As she made her way back to her campsite after her morning walk, Taliene Feathersnow, Tali to her friends (if she had any), silently reflected on the past few years in the peaceful quiet of the early morning.
Being a ward of the Church of the Three Saints since she could remember, Tali had seen many Heroes of the Church come and go when she was just a child. She had admired them, hearing stories of how Heroes would head into the Scarlet Mist, slaying monsters and protecting people from the horrors within. She had dreamed about joining their ranks, fantasizing about killing monsters and helping people in need.
She had gotten her wish. Due to her aptitude for magic and talent for the sword, she had passed the Hero’s Trial and was chosen as a Hero Candidate at the age of ten. She had been elated back then. She would be learning how to help people, how to kill monsters and save lives!
To that end, she spent most of her teenage years training as hard as she could. Her social life suffered for it, staying behind to study or train while her peers went off to relax, but it had been worth it when after seven years of hard work, she was promoted to a fully fledged Hero at the age of seventeen, the youngest Hero in history.
She should have been proud that her talent, drive, and hard work had been noticed and rewarded. But after two years of work as a Hero, Tali felt… dissatisfied. Disappointed, even.
When she was just a Candidate, she hadn’t paid much attention to the common people when she was sent out on training missions, preferring to bury her head in a book or think deeply about her sword forms while leaving all the talking to her team leaders, deferring to their experience. It was only when she started going out on solo missions as a fully fledged Hero that she realized something was wrong.
The guards she timidly waved to on her way out of town replied with formal, respectful bows. Farmers and peasants she had saved from Blight Beasts wouldn’t look her in the eyes, even as they gave their profuse thanks. No one in town seems to really want her help, with anything. Tali could even swear that they seem to be actively avoiding her. And most importantly, no one smiled at her, not without being so stiff she almost swore that some invisible person was forcefully pulling up the corners of their lips.
The only thing that stayed true to her fantasies was the monster slaying part, and that was one of the least important parts of being a Hero, as far as she was concerned.
This was something that had been bothering her for nearly three months. Even now, walking through the tall grass alone back to her allies, where she should really be paying more attention to her surroundings, she couldn’t stop thinking about it. Why? Why does it seem like people were scared of her?
She had never been the most sociable person, so did she do or say something wrong? Maybe locking herself away to study all day had stopped her from familiarizing herself with the townspeople? Maybe most people were just not as nice as she thought they would be. Or maybe…
Shaking the thoughts from her head, Tali sighed. She should stop thinking about the matter, it wasn’t like doing so would give her the answers. She had been intending on bringing her concerns up with a Bishop, or maybe even start doing some investigations on her own, but then the selection ceremony for the 48th Scarlet Mists Expedition had ended with her being chosen – once more breaking a record, this time as the youngest Hero to be chosen to go on the Expedition – and she lost her chance to look into it.
Not that she was dissatisfied! The Scarlet Mists Expedition is a sacred duty any Hero would be honored to carry out. Sent out only once every five years, it was the Church’s attempt at destroying the Scarlet Mists, a poisonous mist that had once destroyed the ancient Ereveil Empire.
It was the entire reason her hometown of Frontier had been built in the first place – as close as possible to the Mists while still being far enough from its edge to be able to grow crops. With the Blight Beasts regularly escaping its depths to wreak havoc, as well as how deadly the Mists themselves are, it was hardly a surprise that the Church, and the Kingdom of Lospring behind them, would want the Mists gone.
Knocking herself on the helmet lightly, Tali refocused on where she was going. With knee high, ruddy red grass growing all across the otherwise featureless plains she was trekking through and the Scarlet Mists all around her, one might think that it would be difficult to find their way around, but the Mists themselves didn’t actually impair vision that much. The glow of the morning sun pierced it easily, and Tali hadn’t gone that far out, anyway. It wasn’t long before Tali found herself back at camp.
The layout of the 48th Expedition’s campsite wasn’t anything special. Numerous tents tightly clustered together in a tight circle, with four paths marking the four cardinal directions all leading to a central bonfire in the center of the camp, around which the Heroes have set up their tents. There were no walls nor fortifications apart from the nearly imperceptible line drawn upon the ground, where the Scarlet Mist was stopped and turned away.
It was a
Without slowing, Tali stepped into and through the
Giving the patrolling sentries a polite nod and a wave, Tali strode into the camp, doing her best to ignore how both guards flinched slightly before bowing deeply to her. What she didn’t ignore, however, was how tired the two soldiers looked, with slightly slumped shoulders and deep eyebags on their haggard faces. Maybe she really should bring it up with the other Heroes, after all…
Before long, Tali reached her tent near the center of the camp and dumped her towel on her bedroll. She looked over her armor straps one last time, tugging at them lightly to make sure they were all properly tightened, and checked the contents of her field pouch once more, just in case. Once done she headed for the morning assembly at the center of the camp.
The soldiers had just finished lining up when she stepped to the front alongside her fellow Heroes. As one, the two hundred soldiers (minus the ones on guard duty) saluted them.
The Heroes saluted back. “At ease!” Allen Fairweather, a massive bear of a man wearing full plate armor with short, blonde hair and a neatly trimmed beard, barked. The soldiers relaxed, as did the other Heroes. “Nothing much to say, men, except that we’re continuing our march today. Pack up, we leave in half an hour!”
“Yes, sir!” Came the reply, and the soldiers scattered, pulling down their tents and burying their fire pits.
Tali waited until the soldiers had all dispersed before she steeled herself to voice something she had noticed since the start of the Expedition three days ago. “Sir Allen, don’t you think you’re pushing them too hard?”
Allen simply looked at her quizzically. “Nonsense. We’ve all been marching the same distance, after all. I would know if that was the case.”
“Sir Allen, they’re not as well trained as we are.” Tali pressed. While all Heroes technically held the same rank, as the senior most Hero on this Expedition they all deferred to Allen’s experience. Tali had always thought that he’s a stubborn hardass, the few times they had interacted back at the Church, but even still, he would listen to a fellow Hero, right? “They also have to move around more than we do, what with pulling the supply wagons, collecting water, and foraging for food. Besides, we marched twenty kilometers yesterday. We’ve marched twenty kilometers three days in a row. They’re exhausted.”
“So are we, kid.” Carlos Ironshield, the second eldest and thus second in command, cut in. Broader around the shoulders than even Allen, Carlos cut an imposing figure in his heavy plate armor, neatly cropped silver hair and full beard. “They may be the ones gathering our food and water, but we Heroes are the ones purifying them so the meat can actually be eaten and the water drunk. The Expedition is hard on all of us, but we don’t complain. We are all warriors of the Church. Our faith will see us through any trial, any hardship. That holds true for the soldiers as well, and if it is not enough for them, then that simply means that their faith is weak.”
As a side note, Tali thought Carlos was an even bigger hardass than Allen, which was something of a feat as far as she was concerned.
“But-”
“Enough, kid.” Carlos cut her off. “Stop questioning your orders.”
“If anything, I’m questioning her faith.” Irvin Fleetfoot, a young man in leather armor with blonde hair and lilac eyes, snorted. “If your belief in the Saints is so weak you need to hide your weakness behind your own soldiers, maybe you should just go home, Tali.”
“And you can take your jealous whining and shove it, Irvin.” Tali shot back. Irvin’s lips pulled back in a snarl, but Tali ignored him with the ease of long practice. “Lady Sarah, back me up here.”
Sarah, a woman in her late twenties with light brown hair and eyes a shade of purple so dark they were almost black, raised her hands in defeat. “Sorry, Taliene, I’m not getting involved in this.”
“Enough!” Allen finally raised his voice. Tali immediately shut her mouth and grimaced. “Irvin, stop trying to antagonize Taliene. This isn’t the first time, and it probably won’t be the last, but control yourself. We’re on the Expedition, and I won’t have you endangering it because you want to piss your comrade off. Taliene, my word is final. As Carlos said, we are all warriors of the Church. I have faith that they can persevere. You’re still young and inexperienced, so follow our lead and learn. You will see the sense in what we do eventually.”
And that was that. The Heroes saluted their leader and went their own ways to pack up their own tents, and the entire time Tali couldn’t help but feel dissatisfied. Was her age really such a big deal that no one would pay her concerns any mind? She couldn’t help but see how the soldiers were dead on their feet, struggling to even pack up their equipment for the coming march. Would they really be alright? Or was she truly just worrying about nothing?
“You were almost late to the assembly. Enjoyed your little walk a bit too much, Tali?” Tali was knocked out of her thoughts by the unpleasant voice of her least favorite colleague behind her.
Frustration now compounded by irritation, Tali was quick to snap. “What do you want, Irvin?”
Irvin Fleetfoot was a born genius, gifted in magic and skilled with both his dagger and his rapier. He was also rather arrogant, believing so deeply in his own superiority that he spent far less time training than he probably should. All-in-all, he was a rather unpleasant man that Tali wouldn’t have cared about.
If that was all, though Tali wouldn’t have minded much. She could simply interact with him as little as she could get away with. Unfortunately, Irvin seemed to think he was the Saints’ gift to all mankind, above and beyond all of his peers, and thus never failed to pester her.
He would suddenly strike at her, claiming to be testing his junior Hero. He loudly talked about every little mistake Tali had ever made, especially while she was in earshot. He made snide remarks about how Tali had cheated her way in, be it by bribing or bending over for some Bishop to get to where she was, because obviously there was no other way Tali could have beaten his record of being the youngest Hero in history by a year.
It wasn’t like Tali had been practicing her sword swings while he went off to a bar, or that Tali had been studying in the Church’s library while he was off whoring, oh no, of course not. She must have found a sympathetic Bishop and exchanged some services for her position.
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It made her blood boil, to say nothing of the fact that the man is five years her senior and should just grow up already.
“Nothing much.” Irvin drawled. If they weren’t allies, Tali would have loved to slap the smug off his face. As it was, she restrained herself. “Just making sure our little bookworm princess hasn’t started burrowing back into her nest. You do so love to accidentally lose track of time, after all.”
“I’m well aware of my own habits, Irvin.” Tali grunted. “You’ll be pleasantly surprised to know that unlike you, I learn from my mistakes. Now piss off, second place. We’ve both got work to do.”
Irvin snarled, a hand moving to grab his rapier. In response, Tali gripped the handle of her longsword, glaring right back.
For a tense moment, Tali waited for Irvin to attack. This wouldn’t be the first time they had an impromptu spar, as was their usual excuse to cover up their spats, but it would be the first one since they started the Expedition.
After a solid thirty seconds of tension, Irvin scoffed and left. With a snort of disgust Tali did the same, returning to her tent and packing her things away.
Thirty minutes later, everyone had finished packing up. The soldiers stood in ten columns of twenty, two columns for each Hero, with their armor properly worn, camping equipment on their backs and masks secured over their faces. When Tali gave them a once over, she couldn’t see any signs of tiredness, just grim determination. Maybe she had been wrong, after all, and the soldiers really are capable of pushing through this hardship.
‘Or maybe the masks do a really good job at hiding their exhaustion. I know which one I think it is…’
“Masks on!” Allen barked before he pulled up his mask. The soldiers stayed still, their masks already on their faces, while the Heroes quickly donned their own. Tali made sure to check the cloth inside her mask for any signs of blackening before putting it on. Dying because she forgot to replace the filters would be the height of stupidity.
After a quick glance over the gathered soldiers, Allen gave Sarah a nod. Returning the gesture, the mage raised her staff, her robes lightly fluttering before the shimmering line marking the wind barrier around their camp faded away, immediately letting the Mist flow back in.
The Heroes took a moment to make sure no one suddenly started choking, before Allen nodded in approval. “March!”
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As the day drew to a close and the light provided by the sun started to die down, the small army was in the middle of setting up their camp when a sentry’s war horn resounded from the south. They were under attack.
Dropping her tent mallet, Tali raced towards where the horn’s bellow had come from, pulling up her mask as she ran. She darted around a pair of soldiers hastily disentangling themselves from their tent, ran down the southern path that had been left empty exactly for this purpose, and without pausing stepped out of the camp’s
The most easily spotted enemies were two Chimeras, each one easily larger than a horse. One looked to have the front half of a lion and the back half of a frog, while the other looked like a bear covered in feathers with bird feet, a pair of wings too small for its body flapping wildly on its back. Allen and Carlos, both of whom had arrived before Tali, were fighting one each, their skill and experience keeping the beasts back easily.
Rapidly closing in was a pack of Venom Wolves – large wolves with fur black as night and yellowish drool dripping down their bared teeth. A stag with red fur and a pair of massive, gleaming white horns cantered sedately behind the pack, likely looking for an opportunity to impale someone on its horns – a Hunter Stag.
With Allen and Carlos handling the chimeras and the Hunter Stag content to circle the fight, Tali chose to run straight into the pack of advancing wolves. A whisper of “
Strengthened by her magic, the first wolf that lunged at her was split down the middle by her longsword, its blood hissing as it struck the ground. The second was met with her shoulder, the maddened wolf falling onto the ground with a piteous whine, pawing at its snout as it writhed on the ground. Tali stomped on its neck before it could get up.
One of the wolves managed to bite down on her calf, her
The sound of hooves on the earth drew her eyes towards the charging hunter stag. The beast had apparently picked her as its target, its head lowered and its antlers pointed right at her as it bore down on her. Tali braced herself, sword raised, but in a blur of movement Irvin had leapt onto the stag’s back, his dagger ramming into its neck. While the stag bucked and thrashed, trying to throw him off, Irvin muttered something, and a spike of ice erupted from his dagger and out the other side of the stag’s neck. The beast slumped over, Irvin ripping his dagger free and jumping clear before it collapsed.
“Eyes up, kid.” Irvin smirked at her as he drew his rapier.
Tali just rolled her eyes as she brought her sword down in an overhead chop, decapitating the last of the wolves. Ignoring Irvin, she whirled around and charged the chimera Carlos was still fighting, the one that looked like a feathered bear. The sub-leader was doing fine, having only sustained minor scratches on his shield while his opponent bled from numerous wounds.
Tali made eye contact with Carlos, giving him a curt nod. Carlos returned the nod, and with a grunt smashed his shield into the side of the chimera’s snout. When the chimera roared in rage – a sound that was something between a bear’s roar and an owl’s screech – Tali darted in and slashed at its leg. The chimera’s birdlike feet were deceptively tough, but Tali’s swing had managed to cut halfway into one of them, eliciting a roar of pain.
It tried to round on Tali, but the moment it did Carlos plunged his sword into its neck. As it staggered, Tali ripped her blade free and shot another
Sharing one last nod of acknowledgement, the two Heroes turned to find that Irvin and Allen were done with their chimera as well, Irvin’s rapier having gone straight through the chimera’s eye and into its brain. “Good job, everyone.” Allen praised as he flicked the blood off his battleax and sheathed it on his back. “No casualties, two of the sentries got a little scare, that's all. Back to camp, now, we’ve still got to put our tents up before it gets dark.”
Weapons quickly cleaned and put away, the four Heroes returned to their camp. As they stepped back past the
“It’s fine. How’s the barrier?” Allen asked.
“Perfect.” Sarah answered. “There haven’t been any more reports of attacks, either.”
“Good. Everyone, get back to setting up, and don’t be late to dinner.” Allen ordered. Just then, the soldiers had finally finished getting ready, forming up and standing at attention on the camp’s south road even though the fight had already ended. “As for me, I’m going to have a word with the soldiers. Their response time to this attack is terrible.”
“But sir-” Tali tried to protest, but was immediately cut off.
“Enough, Taliene.” Carlos snapped. “We know what we’re doing. Return to your duties.”
“The fight didn’t even last five minutes, Sir Carlos!”
“Enough of this, Taliene.” Allen frowned. “Do you not trust us to do what is right?
“... My apologies, sir.” Tali sighed, turning away and ignoring Irvin’s snickering as she marched back to finish pitching her tent.
Dinner that night was a quiet affair. After Allen was through with them, the soldiers dragged the carcasses of the Blight Beasts into the center of camp, where the five Heroes purified the meat, removing the poison carefully and smoking it immediately after just to be safe.
The meat was then tossed into several different pots alongside water, dried grains, and whatever herbs the soldiers had managed to forage, and boiled into a stew. Safe, filling, and easily made in large enough quantities to feed every soldier.
Unlike the other nights, though, Tali didn’t sit with the other Heroes, who usually sat together in the center of the camp, separate from the troops. Her concerns from the morning rose to the forefront of her mind again as she watched the soldiers, most of them looking exhausted and their shoulders slumped from the tongue lashing Allen had given them before dinner. Making up her mind, Tali took her share of dinner and walked over to where her platoon was situated.
In order to keep things organized, each Hero was in charge of forty soldiers each, and Tali was no different. Her platoon of forty were situated around a single large campfire next to the northern path, so she made her way over and plopped herself down. She resolutely ignored how the two closest soldiers flinched away at her presence, instead doing her best to smile. “Hey, how’s everyone doing?”
“Esteemed Hero.” One of the soldiers, Eric, cautiously greeted. Tali immediately had to bite back a grimace at the overly formal title, but by the way the speaking soldier flinched, she wasn’t very successful. Nevertheless, he continued. “How may we help you?”
“No need to be that formal, we’re all warriors of the Church, here. Just call me Taliene. Or Tali, if you want. And really, I’m just here to see how everyone’s holding up. Everybody seems… really tired.” Tail cut herself off before she rambled too much, her cheeks flushing slightly in embarrassment.
“We- we’re fine, um, Lady Taliene.” Another soldier, Alex if she remembered correctly, stammered.
Tali waited a bit, but all she got after that short sentence was awkward silence and nervous fidgeting. Holding in a sigh, Tali decided to try again. “You guys sure? I think Allen’s pushing too hard, but they won’t listen to me. All they’ll say is to trust that they know what they’re doing and everything’s fine, even though it seems pretty obvious everything’s not fine.”
“Ah, well…” Alex exchanged glances with Eric. “We, we’re really alright, Lady Taliene. No need for you to trouble yourself.”
“Well… If you’re sure, I guess.” What else could she say to that? Pressing the issue would just tell her soldiers that she didn’t trust them, and that wasn’t the point at all!
Tali wanted to just get up and leave. The soldiers were clearly uncomfortable with her there, and her own awkwardness with social interaction was definitely shining through.
‘... But they look like they need help…’
So Tali took a deep breath, shoved down her insecurities and discomfort, and tried for a smile. “If everyone’s fine, then that’s good! I was probably just worried for nothing, then! So, what do you all do after dinner, anyway? Back home I would usually go back to training, but, well, can’t really do that out here, so now I just go back to my tent to read. What about you, Alex?”
“E-Eh?!” The soldier she was talking to jumped slightly. Even in the ruddy, flickering glow of the campfire, Tali didn’t miss how he paled, or how the other soldiers all tensed up. “H-How did you know my name?!”
Tali frowned. “Well, I can’t say I know everyone here, but I did my best to memorize the names of everyone in my unit, at least.” She replied. “I, um, it seemed like the right thing to do.”
“O-Oh.” If anything, her reply seemed to make her soldiers even more nervous, but Tali ignored it. “Um, half of us, including myself, will be on the second shift of the night watch.”
“What do you do if you’re not on watch, then?” Tali asked.
“I just sleep, este- um, Lady Taliene.”
“I see. Well, what about you, Eric?”
“I’ve finished digging the latrines earlier, Lady Taliene.”
“No, not that, what do you do when you’re not on duty?”
“I rest, milady.”
Tali frowned again. “Seriously, everyone, just call me Tali. And… does anybody do anything apart from resting? Books? Dice? Board games?”
One by one, each and every soldier shook their heads.
“T-That’s… There’s nothing stopping you guys from doing recreation activities after we’ve finished setting up for the night, so why not do something?”
The soldiers exchanged glances again, before one of the older soldiers, Thomas, spoke up. “With all due respect, Lady Taliene, we are too tired to do anything but rest.”
“I thought you guys said you’re fine.” Tali couldn’t help but say.
Thomas’ breath hitched, but he didn’t falter in his reply. “We are, milady. As soldiers chosen by the Church, we know what is expected of us, and accept it.”
“That’s not an answer…” Tali muttered. The soldiers closest to her flinched again, and Tali realized her reply could be taken as displeasure. “N-Nevermind. I just… nevermind.”
Silence lapsed again, oppressively weighing down on Tali’s shoulders. She wanted to help her men, but they were either too disciplined or too afraid of her to say anything, so what else could she do? It’s not like she could just…
… Actually, she could, couldn’t she? There aren’t any rules against it…
“Say, Thomas.” Tali started hesitantly. “What’s left of the duties for our platoon today?”
Thomas seemed taken aback, but he quickly answered. “The second shift of the night watch, Lady Taliene.”
“I see. Will you allow me to join you, then?”
Every single one of her soldiers stared at her in shock. Thomas was the first to recover. “L-Lady Taliene? W-We cannot possibly ask an esteemed Hero to do such menial work!”
“Don’t sweat it.” Tali waved his concerns off. “It’s not like I haven’t done this before, and I want to pull my weight, too. This way, someone else gets to take the night off.”
“But-”
“Please, Thomas?”
“... Very well, Lady Taliene.” Thomas saluted her. “I shall discuss this matter with the others later.”
Once more the soldiers fell silent, and finally, Tali had reached her limit for awkwardness. Draining the last drops of her stew from her bowl, Tali got up from her seat. “I guess I should head back to my tent, then. I’ll see the night watch later.”
“Yes, Lady Taliene!” As one, the soldiers saluted her again, and Tali quickly left to wash up her cutlery.
No, she definitely wasn’t running, of course not, why would she be? It was just… a walk. A very fast walk.