Chương 35: 34 – A Tacurian Brigade

"That's… a lot of soldiers," I said, somewhat awed.

"Uh-huh," Hadra agreed. They still weren't the entire army. Not even the bulk of the force, if Mom was to be believed, but for a short while anyway, we certainly didn't have to worry about defending our western side either. I looked from atop the watchpost, alongside Reid and Hadra, as the soldiers seemed to flow out of the trees like ants from a nest. April had seen many more people than this at one time. She'd been to stadiums and college campuses, and hell, just walked around modern cities.

I had only seen this many people in Denarla, though I'd seen crowds much larger beside April. The dreams somehow hadn't prepared me for the reality of it. Empty wagons followed them, dragged by oxen, donkeys, horses, and sometimes even soldiers themselves. Dozens of wagons.

"I feel kind of guilty. I was so mad at the Duchess for neglecting us when she already had an army on the way?" Reid said. I shook my head.

"Maybe… it would be nice if the Duchess ordered the army to support us, but if that's the case, why all the wagons?" Reid paused, noticing them.

"Maybe they're here for your pepper paste?" he asked. I brightened at the thought. We had made a lot of barrels of the stuff, and plenty of the pouches too. We'd distributed those around town so that at least one person in almost every house had one. I supposed it was possible that this was all because a general had heard how useful my pepper paste had been and wanted it, but with all the talents and skills people had, I just didn't think it would be that much of a game-changer.

Certainly not enough of one to send this many people, when the rift break probably still wasn't contained.

"Who cares who sent them? I'm just happy they came! We don't have to be afraid anymore!" Hadra exclaimed. I wished I could believe that. I didn't understand what was happening. How could the army be here? If the Army was here, then why was my talent still predicting that so many people still needed to fight war trolls? Could it have been just a pure coincidence that the rift break happened? Had everyone just thought they'd need something to protect them from war trolls, and I'd cried wolf blindly? No.

That didn't make sense. Effect 1: You know how to create an item that would best fulfill your companions' most pressing need and what you need to craft it. Bond Crafter's first effect was very clear. I knew what people needed most. Knowing why they needed it had to be a part of that. So… how was there a Brigade here? Hadra and Reid looked excited and relieved, but I had a sinking feeling in my gut that this wasn't a good thing. This army was coming from the west. Why?

I already knew from Mom's contact in Lindolen that an Eschal invasion was happening to the East. Were these men on their way to reinforce the Eastern border? That seemed unlikely as the most direct route lay far south of the Great Ophiscian. This wasn't a full army, but it was certainly far too many soldiers to commit to protecting a small town in the middle of the country. When paired with the wagons, the sinking feeling grew heavier.

"I don't like this," I said.

"Maybe we should get back to the bar. I'm sure Dobretin will be waiting there to talk to the leader and organize a place for all these troops to sleep. Hopefully outside the eastern watchpost."

"After Travis and Pretyr nearly broke their backs clearing out the area, it makes the most sense," Reid replied.

"Even that might not be enough, though. I don't know if we have enough open space to house them all unless they want to sleep with the livestock." I chuckled, but as men and women seemed to just keep coming, I realized it might not be a joke at all. Down near the front of the picket lines, I saw a few men greet and hug one another. With so many soldiers, it wasn't surprising that at least a few of them had grown up here in Pemolar.

"That's General Maulander's flag," I said, pointing as I watched a troop of mounted soldiers on horseback ride out.

"My uncle sent us a few drawings of all the generals' insignia a little while back."

"Maulander… the leader of the central army?" Hadra asked. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

"Not sure. It might've been the western one that borders Rechin. Definitely not the Eastern, though. That's General Neogon." I said.

"I think my mom might know him." I winced, regretting the words immediately. Why the fuck had I said that? The two of them eyed me, and I shrugged.

"In passing. Think they met when she brought crops down to the rift instead of to Denarla a few years ago." I didn't actually know for sure how Mom knew Neogon's seal, or how she was able to make it, and I trusted Reid and Hadra with my life. Still, that was no reason to go blabbing about a potential connection between the two when Mom's forgery was still very much illegal. Never mind that we'd all probably be dead if she hadn't done it.

"So, back to the bar?" Reid asked.

"Seems like I can never leave the bar these days," I muttered.

"Oh no, poor princess," came a mocking voice. I turned and saw Nemmikel manning the watch post, bow in one hand, staff on his back, listening to our conversation. He was grinning. There… might actually be a little bit of heat in his words, though.

"Just because everyone loves my stories more is no need to be bitter, old man," I said.

"Bah. Your stories are shit. You're much more valuable as a soup gopher," he joked.

"Careful! I can make sure Edra sends the spicy stuff you hate tonight, Michael," I replied. He eyed me with a moment of panic before finding something that satisfied him.

"Nah. You wouldn't. That's your problem. Just not mean enough. No bite to you. Same for your stories. All princesses and happy endings… nothing real!" I sniffed indignantly. Nemmikel and I had been competing on my stage for years now. He was a veteran and had a great shot with a bow. His talent was also upgraded from common to uncommon, and for the past few years, I thought he'd been dropping all his free points into Storytelling and Public Speaking. He probably regretted that now.

"Well, you're right. I'd never do that," I said.

"I'm glad it seems you'll finally get to rest a little easier tonight, at least. With this many soldiers, surely they'll lighten the patrol schedule."

"Like I said. No bite," he replied.

"But damn, so am I. Still, I don't necessarily think this army showing up now is a good thing. What are they doing here when they should be securing the rift? Have you heard the rumors that Eschal's invaded, too?" I nodded, glad that others were thinking the same things I was. Nemmikel was one of the people whose need I'd already crafted, and I'd been quite wrong about what his would be. I'd assumed he needed crutches, but to my surprise, he'd gotten a staff. One that he carried with him everywhere he went now.

He still needed it to help him get away from war trolls, but if I hadn't known that was what it was for, I'd never have guessed it. Poplar Walking Staff Effect 1: When wielding this weapon, gain nine strength. Effect 2: When wielding this weapon, gain nine dexterity. Effect 3: When wielding this weapon, physical impediments are negated. Before getting the staff, he never would've been asked to man the watchpost or even join the patrols. He was in his mid-sixties, after all. After he'd received it, he'd volunteered.

As long as he was holding the staff, he didn't limp anymore, and the stat boosts gave him back all the skill he'd had as a young man and then some. Better still, the benefits remained even if he wore the staff on his back, so he could once again use a bow. I was dead curious how the staff would affect someone in a wheelchair or if it would restore sight to the blind, but we had no one with either condition in town. That said, it was a staff that could restore vigor to old people.

The jokes had been as endless as they were absolutely inevitable. The patrons didn't typically make them while I was around, being a young girl and all, but it was a small town. I didn't ask. I wasn't that curious, but it was pretty funny.

"I think Edra's convinced a few of the people from Mitoras to bring out the soup bowls tonight, but if you like, I can bring you back some bread later?" I told him in apology.

"Would appreciate that. Give me an update on what's happening down there, too. Don't trouble yourself if you get too busy, though. I think that's the general himself on that fancy horse," he said as I stepped onto the first rung of the ladder.

"Will do!" I told him before gingerly following Hadra down. I probably shouldn't have climbed up here in the first place with my injured shoulder, but Mom had asked me to find out what was happening. We rushed back toward the bar at a steady pace, passing a small line of rubberneckers and curious people, all wondering what the horn blasts had been about.

"Mom!" I exclaimed, rushing over to where Mom was methodically changing the bandage on a wounded refugee's thigh. Hadra came with me while Reid gave my shoulder a squeeze before heading off to his father.

"Mera," she said.

"Did you find out what the horn was about?"

"Mm-hmm," I nodded.

"Should probably tell Dobretin, too. He'll need to know fast. Are you about done there?"

"Gods, I hope so," the patient, a woman a few years older than me, said with a wince.

"Just about, Yelsena," Mom told the woman, as she finished wrapping the cloth. Almost everyone in the bar was stable now, but just because there was a healer, that didn't mean that all injuries could be instantly fixed. He'd first gotten everyone to where they wouldn't die. Now came the actual healing. Normuran had slept straight through the horn and remained sleeping where he had been when I'd first entered the bar almost an hour ago.

Fortunately, the arrival of an army meant that there would almost certainly be healers as well, which would ease the burden on Normuran considerably.

"So, it's an army. Flying General Maulander's flags. I… don't know if it's actually the general himself, but there was a group of horsemen and some really shiny armor on one man near the middle," I told Mom.

"Maulander…?" she said, sounding surprised.

"They also brought a whole lot of wagons. Think they're here for the Pepper Paste?" I asked, hopefully. Mom shook her head.

"Wagons… shit. No. Lieutenant Berkenem was part of Neogon's Army. Maulander… wagons… Mera, I've got to go." I blinked as she stood abruptly.

"What's the rush?"

"We're a farming village, and we didn't hear anything about Maulander's army from our scouts in Potato Gully. That means either they avoided the Gully, or they detained the scouts, but my bet is the former. They took the high road. They aren't here for peppers, and if they know about them, they certainly won't honor any patent or deal. It's war, Mera, and an army lives on its stomach." I paled.

"They're here for the harvest…" I hissed.

"And maybe more. For now, if we don't squirrel something away fast, we might all starve when winter comes."