A few hours after Tigris and Fini passed out, Clyde regained consciousness. He looked around and was quick to evaluate the situation. He was disappointed in himself for fainting so easily, but was relieved to see an unconscious Lestus laying there. He looked at Tigris and Fini's exhausted, sleeping bodies and decided to handle the rest himself. He correctly worked out that Tigris and Fini must have used crystals in a desperate attempt to defeat Lestus. 'Poison arrow, huh? Clever.' He thought to himself as he investigated Lestus's pale looking body. He knew he had to succeed on his first mission as a platoon leader, and he knew this platoon could be strong.
Due to the Albeite forest being such a dangerous place, the empire had trained messenger eagles to fly above trees to locate anyone in danger. All platoon leaders were given some special privileges and duties. One such privilege was to summon one of the well-trained eagles to relay a message to the castlegrounds in Meridus. Some higher-ranking platoon leaders were given their personal messenger eagles to take care of and use for fast message conveying.
The platoon leader grabbed a small piece of paper from his bag, and wrote a short report.
"On the 2nd hour of the 4th day of Augusta, 1387, mine, that is Clyde Robustus, platoon was attacked by a group of 10-15 bandits while camping in the Albeite forest. Unexpectedly, crime lord Sipione Lestus, who had recently escaped prison, seemed to be the leader of this group and knocked me unconscious. By usage of their skill and first use of their crystal, platoon members Fini Allise and Tigris Tanssen managed to defeat Lestus. No one was killed in the encounter. Requesting the general to send soldiers to arrest the bandits, as well as Lestus, who are tied to a large pine tree, 18km north west of the north western gate of Meridus. Glory to Magnar.
Signed by, Platoon Leader Clyde Robustus"
Clyde then whistled the appropriate call signal for the messenger eagle. A sharp looking eagle soon descended from the skies. He looked at the tag around its neck. 'Dela' the tag read. 'Hey there, Dela' Clyde spoke softly as he petted its head gently, and placed the piece of paper in a small compartment on its leg. 'General Hearty' Clyde ordered as the bird flew off into the distance.
Clyde went to the tents and found a jug of water to wake Tigris and Fini up. The sun rose behind Clyde as Tigris and Fini woke up. As soon as Tigris came back to his senses, he asked 'Where is he!?' Clyde pointed at the tree where Lestus was well tied up. Fini woke up right after and realized how close she was lying to Tigris and moved away. 'General Hearty is on his way here. We need to get going. Get ready.' Fini and Tigris thought about what happened a few hours ago. 'That was the most incredible thing I have done.' They both thought to themselves.
'That was a good call for using the crystals, but both of you overused the crystal and exhausted yourself. The crystals are supposed to bring out all of your strength in a short burst. If you don't use them responsibly, it can even be fatal.' Clyde gently scolded them. A brief sense of fear surrounded them.
They quickly packed up the cooking utensils and their weapons. Fini folded the tents and sleeping bags and filled up her canteen with water from a nearby spring. Tigris packed his own bag and helped clear the remains of the fire. Clyde just overlooked the activities of Tigris and Fini, as well as a map of the forest.
Clyde soon heard the screech of an eagle. He instantly knew it was Dela. He was expecting Dela to return with a message from the General, but not so quickly. Dela dived downwards as soon as it spotted Clyde. Unlike the last time they met a few hours ago, Dela forced Clyde to pet its head. Dela seemed to have taken quite a liking to Clyde. It spread out its wings and revealed the compartment on its leg. Clyde carefully opened it and saw a small slip of paper. It was from General Hearty.
"The event was not foreseen. I apologize for sending a new platoon on a potentially dangerous mission. I will be arriving in the specified location by the 12th hour of the 4th day of Augusta, 1387. Due to the envelope for General Ferrahn being urgent, your platoon is to move towards Port Aqmare when a red flare is visible around the 10th hour. If a black flare is seen, move towards the flare as it is a distress signal. Keep a small closed fire burning as an indication of your previous campsite. You are given the privilege of using this messenger eagle as a personal messenger till the end of this mission. Glory to Magnar.
Signed, Bortius Hearty, General."
Once Clyde finished reading the slip aloud to Tigris and Fini, he looked towards the sun to estimate the time. 'We should see a flare around now.' He advised Tigris and Fini as built a small fire to leave burning within a narrow rock boundary.
'Is that the red flare?' Fini said, looking in the South Eastern direction, towards Meridus. Tigris and Clyde turned their heads to see a bright red sparking flame in the distance. 'It seems to be two hours away.' It was time to get moving. Tigris took one last look at his first real battlefield. He saw helpless bandits and Lestus tied to a tree, passed out, before he continued walking with Clyde and Fini.