"Retreat, men!" Commander Joxcaite bellowed. Another boulder flew at him, but Joxcaite nimbly dodged and beckoned to his surviving men. Low-pitched growls of hatred filled the air.
Alexandros Buchelof blocked a boulder with his shield, and jumped over the body of a downed Imperial Guard soldier. He and the five remaining Imperial Guard soldiers quickly followed their commander down a narrow path, back down to the mountain-backed village of Burthorpe. As the seven Imperial Guard soldiers headed back to their large tent to regroup, Alexandros sighed in relief. He could still hear heavy boulders crashing onto the rocky area at the end of the narrow path, as if being thrown by powerful hands. Indeed, their opponent was powerful, and the seven of them were lucky to have survived such an assault. Commander Joxcaite stood at the tent flap, glancing down at his shoes while the others nursed their injuries. Alexandros walked over to his commander.
Joxcaite beckoned to Alexandros with one finger, and the two of them walked out of the tent to the Imperial Guard training area. Villagers of Burthorpe were standing in the training field, anxiously glancing over at the main tent. Joxcaite told the villagers to go home, and they obeyed, seeing that Joxcaite was a high-ranked soldier. Alexandros looked up at the night sky. It was clear, but what had happened just now made the night gloomy.
The Imperial Guard commander sat down on a stool next to a training dummy, and Alexandros stood in front of him. "Well, Buchelof, your performance was certainly impressive up there in the Death Plateau."
"Thanks, Commander." Alexandros replied, punching the dummy hard.
Joxcaite glanced at the sizeable dent in the dummy's stomach, and back at Alexandros' powerful fist. He continued, "Well, Buchelof, what had happened remains a secret, all right?"
Alexandros nodded. "It's safe with me, Commander. It wasn't your fault that the trolls defeated us up there."
Commander Joxcaite glanced down at the ground grimly. "As you know, we are supported only by Prince Anlaf and that's how we have managed to stay as a group for so long. If we continue to fail in our missions against the trolls, the Burthorpe governors might pressure Anlaf to stop funding us. The economy is already bad; they might think the money has gone to waste."
Just a few hours ago, Commander Joxcaite had led a special unit of fifteen Imperial Guard soldiers to assault the trolls in Death Plateau, high up in the Trollheim Mountains. The villagers were scared of a possible assault from the trolls nearest to the village, so Prince Anlaf had issued a command for the Guard to rid of the trolls. However, the unit had lost one soldier on their trek up to Death Plateau; the narrow mountain paths were treacherous, not to mention the hardness of getting over a steep rock slide. The soldier had collapsed when attempting to scale a rock slide, and had died from his injuries. That left fourteen soldiers plus Joxcaite to fight the five monstrous trolls on Death Plateau. The trolls, however, did not engage in direct combat; in fact, they had escaped into higher elevation after being attacked by the Imperial Guard. It was then that Joxcaite made his mistake; thinking that they had the element of surprise, he had ordered the unit to follow the trolls up and slay them. The trolls then hurled boulders at rapid speed from the higher elevation to crush the defenseless soldiers who were pursuing them. Only five men apart from Joxcaite and Alexandros had survived the trolls' attack; they had barely made it back to Burthorpe alive, and all of them were injured in some way. Alexandros had heard that the Ardougne Slayer Force had already disbanded due to lack of funds from the Ardougne government. The same thing could quickly happen to the Guard if nothing is done to redeem their failures.
"That's not all, Alexandros," Joxcaite continued, snapping Alexandros out of his thoughts. "The White Knights of Asgarnia are threatening to take over Burthorpe unless we pay them the "rent" fees. They claim that Burthorpe is part of their rule, so we must join in paying taxes. The economy is bad enough, how can we survive at this rate? Like I said, these are harsh times. But, the Knights have made a deal with the Burthorpe Government. If the Imperial Guard can successfully defeat the rising number of trolls on Death Plateau, they will lower their tax fees. With our current equipment and supplies, it's not possible, so I send you to get help from the Wizards' Tower."
Alexandros was surprised. He rubbed his eyes and opened them wide, staring at his commander. "Why the Wizards' Tower?"
Joxcaite smiled. "Ah, I have a plan in mind. We need the Wizards' help to cast a barrier around Death Plateau. If the trolls plan on using long-range combat, the wizards, naturally, can also fire long-range spells back at them. I send you to recruit several wizards to our aid. Additionally, seek out my old friend Rosheil and his apprentice Kondaz in the Tower; I'm sure they are more than willing to repay their debt to me."
Alexandros thought this over. If Joxcaite's plan is successful and the wizards help out enough, the trolls could be wiped out once and for all, which would save Burthorpe from losing tons of money. The journey to the Wizards Tower in Misthalin could take up to a week from here, but it's worth it when thinking about the economy.
There was only one problem. "How will you fare without me, Commander?"
"You do not need to worry about me, Alexandros Buchelof. As long as the trolls are eradicated from the Plateau forever, my fate does not concern me, personally."
Alexandros nodded and headed back to his tent for final preparations. "Then I shall head off now." He reached his tent, pulled the flap halfway open and glanced back at his Commander. Joxcaite was now punching the dummy hard and ferociously, seemly releasing his anger all at once at the dummy. Alexandros sighed as he heard the dummy crack, and he headed inside the tent to grab his backpack. Now we've got to waste more money building new dummies…
A few minutes later, Alexandros headed out of Burthorpe to thunderous applause. The fate of the village could rest on this man's journey. The villagers cheered and chanted Alexandros' name; most of his Imperial Guard comrades were at the village entrance, bidding him farewell. Alexandros walked out of the village gates and was a fair distance away when he glanced back one last time. He had only brought his Imperial Guard armor, his Dragon Battleaxe, money, and some food for the journey. He turned around and continued walking down the path to the druidic village of Taverley. It may be months before I see my village again.
After reaching Taverley, he settled in at the newly-opened inn and checked into the most inexpensive room. The room was dirty and small; the bed was crooked and only a chair represented furniture. The walls were cracked and the room smelt of cat, but at least it was inexpensive. Alexandros sighed as he laid back on the bed, tired, thinking, the economy's really bad. If I could only find out the cause of it…
He had been asleep for a few hours before he awoke to the sound of the door being flung open. He quickly switched on the bright light and grabbed his Battleaxe from the floor. Two men dressed completely in dark black stood in front of him, clutching Rune Daggers. From the looks of them, they looked like highwaymen.
"What are you two miscreants doing here?" Alexandros demanded, leaving his bed and walking over to the two highwaymen.
"We're here to rob you, of course," they sneered. "We've got the patrons in the suites already, but even the inexpensive rooms sometimes hide valuable items, such as your battleaxe! Hand it over!"
Alexandros shook his head and got into combat stance. The thieves launched themselves forward, extending their daggers viciously. However, Alexandros calmly finished the two highwaymen off with two quick smashes of his Battleaxe. The thieves collapsed onto the ground, money flowing from their pockets. Alexandros stooped down, tied up the thieves and gathered up the money. He then headed out to the common room, towards the shivering innkeeper, who was tied to a chair behind his oak desk.
"Free me please, kind sir," the innkeeper pleaded, and Alexandros heeded him. He cut the ropes and the innkeeper stood up, stretching his arms.
"My dear innkeeper, take the money that the two thieves have stolen from the patrons staying in the suites; return them to their rightful owners," Alexandros ordered the innkeeper. The druid nodded and took the money. He walked over to where the suites are located at and looked back at Alexandros.
"My dear man, you are an Imperial Guard, are you not?"
"I am, but I might not be anymore. It depends on the outcome of my mission. And, don't forget to rid of the two highwaymen tied up in my room. Good night." With that, Alexandros saluted the innkeeper and headed out of the open door into the cool night air.
The innkeeper shook his head as the Imperial Guard left. "What a man, what a man…giving back money even in the midst of an economic crisis…"
Alexandros walked along the path towards the Taverley gates, determined to achieve his goal successfully. Who knows what kind of enemies will attack during the journey? Alexandros smiled and opened the gates of Taverley, and proceeded to walk out.