Melody of Mana

The approaching cavalry were still well off, but would be here in no more than a few minutes. The knights perked up and readied, but none moved to attack, instead falling back into one of many standard defensive formations. Because o the angle of approach I'd only the slightest of ideas as to their size.

One of the knights, an older gnarled looking man rode up beside the carriage I was on, looking over us. I knew he was nominally in charge, and his name was Ernest, Sergeant Earnest to his men. We hadn't talked more than a few niceties though, as he seemed a more businesslike type than I was. If anything I got the feeling that he looked down on the less-than-rigid discipline that casters like myself who weren't in the military arm were held to.

"You haven't retreated to your carriage miss," he observed as he approached.

"None of your men are acting as if this is an emergency, should I be?" While his form of address had been polite, something about his tone indicated that he was surprised that I was not yet hiding, and that rather ticked me off.

"Most would've, but for the moment I doubt they're a threat. If you have some kind of shield you might want to put that up."

"Already done Sergeant." We stared at each other for a few moments, neither backing down.

"My estimate is just over a hundred and fifty riders. Now, if Westwood has decided to try and take us, they might have enough casters and knights to do some damage. More than likely though there aren't many if any in this unit, if that's so my men and I can cut them down like grass before a scythe." He took a quick look at Rost's face and amended, "If they attack first of course."

"If things go bad do you want me to attack?" I asked.

He considered for a few moments. "If there's an opening on one of their magic users and you get a good shot, but it might be better to save mana for injured men and animals if it goes south. Do you have any decent combat magic?"

"A bit," I answered, more than a bit cross about being questioned.

"I'll leave the decision to you then." He squinted, "Soldiers, not bandits, they've got uniforms on, local ones."

I was a bit irked that this man was so dismissive of me taking part. I'd fought monsters and men, and survived. Did he know that though? Or did he just think I was some little rich girl being sent on an administrative job. It was often hard to tell, since everything was need-to-know and nobody was supposed to speak about it. So there was no way to know if he was just a patronizing jerk, or very unaware of what I'd done.

As the column of men approaching spread out it started to matter less. We'd only seen a few travelers on our march, and all that were nearby had booked it. My guess was that they knew that this could be bad and had smartly wanted nothing to do with it.

Unlike our standard black these men wore a mix of dark red and gold, in a sort of checkered pattern. I was glad that they were widening their lines, as it gave me a chance to look them over. With a small hum I made a light voice appear just over the sergeant's shoulder.

"Two magic users, the leader and the man three to his right," it whispered to him, drawing a chuckle in response.

The two I spotted were both dressed as knights, not that that meant anything. The former was clearly the most important of the men here, with a pressed uniform, more armor, and fancier helmet. While it was impossible to tell exactly how strong he was, suppressing your aura was standard military practice when first meeting, I got the feeling he wasn't that strong. The latter was different, he was dressed as any other of these outriders, save that he was about a head taller than any other.

While the soldiers were clearly stressed a bit, everyone was still holding in place. It took a few moments for the newcomers to look over our banners and process the groups approaching their city.

Their leader eventually strode forth looking at us suspiciously. "Greetings, who is in charge of this caravan?" He inquired.

I exchanged looks with the sergeant, only to get a smile and slight nod towards myself. Since this was supposed to be a diplomatic trip, I was the best to take on that particular role.

"That would be me. Is there a reason you brought so many soldiers out to meet us?" i inquired.

"Ah, we received a report of a heavily armed caravan flying the colors of another state, so we came to investigate," he said with a slight smile.

"Were you not informed of our passage beforehand? Messengers and approvals were sent of course," I said, trying to sound as air-headed as possible.

His smirk was annoying, as was the manner in which they were delaying us, trying to show some kind of power against our empire, which could, and probably would crush them in coming years. For now though I needed him to underestimate me, in case things went wrong. I could already sense Rost's irritation. They'd agreed to let us pass with him, so this was just a nuisance, one that could in some circumstances lead to needless conflict., something his order was never altogether happy with.

"I can't remember such a thing, perhaps the paperwork was lost somewhere. If you would be so kind as to come with us back to the city, I'm sure we can find everything we need." He kept up in that same manner, poking and prodding.

"We were headed to the city anyway, it should be no issue for us to travel together," I said as I tapped my chin, pretending to think about it.

"Of course, of course, and if you could surrender your weapons..."

"No," I cut him off before he could continue. "I'm afraid that isn't possible."

"Unfortunately we cannot allow a force of armed men into our lands like this you understand. While I do not doubt your pure intentions," he offered in a way that made my skin crawl ever so slightly. "I must insist, and we will use force if needed."

I spent several moments pondering just how funny his face would be when he realized that the small unit of soldiers with me were all magic users and that I was a competent battlemage. Against a normal group he probably would have succeeded, perhaps even going so far as to try and keep several of us as hostages. Sadly it was not to be.

"I would advise against that," Rost interjected.

"And you are?" The soldier asked, clearly unhappy with the interruption.

"Rost, priest of The Shield," he said loud enough for the nearby soldiers to hear, while revealing the medallion that he wore. That cooled everyone, most people didn't want to cross a caster, and most casters didn't want to cross a priest.

"The... orders are neutral though. You're not implying that you would fight with these trespassers?" Even as he said it I could see the flinch, he'd not been expecting this particular escort.

"No, not unless my person or carriage were directly threatened. I would however be required to report your actions to my order. Attacking diplomats is considered a rather inappropriate move is it not? Particularly those who've gone so far as to swear non-aggression." Rost gave him an almost concerned look. "That would be horrible wouldn't it?"

The man was completely thrown off. "Perhaps it would be best if I sent a messenger to confirm then..."

"Oh, that would be lovely," I agreed.

He did, one of his men on departed at speed, like it wouldn't be hours before he returned. It would take our carts hours to make that trip, and while surely he'd be quicker as a lone rider, it would still be a long outing.

We gathered for a small lunch, which I happily invited Earnest to join me for. It disgusted me to do so, but when he seemed to hesitate I pouted. That seemed to deliver the message.

"I don't know what he's up to, but I don't like it," I said after putting a privacy barrier up.

"Agreed, I suppose that's the reason for the 'dumb girl' act?" The soldier mused.

"Yup, not sure what his plan is, but I want no part of it. I'd appreciate it if you played along, feel free to act irritated about it though."

He scoffed, "Alright lass, but be careful."

"No worries there,"

It took the better part of the day for the messenger to return, and then for us to make our way towards Westwood. Their soldiers, even after the confirmation still formed a column around us, because 'they were heading back anyway' and 'for our own protection' and other platitudes. The leader of their little group did eventually introduce himself as Morian though, once all the niceties were finally exchanged.

"Again my apologies for the misunderstanding. Could I perhaps suggest an inn for you and your people? We have quite a few nice ones," he said after our party had finally reached the gate.

Westwood was... quaint. It was a middling sized city, with strong walls and geography I was guessing had really helped it maintain its independence. While it didn't look trashy, I sincerely doubted that they had more than one or two inns of any real quality.

"Oh, no, sorry. We'll just send a few of our porters to refresh supplies and then head on. I wouldn't want to bother any of your people, and we are a bit behind schedule." I was lucky I had a smile on anyway, because I came really close to laughing at the face he made.

The message must have been clear enough, because the few that were sent in returned at an almost unbelievable speed. Not stopping for the night, particularly this late in the afternoon was odd. This was one of the larger cities in the area, and would normally be considered safe, as well as a good place for the men to relax before going back to work. Through my instructions though we didn't even take the caravan into the city proper.

"You not worried about my men being unhappy skipping the city?" The sergeant asked after we'd left.

"Would they be more unhappy when he found some reason to try something within it?" I retorted.

The old warrior lifted one lip in a crooked smile. "Won't have good beds nor anyone to warm them out here. Won't be easy to split up either though, eh?"

"Exactly."

Morian

Moran cursed and kicked the wall. Every city of note had factions vying for control, and his was no different. Westwood for all its glory was still only one city, but this had been an opportunity. A message passed through from outside to one of their leaders, its source unknown to him. They were to try and detain this passing caravan, easily achieved without the priest's untimely intervention. If that failed, searching them would be the next best thing, but they'd not even entered the city. He'd barely even managed to delay them for a few hours.

There were other ways though, and other connections. At the very least that girl had been some kind of noble. If he managed to capture her and trump up some kind of charges she could be sold back to her family for a hefty sum. With her attitude she'd be easy to keep locked up for awhile.

"Still mad boss?" his second asked, the large man didn't look it but he was sharper than most.

"They got away," Morian responded.

"Aye, and that girl was right cute eh?"

"She's a noble my friend. If anything untoward were to happen to her her family would likely go to war. Keep that in mind."

"Yeah, not sure that'd be good, but we still want them right?" The giant inquired.

"We do, can I leave it to you and some of the men?"

"No problem boss, no problem at all."