Eli POV
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Coming down the road onto the Base was an experience. When I left the warehouse this morning for my first assignment at the guild, I had been able to use my leap assisting armor this time. The rush of air on my face as I bounded several yards every step provided something almost like flying. Along the way, I made sure to store some pieces of bark in a knapsack on my side.
Of course, a lot of people saw me and it was pretty much a dead giveaway as to who made the crafts that nearly won the scion rounds, but the past few days had been a flurry of activity that would soon reveal this fact anyway. I might as well save myself from a long walk if there isn't going to be any point hiding it and enjoy the wind in my face. The helmet was tactically great, but my chain mail veil provided enough protection that I could take this risk wearing it. Although I will have to make the helmet more comfortable to make sure I can use it all the time, unlike now when I had to hold it.
Apparently, the records room had caught fire so there had been a flurry of secretaries and record keepers trying to fill out the lost files. They had even asked me where I could find any of the women that I had given child. When I replied that I had no children the woman looked at me like I was joking. But after some back and forth she was finally convinced and I was allowed to go about my work, which these days mostly consisted of secretly learning as many spells as I could. I doubted I would get any alone time after the big secret was revealed so I didn't want to try reading caster books disguised in crafter books once they started really harrassing me me. Which was going to be very soon.
Whoever was in charge had suddenly decided to enforce order again. The errant miscreants, aka the parents, were finally cracked down on. Shortly after, an announcement had gone out that the guild would release the official records of the trials crafting portion.
As I came onto the roads of the base I had to bring my elongated leaping down to a normal walk and stowed my helmet over the tube. I doubt anyone would appreciate me bounding on the roofs of their houses and I wasn't about to take the risk of slamming into a pile of sewage when I was leaping around the roads. After a few minutes, I finally came onto the Billboard.
This was the place where contracts were displayed or negotiated. It was a three-story building with a thick wooden frame and roof at about 60 feet wide and 90 feet long as it took up an entire block all to itself. It's windows and yellow paint were better maintained than the slums of the outer region but it lacked the stonework of the richer inner section of the Base. As I was coming up I saw a group with the pins of crafters. Among them, I saw my study group companions, Joey, John, and Wendy.
As I was going through the double front doors, Joey blocked my path. He had a smug expression and had folded his arms over his chest. As he pushed his glasses up I saw the raw disdain in his eyes but he kept his distance.
" What do you think you're doing?" He asked condescendingly.
"Going to start my first assignment, the one we all have to attend" I replied evenly.
"Get in the back of the line, freak." He snarled back.
I looked inside and saw several other students already in the building.
"What line?" I asked.
"Crafters come in once the announcements start. I doubt you had enough time to make anything good so let someone with a real chance make the first impression." He said like he was swatting away a fly.
Damn, I can't believe I never went into education when I had the opportunity to indulge in such stimulating conversation. Well, it's good he let me know that he's an asshole right off the start so I wouldn't waste any time on him. As I was preparing a retort that would no doubt scar him till his dying day, a commotion flared up in the building.
We all turned our heads and packed through into the main floor, official invitation be damned. The building had floorboards the color of sand and a long blackboard to the left with different papers attached to it advertising various contracts. This main entrance was a wide-open space with a wooden roof. To the immediate right was a long line of receptionists who were handling various reward distributions and helping various teams accept contracts and stamp out any minute details as they stood in attendance in their kiosks. Above these receptionists was a balcony with thick wooden railing with a rounded open entrance leading to what I assumed was a room.
While the far back had a staircase of dark oak leading to various rooms the main area was a large assortment of tables and chairs. But most people were gathered around the staircase as a man in a white shirt and brown pants with glasses, looking very much like an accountant, was reading out names and their corresponding number from a piece of paper. Coming up I saw that a lot of the people also had the pins of casters. Off to the left in a small trio was our academies three scions, with Jeff standing by Andrew.
They all still wore their trials combat uniforms, except for Veronica. She had a blue shirt with brown pants and a metal helmet. This, along with her chest piece and thigh guards, provided far more protection than her embellished robe from earlier. As the man was numbering people upwards he finally came to the name everyone was here for.
"And the first place, going to the victor in not only the crafter round but also the caster rounds. Who went on to go toe to toe with-"
"Hurry up, we're not getting any younger here!" Someone shouted in the crowd.
"All right! No appreciation for setting the mood here. The winner is Eli, No last name." He said as he slammed the paper into his pocket and stomped off up the steps. But everyone's eye looked around until they saw me. Even those who didn't know who the name belonged too would follow their companions gaze until they saw me. There was a collective intake of breath and then everyone rushed forward. But the din of questions and accusations was culled before it could even begin as a man in leather armor with black hair and lamb chops interrupted the stampede. He gave the railing a loud pound on the second-floor balcony above the receptionists' kiosks. It was the guild master if I remembered correctly.
"All right I'm sure your all eager to get in his pants, but this is a guild building and guild business takes priority. Right now there are shipments that are badly needed both here and elsewhere. You'll have a few experienced minders on this mission to help you deliver goods to the Bulwark but outside of life or death situations, they will render no aid to you on the way back. This will be your first real taste of life out here and in the guild should you choose to stay. Be on your guard and good luck." He said, waving the onlookers goodbye causing his assortment of wands to jingle as he headed back into the adjoining room.
A large man with a metal shoulder guard over his bare chest motioned for us to come from the entrance that we just came through. His face was obscured by a metal helmet. We all moved through but a man with short brown hair elbowed me out of the way. He had high cheekbones and green eyes. The sharp cheekbones only served to accentuate his long nose and shorter ears.
"Know your place." He growled to me, but I just gave him a blank look and kept walking.
Coming outside I saw several carriages each with two horses. Beside them was a guild member each dressed in varying assortments of weapons and armors. On top of each carriage was a large number of tents and foodstuffs. They also had a large trunk in the back, which had been secured with iron chains and a small metal disk which I knew to be the equivalent of a lock.
"This is going to be a good long trip so pick your minder and let's get on with it." The large man said. I could see his brown wool pants and large sword on his back now as he made his way to the front carriage.
Most of the students immediately went towards the men in big shining metal armor or the women whose robes seemed to have a shimmer of magic about them. I immediately went towards the oldest person of the lot I could find. It turned out to be a woman of about early forties. She had a blow dart tube and a blue robe so dark it was almost black with a wool headcover. On the various parts of her chest and arms were a scattered assortment of wood or bone that I would have mistaken for knick-knacks if not for my magical knowledge.
"Oh why would you want to hitch a ride with me?" She asked, her brown eyes peering out of the headdress. I could make out the sharp eyebrows and small button nose inside but her eyebrows were obscured by the headcover
"When a lifestyle involves risk or death, it is the older people of the pack who are the most dangerous," I said as I made my way into the carriage.
"Seasoned, pup, the term is seasoned." She said, but I could tell from her eyes that she approved.
Eventually, everyone found their carriage and the people who had to pick what they considered the leftovers of the choices came in. My companions for this trip were John, the sharp-nosed guy earlier, and a third caster who could use fire. The sharp-nosed guy had a wind pin on his outfit.
John was equipped with a simple iron cap for armor with a shield and mace for weapons. The rest of his attire he stuck to his regular student robes. The leather straps on the shield showed he had put some of his personal work into it. The sharp-nosed man wore what looked like a blue cotton jerkin with tan pants that had a dagger sheathed at his hip while our other companion stuck to a plate armor setup with a sword on his hip. The blond man had his helmet in his lap, his handsome face with his strong jaw accentuated his brown eyes.
"All right kiddos we are heading towards the Bulwark. The largest fortress in the whole of the Coalition. From there we will guard some shipments of medicine, food, weapons and blacksmith tools. On the trip there we are helping deliver a few magical resources to them. My name is Shelby". The older woman said.
"I'm John"
"I'm Desmond" said the blond man.
"I'm Raymond." said the water mage.
"I'm-"
"Yeah, Yeah. We all know who you are. So what dirty tricks did you use to get ahead?" Raymond said, his contempt palpable in face and tone as he looked at me.
"Whoa, before we start this love fest lets get the chain of command clear. I will be leading this team on the way there. Learn all you can and then on the return trip you will have to decide on a leader amongst yourselves." Shelby said as the carriage jolted forward.
Along the way, we stopped for meals and washing. The hills never went away but they at least smoothed out to gradual slopes. As we ventured, Shelby gave us advice on local wildlife, what positions to use when confronting an attacking force while the carriage was either moving or stationary, or the best places to call camp. I had found it all very fascinating in a watching someone reenact the making of the wheel for the first time, kind of way. It felt like I had been brought back to the near-forgotten ages of antiquity. She also gave us an interesting tidbit.
"There used to be good work in fighting the orcs out further east. But now it's more of a chore than anything else" Shelby said wistfully.
"Why was that?" I asked
"The government used to offer rewards for goblin ears, but eventually they shut down the program. No idea why but they offered enough to make it a good money maker." She said ruefully.
Unfortunately, this excursion also came with a lot of dangers as well. One would think the wildlife would present the most challenge or at least the terrain. But for me, the danger seemed to be mostly from my fellow traveling companions.
I had thought that Raymond would have been the most hostile but after observing them for the past few days I realized that he was just the most honest of the group. Desmond gripped his sword whenever I was near and his distance was intentional whenever I needed help setting up camp even when no other work needed doing.
The worst was John. He never helped me or took his hand off his weapon when I was around. I had thought it some passing jealousy for my success but then I noticed something when we tucked into sleep on the first night.
When we set up our tent that night he had finished last and looked disappointed when I put my tent by the minders. The next day he suggested we put up our tents in a field with large boulders away from the other camps. Doing this, he argued, would help keep us concealed from ambush but his suggestion was rejected by the minder.
I had dismissed it as a bad idea and thought nothing more of it until we made camp. As we were setting up our tents I noticed that he had intentionally put his tent in a spot that would block the minders' view of me from her tent. At this moment I recalled the scene of the orc dying in the last round of the crafters' trials and his tears as the hammer, my hammer, crushed her skull. His lovers' skull.
Yes, a boulder field would be good for concealment. His concealment. I quickly offered some excuse about finding a sharp rock and set up my tent right by the minders.
When we finally arrived I noticed that the fortress had two large walls resting on the mountains that were spaced apart as they formed a corridor. These wings of grey stone then came down to rest against a giant box of stone. Each brick was the size of a man and probably had an individual weight in the tons. I estimated the walls to be near 130 feet tall with a parapet on the top. On each corner of this box rose a tall tower of grey stone with their roofs being replaced with the long tubes of metal that had replaced this world's catapults.
We came through a large gate and into the main offloading area. The center was just a large circle for wagons to offload. The surrounding buildings were just one large continuous expanse of rings, their grey stones acting almost like a series of inner walls. The grey stone and hardy construction with minimal woodwork seemed to further this purpose in their construction.
Once the trunks were offloaded we were then loaded up with various goods and crates where we had stored the trunks and in the spaces where we stored the food we had eaten on the way here. It was then that Shelby took us all aside as the laborers loaded down our carriages.
"All right, here is where the real work for you pups starts. From now on unless it will endanger the cargo or lead to your deaths, I won't advise or help you. Good luck." Shelby said before turning around and making her way to the carriage.
"I am obviously the leader of this group. So the first thing-" Raymond said but Desmond didn't agree with his royal proclamation.
"Whoa, since when was that a damn fact?" The blond man said.
"Whatever we do, I have some bark pieces that-" I started.
"Silence crafter!" The two casters almost yelled, drawing gazes from several passersby. John, that fatso with a mole on his cheek, also looked at me. His face smirking and obviously enjoying the sight of me getting verbally dragged.
So much for uniting against a common enemy.
I just left for the carriage and decided to let the two idiots slug it out between themselves. I saw the other groups arguing as well. The only groups working smoothly right now were the ones with the three scions and Jeff. They had no arguments as the other instinctively looked to them for leadership.
As I settled in Shelby gave me a questioning look but said nothing. I figured this was a good time for some information gathering.
"So what is the point of this fortress? Won't attackers be able to go around the mountains?" I asked Shelby.
"Ah well, the dwarves in this region raised these mountains as a sort of passage through this territory for outsiders. The Coalition and the Phoenix empire have been going at it for as long as I can remember and since the dwarves are in the middle they just decided to make a nice little corridor for us to slug it out and trade-in. I guess they got tired of us trying to sneak through their territory and having to negotiate prisoner releases. The rules nowadays are if you're found on their turf you're killed on the spot since the corridor invalidates any legitimate excuse to be there." She said.
That would explain a few things but not everything.
"Are the Orcs and Frojan so formidable that people would prefer going through such a meat grinder?" I asked.
"Aye lad, the Phoenix empire marched an entire army on a town called Latra. One of their commanders decided to try his luck in that wet wasteland. They burned the place to the ground but the costs to get there and leave through the swamps were so high that they never tried such a massive operation again.
Although, the Dwarf Beards Drip, named for all the rivers that flow underneath its passage, is not all that bad. We managed to get a nice defensible position set up a long time ago called the Stopgap and it's manned by our top soldiers. So it's actually peaceful in the first several miles." She said looking off into the distance.
I heard a scuffle break out but I wasn't in the mood to try and smooth things over. Spending the past few nights trying to dodge being murdered and treated like trash had dampened my team spirit. Eventually they all came in, with John seemingly getting the worst of it. His face was swollen and he had a bloodied lip while the other had bruises and cuts about there faces and hands.
After a few seconds, the all-clear was given and we headed off. As we made our way towards the Base in utter silence I decided to make use of this time to decide which industries I would go for first. I had enough experience to start doing basic binary computing if I could get the materials. Quantum computing required a lot more finesse and tools that had some pretty involved and exotic concepts.
But the local populace thought of everything not immediately obvious as some form of magic. It would have to be something that could be easily explained while also being interesting enough to catch their attention. Which could then be the beachhead into technological thinking. Maybe an electric car or train?
This time around we had decided to just follow the lead of the carriages at the front of the caravan when they decided to make camp on the less forested side of the road a good hour before nightfall. Of course, I made sure I was in plain view of the minder when I started to pitch my tent. But then I saw several of the carriages keep going until they reached a more forested area about 10 yards away from our empty grass clearing. There was no chain of command outside of the individual groups so everyone just shrugged and got on with their business.
In the middle of the night, I heard some screaming. I almost squeezed on my staff to set off the mines I laid around me but I was quick enough to realize the scream was coming from the other camp near the forest. I quickly dawned my helmet and tube then dashed out of the tent onto a larger boulder to survey the area. As I did this I used my water glove to put a thick ring of water around me to stop any arrows as I took in the situation.
The forest camp was on fire in the outer ring of tents and I saw some figures lying on the ground and others among the tents fighting. In the pale starlight, I saw a group of men sneaking up the road towards our camp with various weapons drawn. But from this distance, I could see who we were fighting.
Bandits in patched leather armor carrying an assortment of weapons. Their face wild with lust, based in both sex and blood, as they leered at the female students they would soon descend upon.