14
Ace and the group had passed the border wall separating the wilderness and Necron, they found themselves in the middle of a small army as the gate closed behind them.
It was an outpost stationed on the other side of the wall, soldiers patrolled in groups of ten and stopped as soon as Ace and his group made an appearance.
It gave chills down Ace's spine to see so many fully armed soldiers right in front of him, he reached for the spear on his back on instinct and the other trainees went for their weapons as well. Joshua saw the trainees reaction and cold sweat ran over him, he smacked the kid nearest him across the face and yelled in fright.
"put down your weapons stupid fools, are you trying to get us all killed!? If I see a single weapon raised I'll kill you myself"
Joshua's outburst brought the trainees back to their senses, and they felt the tension they had brought in the soldiers around them. They quickly put away their weapons and looked nervously at Joshua, who was terrified at that moment.
Luckily the tension stopped as laughter erupted amongst the Necronian soldiers, and a man clad in not only leather but plated steel walked forward with a smile on his face.
"worry not tribal commander you are safe, this is not the first time trainees has been frightened by the outpost. But a second time Will still be seen as an aggression, so be careful from now on"
The last bit came out a little harsh and the man's smile had disappeared.
"Let me introduce myself I am the captain of this outpost Morn, it is custom to send a guide with you through this foreign land, in the form of two soldiers. We do this so that you don't get lost, and to remind you all of the rules of this country that is much different from the wilderness"
Morn snapped his fingers and two soldiers walked up and stood on each side of him, they were both very young and one of them seemed only a couple of years older than ace.
"these two fine gentlemen will accompany you to Necron, and help you along the way finding a place to sleep, so you wont have to sleep on the ground the entire way there. I don't know what you are all used to back in the jungle, but in Necron we prefer to sleep in a bed hahah"
Hearing the captain talking so much made Joshua feel uncomfortable, he wasn't used to dealing with the social interactions that followed when going to Necron, since that was the commanders job. He was honestly afraid to offend someone, or break a rule by accident.
Instead he just nodded and looked at the two soldiers in relief, he was grateful for not having to figure out both rules and destination by himself.
The two soldiers on the other hand looked very nervous, having the leader of the tribesmen just starring and smiling at them made them very uncomfortable. Even though they both knew that the tribesmen obeyed the rules, it was still savages who lived only to hunt and kill.
But they had been given this order as a sign of faith from the captain, and they had to complete it to prove their capabilities.
Morn left the spot and resumed ordering his soldiers around as he had been doing before the gate opened, no longer paying the tribesmen any attention.
Joshua relaxed his shoulders as the captain left, he looked over the two soldiers and realized how inexperienced they were. he wanted to get a move on as quick as possible and signaled his group to follow him, then he waved the soldiers over to walk beside him so they could guide them.
"what is your names, soldiers of Necron? I am Joshua, a captain of the cloud weaving tribe"
The two soldiers looked at each other, the one on the left was smaller and no more than sixteen,
he looked pleadingly at his friend. The other soldier was a couple of years older and much more confident, he looked at his scared colleague with dissapointment and then answered Joshua.
"my name is Ray and this is Rik" He said while laying an arm around Rik to comfort him.
"we will be honored to accompany you fine gentlemen on your journey to the capital, I suggest we go for the nearest tavern so we all can get some sleep?"
The moment Ray suggested resting there was a shiver through the entire group, and exhaustion fell over the faces of every trainee. The tough and dangerous warriors of the wild that had frightened Ray before became tired kids from a single word.
Even Joshua felt his body grow weary the moment he heard the word sleep, and he marched forward in quick pace with the two soldiers by his side. Ace was too curious of the strange world he had suddenly entered to feel tired, and he was eagerly looking at the patrolling soldiers, as well as the buildings like it was all an incredible dream.
Outside the outpost was a road made of stone that spread out beyond what Ace could see, and it never seemed to end no matter how long they walked. It baffled Ace as well as many of the other trainees, they had seen roads before, but never as long and surely not as well made.
There was no trees in the middle or boulders they had to move around, it was all flat and even with signs hanging every time the path divided. They had been walking for hours on the never-ending road and once again did the path divide, Ace was starting to think they might never get there when Ray raised his hand, and the group stopped abruptly at the crossroad.
"twenty minutes of walking in that direction we will be at Green grove, it's a village with a tavern and I suggest we stay there for the night. Tomorrow we will get a transport for the capital"
Joshua frowned
"this is all good and well, but why did you stop us? Why not just continue on to Green grove or whatever and sleep?"
Ray knew this question was coming and nodded in agreement
"I know what you mean, but first I have to go over the rules of the kingdom. These places have a lot of people looking for a fight or just looking for trouble, but that doesn't mean they are looking for a quick death. So I think now is a good time to explain what is ok, and what is not"
Ray looked around to see if he still had their attention and as he expected he didn't, all the trainees had started to talk amongst each other like he wasn't even there. He was older but also weaker in appearance than many of the trainees even with the age gap, and he felt getting their respect, next to impossible.
Joshua didn't have the patience for child's games and when he saw the kids ignoring Ray, he got furious.
"listen to the man, Or I will beat you all up and have you sleep outside with the animals!"
That got their attention very fast and every trainee starred at Ray with full concentration.
"Alright the rules are, no killing of any kind or reason unless it is in self-defense. No assaulting people, and no stealing. There are more of course but these are the most important for you all"
The trainees all nodded, and ray was sure none of them had heard a word he said, Joshua looked proudly when he saw the attentive trainees and Ray suddenly became very nervous about going to the tavern.
"just please don't let them kill someone…" Said Ray to himself, he could feel wrinkles on his forehead, and he had barely been with the tribesmen for a day.