today.” I really can’t tell if he liked our scout actions or not, but the sarcasm in the last statement was clear.
“Yes sir, it is a busy day.”