He’d gone from a Knight Commander in the Raisean Legion to a lowly merchant in the blink of an eye it seemed. His little chat with Robby certainly had an interesting turn it appeared. All-Powerful Robert, the shining young face of Celis had really become a nuisance in their last meeting. As he had left, he’d watched him and young woman meet in the citadel, but he was too angry with the man who had the gall to call himself Triumvir that he could hardly contain himself in the meeting. He led by no example, and yet had the audacity to threaten him, Eames Croft, with death over the disagreement of how the mission would be carried out, then to call out him on lack of authority?! He deserved none from what Eames could see, it was something that needed to be earned, not demanded. Yet, Eames found himself waltzing as a lowly merchant instead, choosing the dignity he still held instead of defying orders and becoming a full blown fugitive. True, he could probably find a comfortable gig elsewhere, but he was far too good at what he did here, and his men actually looked up to him in battle- he wasn’t willing to let some other nitwit ever take that and try to lead without respect. It was nothing but a death wish to all parties involved.
Staring aimlessly towards the bluffs ahead, he turned slightly, seeing one of his soldiers; a centurion to be specific. He looked so awkward, walking in the bits of cloth and ritzier clothing that these others wore. It was obvious he couldn’t completely grasp what he was doing, missing out on the steel plate that usually adorned his body as well as the sword that was always sheathed at his side. Although it wasn’t just an oddity for him, the entire unit was reeling from it, it just wasn’t natural for a soldier to dress up for a “secretive” mission and blend in perfectly. They’d all heard the whispers, the merchants talking amongst themselves about how these men couldn’t be anything but soldiers, and Eames had done everything he could in his power to quiet them from building throughout the entire camp. The convoy was like a small town though, and if one person told a secret, it was public knowledge by the end of the day, the natural circle of things. Eames had been “lucky” though, growing up as a merchant’s son- though the falling out with his father had stressed any kind of family ties that still existed. It was mostly a dead family, but he had always been raised to be a merchant, and by god he fit in just as well as the seasoned men that drove this convoy forward.
Reaching down for his canteen, he took a small drink of the lukewarm water; enough to wet his lips as it had to last him at least a couple more hours until they reached their next destination for unloading and set up. There were so many goods shoved into every nook-n-cranny in the wagons and carriages that made a bulk of the caravan, it was a sight behold, especially when they entered town and began giving the goods to the population that was around, though he could imagine there were only so many more places that it could get to before being depleted far more than it was already. Small towns took a lot more than he’d ever had guessed, but it was all in good faith, plus it was free for them.
He found himself zoning out as the sun beat down on them, though the weather wasn’t too bad, and his eyes fell closed for a moment. With the heightened senses, he heard a horseman galloping behind him and gave a quick look to the noise. Someone wearing the seal of Celis was riding along and Eames could only roll his eyes. The only man he knew was going to be in contact was Hannibal, and the past two days had brought around two or three messengers a day, and they weren’t even close to the borders, let alone the areas where the attacks had been taking place. At least another two days you giant buffoon! Let us do our job and you’ll figure out how to do yours eventually.. Tonight they were to be staying in the city of Acristos, a decently populated place which was far too close to the capital to even have to worry about what was going on in the plains further north, it was nothing more than tiring out a perfectly good horse.
His duty came first though, and as every other time, Eames jogged forward to a black carriage and jumped up on the step rail and waved to the rider as he threw the door open. Usually this worked, though the rider seemed a bit thick and rode past, only to come to a dead stop and begin looking around before he found the only man standing on a black carriage, it was about as obvious as possible. Sinking into the Carriage, he sat down on a crate of oil. Watching the rider step inside, he gave a small salute to which Eames only rolled his eyes:
What the hell are you doing? You riders are coming far too often, especially with how close we are.. We’re nowhere near where the positions of the last convoys were lost and you guys are coming in like clockwork. This better be important.
He could tell he had gotten to the rider which brought a small grin across his lips as he watched the rider dry swallow and scratch at the back of his neck.
Sir, please understand that it is only my orders that I come here. Commander Hannibal is under orders to keep a close eye on you and he sends us to- to make sure that you’re still aware what you’re duty is and to keep updated on what’s going on and… well… yeah…
The envoy was staring at the ground as Eames’s eyes had narrowed as he heard the order. Typical hierarchy believing that they always had the better idea and it was only infuriating to the ones that actually were doing the job. Worthless!!! Gesturing to the door, the envoy understood almost instantly and stepped out, leaving Eames to think to himself. After a moment, he finally calmed down and stepped out and began walking alongside the wagon he had formerly been at. His moment must have been longer though, the city appearing on the horizon ahead of them. A high church steeple could already see them coming as the long bellows were heard even out to them. It was a nice feeling though, the day was almost over, and hell- a night at the inn sure sounded better than camping out again. City life sure grew on a man when he was stuck there while awaiting orders or even just on leave. Back to military life though, he couldn’t quite put his finger on what kept him there, but he actually enjoyed it. Maybe it was just the fact he was a ranking officer in a very prestigious unit; that was probably it.
As the caravan entered the walls of the city, dusk had begun to settle over the landscape, leaving streaks of orange across the sky in compliment to the purple clouds that made up bits and pieces of the heavens above. A beautiful work of evolving art that hung above them, but he had work to do. As he began unloading the carts that he knew were set to be going to the townspeople in Acristo, the church bell once again began to sound. He nodded to one of the lieutenants to keep the men working and promptly ran towards the small gate that they had just come through, seeing as a small group had already begun forming. To no surprise, there was already conspiracy floating around the crowd as Eames fought to get to the front of the pack and find out, but was stopped by the town’s gatekeeper.
Listen, be quiet about this but I’m a military figure. What is going on out there that these people aren’t supposed to be seeing, let alone to worry about? This is a secure city, is it not?
The keeper gave a smug chuckle at the military figure comment, but still allowed Eames to pass and step outside the gate. A chill ran down his back as he saw a small group, no more than ten horsemen in the distance. Wearing nothing but black clothing, and what looked like bones or possibly scrappy armor, they stood on the top of a hill in the distance just staring at the town, or at least that’s all he could guess. Watching them for a minute, he saw them begin to move, and he instinctually went for his weapon, of which he had none as they were still stashed in the carriage, but no hostility seemed to be coming his way, only a horse with a rider on it, but this rider was different. Narrowing his eyes to the distance, he realized quickly what the difference was: this rider was wearing the colors of the Celisian military, not the brutish look of these barbarians that stood in the distance. Stepping back to the door, Eames dropped his shoulder into it and slowly pushed it open a few inches, giving a quick hit to the gate keeper to open up.
Running back out towards the horse, he reached up for the reigns and pulled it in, looking at the headless body of an unnamed soldier that was sitting upright, just like he would be riding normally, but his head held the terrified look of someone that had been captured earlier, the face of a rider that he had visited only earlier, yet this time instead of a nervous drawl, it was dead and cold. Pulling on the reigns, Eames slowly brought the horse in, walking it in along the wall, trying to keep it from the crowd that continued to build and laid the body down in the grass behind a vendor of some sort, it would have to be dealt with later on.
Making his way to the convoy, it was almost entirely his own men unloading as the others had gone down to see what the attraction was at the door, giving him the time to gather the Wolf Cohort to the side.
Listen, I don’t know who these riders are, but there’s ten, maybe a dozen sitting out about three-hundred yards from the defenses of this city. They’ve already killed a- a rider of the celisian military which declares war upon our nation. I want night guards paying attention in four hour intervals along the front gate as well as the north gate. I’ll be taking the first watch with the first squad to observe any behaviors. Men.. we’ve been sitting at home, bored out of our skulls.. I think we might have a fight coming in the near future gents. Be ready and remember, we’re the best out here. These are our people to protect. We do our jobs, we’re all getting awarded for it, then we finish this pain in the ass mission and become heroes of Celis.
The men really seemed to like the idea of heroes, which the ones that walked away would be if this led to the end of the caravan attacks, but what this enemy held was all known only to them, nothing but surprises from here on out.
Staring aimlessly towards the bluffs ahead, he turned slightly, seeing one of his soldiers; a centurion to be specific. He looked so awkward, walking in the bits of cloth and ritzier clothing that these others wore. It was obvious he couldn’t completely grasp what he was doing, missing out on the steel plate that usually adorned his body as well as the sword that was always sheathed at his side. Although it wasn’t just an oddity for him, the entire unit was reeling from it, it just wasn’t natural for a soldier to dress up for a “secretive” mission and blend in perfectly. They’d all heard the whispers, the merchants talking amongst themselves about how these men couldn’t be anything but soldiers, and Eames had done everything he could in his power to quiet them from building throughout the entire camp. The convoy was like a small town though, and if one person told a secret, it was public knowledge by the end of the day, the natural circle of things. Eames had been “lucky” though, growing up as a merchant’s son- though the falling out with his father had stressed any kind of family ties that still existed. It was mostly a dead family, but he had always been raised to be a merchant, and by god he fit in just as well as the seasoned men that drove this convoy forward.
Reaching down for his canteen, he took a small drink of the lukewarm water; enough to wet his lips as it had to last him at least a couple more hours until they reached their next destination for unloading and set up. There were so many goods shoved into every nook-n-cranny in the wagons and carriages that made a bulk of the caravan, it was a sight behold, especially when they entered town and began giving the goods to the population that was around, though he could imagine there were only so many more places that it could get to before being depleted far more than it was already. Small towns took a lot more than he’d ever had guessed, but it was all in good faith, plus it was free for them.
He found himself zoning out as the sun beat down on them, though the weather wasn’t too bad, and his eyes fell closed for a moment. With the heightened senses, he heard a horseman galloping behind him and gave a quick look to the noise. Someone wearing the seal of Celis was riding along and Eames could only roll his eyes. The only man he knew was going to be in contact was Hannibal, and the past two days had brought around two or three messengers a day, and they weren’t even close to the borders, let alone the areas where the attacks had been taking place. At least another two days you giant buffoon! Let us do our job and you’ll figure out how to do yours eventually.. Tonight they were to be staying in the city of Acristos, a decently populated place which was far too close to the capital to even have to worry about what was going on in the plains further north, it was nothing more than tiring out a perfectly good horse.
His duty came first though, and as every other time, Eames jogged forward to a black carriage and jumped up on the step rail and waved to the rider as he threw the door open. Usually this worked, though the rider seemed a bit thick and rode past, only to come to a dead stop and begin looking around before he found the only man standing on a black carriage, it was about as obvious as possible. Sinking into the Carriage, he sat down on a crate of oil. Watching the rider step inside, he gave a small salute to which Eames only rolled his eyes:
What the hell are you doing? You riders are coming far too often, especially with how close we are.. We’re nowhere near where the positions of the last convoys were lost and you guys are coming in like clockwork. This better be important.
He could tell he had gotten to the rider which brought a small grin across his lips as he watched the rider dry swallow and scratch at the back of his neck.
Sir, please understand that it is only my orders that I come here. Commander Hannibal is under orders to keep a close eye on you and he sends us to- to make sure that you’re still aware what you’re duty is and to keep updated on what’s going on and… well… yeah…
The envoy was staring at the ground as Eames’s eyes had narrowed as he heard the order. Typical hierarchy believing that they always had the better idea and it was only infuriating to the ones that actually were doing the job. Worthless!!! Gesturing to the door, the envoy understood almost instantly and stepped out, leaving Eames to think to himself. After a moment, he finally calmed down and stepped out and began walking alongside the wagon he had formerly been at. His moment must have been longer though, the city appearing on the horizon ahead of them. A high church steeple could already see them coming as the long bellows were heard even out to them. It was a nice feeling though, the day was almost over, and hell- a night at the inn sure sounded better than camping out again. City life sure grew on a man when he was stuck there while awaiting orders or even just on leave. Back to military life though, he couldn’t quite put his finger on what kept him there, but he actually enjoyed it. Maybe it was just the fact he was a ranking officer in a very prestigious unit; that was probably it.
As the caravan entered the walls of the city, dusk had begun to settle over the landscape, leaving streaks of orange across the sky in compliment to the purple clouds that made up bits and pieces of the heavens above. A beautiful work of evolving art that hung above them, but he had work to do. As he began unloading the carts that he knew were set to be going to the townspeople in Acristo, the church bell once again began to sound. He nodded to one of the lieutenants to keep the men working and promptly ran towards the small gate that they had just come through, seeing as a small group had already begun forming. To no surprise, there was already conspiracy floating around the crowd as Eames fought to get to the front of the pack and find out, but was stopped by the town’s gatekeeper.
Listen, be quiet about this but I’m a military figure. What is going on out there that these people aren’t supposed to be seeing, let alone to worry about? This is a secure city, is it not?
The keeper gave a smug chuckle at the military figure comment, but still allowed Eames to pass and step outside the gate. A chill ran down his back as he saw a small group, no more than ten horsemen in the distance. Wearing nothing but black clothing, and what looked like bones or possibly scrappy armor, they stood on the top of a hill in the distance just staring at the town, or at least that’s all he could guess. Watching them for a minute, he saw them begin to move, and he instinctually went for his weapon, of which he had none as they were still stashed in the carriage, but no hostility seemed to be coming his way, only a horse with a rider on it, but this rider was different. Narrowing his eyes to the distance, he realized quickly what the difference was: this rider was wearing the colors of the Celisian military, not the brutish look of these barbarians that stood in the distance. Stepping back to the door, Eames dropped his shoulder into it and slowly pushed it open a few inches, giving a quick hit to the gate keeper to open up.
Running back out towards the horse, he reached up for the reigns and pulled it in, looking at the headless body of an unnamed soldier that was sitting upright, just like he would be riding normally, but his head held the terrified look of someone that had been captured earlier, the face of a rider that he had visited only earlier, yet this time instead of a nervous drawl, it was dead and cold. Pulling on the reigns, Eames slowly brought the horse in, walking it in along the wall, trying to keep it from the crowd that continued to build and laid the body down in the grass behind a vendor of some sort, it would have to be dealt with later on.
Making his way to the convoy, it was almost entirely his own men unloading as the others had gone down to see what the attraction was at the door, giving him the time to gather the Wolf Cohort to the side.
Listen, I don’t know who these riders are, but there’s ten, maybe a dozen sitting out about three-hundred yards from the defenses of this city. They’ve already killed a- a rider of the celisian military which declares war upon our nation. I want night guards paying attention in four hour intervals along the front gate as well as the north gate. I’ll be taking the first watch with the first squad to observe any behaviors. Men.. we’ve been sitting at home, bored out of our skulls.. I think we might have a fight coming in the near future gents. Be ready and remember, we’re the best out here. These are our people to protect. We do our jobs, we’re all getting awarded for it, then we finish this pain in the ass mission and become heroes of Celis.
The men really seemed to like the idea of heroes, which the ones that walked away would be if this led to the end of the caravan attacks, but what this enemy held was all known only to them, nothing but surprises from here on out.