They were at Ruai. Dinner was over and they had their usual drinks of grain wine and distilled grains.
"This news comes straight from nobility, darlings. Bri-chan's going to announce it only when he damn well feels like it, so keep those pleasure holes closed, I'm only telling you because you're my sweet, sweet darlings. Okay?". The rest nodded.
"First, the lay of the land. We know Deadhead Watching Keep, but 40km West is another one called Riverside Iron Fortress. It's supplied by the upstream Orc Kingdom. Every time Deadhead gets attacked, they use smoke signals and Riverside comes to help"
"Fuckload that will do, at 40 clicks away", said Demit.
"Dragoons, Paprika dear. Orcs ride these giant lizards, making up their version of Cavalry troops. They arrive in an hour". He paused to drink.
"So, the operation is called 'Operation Twin-Headed Snake'. 2 forces will assault both keeps simultaneously. And yes, this is payback for that raid. This time, they don't want Deadhead to be retaken again, so they're making it permanent by cutting off reinforcements."
"So how's this going to work?", asked Demit.
"We get paid 1 gold in total, in Scrips, exchanged at Yorozu. 20 silvers for accepting, 80 more once it's over. We accompany the Frontier Army, which means orders are coming from them", said Brewary to Demit.
"Outstanding. Fireteam Alpha will join the mission in Riverside Fortress."
"Oh no, Paprika. That's by invite only. Orion, Daybreakers, Iron Knuckle and some others are going along, since the bulk of the Army is heading that way. Unless your clan name is specifically mentioned, you don't join Red Snake Force. There's not even going to be a notice. The clans will just march out with the Frontier Army". He drank again.
"Now, Blue Snake Force is open to anyone willing. We'll wait for the official notice from the Office before accepting."
"Commanders, Generals, anything?", asked Demit.
"This part is all gossip, so don't believe everything you hear. One person in particular might cause trouble; Brigadier General Wren Waters."
"Fuck's that?", asked Demit.
"Some mainland noble who's only here because of his coin and lineage. I hear he's a coward, flaccid, secretly likes a pounding, and he'd shut down any establishment that won't work his little man", said Brewary.
"What's his class?", asked Roland.
"Paladin."
"Fuck someone like that can become Paladin?", asked Demit.
"Anyway, a downright coward, and usually holds a large portion at the back for his own protection. When he shows up, you can expect to enter battle not in full strength, as a fine old veteran once told us 'young 'uns'. If we get wind that he's around and in heat, the Pimpernels will shut down temporarily", said Brewary, visibly upset.
"Hey hey hey. Stay on point, soldier. Anyone good coming along?", asked Demit.
"Anthony Justin", said Brewary excitedly. Yep. They knew Anthony Justin.
"Who else?"
"Ratty, Horn and Rasentra who leads Red Snake, we don't know them, but the Wild Angels Clan will be coming along too". As he said that, he sniffed in displeasure.
"Wild Angels? Fucking lesbian faggots with white feathers?"
"The very same."
"You know them?", asked Roland.
"Yea. They wanted to recruit me. You know the shit they said about you guys?"
"No, Paprika. We don't want to know". The others shook their heads as well.
"So they just trash talked you guys for 5 minutes then expect me to drop everything and come with them".
"So what did you say?", asked Roland.
"I said I didn't bunk and chow with my team, get the shit kicked out of me in fights then have my back covered by the toughest sons of bitches only to defect and turn traitor."
"No, you did not", said Brewary.
"They acted like I was giving out free head to you fuckers. I told them to fuck off. You know what sorority faggots like that do to newcomers? Eat egg. Smug bitch who runs the show won't bathe for a week and you have to eat out her fucking pussy. Gay initiation rights, man. That's what happens when there's only one gender. They're groping and fingering each other to blow off steam. Not talking about you, man. We cool", said Demit to Brewary. He chose to forgive 'that kind of questionable language' with regal air, as long as it wasn't directed at him or the Pimpernels. Apparently, the Pimpernels had bad run-ins with the Angels.
"But here's the fucked up part. She said that apparently you guys were worth it, and she won't judge me for that. I was ready to throw down with the bitches, expecting them to lose their shit, but she just… turned and walked."
"What, for real? So she's fine as long as the men prove themselves first?", said Roland. Demit scoffed.
"I wanna know who raped her ass. PTSD Kajiko, pretending women don't bleed, like there's no women gravestones on that hill."
"So are they going to be troublesome in battle later?", asked Roland.
"Oh they're good, Honey. They just don't trust men."
"Well if they start shit around you, you can quote me; FUCK. YOU."
"That's more than your allotment of cussing for the day, Paprika"
As they left Ruai that night, Demit asked more questions.
"Not picking a fight. I just gotta know…"
"What is it, Paprika?"
"The priests at the temple told me about 'your Pimpernel companion', you running with another crew?"
"We're a social club, Paprika dear. We all come from different clans and teams. Like any organization, we help each other out in more ways than one. I'm still Fireteam Alpha and proud of it". Brewary bade them goodnight with a slight laugh, 'for there are matters to tend to'.
"You guys got no problem at all with this?"
"Little problem. But Pimpernel not touch wrong places", Jakson said and shrugged.
"Yea. Basically the kind of sex jokes he makes, but they tend to see us as more as Brewary's pets. They're actually quite nice."
"You motherfuckers. They're feeding you, aren't they?". The 2 men nodded and laughed.
"Is good wine", replied Jakson. Demit raised an eyebrow.
"Typical". Demit kicked dirt at them.
"Have you no shame?"
Fireteam Alpha went about their business as usual. However, they checked in Sherry's every evening. One day, Orion members were no longer present. The notice came out after that. They went to the Office to accept the mission.
"One gold coin, with no mention of daily or weekly pay. These people want it done in a day. One big fucking battle to end it all". They were issued the military Scrips; small, round and flat disks with serial numbers and an amount carved into them. They cashed out their Scrips at Yorozu right away. As usual, the Fourth Yorozu sat at her place, remembering all. There was also that one quirk.
"Krestovozdvizhensky. What business do you have with Yorozu today?", she asked, like she owned the name and had to explain it patiently to people who couldn't say it.
"Change sovznaki, then deposit". Jakson placed his 20 silver Scrip and some coins in the tray on her counter.
"Krestovozdvizhensky, state your purpose clearly. Do you wish to change the Military Scrip for its promised amount in Silver, then deposit these coins?", she asked, pointing to the Scrip and the coins separately with her pipe.
"Nyet, Cheburashka. Change sovznaki, deposit all." Yorozu's eyes narrowed at her new nickname.
"Your 20-Silver Military Scrip, serial number zero-zero-one-six, will be converted to the promised amount in Silver, and deposited alongside 2 silver and 38 coppers. A fee of 22 coppers will be deducted from the total 22 silvers and 38 coppers stored". She turned to the exact page bearing Jakson's name in one go, and in her flawless flowing script, listed down the Scrip's serial, total deposited, fee deducted and grand total remaining in Yorozu care. Her ledger calculated to 2 decimal places. There were still 0.38 coppers owed to Yorozu. Some other transaction down the line will be charged a whole extra copper once that amount owed reaches a full coin. She rang her little bell and the silver dressed worker appeared, replaced the tray with an empty one, and disappeared into the back room.
"Now that that transaction is concluded, is there any other you may have?". Each member changed and deposited their own scrip.
A day before Muster, Red Snake Force mustered first and left for Riverside. People gathered to see the most powerful clans show up in one place before leaving with the Frontier Army.