This was it, the party members could either go with him or go off on their own.
He knew that they had lives here so only a few of them would actually join him on his journey.
Vannifar was committed to the church while Hawk had a woman. The group gave their farewells.
Those that remained, Malik and Rokhan, would join their captain on a journey. A journey to the northern region of the continent.
Their captain, Matthew Khan, had a few reasons as to why he wanted to go for the north. The main one is to meet Mag, while the puppet master is still in his 50s the kingdom forced him to retire. Giving him a special role of special instructor, where he teaches young puppeteers.
Matthew extended his offer to the soldiers who served under him during the defense of fort Nikaos. Those with no commitments holding them back
At the end of it the party gained 10 new members. Four of which are puppeteers, 2 are sorcerers and the remaining four are melee combatants from Rokhan's group. While all of them are only at the D-Class in terms of skill-level they are reliable helpers that have proven themselves in the war.
Some have nothing to lose, while others were seeking glory as a part of a named party.
A three-week, almost month long journey to the north.
A horse drawn carriage with two caravans following it. The party moved with the trio leading the pack. Rokhan serves as the pace maker, managing the horses while Malik set a radar-like spell around their party. Warning them of any dangers that might come their way.
Matthew stays on top of the carriage, using two Knight puppets to keep a sort of defensive area around their group.
The caravans behind them each have a clone of Rokhan, ready to provide aide should a fight arise.
The caravan at the back has two melee combatants along with two puppeteers and a sorcerer. The same can be said for the one in the middle.
The more experienced ones are given the rear due to their talents, while the party in the middle is the most protected. Though in case of danger, they were all confident in their abilities.
"Captain, dusk will soon arrive. I suggest setting up camp by that river." Rokhan saw the clearing and decided that it seemed like a good place to set up camp.
"All right then, we will set up camp here for tonight, Alpha Squad scout the area. Beta Squad you are assigned with cooking tonight's dinner."
Alpha squad is the group that guards the rear, while Beta squad is the group that is in the middle. He didn't really care about assigning better names for their groups due to the fact that he had other things to worry about.
Everyone finished their assigned tasks as the sun began to set. Dinner is beef stew with a side of mashed potatoes. A barrel of rum was taken out of the second caravan, along with a barrel filled with drinking water.
The groups talked among themselves, Matthew didn't join the discussions and simply read through his books. His books mainly consisted of puppeteering tutorials or ones involving puppet making.
As dinner ended, new orders were sent out.
"Groups of two, the first coming from Beta squad will be assigned with guard duty. 3 hour shifts, you can make up for the lack of sleep in the morning.
Ring the bells, scream. I don't care how you convey it. If danger is here then wake us up immediately. "
They were set to not encounter another town for at least a week so this kind of life is what they'd need to deal with for a while.
Thankfully, their first night is a peaceful one. Aside from the random wolf chased off by the ones on duty, most of everyone got enough rest.
Their first adversaries on the journey would arrive on the second day, when a group of orcs decided to test their luck.
To the C - Class, Orcs were below their pay grade. Which is why they demolished their opponents without even breaking a sweat.
To those in D - Class these were opponents that they were used to. But it didn't mean that they would have an overwhelming advantage, which is why this is their chance to prove themselves.
Each of the two groups had a clone of Rokhan who cleaved through their opponents with ease. By the captain's jurisdiction these clones hold more authority than any of them, which meant that they cant order the clones around.
But this didn't mean that each group cannot have a leader. No leaders were assigned so those with the capacity to lead took charge during times of battle.
For Alpha Squad, the leader is a swordsman with great vision.
"Sorc! Bring them hell, I'll take the west! Puppet boys take the east! Bill you're the guard, protect the casters!"
32-year-old Nathaniel Gomez, a swordsman. As a long-time veteran in the war he seeks glory in the face of battle. The opportunity to serve under a talent like the Virtuoso did not present itself often.
In the grand scheme of things, he is a mere soldier with a bit of a talent for leadership.
The others followed his lead, he took it upon himself to learn his squad's strengths and weaknesses the night prior, asking them what they excelled at. This group chose to let their clone of Rokhan do whatever he wants, while they functioned as an independent squad.
They opted to function in this manner due to their experience as soldiers. Fighting in a group is the same as breathing for these people.
"Sorc, focus on delaying! I can keep them off of you. The puppeteers should be running out of mana, rotate. Give them time to meditate, Bill go take the east!"
Bill the warrior took his mace and shield combo to the east, trading blows and blocking strikes from the group of orcs headed his way.
The veterans in the Alpha squad can be compared to a group of adventurers that have enough experience to not be underestimated.
Matthew watched from the top of the caravan as Rokhan and Malik cleared their side of the attack. He kept tabs of the other groups, the chess set puppets he had simply made it easy to demolish their foes.
Beta squad, on the other hand, seemed to have leaned in on their clone. Their mage provided Rokhan's clone with supporting fire on the east while the western side is managed by all four of the remaining members.
A blond man in his late-twenties who wields a set of daggers and a spearman who wields a round shield and a spear. These two served as their main vanguard as the two puppeteers each used spell-casting type puppets. Notably one of them used a Screecher puppet while the other used the twin set of the "Seasons" collection. Using both of the salamander types, Fire for Summer and Ice for Winter.
They made sloppy calls with one another. Most of them are in their early twenties, with the blond rogue appearing to be the oldest. The one with the bright idea of using this kind of formation is their spellcaster. D - Class Sorceress Danica.
After finishing their side of the horde, Matthew waited 10 more minutes to see what the two squads could do. They interfered half-way through but the squads proved themselves that day.
With no fatal wounds harbored and a tired group, they rested early that day. The Virtuoso looked forward to the goal at the end of their journey, uncaring of the small celebration that the two squads had.
On a road, a few days of travel away from their current location, a caravan defended by mercenaries can be seen being raided. Screams of the merchants inside could be heard as the bandits with a blue bandana on their heads laughed at their pain.
"You should've just paid the toll retards" a large man with an axe decapitated the merchant.