It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.

Pre-Fall saying

The column of levies made it to the Poole farmstead area before the soldiers finally let them stop for the day. While quite a few of the draftees had been able to follow the rhythm of the march, the rearguard had required multiple stops, which the soldiers had timed carefully.

With the sun dropping behind the trees and the evening coming close, they made a large camp.

“I’d say good, except it is not,” Captain Devereaux yelled.

“In the old days, troops would be expected not only to walk faster but to build an entire camp at the end. Yes, a camp with palisades, just for the night,” he added.

“So, not only did you walk less than you should have, but I’m not even expecting you to be able to make your shelter. Thankfully, the weather is still clement for late September, so you’ll be able to sleep without too much problem. Meanwhile, your bags include rations for four days. We will resupply before tackling the Springs Narrows section. If you eat all of your rations before then… well, that’s your problem. I won’t listen to excuses.”

“Now… the sergeants will take a few of you into four or five parties, and you’ll go nearby to pick wood for the cooking and evening. I’m expecting to keep fires going all night long. That will be all, people.”

Murmurs rose around Johanna.

“Wait, we’re going to sleep in the outdoors? Like that?”

She quickly considered the fact that most citizens of Valetta had never spent the night out of protective palisades. Even for the four of them, it had been slightly unnerving at first. But Changed beasts weren’t that numerous, and if you kept a watch, you’d be okay.

Still, a hundred and fifty levies and fifty-some soldiers made a pretty big camp. Most predators would avoid such a group, even Canids, as long as it looked as if the humans in that wilderness were active.

Twenty levies – mixed men and women – were picked by the soldiers and went to groups in the nearby forest. Meanwhile, other soldiers had erected a large tent, in which Adjutant Agnello almost immediately retired, having tethered his horse nearby. Obviously, despite being persons of interest, the four – or rather, the three as far as the adjutant was concerned – didn’t rate tents. Never mind, they’d packed sleeping bags.

Although Johanna was unsure if it was all right to pull them out. They were already noticeable by being in front along with the adjutant, apparently fine after that march, and seeming to be excessively prepared might lead to suspicion and trouble. It wasn’t their fault they were experienced travelers.

“I still can’t believe that bastard of a canid sold us out,” Laura said.

“Merchants the same everywhere so says my dad,” Tom replied.

“He probably thought he was doing a service to his city,” Peter surmised.

“And maybe that we wouldn’t come back to claim the money from the sword. Those are explanations, not excuses,” Johanna said.

“Still, squeezing him out is good touch. Hit merchants where they feel it,” Tom smiled.

“Yea, but that doesn’t change the result,” Johanna sighed.

“You realize this ends our profession,” Peter said. “If we screw him…”

“He’ll screw us. No more scavenging for profit,” she said.

“We can move to Lakeview. Maybe there’s a way to sell scavenging stock there,” Laura suggested. “Grievar can’t be the only one to buy salvage.”

“It’s on the other side of the ruins, but it’s small. Way smaller than Valetta.”

“And we have to sell the house,” Tom said.

“Can we sell with an outstanding loan?” Johanna asked.

“And can we find a buyer?” Laura added.

“Aaah,” Johanna complained, kicking a small divot of earth.

Waiting for the foraging parties to come back, she and Tom decided to wander a bit among their fellow levies. Almost all had slumped on the ground, sitting in various poses, and waiting. She was moving around when she spotted something.

Is that… a cube toy?

That brought immediately memories of that salvager cart, back before the Skeleton entered their lives. And, well, the man idly turning the cube felt a bit familiar. So, she stopped next to him, looking down at the seated levy.

“Hello.”

The man raised his head to look at her and smiled thinly.

“Hello. I’d say good evening, but that’s a lie.”

“I’m not going to disagree.”

She pointed at the multi-faceted wood cube in the man’s hands.

“I noticed that. You’re a salvager?”

“Yes, but how does this follow?”

“I’m a salvager too. Looks like we both operate on the western ruins, and I might have spotted your cart two months ago there… and you were playing with that cube.”

“Oh. Oh, you’re the freelance team Grievar spoke of?”

“Sounds like us, yes.”

“Coby Hopkins. I am not going to say nice to meet you, but, well…”

“Scavenging is not a protected profession in Valetta, looks like,” she said.

“Don’t tell me. Gellert – that’s my boss – said, register as temporary residents for the season. Make everything and taxes easier and stuff. And then you get snatched off the inn. I’m going to contest on the account of temporary status, but I’m not hopeful.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“I supposed he’s less than happy now.”

“The damned man slipped away. He was out to Lakeview, dealing with something, with almost all the crew. Only me and Lucas were left to keep watch on the cart and tools.”

The man next to the salvager waved lazily.

“Welcome to the levies,” he said with a tired smile.

“What’s he doing in Lakeview? Are there good opportunities for salvage there?” she asked, before realizing they might not want to answer that to competitors.

“Looking to change from Valetta after what they did?” Coby said.

“Nah. That’s what’s good with Valetta. In Lakeview, you’d get merchants interested, but you spend weeks before you’ve dumped all. Besides, we do mainly Alium, and they’d resell it to Valetta anyway, so we’d get even lower prices. In Valetta, you got a nice store, sell everything at once, and you’re headed back for more. Gellert always said time is money,” the other salvager said.

Johanna sighed internally. So much for moving. Unless they wanted to grovel before Grievar… it looked like their salvaging days were over. Because she was pretty sure everything he did was well received in Valetta, and she doubted any ‘lawyer’ would do anything on him.

Or maybe there are other ways of getting money. After they got from that draft thing.

Maybe there are ruins not too far from the capital?

Johanna found Franz along with two other people from the alley. Their neighbors were seated on the ground and rummaging through their bags. She knew Ngozi Williams already but had never met Bertram Niles. He was the only one with a semblance of a backpack, although only a small one.

“Anyone else from the neighborhood?” she asked.

“Us three only. There’s also Maria Vanu and her husband Georg, but they’re not here.”

Johanna’s eyebrows shot up at the familiar name from her former home. Probably some distant relatives, people whose parents had moved out of Anasta a long time ago. She might check up on them later. To find herself neighbor with other people from Anasta was a surprise. Although she suspected it should not be that unusual.

“I’m surprised that they picked women, yet so few,” she noted.

“Exemption clauses. Mothers of children under 12, like Sarah, don’t get drafted. Or any single parent of one under 16. I’ve been told that they’ll use women for logistics, camp management, and the like, rather than frontline combat. Not that it will be easier, I think,” Franz said.

“No kidding. It looks like five men for one woman.”

“Maybe. Actual fighters take priority, I suppose.”

Tom and Laura joined them. She looked but couldn’t spot Peter, which made her assume he was trying to get some information, maybe listening to the adjutant.

“I’m not looking forward to dinner,” Laura said.

“Not quite our usual travel rations,” Tom noted.

“They don’t seem to have included much variety,” Johanna acknowledged.

The look from the neighbors confirmed that they shared their opinion on the matter. Hard biscuits, lard, and apples, for every meal including their future breakfasts. Johanna wasn’t sure it was not a deliberate decision on the part of the soldiers.

“Yes. Guy I was walking with says he spotted you showing some fire weapon at the man,” Ngozi Williams added.

Johanna winced internally. She realized it was inevitable. Each time they used their abilities, it made ripples. People talked. The only way their abilities would remain secret was if they never used them in public. And that particular ox had left the barn long ago when they fought the Lepuses for Anasta.

Three people can keep a secret, only if two are dead, she remembered the saying.

She was temporarily saved from answering by an interruption. One of the persons sent to forage dumped a bunch of branches in the middle, with the soldier holding the rest of the branches saying, “make a small pit with stones before lighting. If you don’t know, ask,” before moving on.

Franz contemplated the pile of wood, before saying, “At least we can cook properly. Those biscuits are hard, even wet with the gourds’ water.”

“No kidding. These guys haven’t heard of proper travel ration,” Tom laughed.

The group found stones and made a small circle to prevent grass from catching before Franz pulled out an old stone lighter from a pocket and started lighting it.

Or, rather, tried to. Trying to get a spark seemed to be hard, and he quickly turned.

“Anyone got a good lighter?”

The three looked at each other. They didn’t have a good lighter – unless that lighter was called Johanna Milton. She’d got used so fast to using the flame in her hand for all kinds of uses that she no longer brought her Ancient alcohol lighter. And she realized she still had to answer Franz about how they got singled out.

“Let me,” she said.

Franz gestured to her, and she knelt next to the wood bundle, pulling back her sleeve. She opened her hand and called the flame before shoving it into the wood. Franz’s eyes widened as he watched the wood catch fire, as she kept funneling flame. Then, satisfied, she pulled it out before simply saying, “there you go”.

It was Ngozi who whistled.

“So that’s why that adjutant wanted to keep you under his eye. You’re a sorceress, like in the books.”

“There’s that, yes,” she acknowledged.

Bertram Niles laughed.

“And here I thought our alley was a quiet little place for cheap houses. With a hidden sorceress.”

Then he winced before adding, “I suppose you can’t make us ride the earth or something. What was that story…? It would go better on my blisters because I’m starting to feel them after that day.”

Johanna and Laura exchanged looks. Franz noticed, and was the first to ask, “wait… you can move the earth???”

“No, but if it’s blisters, I can help,” Laura replied.

“What?”

She gestured at Bertram, “Pull out those boots and let me see.”

“Not much one can do. Now, if you were my wife…”

She gestured at his feet.

“No discussing. Drop the shoes and socks.”

Bertram shrugged and unlaced his boots, removing them with a small grimace. Johanna looked, but at least the socks didn’t seem to have stains. She never had that many blisters, thanks for spending so much time in the fields when younger, but she still got a few at times when they started doing their runs.

“See. I’ll live,” the neighbor said.

Laura snorted and passed her thumb across the sole. Then she gestured, “the other now.”

“What?” Bertram said, then twisted his feet to look.

“Any other blister?” Laura insisted.

The two other neighbors looked carefully as Bertram peeled out his other sock and Laura removed the two small quasi-blisters reddish irritations.

“Done. Anyone else?” she asked.

“How can you do that? Are you… some saint?” Franz asked.

“I can do what some saints do, yes.”

The three men looked at them, before turning to Tom.

“Hey. My wife’s the one with the big stuff. Me… I just smash Changed beasts.”

As they frowned, he shrugged, “Can’t do much on the trail. It’s all in the hands of those two. Can’t complain.”

“How…”

Johanna started to explain. She omitted how – where – they had gotten their abilities. No sense in spooking their neighbors without reason. After speaking about the deal back in Valetta, Ngozi snorted.

“I wish I was in the fifty they skipped over for you. Sorry, but…”

“No problem. It’s not as if any of us had a say in that. We’re all in this together, I think.”

Franz raised his hands.

“No problem on that. We have to stick together.”

A light touch on her shoulder made Johanna almost jump in surprise. She looked up, and realized it was Peter, come back from whatever he’d been doing. He dropped next to her and Laura, and looked at Tom who was chatting with the others from the alley as they ate, before whispering.

“I listened to the soldiers. It looks like what Agnello was saying is correct, at least in general terms. Most of them have seen some action against northern tribal forces, including this year.”

“I’ve been trying to think about what else those troops could be for, and couldn’t,” Johanna replied.

“War inside the Union?” Laura mused.

“Really? You think it could be that?” her husband said.

“Who knows. You hear about the wars after the Fall, before the Union was restored.”

“That was long ago,” Johanna said.

“It’s more likely than trying to sell us into slavery or something,” Laura replied.

“That’s something in the bad novels. Using slaves has been forbidden in the Union since… well before it was even the Union. Before the Fall,” Johanna shrugged.

“Who knows. Maybe they would sell us to those Northmen as a bribe to end the war?” Peter said.

“They’d have ‘drafted’ more women in that case,” Tom countered as he dropped next to them.

“Thanks for the suggestion,” Johanna replied drily.

Getting out of the forest on the road was a weird sensation for Johanna. The palisade of Anasta was visible in the distance, and she could distantly see people working in the cornfields, getting the last harvests in. Some paused, probably wondering about the massive column of people passing through. She wondered what they thought about it. She doubted any noticed her or Peter among the mass of people.

They were probably busy preparing for Mark Vanu’s impending marriage. The Equinox was in two days, and it would be a massive festival with the marriage added.

She briefly thought about sneaking out this evening and hiding in Anasta, before quashing the idea. Even if it was possible… the soldiers had been very specific. You’d be an outlaw, and Valetta would have to compensate for your desertion.

The road toward the east was new. Beyond Avon, where she’d met Tom three years ago, she’d never been there.