FMH ~ 40!

Happy news! I've caught up in editing! The next round of edits is starting, and this should be starting narration in August! So exciting!

~ 40 ~

The four members of the newly-formed battle team were walking at a leisurely pace along a road that had clearly been beaten into the ground by thousands of feet walking on it. There was no true rush. They had orders to go, yet they did not have a time they had to be there. In fact, the majority of them were pleased with what was essentially a break for the first time in decades.

Taylor was not as happy with the situation; she had been looking forward to seeing her family again. Andre had wanted to see his old mentor and teacher, and Zed was looking forward to a pint of ale without a retained breathing down his neck. However, knowing that Luke was going to go with or without them meant that they had to put aside their own plans. In all fairness, Andre did not have any living relatives in the village, and Zed was still looked at with suspicion by the people that had known him what was less than three years ago for them.

“The fact of the matter is that only about a third of the people that went into the Initiate trials came out.” Taylor was explaining to Zed as they walked at a human pace. “I was told that part of the issue was the age of the people going into the trials. Normally they do not start until later, sometime around the twenties, usually. That allows people to get into the right headspace, have a firmer foundation for who they are. Then, when the Sigil is applied, there isn't too much fluctuation. Apparently, many of the people failed simply because the Sigil forced them to maintain an immature mindset. They died for it.”

“Seems like something the Kingdom should be held accountable for.” Zed shook his head sadly. “Look at it this way, the Kingdom forced a certain mindset. Most of the people that died during the Initiate training period were those sent to low Mana-density worlds, which means a low time dilation. Correct?”

“I think that is correct?” Taylor raised eyebrow, not sure where he was going with this.

“Well, clearly, with a higher Mana density, the Sigil has less effect. As an extreme example, Luke over there has clearly gained a totally different mindset than what he used to have.” Zed watched as Luke walked over to a tree, sniffed it, and took a bite out of it like it was an apple. The Murderhobo chewed on it thoughtfully, then spit it out when he realized that there was no flavor. “There is an argument to be made that the people that were going to come back were the most powerful of the people that went in. In other words, the Hollow Kingdom intentionally sacrificed dozens of people so they could scrape some benefits from those that lived.”

“Yes, that's exactly what happened.” Taylor nodded at Zed, and his face lit up. However, Taylor crushed him with her next words. “In fact, I definitely have confirmation from the Archmage that this was exactly what happened. Now, pretend I am a normal person, or a Noble, anything except what I am. I’m not someone who is bound to the will of the Kingdom until I Ascend, I’m a commoner. You there in your head? Great. Now, tell me what you want to tell me.”

“The Kingdom is sacrificing its young-” Zed's eyes rolled up into his head, and he leaned forward while puking violently.

“Oh look, your Sigil is judging you as breaking one of the Oaths made to the Kingdom: not serving the best interest of the Royal Family.” Taylor allowed a crooked smile to appear over her normally frosty expression. “We all do things we don't want to do; but this is one of the requirements for our Kingdom's continued survival. They are making us do things to save everyone. Sacrifices must be made. What is losing one life when you save a village?”

“A trade that I am not willing to make.” Zed wiped his mouth and stood upright. “I would never-”

“How about taking a life?” Taylor caught Zed as he started to make a grand proclamation. “We are on our way to the warfront. Are you willing to kill to keep this Kingdom safe? To keep yourself alive?”

“I…! That’s different.” Zed deflated slightly.

“Only your perception of the subject is different.” Taylor shifted her eyes forward and walked past the Bard, ignoring his follow-up sputtering. “This is why Bards have a bad reputation. All the pretty words, no action behind those same words.”

“Careful with what you say, there are people hiding in those trees.” Andre called to his group. Everyone looked toward the trees he was indicating, and people started filtering out of the underbrush.

“Well, well, well. Someone has sharp eyes.” A roguish man stepped onto the dirt path and crossed his arms menacingly. “This is the Kings’ road, and we are tasked with putting together the funds to improve and maintain it! I'm sure that you will not mind donating to such a worthy cause?”

There was a long pause, where the only sound was the wind whistling through the trees around them. Luke looked over at Andre, then Taylor. “They are making an attempt at robbing us, correct?”

“Yes.” Taylor stated flatly.

“No, ‘rob’ is such a harsh word for this.” The man gestured at the linen sack slung over Luke's shoulder. “We could use some of that gear, some proper armor and weapons would make our jobs much easier.”

“He is specifically… attempting to steal… my stuff?”

Zed rolled his eyes and spoke sarcastically, “Technically you stole that first, so… your stuff? Is it?”

“Here you go.” Luke swung the bag over his shoulder, slamming the accumulated weapons and armor into the man. The standard humans in the road had not even seen him move, and Andre only facepalmed in response. The leader of what was clearly a group of roaming marauders was crushed by the huge sack of metal, leaving a broken corpse on the road. 

Luke picked up the sack once more, then looked down at the pancaked man while some of the others ran, screaming about ‘Ascended monsters’. “Dibs on his sword.”

“You are literally carrying a giant sack of swords!” One of the remaining bandits shouted at the Murderhobo. “What could you possibly gain from having another one?”

Luke appeared in front of that one as well, and a similar scene repeated itself. He looked over at his party once more, then pointed at the corpse. “Sword. Dibs.”

That was enough to make even the bravest remaining among the bandits flee in terror. They didn't get too far, as they were running directly into the forest. Within five minutes, all of them had been collected by the trees they were running past and delivered to the four Ascenders. Each had been tied up carefully with vines, and the giant ball of people and plants began rolling along next to the road as Luke’s group continued toward the warfront.

There was an outcry from the captured bandits, especially when they began to get motion sick. However, Andre was having none of that. “I’m bringing you to the warfront as conscripts. No, hey! Listen, you can all do it my way… or you can try your luck with him.”

Complaints stopped after that, though it was clear that no one was really happy with the situation. Conversation stopped when the group realized that they couldn't discuss their personal experiences anymore for fear of their Sigils reacting. A day passed as the group talked and tried to get closer. Taylor started wavering between letting the conversation remain lacking or just tossing the bandits into a pit. However, before she made her final choice, Andre made sticky plants grow over the captives eyes and ears.

Then they used the rest of their walk to talk about the trials they had gone trhough. Taylor and Andre dominated the conversation, with Zed mostly chiming in to get details, and Luke grunting. On the third day of this, a group of actual sentries made their presence known.

“Halt! This is the King’s road, and leads to the warfront. Turn back unless you are on official business.” The leader of the sentries called. In an instant, Luke was in front of the man. His hand was wrapped around the sentry’s skull, but a harsh *chime* made him pause.

“Oh.” Luke looked at Zed. “This one not bandit?”

“No, that one soldier. Many protect Kingdom. Very Official. Wow.” Zed shakily informed Luke, who let go of the soldier… after stealing his sword. It wasn’t sneaky in the slightest; he tore the entire scabbard and belt off the man and tossed it into his oddly half-empty sack.

Andre spoke up before anyone could get too mad, “Greetings, loyal heroes of the Hollow Kingdom! We are a part of the new Ascender’s Corps, and have been tasked with helping this front until we have either won the war or been given new orders! Where can we go to announce our presence?”

The sentries calmed down nearly instantly, smiling at the figure that had suddenly turned into a golden Adonis in their eyes. The leader took one last look at the sword that had been stolen, but reluctantly gave up on getting it back. “Welcome, Ascenders. I’ll show you to your commanding officer, and you can explain to him that I will need a new weapon, if that’s fine by you.”

“Of course.” Taylor replied graciously, getting a thankful smile in return.

“There’s more swords?” Luke butted into the conversation, getting a glare in return from the man.

“…Yes. This is a warzone. If we aren't making them, you can always take them off the people you kill at the front.” The sentry started walking, as did the group. The ball of bandits and vines got a strange look as it rolled along, but this was not even close to the strangest thing that they had ever seen. 

“You’re saying that I can keep all the weapons of anyone I kill out there? What about armor?” Luke was questioning the sentry intently, and the man was getting annoyed.

“Yes, that is how it works. Spoils of war. You can keep it, or turn it in to the logistic group for the coin value of the gear.” They were passing through the camp at this point, and only Luke and Taylor didn’t flinch at the sounds and smells that were washing over them. Blood, sweat, latrines, death, screams, the clash of distant weapons… Taylor didn't react because her spells were keeping the scent away, and Luke didn't react because he was so used to the stench.

They only paused once, to unload all of the bandits into a forced conscription area. Without the giant rolling ball of plant matter, they were able to move much faster. They got closer and closer to the front, finally reaching a command center. The sentry walked up to the door, knocked briskly, and stood back. A ragged aide-de-camp threw the door open almost instantly, looking over them but letting his eyes linger on the sentry. “Report.”

“Sir, Ascenders fresh from the training of the Kingdom. The four of them are here to report in and take on an assignment.” The sentry waited there until he received a salute in reply.

“Understood.” The officer glanced at the group tiredly, “Listen, there will not be a terribly huge amount for you to do here. Most of our Ascender assets are held back, people like you only go in if an Ascender shows up in their battle group. This is a defensive war; all we need to do is discourage them enough and they tend not to press the attack.”

The group was generally okay with that, even though it meant they would be here for a long, long time. “I'll get you set up with the nice tents, in the officers’ quarters. We will get you situated and introduced to the men tomorrow, get some rest tonight. One question for you all…?”

“Sir?” Andre tried to speak respectfully, though his stomach was threatening to rebel as another scream reached his ears.

“Didn't you say something about… four of you?”

Andre, Taylor, and Zed looked at each other and around with paling faces. That was when bellowed words trickled into their ears from a distance.

“Bum Rush!”