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--- Path of Hadritus, near to the Town of Euscro ---

August 23rd, 2025

Sharpe is currently sitting in the back of his JLTV. In front of him is an elf that they freed back in that village. The elf looks pretty beaten up, probably from the torture he been given. The Elf definitely has been through a lot.

"Let me if I fully understand. You are not from Falmart but from a different a different world? And you are currently at war with the Empire because?" Hodor restates.

"That is correct Sir Hodor. You have nothing to fear from these people. While myself is from this work, me and others have pledge to assist." Lelei says.

“Interesting, sounds too good to be true. Even if it us, I see your help are still Hunan,” Hodor comments, reference Lelei and Rory. It is clear that he doesn’t trust them because their Humans.

“That is not true. In one of the other vehicles a Warrior Bunnies. In Alnus, there are races from all over Falmart.” Lelei responds.

Sharpe glances over to Lelei, the blue hair intelligent women. He has seen her grow a lot recently and has been proud of that. Hit looks like she has finally started to find her comfort zone.

When he watched Lelei successfully help us that Italica Treaty(1), he has wanted her with him when during new encounters. Like dealing with this elf for example. From that experience, he prefers to have her with him during these kinds of conversations. She has proven to be a major help in building bridges with the locals of this world.

It is not just because Lelei is intelligent, he understands that her god Elange helps her with that. It is because she can speak in a manner that makes her knowledge understandable to the average person without making them feel dumb.

In a way, Lelei reminds Sharpe of the Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, thinking back of their recent trip to Earth(2). Able to speak and translate to people while not making the other person feel inferior. He has found that she does not suffer from that. Every time he meets a new group of people, he wants her by his side. To answer his or anyone else's questions.

“And besides, Rory isn’t Human.” He says, knowing that will get a reaction from her. Glancing to his front seat, he sees Rory turning around.

“Hey, what is that supposed to mean?” Rory asks in a demanding manner.

He smirks at her reaction, glancing over to her. He intentionally delayed his responds for a few seconds. When Rory first joined his Ranger team, he has learned that she likes to play these little games, testing people. He has also found that she does not like it when people do that to her, which is something he enjoys. “You are more like a firecracker.” Then he gives her a flirtish wink, knowing it is going to embarrass her.

He sees her think on his responds, nodding her head in agreement. Her cheeks blush red as she looks away, hopping that no one saw.

“Actually, I see that.” Rory says, approving of what he said with this embarrassed voice.

“Just ignore those two.” Lelei comments to Hodor. “They do that all the time.”

Hodor looks them all confused. "I still don't trust you, Humans. Our first encounter you lied about who you are." Hodor says.

He looks back to Hodor and thinks about his responds. “Hey man look, I understand that Humans have screwed your people over. Since when we first arrived at this world, plenty of elves have tried to put us in the ground. Now while were Human, we are From America and we follow by those values and standards. Besides, allowed us to free you without issues,” He finishes, making his point clear.

"In their world, they label themselves off their country identity. While everyone from Earth are Human, there many different cultures. You will meet Japanese, French, British and much more," Lelei explains.

"A Human is still a Human, regardless of where they come from," Hodor says.

He looks at the elves. He has heard a lot of these racist arguments in this world. It usually has been some random remark, reference some long-ago battle or crime. This elf though, it seems like he is testing him. Probably seeing we are legit or something.

"Yeah, I can say the same thing about your kind. Plenty of them has tried to kill me. So, let us skip the racial bull. I said what I said because I wanted to free you without getting kicked in the grin. I could have gone with plan A," Says Sharpe.

He sees Hodor sit there, thinking about what he said. He made sure there is a clear choice, play the game who species is worse and waste time or get down to business.

Right then he feels a light tap on the head from Lelei staff.

"Be nice Major," Lelei says.

He just waves her off. Then he looks directly at Hodor. "Let me recap this. You said your people traveled here from the far west for eight years. While you were all looking for shelter, the Empire captured you and your people. Now they are prisoners and you are asking for our help."

"That is correct. If you are uniquely different as the blue hair girl says you are…," Hodor asks.

“You call her Lelei La Lalen.” He snaps at him, not wanting him to disrespect her.

Hodor takes a light breath, seeing his error. “I apologize. Regardless of our differences, can you please help me find my daughter. I am begging you. I will do whatever you want.”

Sharpe leans back and thinks on the elf's request. His current mission is a search and destroys operations. Hunt down enemy supply routes and depots and destroy them. Find the enemy and clear them out or report it. A rescue mission would be a tough sell for Colonel Yang.

He looks over to Lelei and notices that she is looking right at him. Five years ago, he would have rejected the request out of hand. As the commanding officer he was to stay objective, but the truth is, he cannot stop thinking what if the roles were reverse. What if the Empire had Lelei, Rory or god for big Selina?

As he looks in Lelei eyes, he can see that she is telling him to accept his request. In her eyes he sees all the past adventures they have been on so far. From the Flame Dragon to Italica to the first time they been in Elies.

“You help because you can.” Lelei says softly.

He takes a deep breath as the thinks of the situation. He then looks back to Hodor. "Do you know how many of your people are at the fortress?"

He can see Hodor hesitate to reply. It seems a part of him still does not fully trust the Rangers. At the end of the day, he has no choice.

"I don't fully know. Assuming any of them are still alive, a few hundred maybe. Probably less though," Hodor says.

He had a feeling that the number of prisoners would be that high. That only would complicate matters more. If that number is that high, that means he will need additional logistical support. A slow convoy like last time would be suicidal while in the middle of a warzone.

"And the villagers said they took them to Fort Legrath. I don't know man, that is a tall order," She responds, trying to think of a plan.

From the information that First Lieutenant Sarah Rose, the team logistic and operation officer gave him states that Fort Legrath off-limits until Major General Stanford gives the green light. He is afraid of killing hundreds if not thousands of civilian prisoners that might be at the fort. On top of that, he wants to take the fortress to turn it into a propaganda victory. All resources must be used to push out the Imperial Army from the region.

"I don't think command will approve this. Tackling that fortress will require some heavy armor support, a brigade at least. I don't have the firepower or manpower to storm that facility." He explains, just not finding a way around.

Sharpe has done a few rescue missions while in Delta. But that was rescuing a small group of people or a single individual. Getting one man out of a fortification is far easy then a whole village worth.

He looks over to his right and then back at Hodor.

Sharpe knows he should say no but all he could think of if its Selina trapped there. There would not even be a conversation, he would burn down the fort and kill everyone to get to her. The truth is, deep down inside that scares him.

"So, everything you have told me is false. You are not as powerful as you lead to believe," Hodor comments.

"We took the village without a casualty," He shots back, getting a little defensive.

He notices Lelei moving her staff between him and Hodor.

"Sir Hodor, from my time with these Other Worlders. We have more power than you can ever imagine. But we do not just do whatever we want because we can, that is how you end up like the Empire. While not perfect, the American Empire tries to withhold their might and only use it when attacked or an injustice has occurred. " Lelei states in her academic tone.

He looks over to her, always impresses on her ability to simply explain complex subjects. Out of everything she just said, the one thing he enjoyed the most was her using the word ‘we'. Meaning that she considered herself on of us.

He looks back at Hodor and judges his reaction. He can see that he is still skeptical of us but what Lelei said seems to soften him up a bit. "What she said is a dramatic overstatement, the point is true. Because we have the military might to do whatever we want doesn't mean we should. That is what separates us from the bad guys. I just need more information to-."

The vehicle they are in suddenly stops.

"What the hell? Who was that?" The vehicle drive Sergeant Andrew Steele yells in a confused voice.

"Sergeant report!?" He yells, moving towards the front of the vehicle. Going through the gap between the seats, Steele is on his left and Rory is in his seat to his right.

"Sir, some dude just ran in front of me. He was hauling ass.” Steele says.

"He is right and… there goes another one," Rory comments just as baffled what is happening.

As Rory spoke, he saw what she was walking about. This young-looking female elf runs right pass them as fast as she could. "What the hell…”

As she spoke, suddenly he feels the JLTV vibrates a little from tremors. He and everyone else can hear these stampeding stomps, which is getting louder. Looking to his left at the trees and brush, this large Troll brushes out of the tree line that borders the dirt road.

As the Troll runs by, the beats hit the front of the JLTV, making the vehicle shake.

"What the fuck was that!? That a Troll? It's huge!" Alicia yells, freaking out a bit.

"Christ! It dented the front end!" Steele says, still trying to figure out what just happened.

Sharpe sits back up and then shakes his head. "Forget about it and get us out of here. Alicia, tell Johnson…"

As he gave orders to his team, he feels a tap on his shoulder. Turning around he sees its Hodor.

"I think that was Tuka. That hair, that was my daughter!" Hodor states.

He can see the elf man eyes, this gleam of hope.

"God damnit, alright. Alicia tell Johnson to stay with the convoy. Scott and Frost with me. " He orders and then looks to Rory. "You too Rory. Lelei, stay here. Hodor, stay here. Lelei, don’t let him out of your sight."

After saying that, he grabs his rifle and gets out of the vehicle. As he looks over, he sees Scott getting out of his vehicle. "Sergeant Scott, get the Carl Gustaf! Everyone else heads out!"

After giving that order, he rushes through the brush, heading in the direction of that Troll.

"Follow me! I can hear them!" Rory says to him as she runs past him.

As Sharpe watches Rory easily passes him, for the first time in his life he begins to feel old. He finds it hysterical that this twelve-year-old looking girl can easily pass him. He knows that she is a demigoddess but that fact he always must remind himself of. While most see the goddess of death, he does not see that and refuses to see that.

As Rory, Frost and himself rush as fast as they can through the brush, falling the broken tree branches and the Troll footprints in the ground.

Up head, he can hear the scream of a troll. It seems like it stops running, either fighting or killing the other two people who were fleeing it.

Once Frost, Rory and himself arrives, he sees a Human man and a female Elf running around in circles around the Troll. It seems they are trying to fight it with just a bow.

The Troll is lifting its massive log shape club. The beast raises its club into the air, getting ready to strike the two down below.

After taking a glance at the situation. "Rory, take out the club."

"Roger that!" Rory says in an excited tone. She jumps from her position and glides through the air, blocking the club.

As he watches Rory glides through the air, he is always amazed by that. He then looks to Frost. "Frost, take left and cover fire."

"Yes, sir!" Frost says and begins running, aiming his rifle at the Troll.

He begins rushing to the right, aiming his rifle to the Troll. "Scott, when you get down here, take the Troll out. Uploading target to your feed."

"Roger that. Randy with me by the way," Scott replies through the NW(3).

"Roger." He replies as he fires his rifle at the Troll.

He plans to do a quick distraction until Scott arrives. From the concentrated fire from Frost and him, our bullets seem to easily pierce the Troll skin. It seems that the Troll can withstand multiple bullet strikes, unlike most lifeforms.

As he watches the Troll movements, he notices that the beast is just reacting to everything around it. With every burst of aggression, there is no focus coming to form its attacks. As Steele would say, high strength and endurance but low intelligence creature.

After he thinks about that, he realizes that all they must do is distract it from enough angles and it will be too confused to properly attack us.

He rushes to the side and begins sliding down the ditch into the small opening where everyone else is it. Once he gets down into the opening, he rushes up to the Man and elf.

"Hey, we need to keep it confused. You go over there. lady. Flank left." He says to both the man and elf.

They both look at home confused, not knowing if they should listen.

For him, this is a strange feeling. It is rare that he must give an order twice. He gives them a no bullshit glare. "I gave you an order! Split up and keep that damn thing distracted."

"Ahh, ok!" The elf lady comments and rushes to the left flank.

The man rushes up to him. "Hey, your weapons are not doing much damage."

"They don't need to, now get over there…" He says towards the man until he is interrupted by Rory.

"Watch out!" Rory yells over the radio.

Both he and that man look towards the Troll and see it swing its club towards them.

Sharpe jumps out of the way and rolls on the ground. He quickly recovers and looks over to the other man. To his surprise, that strange man also as recover from that attack quickly. He is clearly not a civilian. He watches as he moves around, throwing these darts or daggers at the Troll.

Getting up, Sharpe aims his rifle and switches it too automatic. He begins firing in short control bursts.

As the fight goes on, Troll is bleeding heavily from the bullet holes. But that does not seem to be slowing the beast down. It is clear to him that they are going to need something that packs more of a punch.

"Scott…," He says over the radio.

"Be there in ten seconds sir." Scott says over the radio.

"Sonner is better Sergeant." Sharpe responds.

As Sharpe spoke over his radio, he watches as Rory halberd clashes against the Troll log shape club, slowly cutting it down.

He then looks down and realizes that they are in the target zone. Rory will understand to get clear when they fire the rocket but the other two will be clueless.

"Rory, attack the legs. Try to demobilize him." He orders Rory.

"I got it, Major," Rory responds.

He stops and covers Rory as she lands on the ground.

Rory turns around and propels herself towards the Troll's right leg. She lets out this warrior scream as she runs right by it, slashing at its leg.

Blood spills out from the leg as the Troll lets out a painful scream. While still refusing to go down, it starts to limp around, no longer able to keep up with everyone else.

"Major, this is Dodson. Clear out!" Sergeant Major Randy Dodson says over the radio.

Sharpe looks up from where he was before and sees Randy and Scott. Randy is waving his hand, trying to warn them to get clear. He then looks to everyone down here fighting the Troll. "Everyone falls back. Get clear of the Troll!"

That is when the elf looks to him. "We can't, we nearly have him beat."

He looks to her and then rushes up to her. He then grabs her hand. "Not today lady. We run, now!"

He begins to run, pulling her along with him. Looking back to the Troll direction, he sees Rory wishing away, taunting the Troll. He even sees the man backing away.

"Fire in the hole!" Scott says over the radio.

This rocket from an M3E1 MAAWS(4) rocket launcher comes flying from his location and rams right into the Troll, blowing the beats up into hundreds of pieces.

While the blast was not massive, the shock was enough to knock him and the elf women down to the ground. Both landing in a small puddle of water.

After landing on the ground, he leans up to his side and looks back at the Troll corps. He can hear bell sounds because he was this close to the rocket's target. Slowly the belling sound is fading as everything is going back to normal.

He looks to the elf woman and sees her covering her ears, probably experiencing the same thing he is. That is when he notices that this elf has blond hair, something he has yet to see from an elf. She also has these big blue eyes, almost like Lelei.

"What is that sound! That belling sound!" She keeps saying, not understanding what just happened.

Seeing that the battle is over, he cannot stop himself from laughing. He then looks over to the elf women and gives her his usual supportive pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it. It will go away."

As he laughs, he feels this hand on his back. He then gets lifted, being raised to his knees. As he turns around, he sees Rory's face directly looking at him. She does not look pleased.

"What are you doing Jackson," Rory says in a not so happy, jealous tone.

"I… ahh… what?" He says, not understanding her question. As he looks into her crimson red eyes, he can see this deep-seated emotional rage through her body, that being jealousy. "Nothing Rory, just enjoying the victory. Now let me go." He gives her a serious look.

Rory then let’s go of him and looks to the elf. "Mine." She then swings her halberd to her shoulder and marches away.

The elf women just sit there, confused by what she just saw. "What just happened, who are you people? Who is she and what did she mean by that?"

As he adjusts himself and brushes himself off, realizing he is all wet again. "Don't worry about it. She is Rory Mercury. Goddess of Emroy. You won’t have to worry about her, she is harm… semi harmless."

As Sharpe spoke, he gives her his hand to help her up. Once she takes it, he lifts her back on his feet.

"They are the Americans I was telling you about." That man says as he walks over. He is looking at the Troll burning corpse, his eyes show a state of disbelief. "You killed it so easily, such power…"

"The Americans?" The elf women say and then look to Sharpe. She then looks to what is left of the Troll corps body. "You weren't kidding about their power. What kind of magic is this?"

He is surprised by the fact that these two already know about his people. However, it must be common knowledge by now. The NATO Expeditionary Force has been here for a while and been hamming the Empire. News must travel fast for something like that.

"It is not magic; it is science and technology." He responds. "By the way, is your name Tuka Luna Marceau?"

She looks at him with confusion. "How do you know my name?"

He takes a deep breath as he takes off his helmet. "If your father is Hodor Marceau? He is in the trucks that you two passed."

He watches as her facial expression goes from exhaustion to pure excitement.

"He is alive! He is here!” Tuka screams with much enjoyment. Her body flares with much expression, showing how happy she is.

Out of nowhere, she gives him a massive tight hug, squeezing him as hard as she can. Showing how happy she is right now.

"Thank you so much American!" Tuka yells, simply happy that life is finally getting better.

"Hey… stop please…," He says. She does not look strong however he is finding it slightly hard to believe. He feels her two breasts pressing hard against him, something he does not have to deal with Rory, Lelei, and Selina. He starts to feel a little stress as he is not used to this. "OK… let go… not… Let go!"

"Hey! I said he mines!"

He looks out and sees Rory in the distant. It seems like she was the one who yelled that. "Great…"

"I am sorry, I am just so excited right now. I finally get to see my father." Tuka says, all cheerful. She finally lets go of him and takes a step back.

He takes a step back and adjusts his clothes. "I will take you to him. He is deeply worried about you."

After getting himself straight up, he looks to the other man with a skeptic look. "Now who are you?"

Tuka rushes between him and the man. "It is ok, he freed me from the Empire. He is my friend. His name is Hardus, an Alnus Freedom Fighter. If you are from Alnus then he is on your side."

Sharpe stands there and thinks about what Tuka said. He finds it interesting on how Tuka describes this man. An Alnus Freedom Fighter, form what he understands there is no such thing. However, he does not have the type of contacts or clearance he once had, and this doesn't smell like what the CIA would do.

Sharpe sees both Tuka and Hardus are looking right at him like they are waiting for him to say something. That is when he notices he has not responded yet. "Alright, nice to meet you Hardus. Lets get out of here before the Empire discover our location."

---

As everyone marches back through the brush, heading back to Vanguard-5 and 7 locations, Sharpe walks close to Hardus. Something about him just rubs him the wrong way, he just can’t put his figure on it.

"Hardus, you use to be military.” He asks him bluntly.

Hardus looks at him as they walk. "What makes you say that?"

"Don't fool me. I know a soldier when I see one." He responds.

Hardus just chuckles at his response. "Yes, I was. I was a Soldier of the Empire long ago. Since I was a child. Now that I think about it, it has been awhile.” He then looks to Sharpe. “Is that going to be a problem, what was it… Major Sharpe?"

He looks to him. "Not unless you make it one. Are we clear?"

Hardus then looks to him confused. "Clear? Clear what?"

He smirks after that. He must remind himself that Earth phrases don't apply here. Bad habits. "Never mind. It just means ‘do we have an understanding'."

"Ahh," Hardus responds. "You have nothing to worry about Major. I am here to help. The Empire has ravaged and raped these lands for as long as anyone can remember. They use the excuse that they are protecting us from the Dark races, but they are no different. Well, the only difference is that we look alike while the goblins don't. And besides, this war is just killing my fellow brothers. The sooner it ends the sooner things get better."

He listens to what Hardus has to say. He finds it interesting to hear the local's opinion of politics. Still, he wonders how these two escape Fort Legrath. According to intelligence, that is not an easy place to break out of.

"I understand, that sounds like a common story. The Empire is meant to protect and provide security. But they go around raping and take from those who they are supposed protecting. That still doesn't explain how you two escape." He says.

"Escaping, that was not easy. Legrath has been built and rebuilt for hundreds of years. There are many secret tunnels and passages lead in and out of the fortress. Most of them have been forgotten by the defenders. We found one when we were breaking her people out. At least we tried." Hardus explains.

"We? So, there were more of these Freedom Fighters?" He asks, wanting to hear more. If what Hardus is saying is true about these secret tunnels, that could be a game-changer in taking the fortress. That is something Command will want to know.

"Yes. We were only a small group though. When we heard about your people destroying the Imperial Army, we thought we could help. We tried to save her people after we learn they were captured but were only able to save her. The rest of my unit died in an attempt to save more." Hardus says, just looking forward.

As Sharpe walks, he can only reflect on the memory of Tim and Quincy death, and all the other members of his Delta team throughout the years from saving the leader of North Korea, trying to save some hostages to Mexico and more.

He decides to give the man a break. He reaches to Hardus and pats him on the shoulder. "I understand man. If you don't mind helping us, we could use your help rescuing the other elves."

Hardus looks to him with a confused face. "Why would you risk your lives to help them? What do you gain for that?"

As they get back to the Vanguard teams, he hears Tuka and Hodor yelling. Looking out he sees Hodor getting out of the JLTV.

"Tuka! I can't believe this. The gods thank you!" Hodor says.

"Father!" Tuka yells as she runs as fast as she can towards him.

He sees Tuka tackling her father and give him a giant hug. Both interlock their arms and it seems like they will never let go of each other.

"I love you, Father! I missed you so much." Tuka says, crying like a baby.

Hodor holds her tight. "I know, I love you too. I am so happy that you are safe."

As he watches, it is an emotional moment for him. He is glad that they are back together, making everything he and the rest of his Ranger had been through so far worth it. In all this cruelty and suffering, it feels good to add some good to this world.

Watching them hug just reminds him why he enlisted in the first place. What he sees just reminds him of when Selina tackled him crying right after the Sadera mission. It felt strange but it also felt good. Seeing these two reunited just reminds him not to take Selina or anyone here for granted.

He feels someone rubbing his left arm. He looks over and sees Rory smiling. She even seems to be tearing up.

She then looks up at him. "I have something in my eye."

He smiles and puts his arms around her. He then looks to Hardus, "That is why."