Further Beyond: Ascension

Tynesday, 7th of Maia, 470th Year of the Fifth Era

A man with dark brown hair wearing simple cloth armour was looking over the vast afternoon scenery outside of Palmerton from the top of its gatehouse. Henry Millridge was another one of the original veterans from the Newlander Republic who had joined up with George in his life of banditry. It wasn't due to the fact that he had any particularly strong feelings of loyalty to the man. Far from it. Henry had felt nothing but utter contempt for the man since the day they first met.

How could he not? The first time they met was when he caught the man sleeping with his sister that he had cared for like a daughter ever since their parents had died when they were young. Henry was half a mind to kill him there, but as nothing but a one-star warrior at the time as well as ranking below George in the army, there wasn't much that he could do.

He cursed his luck when he was transferred into George's company not long after that incident. He cursed his luck even more when the incident of George's arrest had occurred and he had to choose between following along with George or remaining loyal to the Republic. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have hesitated to kill the man himself, but it was useless as his sister had wanted to elope with George and threatened to end her own life if she weren't allowed to follow him. Henry had no choice but to travel along with the sly bastard and in the process became a bandit as well.

At the end of the day all of that was pointless as his sister died in childbirth not long after anyways. The son she gave birth to didn't even make it a few days after he came out the womb. And the worst part? George had barely even grieved for them and was very much infatuated with a whole harem of other women. He had given Henry some empty words of condolences, but all it did was serve to enrage him even more.

Henry was of a mind for a time to just be done with it and finally leave, but what could he do? He had no other trade than to be a warrior and while he was a two-star warrior, he couldn't do much against Georger who was already on his fourth star. That coupled with the fact that he was still wanted within the Republic and that he didn't speak a word of Hallack nor knew anything about the area they were in, left Henry effectively trapped within Palmerton. Trapped in the middle of a hostile area serving a so-called 'king' he had nothing but resentment for, along with cutthroat bandits who would make a pack of ravenous wolves look like friendly pups.

The only saving grace in all of the absolute horseshit situation he was in was the friends and comrades he had made within the army who had also followed George along for various other reasons. Many of them were still somewhat honourable men despite their choice to follow George outside of the republic. He was particularly fond of Gregory among all his comrades.

He didn't know what joke God had pulled when he made the two siblings, but they couldn't be further apart from each other than they already were. If not for some minor physical similarities between George and Gregory, they might as well have been strangers. Gregory was honourable, steadfast, and - most importantly - had a kind heart.

Speaking of which, it had already been a few days since Gregory and Ambrose had left on a mission but they had yet to return. Henry was starting to get a little anxious thinking whether or not anything bad had happened to either of them. However, as if to answer the worry within his heart, from far away he could see a group of people were approaching Palmerton.

Henry had excitedly gotten up and took the telescope that was on the table in front of him before using it to see who exactly was approaching. Henry sighed in relief when he saw that riding in the front of the formation was Gregory and Ambrose. What's even more surprising was that they were bringing with them what looked to be a significant number of new native slaves, bound with rope and marching slowly behind while they were being flanked by several other bandits who acted as guards to the convoy.

"Boys! Prepare to open up the gates! Ol' Greg is coming back!" Henry had shouted his orders to the crew of the gatehouse below him who had immediately went on to do as they were instructed "Clear the streets too 'cause it looks like he's bringing in a big haul!"

As the men were scurrying around, Henry had continued to monitor Gregory's return. There were quite a number of native slaves he had brought with him this time. It wasn't a particularly odd occurrence, but something did indeed feel a little strange to Henry. Most of the newer slaves looked like they were fit fighting age men. It was a little hard to believe that the bandits would so easily defeat Hallack warriors especially with all the rumours of them being such ferocious beasts in battle. Well, Gregory was always a very skilled fighter and tactician himself so it would make sense that he'd be able to deal with such monsters.

But then again, Gregory didn't seem like he was riding on his usual horse. But it doesn't matter. Anything could've happened during a mission. It was an old horse anyways.

After about half an hour, Gregory had finally reached the gatehouse. Henry had raised his hand in a salute towards Gregory shouting, "Welcome back, lieutenant!", before he rushed down to meet with him.

***

Gregory would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous. The plan he had proposed to the Halak leaders was an incredibly audacious one and they had nearly outright rejected his proposition. If it weren't for Lord Parulian and Young Master Josias assenting to his plan, he might have just been executed then and there.

Thinking of all this, Gregory had turned his head back and glanced over the 'captured' Halak warriors who were marching behind him, hands tied by rope, disheveled appearances, and eyes that lacked a will to live. One of these 'prisoners' was Josias himself. It appeared that acting was another among the young Halak warrior's seemingly unceasing list of talents.

Josias had such a distraught look on his face, dust covering his messy hair, bruises here and there, that one would think that he had actually been defeated in a battle and captured so humiliatingly. If it weren't for Josias' cheeky wink at him, Gregory would've thought that he was actually dying. However, what was even more absurd was that next to Josias, even Lord Parulian had personally joined the plan, pretending to be another captured prisoner of war.

Gregory could only shake his head exasperatedly at the sight. It was a plan he had thought up of to achieve the most beneficial outcome for the Halak army. Get a part of the Halak warriors to infiltrate Palmerton, get into an audience with George and ambush him when he least expects it. Once that happens, Gregory could convince the rest of the bandits to lay down their arms hopefully with minimal resistance. It was a simple plan. It was a great plan.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

At least, that was what Gregory was hoping it would be. While unexpected to be sure, the plan is contingent on many things going right. If he's learned anything from being in the army, a plan like that would rarely ever be considered. After all, most plans barely ever survive first contact with the enemy. What was important then was to make sure that that first contact was established in the first place.

"I was beginning to get worried for both you and sergeant Ambrose!" Henry said as he gave a salute to Gregory. Gregory could only smile while returning the salute to the two star bandit.

"The road conditions were worse than I expected and the natives gave us a bit of trouble. Lost a few good men along the way too." Gregory answered as he got off his horse to complete the rest of the trek to the King's Hall on foot.

"Lost your horse too, I take it?"

Gregory could only give a difficult smile as he nodded.

"Ah, well that makes sense then. Taking a look at the savages you've brought with you, they sure do look like tough ones I say. Probably tougher than the Homang beasts they're so damn scared of, hah!" Henry was saying all of these things because he was unaware that most of the 'captives' Gregory had brought could understand every word they were saying.

Gregory could only give another small glance back to the row of 'captives' before clearing his throat. "Well, suffice to say, I'd like to have an audience with my brother now. Some of these captives may prove important in negotiating anything with the local Halak folk. Is the 'King' within his throne room?"

"Well where else would that debauched lout be? But I'll tell you now, you'd best pick a different time…" Henry scratched the back of his head to which Gregory raised his eyebrow.

"Alright, what is it this time?"

"You see a couple of days ago, not long after you lot left, a slave trader passed through the lands. Your bastard brother had his eyes set on some of the merchandise and belayed the usual toll he'd impose on merchants like that."

"Alright, that just sounds typical of my brother. What else is new?"

"Well, in order to 'boost the morale' of some of the non-defector aura warriors among our numbers, George has organised a sort of - well - party so to speak and knowing you I'd just thought you wouldn't want to be a part of all that as you usually do."

Gregory could only grimace as he heard what Henry had to say and instinctively rubbed his face from his temple to his mouth in exasperation. It actually was very in character for his brother to indulge himself in such actions. However, despite his personal aversion to such activities, in the current context of his covert operation he couldn't have been afforded better timing. There was no other time of day more suitable to catch his brother by surprise than now.

With that in mind, Gregory had steeled himself. "It doesn't matter. The news I have to bring is far more important and far more grave than any of that. I shall head to the King's Hall and meet my brother regardless of that. I also need to bring along these slaves."

Henry only nodded as he shrugged and acquiesced to Gregory's directive and moved to accompany the former lieutenant to meet with his brother.

***

Josias couldn't help but frown the entire way, walking through the so-called village fort of Palmerton. This time, it wasn't even any acting on his part. What he saw going on inside the village incensed him greatly. Looking around to gauge the reactions of his comrades, it looked like he wasn't alone in his thoughts.

Throughout the village, all he could see was the palpable discontent among the native villagers who were no doubt brought here against their will. Even out on the streets, he could see his fellow kinswomen being accosted by the disgusting leers and groping of these foreign bandits. Though some women looked somewhat content carrying what looked to be Malaok children, Josias couldn't imagine if they had any particular say on the matter.

There were a few older Halak men within the village, but they were relegated to jobs of harsh labour, constructing a few stone buildings as well as some additional fortifications. All of this under the jeering gazes of their bandit overseers.

If it wasn't for the damned plan, Josias wouldn't have bothered holding himself back and would have moved to protect what he saw as his people. The bandits within Palmerton didn't look to be anything special. He couldn't imagine that most of the aura warriors among them were bothering to conceal their auras like he and the rest of the pretend captives were doing. At best there might be a handful of second stars, but these bandits weren't men who were trained from birth in the art of combat like the young warriors of Goria were.

That being said though, it would indeed be unfair to characterise the entirety of the bandits as monsters. As he saw in one of the courtyards, one of the older-looking bandits who was wearing a coat similar to the one Gregory and Ambrose was wearing, was overseeing some physical training among younger men. None of the young men looked any older than he did so Josias could at least hope that they weren't as disgusting as some of those other bandits.

All in all, this was an infuriatingly horrid trek for Josias as he had never personally seen anything like that before. Looking to the side to see his father, Josias was surprised to see that he had remained walking along with a fairly stoic expression unlike many of the younger warriors. Well, that was the years of combat and diplomatic experience that his father had gathered and trained in long before Josias was even born. He along with the other more veteran warriors who had volunteered to join the plan and act as captives.

In all honesty, if it weren't for the fun of such a novel experience to him, Josias wouldn't have bothered agreeing to this plan that he actually considered tactically redundant. If what Gregory said was true and that the most powerful warrior within Palmerton was the bandit king and that he was only a beginner four star at best, Josias wouldn't consider it hyperbole to say that just his father and the rest of the clan heirs were enough to absolutely wipe the floor with the blood of these bandits and marauders.

But regardless, the plan had already been decided and all that was left now was for everyone there to do their parts and make sure the mission was executed without flaws. Easier said than done, as always. It was a dangerous proposal to do this, especially given the fact that they all had to leave their armour and weapons at the baggage train to make their 'captured prisoners' act look convincing.

Perhaps it was also because of that reason that his father and Lords Ronggur and Mardomu decided to follow along in the act. It's a little touching to think of. Despite the elders' framing that this mission was a sort of special training for young warriors like them, at the end of the day, a father was still a father and they wouldn't dare to leave the survival of their children fully up to chance.

There were a total of twenty 'captive prisoners' within the convoy headed towards Palmerton's King's hall. Three five star warriors, several four stars, six third stars including himself, and the rest being two-star warriors, all holding in their aura to avoid any unnecessary detection.

Finally after about fifteen minutes of trekking the surprisingly larger village of Palmerton, they had arrived at the King's Hall, the Seat of Power of the Bandit king, However, once the gates to the hall were opened and they had stepped inside, Josias couldn't help but feel his jaw drop loose at what he saw inside. No amount of any of the training that he ever did could prepare his eyes for whatever it was that he would bare witness to in the hall. May the Lord have mercy upon his soul.