Still injured and walking with a bit of a limp, Silverbell woke his men shortly after dawn, hurrying the soldiers to complete the trek out of the neutral zone and into the safety of the Fallavrok border. Yawning sleepily, Oakina rolled over in her cot within her purple tent, before nearly having a heart attack at finding Razaranje laying there on his back next to her, his eyes closed. Thinking back to the night before, the priestess recalled everyone retiring to get a bit of shuteye after she'd healed the injured to the best of her ability, where she'd been so exhausted that the young woman had crawled into her tent and closed her eyes. How the god of destruction got in her tent, however, she wasn't sure.
"I can leave if you want, I just came in because I couldn't fathom spending the night outside," Raz spoke with his eyes still closed, as if sensing the priestess's thoughts. "I'm a god. I'm used to finer things."
"O-of course, Lord," Oakina stammered, hurrying to cover her chest as she'd donned her loose white night gown to sleep in. "I think the Corporal is getting us ready to move out."
"Great. I can get back to 'balancing' this place or whatever it is I'm supposed to be doing," the god said as he sat up, finally opening his eyes and giving his long hair a shake before getting up and out of the tent.
Watching Razaranje leave, and after making sure the coast was clear, Oakina rolled over so that she was on top of the spot where the destruction god was just laying, shivering at the warmth and inhaling deeply. Blushing as she realized what she was doing, the priestess hurriedly got dressed.
Once they'd packed up, the Cloudian 4th army resumed its journey. As Oakina flanked him again, Raz found himself studying the soldiers, his mind wandering as he went over the events that had transpired over his first day in the mortal world.
"They revere me already after witnessing only a preview of my power," the god thought. "It makes sense. I knocked down every threat that this pitiful little army encountered, I shouldn't be surprised that they view me as their savior. These soldiers look ahead as they march, but I can sense their thoughts. Some are scared of me, and others are very excited. They believe that because a god seems to have joined their side, that it will be a guaranteed victory for their country. Fools. I hold no allegiance to any of these mortal nations, the thought of allying myself with such a weak people is far from my mind."
Glancing over at the priestess next to him, her face a relaxed smile, Raz found it hard to read the young woman.
"I'm curious of this lady. On one hand, a part of me despises her for tearing me away from my rightful home in the heavens," Razaranje continued thinking. "But at the same time…ew, am I finding her endearing? Her devotion to me and my temple reminds me of a puppy that lovingly licks its master because of what they provide. Yet, I find myself enjoying it? She is a mortal who has the beauty of a goddess, and she probably could have been anything, married a rich man or something. Instead, she decided to serve my temple, devoting herself to a god that wasn't even listening to mortals. And speaking of mortals, although this is my first time speaking to some in a long time, this Oakina is the first one that has considered the concept of natural destruction to be more than just a bad or evil phenomena. Destruction is part of the process of creation, but most people just see what I do at surface value. I help complete the cycle of everything, and only this priestess so far seems to understand that."
As if hearing his thoughts, Oakina turned her head to look at the god, giving him a smile before resuming her steady walking pace. Blushing a little, Raz cleared his throat before looking forward himself. The army marched all day, over 10 hours of trudging through the rough forest road, where they eventually emerged into open plains, before coming upon a short, stone moss-covered wall. Silverbell explained that this was the Fallavrokian border, and that it was unguarded because of the sheer length of the national boundary. There were, however, plenty of outposts nearby as well as entire military bases that could summon soldiers in the event of a border incursion.
As the troops halted after passing the wall, Razaranje observed as the gnome withdrew a small stone from his pocket. A light blue crystal was on the other end, and he seemed to speak into it as he brought it to his lips.
"That's a piece of quartzonium, they're gems that grow deep in the earth," Oakina explained upon watching the god's curiosity. "If you break it into pieces and speak into one of them, your voice will resonate from all the rest, no matter where they are or how far apart they are from each other. We use them for long-range communication."
"Mortals sure learned how to utilize the world they were given," Raz remarked, slightly amused.
"Yeah? She will? Okay, great, thank you!" Silverbell spoke to the person on the other end of the crystal. "Roger that, Silverbell out. We shall proceed to the town."
The gnome stood on the wagon to address the troops moments later, letting everyone know their next move now that they were in Fallavrok.
"So I finally received word from HQ, and we've been ordered to head to the nearby town of Whiphurst to speak with the local baroness about procuring some reinforcements," the corporal explained. "The Fallavrokian forces are stretched pretty thin, but towns and cities regularly have a good bit of soldiers garrisoned around them, so we're going to see if this wealthy landowner here can lend us a hand."
Whiphurst was only about a few kilometers from the border, so after taking a brief respite, they continued on to the Fallavrokian town. Observing the flat, plain-like landscape, a contrast from the forest that they'd been traversing, Razaranje wondered what he'd have to do for the war effort in this new country. Along the plains, the town appeared on the horizon, surrounded by a 6-foot high stone wall that ran around the perimeter of it. Some sections of the stone barrier were draped in large red banners that depicted the orange head of a canine. Oakina explained that this was the banner of the Kingdom of Fallavrok, which was represented with the golden jackal. Following the road, the army arrived at a gate in the wall, which a couple of Fallavrokian soldiers were standing guard over.
"You guys must be the Cloudian 4th, back from the dead," one soldier remarked, dressed in a full suit of smooth iron armor, as were his comrades. "We heard that you all got destroyed completely, so it's a relief knowing that the Grovans aren't right up against the border. We recently received direct orders from the baroness to accept an envoy party into the city for a personal audience with her at her castle, but as for the rest of you, you can set up camp outside the walls, and my men will provide you with all the provisions you need."
"Understood, we appreciate your hospitality," Silverbell nodded, before turning to Oakina and Razaranje. "We're a little short of officers to form a proper envoy party, so would you two like to accompany me? I figure our chief medic and savior god would make good replacements."
"Yes sir!" Oakina exclaimed.
"Sure," Raz replied.
As the Cloudians set up camp beneath the shadow of the Whiphurst walls, the sun hung low in the sky while Raz, Silverbell, and Oakina were escorted inside the gate and through town. Home to approximately 10,000 souls, Whiphurst was apparently a typical Fallavrokian town, with many dense patches of houses, winding, narrow streets, a bustling, albeit filthy market place that ran through the middle, and hundreds of people brushing past the trio as the soldier who had greeted them at the gate led them forward. Towering over the town was a tall, slender castle made out of bricks of dark clay: Castle Bodenplatte, the residence of the baroness and the seat of the local government.
"This is Baroness Florentia Auguste that we'll be meeting," Silverbell explained to the two following him. "She's apparently a bit of a wild one, so let me do the talking. Lord Razaranje, to keep things simple, we're going to hide your divinity. I'm going to pretend that you're a new recruit that I'm seeking to promote to corporal in my stead."
"Deny myself as the god of destruction? You are absurd, short one," Razaranje jeered. "If anyone has a problem with it, I will just obliterate them."
"Please, Lord Razaranje, just for today, the Fallavrokians probably won't understand for the time being," Oakina tried to explain. "It's like when you first met Silverbell and the other Cloudian soldiers, they didn't believe you until they saw you in action. We just need to speak to this baroness to bolster our numbers, so I humbly ask that we can hide your identity just for now."
"Fine, whatever," the god shrugged, stretching his muscular back as the party was led across a drawbridge that led over a shallow moat.