Valona, City of Kingdom of Stilyra- Early Summer 14 years AR

“So what’s going on? Monsters destroy the bridge or something?” Aethred asked trying to see what’s goin' on ahead.

“Ah, no just get back in the wagon,” Leofrith said and walked up with Jon, “We’re not going to Saena. At least not yet”

“Huh?”

“Let's just get off the highway,” Jon said, just their luck they would get to Verona, the sister city of Saena on the south side of the Varna River, and the Count of Verona would be in the middle of a feud with the Duke of Saena. Jon didn’t know about what but he didn’t like the idea of two men getting mad at each other and completely shutting down the nearest bridge across the river.

“Hey, any idea what’s going on?” Aethred just ignored them to find out but at least he wasn’t in the way of them turning around the wagon, it was hard enough with so many either doing the same or wandering up to see what was happening.

“Heard the Duke been trying to sleep with the Countess, she rebuffed the bastard.”

“I thought it was the young lord that was caught not the Duke.”

“I heard the Duke lost a bet in the arena to the Count but refuses to pay.”

Jon just looked at Jaesmin who rolled her eyes. He could imagine the same rumors were on the other side of the river painting the Count as the scoundrel and the Duke as the righteous. Jon didn’t know the nobility that well but it didn’t take much to notice that not one Velonan spoke badly of their count. Maybe he was in the right but no one knew what was going on and wild rumors started.

“Really, I heard the Duke was caught trying to sneak into the young lady's chambers last time he visited,” Aethred said, jumping into the rumor mill with glee. Jon tried to grab him but he’d already run off to another group.

“You didn’t hear this from me but I heard the Duke was caught blaspheming the Temple. He refuses to pay penance.” Jon caught up with him and nodded to the people who were already talking about what sort of heresy the Duke was spreading.

“Aethred!” Erin whispered at him as he was pushed into the wagon, “You’re gonna start a war!”

“It’s not the damn Duke!” someone nearby yelled. Everyone in the vicinity heard and quieted down, glaring at the man, “Word just came in by rider that a group of Ederathan and Elvanni are marching down the highway heading here. The count refuses to open the bridge and let them through.” The glares turned to looks of understanding and more than one glare toward Jon and Erin.

“Well that makes more sense, the Duke is a decent man after all. Hearts too pure to turn them down but good on our marvelous Count for denying heathens further access to our beautiful Stilyra.”

“All the fools thinking ill of such an honorable noble.”

“Not a good day to be a heathen,” Aethred said quietly, not rejoining the conversation that was now praising both nobles. Erin made to hit him but Jon quickly grabbed her and looked around. There were about two dozen sets of eyes watching them. Aethred was going to hurt when this was over with but Jon wasn’t about to let him and his sister be stuck in the middle of an already angry mob.

They made their way through the narrow side streets of the city, trying to find a place that wasn’t as busy. They ended up finding a slum, wooden one-room shacks, and round mud huts. So slum by Verona standards, the norm up for where they were from until 4 years ago.

“So now what? Do we go find a riverboat?” Andrew asked, looking at Jon and Leofrith.

“If the count isn’t letting them through, I doubt we’ll find a boat to take us to Wolfheim,” Leo said and kicked the wheel of the wagon to everyone's surprise. He hopped around on one foot for a moment.

“You alright?” Jon said he’d noticed Leo had changed quite a bit since before the attack, he’d always been proper but lately, he’d been acting uptight. Like he couldn’t relax at all anymore. Jon didn’t know if it was something to do with him being an adult that was bitten or something else.

“It’s fine…” he didn’t seem it, “Just one more problem, right?”

“One with an easy solution, we swim?” Aethred said miming swimming with his arms

“I can’t swim,” Leo said with an ashamed look.

“Neither can I.” Jaesmin at the same time. How had they not learned already?

“Okay we swim, Leo and Jaesmin hold on to a barrel and hope they don’t drown.” Aethred chimed in, it sounded insulting but it may end up being their best option. Jon thought about it, how to get them across.

“But what about all our stuff?”Cara said pointing at the wagon” Are we really going to leave all this behind?”

Leo paced back and forth, “That is a lot of wasted coin. Though if it’s needed we can sell it and buy supplies on the other side.” Jon was still thinking about Cara's point, they were coming to this side of the river regardless, they should find a way not to lose out on their possessions.

“Or we could just split up” Jon blurted out before someone else chimed in, “Only a couple of us go, or even just one.”

“What do you mean split up? We can’t split the team,” Erin looked concerned, glancing at the reactions of everyone else. Jon could see it was mixed, “What if we cant find each other again?”

“No listen, he’s right. Who said we all have to get across the river?” Jaesmin pointed out” we just need one to get across, tell them our situation and whether they cross here or go off to a ferry somewhere they’ll know.”

“And that helps Jaes and Leo how?” Aethred said with a chuckle, when he was on the receiving end of two glares he added,” what? You’re not going, you can’t swim in the first place.”

“I’ll go, I’m a good swimmer and…” Jon pointed at his teeth, which should be proof enough they weren’t lying, “We’ll set up a spot outside the city so I can yell to you across the river where we’ll meet.” It was pretty simple but it should work, maybe they should work out hand signals?

“Why would they listen to you, though? They’re obviously heading somewhere. Will they change their path because you asked?” Cara wasn’t convinced of the plan and looked on nervously.

“I was thinking more I ask them if their going towards Sentia or down the imperial highway and yell one of those two,” Jon clarified his idea,” You guys can head out right away on whichever road and camp out in the first town you come across till the I catch up.”

“And if they refuse to help? What if they're marching somewhere they can’t bring us.” Andrew entered the conversation.

“Then you’re fucked.” Aethred said, “You could go live in that imp cave.” Now he seemed to realize he wouldn’t get smacked- slap. Jaesmin got him.

“No, then Jon tells us that and we get across too, from there it’s on to Vanheim like the original plan,” Leofrith said a little less stressed out for the moment.

“Okay, sounds like a plan when do we cross?” Erin asked. There were honestly only a few more details in the plan and it seemed to be more in-depth than their other ones. Jon figured it was because their goal could be marching towards them as they spoke.

“Let's figure out where we’re meeting first. They might not like you yelling the route they're taking and with people swarming near the river we might not hear,” Andrew said.

“Jon did say OUTSIDE the city,” with a smirk Aethred pointed out something Andrew missed.

“Well then that's settled, let's figure out where we’re meeting, might be a good idea to swim across there anyways,” Leofrith clapped his hands together,” Guards locked down the bridge, doubt they’d allow you to swim across without causing trouble

“We can just camp out there, for now, I’d rather not stay here,” Jaesmin said. They didn’t get as many looks as they did on the highway but numerous people had stared as they passed by.

“You’re not a heathen?” Cara said a bit embarrassed at referring to the ones that didn’t practice the southern faith as heathens. Jaes pointed at her teeth, ”Oh, right.”

“Well, let's go,” Jon loved it when a plan came together, now they just had to make sure it didn’t come apart at the seams or backfire.

The group left to make their preparations, they stopped at the guildhall to turn in the imp skulls and get their reward. They also learned of the knights' expected arrival the following day around mid-morning. If they tried to negotiate through the blockade it’d probably be a little later that they decided to go a different route. After that, they left with everything they had and proceeded to head downstream. They eventually found a secluded spot that looked easy to cross and find back from the opposite direction. It was a good spot.

**********

Erik marched along down the highway to Saena alongside his fiance. The road had been dull except for a bit of rain. Although they did spot riders leaving a small town heading towards Saena at a gallop, their arrival would be announced. There was no worry, his father and the King of Stilyra had renewed the same pact that their two kingdoms had had for hundreds of years. Resigned each time a new king took the throne. It was more often the Stilyran King but still. The pact allowed Ederathan knights to pass unimpeded so long as their goal was the eradication of dangerous monsters and beasts or marching to Everlight to sail off and join the legion. The Elvan had a similar treaty involving their rangers.

The pact worked out well for both parties as it allowed lycans to train and kept the southern lands safe. The only ones that actually suffered when lycans marched were adventurers, they’d find a sudden lack of monster bounties at their guild.

“Getting close, should we form it up?” Kyanna asked as

“We’re still at least 15 miles out?” Erik said and glanced back at the knights and rangers marching in loose formation, “Give it a few more miles.”

“We’ll be marching past the outskirts or fields in a few more miles, my dear” Kyanna said in a slightly mocking tone.

“So why can you say my dear but I can’t say dar-” he didn’t get to finish what he was saying.

“Eh, eh, ahh. You know why!” She said, playfully bumping her shoulder into him while they walked. Erik snorted and tried to hide his laughter.

“You realize everyone just heard you go eh, eh, ahh” he nodded his head back as he glanced towards the columns, as she did too it was clear to see all the knights trying to look away, finding something interesting in the breeze.

“You’re highness our riders approach!” Ser Hallr said, pointing in the distance, he then smiled at the Crown Prince,” and may I speak freely?”

“Of course” Erik honestly felt there was no reason not to.

“Just some advice from a happily wed man, best not get on her bad side. A happy wife is a quiet life” Hallr stated an almost familiar phrase.

“Isn’t it happy wife, happy life?” Erik attempted to correct the older knight, who still looked much, much younger.

“eh, same thing, your highness” he couldn’t help but grin at his friend's words but one quick glance at his wife wiped the smile off his face.

“Lady Kyanna, Ser Erik. From the Duke.” the rider approached holed a wax-sealed message. Kyanna accepted it and immediately opened it to inspect its contents.

“Ughh, the damn count has barricaded the bridge” she groaned quietly.

“Don’t worry, Ser Afgheir and has gone ahead with those bound for the Academy, he may straighten things out before we even get there.” Hallr just smiled, Erik nearly laughed as he knew Ser Afgheir had a way with words.

*********

Dani looked on at her dream as the tall walls of Saena appeared before her. She nearly shouted out but she reminded herself that she’s technically in the legion now. They were sworn in by none other than Prince Erik himself after meeting with the selected candidates from other cities. She couldn’t imagine many other legionnaires could say they said their own to a future King! They approached the gate and multiple guards stepped out to meet them, she glanced at Ser Afgheir and it seemed that this was not a normal occurrence as he instinctively reached for his weapon but left it sheathed.

“I must ask your company to remain outside, a delegation will be allowed to enter to discuss the situation with the Duke,” the lead guard stated as they slowed to a halt.

“Situation?” Ser Afgheir, “What situation?”

“The count of Velona has closed his side of the bridge and is refusing to allow any sort of traffic to cross.” the guard said, “Now if you’ll ple-”

“We’re not bound for Velona, we’re bound for Saena,” Ser Afgheir stated.

“Are you not the host marching down to the south? We received a report of Knights and Ran-”

“Boy! Use your fucking eyes!” Afgheir cut him off with a yell that screamed authority. He turned and looked at Dani, she gulped, “Does that lass look like she’s fucking wearing Elvanni armor?! Is that a fucking Elvanni sigil on her chest?! Maybe that’s an Edrathan uniform then?! No that’s LEGION!”

“Well, I-” the poor guard could barely get a word out.

“How bout him?” Afgheir walked over and grabbed Arn, “Do you see a fucking plume on his helmet?! Have you ever seen one of our knights wear fucking LEATHER? NO! He’s LEGION! This lot is here to enter the fucking academy!” he pushed Arn away perhaps a bit harder than he planned to but the young lycan mage didn’t seem to care.

“I… Ummm…” the guard turned and looked towards his own subordinates for advice, “Move through.” He stepped out of the way and they entered the city.

“Stupid fucking gits!” he looked up at Dani on her horse, “Cadet-Magus Yelhanna!”

“Yes sir?”

“Orders! By the time I get back from my mission you better find me a suitable fucking window somewhere in this damn city!”

“Yes sir!” the man really liked a nice high, painful to fall from window to threaten people with. One day she kind of hoped to see him follow through with the threat… as long as it wasn’t her getting tossed. She also grinned ear to ear, internally of course, ‘Cadet-Magus Yelhanna’!

“Now let’s get you lot checked in and I’ll see what’s going on with this bridge.”

Dani and the others followed Ser Afgheir through the city, they turned and started heading to another gate. Is it outside the walls?

“No one ever told you lot that the Academy is built out of an old Utinum fortress? Best place for it, no stray spells getting past those walls.” Ser Afgheir said, she wondered if he was that good at reading people or if it was because he’d apparently done this every summer for the past few years.

They entered the fortress which was a mix of ancient brick buildings and newer timber frame structures. A single large building 4 floors tall stood ahead on the other side of the square. They dismounted their horses and after handing the reigns to an attendant for stabling, they headed into the main structure. Just inside was a small desk with a single Elvanni man sitting behind it.

“Sorry for being short with ya but I’ve got some quick business to take care of concerning a bridge. They know their names and yes, I know it’ll cost extra to lodge them for the summer.” Ser Afgheir slapped some paperwork down on the desk. didn’t even wait for a reply before storming out the door. The man just stared at him go.

“Good to see you too Afgheir,” the said only after Ser Afgheir had already left, “Eh, hope he didn’t hear that. He'd threaten to toss me through a window again.”

“Is there one he likes?” Dani looked around for a proper punishment window, the man snorted.

“He asks at least one of you that every year, no one’s ever found one to his liking.” he said with a smile, “He did through someone through a first-story window last year.” The Cadets from Jorvik and Vanheim looked confused not understanding the joke.

“For what?” Arn asked, still in his wolven form, making his voice deep and growly.

“For thinking, he was joking and not at least nominating a possible window,” The man quietly laughed as he Finished sorting through the paperwork, “Alright let's get you to the barracks and set you up with your roommates. Follow me and listen we’ll be going over some rules. First the area behind….”

The man, who introduced himself as Malvo pointed out various buildings as they walked, what areas were off-limits until the term started, what was off-limits even then, where they could practice spells, how they’d be disciplined if caught breaking the rules, where to find the full written rules to read. He stopped the boys and young men at the first barracks and announced himself before entering. After a moment he went in and opened three doors calling off two names each. Dani would be rooming with Freya. He told them when meals were and where the latrine and women’s bathhouse was and left.

“Kinda cheerful, ain't he?” Freya commented when they had the room to themselves,

“Eh, a little but he does get to work here.” She said, maybe a bit too cheerful herself judging by Freya’s look. She took in the room for the moment. It was rather plain but they could add things to it. It wasn’t like her room at home was lavish anyways. It had a bunk bed, two desks, two chairs, and two chests to store their belongings, she noted that each had a key in the lock; there were also two larger keys, one on each desk that she assumed was for the door. It was also clean and slightly more spacious than she was used to.

“Top or bottom?” Freya said as Jaesmin opened the shutter to reveal an alleyway and the back of another building, at least it would keep it from getting stuffy.

“Huh?” Freya was pointing at the bunk bed “Oh you can pick.” She just threw her stuff on top, which would probably be better anyways, Freya was taller than Dani by a bit. She had shoulder-length black hair shaved off from the left side of her head and brushed over the top to the left side. Dani could tell Freya was stronger than her, that wasn’t saying much, and a bit older? Maybe the same age? her people aged slower than normal humans, so she wasn’t sure.

“You know anything about Saena? Things to do, it’s going to be a boring couple months till the term starts.” She really didn’t and answered with a shake of her head.

“I just planned on studying and practicing,” Dani said proudly, pulling out her gear to put in the trunk. Which she realized had some basic supplies in them.

“Can’t do that all the time though. Plus I’m not even running around this place myself,” Freya said and added with a wink, “Besides, the one thing I do know is they have events for mages at the arena… nonlethal. Could be good to get a bit of fighting experience, right?”

“I guess.” she couldn’t help but think that technically Freya was right, she wasn’t a student she was in the Legion.

********

The Badgers camped out by the river and had a fun night for the first time in a while. They’d been moving so quickly that they hadn’t taken much time to actually do stuff. They sang, drank a bit, and swam. Not necessarily in that order. They managed to get Leofrith and Jaesmin able to barely swim against the current but at least they knew how to tread water and doggie paddle. They spent more time splashing and dunking each other in the water than anything.

The next morning they went over the plan again. He’d yell but he’d also point downriver for Saena, upriver for the imperial road. The two were easily distinguishable but Jon wanted to make sure they understood completely. Jon took his boots and socks off and waded in the water but thinking where people emptied their chamber pots on the side streets, he went back and grabbed his boots. It’d be harder to swim with them on but it was better than running through town trying to find the knights barefoot. He slipped in the water and started at a breaststroke. It was easy going, the current would pull him downriver but not very far.

“Hey, Jon! Question for ya!” Aethred’s voice graced his ears as he swam, he ignored it and kept going, the river was only 100 paces wide and he was halfway already, “When people dump their piss and shit in the river, which way does it go again? Upriver?” Jon panicked slightly and lifted his head out of the water to look back at his friends laughing at him. He rolled over onto his back and decided a backstroke might be better. He didn’t need to swallow any of that.

He was a little slower but made it across just fine. He pulled himself out of the water and took a few breaths before pulling his wet boots on. The leather felt sickeningly slick as he pulled them on but there was nothing he could do about it, he’d just have to take them off and let them dry at some point. He hopped to his feet and gave them a wave.

“Can you hear me!” he yelled to give it a test.

“Yes!” with that he set off.

It wasn’t quite mid-morning yet and he had a few miles go to to get to the gate of Saena but he figured it would take them a bit to work out a solution to the bridge problem. He still set out at a quick walk and increased it to a jog when he found a trail cutting through the grass and sparse trees along the river. He could hardly believe it, it’d been around 3 weeks since they left Terra… maybe closer to a month, he’d lost track. The important point being that they may actually find someone that could help them today! If they were lucky, no traveling all the way up to Ederath, no worrying about Leo transforming. It was going to be a great day. He followed his way along the road that wrapped around the city wall when he came to it and soon would be at the gate. He’d probably wait for them outside the walls if he could, that way he could try to talk to one of them in private. He made it to the gates and stopped to catch his breath just off the road. His appearance.

“Boy, you fall in the river or somthin’” the guard asked with an amused look on his face, “or don’t ya know you’re supposed to swim upriver?” He shot the man a glance, which told him and the other guard everything they needed to know. They burst out laughing.

“Any word on the Northerners? Will they be here yet?” Jon stood up straight and looked down the road.

“The knights? If you wanna see ‘em you best get moving, they’re probably already marching out of the gate in Velona?” The man said, “Good thing the Duke put his foot down on that bridge mess. That coulda gotten- Hey, wait! You know what fuck it, go on and UP river next time!”

Shit! The one hole in their plan. They planned for a long negotiation, them moving to a different crossing, them saying no… but they didn’t think about what if the Count reopens the Velona side of the bridge before he got there. He ran through the city as fast as he could take them. He figured if the man was right, they were three miles ahead, maybe more. He needed to get to them before they reached the junction that led to Sentia and Everton. If they made it too far past, he wouldn’t know which way they’d gone… well he could just ask someone on the road if he could find someone.

His mad dash through the city wasn’t unnoticed but he didn’t get chased by guards rather people yelling at him to slow down or ask what’s wrong. He supposed he looked half-drowned in his wet clothes. He pushed himself past the bridge and into the smaller city of Velona and nearly ran into a young Elvanni woman with red hair and a Northern woman with black hair swept to the side. He yelled an apology but didn’t turn around. He was starting to wear out as he made it to the gate

He received more yells from the guards but as no one was chasing him yelling ‘thief’ they let him go. He staggered up the gentle hill outside of town and looked down, he could see them! There was no way it was anything but them, a long column of people marching in formation and he could barely make out the red plumes on the knights' helmets.

Seeing potentially his salvation and that of his friends in sight, he pushed on. A few minutes of running earlier and he reached the back of the formation where the squires were marching, he walked up to the two nearest and slapped one of them on the back. They were quietly talking and paying no mind to behind them.

“Ugh...What the fuck ya think you’re doing!?” a boy about his age stopped and started to draw a mace from his side. He stopped when he saw Jon’s still damp and tired state.

“I...need…help…” he said between ragged breaths, he could see the boy's eyebrows raised. “we-cough-wolves… bit me…” He just opened his mouth to give the rest, clearly showing his sharp elongated teeth. Another squire passed off his lead and fell out of formation at a run in full armor towards the front of the column, Jon could hear the name ‘Ser Erik’ yelled. Jon nearly had caught his breath again, “My friends… were bitten too. They’re waiting by- cough, the river.”

The squire pulled a waterskin of the mule and handed it to Jon, he graciously took a few drinks giving a nod in thanks. Heavy footsteps caught his attention and he could see three tall knights and an Elvanni woman, all but one familiar to Jon. The one in the most ornate armor, the one that gave him the coin and the spellsheet four years ago ran up to him and just grabbed his head and pulled his lips out of the way. Jon struggled for half a moment until he realized they were just trying to look at his teeth, so he relaxed his jaw and let them look.

“Well darling, there’s proof enough I think, when were you bitten and where?” Ser Erik asked.

“Three weeks, a month. I’m not sure and…” He confusedly pointed to his shoulder.

“No, I mean-”

“You’re the boy from that village, the one that killed the shadowcat.” Ser Erik didn’t recognize him but Lady Kyanna did, He just nodded.

“They killed nearly everyone in Terra, they came out of the Dain,” Jon said, “My friends are at a wagon by the river, two of them were bitten also.

A few minutes later he was sitting on the back of a wagon and two riders were charging down the road going to find the others. He’d given them directions to the wagon trail they needed to follow but being along the bank it was easy as go to the river and turn right. A knight walked along beside him and leaned in.

“There any smart ones?” he said calmly but not overly quietly, “any fuckers that could talk, use weapons any of that?” Monsters using weapons?

“Ah… no...well? The one that…” he pointed to his shoulder, “he, it? Walked up and seemed to laugh as we were sitting there, they didn’t attack us until he barked at them… it was kind of a bark.” The man chewed his lip lightly and looked back suddenly, a confused look across his face.

“You just sat there?”

“Ummm…. Yeah. A fate-seer was in the village offering it for free. I went and well my fate was to sit there, don’t run, don’t fight, and ended with ‘stand fast and await the bite’.” Jon said, “she told me after that she didn’t know what was coming but if I didn’t follow it my fate would be sealed and it was something that not only the northern gods could protect me from.”

“None of you fucking heard that!” Jon jumped at the sudden yell, “If I hear tongues waggin', there’ll be no idle threats bout windows, I’m collecting tongues if I hear you! When they grow back I’ll cut them again! Do you FUCKIN’ understand me!”

A series of “Yes Ser! Came from every mouth around them. Jon looked and the man was giving him the stink eye.

“That goes for you too boy. You talk to me, you talk to Prince Erik or Lady Kyanna about it and that’s it! Do your friends know?” Jon nodded, “Talk to them if you must but make sure you’re far from earshot, understood.” Jon nodded but the glare continued.

“Y-yes, Ser,” he got the hint from the squire walking behind the knight. He was mouthing the words.

“Good lad, don’t you worry. We’ll get you and your friends trained up in no time, beat the monster right out of ya if we needta,” he said with a grin that told Jon he wasn’t kidding about the beating part, “Oh and welcome to the pack!”