Bloodsworn

Chapter 2.27 Preparations

27.

“Podzki, get your ass in gear before I wedge my foot in it!” Constance growled at the man as he dawdled. Weasley looking, the lean man looked toward his sergeant and squinted as he thought to the furthest extent of his abilities.

“Your foot in my ass or in my gear?” Podzki tilted his head as Constance began to glow red, a vein throbbed in her head while there was muffled snickers all around them.

Nevia’s command had filled up since he had seen the battered platoon. It had swelled to nearly twenty veteran soldiers, none of them under level fifteen. Prince Sammus had arrived in the staging area as Nevia was organizing the small command. Erak noticed that all of the soldier’s had a small metal clip on their collars of a red drop of water.

“It’s blood, Erak. You are the Bloodsworn after all,” Pomp said from his perch on Erak’s shoulder. The dragon’s mustache tickled his ear as Erak stood there staring at the soldiers. He recognized several of them aside from Nevia’s remnants, all of them having been around the Armory when it had fallen.

“A personal honor guard? Or beginning of something more?”

“Does it matter?” Pomp drawled as Sammus walked closer to them. The inquisitive eyes of the prince always seemed to pierce through them, unraveling mysteries and conspiracies with a glance. Erak was sure the man practiced that look.

“You are hesitant about the bloodrop?” Sammus said as he stood next to them, turning so they were shoulder to shoulder to watch as the men loaded their gear onto a pair of trucks.

“Maybe he does see further than he should.” Pomp snorted on his shoulder before floating free to curl around Sammus’s. Erak shook his head and signed to the prince.

“I wish to not distract the men’s loyalty.”

“To the queen?” Sammus said instantly. Erak paused, suddenly aware he was was staring at an Imperial Prince, while Erak’s loyalty was to a Northern Queen.

“To the Empire,” Erak signed. Sammus snorted but let the subject fall as they looked over at the soldiers. They were no longer the ragged group of survivors they had been before. All of them wore matte black breastplates of steel over the top of dark leathers. Short swords were on every hip along with at least one long knife and the standard casters they all carried.

“Looks like an old painting of the Conquest. With a bit of a twist,” Sammus said. Nevia had been marching toward them and she snorted loudly as she shook her head. Erak looked above the diminutive soldier and saw Rutledge and Julius coming out of the doors that connected the dwarven hold and the supply bay they were in. Both of them had cleaned up and the old woman looked like several decades had been erased from her posture and bearing.

“That woman terrifies me,” Sammus muttered and everyone grunted in agreement. As she got closer Erak saw that some of the deep lines had faded away from her face and there was a luster to her skin and hair that hadn’t been there before.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Imperial Sage lvl. 17

The levels explained why she looked like she had turned the wheel of time backward, but didn’t explain how. Rutledge didn’t leave them in the dark for long as she stood before him with a predatory smile.

“There were several weeks of weak monsters to grow my strength on. Peering into the world and deciphering its secrets work as well, but a piece of steel and a simple thrust is much more efficient.” Julius shuddered next to her while the rest of them simply stared at the unsettling woman.

“Erak, I’ve restructured the squads based around five man fire teams. I think smaller more fluid groups will work better, especially in tight confines. I have command of one of the fire teams, then Constance who you know. The last two Sergeants are Harroldson and Coppir,” Nevia said, breaking away from the conversation. She pointed out the two sergeants he didn’t know.

Harroldson was a monster of a man, large enough that Erak was sure there was a giant ancestry somewhere in the annals of time. Nearly seven feet of slabs of muscle, his leathers were strained as he personally loaded one of the two trucks himself. Coppir was a short woman with dark skin and golden tattoos across her cheekbones.

“Harroldson is in charge of our heavies team. Bunch of the biggest strongest soldiers I could get a hold of. They’re all equipped in heavy armor and have secondary weapons like axes and hammers. If we need something broken down, and you’re preoccupied, they’re our team. Coppir is in command of our logistics team. They’ll be the ones organizing our raid of the depot. Constance has our distance team. Managed to pry a pair of those long distance casters out of the armory and all of her people have higher Essence cultivation than normal.”

“And you?” Rutledge asked, with a twinkle in her old eyes.

“No specialties. Just the four hardest and highest leveled bastards I could find and were willing to serve Erak.” Nevia pointed to her four soldiers and Erak had to agree with her statement. They all looked like veterans, tanned and weathered skin with hard eyes and their gear already looked worn in and used. They were all in the mid-twenties for levels and Erak could only assume they were competent. Nevia hadn’t let him down yet.

“The mission is simple. We drive to the depot, the roads are mostly clear, and Erak and my team will search for the missing scavenger teams. Coppir and Harroldson will secure supplies and begin loading them in while Constance plays overwatch.”

“What about me?” Sammus said, turning his radiant smile toward Nevia. She simply stared at him. She blinked slowly twice.

“Your royal highness can do whatever he pleases. You are above and outside of the chain of command, sir,” Nevia said.

“Then I will stay with Erak, we have made an excellent team so far.”

“Professors, may I inquire why you have decided to join this expedition?” Nevia turned her attention to the two professors. Julius began to stammer a response but Rutledge settled a hand on his arm and he calmed.

“I’m working on something for Queen Victoria. A hypothesis of sorts. I need more data though and it needs to be first hand unfortunately. I have my own guards and driver though,” Rutledge said. She tilted her head gracefully to the side of the large bay and saw a trio of Glacies guardsmen loading a similar truck as the ones they were using.

Erak shrugged. Victoria hadn’t told him anything about this, but then it could have been recently decided and they hadn’t intersected lately.

“Follow close behind our vehicles and don’t get lost. Lord Bloodsworn, are you ready to depart?” Nevia looked irritated at the sudden addition of the academics. Erak just nodded and headed over toward the closest truck, climbing into the large bed and sitting down as the soldiers ran around.

His new hammer was set down on the seat next to him, blocking anyone from claiming it, and he rested his new helm on top of it. Sammus clambered in and flopped down unceremoniously across from him while Nevia ran around to the front of the truck and fired the engine up.

“Lot better than walking,” Sammus said as he closed his eyes. Erak nodded and followed the Prince’s lead as the truck fired up and started toward the depot.