Chương 16: Chapter 15- No One Left Behind

Astra turned to Eli with a hopeful expression, "My claim was not in jest, my situation is desperate indeed as illustrated by recent events."" You have every right to know the peril I find myself in before agreeing to aid me, and know that if you decide my course is too fraught with danger and would prefer to part ways I will think no less of you. You have shown honor aplenty with your actions so far, here take this."

She reached into her arming jacket and pulled a small bronze disk from inside, tossing it to Elias, who examined it to find both sides embossed with the same image. The badge bore a depiction of a large greatsword flanked by a set of metallic flaming wings that glowed with a soft crimson sheen in the firelight as if they were alight with flame.

Across the background in the upper portion there was a dusting of small gems flickering with a soft blue internal light, as if to emulate a field of stars crossed by a cobalt blue streak that must represent the ring that crosses the night sky. Elias gave her a questioning look." Thank you. It's very beautiful, is it meant to be worn as a pendant on a necklace? I'm afraid I don't have anything to affix it to that would do it justice."

Astra paused an incredulous look, before uttering a snort and breaking into laughter." No you half wit! I gather this mistake is my own. You literally just told me you were from another world, so I guess that would be my fault for expecting you to know the meaning of this." She shook her head." No, it's my personal seal given only to those whom I would trust to speak as if their words were my own.

If all else fails, bring this to one of my clan, tell them your tale, and they will assist you to the best of their abilities." Straightening her posture, puffing out her chest, Astra fixed Eli with a serious, yet proud expression.

"While we are few, our clan is well known. If you bring word of your deeds to my father he will help you as best he can in your quest for knowledge." A blush slowly dusted across her cheeks, and she looked away before clearing her throat." Also please don't wear it around your neck, that has a few, shall we say, connotations, you may not be aware of." Suppressing a grin Elias arched an eyebrow in her direction, before pocketing the token."

No worries, and thank you again for the gift, even if I end up not needing the favor". Eli followed the motion with a wink, " Who can say no to a pretty charm, from such a beautiful woman?" Astra rolled her eyes, although the small smile as she took another bite of jerky told Eli his compliment did not go completely unappreciated.

As she chewed the last bite thoughtfully, she tilted her head and seemed to consider him in a new light, before swallowing and beginning her story while maintaining eye contact with a gaze that seemed to be weighing his reaction.

"My family has a strong tradition of service in the Empire's armed forces with quite a few members over the ages rising through the ranks and serving with distinction. While few of our feats are quite as legendary as the Phoenix Blade who founded our clan, we are known for our feats of strength and courage, as well as for our faithful service and unwavering commitment to honor our duty to our countrymen.""

This heritage combined with the fact that our family as a whole tends to value martial prowess far more than mercantile success or deft political maneuvering; we tend to be ill suited for the capital. As such my Clan was granted lands in the frontier where our strength can be better applied to pacifying the wild lands during times of peace, or defending our borders in times of war."

Astra leaned forward with a conspiratorial whisper, " Although to be honest I'm sure my fathers proclivity to prefer solving disputes with blades on the dueling sands rather than with witty banter at social functions probably has a lot to do with it as well." With a sigh she leaned back, " Thankfully my brother is better suited to the political arena, as I don't have much taste for it. And to be fair I'm pretty sure they don't have much taste for me either."

With a derisive snort she glanced back to Eli, " You give just one Baron's son a black eye for being too handsy on the dance floor, and all of a sudden you're 'So unbecoming of a lady' and you're 'ruining the festive atmosphere with your brutish ways'." Astra leaned back against her rock in a mockery of a fainting lady as Elias snickered." Suffice to say I was quite satisfied when it was decided I would return to our family lands for a time." Eli leaned back with a chuckle, " Can't say I blame you."

Astra grinned back, " Aye, it was a fun night after that, Mira, my blade instructor, was so proud she took me to a tavern to celebrate. Punching that prick earned me my first ale." Eli asked curiously, "How old were you?" Astra tapped her chin, "Hmm, maybe fifteen, what kind of girl doesn't have a little fire in her heart at that age?" Eli choked back a laugh, as she continued with a smile.

"While I would be more than happy to share the gritty details, time grows short and I need to cut to the heart of the issue. After returning home indefinitely I spent quite a bit of time training focusing on building my foundation in preparation for the Academy. As the enrollment time approached as is tradition in my family, it was decided I would join one of our patrols for my first expedition.""

One of the duties assigned to our house troops is to regularly tour the outlying villages and towns that are on the border of the wild lands. The general goal is peacekeeping, but we are also expected to scout for any nascent threats to the region or the Empire as a whole. If possible the patrol will eliminate the threat, if not they will request reinforcements while containing the situation to the best of their ability." Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

A serious look crossed her face as her eyes dropped to gaze into the embers." As exciting as the prospect of travel and adventure is, the expeditions are dangerous affairs. Any number of monsters can grow unchecked in the lands beyond the Empire and, while rare, it's not uncommon for a village to be found slaughtered to the last man or for an expedition team to disappear never to be heard from again."

She looked back to Eli, " The peril is very real, but it is considered a great honor to be part of making the wild lands a safer place for our citizens. This very same risk is part of the reason my family is considered strange among the rest of the nobility, since sending their children along on such a dangerous mission before they have even entered the Academy is considered more than a little crazy."

She sighed, " To be honest though, I've never understood such a shortsighted viewpoint as the danger, achievements, and glory are the entire point of the exercise. Sure we may lack experience, but where else would they be able to gain said experience while surrounded by seasoned veterans? Especially in a setting where the risk to life and limb are serious enough that it will stunt our growth?

The opportunity to build such achievements prior to evolving to your full class can not be understated, and the resulting power and rarity of the resulting class choices are part of what has helped my family solidify our position both as a military power and premier recruits for the academy." Eli looked at Astra with a confused expression, " So you get preferential course placement in this Academy due to field experience? I can't imagine you have enough family members to fill all the seats, am I missing something?"

Astra smirked at Eli with a knowing look, "I certainly noticed something missing from your story that would help, but let's hold off on that topic for now." She shoveled down another mouthful of jerky, before continuing after clearing her throat.

"The expedition was going well, very well at first."" The first couple villages and towns had no issues, and the third only had a few predators in the local forest that needed culling. There were rumors that further to the north as you approached the Spine" Astra waved towards the mountain range across the river from their camp "that there were disappearances among some of the common folk in the villages and towns.""

This happens from time to time, especially in remote lands or among the less exciting professions, some beast snatches a herder from a pasture or the child of a farmer is lured off by tales of adventure to join the army or become an adventurer. With the former there is usually at least a body or tracks to tell the tale, but with the latter it's hard to know unless they leave a note or are found in another town.""

The wilds of the frontier are dangerous for the unarmed and untrained and, unlike the tame lands closer to the capital and the larger cities, sometimes people just go missing." Astra's expression darkened, " Finally sometimes the cause isn't some wild monster, but rather the kind that wears human skin. There are more than enough threats out there to keep the blood thirsty and the craven busy, but many can be drawn to the allure of easy coin.

Often this can be found through illicit goods or banditry, but there are few products more valuable than the human kind."" Slave contracts are really supposed to only be used in penance for the worst of crimes, but that does not stop the human trash out there from using them when no one is looking, especially out in the wilds." She gazed into the embers with a scowl, "The younger the better too, if you can get a hold of them young enough you can mold them into whatever your customer desires.

The more rare the catch, the better price they can command." Astra gazed into Elias's eyes with a fierce glare, weighing his reaction as he grimaced in disgust." What do you think their customers would pay for a young noblewoman who hasn't evolved her class?" Eli grimaced and his gaze flickered off into the distance beyond the treeline where the bodies from the party that attacked Astra littered the forest before he grunted an answer in return." I didn't know they stacked shit that high, glad I could help though?"

Astra's soft laughter echoed through the trees, " I did not imagine so either." She glanced back at him with a serious glint to her expression." Now that you have a bit of an idea of my situation, let me say it again, I can not possibly thank you enough."" When I found myself exhausted, disarmed, bleeding out, and pinned to the forest floor, all that ran through my mind was the prospect of spending the rest of my life chained to a bed or worse." Leaning forward to grasp Eli's forearm again, Astra smiled softly.

"Again, I mean it from the depths of my heart, thank you. Your assistance saved me from a terrible fate, and I will repay you if I can." Eli's expression sobered, before swallowing thickly, and with a deep breath he returned the smile." Of course, your gratitude is both welcome, and all the payment I need. It was nothing more than what anyone else would have done, right?" Astra leaned back with a coy smile, " I would not be so sure."

Astra gazed down river for a long beat, before coming to some internal decision, and looking at Elias with a steely gaze." When we left the last village before the Reach, we heard rumors of a bandit camp up the road, somewhere down the banks of the Arinel river after it entered the Reach. My team had camped some distance south from the last village along the river and, despite posting a watch, we woke to the bastards already deep in camp."

Astra grimaced, " Some one must have tipped them off since our strongest members were already subdued, Mira included. I was only able to escape the ensuing struggle due to the chaos the others spread as they fought back. I wanted nothing more to stay, but with Mira already in chains and the rest of the patrol outnumbered I knew I had to find reinforcements." Clenching her fists Astra glared at the fire, " Mira alone would have been enough to gut the bastards, and our watch should have alerted us in time.

I've turned the events of that night in my mind over and over again and I keep coming back to the same answer."" Either whomever was standing watch at the time outright welcomed the slavers into camp, or whomever approached was recognized as a friend and allowed to pass without alerting the rest of the patrol." She sat back with a sigh, " Ultimately it most likely doesn't matter as the end result is the same. I had to fight and flee with only what I was wearing as I slept.

I ran as far and as fast as I could, but I'm no forest scout. Despite covering my tracks as best I knew they still found me." With a bitter expression, she frowned at the fire, " I should never have started the fire, but I thought I was well hidden. I had been running for hours, I found no sign of pursuit, and I was half frozen from the river. They came upon me shortly afterwards, and you saw the events afterwards for yourself." Flicking her gaze downriver again, she looked back at Eli with a grim expression."

They're my people Eli, friends and retainers who have been with my family for years."" I have probably spent almost as much time with Mira as my own mother, if not more. If there is the smallest chance they are still alive, I have to try and help them." Astra looked down at the fire with misty eyes and a stony expression on her face." If I go alone it's most likely to be to my death or worse, but I have to try. They would try for me."

Elias's face settled in a grim expression, he had his own experience with loss, and from his prior time in the military he knew well the pain of losing a brother in arms, and that if the tables were turned he would give anything to come to their aid as well. Eli gave her a long appraising look before his face hardened in resolve, he rose to his feet and held out his hand to help her up." Then we better hurry." Astra took Eli's hand with a grateful smile, rising to her feet as well.