Chapter Three: Stories
After walking along the forest path they had taken after the brief fight with the ankuam group, they had been traveling in silence that had only been broken by Jaren's whispered commands to halt and listen, occasionally sending either Lynia or Kyr to sneak up a distance ahead or double back to make sure there was no one following them. Other than that, there had only been a brief pause where Jaren passed Touka and Karura a waterskin and the other two scouts stopped to drink as well.
"Now seems as good a time to stop as any," Jaren said suddenly. It was the late afternoon now, and they had come close to a nearby stream when Jaren made this announcement.
"The cache should be somewhere around here, let's start searching for it," he said. "Crooked trees, disturbed brush, you know what to look for." He turned to scan the surrounding area, Lynia and Kyr following suit in different directions. Touka looked to Karura, who shrugged and shook her head slightly. They watched quietly as the three poked around in the area for whatever had been hidden for them.
"I found it, Jaren," Lynia called from a particularly dense cluster of bushes near a broken tree. She carefully pulled out several large packs made of what looked like thick, oiled leather, judging from the slight sheen that came off of the material.
"Outstanding. Well, let's get to it. Remember, we need working and dress uniforms. Make sure the pack you take with you has the dress uniform. Return the empty packs the dress uniforms came in to the cache for Third Division to collect after, and pack your patterned uniforms in the same pack as the working uniform." Jaren picked up and inspected one of the packs as he rattled off the series of instructions. "This one's yours, Kyr," he said, handing the pack over to the tall scout.
"Well then, I'll go off a little ways and make sure I look the part," Kyr said with a smirk. He took the pack from Jaren and walked off in the direction they had come from. Lynia hefted one of the packs onto her shoulders and handed the last remaining one to Jaren wordlessly. He nodded at his assistant team leader and headed in the opposite direction as Kyr.
Karura turned to Jaren as she left. "Looking the part? The part of what?"
"The Free Company, or should I say, the storied Free Company," he replied with a mischievous smile. "If you'll excuse me," he said with a slight tilt of the head towards the pair, and walked across the path into a cluster of vegetation.
"Are you as curious as I am, Touka?" The Evinkuruga woman just stood there with a thoughtful look on her face as she cupped her chin with one of her hands, clasping the other one against an elbow. Karura grinned at her companion, and folded her arms over her chest as they waited.
Several minutes later, when Jaren returned, both of them widened their eyes in surprise at the sight of him. Instead of the strangely patterned clothing he had been wearing earlier, he had changed into something that looked more akin to a formal military uniform. The loose tunic was gone now, replaced by a closely-fitting jacket the color of sand sporting a thin, tall, slightly rounded collar over a shirt the same drab green color as the cloth wrapping Kyr had used earlier to cover his crossbow. There were also small silver tabs on each side of the collar, indicators of his rank, Karura guessed. The entire garment including the collar ran from high up on the neck to midway between the waist and knee. Silver buttons ran up the front of the jacket, and similar silver fittings were used for the epaulets and buttons near the outside edge of each cuff. The pants were the same color as his jacket, and of a longer cut than what he had previously been wearing, with thin leather bands clasped around the ankles that had the loose part of his pants pulled over them slightly. Also new were the boots he was wearing, which had a taller cuff going higher up past the ankles, as well as being made of a smoother leather on the outside rather than the rough looking material of the other pair they had seen him wearing. In addition, he was wearing a gray cloth belt with black piping along the edges, as well as a brightly polished silver-colored buckle on one end and a tip made of the same at the other. Attached to the belt were the short sword and long knife he had been wielding earlier, although the sheaths were made of much finer-looking materials, and the knife was placed in a more traditional manner at his right hip instead of hanging below his shoulder.
"What do you think?" Jaren set the large pack on the ground along with the bundle of his folded patterned uniform on top of it and straightened up, placing his arms at his side as if for inspection.
"Absolutely dashing," Karura said, placing her hands against the sides of her face and making an expression of mock adoration. Jaren's mouth creased itself in a frown. "I think you look very handsome in it, Jaren," Touka chimed in. Karura aimed a particularly large, and in Touka's mind, worrisome smile at her.
"Ah, I can see the beginnings of a fragile new love born between warriors. It will be like the legends of Anterei the Founder and his companion Melian all over again," Karura said melodramatically, again with her hands cupping her face like a young girl lost in her infatuation with someone. Touka blushed furiously. "I can compliment him if I want to Karura, you don't need to make anything of it. I'm just being honest in saying that I think he happens to look rather refined," she said hastily, still blushing. Jaren chuckled, embarrassed by the compliment.
"He does look rather good in it, doesn't he?" The group turned as one to see Lynia emerge from the trees, dressed similarly. The cut of the coat was slightly more feminine, and she wore a light buff-colored scarf around her neck. The metal tabs on her coat's collar were different from Jaren's, confirming Karura's guess that they were in fact indicators of rank. She came over to take a look at his uniform herself, carefully peering over every detail. Spotting a loose thread on a shoulder of his coat, she lightly brushed it off. "Well, I'd say you're ready to charm the local girls with all that," Lynia said with a slight smile.
"Don't remind me," Jaren said with a sigh. "I'm remembering what happened last time we made a show of ourselves staying at that inn in the center of Noseshechika. I couldn't leave the room without a swarm of girls surrounding, asking me all sorts of questions, trying to get me to go somewhere with them."
"I, on the other hand, remember that quite fondly seeing as I got to pick up the pieces once you inevitably turned down any offers," Kyr called as he walked back. He stopped and gave Jaren and Lynia's uniforms a quick glance as they did the same.
"You mean between all the fights with the local men who didn't like you stealing all the attention," Lynia smirked and playfully prodded him in the chest. "What about that one noblewoman with all the admirers? How many duels did you end up fighting again? Was it four or five?"
Kyr looked up towards the sky, pretending to think. "Hmm, I believe it was six. Would've been seven except that last one was so drunk he ended up collapsing after missing a wild sword swing. Can't really help it if the ladies enjoy the rugged look," rubbing the stubble on his face with the back of his fingers.
"How you ever got away with that when you weren't in the Free Company, I'll never know," Lynia said. "Didn't the inspecting sergeants ever punish you for that?"
"Only in our Second Division days, and only when they caught me. I usually volunteered for some kind of extra duty that got me out of garrison whenever it was time for that. About the same effort involved as being subjected to 'supplementary' physical exercises, and I got to keep myself looking the way I wanted to."
Jaren cleared his throat loudly. "Hate to interrupt the reminiscing, but we've got to get moving again. Return the empty packs to the cache, stow your pattern uniforms and let's head on to Tusukuru," Jaren said. The three of them quickly folded and packed their patterned uniforms away, and shouldered the other set of packs left for them as they returned the now empty ones to their former hiding spot.
"Sorry for the sudden halt, let's be on our way," Jaren said to Touka and Karura. The group began moving at their previous fast walk pace along the forest path. "I'm hoping to pass through some of the border villages by early evening so they can put the local rumor mills in action. Hopefully, by tomorrow word will spread to neighboring provinces via the other towns on the border. The capital proper shouldn't be a problem seeing as the merchants are up late, not to mention the large numbers of sentries present that will likely spot us entering. Both of those groups should help when they get back to homes or barracks within the city, and it's almost certain that merchants and bored soldiers will talk about interesting things they see, namely us."
"Is that part of your group's plan to fight the threat you mentioned earlier?" Touka looked over to Jaren after she asked the question.
"Indeed it is. Captain Treyar felt it would be a bit odd for some unknown force in Tusukuru to repel the enemies so suddenly, and so fiercely. It'd be easier for them to accept the idea that Regent Benawi hired members of the Free Company to strengthen his existing forces. That way they don't look too deeply into our real origins as being from Anterei, and it also starts spreading distrust within their ranks as they start becoming suspicious of one another for leaking the information. He's very thorough, Captain Treyar."
"You have to be, to lead your own special group, at the age of thirty-two no less," Lynia added to Jaren's assessment of the situation. Jaren nodded in agreement. "Very true."
"Thirty-two? I was expecting a seasoned old veteran, going off what you've mentioned in passing about him," Karura said. "He's some sort of genius then, I take it?"
"I'd say that's a fair label for him. Captain Treyar is from an old Anterei bloodline, the Kern bloodline. They're famous for the military men and women they've turned out over the years, and also for being the single largest source of Anterei's Marshals ever since the position was created. They're also well-represented when it comes to other areas of expertise as well, seeing as they traditionally will take on another profession if they can no longer serve or retire for family reasons."
"Marshals? I'm not familiar with the title," Touka interjected. "Neither am I," Karura said.
"I'd hope not, we go to great lengths to make sure they're not discussed outside of Anterei official business, and even then we use substitute words to hint at them. You're familiar with the famous Battle at the Western Straits?"
"Of course! What Evinkuruga isn't? The legendary last great battle in the campaign to save the Evinkuruga homeland from the Northern Raiders is something everyone learns in their early years. Anterei had already experienced The Fracturing, but managed to be of tremendous help because many were living alongside our people."
"Ah, forgive me for asking then. I forgot that many of the stories passed down among your people are common to ours as well. If you know about the Battle at the Western Straits, you know about the Five Commander-Generals and how important they were to the efforts to repel the Eastern Raiders," Jaren paused for a brief moment, waiting to see Touka nod before continuing. "Three of them came from the Evinkuruga, and two from the Anterei, making for five as a whole. One of the best kept secrets is that there was a third from Anterei, someone senior to all of them whose advice they followed, the Sixth Commander-General, some call her."
"Her?"
"Yes, Meir Kern, the legendary First Marshal of Anterei and also the first matriarch of the Kern bloodline," Jaren said. "In the stories, they make reference to a Miria, a mythical deity of victory as being their inspiration."
"And that Miria really refers to this First Marhsal of Anterei named Meir?"
"This is quite a lot to hear all at once," Touka said with a surprised look on her face. "With someone this famous in your people's history, I'm imagining her descendants can be traced and are known?"
"Correct. Every branch of the Kern lineage, no matter how distant, carries some of her blood. By tradition, they favor military service above all else, and their upbringing and natural abilities shows that. They're one of the premier bloodlines of the Anterei people, and they take great care to show why that is. Every great military victory, every seemingly hopeless situation turned favorable, or every situation that could have ended up much, much worse but didn't is likely the doing of some member of the Kern bloodline in some way, if you delve deeply enough. Even with a legacy like that, Captain Treyar manages to stand out as distinctly gifted."
"He's quite the poet on the side, if you ever get the chance to hear it," Kyr remarked as they continued walked along the path. "Looks like we're coming up on a village, sir," he said, shading his eyes against the sun. Jaren squinted off into the distance. "I can hardly make it out, but seeing as you're the one with the best eyes here, I'll take your word for it that those dots off in the distance are houses." He ran a hand through his hair absentmindedly before looking up sharply in surprise. "Damn it all, I forgot about the caps. Treyar left instructions that we should wear them when outside with the badge and all. Sorry, you two, we're going to have to stop for yet another adjustment to our official appearance," he said apologetically to Touka and Karura as they all stopped to rummage through their packs once more.
Jaren fished out of his pack what looked to be a hat of sorts, made of soft cloth the same sand color as the coats and pants they were wearing. He held one edge of it in his left hand, and affixed a large metal badge to it. Placing it on his head carefully, he then pulled it to one side so it hung off his head and drooped slightly on his left. The badge was made up of a large emblem that he had centered on the hat to be above his right eye. The emblem itself was a brass-colored, three-pointed leaf with a silver sword running from the stem to the central tip of the leaf. Overall, it added to the already distinct uniform they were already wearing.
"I'm just glad I'm not of high enough rank I have to wear the other stuff as well, if you can believe that," he said with a confidential tone to the pair of ankuams. "Bad enough as it is, I don't know how Captain Treyar puts up with wearing all of it."
"To be perfectly honest, I'm not too fond of it myself," Kyr said as he straightened his own hat on his head. "Just another thing to worry about and keep clean."
"You mean pick up after the inevitable fights you always manage to get into," Lynia said dourly as she adjusted hers. "That too," Kyr replied with a wink that made her grimace. "What is it about caps and people knocking them off anyways?"
"Let's not start any fights this time if possible," Jaren said. They sped up their pace, wanting to get to the village before the sun set. It took them around a quarter of an hour to reach the village, but the effort seemed to be well worth it. As they neared, they could still see the residents walking around leisurely, neighbors and families taking a short break at the end of the day's work. The younger children noticed their approach first, but it was the younger adults who called everyone's attention to them. They could feel all eyes being turned in their direction, and many more people ran out from inside of their homes to see what the sudden noise was about.
"It really is the Free Company," Karura overheard a young woman whisper to her nearby friends. She was watching Jaren rather intently, almost to the point of but just short of staring. Jaren flashed a smile in her direction and bowed his head slightly, causing her to flush bright red and her friends to giggle. "Come on now, if you stare at him any harder he'll think you were trying to eat him alive with your eyes," one of the embarrassed woman's friends teased.
"Quite popular with the womenfolk, I see," Karura said to Jaren quietly. "It's more of a fault rather than a benefit at this point in my life," Jaren said to her out of the side of his mouth. "I'd be a lot happier about it if I wasn't already waiting for someone."
"My, that's rather candid of you. What's the lucky girl's name?" Karura distributed her own share of smiles, mainly at the sizable number of young men whose eyes were following her down the village road with rapt attention. She briefly looked over at Jaren to see a wistful smile cross his features. "I'll tell you about her some other time," he said. "Hmm, now I'm even more curious than if you had said nothing.," Karura said playfully.
Touka ran up to the two of them. "Is this normal, Jaren?" She looked a bit amazed at all the attention. "More or less. Don't you cause a little bit of excitement whenever you go anywhere, being an Evinkuruga?"
"Some, but I don't think anything on the order of this," she said as she looked around. "All the better then," Lynia said. "They probably leave you alone out of respect for the Evinkuruga legacy. We're more of a popular attraction, you could say," she deadpanned.
"Move aside, please, move aside," a voice called out from behind a large group of people blocking the path up ahead. The voice belonged to a tall man who was clearing a path for a much older woman, most likely one of the village elders. Jaren leading the way, the group walked up to her and stopped. He removed his hat and carefully tucked it into one of the epaulets on his coat, Kyr and Lynia following his example shortly after. "Would I be correct in addressing you as a village elder, ma'am?" Jaren's tone of voice was respectful, but also expressed a confident aura of authority.
"Yes, young man, that would be correct," she said as they politely bowed to her. "May I ask what brings the famous Free Company to this village? As you can see, it's a peaceful village despite being a bit larger than most."
"It seems that way. My name is First Sergeant Jaren Strasert, these are my subordinates Leading Sergeant Lynia Milthas and Sergeant Kyr Ilvos," he said as they bowed to the elder respectfully. "We were just hoping to stop for a short while and maybe get a hot meal, as we've been traveling for quite some time. I had heard there was an inn in this particular village, elder," Jaren explained.
"Ah, you heard correctly then. You're welcome to stop for a meal, although I'm still curious as to why you're all here in the first place."
"Well, Regent Benawi will announce why soon enough as it is, so I guess there's no harm in your village getting the news early. There's reason to believe that a group of raiders is going to move into the area, and we have been hired to help rout them by the Regent and the local council."
The gathered crowd began to murmur at the unexpected announcement, mothers and fathers unconsciously holding their children to them tightly, and young couples clasping one another's hands anxiously. The village elder closed her eyes slowly, sighing. "So it is to be war again? I still remember the troubles two years ago when the Emperor disappeared from Tusukuru. Being a border village, you can imagine that most of the fighting took place here earlier than the interior. We had to evacuate this place for months on end, until the fighting was ended."
"There won't be any need for that, this time around," Jaren said his gaze steely and his voice grave. "At most, the men of this village will be used as militia. There will be no need to pull them away from their land and loved ones because that is what they will be assigned to guard. The Regent hired us for a reason, and that is to use our expertise to fight this threat. The only mobilization that will be done under the Regent's orders will be of us and a corps of elite soldiers from the Capital Guard," he said. "You may hold us to those words."
"I see," a new voice spoke up. The voice belonged to an older man, probably a war veteran judging from the scars and lines that crossed his weathered face. "Normally, I'd be hard pressed to trust in such a grand promise, but seeing as it's coming from the Regent and the Free Company no less, I feel that it has some weight to it." Apparently, the man had some standing in the village, as the crowd seemed more at ease after he had spoken his piece. The village elder nodded her head slowly.
"Gild has the nature of the situation well in his grasp. Thank you for your advice, Gild," she said to the man, who nodded in reply. "If you'd like, we can continue this at the inn. I'm sure the village as a whole is intrigued to see you all, so hopefully you can help them satisfy their curiosity."
"With pleasure," Jaren said. "Please, lead the way." The village elder, flanked by the tall man, seemingly her attendant, moved through the crowd towards a larger building down the road. Jaren and the rest of the group fell into step behind her. As they went towards the inn, the man the elder had called Gild started to walk alongside Jaren. "Young man, have we met before? Something in this old head of mine tells me this isn't the first time I've seen you."
"Perhaps," Jaren said as he eyed the man. "You're a war veteran I assume?"
Gild's eyes creased as he smiled. "Now what gave that away? Or is it just another soldier's nose for smelling out others of his kind?"
"You limp slightly with your left leg," Jaren said. "I would've thought it just a limp except when I put that together with the scars I can see and your reaction to our little declaration, I'd say you've had at least some experience with war."
"Not bad, not bad at all," Gild chuckled. "I still can't place where I've seen you before though, try as I might. It's a terrible thing, being old. I don't suppose you were there during the Border Wars?"
"That's a bit before my time, sir," Jaren said with a laugh. "I was all of fifteen years when that was happening."
"Ah! Excuse an old man his age," Gild said, laughing as well. "I tend to forget how long it's been since these things have happened. My, that was a long time ago, before this country was named Tusukuru even. Eh, now that I think about it more carefully, maybe it was some time more recent."
"Most likely. I've only been in the Free Company for a little over a year at this point."
"And before?"
"Before, I wasn't part of any group. I drifted from country to country selling my services as a scout."
"As a scout you say," Gild said as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Interesting, maybe I'm getting you confused. I've seen my share of mercenaries too, with all the campaigns I've been on."
"I'd be interested in hearing about them. Let me just see to my companions first," Jaren said as they entered the inn and sat down. He walked over to Lynia and Kyr to whisper some instructions before going over to where Karura and Touka had seated themselves. "If anyone should ask why you're with us, tell them the Regent requested we join you on your way back to the capital. The people here probably know more of your reputation than anyone else, seeing as you fought personally with the Emperor. Above all, we're trying to give the people some confidence in the forces we're assembling."
"Well planned," Touka said with an approving nod. "If the threat you described to us is as great as you say it is, then the people's will to fight is key." Karura shrugged and nodded silently. "Alright, well, we'll be here for an hour or two at most so feel free to rest until then. I'll be over there with Gild swapping war stories it seems. I'd invite the two of you to listen in, except I think they'll be the kind that won't be interesting to warriors of your caliber used to fighting on your own."
"Hmm, tactics and such? Not very interesting, to be honest," Karura yawned. "I find charging in at full force is more than adequate in almost all situations."
"Well, not all of us were blessed with the strength and resilience of the Giriyagina line," Jaren said with a tentative laugh. "If you'll excuse me, then." Jaren moved to sit with Gild and they could overhear them spiritedly telling each other soldier's tales. Looking around the room, Karura noticed that Kyr was surrounded by a throng of admirers, primarily young and female, as well as being watched not altogether happily by several young men of the village. Lynia, meanwhile, was holding some sort of discussion with the older women of the village and their families. She seemed especially happy when addressing the concerns of the younger girls. Aside from her earlier bantering with Kyr, this was the only time Karura had seen the usually stern woman smile.
The food arrived shortly after, the meal a simple but filling one. Gild and Jaren had been talking throughout the meal, and continued to do so after they had finished. Gild said something that lit Jaren's face up with a broad smile, and he motioned over the noise of the gathered villagers to the rest of the group traveling to Tusukuru to join them. Gild had placed a large wood board on the table. The board itself was inlaid with numerous intersecting lines and other symbols carved into the surface. He had also placed two pairs of cloth bags on the table, one colored brown, the other colored gray, and both had drawstrings holding them closed at the top.
"I challenged your friend Jaren to a game of General's Folly, and he's obliged an old man by taking enough time out of his day to test his mettle," he said with a grin. "I assume your comrades in arms are intimately familiar with this game, but I wonder about your escort to the capital." He glanced up from the board to the faces of the two fighting women from Tusukuru.
"Familiar, no, but I have seen the game played and have a vague idea of the rules," Karura said. Seeing Touka giving her a curious look, she grinned smugly. "From spending so much time in taverns," she said in a tone calculated to annoy Touka. "You might learn a thing or two from it."
"I'm afraid I don't know much of the game other than the name," Touka said, making an effort to ignore Karura's verbal jab. "It's a game of strategy I take it?"
"That's a fine way to describe it," Gild said. "Think of it as the things a general, or for that matter any leader of fighters in combat has to take into consideration, made simplified to make a game that still manages to teach axioms of war." He placed his hands on one of the gray bags. "Take this pair, for instance. This gray pair contains pieces representing a standard military force, a regular, trained, equipped, organized, and supplied army you might see in any country. People say it's the best choice for beginners because of the pieces' predictable behavior and nature when employing them in the game. However, many underestimate their power when an experienced player puts them to good use."
"This brown pair, then, is the more irregular side of the game," he said with a gesture to the other bag on the table. "This pair represents anything outside of traditional military forces such as rebels, hastily-raised militia, or bandits. They are less strong in the traditional sense, and are tricky to use effectively, but have their own host of rules and behaviors that can make them powerful as well. Most players fancying themselves experienced hands at the game will usually play brown, as it's most definitely the more showy side to play."
Gild leaned back slightly in his seat on the table's bench and frowned. "Of course, those are the players who rely on cheap tricks and ruses, along with the reputation of brown as being the more difficult side to play to help put their opponents on edge before the game even starts. Really, their skills are not that much higher than most others. I'm getting off the topic at hand, however," as he sat straight up once again. "I challenged you to the game, First Sergeant Jaren, so I'll pick my set first. I choose gray, infantry specialty." He picked one of the gray bags and set it down on the right side of the board closest to him with a clinking noise.
"A solid choice," Jaren said with a thoughtful nod. "Gray is best played with a core of solid infantry, I find, rather than fast but temperamental cavalry."
"Hmph. Cavalry are at best a supplement. They can never replace a disciplined body of infantry with spears. Of course, this could be an old soldier's pride talking," Gild said with a smirk that caused the lines around his eyes to wrinkle.
"A well-founded pride, I'm sure," Jaren said amiably. "Given that, I'd like to ask you if you'll be willing to let me choose black." As he finished speaking, he reached into his pack and pulled out a black bag of the same size as the others. Gild recoiled slightly in surprise. "I... you have a set?"
"I do. You're welcome to inspect the pieces." Jaren handed the bag to Gild who shook out the bag carefully and looked at the pieces. The pieces themselves were made of a black-colored wood with small white symbols and numbers inlaid into their surface. Gild checked over them with an almost amazed look on his face. Several of the tavern patrons had noticed and walked on over to see what the excitement was about.
"What's this, Gild? He actually have a set of black, then?" Gild looked to the man who had asked him the question and simply nodded. He handed the bag back to Jaren. "You seem to be full of surprises, my boy. Your set has the One-Armed Captain's signet on the back. I'm surprised enough that you met the man, but even more that you took his personal black set. What set did you play to beat him?"
"Brown, Verren's Legacy," Jaren said. Gild raised his eyebrows and some of the spectators began having whispered conversations. "Verren's Legacy? Even among the brown set, that particular specialty's never been an easy one to use, let alone against a black set. Sorry for the distraction, I accept. It's been quite some time since I've played against black, and too long since I've played someone of your skill, if I've got a good measure of you from you having this set."
"Only one way to find out," Jaren remarked as he opened his bag's drawstring. "What's the unit count going to be for this game?"
"I was thinking a skirmish count of twenty-five would be good, as I'm sure you'll be wanting to get the capital before it gets too late."
"Fine by me, let's get started then," Jaren said as he pulled out a handful of pieces and shook them around slightly so they were facing up. He picked a few pieces out at a time before placing them on the table and against the board so they were standing facing him, Gild doing the same. After Jaren had done the same process with a little more than a dozen pieces, he began to transfer them to the board. Curiously, he placed some face down and stacked them one atop the other on a single space before placing a single piece at the very top of the pile face up. He did this in several spaces on the board until he had only a few left, which he placed face down to the right side of the board.
"I should probably explain what it is that I'm doing, as the black set in this game can be rather difficult to understand. Black is supposed to represent mercenaries somewhere between the professional armies of the gray set and the irregular fighters of brown. The face down pieces on the board are unknown pieces headed by a known piece, and this is supposed to represent the idea of mercenaries acting in a way that conceals their true strength. At the same time, it keeps the opponent guessing as he's never quite sure which of these groups of pieces is the strongest, or if any of them even differ from one another. For all Gild knows, these are all identical groups of pieces that will always give him trouble, or they could all be different types of groups tailored for specific tactics."
"And the pieces on the side of the board?" Karura had asked the question from side of the table nearest the pieces where she was standing with her arms folded over her middle watching the game.
"Ah, those are what they call the reserve pieces. Think of them as additional pieces I can call into the fight. I can put them into play at any time face up or down, but if I do that I can't take any other actions for that turn. Gild can do that with his gray set as well, but his must be played face up seeing as regular armies aren't trained for stealth, and even if they were, their supply lines would give them away."
"Hate to rush, but I think we should get started and they can try to pick up the rules as we go along," Gild said. "I feel like having some ale with the game, can I interest any of you in some as well?"
"I usually don't when playing General's Folly, but I suppose I can make an exception this time, how about you two?" Jaren looked over to Touka and Karura for an answer. Touka shook her head. "I'm afraid I have to decline. If you're going to be drinking, I should be at my most alert in case anything were to happen to you."
"When you put it that way, I almost feel like I shouldn't," Jaren said with a wince. "Oh no, I didn't mean to say anything like that!" Touka flushed slightly as she waved her hands frantically. Karura smiled the usual smile she reserved for whenever Touka embarrassed or otherwise worked herself up over small things. "I'll share a drink with you two," she said as she stretched languidly and sat down next to Jaren. "It'd be too sad to have two grown men drink by themselves in the company of women."
Before Jaren could say anything in response she had wrapped herself around his left arm and laid her head to rest against his shoulder and neck. "Ah, now there's something I miss about being a young soldier," Gild said with a grin and a nostalgic look on his face. "I never had someone as beautiful as you on my arm, though, if you don't mind my saying so ma'am," he said with a wink to Karura. "Perhaps if our uniforms were as well-tailored and good as yours, it would've helped."
Karura leaned herself into Jaren a little more forcefully and rubbed her head against him as she tried to gain a better perch against her unwilling headrest. "It's not so much the uniform as the man underneath it, I think," she said in a sultry tone. Touka had been watching this unfold from the beginning, but remained speechless with her mouth open and a scandalized look on her face.
"Don't get too distracted, now; I still expect a challenging game from you," he said with a wink. As Gild turned to call for ale, Jaren turned to frown at Karura, who made replied by closing her eyes and breathing a contented sigh as she leaned into him further.
"I'd accuse you of being difficult, but I think I'm getting to the point where I'm just going to consider this normal behavior," Jaren muttered with a resigned look on his face. "Fine then, do as you wish. I just hope you understand it's awful of you to act like this, knowing what you do about me."
"I'm sure the woman you're waiting for wouldn't mind this," Karura whispered, her eyes still closed. "I might even be doing you a favor, helping you renew your convictions that she's the only one for you, and that you won't do anything to break that trust."
"That's an awfully twisted way of looking at this," Jaren replied under his breath. "Sorry if this is making you uncomfortable," he said as Touka sat down on his right, having recovered from her intial shock at Karura's actions.
"Please, there's no need to worry about me," Touka said stuffily. "I almost expect this kind of thing from her now after traveling with her for over a year." Jaren chuckled uneasily. "Is that so?"
Any further conversation was halted by the arrival of a young woman bringing over a tray with mugs of ale. She had a surprised look on her face that Jaren was already sitting with a woman hanging off one arm, and another on the other side. She caught his gaze as she shifted the mugs from her serving tray to the table, and gave him a knowing look and a wink that seemed to say "good luck." Jaren returned her silent encouragement with an half-smile that was spectacularly unconvincing.
"My, my, you Free Company boys sure work fast," Gild said with a hearty laugh. He jerked his head in the direction of Kyr and the swarm of young women who were seemingly attached to him as he managed to keep up multiple conversations while making sure no single one of them got too close. "I suppose you being their leader accounts for your more subtle approach," he said as he lifted a mug of ale to his lips, his eyes smiling at the three on the opposite side of the table.
"Well, it's like my cousins always told me," Jaren said wearily, pausing to take a gulp of his own ale. "Quality over quantity is the secret for happiness with women." As he finished his sentence and set his mug down on the table, two very different reactions took place on either side of him. Touka cleared her throat loudly as she furrowed her brow and blushed a deep shade of red. Meanwhile, Karura giggled and shifted her arms to wrap around Jaren's torso instead of just around one arm. Gild laughed loudly again. Jaren let out a sigh and proceeded to take another swig of his ale.
"Now that we've got our drinks, I think we can finally get started," Gild said. "Black takes precedence over gray, so you get the first move Jaren." Jaren shifted a stack of one of his pieces from one line to another, and split another stack of four pieces whose top piece had a triangular symbol with a horizontal dash in the middle into two stacks of two. Moving them forward as well, he flipped over the top piece of the one that had been on the bottom, revealing a pair of wavy lines. Gild frowned at this development. "Starting out aggressive, I see, fielding a patrol of Land Trawlers at the very beginning, and at the front as well."
"Reconnaissance in force is a favored tactic of mine, I suppose," Jaren said. Gild narrowed his eyes slightly and gave Jaren an appraising look for a moment, but shrugged and took a mouthful of ale just as quickly. The game continued for a few minutes at what as far as Touka and Karura knew was a slow pace. Being only basically familiar with the game's inner workings, they relied on the brief explanations Gild and Jaren gave at key turning points in the game, as well as the reactions the two players managed to elicit from one another as well as the observers around the table when attempting an especially audacious move or suffering a setback. They explained a multitude of rules, but the most important one they had described was that of positioning and flanking. Every piece had a small triangular mark at the top of one side that indicated the front of the piece, and based off of that the sides and rear as well. From Jaren's remarks, this was key as some pieces were extremely strong when fighting head on, but suffered enormous penalties when fighting certain pieces from the side or the rear.
Jaren's strategy was heavily reliant on his forces' smaller size and the mobility they enjoyed compared to Gild's more rigid defensive formations. He was constantly probing Gild's lines to try and break the carefully arrayed tiles, but only succeeding in tying down his units for a turn or two with harassing archer fire and raids before he had to withdraw in the face of Gild's realignment of his units to counter the threat. Gild responded by sending out small groups of light infantry as skirmishers, preventing Jaren from staying in any one spot for too long. He did have a handful of cavalry pieces, but it was clear that they were only present to harass and herd Jaren's pieces into places where they could be fixed and destroyed by Gild's heavy infantry formations.
Jaren had only managed to remove two of Gild's pieces from the board after several attempts at this when he had managed to hit his vanguard forces from three different directions at once. The ploy was successful thanks to Jaren's deployment of one reserve piece whenever he managed to use his archers to pin down Gild's vulnerable units in such a way that it took him two or three turns to respond and force Jaren to temporarily withdraw. In a matter of minutes, Jaren had deployed all his reserve pieces, which turned out to be almost all patrols of what Gild had referred to earlier as "Land Trawlers."
These pieces had several interesting properties that made them much more powerful than they would appear to be when first considered. They were treated as light infantry, but dealt damage equal to that of heavy infantry. They moved unusually fast whenever the board indicated coastal or riverine terrain, and had no penalties imposed on them for being attacked from the flanks or rear. Most notably, however, was their ability that Gild and Jaren both referred to as "The Call." If any one patrol held still and initiated The Call, all other Land Trawler patrols were able to move twice as fast in that piece's direction until they joined it. At that time, they could combine into a single, massive patrol or spread out into formation. Jaren had used this ability to great effect after all of his Land Trawler pieces had been placed on the board, and after using The Call twice he had rapidly rearranged the entire flow of the game in his favor. Exploiting the Land Trawler's naturally fast movement, he managed to leverage their ability to traverse terrain near water even more quickly, and combined their double speed under the conditions of The Call. Essentially, he was able to move faster than Gild could reposition his forces into less vulnerable formations, and launched devastating flank assaults every other turn. Gild began to lose pieces as Jaren's tactics gained momentum, and the game was ended astonishingly fast in Jaren's favor. Gild had lost every last one of his pieces, while Jaren had only suffered the loss of two mercenary archer pieces and one band of mercenary pikemen by the time the woman from earlier brought over a second round of ale.
"Well played, young one, well played," Gild said as he stood up from his seat to shake Jaren's hand in congratulations. Several members of the crowd that had been watching clapped him on the back energetically and offered their congratulations. "I see you definitely deserve that black set, and if your Free Company wages war anything like you play General's Folly, I'm sure the defense of Tusukuru is in good hands." Jaren grinned as he raised his mug of ale. "To the safety of Tusukuru then," he called out in a voice loud enough for the entire tavern to hear.
"To the safety of Tusukuru," Gild and the group watching their game echoed, and the rest of the tavern followed suit. Out of the corner of his eye, Jaren caught Kyr having difficulty standing up properly as a result of one rather pretty-looking woman who was more than just a little drunk and clinging to one of his arms and smiled at the sight. He downed the rest of his ale in a long gulp, managing to finish faster than everyone present with the exception of Karura.
"My, so there are things in this world that even you can't beat others at," Karura teased.
"I'm not so sure being able to drink so much is something to be proud of," Touka said disapprovingly with a frown on her face.
"Maybe not, but I have to admit I find that kind of endurance in a woman appealing," Jaren said in an attempt to catch Karura off guard for once.
"Please, Jaren, don't encourage her," Touka groaned. Jaren set down his mug with a laugh and patted the Evinkuruga woman on the shoulder. "It's been much too long since I've been able to relax like this," Jaren said happily. "But, I'm afraid we have to get moving again if we're to reach the capital tonight."
"Leaving already, young commander?" Gild had finished trading post-game remarks with the group that had been watching their game, and returned to his seat. "Afraid so, sir," Kyr said, emerging from a crowd of women that seemed intent on following him wherever he moved. Lynia carefully edged around the throng with a half-amused, half-irritated expression to rejoin the group. Gild took the time to shake hands with Jaren a final time before moving off with the group of onlookers to have an energetic discussion on the finer points of the game they had just watched.
"Sorry to put you to work while the rest of us fooled around, Lynia," Jaren said as she said goodbye to Gild and came up and took a seat next to Kyr. Lynia waved off his concern disinterestedly. "It's fine, Jaren, you of all people know how I am in these sorts of settings. Besides, I like dealing with the families," she said matter-of-factly. "Not all of us get to be swarmed by the more attractive locals," she added with a decidedly not gentle prod to Kyr's chest.
"As they say, all good things must come to an end," Kyr said. He rubbed the spot she had poked him in with a grimace. "Still, I'd trade it all if I could find someone like Jaren did," he said with a thoughtful look on his face. Jaren shook his head.
"If only you knew. I haven't seen her in over two and a half years at this point. That's the entire length of my career so far! I'm not sure you understand just how difficult it's been. Remember Nethe, from our stay in Noseshechika?"
"The archer from Second Team? I remember her, the woman could shoot," Kyr said. "Didn't hurt that she was beautiful, mind you."
"That makes explaining this easier, then. She liked me."
"I could've told you that, Jaren," Lynia said dryly. "She took every opportunity she could to sit with you whenever we ate, and I remember her talking to you almost all the time."
"No. Besides that. I mean, she really, really liked me," Jaren said putting as much emphasis on the word "really" as he could. "Nethe came by my room after the operation was finished and we were scheduled to separate from Second Team. Everyone else was asleep at that point, as far as I knew, and the only reason I was up was that I wanted to readjust my armor shirt and my blades needed to be sharpened and oiled."
Jaren paused to prop his chin up against one of his hands. "So there I am, sitting on my bed in only my uniform shirt and pants, messing around with the plate rivets when I hear a quiet knock on the door. If anything, I was expecting it to be Captain Treyar with some last minute update or just checking to see how things were going. Imagine my surprise when I see a beautiful woman I barely recognize as Nethe step through the door wearing a dress. I was surprised because I had never seen what she looked like out of uniform." He paused again, staring blankly at no place in particular. "Well, come on then, don't keep us waiting," Kyr said impatiently. Lynia backhanded him on the arm lightly and motioned for him to be quiet. Jaren shook his head before continuing.
"Without a word, it looked like to me as if she had glided across the room and sat down next to me. I'm already a bit worried as to what's happening, and then she ends up wrapping her arms around my shoulders and leaning into my chest. Then, Nethe tells me in the smallest voice I've ever heard from her that she had fallen for me, and that she would stay the night with me. She got about halfway to undoing the sash holding her dress closed before I put my hands on hers to stop her from doing anything more. I told her that while I was happy that she felt that way, I couldn't go any further because I already was waiting for someone. That has to be the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life so far. First Division selection and training was nothing compared to the mental agony I had to go through to make that decision. Remember, it's been over two years since I've been this close to a woman, let alone one who says she's in love with me and is offering to spend the night in my bed."
"I'm agonizing over what I'm about to do at this point, but I figured it was the only way I could get out of the situation without losing all sense of self-worth in myself as a man who keeps to his word. I apologized and kissed her on the forehead after a couple of minutes passed without either of us saying anything," Jaren said with a sad look on his face. "She looks up at me and I see tears running down her face. Still, she said absolutely nothing, she just ended up holding me tighter while crying, the whole time not making a single sound. That's the only thing I regret about that whole incident," Jaren said looking up at the group of them listening to his story. "I never thought I would have to make Nethe cry like that because I did the right thing. Like I said, the hardest thing I've ever had to do."
Jaren leaned forward against his hand and sighed. "She left after a few minutes, and I ended up staring at the door for who knows how long before readjusting my armor and maintaining my weapons to try and take my mind off the whole thing. That was a miserable failure seeing as I ended up staring at the ceiling and unable to sleep until a couple of hours before sunrise. The last time I saw her was early next morning. We were leaving at first light, and I remember her quietly coming out of the inn as we were about to leave. She was back in her uniform, but she seemed to me like she had the night before. I went over to her, and the only thing she said was 'Goodbye, Jaren,' and then kissed me on the cheek before backing away to see us off."
"I saw that much, but I didn't think it was a continuation of something else," Lynia said with a surprised tone of voice. Kyr nodded in agreement. "You should have said something Jaren, you know you can tell me about these kinds of things," Lynia said in a gentle voice than neither Touka nor Karura had heard her use before.
"I know, but it was all I could do to not just stop for a week and just get over it. I had a hard enough time poring over the incident in my head, and I just wasn't ready to talk about it with anyone," Jaren said. "I see," Lynia replied. The group sat quietly for a few moments, taking in what Jaren had told them.
Kyr was the first to break the silence. "I think I take back whatever I've said about you being lucky with women. That sounds to me to be anything but," he said. Jaren looked up with half-grin. "Oh, I'm lucky alright. It's just that for now at least I need to pay my dues for being fortunate enough." He stood up from his seat and pulled the hat he had carefully tucked into one of his coat's epaulets to unfold and straighten it before placing it back on his head.
"We should get moving. Let's go pay our respects to the elder and get going," Jaren said after he was satisfied with the placement of his hat. Lynia and Kyr got up from their seats and did the same. "You two can wait here if you like," he called over his shoulder as they started across the room.
Karura and Touka looked at one another, still seated. "What do you think?" Karura had asked the question in an undertone. Touka looked back at her companion. "I think he's been through more than he lets on," she finally answered. "He's a lot like you, in that way."
"Maybe," Karura said with a grin. "I suppose I should let up on the flirting a bit."
"Really? I wonder what led you to that conclusion," Touka said, completely unimpressed. Jaren and his teammates returned from saying their farewells to the elder, as well as stopping for a handshake between Jaren and Gild, and a few exchanges of farewell between Kyr and his well-wishers. "Everyone ready? We need to get a move on."
"All ready, oh capturer of young maidens' hearts," Karura said airily. She wrapped herself around Jaren's left arm as before, this time with a speed that prevented anyone from doing anything about it. "So much for your resolution," Touka said huffily. Karura stuck her tongue out slightly at the straitlaced swordswoman.
"I get the feeling that I missed something here," Jaren said as he looked at the pair's exchange quizzically.
"It's better if you don't know," Touka said brusquely and walked out the tavern door. "I get the feeling she's right," Lynia said, trailing after the woman. Kyr held his hands up defensively. "Don't look at me, I wouldn't know."
"Never a dull moment with you, I see," Jaren said to Karura. "Shall we go, or will I need to drag you and my arm along?" Karura simply smiled and loosened her grip on his arm, pulling him along by the hand as she walked towards the outside.
"Never a dull moment indeed," Jaren thought to himself with an inward smile as they continued on their way to the capital while the sun finished setting and the evening sky began to emerge.