“The fortress is finally here, Team One,” Rasu announces as he stands atop a tall rock, pointing at the gray, cold buildings towering above the trees, blanketed by a thin layer of snow.

“In front of us,” Tarak adds, rubbing his gloved hands for warmth.

“At last,” Evi finishes, her voice muffled by her helmet.

“According to the map,” Rasu unfolds a large sheet of paper, crude marks scribbled all over it, “The prime vantage point, an ancient tree, will be a short walk away from here. There, we will set up camp and rest for the night before our work begins tomorrow. Let’s go!” With that, he hops off the rock and begins to walk, the branches and twigs below snapping from the weight. How is he that energetic even in this cold? Kavlina wonders as she follows just behind Rasu, dragging her heavy legs with her.

Suddenly, Rasu’s communicator buzzes, a small yellow light flashing in steady intervals. However, in the jingling of the metal equipment, Rasu can’t sense it, and simply continues walking while the team follows behind, staring awkwardly at their commander. Finally, annoyed by the constant flashes of the light, Kavlina grabs the communicator and slaps it onto the palm of Rasu, surprising him.

“Oh?” he realizes as he picks up the communicator, “What is it?”

“Squad Leader, what took you so long to answer?” a quiet but furious sound reaches Rasu’s ears, “By the time you answered, we’ve finished setting up our equipment already.” The only answer is the sheepish laughs of Rasu, his face turning slightly pink from embarrassment.

Finally, Rasu manages to stop his laughs and responds, “Well, I never expected Team Two to be so fast, Bairuel.”

“Team One hasn’t reached the base yet?” Bairuel asks.

“Well, we are taking a longer route, and…”

“Squad Leader, it’s been almost two days since we dropped from the transport already. If anything, I’d wonder why your team was so slow,” Bairuel sighs, “Perhaps you are just too clumsy.”

“I agree,” Tarak mutters, trying his best to stop his laughter.

“I heard that, Tarak!” Rasu yells jokingly.

What’s with them? Kavlina wonders, If we’re unlucky enough to have an enemy scout nearby, this mission will be a complete failure before it even begins.

“Well, I’ll be expecting a report from Team Two every night now,” Rasu finishes and shuts off the call, turning to the team, “Well, that was fun hearing from the other team, wasn’t it?”

I do not see how that conversation can be described as “fun”. “Squad Leader,” Kavlina reminds, “Let’s go. The Elyfesta is already dimming.”

Although it is only in the late afternoon, the woods are already extremely cold and dark, the scouts shivering despite already wearing an extra layer of clothing in preparation earlier. As day quickly turns to night, they bring out flashlights, cautiously shining at the ground in fear of being discovered. Nearby, wild nocturnal creatures dart about, afraid yet curious of these strangers to the woods. As they venture deeper into the woods, the canopy begins to thicken, and eventually to the point where no starlight can penetrate into the ground. Save for their flashlights, they are completely in the dark.

Finally, they arrive at the ancient tree, their vantage point. Stretching into the sky, its large branches are like sturdy arms protecting and guarding the woods. Its roots are thick and dark, protruding from the ground like barriers and palisades surrounding the trunk. Scrambling over these obstacles with some difficulty, the team finds a large gap between two thick roots, the wood surrounding them like a ring.

“Perfect,” Rasu comments, “We’ll set up camp here.”

After a short while, a small fire is made, the flickering flames providing much-needed warmth for the team. Temporarily setting their equipment aside, the team huddles close to the welcoming fire, their faces illuminated and slightly glowing from the light.

“Alright, so according to the orders from our superiors,” Rasu says as a small screen appears, “We are to scout out enemy positions and mark out weak spots in their supply lines. Basically, we just keep an eye on the eastern road, with one or two of us sneaking up close and taking note of any place that might be vulnerable or lightly defended.”

“That’s it?” Evi questions, “We’re just going to be staring at a road for days from here?”

“That is what the command requests, yes,” Rasu answers, “but that isn’t much fun, isn’t it?”

Oh, no, Kavlina thinks.

“I would like our team to conduct some, um, ‘explorations’ on the surrounding terrain. As we can see here, this map is actually lacking many details since we can’t conduct aerial reconnaissance. For tomorrow, in addition to scouting the eastern road, I want to scout out the woods and its surroundings. The area seems to be almost completely flat, making it easy for us to use our larger artillery pieces, but the enemy can pretty much see our every movement from the fortress.”

“So… you want us to cover a larger area than what our superiors ordered?” a soldier shyly asks.

“Yes, Tari,” Rasu answers, “I have a feeling that scouting a single road will not be enough, and when many soldiers’ lives are on the line, us as scouts must go above and beyond what is expected of us.”

“I guess even Rasu has his serious moments… ow!” Tarak remarks before receiving a playful slap on the back from Rasu. I was wrong.

“Well, let’s get some good sleep tonight!” Evi says, “I’ll be standing guard for the first half of the night. Who wants to take over by then?”

“I’ll do it,” Kavlina volunteers as she buffers her backpack as a pillow.

“I’ll wake you up when my shift is nearly over then.” Soon, as the fire dies out, all that remains are the soft snores of the scouts and the rustling of leaves in the woods.

“Wake up, everyone,” Kavlina projects her voice as she lightly shoves each of the scouts, “The Elyfesta is up.”

“Wait a bit,” Tarak yawns, stretching his body. In a similar response, the other scouts rise lazily from their sleep. To their delightful surprise, a light snow is falling, the soft crystals touching on their clothing, giving off a cool sensation before it disappears. As Tari rekindles the fire, the others munch on their hard bread and warm their water canteens near the fire.

“Why didn’t you wake someone up to take over for your shift?” Evi asks, surprised at Kavlina’s sharp eyes, still alert of her surroundings.

“I didn’t think I needed to,” Kavlina replies.

“Alright, let’s get to work!” Rasu announces as the last crumbs of their breakfast are swallowed. The scouts quickly scramble for their equipment, lining up in front of Rasu.

“Evi and Tari, you will be staying at the camp,” Rasu begins, “Evi will be standing guard, while Tari will use our best binoculars to keep an eye on the road. I understand Tari is our support, but it would be better if he stayed here for today and goes out tomorrow.” Both scouts respond with a nod.

“Next is Tarak. You’ll be with me, scouting the northeastern portion of our area for the entire day.” Tarak nods, taking up his light beam rifle.

“Finally, Kavlina. As vanguard, you’ll be just in front of me and Tarak, briefly covering the peripherals and reporting back.”

I guess being vanguard is the most tiring, Kavlina thinks as she nods.

“Report to me whenever you find anything of note, that’s all. Now let’s move!” Immediately, Tari climbs up the gigantic tree, placing himself in between two branches, his legs dangling in the air. Evi puts on her helmet, an intimidating aura immediately emanating from her. Rasu and Tarak slowly walk away from the camp, their figures gradually fading away, blending into the environment itself.

Kavlina dashes into the woods, her boots rapidly darting across the ground. Being the vanguard means being the scout for the scouts, she recalls the words of Rasu in their training, Although the vanguard is as good as unarmed, this means they can cover a larger area in a shorter amount of time, giving an overview to the other scouts before more detailed reconnaissance is conducted. She takes out a notepad and scribbles with a pen, a primitive but reliable way to write down notes, and still the preferred way in the military when energy interferences are everywhere. The woods are largely empty, she writes, no traces of patrols, barely any tracks from animals, just an endless expanse of plants…

The crack of a branch. That’s not from me. She quickly hides behind a nearby tree and her ears prick up, the sound of everything around her seeming to be magnified. She quietly unsheathes her knife, her eyes pinned on the path near her. Slowly, footsteps can be heard, crunching on the pure, unsullied snow. Eventually, two silhouettes can be seen, jumping around with one flailing his or her arms about. They look quite short for soldiers… she thinks, careless too.

Suddenly, one of them trips, falling face-first into the snow, and the second one quickly runs over in worry. With the limited light, Kavlina can now see the figures clearly, but that’s when she realizes… They’re children? Both seem to be boys, wearing thick coats to protect themselves from the cold, yet the one who fell is slightly shorter than the other one. Struggling, the taller boy pulls up his companion, tears streaming down from the smaller boy’s cheeks.

“Brother, my knee hurts!” he wails. So they’re siblings?

“Sehlen, look at me,” the brother says nervously, “Your nose is bleeding. We need to take care of that first.” As the shorter one, Sehlen sits down on the snow, wiping away his tears, Kavlina notices the injuries on the knee. Contrasting with the white around them, the splinter of wood lodged in the knee is too obvious.

“Treat the leg first,” she blurts out. The brothers turn to her, their faces filled with fear.

“Who are you?” the taller brother asks, his voice shaking, “Don’t tell me you’re those scary people?”

“I-I’m just a traveler who got lost in the woods,” Kavlina frantically explains.

“Then what was that knife for?”

Kavlina stares at the sharp blade in her right hand. “I have some friends, and I’m making marks in the trees to let them know where I am if they were to encounter it.” Good thing I regained my composure. “Anyway, the boy’s knee needs to be treated first, not the bleeding nose.”

The boys retreat as Kavlina begins walking toward them. “What are you trying to do?” they demand in fright. Although the taller boy attempts to defend his brother, Kavlina swiftly grabs his wrists and shoves him away. The smaller boy, meanwhile, tries to shuffle away but is soon cornered by a tree.

“Don’t hurt me!” he screams.

“Don’t move,” Kavlina orders, squeezing his injured knee with her free hand while her own knee holds the boy’s legs to the ground. As her grip tightens, the boy squeals in pain, drops of blood trickling out from the wound.

“Don’t hurt my brother!” the taller boy shouts as he begins to flail around, kicking Kavlina, bits of snow flying into her face.

Almost there. In one fluid motion, she releases her grip and plucks the bloodied splinter away from the boy’s knee, and a scream leaves the boy’s mouth. Simultaneously, she lets go of the other boy and is immediately thanked with a strong punch to the face.

“What did you do to my brother?” the taller boy cries, repeatedly punching and kicking Kavlina.

“Stop, brother!” the shorter one shouts, “She made my knee better!” Where the wound was, the blood flow had already stopped, and all that remains is a purple bruise. Seeing this, the taller one reluctantly stops, only glaring at Kavlina with his large eyes.

“You actually… helped him?” the taller one questions.

“What do you think I was about to do?” Kavlina retorts, “I know a little first-aid, but it was enough to save your brother from further infection if you had left it there. The nose has stopped bleeding on its own now, too.” Good thing I know the art of healing.

“Thank you!” the shorter one calls out, “My knee’s much better now!”

“Sorry for being so violent earlier,” the taller one apologizes, “What’s your name?”

“... Kav,” Kavlina hesitates.

“Kav… that sounds like a boy’s name, doesn’t it, Sehlen?” the taller boy chuckles, “I’ll call you Kavi then. Oh, and my name is Rehlen.”

“Call me what you like,” Kavlina smiles. These children are quite lively. Ah, I was just like that years ago as well…

“Can I call you Kavi-lai then?” Sehlen asks, “Since you saved me and put up with my brother… ”

“I don’t mind.” Although calling someone their sister just because they fixed up a minor wound is quite sudden. Just then, a loud rumble roars from Sehlen’s stomach, and he looks away in embarrassment.

“You’re hungry, aren’t you, Sehlen?” Rehlen asks cheerfully, “Well, it is almost lunchtime now. Would you like to come over, Kavi? As thanks for saving my brother.”

“I don’t mind.” Perhaps I can find out the civilian population in the area, and report back to Rasu.

Rehlen and Sehlen run ahead, their expressions lively, while Kavlina follows, concealing her knife in her backpack. Apparently, there are small paths in the woods, where, according to Rehlen, the people of their village would travel on them before venturing a small distance away to pick fruits and fungi. Occasionally, Rehlen would tease Sehlen on the way, tickling his neck, smothering his back with snow, and stretching his round cheeks. Seeing all this, Kavlina cannot help but laugh. It really doesn’t feel like we’re in the middle of war, does it?

Eventually, they arrive at a clearing in the woods, where six or seven smaller houses surround a larger house. The houses are made of stone and bricks, the paint faded and worn out long ago. Although the roof tiles seem new, the atmosphere is more of an archaic, ancient place, detached from the technology that Kavlina and Avalel had become accustomed to in Thille. It almost feels like the village in the forest, at least before that night.

“Hey, Rehlen, Sehlen!” a burly man, laying down bricks for what seems to be a garden path, shouts, “How were the woods today?”

“The snow was really clean today, Dad!” Rehlen responds.

“It was really fun!” Sehlen grins.

“Oh? And who might this tall young lady be?” an old woman, wrapped in warm clothing from head to toe, asks in curiosity.

“She’s Kavi-lai, Grandma!” Sehlen excitedly introduces, “She helped me get better when I got hurt!!”

“So we wanted her to come over and eat lunch as thanks,” Rehlen adds.

“You got hurt? Where?” the father anxiously asks, dropping his tools and running towards Sehlen.

“My knee here, but it’s all better now.” Sehlen points to his knee, the wound now just a small scratch.

“Thank you,” the father gratefully says, “What’s your name?”

“Kav,” Kavlina answers, amidst the protests of Sehlen that he had already introduced her.

“Well, Kav, I hope you won’t mind eating lunch in our humble home.”

“I don’t mind. In fact, I am quite looking forward to it.” Nothing can possibly be worse than the military rations, can they?

“Welcome to our home!” Rehlen and Sehlen say, pushing open the old wooden door. As they enter the small house, Kavlina’s nose is immediately absorbed in the warm aroma whisking out of the door. Her eyes quickly notice several large bowls on the table, the food appetizing and shining under the primitive lights of the home.

“Oh, who do we have here, Ronul?” a woman speaks, poking her head out of the small but homely kitchen.

“A sudden visitor, Aia,” the father replies as he lightly hugs the woman.

“Ah, welcome,” the woman, Aia, turns to Kavlina, “I hope our house isn’t too messy for you.”

“No, it’s very warm. And thank you for hosting me here,” Kavlina returns the favor.

“May I ask what’s your name?”

“Kav.”

“Kavi-lai!” Sehlen shouts, leading to a chuckle from Aia.

They sit around the table, with Ronul relinquishing his seat to Kavlina, standing instead next to Aia. As Kavlina takes a closer look at the food, she realizes they are mostly just vegetables, the only meat being a small bird, probably caught from the woods. Still, as she begins digging into the food, the taste is rich, each blending extremely well with the other. The hastily arranged greens, reds, and yellows in the vegetables make the dish colorful, while the bird’s skin is crisp and the meat tender, the oil inside swirling around her mouth as she bites.

“So, what do you think, Kav?” Ronul asks, “How do you like our family’s finest chef, Aia’s cooking?”

“Tell us!” Sehlen chimes in.

“It’s… amazing,” Kavlina answers after a moment of hesitation, “I don’t know how to properly describe it.”

“I’m glad you liked it,” Aia smiles proudly.

“Speaking of which, how did you encounter Rehlen and Sehlen?” the old woman inquires.

“I already told Rehlen and Sehlen this, but I am a traveler,” Kavlina begins her lie, “I strayed away from my companions and got lost. I was marking down my path on the trees when I heard someone fall, so I rushed over and found the two.”

“At first she seemed scary,” Rehlen adds on, “But she’s actually really nice!”

As the afternoon moves on, the family and Kavlina continue their chatter, laughing at Rehlen’s jokes as well as revealing each other’s interesting events to Kavlina, to which she responds with refined, fake laughs. Soon, the Elyfesta is dimming again, and they finally begin to clean up, bringing the dishes to the kitchen for Aia while Rehlen and Sehlen run around in the garden outside.

“I have to go now,” Kavlina announces, “I’ve bothered you all for a while now, so I’ll go back into the woods to search for my companions.” Tarak and Rasu will be worried if I still haven’t reported to them after an entire day.

“It’s already late afternoon. Why not stay for the night?” Aia suggests.

“I think they might have noticed my marks and are following them already,” Kavlina makes an excuse.

“If you haven’t found them by night, you are always welcome to return here,” the old woman says.

“Thank you for treating Sehlen when he got hurt,” Ronul smiles in gratitude.

“And thank you all for your hospitality!” Kavlina cries as she quickly grabs her backpack and rushes out, waving to Rehlen and Sehlen as she begins walking back to the woods.

After being a considerable distance from the village, she rummages through her backpack and brings out her comms. Nervously, she calls for Rasu, her hands sweating inside the gloves. Finally, a beep, and she brings the comms close to her ear.

“What took you so long?” a deafening shout rings in Kavlina’s ears, “Both me and Tarak were worried that you might’ve disappeared! We ended up only properly scouting out a small area because you haven’t given any advance information!”

“Sorry, Rasu, I was sidetracked while I was doing my scouting.”

“Sidetracked?”

“Well…”

“What is it?”

“I’ve found a civilian settlement not very far from our camp,” she reports, “After I healed a child, his family invited me to their home as thanks, where I stayed for the afternoon.”

“What?” a muffled voice from Tarak shouts in disbelief.

“Kav, our jobs as scouts state that we are not to be found while conducting reconnaissance,” Rasu scolds firmly.

“So what happens if we are found?” It’s closer to say I revealed myself than being found.

“Let me ask our superiors.” For a while later, the comms are silent, with a slowly creeping anxiousness rising inside Kavlina. Occasionally, there are the indistinct voices of Rasu and Tarak, but otherwise, Kavlina could only stand and wait for their answer.

“Kavlina.” The voice of Rasu, a tone of defeat, calls out.

“Yes?” Yet for several moments, there is only an eerie silence from Rasu.

“Kavlina,” Rasu takes a deep breath, “The superiors said… in order to avoid endangering the scouts and therefore severe interference to the preparations for the battle… we are to kill all possible witnesses.”

What?

“We’ll discuss this when we get back to camp.” A beep and the call is severed.

What do they mean by “kill all possible witnesses”? Kavlina thinks, her mind aching in a painful premonition. Unconsciously, she unsheathes her knife, and it gleams in the dying glow of the Elyfesta.