A young man sat before a decorated wooden desk, furiously scratching his short blonde hair. His clothing was clean and sharp- a deep blue overcoat adorned with a smooth golden crest in the shape of a hawk. The man's complexion was a stark contrast to his well-maintained military uniform.
His hands trembled as he reread the letter for the fifth time.
"Eighty-six fatalities… and they didn't even wipe out the villagers?!? I'm so screwed. Even if no one finds out about what I did… I'm still screwed."
Make sure none of the villagers escaped alive.
That was the mission Luke had been given.
It was the same mission given to all of his peers as well- wipe out six villages deep in the woods to the north.
Any traders who had interacted with the villagers would also be quietly disposed of by other soldiers.
No details had been given- they were expected to follow the orders, without asking any questions.
"Damnit! Why did I have to pull this shit on my first mission? 'It'll be a great merit if I improve this formation' 'I'll probably get a promotion and pass up the others' Idiot!!!!"
Luke's gaze fell back down to his desk.
'Well, I'm guessing Nick and the others probably succeeded. That asshole is pretty annoying, always bragging about his fiancée… but he isn't stupid enough to pull something like what I tried.
Luke looked back in the letter between his palms, knowing that his chances of living to tomorrow were slim.
Footsteps echoed out from behind the door, causing Luke's hands to clench up.
'They already know. There must be officials here to arrest me right now-"
The door burst open, revealing the haggard face of Nick.
"Luke! Please, brother, take care of Amber for me!"
"... huh?"
Tears flowed down Nick's face as he held up a letter- his own battle report.
"My men failed! They were nearly completely wiped out! Luke, buddy, I need you to take care of Amber… I think this might be the end for me."
Luke's eye twitched.
This dude failed too?!
"Please buddy, you're the only one I can ask for help! All the others failed too- well, Tori's soldiers never reported back, so we think they probably were wiped out, but-"
"What?!?"
"I know, right? How can they turn over responsibility for such an impossible mission to us newbies? Clearly, having 100 soldiers for each village was nowhere near enough! We would've needed double those numbers!"
Luke's eye twitched once more. Given the number of able-bodied villagers in each village, there was no way their men should've lost. Heck, it would've made more sense if their men returned with no casualties! On the positive side... If the others failed as well, less suspicion would fall on Luke.
Furthermore, all of the others should've had an opportunity to launch a sneak attack, unlike Luke's men.
"Everyone's reports said that our soldiers were ambushed! My group lost more than half of our men, and Sam's was nearly wiped out entirely!"
'Shit. Those villagers had summoned animals… summoned birds too. They probably spread word of the attack before the others attacked! If anyone finds out what I did, I'm definitely screwed!'
"Uuh, yea I wonder how they knew our men were coming. Must've seen our men coming or something… yea. Also, my men failed too."
Nick's head drooped further, the last glimmer of hope leaving his eyes. Thoughts of his fiancée surfaced in his mind… her smile as they looked over the river, her cheerful laughter as they ate breakfast together… and her intense love of fondant potatoes, found only in Easthill.
'Yea, if she has to pick… she will definitely pick those damn potatoes over me.'
Luke cleared his throat, feeling a bit better about himself as he looked at Nick.
"Well, the best we can hope for is being kicked out of the military, and worse is execution. Assuming the first, it shouldn't be too difficult for educated folks like us to find decent jobs-"
"Let's form a relic team."
"... huh? What are you on, bro? Don't you have a fiancée? Why would you want to run around looking for old legacies?"
Nick wiped away his tears, a determined expression taking over his face.
"We probably won't be very welcomed here in Easthill after this, and there isn't the slightest chance in hell that Amber will leave this city. If we've already got to give up everything we've worked for so far and start over in a new city… why not go on some adventures?"
Relic hunting.
In the past thousand years, wars have raged across all of Suvia. As such, countless rulers have risen and fallen over the years. A common practice across the world was to create tombs for the dead. Most often, they were small graves with nothing of value. Most legacies are passed down through families, so raiding a common person's grave would be a waste of time and effort.
That said, finding the tomb of anyone with a bit of wealth could be a great boon. Most people are buried with a number of their personal possessions, oftentimes including jewelry and powerful legacies.
Digging up these treasures wasn't seen as taboo, and the people who made a career out of it were even given a title.
Relic hunters- people who ventured into the tombs of great people of the past, all with the goal of making a profit.
The people working in the field often stared death in the face and made it away with their lives, avoiding traps set up in the tombs of ancient figures.
They were also great candidates to hire as mercenaries or guards- most relic hunters had at least some experience fighting, so even when they weren't out looking for tombs, a team with a solid reputation wouldn't have much trouble finding work.
'If we go out adventuring as a relic team, it will be a lot harder for Easthill to track me down, in the event that they find out I'm the reason our mission failed. This might be the best option if I want to hold on to my life.'
"Alright. Let's form a team, and head west! I've heard that there are some tombs no one has been able to explore yet over there, so let's go try our hand at them!"