“They’re coming soon,” Istraun said. “Are you two ready to go?”

“All set,” Axel nodded. He stretched as if preparing for an afternoon exercise. His usual cloak and clothing brought along from home was left in his room. He wore a shirt and pair of pants bought earlier in the day to blend in with those in the village.

Emile downed his drink after hearing Istruan. “Ready. We’ll watch and listen as long as we can. We’ll hide in the crowd and send someone back if something unexpected happens.” his hand hovered over a hunting knife, something he found while looking through the abandoned houses during the battle with Vormar.

Axel smiled at his partner. Although he didn’t know much about Emile, Emile seemed to radiate a sort of confidence and ability different from that of his party. Istruan was capable, Axel had seen it with his own eyes but Emile was capable in a different way. He listened in on Istruan’s party’s conversation when they first met, Rainen rescued them from a life or death situation against a group of goblins. However, as far as Axel could tell, Emile’s strength lie in his skill with the sword.

Axel himself was no swordmaster and hardly had the right to judge other’s skills but he had seen enough of people to gauge a certain degree of strength. In a fight between Emile and Rainen, the latter wins without question but against some of the guards in his home city, Emile would rank among the more skilled. Thinking back on the destructions the monsters wreaked on the city, Axel found accepting Emile’s loss against a group of goblins a little more believable.

“All right then. We’ll sit tight in here until you guys get back. Be careful out there you two. There’s no telling what might happen. Let’s hope that things end soon and that they’re off our backs.” Istruan waved them out the door. Rainen stood behind him, watching them leave silently.

“The soldiers should be in the middle of town,” Emile commented.

“They’re definitely there,” Axel said. “I can hear the crowd from here. No loud voice yet so I guess we’re a little early.” The two headed down the road following the commotion of the villagers. In the middle of the village, the inhabitants formed a semicircle around the soldiers. One soldier stood out among the rest. He rode atop a large brown horse, wearing black armor far too heavy for a travel through snow. A dozen other men, dressed more appropriately, kept in line behind him.

“Think he’s a knight?” Emile asked.

“With that armor? Probably not.” Axel grimaced. “Things just got a lot harder. I don’t know much about recruiting from villages but I don’t think they need a guy with that much armor to accompany them. Looks like they’re after something else.”

“Maybe he’s protection against monsters.”

“Maybe,” Axel responded through his teeth.

“Hey, I have a question,” Emile said in a whisper. With the villagers around them, Axel questioned how Emile thought such a quiet voice was a good idea. Secret question or not, it wouldn’t even be heard over the crowds. “I’ve been thinking about it for the past couple of days now, but did Rainen really kill that monster?”

“Vormar?”

Emile noded. “There was no body or any other signs of the monster when we got there. Do you perhaps think Rainen lied about killing it?”

Axel turned to Emile with questioning eyes. “Rainen hardly ever lies and when he does, it’s fairly obvious. Besides, there’s nothing to gain from telling us the lie about Vormar is there? My assumption is that something happened to Vormar’s body and that’s why it wasn’t there.”

“Right. I should have more faith in him. He’s strong and Istruan believes in him.” Emile nodded to himself. “On the chance that man up there happened to be a knight, do you think Rainen would be able to defeat him?”

“I don’t know. That question is best for someone like Iris.”

“Ah. The noble girl? She-”

At that moment, another man on a horse rode in next to the armored warrior “Are you prepared Wellen?” he asked, looking at the villagers. He wore a dark leather vest covered by fine gray cloak embroidered with simple zigzag patterns,

“Yes, Sir. Should we begin?”

“Of course. The others will be joining us soon. Hand me the announcement.”

Wellen reached into a pouch strapped onto the side of his horse and handed a rolled up parchment to the officer. He unraveled it, sending a quick glance around at the mass of tensely excited villagers, and read, “By order of the Imperial Council of War and approved by His Majesty the Emperor, I, Officer Saelac, am hereby given the authority to enlist men into the army of the Kaldora Empire. Those who wish to join please line up in an orderly fashion. We will take your names and give you a day to pack your things before leaving.”

Commotion rose from within the crowd. The villagers started looking at each other, some with worried faces while others, mostly the young men, smiled from ear to ear. This was their chance to become a part of one of the most fearsome armies in the northern continent and possibly make a name for themselves. No doubt quelling the upstart monsters and restoring order and security to the land would make them popular among their peers. Of course, many of them did not know a war was coming. Not that it would have changed their minds.

One of the soldiers came forward with paper in one hand and a quill pen in the other. “Over here!” he called.

People started rushing to be first, women and children left behind as many of the young men pushed out. Wellen trotted toward the soldier taking names and ordered the villagers to calm down and to get into a nice, single file, line. Those at the front quickly organized themselves once realizing the sheer size of Wellen.

“One more thing,” Saelac said, “We have heard of a monster wreaking havoc within this village. If possible, we will take care of it. Please tell us all that you know.”

Axel and Emile looked at each other. Things were taking a much different turn. Somehow, all these events kept managing to turn the spotlight on them. As soon as Saelac finished, various people in the crowd answered him at once.

“Time to warn the others,” Axel said, silently praying the people would continue to talk over each other for a little while longer.

“Go. I’ll stay here and keep watching.”

“All right. Stay safe.” Axel said before slipping out of the mass of people.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Axel appears at the door and, with bated breath, explains everything he saw and heard while at the gathering. We keep our conversation outside of the innkeeper’s earshot. Istruan and the other’s seem hardly affected by the news, rather, they’re a little bit relieved.

I knew we’d be sought after again. I just never thought it’d be for our good deeds.

“I think he, Saelac, will want to meet us.”

“Saelac?” I ask. “Is he a knight?”

“No, I don’t think he is, although it’s possible that there’s a knight among them. There’s a man called Wellen who’s dressed in all black armor. Emile and I thought it was weird for someone to wear all of that for a recruitment job, especially since it’s winter. Do you know anything about black armored knights Iris?”

“No, I’ve never heard of knights like that. Though, it’s possible. Knights are allowed the freedom to decorate their armor however they want so long as they wear the Empire’s emblem in a prominent place like the chest or the back.”

“So they’re coming over here?” Elis asks.

He shrugs, “Gut feeling. Trust me.”

“Aisha, Blue Hair, you two go upstairs,” I say.

“What?” Aisha seems startled, “Why do we have to go upstairs?”

“I don’t know if you’ve forgotten about it since it’s been a couple of days but you’re being chased by the Empire’s dogs. That red hair of yours is a dead giveaway. I could pick you out of a crowd of hundreds if I wanted to. End of discussion,” I say without any compassion.

She purses her lips unable to respond. The others in the room throw me sidelong glances, not fully approving of my actions but understanding the situation. Aisha drags herself upstairs like a shambling corpse. Blue Hair wavers as I tell her to leave as well.

“Why does she have to leave?” Elis grabs her hand, “El, you’re staying with us.”

Elis looks to Iris and the others for support. Istruan and Kat seem unsure of which side to take. Axel shrugs in indifference, but advocates for Blue Hair as he sees no problem with having her with us. Iris, however, agrees with me.

“Why?” Elis asks, shocked by her ‘betrayal’.

“It’s the same reason why Aisha had to go upstairs. It’s no slight against them, but their hair colors could give us away. The people hunting the Yurfrays are looking for red hair. It just so happens that one of them, Aisha, was caught traveling with a group of adventurers with a single roluk, Ellar, in their party. So, Elis, no. I don’t like having to exclude Ellar and Aisha but it’s for the best, really.”

Reasonably said. I couldn’t have done it better myself, though, there are other reasons why it’s best for Blue Hair to leave. Her race is the biggest factor. Even if Elis can’t see it, Blue Hair can.

She nods, “They’re right Elis. I’ll head upstairs and help Fia with Sio. C-call me down when it’s over.” she carries herself up the stairs no better than Aisha did. The air in the room grows heavy after witnessing two dispirited members of our group leave.

Elis storms off to a table further away and sits alone. The rest of us stay close to the door in anticipation of a visit by the soldiers. Minutes pass by, each one longer than the last. Istruan keeps himself busy with some breathing practices but keeps breaking focus, often looking around the room in a nervous state. Axel, though usually cool under pressure, taps incessantly on the table. My contribution to the tense atmosphere is quiet and endless leg bounce.

Kat is the first to break. She pushes away from the table and heads for the door, determined to check on the wellbeing of Emile. Istraun tells her to stop but it’s already too late. She opens the door and on the other side, are the people we’ve been expecting. Kat stumbles backward. Istruan catches her.

“Ah, apologies for the scare. I’m Saelac, an officer from the Empire.” As he bows, I spot Wellen behind him. “We’re here to make an offer. As you may have heard, or even experienced, the monsters have become unusually strong in the past month or so. We, the Kaldora Empire, wish to employ talented people into our ranks. We have heard that-”

I raise my hand to stop him. “We’re adventurers. Being employed as soldiers or associating ourselves too strongly with a country while we’re below rank S is a violation of the Adventurer’s Guild’s rules. Therefore, we will have to decline on the threat of losing our standing as adventurers.”

“Fear not. The Adventurer’s Guild is allowing special recruitment for the sole purpose of dealing with monsters. This is happening continent-wide meaning other countries are doing the same. If you join us, you will, of course, receive payment for successful suppression and elimination of monsters. Once the realm is back in order, you are free to leave the army with no repercussions. Also, the monster that you killed a few day prior, you will get a reward for that as well.”

“Interesting proposal. But we’ll have to refuse.” he tries to speak but I cut him off. “Our goal isn’t to become part of an army. If monsters are really causing havoc around the place then we’ll take on quests that have us go after them. So once again, we’re not interested in your proposal.”

His overly friendly smile turns into a frown. “I see. Well, if I may, how many people are in your little party?”

“There are eleven of us,” Istruan answers. “If you’re wondering about the rest, they’re upstairs.”

He nods, “One more question. You,” he points to me, “What is your name? Perhaps I’ll hear of it later on.”

The thought of giving him a fake name comes to mind but I decide against it. Too many risk factors involved. “My name is Rainen.”

“Rainen…” He whispers my name. “Quite an unusual one. Very well, I shall take my leave now. Thank you for giving me your time despite your attention being focused on your injured teammate. My men and I, along with those who have enlisted, will leave tomorrow morning. I do hope that if you have a change of heart, to have it before the sun sets today.”

“We’ll think about it, Sir,” Iris says.

“Good. I’ll check back later. I do hope I’ll see the rest of your party tonight then.”

Saelac closes the door as he leaves. Istruan lets out his breath, leaning against the table for support. “Thank Neema he left. When it comes to authority figures like that, I can get a little unsettled.”

“At least you weren’t the one who opened the door. Still, thanks for catching me. I almost had a heart attack when I saw them there.” Kat rubs her arm as she peeks out the door. “Emile will be coming back soon, right?”

“He’s a smart guy Kat,” Istruan reassures her.

“He’s okay, but we aren’t.”

Axel cocks his head to the side, “Elaborate for me.”

“Saelac seemed to me like he was threatening us,” Iris responds. “Either he’s going to make us join by force, or he’s caught wind of something else. That something else being our association with the Yurfrays.”

“So what will we do?” Istraun asks.

“Obvious. We have to leave this village.” saying those words leave me with a tinge of excitement.

Istruan’s face falls. “No, no. We can’t do that, can we? Sio still hasn’t recovered yet. Besides, it’s already noon. Where are we going to find a place to sleep.”

All his points are valid but there’s no room for discussion if there’s even the slightest chance that they’ve caught on. I place my hand on Istruan’s shoulder. He turns to me, conflicted. The two choices presented to us can both lead to disaster and at most, loss of a member. However, under the assumption that we’ve been found out, one saves more than the other.

“You can stay behind,” I respond. “You’re not obligated to come with us.”

Istruan and Kat immediately shake their heads. “We’re too deep in to pull back out now. Saelac would find it even stranger if our party of eleven people dropped to five… I’ll have Sio out and ready to go in a couple of hours. I might need some help carrying him if he can’t walk, though.”

I nod. If Istruan chooses to go with us then I’ll help him any way I can. He heads upstairs with Iris, intending for one last check up and healing session before we leave. Kat hangs by the door and waits for Emile’s return. It’s another ten minutes before he comes back. No worse for wear, Kat fills him in on our decision.

Hours pass and the sky dims. With our things packed and a few quick supplies bought from the village, we start making our way out of the inn. I tell the innkeeper we’ll be back later for another night and ask him if there’s a back door. He shows us the way bidding us farewell and thanking us for the business.

I have the others stay back as I trek out first. A quick glance around the back gives me confidence we’re in the clear. I wave them out of the inn. Istruan and Emile each lug one of Sio’s arms around their shoulder. His breathing’s stabilized since I last heard this morning. His skin, although pale, has gotten some of its color back.

Suddenly, a shout rings through the village. “They’re not here, Sir!”

“Search the inn and question the innkeeper. You three, go with Wellen and block the road.”

“Turns out you were right,” Istruan mutters, his heavy steps changing into more light-footed ones as we bound across the snow.

“I wish I wasn’t,” I respond.