TtOW! - Chapter 51: Abandoned (Patreon)

Tiberius heaved a sigh as he sifted through the reports on his desk.  He was, in fact, glad he had something on his desk now, but this was getting a bit excessive for a Magister Explortores who had no one reporting to him.

Well, officially that is.

He looked up at the person sitting across from him, and passed her several of the reports.  She picked them up and passed through them far too quickly to have actually read them, one of her eyes flickering as she did.

Which was still incredibly unsettling, if Tiberius was honest.

But well, that was what NSLICE-00P always did, and she had not overlooked a single detail yet that Tiberius was aware of, no matter how impossibly fast she flipped through the papers.

“Statement: Mission details recorded.  Query: Are there any additional details or parameters this unit should be aware of?”

Tiberius nodded.

“This one was stated to be wolves, but given the location and the reported damage it could very well be a party of wulver, so you’ll want to conduct your own scouting first.  I’ll consider it completed if you can confirm that and report back to me.  If it is a monster you’ll likely catch it near some farms, so be careful to avoid any collateral damage.  This next report is highly indicative of a cave troll.  Tough, strong, but slow and dim.  Particularly weak to light, fire and poison can help with its regeneration.  This one I’m not sure about, I’d lean towards it being nothing. But the Legate’s men are insisting, and I’ve been wrong about that before, so be careful when you scout the area.  If you can’t find anything after a reasonable search, go ahead and report back.”

“Statement: Additional mission details and parameters logged and recorded.  Query: Are there any updates on this unit’s primary directive?”

Tiberius shook his head.

“We’ve put word out, but no one has reported anything legitimate so far.”

“Acknowledged.  Response: Then this unit will request appropriate monetary compensation.”

Tiberius nodded and pulled out a sack of Idrint.

“As usual, the preparation allowance here, the rest when you return.”

“Affirmative.”

With that, NSLICE-00P took the money, rose from her seat, and marched out of the room.  Tiberius exhaled his breath.

He had become the main point of contact for the girl, by his own design.  Upon seeing NSLICE-00P’s status, Tiberius had immediately declared it as classified and restricted all intel on the girl, to which Legate Curio immediately agreed.  He would probably have to report it up at some point, but not until he was absolutely certain about what he was going to say and who he was going to say it to.

And as of now he had no idea what he was going to say.

After all, her status was frankly frightening.

Arcane Prodigy.  Strategic Mage.  Solo Conquest.  Skill Creator. World Defender.  Hero.  And an unbelievable list of Dungeon Conqueror feats…as well as the Dungeon Purifier feat indicating she had, in fact, taken down a corrupted dungeon.  All by level 32, likely earlier since she would have leveled a few times taking down the dungeon underneath the keep.

A single one of these feats would make her highly sought after by every Magister, Mage Academy, Knight Order, Shrine to the Aesdes, and person of means and influence in the Empire.  Particularly the fact that she was an Aesdes-appointed hero. All of them together?

It would not be strange if the Emperor himself took an interest in the girl.

Tiberius had no idea how any of this was even possible, given her level.

But he had no desire to cause a stir, and neither did the person in question or Legate Curio, so they had decided to keep her status confidential for as long as they could.  An actual, Aesdes-appointed hero who had just saved all of their lives deserved that much.

And even better, the girl had proven remarkably cooperative and helpful. She was apparently waiting for some comrades, other than the ones she was searching for, and passing the time by training on nearby monsters.  Tiberius had immediately offered to provide her targets, in exchange for any help he could provide for her own quest, and monetary compensation otherwise.  And reading lessons, funnily enough, but Tiberius was absolutely NOT going to judge her, on anything.  Besides, she picked it up so quickly he originally thought she was messing with them.

And then NSLICE-00P had cleared all the first targets he gave her in a day, and came back requesting more.

The only downside was Legate Curio abused this situation to pass practically every issue involving meaningful combat over to him, as the Legate had done for most of his career.  Tiberius heaved a sigh.  He would have to talk to Dux Dio about the state of the Castra Turannia limitanei one of these days.  But he understood why Legate Curio was eager for the girl’s help.

NSLICE-00P was a truly efficient fixer.  She could complete practically any mission in under a day, and followed every command to the letter.  How he wished even a fraction of his Exploratores could be like this girl.

Powerful yes, but more importantly professional, precise, obedient, and thoughtful.  She logged every detail, both from the reports and from his mouth and adhered to them to the best of her ability.  She never wasted time, coming in, acquiring targets, and handling them in quick order.  She never complained about a target, the tough ones didn’t scare her and the ‘easy’ ones weren’t beneath her.  She could be trusted to handle herself, and conduct her own scouting.  She requested Tiberius’s advice on the targets and actually listened to said advice.  And then she immediately returned and reported the mission results without any sort of embellishment or falsehood.  She could remember practically every detail of her missions and didn’t hesitate to report said details if Tiberius asked.

Her strange method of speaking took some getting used to, but once he started getting a handle on it he could appreciate the precision.  It helped, too, that she wasn’t one to mince words, but also wasn’t shy about requesting explanations when she didn’t understand something.

And she even understood her own limits.  She was willing to handle monsters but strictly refused any missions involving actual people, whether criminal bands or wulver raiding parties, stating as an unaligned third party she should not be involved in official Legion duties.  And she was absolutely right about that, as inconvenient as that might be to the Legate.

That was a level of consideration Tiberius could only expect from his most experienced veterans.

Tiberius would admit that she was a blessing from the Aesdes in the current circumstances.  Even when restricted to monsters around Castra Turannia, just having someone to send out was a massive weight off his shoulders.  Much less a hero who accomplished more work than all of the Exploratores in the Castra Turannia area combined.

The only downside was that she wasn’t interested in actually joining the Legion, even as a mercenary. If she had, Tiberius could have cleaned up the entire province in short order. As it was, she was making Castra Turannia an even safer place than it had been when the Exploratores were still around.

Tiberius smiled.

Well, there was a reason she was growing on the townsfolk and the guard.

It was just then that Tiberius’s assistant burst through the door.

“We have a problem, sir!”

Tiberius heaved a sigh.  Of course there would be a problem.  And right when he sent NSLICE-00P out for a while.

“What is it?”

“Dux Dio just put out an emergency call for the entire province!  He wants everyone to fall back to Castra Turannia! He’s already on his way here!”

Tiberius slumped back into his seat, and reached for the bottle he kept under his desk.

“Let me know the moment NSLICE-00P gets back to town.  Oh, and if Legate Curio comes by, I’m not in.”

Of course, right after a corrupted dungeon appeared right under the Legion keep.  And right after they were finally getting a handle on things.

With that, Tiberius opened the bottle.

Truly in Turannia, when it rained, it poured.

***

Shortly before Tiberius received the message…

Canus Sittius Dio groaned.  He shivered as something wet and cold landed on his face, right as he was walking.  And stepped into a puddle on the cold, stone floor.  Unfortunately, this fortress hadn’t been miraculously repaired since the last time he was here.

And of course, it was still raining.

Canus shook his head and made his way up to the watchtower.  The only good news was that Exploratore Miallói had arrived earlier today, taking watch at her usual spot.  She didn’t react as Canus walked up beside her, her eyes locked on the rocky coastline below.

Oh, and the fleet of ships approaching the beach, one of the largest Canus had ever seen in this province.

But that wasn’t what got Canus’s attention.

No, what caused him to raise his eyebrows was the fact that, for once, Miallói was not alone.

A pair of teenagers, a human girl and a half-wulver boy, stood at attention and saluted as he climbed up the watchtower.

“Dux!  Exploratore cadet Ateia Niraemia, at your service!”

“Dux.  Exploratore cadet Taog Sutharlan, at your service.”

Canus closed his eyes.

Really?

Tiberius let her in?

Now, of all times?

And Miallói of all people agreed to take her in?

Canus shook his head.  He had other things to worry about at the moment.  And if she was with Miallói, she was about as safe as she could be in this province, especially right now.

“At ease.  Miallói.”

“Dux.”

Canus heaved another sigh as he looked down on the fleet below.

“How are we looking?”

Miallói didn’t move, her eyes still fixed on the fleet below.

“We’re all going to die.”

Canus held his head and sighed as the two teenagers gulped.  He thought much the same, but he was hoping against hope that Miallói might see something he couldn’t.

Unfortunately, it seems his eyes were still working as great as ever.

Which meant down below…was the fleet of King Uscfrea Spellbreaker.

The man who defeated an entire Legion and shamed the Imperial Mages.  The man who had driven the Selkies into the Empire’s arms.  The reason the Dobhar had never submitted to the Imperial banner.

And that meant that this wasn’t just a raid looking for easy profit.  It wasn’t an incursion probing the defenses and maybe reducing the number of mouths to feed.

No, King Uscfrea had smelt blood in the water, and was making his play.  He had assembled the full might of the Dobhar and was personally leading the assault.  He was going all out, intending to drive the Empire from the province entirely.

And unfortunately, with the comitatenses still off in Utrad, he had a good chance of doing just that.

Canus took another deep breath.  He spoke in a low voice, practically whispering.

“Do you think we can hold?”

Miallói shook her head.

“I don’t know.  Probably not.  Definitely not here.”

Canus heaved another sigh.  He had already contacted the Empire and called for reinforcements.  All he could do was hope they would arrive in time.  The men and women here…well most of them were going to die.  But they might be able to delay just long enough to save some of the people in the province…

Just then, one of his officers arrived and saluted with a shaky hand and wide eyes.

“Dux!  We’ve received word from the Empire.”

Canus nodded.

“Good, how long until they arrive?”

The officer paused, and averted his gaze.

“That’s…um…”

Canus narrowed his eyes.

“Tribune, what did they say?”

“...they’re not coming.”

“What was that?”

The officer looked up, his eyes trembling.

“They aren’t coming!  No one is coming!  They’ve abandoned us!”

Canus walked over and clapped his hand on the officer’s shoulder.

“Steady, Tribune!  What exactly did Corvanus tell you?”

The tribune took a deep breath.

“Corvanus said they didn’t have anyone to send, and that we had to ask Utrad.”

Canus nodded.

“And Utrad?”

“They said we’re on our own, and to handle things ourselves from now on!”

Canus’s eyes narrowed.

“Who said that?”

“Magister Caelinus said it himself!”

Canus let the man’s shoulder go.  He turned and walked to the edge of the watchtower, looking out at the fleet approaching the shore.

“Summon the troops and tell them to pack up, on the double.  We’re leaving.”

The tribune blinked at him.

“Sir?”

“Put out an emergency call to the province.  All Legion personnel are to report to Castra Turannia.  All civilians between here and there should prepare to evacuate, to Castra Turannia or to wherever they deem safest.”

“Sir, we’re just…leaving?  Letting them take the fort without a fight?  Are you sure that’s wise?”

Canus turned around and looked the man in the eye.

“I don’t need to tell you how bad this situation is.  This fort is falling apart.  We only hold it to buy time for the comitatenses to arrive.  If the comitatenses aren’t coming, there’s no hope we hold this place.  If we're on our own, we need the defenses at Castra Turannia to have even a ghost of a chance.  So we gather whatever forces we have left and make for the strongest keep we have, and we make our stand there.”

He took a breath and narrowed his eyes at the tribune.

“Now move.  We have no time to lose.”

The tribune gulped, but saluted.

“Yes sir!”

Canus turned to Miallói.  He took a deep breath.

“...are you coming with us?”

Miallói silently nodded.  Canus raised an eyebrow.

“Are you sure?  The Legion’s not coming, not even for me.  I’d figure you’d go off with your people.”

Miallói shrugged.

“No choice.  Unfortunately, you’re still my people’s best chance.”

Canus nodded at that.  He took one final glance at Ateia before heaving a sigh and walking out of the watchtower.

He would make sure everyone got out of here, first and foremost.  Once they were on the road, he could try to think of something to get the girl away from this.

And then?

Well then he’d pray for a miracle.

Author’s Note:

Oh no, not an incursion! If only there was someone who could do something about a crisis like that!

Sadly, all the Legion folks who could are away.

Oh well, guess the limitanei will just have to try and hold.  Good luck you all!

Anyways!

Can our brave legions hold the line? Or will the Empire be driven from Turannia once and for all? Is there anyone who can do anything about this? Tune in next time, to find out!