Here we go.

Cover Art: GWBrex

Chapter 34

They were to travel light, which meant no horse, mule or wagon and only as much food as they could carry. "We can buy more in the villages," said Ren. "If they are willing. Failing that, we can forage. Mistral's land has only grown more bountiful since people are afraid to travel for punishment from the SDC."

It was early afternoon when they left Kuroyuri but soon evening and night-time as they made the main leg of their journey. The air was crisp, cold and still save for chirping crickets and the low hoot of the occasional owl. Nature had reclaimed much of the country since the Schnee had taken over and quarantined the people to their villages. The dirt paths were threadbare and patches grass sprouted up here and there. There were no travellers save them and Ren had them travel by moonlight, ready to dart off the path at the first glimpse of a lantern or torch. There were none.

Come morning, Jaune was beginning to feel the first stirrings of exhaustion when the village ahead made itself known not by sound or splendour, but by virtue of grassy plains giving way to tilled fields. A few men and women and children were put sprinkling seeds onto the tilled soil, and they watched the three of them fretfully. They had come dressed not in the darkened robes of the rebellion, but in rough tunics and hose that Nora had told him would make them look like refugees. No less dangerous in a land where accepting strangers into your village might bring death.

The village had no guards, no militia, no means of defending itself or of rising up against the SDC, but they soon found themselves being followed by ten or so farmers wielding sticks, hoes and even a scythe. "They're nervous," said Nora. "Do you think the SDC have been here?"

"Maybe," said Ren. "We'd best deal with this." He stopped, the two of them with him, and turned to face the following crowd. The people stiffened, caught and afraid – and perhaps even ashamed of their own actions. More than one tried to look like they'd just been walking by. "Please, sirs," said Ren, croaking so brokenly that the men wilted all the further. "We mean no harm. Our village was burned down, our families slain, and we are just looking for somewhere to call our home."

"It can't be here." The man who spoke up earned himself furious glares from his fellows, but he continued on. "You all damn well know it can't be here!" His voice softened. "I'm not without mercy or sympathy, but the Deterrence Corps are active in the area, and lest I read you wrong, you're saying it was them that burned your village down. Which was it?"

"Siryu."

There was a startled cry. "No!" shouted one of the other farmers. "My family lives there – my mother and sisters." He raced forward and stood before Ren, his face ragged and eyes wide. "Please tell me you're lying!"

"I'm sorry. The dead were piled high and set alight by the SDC. I don't think there were any other survivors."

The man sagged, dropped to his knees and began to weep. Almost immediately, two more came and helped him up, escorted him away, and several women rushed out from nearby homes to follow them. Jaune watched, stunned not by the grief, but by the easy acceptance that it had happened, and the lack of resistance or anger. If someone had killed his family, he felt he would have been screaming for vengeance, even if that was a hopeless outcome.

"His spirit has been worn away over time," said Ozma. "There is no fight left in him. No doubt the Schnee's goals here. How far such a proud family has fallen."

"Forgive him," said the lead man, looking all the more exhausted. "Forgive us as well. I… I wish there were more we can do. Food, shelter and rest." He couldn't meet their eyes. "That is all we can give you. Directions to the next village as well. Perhaps they will be kinder." Under his breath, the man uttered, "Perhaps they will be braver."

"Whatever generosity you can offer means the world to us," said Ren. For some reason, that didn't make the men look any happier. They were quickly escorted off the dirt paths and into the home of the man in charge. His wife was a kindly, but skittish, woman who looked all too alarmed to have them in her home, but who did the best to act like she wasn't and forced a smile.

They were afforded a small room to use between them, heavy cloths and sheepskin for blankets and three small, wooden bowls of gruel were cooked up and shared out. There was no meat in it, merely a porridge-gruel of lentils, dried fruit and some locally foraged herbs. "It's not much," said the woman, "but our winter stores are low, and we're not allowed to travel to trade. The Collectors should be arriving in a week or two."

"We're sorry to impose on you," said Nora.

"No. It… We…" The woman closed her eyes and grimaced. "It is nice to have visitors, but also frightening. Please forgive my hesitance. It's not you-"

"We understand," said Ren. "It's the Deterrence Corps."

The woman nodded and quickly retreated, telling them that there would be a heartier meal later in the day, and that they would be woken up for it if they wanted to rest. The door was closed and Jaune picked at the food; it was unappetising and weak, more water than porridge, and yet to not eat it felt like spitting in the face of these people. They obviously didn't have a lot. We ate better than this back home, thought Jaune. He'd always thought their little community in Ansel relatively weak, but they spent the winter drinking and waiting out the snows, while these people looked like they'd spent it huddling in the dark.

"He said the SDC were active in the area," said Ren. "He didn't say they'd come by recently. I don't think they've been visited yet."

"We can't stay if they're going to be," said Nora. "We could get them in trouble."

"We leave tonight. Next village."

"No recruitment?" asked Jaune.

"You saw them yourself. There's no fight left in them. This is all too common." Ren dug his wooden spoon into the gruel and ate in silence. Nora followed suit, and Jaune echoed, grimacing as he swallowed the unpalatable mix. They set the bowls down, wrapped up in the blankets and huddled together in the corner of the room, listening to the sounds of people moving about outside.

They were quiet, rarely speaking and never laughing. People moved about to work with their heads down and their lips sealed. It was unnaturally stilted, and Jaune wondered if that was because of their presence having everyone on edge. The news of Siryu must have started to spread already.

"The woman mentioned collectors," said Jaune, breaking the silence.

"Tithe collectors," answered Nora, her eyes lidded as she drifted toward sleep. "No one is allowed to travel, so the Schnee send people to collect taxes. Or tithes. It's not money since no one has much."

"Every village has its explicit and stated purpose," explained Ren. "This one appears to be farming, and they'll have one or two crops they're allowed to grow. Others are fishing, mining, cattle herding. Every year you have to provide a set tithe of your chosen product to the Collectors, who always come guarded by SDC. They're meant to take half, but they usually take more. The SDC and Collectors skim their own profit off the top and don't tell the Schnee. If anyone complains, they're accused of sedition and put to the sword by the Deterrence Corps."

Jaune grimaced. "Lovely. I'm honestly amazed they can get away with all this."

"Because people would get angry and rise up? They did. We did. And we lost." Because of Ozma, Ren didn't say. "And with that loss went all the fighting men and women, killed, and now any who show promise are lured into the Deterrence Corps and put against us."

"Everything is regulated now," said Nora. "Taverns and inns are outlawed outside of towns and cities, and the sale or production of alcohol is punishable by death."

"Alcohol?" asked Jaune. "Why that?"

"No one wants the peasants getting a little liquid courage and thinking they can fight back. Plus, by controlling the production of all alcohol, the Schnee can make profit off people's misery. Those that live in towns are even more broken than us, but they hide their grief in their cups and never come up for air. Drink keeps them compliant, while brutality keeps the villages outside in order. It's a fine balance."

"What if that balance is disrupted?"

"That's what we aim to find out."

/-/

The people of the village saw them off in the dead of night with downcast expressions and meagre offerings of food that Ren and Nora and Jaune made sure to gush over. It seemed to upset the farmers more than it did satisfy them, and at least they had full waterskins from the well, and fresh directions to the next village. The sleep had helped as well.

It wasn't as long a trek to the second village, which was nestled at the side of a mountain and had long plumes of black smoke rising up from it. Jaune feared the worst on seeing them, but on drawing closer he caught the thick and nasty stench of charcoal burners and realised what was going on. The sounds of clinking stone and the many patches of rock and debris piled high outside made it obvious they were approaching a village built around a mining shaft.

The ten horses lined up outside guarded by a single figure in a white cloak brought them to a halt, however. Ren dragged them into the trees, and they crouched low, still a few hundred metres out and thankfully unnoticed. The SDC were already here.

"They're faster than we thought," whispered Nora.

"Must be looking for Jaune," said Ren, his voice just as low. He hunkered down in the thickets, obscured by bramble bushes and leaves. Jaune kept himself down as well, caution winning out over curiosity. He didn't need to know what was going on if they were going to tell him. "I count ten horses, no wagons. This isn't a collection – it's an inspection."

"It doesn't look like it's becoming violent."

"It's a silver mine," said Ren, scoffing quietly. "The SDC wouldn't dare cause them trouble without real evidence. The Schnee might ignore a few farming villages being burned down but cut the flow of precious goods and they'll want to know why."

"Does that mean they're safer?" asked Jaune.

"More valuable, but not necessarily safer," said Nora. "Mining is dangerous work, and a lot of people die. Plus, they'd still kill everyone if they suspected anything was up – they'd just be a lot quicker on forcefully relocating other villagers here and putting them to work."

"You can bet the SDC and Collectors pillage these places a lot more as well," said Ren. "It's a stable life, but it sure as hell isn't a good or free one. Falling behind on wheat might get you a slap on the wrist but fall behind on silver shipments and someone will hang." Ren shifted. "It looks like they're leaving. No fighting or punishments handed out. Stay down!"

Jaune was already down, but he stayed quiet and waited, and about ten minutes later the clop of hooves brought the SDC by. They went slowly, sedately, and with a few satchel packs clinking merrily as they did. It wasn't collection time, but they'd surely helped themselves to some silver all the same. Bastards. It looked to him like they were headed back the very way the three of them had come, and they'd probably hit the village they had stayed at. Once they were out of sight, Jaune said, "Do you think this means they've already been to the third on our list?"

"We'll have to check to be sure." Ren stood and parted the bushes. "Come on."

They stepped onto the path again and walked toward the mining village. Unlike the last, there were two sentries here. They must have been to prevent thieves, but even then they didn't look well equipped. Both had padded cloth for armour and simple spears with long knives at their hips. Against the SDC, they wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight. To Jaune's surprise, they nodded at Ren, and seemed to recognise him.

"Lie," said the first. "You choose a dangerous time to visit. I trust you saw who came by."

"We did. Were there any problems?"

"We're behind on our targets now that they've helped themselves, but we put aside some from last year for this very reason. We should be able to meet the quota. How is your mother?"

"Well enough. Siryu was razed by the SDC."

"Bastards," spat the other sentry. It was more spirit and more vehemence than Jaune had seen in anyone in the last village. "Cocky shits kept trying to challenge us to a friendly spar back there. As if they wouldn't have crippled us and laughed about it the whole time. I can't wait for them to be put in their place."

Jaune nudged Nora with his elbow. "Is this village a part of the rebellion?"

"Not officially," replied Nora in a whisper. "But they're a silver mine primarily, and they filter a little our way. They came across an iron mine a few years back, hid it behind fallen rocks, and they've been shipping us iron ore and charcoal on the sly ever since."

No wonder Ren wanted them to stay hidden from the SDC. A place like this, providing raw materials such as iron and silver, was too valuable to risk losing, and there was no guarantee the next people placed here would be as willing to support the rebellion. Jaune nodded and listened back to Ren and the sentries.

"Did they mention what they were after?"

"They said they were looking for wanted criminals – didn't say who, or provide any description, but they had everyone line up and looked them over. Seemed interested in young men with blonde hair. Didn't find who they were after thankfully. A few of them searched the houses to make sure we weren't hiding anyone, then two went into the mines to do the same. Once they were happy we didn't have their person, they warned us of the collectors being delayed and left."

"With their saddle bags full of silver," growled the other guard.

"The collection is going to be delayed?" Ren caught onto the main point and looked intrigued. "That's unusual. The Schnee have never held that back before. Even after the draught a few years back, they only lowered their demands. They didn't delay or cancel it. Did they say for how long?"

"No. The way they said it, it sounded like they didn't know either. Delayed for the foreseeable future maybe." His voice dropped. "That's not your doing, is it? Are they onto you?"

"No." Ren shook his head. "We think it's a demand from the Goddess. She's looking for someone."

"The one they're after? Aye, that'd make sense. I can't think of much that'd cause the Schnee to rein in their greed, but an order from the Goddess would surely do it." The man's smile grew. "And by the looks of it, they're not finding what they're after."

"That's An's goal," said Ren. "And we're intending to use the distraction, and the Schnee's failure in this Goddess-granted quest, to prove they're unsuitable to act as regents for the country."

The guards escorted them in and to a home run by an elderly man who acted as the mine's overseer and the village's headman. The food was better than they had at the last village, and the homes were nicer and warmer. They had real meat, roasted beans and good, fresh vegetables needed to keep the miners at peak physical condition. Ren and the headman talked about plans and the rebellion in their own room, while Nora and Jaune rested in another. They slept the day away again, and by the time the night descended once more, they were off once again, this time wish heavier packs and fresh food to keep them going.

/-/

Ruby sat atop the wooden wagon alongside her father and watched the empty plains, meadows and forests roll by. Mistral felt lonely to her, and quiet in a way that didn't make sense. The roads were empty, and animals strayed all over the place. There were no signs of hunters or lumberjacks, nor of fishermen at the rivers. They had passed by a very small number of merchants, all of whom went by in complete silence.

Adam and Blake had warned them about the way the country was run, but Ruby hadn't really understood what that meant until now. She believed them – no reason not to – but words alone didn't do a good job at painting a picture. The long stretches of lonely roads and the downcast expressions of the few people they passed did far more. And then they heard the stampeding hooves.

"Heads up," said Blake, rising from among their belongings in the back of the rickety wagon. "We have company."

"Locals?" asked Adam, yawning.

"In a manner of speaking."

Six people in all, mounted and approaching fast, with white cloaks and flags flying above them. There was no doubting they were after the four of them, especially when the horses split wide to encircle them, and a horn was blasted loudly. "Halt!" one of them shouted. "Halt in the name of the Deterrence Corps and the Schnee family."

Taiyang tugged on the reins to bring their wagon to a slow stop. "Stay here," he told her, dismounting and patting the horse's neck before approaching the lead rider. He spoke up in a warm voice. "Greetings. What can we do for you today?"

The lead rider dismounted, sneering. "You are in violation of the land's laws. What village are you from?"

"We aren't from Mistral. We come from Vale. We are travellers."

The man looked them up and down. His white cloak was clasped about his shoulders along with a small amount of armour over his shoulders and biceps to cover his neck, but he wore no mail and little more than padded cloth over his chest. There was an axe on either side of his waist, and his right hand rested on the handle of one.

"Travellers, eh? Then you don't know the local laws. We are the Schnee Deterrence Corps." He waved to his men, many of whom were leaning forward in their saddles and sizing Ruby and Blake up. More the latter than the former. Blake had dismounted the wagon and was stood by the back, her eyes perked up and alert. "We are the protectors of this land, with authority granted by Willow Schnee – Regent of Mistral, Chosen of Salem, and Goddess-granted ruler of Mistral."

"Praise be unto Salem," said Taiyang, making the sign against his chest. "We attended the Spring Festival in Vale and had the pleasure of seeing the Goddess with our own eyes."

"You did-?" asked the leader, stunned for a moment. He recovered quickly. "No matter. You are in Mistral now, and it is our job to ensure the compliance and worship of her Goddess by the heathen locals."

"I was under the impression Mistral was a loyal kingdom."

"The kingdom is. The people are not. We are the ones who maintain the peace and ensure that her Goddess is properly respected. Part of that is in controlling who travels and who does not. There have been suspicious kinds here of late." His eyes roamed down Taiyang's body and he said, "I see you're armed. Odd for a traveller."

"Not where I come from. Bandits, wild beasts and Grimm threaten good travellers."

"A convenient excuse. Away from the wagon," he ordered. "We will be searching it."

"As you say." Taiyang moved back and waved for her to come down. Ruby scurried over, all too aware of the eyes on her. "My daughter," explained Taiyang. "Her mother passed away last year and we're travelling in honour and remembrance of her."

The man grunted, not listening but pretending to. Several others were quick to dismount their horses and fall on the wagon like a pack of starving wolves on a wounded deer. They rummaged and tore through bags, revealing little more than stored food for the trip and some spare clothing. They didn't have much else. That didn't stop them looking however, nor did it stop one of them picking up a wrapped satchel of meat and stuffing it into their own bag. Ruby opened her mouth to protest, only for Taiyang to grip her shoulder and shake his head.

That didn't stop the people noticing.

"Problem?" asked one, still on his horse.

"Only surprise," answered Adam smugly. "I would have thought the Schnee family to outfit your men better. Are you so lacking in supplies that you must steal them from honest travellers?"

Wrong answer. Taiyang groaned and even Ruby winced, though Adam looked too amused to care. The soldiers were not, several dismounting and the leader turning an angry glare on the faunus. "What was that?"

"I asked if you are so poorly supplied that you turn to banditry. In the Goddess' name no less. How very sacrilegious."

"Sacrilege? We are the Deterrence Corps. We are the ones who protect the faith in this land."

"And yet here you are taking from us."

"I don't like the sound of his voice, sir," called one of the soldiers. "Sounds to me like he's besmirching the name of the Deterrence Corps, and that's no better than besmirching the name of the Schnee."

"And that's no better than besmirching the Goddess herself," finished the leader. "My subordinate is correct here, faunus. You would do well to watch your tongue lest I suspect you of treason."

"Should take them in for questioning anyway," said one of them. "Four armed travellers in these days? Odd, I say."

"We should search them just to be sure." The one who spoke leered at Blake from behind her, looking down at her buttocks. "Who knows what they might be hiding. It's our civic duty to check."

There was a round of laughter but, more worryingly, a few nods among them. They weren't just making idle threats, and it was clear they'd done this before. Out here, in the middle of nowhere, there was no one to hold them to task. Their authority was their own, and they obviously weren't afraid to abuse it.

"I wouldn't if I were you," said Blake.

"Oh?" asked the man behind her. He walked up and wrapped an arm about her shoulders, pulling her back into him. His other hand came around to her stomach, reaching for her belt buckle. "I've found something hard, sir!" he called out, to guffaws from the others and a few shouting "it's you" jovially. "Should I take a look?"

The leader's eyes were on Adam, daring him to intervene. Taunting him with the power he held over who he assumed to be Adam's woman.

Adam met the man's gaze and said, "I wouldn't if I were you."

It wasn't the defeat or pleading the men had so clearly been looking for, so it was no surprise when the man smiled cruelly. "Do your duty, soldier. And be thorough about it. We might want to search the other just to be sure."

Taiyang stepped forward. "I'd rather you didn't."

"You don't get-"

"Grkk! Uck!"

Ruby's head whipped back in time to see the man who had been groping Blake fall back with a knife lodged into the bottom of his chin, piercing up into his skull. Blake's eyes were closed, her lips pinched, and there was an embarrassed flush to her cheeks that was at odds with the cold-blooded murder she'd just committed.

In the stunned silence, Adam chuckled and said, "I warned you."

"Heathens!" roared the leader. "Kill them!"

"I said I'd rather you didn't." Taiyang was already in the man's space, his large hand pinning the enemy's axe hand down. He drove his other hand under the man's chin, flipped the axe out his grip while he was stunned and buried it in the man's unarmoured chest. He tore it free a second after, soaked through with blood, twisted and hurled it, whipping another soldier clean off his horse and sending him crashing down with the axe buried in his gut.

Ruby ducked back to the wagon and under it as Adam burst into motion, drawing his sword and flicking it across the throat of one of the dismounted men, then moving onto another. Blake was no slouch either, using a long knife closer to a short sword in one hand and a dagger in her other. She danced with a soldier, taunting his clumsy overly aggressive two-handed attacks forward, then lunging and ramming her knife into his neck when he over-extended. Taiyang was already at another, roaring angrily as he pulled the man off his horse and brought his own axe up and down to end his life.

Five were dead in a matter of seconds, leaving only the last stood on top of their own wagon with their packs in hand. Rather than flee or beg for mercy, the man's face was stretched with an angry scream. He leapt off the wagon, landed in front of Ruby's feet, looking the other way, and raced at Taiyang with twin swords in hand. He was like a feral animal, frothing at the mouth and howling madly.

Taiyang turned, parried one sword and dodged the other, then lopped the extended arm off at the elbow before spinning and punching his axe into the man's chest. He released the haft even before the man had fallen, dusted his hands down and walked away. The last of the Deterrence Corps crashed down with a poleaxed expression.

"Lovely people," he said. "Ruby, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, dad. I hid under the wagon."

"That's a clever girl." He helped her out and looked her over all the same, nodding in satisfaction when he could tell she was unhurt. "You told us this land was brutal, Adam, but not this brutal."

"In all fairness, they never dared challenge the White Fang before. We move in large groups and aren't afraid to stand our ground. These must have thought we were traders, and their numbers made them arrogant."

"And you pissed them off," hissed Blake. "I got groped because of you."

"And he got killed because of you. It's fine."

Blake didn't think so. "You're sleeping alone for a week."

"What? But he never stood a-" Adam groaned as Blake stormed away to loot the bodies. "Blake, no, please, it was a jest. You know I'd never-" She huffed, and he let his hand fall. "Me and my big mouth. I didn't ask you to stand there and get felt up," he grumbled. "I thought you'd stab him before he could even try."

Then he was an idiot, Ruby thought, siding with Blake and huffing at Adam before jogging off to help loot the bodies. Blake looked pleased, and nodded once her way, while Adam groaned in the background. It wasn't nice looking over a bunch of corpses, but they had tried to take advantage of Blake and might have done the same to her. It didn't sound like the first time they'd done it either, thought Ruby. How many had suffered under them, and why hadn't anyone done anything? Ruby tugged their coin pouches off, emptied them out and handed them to her father.

"What shall we do about the horses?" she asked him.

"Best we let them be. They might be branded and that's not anything we need. They'll go to pasture or be found by someone else. I guess the one advantage of this land being so empty is that no one will know it was us that did this."

"They'll blame the Dark Lord," said Adam. "Not exactly good for us either way. This land is ruled with an iron fist. Best we find your friend and make a new home on Menagerie with him. I'm sure he'll feel the same way if he's spent any amount of time here."

Ruby didn't doubt it, though she was beginning to doubt Jaune would have found a way to keep himself out of trouble. Mistral wasn't shaping up to be the safe haven they'd thought it might be.

There we go. Still haven't seen Ice Queendom (want to let it finish before I do) but I've seen some pics of Blake dressed like Adam that I'm told are from it and damn, she looks good.

Next Chapter: 1st October

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