“Not all actions have large, easily noticeable results. More often than not, the results of an action would be small in scale, localized to the area where it takes place, and even when it plays into the result of a larger situation, it would only be one action of many that influenced the final result.
Too many people expect their actions to be the one, big, decisive action that would change situations all by itself, however. Such folly and delusions of self-importance they have...” - Saying attributed to the Silver Maiden.
After they helped the village, the group wanted to walk away, only to be detained by the thankful villagers who threw them a feast. The situation the villagers were under was one that Aideen was all too familiar with. They were worried about the war, but couldn’t afford to evacuate until they finished their harvest, which was due in another month still.
It would have been entirely pointless to evacuate just so they could starve to death in safety, after all.
She also noticed how the killers and assassins looked rather uncomfortable to be celebrated by people rather than feared like they usually were. Still, some grateful, smiling children, freshly cooked home cooking, and some ale did a lot to soften their hard faces. In a way, Aideen had to admit that Zayid pulled off a clever move by sending his people out actively to weed out enemy raiders.
That made them recognizable by those they helped, and directly increased their reputation amongst the common folk. While their criminal past was unlikely to be forgotten just by doing that, actions spoke louder than words, and their being out there, helping defend the common people from predations by the enemy army, spoke very loudly indeed.
When she considered how they were not the only group out there, since Zayid sent out his men periodically in rotating shifts to avoid tiring them out too much, their presence and actions would make it hard for the young Emir to remove them even if he wanted to after the war was done. It was a move that helped ensure his people’s future even in the worst case scenario.
Of course, they were limited in number. From the talk Aideen had with Zayid prior to their departure, the criminal organizations had enough skilled people who could be trusted to make twelve teams around the size of the one Aideen was traveling with. Nearly two hundred skilled assassins might sound like a fearsome force, but that many people, split into twelve teams, would only cover a small portion of the Emirate’s territory, all considered.
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As a result, they would not be able to catch up to every raider band, every incursion. Nor would they be able to save every place that was in danger from such threats. The village Aideen’s trio had saved had been one such case, where none of the patrolling hit squads were nearby when the raid took place. Since Zayid had sent out his people for a while now, some of the raiders had also become wily and started avoiding them actively, which made them harder to catch.
Such was the case with a third raider band that Aideen’s team tracked down, which gave them the runaround for nearly a week before they finally retreated back into territories controlled by the elder brother. In a sense, that encounter resulted in a draw, as while the hit squad failed to eliminate the raiders, they also prevented the raiders from actually doing any plundering or pillaging as they were busy running away.
After they ascertained that the raiders had fled, the group finally trekked back towards Shahadur, since they had already come close to the end of their shift. Each of the groups were sent out for shifts of up to two weeks near the frontlines, followed by a break of one week, staggered so that at least six groups were actively on the front at all times.
Their journey back to Shahadur was fortunately uneventful, as apparently the raiding had lessened due to the hit squads sent out to counter them. In fact, they saw signs of mobilization and military build-up on the way, which suggested that the young Emir might be trying to bring an end to the civil war one way or another in the near future.
At the moment Aideen did not see people gathering rations, though, so it might be that the young Emir was just strengthening his defenses rather than preparing for an assault, but it was difficult to tell without more information. She followed the group back to Shahadur where she soon reunited with Kino and Eilonwy, whose groups had also just returned within the last couple of days.
Much like she expected, neither of the two girls looked any worse for wear, and they had also bonded somewhat with their respective groups. As a way of thanks, Aideen visited the assassins who formed the groups that Kino and Eilonwy had been in and did her usual healing, fixing many old injuries and missing body parts for them.
Aideen quickly had a talk with Kino and Eilonwy, where they related their experience of the past couple of weeks to her. For the most part, they had done the same thing that Aideen’s group had done, though Kino’s group had been less successful, only finding and eliminating one small raider band of forty throughout that period.
In contrast, Eilonwy’s group were emboldened by the presence of her skeletons – which did nearly double their number – that they took the risk of attacking a stronger raider band that was nearly two hundred strong. It was the reason why several members of the group had still-healing injuries of varying seriousness, though Eilonwy’s skeletal minions proved to be more than a match for the raiders and carried the day handily.
After the three shared their experiences, Aideen let the girls have some good food for the night, then some proper rest on actual beds. The next day she brought them out to meet Zayid once more, to have a more serious discussion about things, including his intentions with the Emirate.