We come to a stop well before I expect. Given I intended to ride straight into the fort, and hopefully secure a room there, coming to a stop before entering the village brings a small frown to my face. I gently shift Alana off my shoulder but my efforts not to wake her amount to nothing. She blearily wipes her eyes while asking, “Are we there?”

“Nope. Something’s—" I’m interrupted by a knock on the door. I open it and Kierra appears in the doorway. Oh no. She’s wearing her bloodthirsty smile.

“A few cubs are demanding to speak to our leader. That would be you, dedia.”

“Bandits?”

“Victory doesn’t have bandits,” Alana says with a touch of offense, the subject matter making her alert. “Describe them.”

“Five young men wearing brown cloaks lined with black fur. Armed.”

“Sounds like the Order of the Waking Beast.”

“Waking Beast?” I ask.

“They’re…” She rubs her brow. “Honestly, they’re a bit of problem. The Beast Order, as it’s usually called, believe that killing a creature and eating its meat gives the one who does a fraction of its power. As a result, they hunt down anything that moves. They are also incredibly aggressive. Fighting is like breathing to them and they don’t care about the consequences. I heard one of their knights killed one of his fellows because he didn’t like the other man’s haircut.”

“Sounds…annoying. I don’t suppose there’s a good reason why they’re blocking the road?”

“No official one. Even if an official force was established to keep the peace and monitor the people entering the village, no one in their right mind would use the Beasts to do it.”

“Mm. Alright, let’s see this done.”

Kierra chuckles as she jumps out of the doorway. Alana and I follow. Cloud waves to me from her place on the driver’s bench, looking completely relaxed despite the interruption. The five men in front of our carriage look just as relaxed, wearing identical smug smiles.

The thin layer of snow crunches underneath my boots as I step in front of them, my wives, one pending, flanking me. “Good afternoon, gents. I am Lourianne Tome, an acolyte from the Hall here to assist in the next campaign. You needed to speak to me?”

“Heh. You’re the boss, huh?” The man in the lead sniffs the air like a dog. “I don’t get it. The green one smells much more dangerous.”

I’m quite curious what that means. I also doubt he’s going to make any sense. Something tells me the Beast Order is not filled with intellectuals. “Nevertheless, I am in charge. Now, are you going to tell me why you’ve interrupted us? I would like to reach the fort before nightfall.”

“Yeah? Then we’ll make this quick. We’re the Order of the Waking Beast, the best order in Victory.” The others let out loud whoops and jostle each other. “Every campaign, we’re at the front of the battle, taking down dozens of those winter bastards. But to keep the fight going, we need…supplies.”

He greedily eyes my many wagons. “So, visitors like you are charged a small amount to support the war effort. Understand?”

“Oh, I do.” You’re robbing me. “But I would think as I also intend to participate in the campaign, I should be exempt from your…toll. For the war effort, you understand.”

The speaker doesn’t like that. He spits to the side. “I don’t know how much you think you’re going to contribute with four people. All you outsiders think this is a game. You should leave the fighting to the people who know what they’re doing and go somewhere warm.”

“Tempting, but no.”

He shrugs. “Fine, but you’re not passing through this village without giving us what’s due. Let’s say…three wagons?”

“Three?” If they had asked for a few coins, I might, might, have considered paying to avoid trouble and keep in good standing with the orders. I can’t go making enemies everywhere. Probably wouldn’t have but I would have thought about it.

This? They’re not even pretending this is anything but extortion.

“We’re being generous as we’re future comrades.” One of the men snickers until a punch to his shoulder shuts him up. “You’ve got plenty. Sure you can spare that much for comrades.”

“You don’t even know what I’m carrying.”

“Everything’s essential for the war effort.”

“And if I refuse?”

One of the men pulls a large sword off his back. Saints, it’s nearly as tall as he is. His thick arms don’t show any strain as he gives it a demonstrative swing. An outstretched hand from the speaker stops him from doing anything else. “Like I said, you’re not going any further unless you pay your due. Don’t make this hard on yourself. Think about the…ladies with you.”

“I think you’re the one who should be considering my companions.” I turn to Alana and raise my brows.

There is no trace of her earlier hesitance as she steps forward. One hand goes to her waist, fingers twitching as they don’t meet the expected hilt of her sword. No, she didn’t travel armed. Guess she didn’t expect a fight outside her house.

“I am Alana James, second daughter of Erenhart James, the reigning duke of Victory. I am sure my father will be very interested to learn that the orders are harassing allies come to assist us in our war against the Peaks.”

The men falter at her declaration, turning hesitant and confused eyes on each other. They talk in low tones, obviously intending for it to be a private conversation, but they may as well be screaming to me.

“Daughter? Why would the duke’s daughter be out of Victory?”

“And her name’s Yulianna, not Alana.”

“You sure you remember it right? They’re kinda similar…”

“Of course, I’m sure idiot! It’s the James family. The daughter’s name is Yulianna and she married that Devil bastard. There is no Alana. She’s lying! She doesn’t even have their dark hair!”

“Ah, wait. I think I remember something about a blonde girl training with the Moons. Yeah, I might have sparred against her when we did our cross-training.”

“That just means she was taken in because she has some talent. Just another dreamer who thinks the James family adopted her. Come on!”

This is…offensive. I know Alana is a bastard and was only acknowledged by her father after many years of living in obscurity. However, I was under the impression that afterwards, she was welcomed into the family. For these people to not recognize her name and doubt her very existence. That is…very telling of my future wife’s relationship with her father.

They turn back to us, the speaker frowning. “Nice try, girlie, but we’re not falling for such a stupid trick. Leave the wagons or this gets ugly.”

Alana flinches. Just the slightest bit. She doesn’t want to show how much their disregard of her identity bothers her but I was waiting for it. It’s my time to frown.

I truly can’t stand anyone insulting her. Even unintentionally.

“A counter-offer, gents. Leave now and we can forget this ever happened. No grudges will be carried past those mountains. What do you say?”

“Oi, are you crazy?”

“If you knew who you were threatening, you’d be asking yourself that question.”

He glances at Kierra. Maybe he really can smell danger. Too bad he can’t sniff out the hidden succubi just waiting for my order. “…even if you can take us down, the Beasts will remember you. Don’t think you’ll leave Victory in one piece.”

“I’m willing to take my chances.”

The speaker snorts. With one more glance at Kierra, he waves for the others to clear the road. They make noises that sound suspiciously like growls. Shockingly, Cloud answers them with a growl of her own, a deep and ominous sound that doesn’t seem like it could come from a woman her size. They look at her with no small amount of shock and pick up their paces.

“Smart choice.” With a wave to our almost robbers and future comrades, we climb back onto the carriage. Cloud needs no prompting to get us moving.

“We’ll remember you, Tome!” the speaker shouts as we pass, yelling over the noise of our passing.

I’ll remember you as well.