The problem with fleeing for your life wasn’t necessarily the running away part. It was LOGISTICS of running away. Logistics were already hard, it could cripple armies and win or lose wars. Even at the smaller, more personally manageable level, it could cause issues. Particularly if you had a bunch of random crap you needed to sort through to make sure no one had anything that looked like some sort of traceable artifact that could give away your position.

And since you already had gone through everything. You may as well make sure you knew everything you had and wrote it down. Twice.

Twice might not always be necessary but Chap had asked Karli and ‘Doza had volunteered.

“So, we have… three little tents, a big blue sex tent, a bunch of skank clothes, some clothes with holes in the ass but not skanky, that’s for tails… some sleeping bags, a bunch of fuckin’ pillows- Fuckin’ as in for the sex tent, some slave collars, handcuffs, crappy food, decent booze…”

‘Doza stopped with her ‘inventory’ to give Chap a look. A slight pleading look that she then pushed to way over exaggerated puppy dog eyes. Rick and Aydin joined in too though they couldn’t manage to keep the pouty lip because they were both fighting back grins…

Chap had forbidden them from drinking any of it, at least for now. He’d been tempted himself after finding what smelled like a very strong cinnamon whiskey in the Drakes bag of holding… He could use a drink. Then they’d found more, in fact, everyone Vyk identified as being a slaver rather than a barge guard had a bag of holding. In each one were different kinds of booze, with the [Overseer] having half a bar. Half of a fancy hole in the wall bar but still, it was a lot of booze for one purse. It, and some other things, was now in the bag of holding strapped to his plate carrier. The other two bags of holding went to Vyk and ‘Doza.

“No.”

‘Doza continued to stare at him for a moment but she gave up with a sigh.

“Fine… Some decent food, some weed, a bunch of potions that ain’t the right colors, different kinds of pointy and not pointy fightin’ sticks, the dominatrix snake whip, a bow, not Vyks, some arrows, some leather armor crap that needs to be cleaned but we’re already wearing anyways… This shit was not designed for someone with a chest, dammit… Fine… next is… a fucking magic bath robe, five wizard sticks that we have no idea what they do, had two skank sticks- don’t want to know what they do- Aydin, did you wash your hands yet? You’re going to scrub them again when you throw that crap in the river or something.”

Chap looked over at the young man who’d discovered a few carved toys in the woman’s bag. It had been a moment for dipshit that Chap was sure would be brought up again and again.

It wasn’t luck though that Aydin was the one searching it, Chap didn’t want to go through any but the dullahan’s. The only one he hadn’t killed. He knew his mind would wander there a lot but tried to keep busy and not think about the fact that he’d killed people. Even if it was justified.

Why Aydin… that’s what he gets for poking dead people with a stick for no reason. At least it wasn’t the scantily clad stitch woman but pushing the dullahan’s magically detached head around wasn’t exactly respectful either.

Plus Chap didn’t want to touch her himself because of the killing thing. Even if it was justified.

He’d never even had to draw his weapon outside of training before that night. And kept drifting back to them dying, like his mind was starting to again until he shook it off. There would be a time to go over that when they were safe. For now? He had to keep his wits about him.

He must have looked conflicted because ‘Doza had stopped again and eyed him for a moment after getting an affirmative from Aydin but she shrugged and went back to her list. And cringed.

“The skank herself… thanks Vyk.”

At Vyk’s insistence, they put the overseer into a bag of holding without bothering to remove anything other than jewelry and her belt. The body had of course reverted back to cloth the moment the string of life was severed, so it was easy to store and not as messy as one might think. There were two reasons for it. Besides being full of potentially valuable cotton and silk organs and silk body parts that many other stitchfolk would be interested in buying… an idea that Chap was not okay with… Vyk insisted out of all the bodies that they should dispose of. That one should be done separately by burning it once they were far enough away to ensure that no one would see the smoke and the Slaver would never actually find the body.

That of course was only if they weren’t interested in selling it, the gnoll was persistent with that.

It seemed Vyk had no qualms about selling body parts if the original owner was a slaver. Either that or he really didn’t like that one particular woman. She seemed like a real piece of work and Vyk thought it would be a sort of poetic justice. A sick sort. Someone else would own her rather than the other way around.

It was still a messed up idea in Chap’s head.

But as a result, in Chap’s bag of holding was now the corpse of its previous owner. She had owned the highest quality one and it had plenty of space. So logically it ended up in there. As for the rest, they were stabbed at the gunshot wound repeatedly to hide their manner of death, and tossed into a half collapsed building, that with some help became a fully collapsed building with a bunch of corpses under it.

“…A fuck ton of rings, some might be magic, some maybe not. No idea what the magic ones do because our newest member said it’s dangerous to mess with them until we can make sure they’re not cursed or going to cast [Fireball] at our feet or something. Some bracelets, necklaces, and piercings… Same issue with the magic and all gold and gaudy. A magic mirror that someone dropped and broke, wasn’t me. Two magic marbles, a few of those charm things that keep you cool- We’re taking turns Chap, I don’t give a shit if it might be cursed… More that keep you warm, personal letters, notes, a few scrolls, one spell book, one smut book that I might read later, a newspaper, random ass crap like little pots and forks and shit, the crystals the bitch liked, the fucky bags, all our own shit, a puppy that we somehow haven’t accidentally killed yet, some random garbage we jacked from here, and an assload of shiny coins… yup, that seems about it!”

There was a series of snickers and it did seem like that was all they had. Chap laughed too but spared Karli a glance and she gave him a thumbs up. After she volunteered, he’d told ‘Doza to do the inventory but was glad that Karli decided to do her own inventory anyways.

He was confident Karli had been thorough and described it better than ‘Doza. Like saying 192 gold, 71 silver, and 67 copper coins all together from the bodies rather than the measurement of ‘assload’. He hoped that wasn’t actually how ‘Doza wrote it down… ‘Skank’ was probably in there multiple times, he’d put money on it.

Then again, after seeing a bunch of what was basically halter tops that barely covered important parts, lacy underwear missing parts intentionally, and even what appeared to be a nice silk dress with one of the breasts covered by a wide gold thread mesh and short enough where bending over could get you in trouble for indecent exposure… Yeah, there were more appropriate ways to describe it but it fit.

In fact, there were only a few items the females of their group seemed to actually want to wear. A couple open backed silk shirts, a couple long skirts with a slit, an entire matching outfit that looked like it was for riding, boots included. They agreed that they wouldn’t wear any of it until they got far away from the slaver but… It was kind of scary how quickly they came to accept looting the dead… Like the runestone of cooling that Chap was wearing under his plate carrier.

But like Vyk had said. There’s no reason to leave it for the slaver or bandits to find.

“Alright. Anyone got anything? Bitches, gripes, complaints, suggestions?”

“Nope Sarge, I think we’re good.”

Aydin called out an answer for everyone but if anyone else had something, they kept it to themselves. Chap still gave everyone a pointed look. He sighed when he realized he was doing it, it was like looking after a group of kids. Which in a way wasn’t that far off…

“We leave for Tervas, yes? It is a village upriver with a bridge. We can cross and follow the road from there.”

Chap gave the ruined village a once over but didn’t think of anything else that needed to be done. They were packed and there wasn’t any reason to hold off leaving any longer. With plenty of good reasons to get moving.

“Alright, let’s move out.”

The group got lined up again and started heading out of the village. Chap was kind of proud of them that they had automatically taken their positions. It drew attention though because Vyk looked at the formation but could only shrug. Their sole nonhuman took the lead with the rest falling in behind him.

It probably wasn’t that suspicious. Aydin always referred to Chap as ‘Sarge’, so it wasn’t like Vyk didn’t know they were military of some sort. In a way being orderly might raise questions but also might dismiss some.

That didn’t mean they had to be perfectly orderly. And since Vyk was taking point, Chap decided to rove rather than fall in line. He could keep an eye on his people while hoping he didn’t have to use his last three rounds. Although he did have a new option when it came to fighting.

“Know how to use that?”

Lindsey broke the silence of the group trudging onward as he made his way next to her. He looked up at the end of the ax in his hand.

“Not really… I’m not even sure what it is.”

Lindsey smirked and looked it over.

“It’s a poleaxe.”

“A pole… axe.”

Chap had been thinking halberd but he hadn’t been sure. Was a halberd a specific kind of pole axe?

“I thought it was a halberd.”

“No, halberds are poleaxes but they have an axe head, a pike on top, and a spike on the back.”

Lindsey said a matter of factly. So all halberds were poleaxes but not all poleaxes were halberds?

Chap could accept that. Largely because Lindsey said it, except for Vyk she seemed to be the most knowledgeable about weapons like that. Chap had a bit of knowledge from video games and the internet but he had never really paid attention to the specific names. Plus that seemed like an obvious name as it was literally an ax on a long pole.

The only issue with it was, the name seemed to be missing a few key parts. Like the fact it was also part spear and part meat tenderizer to his eye. It was interesting to look at and Chap could at least see how it could give him options. He could reach from afar and chop, stab or smack something.

It was a good change and Chap took his eyes off it and looked at the group’s weapons. It was quite the change all around to go from sharpened sticks and a couple of corroded pieces of junk.

Rick was carrying a mace with a shield, his hammer hanging from the hiking pack after he refused to leave it. He looked like he could crack a few skulls.

Karli had a spear with a shield, which looked kind of funny due to the size of the shield and the size of the young woman carrying it on her back. He was surprised she could lift it fully in the way it was meant to be used but she could.

‘Doza had a small shield and a large hatchet. Neither of which were actually in her hand. Or even visible thanks to having a bag of holding on her belt but at least she had them.

And Ayden and Lindsey were both carrying swords. Aiden had a sabre of some kind, it only made sense since it was the closest they had to a fencing blade. It wasn’t exact but he tried it out and could do a few things with it like he could a foil.

And Lindsey had taken a short sword, the kopis, but kept her bronze sword too. Opting to dual wield. She also took the Drakes’s original bow, the one he hadn’t stolen from Vyk. It meant she had three different weapons but she was the only one that knew how to use it.

And of course, their lone gnoll just carried what he already had plus his bow and looked far more comfortable than the rest. He knew how to carry and move his weapons to a level that none of them could even really imitate. It was like watching a career infantryman with his rifle. Evidence of a lifetime spent around their weapons of choice.

Altogether they looked a lot more prepared for any challenges ahead. The simple fact that they could defend themselves did more than just change how they looked because of the simple addition of what was in their hands. Every one of them walked a bit different, a little straight, a little less worried. They had a bit of newfound confidence.

Throw in the fact that half of them now wearing armor of some kind and they looked somewhat impressive.

“That first day in the village would have been helluva lot easier if we were kitted like this.”

Chap felt something smack into him from behind lightly. He turned to see that ‘Doza had tossed a rock at him.

“We don’t even know how to use this shit. Not sure how much it would have helped.”

She was of course right but it didn’t matter that they weren’t exactly trained in how to handle axes, swords, maces, and spears. As long as they stuck with the basics it would have been better than being unarmed.

Chap looked back at her and swung his poleaxe back carefully, avoiding hitting anyone with it, and grinned as he pointed to the spear part on the end.

“Stick ‘em with the pointy end!”

The pop culture reference wasn’t missed and there was a half laughing groan that passed down the line. Their muscle bound [Warrior] at the front held up his mace. It wasn’t flanged or spiked, it was just a ball of steel on a steel handle. Even with it lacking the visual quality that you saw on TV and in movies, Chap figured it was no less deadly.

“Bro, don’t laugh. That’s easy. The heck am I supposed to do that with this?”

Chap shot a side grin to Lindsey. His thoughts went straight to a big green anti-hero. But ‘Doza beat him to it. Their own version of ‘Rick smash’.

“Shut up, you already know what to do. Look like an idiot and yell- [Power Strike]!”

That was better than his, even if it was already starting to grow a little stale.

There was something about telling an inside joke that was also insulting to a degree. It gave it a bit of lasting quality. Enough that even Rick laughed despite it being obvious that everyone thought it was idiotic to yell what you were about to do like that. Seriously, who would do it?

But that didn’t matter.

They laughed but Chap’s smile dropped a little when he noticed Vyk looking back questioningly. The Gnoll obviously didn’t get the jokes. This wasn’t unexpected considering that was a story that no one had told him but Chap was sort of glad that he hadn’t gotten the chance to use his. He’d have to be more cautious around Vyk. Hopefully, everyone would. It was even a rule already.

But that didn’t mean no one would almost break it by making reference to things not found in their new world.

“Hey sarge, how about a jodie?”

“Hell no! Chap hates jodies.”

‘Doza’s comment wasn’t appreciated and despite a few glances from the others he turned to shoot her an annoyed glare but she gave him an innocent look in return. He knew what she was getting at but shook his head. It wasn’t like he’d bring it up in the middle of the group anyways.

She was right though, the kind she was likely hinting about was 100% on Chap’s shit list and would probably never get off. Also, he didn’t feel like doing the more acceptable kind either.

“I’m with ‘Doza. You run to jodies… I can do a cadence.”

Chap thought for a moment before getting them started, ignoring a few questioning glances and acknowledgments.

It was entertainment for them and him too. Not as much for him but it was something. Chap fell back next to ‘Doza, taking a proper position, shooting her one more glare before he started.

“Mama, mama can’t you see!”

“Mama, mama can’t you see!”

“What Sergeant Chap’s done to me!”

“What Sergeant Chap’s done…”

It was a fairly short one and he had to make quick edits now that they were marching in mixed company since they couldn’t afford to stand out. But it was short and sweet, so it wasn’t that hard.

But as for the cadence, it was something to do even if he wasn’t sure if the group really enjoyed it. At least everyone sounded off. Even Vyk once he caught on.

It had the added benefit besides being a distraction and keeping them from stepping on each other’s ankles. Well not so much, they were on rough terrain, no one was that close together and no one was in step to begin with. But it also slowed and regulated their breathing. Just like intended. He did decide to add a bit of an optional flourish to the end. Maybe try to get them on step.

“Left, left, left, right, leffft! Left, left, left, right leffft… Lookin’ good and feeling fine!”

“Looking good and feeling fine!”

“Drop that left one more time.”

Thump. It wasn’t that good. There was only so much you could do with 5 people.

“Now drop your left and drag your right!”

Thump! Shhhhck!

“Now break it down and keep it tight!”

Thump! Shhhhck!

Thump! Shhhhck!

“I love to hear the sound of your left!”

Thump!

“Sound of your right!”

Shhhck!

“Sounds so good let me hear it twice!”

Thump! Shhhck!

Thump! Shhhck!

“Hua!”

“HUA!

“OORAH!”

“Shut up Rick!”

The group grumbled a bit but laughed as ‘Doza took over with a bit more grody version of a song about a group of dwarves and their female roommate. As they sang, Chap moved his way up to the front to walk alongside Vyk. He’d been meaning to discuss an issue with the gnoll.

“We should swing out into the desert up here. When we passed through a week ago there was something… wrong about a spot ahead?”

Vyk turned his big furred head to look down at Chap, if even slightly. He was idly scratching the fox-wolf pup’s ears. Cerberus did well with him. Chap wasn’t sure if it was because they were both canines, so it came natural,ly or if Vyk was the only one that had experience dealing with wild animals. Or just because the rest of them sucked at taking care of him. They pet him and fed him but Vyk seemed to know what Cerberus wanted before the little guy could even yip.

“Hrmm, How so?”

“It was quiet when we got close to it. No birds, no animals, no fishing jumping out of the river. Just quiet… You could almost feel it. I didn’t even have to tell them to be quiet as we got close. Then we saw a small stretch of land where there was nothing growing. We didn’t hear anything again until we were well passed it. It was like everything anywhere near that didn’t want to make a noise. If there was anything around there at all.”

Vyk looked ahead and scratched at his own ears for a moment. An act that the Cerberus seemed to not like one bit. Chap took a moment to reflect that he was having a conversation with an alien hyena person carrying a fox-wolf pup. It just hit him again but it wasn’t as shocking as the first time.

“I’m not sure what would cause that but if the wildlife fears the area, hmmm… Tell me when we’re close and we’ll move around, yes? It may be best since we do not know the cause.”

Chap agreed but knew it would take at least an hour for them to get close. If it was anything like before they’d notice something wasn’t right. Until then they marched and sang cadence. That gradually shifted to more walking in a gaggle and singing or talking. Then they all began to quiet down…

Suddenly Vyk came to a stop in front of them with his ears straight up. Chap quickly made his way to the gnoll’s side with his hand on his M9. But he didn’t even have to ask what was wrong, they were close. The same eerie feeling was there, it was too quiet.

He gave Vyk an affirmative in the form of a nod and the gnoll turned and started walking away from the river. Chap couldn’t help but notice he kept one ear swiveled towards the potential danger. Not a bad thing to have and Chap didn’t even have any idea how much better gnoll hearing was but he doubted a human’s could really compare. At least with Vyk’s ability to move his ears around.

They moved along quietly in a wide arch as their guide and newest member kept eyes, ears, and occasionally nose towards the center of the disturbance. Chap did as well. Okay maybe not his nose, but even when the bare patch was within sight, he saw and heard nothing that should have been worrying. Other than the silence of course.

Vyk however did and motioned for them to stay quiet as he moved them deeper into the desert. He sped up as he moved until they were quietly jogging behind him, though it seemed like a power walk for him. They jogged like that for a while then turned southwest and eventually made it back to the river. They didn’t stop there. It wasn’t until well after the group was huffing in an attempt to catch their breath and the eerie feeling had long since left them that the pace ground to a halt.

It’d only been about two or three miles in total but that was a lot in armor regardless of the heat. And the heat wasn’t something to disregard. Well, Vyk didn’t care about his own armor but he was panting lightly. And he had fur…

Still, they made it and without complaint.

“We cannot go quietly through Tervas, no?”

Chap just gave Vyk a confused stare as he took a gulp of water. The plan had been to not talk to anyone till Sa’liquen. Both to throw any pursuers off their trail but also to not endanger anyone if the slaver made his way upriver.

“It is a creler nest I believe. We must warn the village.”

“A creler nest?”

Chap wasn’t sure what a creler was and inadvertently let it show. He received a questioning stare in return, only realizing he’d screwed up because it wasn’t a ‘how haven’t you heard of crelers, they’re well known’ type of look. A curious about how someone could be so naive.

But more ‘the hell? Were you dropped on your head as a cub? I said crelers, yes?!’ The, how do you not know this kind of look. It was the type of look Chap would give young Airmen that didn’t know how to safely clear their weapon in the clearing barrel by the armory. A dangerous thing to not know.

Or at least that’s what he thought Vyk was thinking, he was new to gnoll emotions. Even then there was a similarity to human expressions, just enough to pick up on. Plus he’d begun to watch the tail.

“Hrmm… yes, crelers. We must report this or they may one day harm those in Tervas or Patli, yes?”

Chap looked back and nodded. Not trusting himself to say anything aloud at that moment. He already knew he’d just stepped into something. He’d have to wait to see if it was a big heaping pile or not. Vyk stared at him and looked Chap up and down before running his gaze over the rest of the group. His gaze went over clothing, bags, Karli’s sunglasses, Chap’s watch. He didn’t say anything though and signaled for them to move again, which was rewarded with a series of groans. Chap took the moment to fall in with ‘Doza at the back.

“What’d you say? Big and furry’s questioning us. You saw that look.”

He cringed at how loud she’d said it but that might have been from being quiet for the past hour. In retrospect, it wasn’t that loud. Regardless he whispered his response. If anyone else could hear it was just Lindsey and Karli that were within earshot.

“He said it was a creler nest… I have no idea what that is but it seemed like he thought I should know what they are… Whatever they are, they’re dangerous and he wants to warn the village when we roll on in.”

Thankfully ‘Doza decided to whisper back. Chap looked around and saw at least Lindsey and Aydin were trying to listen in but Vyk hadn’t changed at all in front.

“Bad enough to ignore the plan?”

“You saw him when we first started moving further away. Whatever they are, he thinks they’re bad news.”

“So what are we going to do about it if he’s getting suspicious?”

“I don’t fucking know.”

“We’re not going to…”

‘Doza ran a finger across her throat but Chap quickly started shaking his head.

“No. Just no. Seriously what the fuck? He’s suspicious but we’re not doing that.”

“Wasn’t serious… But I’m not the one that outed us. What if he knows of home already? We go tell him-”

Chap wasn’t having that and stopped her. He’d called a meeting once they realized they weren’t alone in the world and it wasn’t just humans.

In summary, it was don’t talk about Earth until they knew it was safe to talk about Earth. Everyone had agreed the night before. There was of course the possibility that people like them were common knowledge or common enough at least. That bringing it up could lead them to find others, but as far as he knew the people of their new world treated people from Earth as invaders or worse. He could imagine what his own government would do if they found technologically advanced aliens blundering about the wilderness. They’d be collected and studied.

“Sarge, We stand out as it is and it’s only him looking. If we don’t tell him…”

Chap shook his head at Karli and ran his hand through his hair. He looked down at the girl. Missing the chance to spot a pair of furry ears twitch to point towards him up ahead.

“Tell him what? That we’re from another world. That we were transported here against our will by magic. That we have no idea what’s going on. That’s just asking for trouble until we know more. And you know it.”

“Well, ya may as well add we have no idea what the hell is up with classes and skills. Maybe ask for a map… because he can hear us. Maybe he can fill us in. Nice going Chap.”

It took Chap a moment to realize ‘Doza had said it at normal volume and another to fully comprehend what she had said.

His eyes flashed towards the front of the group and felt his heart sink. Vyk was looking right at him with wide eyes and slowly raised his arms up to his sides. Palms forward and fingers spread, a placating gesture. Or one of surrender. Chap saw Vyk’s eyes dart downward towards the holster on his thigh. Pausing briefly at the glowing red crystal in a pouch on Chap’s chest.

He’d severely underestimated gnollish hearing, even whispering it was obvious that Vyk had heard everything. Only made worse by the poor placement of a truth stone to back up his statements.

“Out-fuckin-standing.”

————

“Boy! You about done? We’re setting out soon and I’ve known half blind, one armed soldiers that count faster than you.”

[Sergeant] Umbert, one of the few humans in the company, yelled at Darian from the comfort of his chair under an awning. He could see plain as the daylight he was hiding from that the job was nearly finished. Was it really that bad that Darian was being thorough?

“Yes, sergeant.”

Darian adjusted his glasses before checking the last crate. He did a quick count of the carefully arranged glass vials, pulling each out after to check for cracks and leaks, before marking down the count in his inventory.

Darian was an [Account Clerk] and an [Indentured Quartermaster] in the service of the Mountain Eagle Company, and not by choice. If he’d wanted to dig through crates in hot, humid coastal air, he would have just joined the army and gone for supply. Done what he was doing now for decent pay in Kuwait or something.

But that wasn’t what he’d wanted to do. In fact, going Navy and going for an office job like contracting was basically the exact opposite. Not that he made it that far.

“Sergeant, the inventory’s done. Everything’s accounted for.”

The [Supply Sergeant] in question didn’t get up but studied Darian for a full minute before acknowledging him. Or rather he acknowledged his other subordinate.

“Double check his work at random, make sure he didn’t steal anything else.”

Even though Darian could assume the [Sergeant] was getting his lazier, free coworker to get off his lazy tail and was just making a joke, he still fumed silently. But walked his paperwork over when his superior held out his hand for it. The man saw the look on Darian’s face but only smiled. They both knew the reason that the young man from Earth was there was far from above bar.

You don’t believe someone accused of stealing was actually a thief, then force them into a job where all they did was manage the stuff that a person could easily steal. As in, it was Darian’s new job to keep count and make sure no one took anything. As in, if he wasn’t being double checked, he could have slipped a potion in his pocket and fudged the numbers.

It wasn’t like Darian would do that of course. He wasn’t a [Thief]. He had to give it to his new ‘employer’ that they obviously believed him but it didn’t change anything. And that was what happened. He’d been accused and convicted of attempted theft.

It happened after Darian had appeared near a town on the coast of his new world and somehow managed to land himself a job pretty quickly.

After he acclimated for a day first. He still hadn’t completely come to terms with his new reality, magic, classes, and lizardfolk. Being into tabletop games he was mildly excited about it except for the fact he was stuck there.

But with an Associates in Accounting, he knew roughly where to look, anything to do with money. He asked around and made his way to the Merchant’s Guild to apply for a job. He got it and a few days later he was arrested for attempted theft of a valuable artifact.

To be fair he shouldn’t have been near the vault as a new employee, much less in it… and he did take the artifact off the shelf without permission but he was literally standing in the vault, looking at the carvings on the ornate [Mage] staff that had caught his eye. He had no intention of stealing it. It was just how often did you see a carved ivory staff inlaid with a large orange magic gem and glowing blue lines from magic metal around the top? Being from Earth, the answer was never!

His supervisor caught him though, the city watch took him in, and he was sentenced to a heavy fine, failure to pay was slavery. They didn’t care that the truth stone proved he hadn’t intended on doing anything other than put it back. Just the act of being in a restricted area and taking it from where it belonged was enough.

As a young African-American, Darian was outraged at the potential outcome but kept his head about it. Yelling would have only made it worse, at least there. If he had been on Earth he would have probably raised a stink but they did things differently. When he demanded a lawyer, he didn’t get one.

Instead, a massive Gorgon threatened to beat him to a pulp if he didn’t stop talking. With that? Ya, you kind of lose hope at being able to do anything about it after a threat like that. You also keep your mouth shut in case he plans on following through with his threat. Darian wasn’t an idiot.

He spent the rest of the day and the night in a cell but got a bit of hope the following day. At least hope that he wouldn’t be an actual [Slave].

But in the morning, Darian was called into a room at the jail to meet with a mercenary that was in the city to recruit new people, one that would eventually turn out to be his hardworking [Sergeant]. They already knew he couldn’t pay and he was destined for the slave trade but rather than buy him, they paid his debt and he willfully agreed to work for them until he could pay it off, plus interest. It was only willful because it was a better situation, a potential to be free… even if it meant life as a roving mercenary in the desert while being bossed around by a lazy supervisor.

Which was how he ended up miles from civilization on the road with his new mercenary company. The newest member of the Mountain Eagle Company. Good ole MEC. The Marching MEC. The original MEC.

Okay, no one called it any of that. He just got bored doing his assigned tasks. He was also a certified tax specialist, his previous side job. Compared to dealing with IRS forms, counting the number of bottles in a crate was mundane. Made even easier with his [Basic Inventory] skill from his [Quartermaster] class that helped him identify what he was looking at as long as it belonged to the company and [Quick Count] from his [Clerk] class that did exactly what it sounded like. He still double checked the old fashioned way though, he had no idea if Skills could be wrong.

“Everything’s in place [Sergeant].”

Darian’s peer finally announced. The young Lizardman had spent more time milling around the crates trying to pick one at random than actually doing a spot check.

“It better be, we have that contract coming up. Escort Duty! Easy coin… except for you, of course. Sorry about that.”

Darian adjusted his glasses and gave his superior a blank stare. It’d only been a couple days but it was growing old quickly. His coworker feigned interest but he already knew, there was no way he didn’t. It wasn’t exactly a secret. The lizard didn’t even try to hide the mocking smile on his face though.

“Why not him? Oh… That’s right.”

“Yup. He only gets 2 of 10 of everything he earns until he’s paid back what’s owed. Better hope we get some better contracts boy. Or you’re going to be doing this for a very long time. What was it, 150 gold after interest? Ten silver a month… 300 months oughta do it. Eh, we’ll say 250, you should get a pay increase eventually when you level up some. And you won’t be earning much from the contract bonuses we get right now, being support, but you’ll get some eventually. With ‘em you’ll shave some time off… so we’ll say 240 months. You’re young, not the end of the world.”

[Sergeant] Umbert laughed and pointed to the boxes and the nearby wagon. Non verbal instruction for Darian to get loading. He wasn’t sure if a year was the same number of months there but he sagged at the thought of 20 years to pay off his debt. He’d have to figure something out. He couldn’t run, the punishment was either slavery or death. That left few other options.

He’d have to earn something on the side to pay it off sooner.

The other indentured servants did the same, they tried to earn what they could on the side and paid it towards their debt but it wasn’t easy.

What options did he have? Darian couldn’t start a traditional business with being on the move all the time, and investing in someone else but potentially never being there was too risky.

No, investing his twenty percent earnings in something that could make a profit on the road was probably the way to go. He wasn’t sure what he could invest in but he knew from his brief work at the Guild that [Traders] could see decent profits. They could also see decent losses but it was probably still his best option but he’d have to save up and prepare for it.

He wasn’t an idiot that would just buy something and hope he could resell it at a profit. So he’d have to wait until he got the chance to see what was on offer, where it was, where it was needed. That would require him to see a few towns and cities while taking notes in the market. Once he had an idea it was just waiting until he was told where they were headed next, find what he could buy where he was or along the way, and sell for a profit at the destination. He could even have it loaded onto the wagons and escorted by the company for free as long as it wasn’t huge bulk orders. With time he could do those too if he could afford his own wagon…

It might not be that bad. Not ideal, but not bad.

Darian finished loading the wagons and walked back over the awning where his [Sergeant] handed him some water. His lizardfolk coworker was sitting in the shade continuing a lax conversation that shifted as he walked up, his fellow [Quartermaster] hadn’t even been ordered to help.

“So where we going Sarge? The human’s here now. You gonna tell us?”

Darian blinked. It was either important news or just a setup for another joke.

“We meet up with a caravan at Tlanex and then it’s onward to Zaniya by way of the wastes. Then right back here… Maybe.”

“Maybe? We’ve got a return escort too?”

“No. That’d make it too easy. It pays, so we’re going but we’re not sticking around. Crimson Sands isn’t going to put up with us taking contracts in their territory. We might push through and head out to the western point I heard. There’s a couple small independent cities out there with a grudge against each other. We might actually see some fighting! It’s been too long… that’s where the money is anyhow, gold for blood. You know, back in the day, we…”

The little that Darian knew about his new employers was that they were a small mercenary company that was under new leadership and was trying to rebuild itself after a couple near disastrous defeats. They never had any real holdings and were too small to fight for any major city. They often did escorts, guard duty, or suppression work if they had nothing else going on.

In total there were only three thousand mercenaries in the company that was led by an Axolot. A type of amphibious Lizardfolk evolution that looked a lot like its Earth counterpart with a similar name. So they also stayed near the coast and rivers when they could, or all the time.

Having the top lizard struggle away from water didn’t help, nor did fighting away from mountainous terrain apparently. Many of the veterans had classes suited for that kind of warfare.

That aside, the idea of them fighting in a war frightened Darian a bit but he’d already been told he wasn’t allowed to ‘get his scales dirty’ in a fight. He had no family to inherit his part of the contract and dead men didn’t pay debts.

So, they wanted to use him for as long as they could. Considering the other option was getting stabbed by a spear and dying. Darian was okay with that part of his forced servitude at least.

“…Boys, it’s been a pleasure, now get out of my sight. Get something in ya, we’re leaving soon.”

Darian didn’t need to be told twice and made his way over to the mess tent only to find it taken down and a crate of old travel rations in its place. He adjusted his glasses with a huff and grabbed a pair of them before heading to his ‘quarters’. It too had been taken down while his ‘roommates’, the other indentured servants and few actual slaves, were still working for the most part. Only a few were sitting around the former site of their tent.

“You’re done early too? Same here! Obviously… There wasn’t much to do today, the mules and horses were just shod and it’s not like we’ve been going over rough terrain that gets all those burrs and things in their coats. Quick brush down, get the tack on and we were done! How bout you? What’s got you back so early?”

Darian sat down in the circle of his true peers and nodded to them. He’d known it was quick for the man speaking, he’d seen him by the wagons. And despite the fast rambling, the one that had spoken wasn’t a lizardfolk, although he may have spent too much time around them. He was just a typical human like Darian. White guy, wild hair and beard, a bit older. 40 maybe. He went by Jonus but Darian had been told that wasn’t his real name. By Jonus. He’d also been told not to listen to Jonus, so he didn’t know.

“Everything was already in crates, we just had to open them up and make sure everything was still there.”

“Really? If it was already packed, why bother? Umbert just felt like keeping ya busy?”

There was an urge to agree just on the merit of it but Darian knew that there were plenty of reasons to double check and very few not to. It didn’t hurt after all. And making sure their supply of low grade healing potions weren’t just there but also weren’t leaking was probably reason enough. He could at least swear under a truth stone that everything was fine when he loaded them if anything broke en route and his sergeant decided to blame him. Darian just gave the man a shrug, he had a mouth full of dry ration anyways and was having issues swallowing.

“You ever been to Zaniya before? Jewel of the crescent they say! I’m not sure about that, there’s a few other cities that are just as big and just as nice. They say it’s the oldest though, goes back to before the creler wars when the crescent wasn’t a backwater and even trade ships from Drath came to port. Not any more. Not sure if I believed it in the first place… But there’s still plenty to do there if we can. Taverns, markets, gambling halls, brothels! If we’re lucky a ship or two will have come through the whitewash bound for Zaniya and bring something exciting with them. People there could probably use it after that whole demon mess. Bastards killing unborn babes! If I wasn’t a [Slave], I’d join a company bound for Rhir myself! …Oh, I wonder if a company going would buy me? I might even get my freedom that way… Nah, I’ve got things to do. Maybe once I’m done. The demons aren’t going anywhere.”

Jonus loved to ramble at times and a centaur on the other side of their little circle snorted a laugh at him. Selonius thought it was a lot funnier than it really was. Darian had only known Jonus a couple days but he learned pretty quickly that besides talking a lot, he was slightly insane. He chuckled politely with his fellow human but stopped when Jonus stopped.

“What would a company planning on fighting demons need someone like you for? Be a waste of copper to buy you. They gonna use you as bait?”

Jonus didn’t seem too insulted and just grinned wildly at the centaur, eyes slightly bulging. The target of his stare looked back but it was hard making eye contact with Jonus. He had the ability to unnerve someone with a look. Not because of a Skill as far as anyone could tell either. It was just difficult to win a staring contest with him.

The Centaur very quickly felt uncomfortable and turned about, probably for the best.

“I don’t have time for this, I’m going to check my cart.”

Jonus waited till the centaur was a little ways away before he broke off his look and went back to his meal. Chuckling quietly as he nibbled.

“See, that’s how you handle it. Someone tries to start something, just put the craziest look on your face and stare at ‘em. Doesn’t matter if you don’t have a fighting class. Doesn’t matter if you know how to fight or not. Just give ‘em a look. Always works just like that half the time.”

“What about the other half?”

Darian grinned at the thought he might already know. Jonus pounded a fist into his other hand and gave Darian a crooked smile.

Yeah… he was right on the money with that one. Jonus was crazy but he was alright.

They sat in silence as the camp bustled around them. The main reason for the lack of talking was the rations, although they didn’t have time to ‘enjoy’ their meal.

A horn bellowed from the center of camp a few minutes later. Darian waved a goodbye to Jonus and made his way back to his lazy [Sergeant]. The tool hadn’t even finished packing and Darian and Zekadasi had to take down his awning before stowing it in the lead supply wagon. Even with the help of his coworker, the company was already forming up to move by the time they finished.

“Boy, get up here. You’ve got the Class now, any good [Quartermaster] knows his way around a wagon. Zek, get on another wagon… Boy, let’s see what you got. Anything breaks on the way, it’s on you.”

Darian swore under his breath or swore in his way at least. He didn’t actually swear unless you counted ‘fudge’ as a swear word. Just a personal preference due to having parents that were extremely tolerant, except for that.

He climbed up on the wagon seat next to his [Sergeant] who gave him a rough and dirty rundown of driving a wagon after removing his shawl. A few minutes later and they were off. It was an impressive sight in its own way.

Darian looked ahead at the columns of [Soldiers] marching along. No uniformity in them at all. Their armor didn’t match, their clothes didn’t match, and their steps didn’t match half the time. The columns wavered as they moved, not keeping in straight lines. A type of half ordered chaos. He watched them from under the wagon’s awning as they started heading onto the road, their next stop beyond the horizon.

I might get blamed if anything breaks but at least I don’t have to walk.

It was still impressive though.

The column of soldiers moved at a decent pace with the supply wagons in tow. There were a total of eighteen of them stacked to the brim with various things the company needed. Most were pulled by horses or camels with a few mules but a couple were pulled by centaurs. They stayed in a column two wide as they moved, blocking the entire road. He felt a little ashamed but got chewed out for apologizing to a farmer that had to pull his cart into the desert to let them pass. Companies didn’t do that.

“He’ll be on the road again quick like. If we were a bigger company, he’d have to wait but two thousand in front, 18 wagons, and a thousand rearguard… nah. We’ll be by fast. If we were crimson sand, we probably wouldn’t have even seen him. He’d have pulled his cart out into the desert and hid behind a rock till we passed. Risked one of them traveling rocks over a confrontation.”

“Are they really that bad? Haven’t dealt with them since I’ve been here.”

The centauress pulling the wagon next to them asked. Kallea was a pleasant surprise for this leg of their journey. At least in Darian’s mind. She was a fellow [Indentured Servant] and one of the easier ones to talk to. The last time they’d moved, she was behind him and Zek, so it was nice to have her walking along next to them.

“Bad? They’re cutthroat, nearly bandits if they think they can make a profit off killing ya and get away with it. And in their territory, they can as long as it’s not too public. We’ll keep a low profile because of that.”

“Wait, will they even let us in the city?”

It had come from Soteneus, Kallea’s hauling partner on the same wagon.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t they? They know we’re making coin on this trip, they’d let us stay until we spent every copper we made before chasing us out of the city without hesitating. But we’ll be gone long before that though. We’ll restock, give the boys and girls a chance to burn off some coin, and maybe find a few more of your like… we really need a new [Cook] and I know the captain wants me to find a [Scribe]… Ya know anyone that’ll join, the captain will knock off some of your debts… hadn’t told you that boy. You find us some worthwhile recruits and they’ll forgive some of the coin you owe. Get us a few above level 20 and a decent class to sign up with magical contracts, they’d probably free you on the spot… Maybe more than a few for you.”

It was a good tip but there was no way Darian could think of that would allow him to use that nugget of information. Still, Darian made a vow to do just that if he got free time in the city, somehow. Even if he couldn’t find higher level individuals, maybe enough raw recruits would be enough. He did have the benefit of having been on the other side of the table not long ago, he could just try to emulate his own recruiter.

There must have been a little too much hope on his face because Kallea decided to give him a dose of reality.

“Darian… Don’t let him get your hopes up too much. The only people in Zaniya, or any city controlled by a company, that would be of use are already [Soldiers]. So ahead is all Crimson Sands or Silver Rank adventurers and there’s no way you’re going to get adventurers to enlist. They can make more in a day than a new [Recruit] makes in a month barely even trying and they don’t like taking orders unless it’s their team captain. You’re better off just finding a few odd jobs in the city during your free time, earn a bit of silver that way.”

[Sergeant] Umbert cleared his throat loudly getting everyone’s immediate attention. Not just because of his rank. Darian was beginning to understand him better. He was lazy as could be but also had no issues giving out information.

“Not in Zaniya. The bosses will let us all know when we get closer but no side jobs if it takes work from Crimson Sands… Your singing will probably be fine, Kallea. ‘Sides boy, you’ve got to earn the right to go running off on your own. You’ll be with me or in camp most of the time.”

Darian put a halt to his scheming and adjusted his glasses. It was always drawbacks.

“Every town we pass. We’ll be trying the jails, slave markets if they got one, and slums for recruits. Crimson sands would have already grabbed anyone they wanted, so no worry about them getting mad about it… It means there won’t be any good ones but we might get lucky. Then to the market to buy supplies for the next march if we’re low or if there’s some good deals on things we always need. Food and the like.”

Drawbacks or opportunities.

—

Deserts can be truly serene places to visit. Despite what most people think. They’re full of beauty from the oft forgotten about wildlife to the unique, hardy plants found nowhere else, to the land itself. Like the large rock formations showing striations on the rocks showing tier after tier of different ages, going back to time immemorial. The colors of the stone, sky, plants giving a palette that can only be found there, in that one biome. A work of art… For the three walking through such a natural work of art… they didn’t care. Or at least Jenna didn’t. Not anymore.

Jenna was tired, she was sore, she was thirsty, she was hungry, she had to pee, she was tired… It was worth mentioning twice. It had drained any appreciation for the land around them even if two of those she could take care of while walking but they’d hardly taken a break since the night before to deal with her other needs. Plus she was tired.

I just wanna sleep. And a bath. And… I’m not sure what I want for my feet. A foot rub sounds like it would hurt! Maybe… A ride. I want a ride…

In fact, the last time they’d stopped for any period longer than a few minutes was when they were sitting a good distance away from Dhahis, what should have been an abandoned village. Zosk had spotted the movement and pushed them towards the desert rather than walk into the unknown. It ruined their chance to make a last stand but had a silver lining though, they didn’t need to take a stand.

They watched the slavers walk in, and heard a series of shouts and bangs that sounded extremely familiar to Jenna but she didn’t say anything

And then they didn’t see anyone walk back out.

Zosk had figured the ambush was a bandit den and the bangs had been some sort of spell or trap going off. Jenna had thought about gunshots obviously, but even with a chance of finding people from home, she wasn’t going to risk being wrong. They already had issues with a slaver, they didn’t need bandits on top of that. But either way, the fight went, the hypothetical bandits or the slavers were no longer an issue. The slavers didn’t continue their pursuit, giving credence to the idea that the ambushers won and the ambushers weren’t looking for them.

That still didn’t mean they could stop.

“We going to do this all day old man? Where are we even going? Is there anywhere we can walk with shade? Look at poor Sandy, she has fur you know! And Kook! Well, Kook’s fine but the rest of us are hot!”

Zosk sighed from the front, he was limping slightly from all the exertion but didn’t stop. His limp wasn’t too bad though, Jenna was too from the blisters on her feet. She didn’t think she’d ever walked as far as they had since leaving Patli. They’d been moving for more than a day and a half, almost non stop. It taught her a few uncomfortable truths. Such as what happens to your body when you go that far and aren’t used to it. Her legs had stopped feeling like jello a while ago, they had gradually changed to feel like wood. Stiff and barely willing to do what she wanted them to. It wasn’t a nice feeling, not being able to control your own body.

“We’re going to Azoru. We’ll get to the road by sundown if we keep moving east. Probably only a day away after that is the town but there’s wells along the route and a village. I think. Depends where we meet the road… Azoru’s a town built up around an oasis. Trade stop on the road between Sa’liquen and Pachacuti. We can resupply and take the road to Sa’liquen.”

“Why don’t we just go back and follow the river road like we did last time? It’d be cooler and we’d be almost to Tervas by now.”

They’d already passed one road and to their dismay, Zosk had led them straight across it and back into the desert.

“Too dangerous, I’d bet my tail that barge is turning around and heading back up the Itli by now. This’ll take longer but it’ll be safer.”

“Well, how about shade or walking at night? We could…”

Jenna zoned out as the ever growing familiarity of bickering started again. It didn’t last long because Zosk actually explained the problem with Dess’ idea rather than just telling her no. Or more so reminded her. But it was news to Jenna. She couldn’t shake the feeling that he only went into detail for her benefit.

It was a quick lesson that most of the wildlife stayed hidden during the heat of the day and apparently Pit Crawlers weren’t the only dangerous things in the desert that set traps. Jenna agreed with Zosk’s plan of staying put at night once he pointed out a large circle of dirt that was raised up an inch and described the giant spider that was living in there.

It sounded like a tarantula on steroids! She wasn’t about to blunder her way into one of those in the dark. As he began explaining other dangerous animals deep in the desert, Jenna started.

How the hell didn’t I die before Dess found me? I should have died… He’s still going…

Her thought only intensified as it went on. There were scorpions, because of course there were. Small venomous ones and ones the size of dogs and giant ones that sprayed acidic pressurized salt closer to Pachacuti. Spiders big and small, venomous snakes, big venomous wasps that ate venomous spiders, plants with poison on their thorns, wolves, herds of antelope that could stampede, something that sounded suspiciously like a cougar in the hills, big rats with fangs that drank blood, packs of wild herdhounds, large eagles, something that sounded like a mix between a dragon and a llama, another that sounded like a griffin with a gorilla head. Both of those were in the mountains but they could fly, so could be seen on occasion in the desert. Big birds with huge hooked beaks that could bite your arm off… okay he did admit those were usually only found near the coast and couldn’t fly. After the list went on.

In any case, Jenna felt less like sleeping until she wasn’t in the middle of the desert. They could just keep on for all she cared. Dess didn’t seem that worried though.

“Oh come on! Most of those are only dangerous if you startle them! A viper isn’t going to hunt a person.”

“Right, startle them. Such as accidentally stepping on one in the dark!”

“So we make noise and they slither away. I could sing some-”

Zosk spun around and stared at Dess who shut up with a sheepish grin. No words were exchanged and they pressed onward through the barren landscape that looked exactly like the barren landscape a few miles back. And Jenna would bet it looked like the same barren landscape a few miles ahead.

“I guess next we’re going to start worrying about spider people and kobolds!”

Jenna swung around to Dess as she heard her mumble. She didn’t mind spiders… as long as they weren’t giant or crawling on her. But spider people? Was that like a centaur with a spider body or were there sentient bugs? Either way sounded gross.

“Look, you scared her. There’s no spider people anymore. They’re extinct, gone. Wiped out by the centaurs a long, long time ago. And kobolds only live in the mountains.”

Dess looked at Jenna and rolled her eyes. There was no telling what part of the statement she wasn’t impressed with. There was a distinct impression that the looked meant spiderfolk really exist or kobolds didn’t. Jenna hoped it was the part about kobolds.

“What’s a kobold?”

Zosk turned back but only shrugged at her.

“They’re little lizard people- ah not like lizardfolk, different kind. Anyways, little lizard people, that live in the mountains some say. They’re barely people, more monsters, dumber than trolls, and act like goblins. No one’s really seen any of them in a long time but I remember caravans when I was young talking about some adventurers finding one. Probably just some kind of lizard that wandered through the mountains from the jungle. You can’t trust adventurers.”

“In other words they’re extinct.”

Dess seemed only slightly standoffish and Jenna got the feeling they were pulling her leg. Not about kobolds being extinct but the whole thing. I mean spider people?

She wasn’t sure if she believed her own doubt on that matter but she tried to will herself to believe that the idea of spider people or any bug people was a joke.

“or never really existed.”

Jenna was fairly certain it was a myth now…. Kind of sure.

They dropped it for a while and walked along in silence. As expected Dess was the one to break it with even more information on what could eat you. If it wasn’t for their location it would have been an interesting topic but at least she wasn’t talking about monsters from the desert.

“Now on the other side of the mountains, that’s where you find some really strange beasts. No lie, even the mundane creatures in the jungles are dangerous. Boars with hides thick enough to stop arrows, feathered reptiles that walk on two legs, hunting in packs on the jungle floor. Colonies of giant termites. Crocodiles that could rip apart a Kapro. Huge toads and little colorful frogs that can kill you just by touching your scales. Giant snakes that can swallow a person whole. Swarms of biting insects that’ll suck your blood dry. Shield spiders, spear spiders, kingslayer spiders. Then there’s more magical monsters like large black cats that move from shadow to shadow till they pounce, giant beetles that spray you with liquid fire, monkeys that howl loud enough to make you deaf, a big reptile, bigger than a horse with three horns that looses lightning between them, a creeping vine that…”

Jenna just walked next to Dess and listened. Dess seemed far more excited as she listed off exotic critters. No doubt she was already imagining taming them.

Jenna just listened with a bit of awe at the variety of things that would eat you in the jungles of Baleros. She of course had no intention of ever going there but she couldn’t help but think of giant termite mounds the size of midrises and what she was pretty sure were dinosaurs. Not just dinosaurs but magic ones. Jenna would have loved to see a lightning triceratops, from far, far away. But from what Jenna knew of Earth’s jungles, the variety sounded right even if it was a different kind of variety. A huge range of everything.

“And how would you know this?”

Zosk interrupted the growing list. He watched his daughter with a critical eye but Dess’ mouth moved silently like she was trying to find a way to explain but Zosk must have thought he knew the answer. Another incident like the [Rower].

“No talking with soldiers or adventurers Dess. Anyone else is alright but none of them. They’re the only ones that would know any-”

“When was the last time a [Soldier] or adventurer was in Patli? Hmmm? It was a book old man, ‘Fantastic Beasts of Baleros’. Old Draena gave it to me after she was done with it, thought it might help me level. I ah… I forgot to give it back to her when we left… We can send it back!”

Zosk looked her over for a second and turned back with a grunt. Dess then dug through her bag of holding and produced the book itself to hand it to Jenna. Jenna had packed up her stuff and had never seen the book. It must have been hidden outside or maybe on the roof.

It was a little disappointing that it didn’t have illustrations for the vast majority of wildlife listed and most only had a few sentences describing them. Like ‘Silverbray- Large ape like creature with a muzzle of razor sharp teeth and long claws. Gold rank threat. Found in cold mountainous locales. Thought to be [Mage] experiment due to mix of wolf and ape features. Valuable pelt. Silver or white fur.’

Some had less information, some had more. Altogether it was still an interesting read and some of the monsters had entire pages devoted to them, fully illustrated. There were four alone for crelers, regrettably, it was one of the illustrated pages. They made her skin crawl just looking at them. The mouths, the legs, the size of the adults… Nope!

Jenna quickly flipped through to find a drawing of a monkey with three very long tails and a gem on its forehead. The description said the gem was solidified magicore and the monkey was only the size of her hand, not including the tails. A lot better to look at than crelers.

“It’s not everything in Baleros but it covers a lot. Mostly anything that’s big, magic, dangerous, or flashy. They have a drawing of a Grayrock in there but not much about it and Harenaes are just listed. I haven’t gotten through much of it… I flipped through to the animals I know and then looked at the pictures. Maybe if I read it I’ll get a level or it might help me get a good Skill down the road… Oh, you should look at the picture of the Rainbow Parrots, they’re so bea-”

Zosk took that moment to turn around and took the book from Jenna, he flipped through it and handed it back, pointing at the page for both Jenna and Dess. ‘Trap Lid Biter- Large spider that ambushes prey from a hidden nest. Extremely painful venom liquefies internal organs. Silver rank threat. Found in plains and deserts, rarely jungles. Highly prized for venom sacs.’ He tapped it a few times before pointing to another suspiciously round area of raised dirt twenty feet away then snapped the book closed in Jenna’s hands. They stood quiet for a few seconds before Jenna handed the book back to Dess.

“Maybe we can look at this later.”

“Yep, maybe now’s not the best time to be walking around reading… But tonight!”

Zosk smiled and shook his head before he continued to lead them. Dess gave Jenna a sheepish grin as she put the book away but Jenna could only giggle. Which of course had an infectious effect on Dess. Zosk had an immunity to the infectious behavior but he did turn and give another soft smile.

Jenna felt grateful once again that she’d found them, or rather that Dess had found her. It was little moments like that that made a big difference in her mood. She’d found a little bit of what she’d been looking for in them. The camaraderie that encompassed the military lifestyle in a way. It wasn’t just for the soldiers. The whole reason she was on that bus in the first place.

When she lived on base with her parents it was a completely different feeling compared to after her dad retired. She’d lived on six different bases in her life and every time they moved, they’d find their neighbors stopping by to introduce themselves or help them settle in. She’d meet other kids her age on the first day and they’d show her to the park or they’d go to the PX. She wasn’t shunned on her first day at school for joining the class mid year because everyone else was in the same boat and everyone watched out for each other. She’d spend time at other people’s houses, and been taken to the zoo or a museum by a group of military spouses with all the kids in the unit. And she even had a bully stand up for her.

A boy that picked on her relentlessly pushed a civilian kid on his butt for making fun of her once. He explained that their dads were both military and they stuck together. Later she realized he probably had a crush on her.

Still, she missed it. And it wasn’t just the attitude, it was the diversity. The people from every corner of the country and every walk of life. She had friends that she tried to keep in contact with that were born in northern Alaska, lived in Germany for years, immigrated from El Salvador, were Wiccan, whose grandparents were multi millionaires, or grew up poor in a rough inner city. Different languages, cultures, and traditions. It was exciting getting to know someone. Not everyone was the same and even with the differences, no one cared. Things were brought up of course but almost always in jest. Even when her dad and his fellow soldiers would constantly insult each other. It didn’t matter if it was harsh, no one minded. They’d laugh and try to one up each other. ‘The age old art of shit talking. A military tradition older than the military itself’ was what her dad had called it.

But after her dad got out, she didn’t find that anymore. Their new neighbors said polite greetings but that was it. She didn’t make any real friends her senior year of high school, she was an outcast for the most part. Most of her classmates were born and raised in her new hometown, no exciting backstories. Her coworkers at her first job worked, clocked out, and went home. They never saw each other outside of work, even if they got along. There weren’t anymore Company Picnics or Battalion Fun Runs to hang out with friends from her dad’s unit. No company softball team where she could cheer for her dad’s Company while her friends cheered against her because their parents were in a different Company. And shit talking went right out the window, people got offended too easily. She’d never partaken in it but it was always fun to listen to.

It didn’t take long before she was depressed and turned into a bit of a shut in. After a while, she decided that she wanted at least some of that back. She’d long since considered enlisting but that longing was what pushed her over the edge. Her dad wasn’t happy about his only daughter joining the army. It was a bit hypocritical of him but once she explained, he admitted he missed it too. He was more supportive after that, he did talk her into going Guard though. She could try to get on active orders but it would guarantee that she was close.

Now, she saw a little of what she had growing up in Dess and Zosk. A wild goofy teen that didn’t fit in all that well but people accepted her. And a gruff old veteran of a dad that had a soft side to him. Maybe it just reminded her of her own family. She was pretty sure Zosk was a veteran in any case. He’d left out that possibility on how he learned to fight plus she’d met more than a few that acted just like him. Her dad for one. But she wasn’t going to bring it up to Dess.

“You okay?”

Jenna felt a hand interlace with hers and looked over to Dess. She hadn’t realized she’d been crying but she was still smiling.

“Just thinking of my dad. I think he would have gotten along just fine with yours.”

Dess squeezed her hand tighter.

“Maybe we can figure out how to get to Nebraska in Sa’liquen. Might do him some good to meet another old- sorry, I shouldn’t call your dad something like-”

“No, no. He’d be fine with it. I used to call him a grumpy old fart… We didn’t live in Nebraska anymore but… I don’t think we can find him…”

Her smile faded at the thought despite her attempt to keep it up for Dess’ sake. It would take a magic portal or maybe a spaceship to find him… She wasn’t sure how any of it worked.

“What about your mother?”

Jenna bit her tongue at the thought and wondered how to say it.

“She left my dad and after they divorced and, she moved. Last I heard she was in Georgia with my step-dad. He’s a soldier too, might be out now. I don’t know… I was 16, so I chose to stay with dad and I haven’t seen her in a couple of years… I should have kept in contact, at least ca- written her or something but I couldn’t forgive her for what she did to him… He did everything he could to try to keep the family together but she didn’t care. I’m pretty sure she was already dating my step-dad when she left.”

Zosk was walking with his head turned, his ear hole pointed to hear better. Jenna didn’t mind, she’d had years to get over her parents’ split. She placed the blame on her mom but it was the truth. And she’d always been closer to her dad anyways, even though he was gone a lot before he became a single parent

“How about yours?”

The words left her mouth before she really thought about them and braced for what was coming. It could have been a good thing if Dess’ mom was a piece of work but Jenna doubted it. Surprisingly Dess didn’t even hesitate.

“My mother died when I was little- It’s okay. I don’t remember her much. I was just a hatchling… She got really sick and the [Healers] couldn’t stop it. My Grandma said there were strange things growing in her body, have you ever heard of tumors? Well, that’s what it was. After she died, I lived with my grandparents for a while before pops took me to Patli. It’s where he was born. Like I said, not a big thing. I was so young I don’t even remember her or that dusty old lizard before it all happened. I was little.”

She said it but Jenna didn’t believe it. She stopped and pulled Dess to a halt as well and hugged her. It was a spontaneous action but Jenna knew it couldn’t have been easy to lose a parent to cancer and felt a hug was necessary. It helped her too. She felt a little more guilty about not talking to her mom and her last words to her were not the best chosen. Far from it.

Her dad had called her the day she came to Baleros to make sure she was up for MEPS, he was always an early riser. They talked for a minute and she told him she loved him and that she’d write in basic if she was allowed. That was the last time she spoke with him. As for her mother? She had called Jenna six months ago and Jenna hung up on her after calling her a ‘rancid whore’. It was the last time she’d called. Jenna wiped a few tears away when she realized her mother didn’t deserve that.

They walked in silence again after that, still hand in hand. Jenna noticed Zosk glancing back more often with a complicated look on his face but he didn’t say anything. It was a somber moment that lasted quite a while, longer than it should have, or at least Jenna felt it was, but it was also healing. Remembering what was really important and a bit of self reflection often was.

It didn’t last forever though. The two young females walked with their hands at their sides intertwined like part of a funeral procession. That turned into good old fashioned 9 to the front 6 to the rear. And eventually, Dess and Jenna’s joined arm swing turned exaggerated and a bit chaotic. It came just in time for them to walk up onto a well worn road like idiots.

“Thank the Nagas. We’re here!”

Jenna tried to spin Dess in celebration. It almost worked but they both forgot about the tail.

“Ow, ow, fucking, ow! Cramp!”

Jenna was half crying, half laughing as she dropped to the ground. A slap across her upper thigh was all she needed to know she couldn’t dance with a lizardfolk like that. Also that even as numb and woodlike as her legs were, they could in fact still feel pain. With her sore legs, it caused a muscle spasm and she needed to sit down for a moment, gripping her leg in pain. The tail was sturdier than it looked, she almost reached out to squeeze it because it felt like getting slapped with a brick but her leg was the priority.

“Okay, okay, hold still. I’ve had to do this on mules before!”

Dess dropped to her knees and started massaging Jenna’s leg. It worked wonders, enough that Jenna didn’t care that her friend was caressing her upper thigh or that she’d somehow been promoted from a lost puppy to an injured mule, that might actually be a demotion. After the cramp let loose, Dess helped her stretch out her leg slowly and helped her back on her feet. Zosk was sitting on a rock by the side of the road. Patiently waiting.

“Now that’s over with, get your tails- ah… what do humans say?”

He turned to the lone human. She got what he wanted. It wasn’t like she didn’t know that he was paying attention to her talking about her dad. But he didn’t actually need to be politically correct because she didn’t have a tail. The gesture was nice though.

“Ah… dad would have told me to pound pavement or get steppin’.”

Zosk bobbed his head a few times before apparently deciding which one he liked more.

“Then get steppin’.”

He picked the one he liked and they got going again but Jenna could have sworn she heard Zosk mumble about how ‘pound dirt could work’. Maybe it wasn’t the one he liked, the road wasn’t paved after all. Maybe it just threw him off.

A slight twinge of pain was still there in her leg and reminded her. Jenna looked over at Dess’ tail swinging idly back and forth as they started walking again.

“What is that thing made of? That hurt.”

Jenna reached out and gave it a light squeeze.

—

Gnolls. Strange thing about gnolls, their ears. Strange and extremely obvious once you really thought about it. Why wouldn’t they have an extremely good sense of hearing? Not just a little better than a human’s but a lot better.

It was a mistake to assume they didn’t, one that Chap had made but unknown to him he was far, far from the only one to ever make that mistake. A [Princess] once made that mistake and accidentally revealed herself to a few gnolls too, luckily they hadn’t been about to reveal her secret to others.

Also luckily, Vyk was cut from the same cloth as Ishkr and Brunkr. Maybe a bit different than Mrsha, he wasn’t comparable to Mrsha the great… but she knew how to keep a secret too.

“So now that’s out of the fucking way and you’re not going to rat on us… Right?! And what the hell do you mean that explains a lot? What’s fucking ‘a lot’?”

‘Doza had stepped into Chap’s discussion with their second time surrendered gnoll. They’d explained their situation to him but regrettably, he hadn’t heard of other Earthers before and actually advised them not to go around telling people they were from a different planet. It wasn’t something that happened. Granted they were of the same persuasion and had simply underestimated his ears.

There was of course the possibility that he didn’t believe them even with the truth stone but he was willing to comply because he was afraid.

“There have been many strange happenings lately, yes? Maybe this Lost Generation is the cause for all the new things. Newspapers, music, football, Hrrrm… Pizza! have you heard of pizza? Gelato? Baseball? It all came very fast, the past year or so. If you know those, maybe they came from your-”

Vyk’s eyes went wide and his ears shot straight up a moment before his tail wagged. You didn’t have to know gnolls well at all to realize he was excited.

“You do know those! It’s TRUE! Have you played football?!”

They couldn’t hide it. Nor was there any reason to after telling Vyk about where they were from. But a list of familiar things felt good to hear and it also meant that some of the disappeared were still out there somewhere.

“Yeah.”

Chap was the only one to answer. He looked over at Aydin and Rick expectantly but they both shrugged.

“I didn’t do football, I played lacrosse.”

“Soccer.”

Vyk looked at Aydin confusedly.

“Isn’t that the same as football?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Eh… kinda.”

Vyk looked even more confused. Chap sort of felt bad for the gnoll but to him, there was only one kind of football. The American kind. He still figured it’d be easier to give a quick and dirty explanation. It wasn’t like he was so ‘Murica! that he didn’t know what the difference was.

“There’s more than one sport called football. Where we’re from it’s completely different from soccer. That’s, well, it’s soccer to us… Association football, we also have Gridiron football. And there’s Australian football but that’s usually called Rugby. They’re all three related. Lacross is, well, it’s different. It’s like a hockey wannabe… Kinda partial to the stick and ice myself. Oh and hoops!”

“What’s hoops?”

Vyk looked back and forth as Aydin nodded in agreement. Rick looked a little affronted at dissing his sport but Chap knew he couldn’t say anything. To each their own, plus Chap really didn’t mind lacrosse either, he just didn’t’ know how to play.

“Aren’t we getting a little off topic?”

Karli tapped her notebook where she was taking notes on their discussion and had added the sports to the list as well out of the need to be thorough.

She was right of course, they could discuss which football was the right football and the merits of hockey later. Then tell everyone else that America was right and the rest of the world was wrong but that was for another time. Chap raised his hands to gesture it was his bad.

“What’d you mean by music?”

“Lindsey?”

Karli gave the taller girl a look but Lindsey didn’t back down.

“It might be important if it’s someone from Earth singing. Maybe it’s music we know.”

Vyk looked back and forth between the two before answering. Once Karli backed down he answered.

“They call her the Singer of Terrandria, the Queen of Pop, Baroness of Beats, Siren of Songs… other things I can’t remember. You have some of her song crystals I think, yes? The [Overseer] had several. They’re small, cloudy white crystals that-”

“You mean the bitches rock collection?”

Chap slapped ‘Doza’s hand away from his bag of holding and started digging through himself. He brought out a white opaque crystal. He flipped it over in his hands and was about to ask how to turn it on but just willing it to work filled the silence with music… familiar music.

“That’s fucking Skillet! Chap! Give!… Chap! Give! Now!”

He reluctantly handed the crystal to ‘Doza, he didn’t want to encourage her to wrestle for it. He would gladly put her in her place but he was in charge. So he couldn’t partake in things like that.

“Goodboy…”

Then again, would anyone blame him?

Like him, ‘Doza quickly figured out how to turn it off, and on, and off, and back on. The song restarting each time it was turned back on. He was about to snatch it back but she explained.

“Trying to figure out how to pause it. I don’t think you can.”

Vyk looked at the crystal and tapped Karli on the shoulder.

“This is from your home, yes?”

“Yes. Where’s Terrandria? That’s a place, right?”

“Yes, but it is very far away. It is a continent across the ocean, ruled by humans. But your people could be anywhere. There are humans on every continent. There are some in Sa’liquen… We should go, yes?”

Vyk looked back to Chap. He checked his watch, the discussion with Vyk had taken a while to go over and burnt a lot of time but they still had plenty of daylight to travel. A few more hours at least before they should start looking for a campsite. He’d thought too long and their resident gnoll decided to make a deal. The implication of course that they couldn’t leave Vyk behind.

“I’ll teach you, if you teach me. We can talk while we travel.”

He wasn’t sure if it was wise to tell Vyk about Earth things but he had to admit, Vyk seemed alright and only really wanted to bring something of value to his tribe when he returned. Even sworn on a truth stone.

That didn’t mean Chap trusted him but was leaning that way. They lucked out by having a solitary and understanding gnoll, half a world from home being the first to figure them out, they might not be so lucky again. They needed to learn and make sure they could blend in. Still, there had to be limits.

“Teach you what?”

“Whatever you wish to teach. It is new and already changing the waning world… Anything I could bring back to my tribe can help. Even this hoops?”

He smiled in a way that made Chap a little uneasy thanks to the very toothy smile but he wrote it off pretty quickly. He’d dealt with strange customs before and decided it was no different. Besides, how was a gnoll supposed to smile? In the end, he just smiled back.

“I’ll teach you to play a little basketball… hoops. Gonna warn you, I suck. I only made the team because it was a small school and I was taller than my teammates. Played center.”

“Or I can teach you how to sink threes bro.”

Chap glared at Rick as he grinned back. Chap couldn’t keep it up and took the challenge. He knew he sucked at shooting but he had some ups if he needed it. Post him up below the basket where he couldn’t miss and no one was blocking it.

Fuck I could use a drink and a game. At a fucking minimum…

“Sounds like a plan… Doza can teach you about sketching cartoons.”

“Fuck you, Chap… Wait… Hey Vyk, are comics a thing here?”

Afterward, two things happened. First, the entire rule set of basketball was explained to Vyk, who seemed pretty excited at the concept of playing with a ball in a game where ball handling and shooting accuracy was paramount. After that, it was a mix-mash. Music, drawing, and other sports. Chap was admittedly glad that he now knew at least the basics of lacrosse. Still preferred hockey.

They marched along with the conversation a little one sided as they filled Vyk in but the gnoll did let them know about various things about the world. He at least explained Classes and Skills as best as he knew them. A little about history. Big things like the sheer size of the continent of Baleros and the fact it wasn’t even the biggest.

‘Doza walked up next to Chap, their formation long since fractured as the group clustered around Vyk to discuss Earth, probably a serious InfoSec violation but he wasn’t going to stop it thanks to the info the gnoll gave in return. She strode beside him and casually bumped into him. Chap glared down at her only halfheartedly.

“What do you think? Thinking another FNG… TCN? Or you thinkin’ about….”

His halfhearted glare turned into a real one. He knew what she was getting at but ignored it. Instead, he looked up towards the rest of them huddled around Vyk.

“FNG. Maybe…”

He ignored it but knew she was trying to help. She was in his sister flight in basic, a fellow rope in tech school, same base, same flight when they got there, deployed together, twice. Back on the same flight when they got back. He knew ‘Doza better than most and vice versa. Even family. She needed to learn to let things go though and stop reminding him.

Eventually the light began to fade and at Vyk’s direction, they pulled away from the river to make camp. Chap drew second shift on watch and turned in early while all but Karli, his watch partner, started a fire and continued to talk with Vyk. He claimed a small tent that they’d gotten from the Drake he’d gunned down and soon dozed off.

[Sergeant Level 5]

[Skill- Two to the Chest obtained!]

[Skill- Cadenced March: Endurance obtained!]

Chap waited for a few moments and tried to use his skill. Nothing happened, so he guessed he’d actually have to be marching for it to work. He laid back and closed his eyes again, he’d have plenty of time to figure it out in the morning.

He drifted off listening to Lindsey, Rick, Aydin, and Vyk discussing the Walled Cities in Izril. Lindsey sounded excited at the idea of cities built by dragons thousands of years ago and the lost ruins of ones destroyed. It was kind of interesting in itself but he needed sleep. It didn’t take long till he was dreaming the worst of dreams. Not a nightmare but one so good that it hurt to wake.