The Call to War

Chapter 16

Arthur and Mica trudged along the dirt road behind a wagon that carried the driver, his son, and Olfred. They were on the second day of their reconnaissance mission, as Olfred was disguised as a wealthy noble, wearing lavish cloak of mana beast fur and Arthur's old mask from when he went by Note, with Mica and Arthur as his slaves, wearing muddy cloaks and worn out gloves, while Sylvie remained hidden in Arthur's cloak. Officially they were searching for an Alacryan base camp lead by either a Scythe or Retainer, in actuality Arthur was trying to determine if the two dwarf Lances were traitors.

"Here we are, welcome to Ashber," the driver said as he stopped.

His son jumped down and opened the back so Olfred could climb down. He then tossed the boy a silver coin as a thanks.

"Well you be careful sir. We best be on our way, traveling at night is far from desirable," the driver said as the boy climbed back up front with him.

"Oh? This isn't your destination?" Olfred questioned. Even though the three of them weren't able to speak with each other, they all felt something was suspicious about them.

"There's an outpost about an hour away that we need to get to before morning," the son replied before his father cracked the reins and the horses pulled the wagon away.

"There are no outposts in this area," Arthur stated quietly.

"Bad story to go along with their bad acting," Olfred commented.

"You think they could be Alacryans?" Mica questioned.

"If so then they already control the village," Arthur replied as his eyes scanned his hometown.

"Why would you think that?" Mica asked.

"Because this place is no doubt a trap for travelers. Now be quiet you two," Olfred snapped. "Just because we aren't using mana doesn't mean no one else is," he then whispered.

They then followed the scattered street lamps down the street, heading to a building where Olfred and Mica said they could sense a large group of people, even without using mana. Mica started to speak more about this ability, but Olfred was quick to silence her. Even though he stated they didn't know if someone could be listening in, Arthur suspected he just didn't want her to reveal anything about their limitations.

Since the Lances were first introduced Arthur had very little interaction with them, even though they were at Xyrus Academy regularly. Back then he knew Bairon disliked him, and that seemed to hold true to this day. Even now as a fellow Lance, Arthur had no idea about most of their opinions towards him. Varay was the only one who he felt confident at least respected him as a fellow Lance, as she was the only one that actually supported him when he and Virion put this ruse into motion. The others seemed to just dismiss the possibility of another Scythe or Retainer in action without batting an eye, although Arthur suspected Aya was told to be against the idea by Virion. Mica didn't seem to fully trust him, but through her actions and things she had said, she appeared to be trying to form her own opinion of him.

As they walked they saw most of the buildings were either vacant or boarded up. Every step brought back memories of his early childhood. To his left was a boarded up shop that once a tailor worked making clothes for many of the people in town. To his right was an abandoned building where his mother took him for shoes as he grew up. He remembered the owner was a kind old couple that gave his mother his first pair of shoes for free as a gift. Up ahead the streets used to be lined with vendor stalls where the farmers used to sell their crops, and fishermen their catches from the day.

As they turned the corner down the next street, Arthur was able to see where the large group of people was. Back when Arthur called Ashber home, there were no restaurants, only a pub. Despite what many would expect, it was a warm and welcoming establishment. Even though they didn't have much money, Arthur remembered his father taking him there after the farmers were done harvesting their crops for the season to celebrate with them. He remembered his father drinking with the farmers, as he ate hardy stew and fresh bread, and the waitresses cooed at how adorable he was.