Rana marched with the army of marked ones and soldiers as they made their way through a valley of rocky hills and barren dirt. The army was a ragtag collection of groups and individuals, many with their own motivations. Their cooperation was only made possible by Randal’s negotiation capability, who already made compensation arrangements with all parties involved, and the strong arm and reputation of Nadia, the leader of Fire Shield, and the vanguard of the army.

Fire Shield was the largest guild in Nye. The history of its inception was a rather modest one, however. When guilds did not exist and marked ones were simply soldiers for the Church, there was a platoon of reserves lead by an unremarkable mage-class marked one named Lenard. He was a rookie and had no combat experience other than his mediocre performance during training. The only reason he was chosen as a squad leader was a matter of the process of elimination. There was simply no one better.

That was why the reserve platoon was never expected to see combat. They were simply there to walk along supply routes and continue their training. Lenard however did not mind. He had come to enjoy the rather mundane routines, and with the many interactions with fellow soldiers, have come to appreciate the importance of logistics and the efficient delivery of resources.

One day, his squad was tested. It had already been several years of guarding supply routes and they were no longer rookies. However, with little to none combat experience, their marks remained at a rather low level. The monster army came from a blind spot of the paladin’s patrol and looked to bring destruction to the supplies of the human army. The monster’s success was imminent and the human army looked to suffer a huge blow to their war effort.

That was when Lenard stepped up. His squad might not have the combat experience or the power to stop the monster army, what they had was a passion for what they did. He spent a long time studying the map of where his supply routes were and further beyond. He managed to elude enemy pursuit and deliver the supplies via a new route. One of the paladin generals at the time took notice and put him in charge of the general’s supply route. He was given combat able veterans to command and deploy as he saw fit. His accomplishments in aiding the frontlines through efficient delivery of supplies resulted in other generals taking notice and they too wanted his counsel.

What happened afterward was a result of time and hustle. He took assignments from generals and completed them, which increased his influence and the manpower the army was willing to delegate towards his command. Then, when the war expanded its battle lines and the area of human territory increased, the Church decided to loosen its grip on strategy and allowed the ones in the frontlines to conduct warfare as they saw fit, as long as their creed was followed. After all, the ones who fought in the war knew the best in terms of what was happening on the battlefield. The Church leadership trusted their paladins and needed to focus on strengthening order for an expanding kingdom.

When that happened, Lenard just so happened to have connections with a group of marked ones who he worked well with and clients that trusted him. He continued to work assignments and accepted commissions, prioritizing those who were willing to pay better than others. Before long, Lenard and his group of marked ones formed what was known in modern times as a guild. The fame of his work spread and soon many other clients, common folk even, wanted to hire their services, and marked ones looked to join their work for pellets.

Fire Shield as a name was taken from a gift one of the paladin generals gave to Lenard when he retired. It was a thank you gift for his years of dedicated service. It was not a piece of magical equipment, but a ceremonial shield with an emblem of fire carved on its surface and it was not suitable to be taken into actual combat. It made sense, however, that powerful equipment could not be spared for decoration during times of war. Still, it became the name of the guild.

In a sense, Fire Shield was one of the groups that codified the existence of guilds, and the old woman sure liked to drone on about its proud history. The current Fire Shield master was a woman named Nadia, someone who decided the best rousing speech given before departure was a history lesson.

She was not here personally, but she sent her protégé Hamilton to lead the expeditionary force and act as their vanguard. Hamilton was a rogue-class marked one and specialized in close-quarter combat. He was ascended and his specialization was that of a Sentry, an odd choice for someone who was famed for being a melee fighter. There had to be some reason why and Rana needed to find out if she were to survive their inevitable fight.

However, that won’t be soon, not until whatever the duke had planned for her came to fruition. It was weird. His request was only for her to join the raid. He told Rana that he simply wanted a powerful marked one part of their fighting force as they were going into an unknown dungeon, but something about that sounded off. If Randal wanted her fighting capabilities, there was no reason he did not confirm what she was capable of. The only thing Randal knew concretely of her was that she knew how to invoke a judgment seal, which seemed to be the only thing that mattered to the duke. This meant that the duke did know something about the Dungeon but was unwilling to share.

Rana decided the truth would soon reveal itself when the expedition reached the dungeon.

“Is there a reason why you chose to march with this group? I am getting goosebumps just by being near them,” a voice said from behind her. It was Jin, the guard duke sent to accompany her. According to Randal, she was supposed to provide support and liaison, but Rana knew better. “I mean, it is not like we are joining with the vanguard or the duke’s forces, but I think it will be significantly more comfortable if we just take the horses.”

It was true that Rana chose to march with the group at the back. They were formed by the individuals who signed up for the raid but did not have the guarantee of any of the expeditionary leaders. In other words, they were either the weak expendable marked ones or the ones who were in charge of doing grunt work. The groups at the front did not adjust their speed for the ones who lagged behind, and they were not allocated resources that made the trek easier.

Jin should’ve been part of the elite of the expedition. She was young but experienced in combat with a rather high-level mark. Her gall to complain about a group she was in the midst of and without adjusting her volume showed that she was not afraid of any retaliation. The confidence was well earned, as even Rana could sense that she was capable. Rana simply wished Jin was more restrained when it came to voicing her dissatisfaction. Not becaust it was the tacful thing to do, it was just because it was easier on her ears.

“You can always join the others at the front,” Rana said without even looking at the girl.

“I was tasked by the duke to assist you.”

“Then I guess you have no other choice then,” Rana said after she turned to Jin and gave her a smirk.

“You won’t get rid of me that easily,” Jin said and muttered some obscenities under her breath.

It seemed liked Jin was quite bright as well. Sure, Rana chose the group as it better hid her identity, but there was some consideration given to annoying Jin. The marked one had been following Rana around and it made gathering information and preparing for the expedition rather difficult. Randal must’ve sent the girl to impede her and not give her enough time to discover the truth behind his intentions.

No matter. Rana could at least make Jin suffer slightly for the duke’s meddling.

“Halt!”

A sudden shout that broke the air and flags were raised. Jin prepared her daggers and Rana gripped the binding that covered her staff. The people around them were gawking with concerned looks on their faces, but the smell of hostility soon enveloped the area.

The earth began to quake.