Chương 105: 39 – An Unexpected Delivery

The Eschal army marched through the eastern woods with a swagger that bordered on arrogance. Their caravans cut through the trees with blatant use of merchant and travel talents, with so little fear that they were practically asking to be ambushed. Unfortunately, we had no practical way to do that. All Pemolar's Hill had were scouts, and sending any of those out was nearly a suicide mission.

Less than three-quarters of the General's scouts returned each mission he sent, and yet, he kept sending them, just in case they might glean even the slightest bit of new information. The banners helped. He was able to signal retreats when other scouts noticed the bulk of the army moving forward. They were far from foolproof, though, and their bright red coloring made them a double-edged sword. Twenty thousand soldiers. It was difficult to tell for certain, but that was the number, at best guess. Twenty. Thousand.

On the one hand, that was all the Eschal army thought they might need to quash the bug they'd been fighting for nearly three months. He'd managed to hold out for that long against an army with triple his numbers, and a ready supply line that replaced its wounded soldiers with fresh ones. Now, after the devastating defeat they'd given him at the Vendriox Fortress, they assumed twenty thousand was all they needed to wipe him out.

The odds were damn near the same as they had been for Neogon at the very start, just scaled down by a factor. That wasn't the only threat either. Scouts using fishing boats on the lake had also noticed another horde of rift spawn climbing up the western road toward Mitoras. More fucking rift spawn. It was enough to make me really consider joining the evacuation, but there was finally some good news. I gripped the newest note from Imogaesa like the lifeline it was. My stomach growled, distracting me.

I'd been feeling dizzy. Ration cuts were hitting everyone, and I was no exception. A final census concluded that Neogon had brought thirty-nine hundred soldiers. Once again, the town was bursting at the seams. Over twelve hundred of those soldiers were wounded and probably wouldn't be able to help in the upcoming fight, but all of them had an immediate impact on our dwindling food supply. Edra's bar was once again filled with the wounded, along with every other roof in the entire village.

Tents were erected in every spare space, and the entire town was filled with smoke from the sheer number of fires. Six soldiers were sleeping in my bedroom and living room. I would've offered more, but I needed my parents' room. Regular letters delivered via courier from the rift front had been constant for a short while, but they had trickled to a crawl as more and more people left the towns south of the Ophiscian.

Soldiers were coming, but many of them were killed on the perilous trip as the rift spawn grew hungry and desperate. I didn't know the details, but Mom had told me that Imogaesa the Pigeoneer had relocated to Fenland and that somehow her talent gave her insight into events near the rift. This morning, for the first time in my life, I'd woken up to see one of the pigeons Mom talked about, sitting on the windowsill, with a letter tied to its leg. Naska, We've had one more attack since I last wrote you.

Still recovering my birds. They keep flying to old Lindolen, and that place is still dangerous. Sorry for the delay. Good news for once! The Central Army has recaptured all of the strongholds surrounding the rift. The Eastern War Camp is occupied once more. Rift attacks should slow down, but stay on your guard. Perhaps now we can focus on finding some damn food. Feels like half the town is gone. How are things up there? Imogaesa Maulander had successfully contained the riftbreak.

That meant this new horde, barely three thousand as best the scouts could make out, was the collected remnants of the attack on Maulander's forces and those rift spawn who had been lost in the woods. Rift Monsters were slow, ponderous, and stupid. Since we knew they were there, we had nearly constant updates on when they would arrive. Eschal would be a problem long before they would.

Barring my increasing suspicions that Freyna could somehow control rift spawn, they would cause as many problems for the approaching army as for us. If Freyna was here… well. If she was, here we might all be dead anyway. I stepped out of Mom and Dad's bedroom, waving at the fallen soldiers and trying not to think too hard about their needs. I couldn't help it as I looked anyway. Two needed defence against wind magic, and another needed something that would protect his ears.

An older man sitting in our kitchen chair had the rare need for something to kill goblins, and the last that I could see needed a weapon to kill a human attacker. I couldn't see the sixth soldier, lying on the bed behind the door in my room, but I'd seen her before, and she needed something to ward off hunger. Curiously, not for herself, but for someone else. I left the house, knowing that I probably wouldn't be able to get any closer to any of them today. Most of them were still sleeping.

I'd check their vitals and make sure none of them died when I got back, but they were all thankfully stable and good at caring for each other. They'd manage. Probably. It wasn't a long way to the wall. I wanted to go to the bar. I wanted to sink into one of the cosy chairs and ask for a beer, or one of Lupkep's special brews. One of the ones that didn't buff a stat. I wanted to tell stories. I wanted a lot of things.

"Sergeant Vovel," I said as I stepped up to the command tent. I couldn't help but glance up at the incredible wall that had been completed in only two short days.

"Miss Elmerina," the sharp man said. He was more abrupt than Berkenem, and more condescending too. He tolerated me, but I got the impression he did so because the general had directly ordered him to. In his mind, I was a child, no matter how much I could help. I could see his breath in the frozen air. Big Brother was rising, but it provided almost no warmth. The month of Brittle was coming to a close, and Frost was starting in earnest.

"I have new information that will be relevant to the General," he said.

"You may relay it to me. I'll tell him if I find it worthy of his time." I stared at him. Confounded. April had some experience working with a shift manager who'd been on a power trip. This felt similar but somehow so much worse.

"Why don't you let him be the judge of–!"

"Do you think he has time to entertain the thoughts of a civilian? Just tell me what you know, and I'll relay it to him! He already gives you undue respect that undermines his authority!" I debated the pros and cons of arguing, but the truth was, I didn't really care so long as Neogon knew. I'd need to tell Dobretin and the rest of the townsfolk, too.

Perhaps this wasn't a petty man being petty, but a soldier who had been delegated a responsibility and didn't want to disturb the general when he was doing something more important. I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Fine. I have reliable information that Maulander has retaken the Eastern War Camp. The rift is closed," I said. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. The man's eyes widened.

"How reliable? How old?" I frowned.

"I wouldn't stake my life on it, but it's proven valuable before. Mom has a relationship with a person who used to be from Lindolen. She… she trains carrier pigeons. I've only met her once, but one arrived this morning with a letter."

"Lindolen is still miles from the rift, let alone the Eastern Camp. Last we'd heard, it was completely overrun. How does she know this?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Sorry. Mom told me she has a talent that gives her information from the rift, but not the details. She's… not in Lindolen either. She relocated to Fenland."

"Even further away. I'll report this to the general, but he is sleeping at the moment. He rarely gets more than an hour or two, and much as I'm sure your intentions are good, this is not vital to any current plans. I'll inform him when he wakes." I bristled, but conceded.

"You're… right. I'm sorry," I said. He brightened, just a little, and gave me a nod.

"This news, unreliable as it sounds to me, might be a good boost to our morale. I'm sure you won't be keeping it to yourself, so I'll have privates spread the word." I nodded back. Realistically, that was the best thing this news might bring. It felt like another burden lifted for me. Dad and Reid were both probably okay, but our current state wasn't looking any better for it. Wonderful as the news was for me, he was right that the general didn't need to know immediately.

The man got less sleep than I did, and I felt that was saying something lately. I turned and walked away, heading for the bar. The day was cloudy and cold, and the wind bit at my skin. I used fire magic to heat my limbs, spreading the faux oil and letting cover me and fill me with warmth. Your Mana Pool skill has improved! I grinned. A few more mana points were always helpful. I arrived at the bar, in a good mood for once. I'd had to navigate around a sea of tents, and it took me longer than I'd expected.

When I entered, I found Dobretin there, as well as Edra, Lupkep, and, oddly, Travmetis.

"Haven't seen you in ages," I commented. The woodworker shrugged.

"Wall's finally done, and I got to sleep all night last night. I feel like a new man!" I was glad someone could feel some levity in this bleary place. The windows were closed and the candles were lit. Their scent didn't do enough to combat the smell of dried blood and sweat. Edra smiled at me and immediately placed a cup of hot tea in front of me, as I sat beside the Mayor.

"Thanks, Edra," I said. She waved me away without a word, before stepping out from behind the bar and making for the stairs. She grabbed a bucket of water and a too-red washcloth as she went.

"She… looks tired," I said, watching her go.

"We all are," Lupkep said.

"I've been brewing non-stop. Alcohol is the only thing we have plenty of."

"Thank the gods for that," Travis said. The brewer snorted, but conceded the point.

"Aye. Thank the gods for that."

"What brings you here, Mera?" Dobretin asked.

"Any word on your mother's return?" I shook my head. The mayor scowled. The countryside had been scoured. The few remaining berry bushes had been picked clean, the wild mushrooms pulled, and the game hunted nearly to a local extinction, and all of it still wasn't enough to feed the maw of a hungry village and army.

"I do have some good news. Maybe… not as good as I'd initially thought, but it should still lighten some spirits," I said.

"Oh?" the Mayor asked. I nodded.

"Mom has a contact near the army who's able to send word to her. I got a message this morning, letting her know that Maulander has closed the rift. For now at least, no more monsters are coming for us from there." Dobretin wasn't impressed.

"That's… something at least. Glad to hear for your father. And Reid, Oxana, Teskin. Mejoener. All the rest. I'm glad for them."

"It doesn't help us," I said.

"It doesn't help us in the slightest," he agreed.

"How… long can we last, with our current supplies?" I asked.

"We had enough, we thought, to feed almost everyone through the winter. Now we've got four thousand more people. Almost double the population of a town already swelled to the brim. We're not dead yet, but food is going to be a real problem if Atrinaska doesn't arrive soon. I've also sent some traders up the highroad, spreading word as far as they can that we'll pay premium for any merchant willing to bring us grain. We might get lucky, but at most we'll be able to make it a month.

By the end of it, we won't be fit to fight a few rabbits, let alone an Eschal army."

"I… I'm afraid she might not make it," I said.

"She's got to come straight down the Denarlan road, and according to the General, Eschal already has scouts watching that pass. If she does come down that road, everything she brings will probably be intercepted. A-and… well."

'And she'll be killed,' I didn't say.

"Your mother is a smart woman. She wouldn't let herself be caught like that. At worst, she's stuck in Denarla, and she'll just have to wait until the Eschal problem is taken care of to get back to us," Dobretin said.

"We… can only hope," I said softly. He sighed.

"More and more, I think I might go with the evacuation." I blinked.

"You? But… you're the mayor!"

"Won't be mayor of much if we're all dead. The truth is, every body that leaves is one less who will need fed over the winter."

"That won't matter if they kill us all!"

"Will they though?" he asked.

"They aren't here for a bunch of civilians. They're here…" He lowered his voice, glancing around the room, before continuing.

"They're here for the army. Once there's no longer a threat they might leave us alone." I shook my head.

"They might, but they'll take every scrap of food we have, and the last thing I want to do is put my trust in the courtesy of an enemy army!"

"What food!?" He said.

"We're running out of pigs, and goats. There's cows, and there's still corn, but both are in short supply and the gods only know what the ranchers will do next year with no cattle left. This army is bleeding us dry!"

"They're protecting us!"

"They're putting a damned target on us, while making sure that even if the arrow misses, we'll still starve in the winter when both armies go on their way."

"What do you suggest we do? Stop feeding the soldiers?" I asked, annoyed by this whole conversation.

"I'm suggesting that there's a time to give up, and I'm starting to look at greener pastures up the highroad. Staying here is a death sentence," he said. I didn't say anything, but I didn't have to.

"It burns. It fucking burns, I know, but it's the truth of it, Mera."

"I… don't…" Was he right?

"You heard the general. The wall might be good for that horde of rift spawn headed our way, but it means nothing to the Eschal."

"You're… I mean. I've been organizing an evacuation for anyone who's wanting to go, but hardly anyone has taken me up on it. You're suggesting we take everyone. The entire town, all our food, and abandon them?"

"We don't know them!" He said, and it was all he could do to keep his voice down.

"I wouldn't put it that way, but essentially yes. We've no reason to fight the army's battles. It's their job to protect us! Not the other way round!"

"Oppa…" I said.

"Just think about it Mera? Right now, most of the town is with you, and with the Army. They want to fight, but I've been looking at the map you made me, and I see what's coming. Death by the sword, and if we're lucky enough to escape that, death by hunger. With your voice, we could convince everyone to go." I fell silent. I took a sip of the tea. It had gone cold. It tasted a little odd. Edra was probably messing with the recipe. More cutbacks. More rationing.

"I'll… think about it," I said.

"Do that," he replied. I hopped off the bar stool, feeling the warm fires, completely uncomforted by them. The mayor was suggesting we flee. He… didn't think Mom would be able to make it back. Maybe he was right. Mom was likely somewhere between Denarla and Pemolar on the road by now. She'd be returning with whatever she had. I wanted to go home, but that didn't seem like the best place. I still needed to keep her secrets. The north road was best. I took the path out of town, heading toward Akkiwa's ranch.

I wanted to talk to her anyway, but I was feeling so damn lonely here. I needed help. Even if it was too early, I needed Mom. I pulled out the beacon, which I now knew was a strange script written on paper rolled so tightly that it resembled a small stick. Then, I snapped it. I expected to need to wait for a while. Instead, immediately, a wide platform appeared just above the surface of the road. It appeared a few paces away, the nearest available space wide enough. It was…

a lot larger than I expected, but Mom had sort of told me what it looked like when she used teleportation magic. My heart leapt. I needed her advice. I needed to see her. I wished we'd never sent her away. Eight wagons appeared, seemingly from nowhere, fading into existence as if they'd always been there. Each one had a massive ox already hitched. One of them was Stoutgruff. I recognized him instantly. Better still, the wagons were absolutely packed to the brim with grain. Mom… didn't materialize.