Allies

            Reinhardt walked in silence, following the assorted group of elementalists through a forest. The small leader directed them into the trees only a short time after leaving their improvised sparing ground. She seemed worried about being tracked so they all left the easier traveled fields and moved into the concealment of the large, dense mountainside.

            Two of the guards disappeared into the shadows, probably scouting ahead of the group. It was clear to him that this little group was not affiliated with the Duzee government; he guessed they were either bandits or rebels. With that assumption in mind he looked everyone over and figured them to be about the same age as the few men who had traveled with Briccio before being killed by the Four Winds.

            The earth elementalists made sense to Reinhardt, but the single fire shifter didn’t. She wasn’t like the others, and even wore the colors of her home nation, Fatir. No sigil was visible but she didn’t seem to be of low birth, the way she walked and carried herself told him that. It was a mystery to him, one he would figure out in time.

            Nobody spoke as they pushed through the deep green vegetation surrounding them. Shrubs and low hanging branches did the most to hinder their progress, but the terrain played a large part as well. With great effort they fought against the incline of the mountain, trying to stay on the correct course. Large walls of trees blocked their paths from time to time as they had to fight through the vegetation that sprang up in the water flowing down the side.

            Reinhardt enjoyed walking through these large draws, they made it very difficult to see more than a few feet around you, and on a few occasions the group would have to stop and take a break after crossing one. These breaks typically involved someone going back into the natural barrier to retrieve something that had been ripped off of them while crossing. It amused him that a few even lost their spears.

            It was clear nobody would be using their powers to make the traveling easier; most likely afraid their guest would rip whatever they took control of away and restart a fight. While amusing it was also time consuming and was creating a big mess within the group. Reaching the other side of another draw the group decided to stop. After being given the command by the small fire shifter everyone began taking turns going over their gear to make sure nothing had been lost in the travel. The last crossing had been especially bad and nearly twice as long as any of the others.

            One man returned to the draw and vanished while he searched for whatever he had lost. The long thick vines inside had a nasty habit of taking things from your possession if you hadn’t been careful and tied them down before entering. With the group finally halted Reinhardt took a minute to gather his thoughts. He never had to check his gear since he only carried his Dragon’s Tail with him, and his cloak, both of which he would notice being ripped off.

            The small woman kneeled down and checked her own gear. Like him she carried very few things with her out side of her pack, which was synched down tight with specialized straps. Clearly she was used to traveling through the woods, another peculiar trait from a Fatir of special birth. Soon the missing man appeared carrying a small coin purse in his hand. Apparently that had been ripped off and Reinhardt didn’t blame the man for wanting to retrieve it.

            Almost two hours had passed since they entered the forest before the group turned down the hillside. The sudden change sparked curiosity in Reinhardt. In a few more minutes they emerged from the tree line and were again in the fields below the mountain. Unlike the rest of the fields this one had a large hill in the center. Their forward scouts returned to the group and led them towards the hillside. Everyone came to a stop when the two earth elementalists opened a large hole in the ground. As they walked into the darkness the rest followed.

            After a few moments the group emerged into a small room. It was poorly lit, only a single torch glowed nearby, but Reinhardt could see a staircase leading down into darkness. A smile crossed his face as he felt intrigue spread in his mind. One of nearby guards caught his smile and replied with a wink; at least one of these men wasn’t worried about him trying to do anything stupid. It was Reinhardt who had wanted to go with them without any further fighting.

            Without an earth elementalist he wouldn’t be able to escape from this place on his own, nor would he have ever found it. Everyone started forward again, walking down the stairs into darkness. The small shifter drew a small piece of flame from the torch to give them light; she no longer seemed to care if Reinhardt was around either.

            They emerged into a large underground city. Reinhardt thought about it again and figured it was less of a city and more of a war camp. It was a marvelous sight regardless. At a quick guess there would have to be at least ten thousand people hidden beneath the hill, maybe more. To his surprise the air smelled clean and wasn’t heavy with foul odors that would be associated with most camps this size.

            Whoever crafted the idea of burying an encampment instead of risking it topside was a genius. Any enemy forces that happened upon the site would have no idea that beneath their feet stood an entire army. For the first time the group began to speak openly to each other, now unable to be heard or followed. As the group followed the staircase downward the camp grew louder.

            Finally taking their first steps onto the ground below, people stopped what they were doing to look at the group. Their eyes traced over everybody but stopped on Reinhardt. Best case scenario they assumed he was brought to question, hence the large group of soldiers, worst case he was a prisoner.

            “Sergeant, take your men back to the barracks and prep for the next patrol. We will be leaving in a few hours and have already lost too much time.” Reinhardt watched the small fire elementalist give directions to the rest of the group before they departed. After they were alone she turned her attention to him. Her dark eyes caught the light of a nearby lamp and reflected a soft shade of brown. She was a strangely beautiful woman, even if she was very small.

            “What now?” Reinhardt felt the coldness in his voice, but hadn’t intended it to come out that way. A few men nearby were still watching them quietly. Everywhere he looked he could see the signs different nations. This camp was built of people from almost every nation; it was strange to see someone from the deserts of Rornin speaking with one of the Wanve natives. Whoever brought this camp together would have been great in diplomacy.

            “I will bring you to see the council Briccio was affiliated with. If your story checks out they will decide what to do with you.” With that she turned and began walking into the camp. Eyes fell onto the pair when they walked by, clearly intrigued. It didn’t take Reinhardt long to figure out why. After having walked for almost ten minutes he hadn’t seen any Icileans. Their dark skin and broad features would have stood out against almost everyone except those from Rornin, even though the height difference would have been a clear distinction. Icilean stood on average a foot taller than the Rornin, Reinhardt more so.

            “What will this council want from me? I am only a farmer, I barely knew Briccio before he died.” Reinhardt didn’t care to explain that his being a mere ‘farmer’ led him to being whatever he currently was. He didn’t even know if he could consider himself an elementalist since he had no control of an element, only over those others controlled.

            “They will want to know about Donovan and why my entire unit was held up by a farmer, as you put it.” Her voice had a hint of distrust in it. He couldn’t blame her for it but it wouldn’t help if she put a negative spin on the whole event. Nearby a horse neighed and Reinhardt caught sight of a group of large breeds he had never seen before. This entire war camp managed to have horses underground with them and it didn’t smell like death? Now he was very intrigued.

            “I will not have much useful information for you woman.”

            “Stop calling me woman, my name is Roas.” Even her name was kind of cute. Where did that come from? It had only been a few months since his family had been killed, was he already willing to move on from that? Reinhardt noticed that Roas was looking at him; she had probably asked him a question while he was distracted.

            “Did you say something?” Reinhardt never thought of himself as the coy type, nor did he understand relationships very well. His wife had always warned him that he needed to work on his people skills if he wanted to become a better farmer.

            “What is your name?” Roas sounded agitated with having to repeat herself, which was another useful piece of information.

            “Reinhardt.”

            “Do you have a family name or were unable to buy one?” Reinhardt didn’t know a lot about Fatir but he did know that they were a culture driven heavily by slavery. Family names were only allowed, and affordable, to the wealthy. Slaves were not allowed to have a last name, nor were lower class citizens.

            “Icilee is not like Fatir Roas. The right to carry a family name isn’t restricted to the upper class.

            “So you are Icilean. We hadn’t figured out where you are from yet.” Reinhardt looked himself over and laughed a bit.

            “Is it surprising that I am Icilean?”

            “To you it is a clear fact. Maybe it is also clear to someone born and raised in Duzee, but from Fatir you could easily be a mix of Ental and Rornin. You’re darker skin and features would be from a Rornin parent, while your height could easily be from Ental.”

            “I hadn’t thought of that before, I have never traveled further than the outer cities of Duzee to sell crops.” Still walking through the war camp it was finally clear how large this place actually was. A group of children laughed as they ran past Roas, chasing a ball. If there were young kids here than there must have been women other than soldiers.

            “Why are you traveling so far out of your country now when you haven’t before?”

            “I had nothing left to offer Icilee.” They had left nothing for him. Killed everyone he had ever loved, and burned everything he owned.

            “You never answered me about your family name.”

            “I don’t use a family name any more. I gave it up when I lost my family.” Surprisingly Roas didn’t follow the statement with another question. She seemed to understand when to stop prying into someone’s background. That was a very useful trait. Turning a corner near a food stand Reinhardt met the eyes of nearly twenty armed soldiers, clearly waiting for him. In front of the group was a beautifully dressed woman. Her long blond hair was straight and hung free. Expensive silks flowed from her dress, leaving only the fine details out of her figure.

            “I have been sent by the council to bring you in for questioning regarding the death of Briccio Donovan.” The outer soldiers closed in around him, presumably to not let him escape. His tattered and dirty cloak stood in clear contrast to this woman’s beautiful clothes and style.

            Without a word he took a step forward towards the woman and found several spears being held in his direction. With a twitch of his arm the dragons tail flew free and stripped one of the spears closet to him away from its bearer. Every spear in the group was now lowered in his direction, but he didn’t care.

            “I was led to believe that I was not a prisoner here. Do not treat me as such. Why was I brought here?” Reinhardt didn’t know if he would be able to stand his ground against this many trained soldiers without someone using an element against him. He was gambling with an assumption he had made from meeting Roas. They wanted to know what happened but they were intrigued by him. Hopefully that was enough to get him a slightly better treatment.

            The woman raised her hand and lowered the spear of a nearby soldier and took a few delicate steps forward. “You are correct Reinhardt. We have no intention of holding you as an enemy. Our intentions are to create a bond with you, make you an ally. My guards are just protective of me and can sometimes become excited by a possible fight.”

            “You may want to find guards who aren’t ready to start a blood bath with every person you come to speak with.” The comment brought a smile to the woman’s lips. From this distance Reinhardt could see her blue eyes. They had a sense of intelligence to them that he wasn’t used to seeing.

            “Again you are correct. I may need to make a few changes to my personal guard, but that will have to wait. We have business to discuss and the rest of the council is waiting for us to arrive.”