They had been trotting for more than two hours when the wind changed direction, blowing south. At that point, Dalia increased the horses" pace slightly. They went on for about three more hours in a straight line, following a trail of soft earth.
When the sun reached the middle of the sky, the first camp came into view. Tecno raised his hand, signaling Dante to come closer, and explained:
"We have many camps in all four directions. At least one every ten to fifteen kilometers. We mark them this way because of nightfall."
"We don"t travel at night?"
"No. Because of the High Frequency."
They approached close enough for the soldiers to see them and raise their arms. The iron stakes tilted outward, and small wooden and stone fences surrounded the entire camp. Dante had thought it would be small from a distance, but when they arrived, he realized that all the squads on external missions also stopped there to resupply or rest.
The number of soldiers easily exceeded a hundred.
"Lady Dalia," one of the men, with a full goatee, approached with his arms wide open. "It"s always an honor to receive you. You"re even more beautiful than the last time I saw you."
"Rutteo."
Dalia dismounted and handed him the reins. Rutteo waited with open arms, but Dalia ignored him. She pointed toward the camp, addressing her Officers.
"Secure the horses. Rutteo and I will talk. Rest for now."
They watched as she walked away with an animated Rutteo back into the camp. Dante dismounted, and Tecno offered to take his horse. As they walked toward the improvised stable, some soldiers struggled to restrain their aggressive animals. The Officer managed easily, tying two of them to a horizontal post.
Dante followed him to a stone bench overlooking green fields and mountains in the distance.
"I know there"s still a lot for you to process, but I need to teach you a few things about the outside world," Tecno said, pulling a small cube from his right pocket. "Dalia is a strong person, as you"ve seen these past days. Being around her is complicated. We always have bureaucratic issues, and I don"t need to tell you what she does or can do—you"ve probably guessed some of it."
"Yes, I have some guesses," Dante replied honestly.
"Her ability. I know it has to do with giving orders. I felt it on the Ferry when she asked me to use my energy for Crish."
"I"ll be honest with you, Dante—it"s one of the strangest abilities I"ve ever seen. And she doesn"t even use it often." Tecno gave a somewhat sad laugh. "That"s why, when I say some things need to be taken seriously, I"m also talking about her. Dalia has been fighting alone for a long time, and there"s not much we can do from this side."
"What do you mean by "this side"?"
Tecno looked at the horizon again.
"Missions. The only thing that matters to her is that. Outside the Capital"s walls, that woman has the temperament of a sovereign. She doesn"t tolerate failures, and if you fail, fix it before she notices. We"re all human, bound to fail at some point, but don"t fail her mission."
Dante nodded. He didn"t want to underestimate the Officer"s capabilities and skills. He had always enjoyed learning about others who could create and execute unique attacks. However, he wasn"t much different from her. Still, he had always lost to his father.
Render"s sword was always at his neck, every time. No matter how fast he was or how much he dodged, the blade always found him. So, if he had always lost to one opponent, how would he fare against everyone else?
"To avoid failing the mission," Tecno continued, holding up the bluish cube, "I"m going to teach you about frequencies. In the Capital, we have two ways of communicating. There"s the High Frequency, a technology from our ancestors. They made it so we could receive information instantly, but it has space limitations. It works within a maximum distance of five to six kilometers. We use it inside the Capital with weapons, maps, and escorts. Our mission selection system was developed through it."
"And the Low Frequency?"
"It"s used to expand the range. We can reach up to thirty kilometers without repeating the signal to the Capital. However, out here, we can"t use High Frequency at all."
Tecno handed the cube to Dante, who closed his hand around it.
"The creatures don"t have eyes, as you"ve seen, but their other senses are highly developed. They can sense High Frequency," Tecno paused briefly, his eyes becoming distant. "We learned the hard way that they can track both the origin and the reception point."
The cube felt cold, its bluish color reminiscent of the night sky, but that was all. He didn"t attempt to channel Cosmic Energy into it—it would be wrong to test it on a whim. He tucked it directly into his pocket.
"I know you might have other thoughts about the Capital," Tecno said, his tone sadder than before. "We all get disillusioned when we see it"s not what we expected. But if I can ask you one thing, old man, it"s to make good use of the time Dalia has given you. Many would kill for this chance, seriously."
"I know. I know that very well."
It was the same with the training in the village. Anyone would have loved to receive the teachings Render gave him, or the knowledge Linda shared at the dinner table about animals and plants, or the basic rules of Cosmic Energy that his sister constantly mentioned in their free moments.
This chance was his.
Don"t be the protagonist. The phrase still echoed in his mind, never leaving through the other ear, just keeping his feet on the ground.
"Are you asking me as an ally or as a friend, Tecno?"
The question caught him off guard, but the Officer smiled.
"Both, I think. I consider you an ally, no doubt. But in our line of work, making friends is far more painful than it seems."
Dante smiled and placed a hand on the pocket where he had stored the Communication Cube.
"Then I"ll take it as a friendship."
Tecno accepted this graciously. He left for the houses where the Officers held meetings, and Dante wandered back to the stable. Stopping next to his horse, he pulled out the cigar given to him by Commander Sergi.
"Placed it in his mouth and slid his finger against it, creating a small spark from the friction. He took his first drag and coughed a little. The cigar had already been lit, but he took a second and third puff.
The taste was of cinnamon, quite different from the food itself. He didn"t know Commander Sergi had an appreciation for this type, but it was a kind gesture, and he took a few more puffs, keeping it in his mouth while stroking Deco"s fur, his horse.
Many animals weren"t named because their owners could lose them at any moment. His mother taught him that when he was younger. However, she also instructed him that naming animals was a sign of respect.
"Good boy, Deco," he said as he saw the horse raise its head to receive a neck rub. "We"ll work together."
Still with his hand on the horse, Dante noticed Freto coming out of the Officers" meeting house.
"Hey, Dante. Come on, we"ve got new information."
The old man passed by and headed to the front of the house. There wasn"t a door; in fact, there were only three stone walls, and where the fourth should be was open, allowing the Officers to come and go without difficulty.
Dalia and Rutteo were talking right in the center, with a table separating them. A map was stretched out, with small pointed red markers over certain locations. Tecno and Crish received them as they arrived, paying attention to Rutteo"s explanation.
"And yes," he was already mid-sentence when Dante began paying attention, "there are residents in that area. I have no idea how or why, but they have a Frequency Cube. This isn"t your mission, I understand perfectly, but if you could check it out for me. We sent a pair of sentinels to scout a few days ago, but neither of them returned."
"Do you think they were ambushed?"
Rutteo"s face was firm and grim.
"It could be worse. We"re not getting reports of Felroz attacks like before. Capital Intelligence is investigating, but there"s nothing yet." Rutteo clenched his hand and rested it on the table. "You know I like to trust my instincts, Dalia. So I ask you to be careful. The next camp is about half a day from here, so you should leave early to avoid traveling at night."
If there was fear on Dalia"s face, Dante didn"t notice. She was always cold and indifferent.
"We"ll leave tomorrow. I want to know if they"ll send another message."
"It"s pointless. I"ve already tried talking to them, but they always send the same thing."
Tecno clicked his tongue, annoyed.
"I don"t like this."
Freto and Crish agreed. Dante was the only one who seemed lost.
"Collection missions shouldn"t involve anyone," Tecno explained, still staring at the two in the center of the discussion. He crossed his arms and leaned on one of the wooden pillars supporting the roof. "If a message repeats, it"s broken."
"We"ve handled one of those before," Crish commented. "And we had quite the surprise from the Lima Raiders."
Dante said nothing. He removed the cigar and stared at its tip. It was still burning but hadn"t decreased in size. Freto and Tecno watched as he brought it back to his mouth.
"Sergi always carries one of those," Tecno pointed at the cigar. "He makes them himself. It"s made of inorganic material. It burns the cinnamon but doesn"t shrink. I"ve never seen him give one away for free. This means the Commander will want your help at some point."
Freto and Crish nodded.
"Well, there"s no reason for a Recruit to help a Commander." Dante didn"t really care about the gift. It was modest and had a good taste. "About the collection mission, can we communicate with those people from here?"
"Doubt it," Freto replied, pointing to the other side of the house.
There were about ten Officers seated with several cubes floating in the air. They rotated slowly as yellow energy emanated from within.
"The Officers spend all day capturing messages from outside," Freto continued. "If they could send, they would"ve done it already. Unfortunately, our communication between the Capital and camps is one-way. The farthest camp sends to the nearest, and it goes down the line until it reaches the Capital. However, the Capital can"t make this connection because of High Frequency and the Felroz."
Dante understood the explanation Tecno had given him some time ago. The creatures could sense both ends, the one emitting and the one receiving. So, if the Capital sent to the farthest camp, the Felroz would target the weakest.
"Those eyeless bastards have a sharp collective sense."
Rutteo approached with Dalia. The Officer"s arm was behind Dalia"s neck, resting on her right shoulder. She didn"t seem to mind. But she hated it. Dante could see her anger in her closed-off posture.
"If we send any signal, they"ll find us," Rutteo said, glancing around and stopping again at the three of them. "I know you"ll be outnumbered and taking an elderly Recruit, but if you could check the next Camp. Lieutenant Gorumet will be there."
"If everything is fine with them, we won"t make any changes to the mission."
Dalia left abruptly without excusing herself, and Rutteo"s arm fell. He laughed and looked for a smile among the others, but Dante kept staring at him. Couldn"t he understand that Dalia hated physical touch?
Rutteo laughed again and shrugged, raising his hands.
"What"s the matter, old man?"
"My Officer doesn"t let me say what I want." Dante took a puff from the cigar and pointed at it. "I"ve punched an Officer before; it wouldn"t be bad to teach another one a lesson."
Dante heard Tecno"s call. He looked at Rutteo once more and started walking away. He put the cigar back in his mouth and followed them to the stable. Dalia waited for him to arrive. Still with her arms crossed, she wiped her shoulder where Rutteo had rested his arm.
"We won"t deviate from what was requested. We"ll take the small grotto, collect the six crystals, and return. Simple and easy. I don"t want problems."
Everyone agreed. Dalia only finished by saying they would leave in the morning. They would sleep in cabins, and before leaving, she pointed at Dante.
"You take the first east watch. Tecno will take the second."
Dante nodded. Dalia wasn"t bothered by the cigar, so he kept it.
When they saw Dalia disappear back into the Officers" house, Freto raised his hand to Dante.
"Good patrol. Keep your eyes open and protect us, huh."
Dante chuckled and slapped his hand. He raised it to Crish, who seemed a bit nervous, and she raised both hands. The old man gave a double slap, drawing laughter from them.
Tecno was the only one to raise his hand in refusal.
"I"m not young for this kind of thing. Let"s keep it formal, okay?"
"Sure, sir.""