Chapter 29 - Going Hunting (Patreon)

Note : No new chapter to the queue, because my current text editor, WPS office, decided to replace its spell check with an AI spell check...and declared that everything you write will be automatically scraped to feed said AI and be sold to the highest bidder. So I'm having to leave it, except that word, the first alternative that came to mind, is made by fucking madmen and the formatting is ridiculous (change a single paragraph, it affects the whole FUCKING document), so, I'm scrambling for an alternative because of fucking corporate greed and their push to put AI fucking everywhere.

If anyone has any good alternatives, something that's not as barebones as open office hopefully (nor the mad automation and destruction of word nowadays), I'd love to have them, because quite frankly, without one, I won't be able to write anymore.

Google Doc Link : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_V04jzSDaCxkzmuVt0L7VNFVv--S9r_LAE6_K6gzWO0/edit?usp=sharing

Chapter 29

Salran Mountains, Starnor Imperial Border Territories

Town of Kaisersgrenze

Airah breezed past the guards at the gate. Even if they didn't know her by now, no one dared approach her.

She didn't have a metaphorical stormcloud over her so much as an entire hurricane.

She'd even considered simply landing in front of the mansion, but reason reasserted itself. Right now, she was still trying to keep a low profile, even if she was willing to cut the margins a lot closer.

The fact that she'd refused to check with George what had happened to Elaine, or see if she was in the cellar with the other survivors might have something to do with it, but even Stellyra wasn't willing to open that can of worms.

The last time she'd lost a partner to the enemy, she had destroyed entire star systems after all.

There was a reason the Conclave feared her as much as they had.

"You!" She barked out, and one of the soldiers almost snapped to attention by sheer reflex. "Send a runner, get the baroness here ASAP. Warn her that the village of Klareswasser has been destroyed. MOVE!"

The guard immediately began running, evidently deciding that it was better to become the runner and get away from the pissed off adventurer, or perhaps dragon, if she was in the know.

However, just because they were city guards didn't mean they were incompetent, and the lieutenant glared at her as he started snapping out orders of his own.

"Kali, Dorlow, get to the barracks, get everyone ready to move out! The baroness is going to want a strike force! Torsten, Rena, send couriers to all other villages to check for their status and get the militia on high alert."

Airah took a deep breath as the officer stomped over to her and almost whispered, to make sure they weren't overheard by anyone but his men.

"That is the last time you give orders to my men, understood? Dragon or no dragon, I don't care."

Whatever answer he was expecting, a soft, almost musical voice and a stare colder than the void clearly wasn't it, as he almost flinched back. But he held his ground anyway, and Airah's appreciation of him clicked up a notch.

"Of course lieutenant. My apologies for overriding your chain of command." She was, for what it was worth, really apologizing, though she didn't really care enough to truly regret it.

Sometimes, you had to break a few rules to get things done, and she'd turned naval regulations into a damned origami in the name of humanity's survival on occasion.

The only reason she hadn't done the same with the Imperial constitution was because even the Empress wasn't willing to let her cross that line.

For even the last living member of project Hegemon, those that had unified Sol, and then humanity, under her majesty's rule, there were limits.

The lieutenant nodded, and Airah started pacing as she waited for the baroness. She could beeline it to the manor, but she didn't want to risk them missing each other because they chose different routes.

Fortunately, Lenna wasn't long.

The baroness came sprinting past a corner, her personal guards, including Stavros, hot on her heels. She was rushing so quickly she almost didn't notice Airah, and came to a stop a second before running past the dragon.

"Ah! Airah!" The baroness tried to catch her breath and speak simultaneously, which predictably did not go well. She took a few seconds to more properly recover before speaking again. "I heard…Klareswasser?"

"Gone. Except for some survivors the militia managed to herd into the storehouse. You need to get some troops out there."

"Of course, but-"

"Lenna." The baroness' mouth closed with a snap as Airah met her gaze with eyes of cold, hard steel. "Whether you move out or not is your choice. But I'm tracking down those bastards, and once I find their camp I'm reducing it to cinders. But if I have troops with me I might be able to save many of their captives. Not just those taken from the village, everyone who has been sold into slavery and hasn't yet been shipped over the border."

She didn't need to say that if it went wrong and Lenna hadn't sent reinforcements…her reign would be short.

Even now she was barely holding on thanks to popular support. If she lost that, things would go badly. Very badly.

The baroness nodded.

"Of course."

"Then I'll have the militia guide you when you arrive. In the meantime, I'll be off tracking them down."

And whittling them down. But she didn't need to say that.

"Of course." Said the noble, softly. "Good hunting."

"Thank you. Don't be late."

And with that, Airah stormed out of the city, without even a look back.

She had scum to kill.

*****

"So, plan of attack?" Asked Stellyra as Airah flew through the air.

"Follow their trail, take out all the ambushers and rear guards they left behind. Find the main camp, harass them until Lenna arrives, then annihilate it."

"If they're smart, there won't be just 'the main camp', there'll be satellite outposts, especially if it's big enough to justify grabbing and processing everyone that's been taken so far."

"Tripwires?"

"Something like that. We used to do that, you know."

"I'm aware." The Empire's military doctrine had changed throughout the war, but they'd eventually settled on a remarkably stable pattern: destroy local conclave forces, sterilize their worlds, advance a manufacturing fleet, fortify the ever living crap out of a system and then use it as a hub. Then flood the next few systems with resource harvesting and industrial fleets. A multi-layered sphere of outposts then ensured there was enough warning for everyone to run back for the safety of the fortress system if Conclave raiders arrived, at least in numbers beyond what the local forces could deal with.

That had fallen by the wayside during the last few centuries of the war. By that point the Conclave was struggling to even repel Imperial raiders, and their entire territory was surrounded by hunter/killer fleets who were just waiting for something to pounce on.

"If they have those, they'll have some way of communicating. As long as we cut that out, we can eliminate them."

"Lack of messages says it all, even if you eliminated all the couriers or whatever they're using. Someone is bound to check. If no on returns, they'll move. My point is, we can't just go around eradicating them, we need to hold back, and strike when the baroness is in position, so they don't start fleeing or take the slaves hostage."

Airah grunted. She agreed, but that didn't mean that she liked it.

"Alright. Point taken. We're coming up on the village. Let's land and get started."

*****

"This is stupid."

Kafirra looked over her should and glared at one of her comrades.

"If you don't shut the hell up, I'll show you stupid." She hissed. "We just pulled off the biggest attack yet. Someone is bound to come knocking. So shut your fucking trap and stay quiet or I will make you."

The bandit nodded, subdued, and the former sergeant sighed as she returned to watching the trail.

'Easy money' they said. Fucking bullshit, all the way. She'd signed up to train some clowns, army rejects and petty criminals alike, unleash them on the enemies of the Republic, make some gold and finally drag her way out of mercenary work. Helping her homeland was just a bonus.

But now she was having to accompany the scum into this mess. The bonuses were good, but…damn it, she was no slaver! And some of the stuff she'd seen there…

She shook her head, minutely. Better not to dwell on that. The screams would haunt her nightmares, but at least volunteering for this particular mission meant she didn't have to watch the slavers 'break in' their new catches. And she'd endeavor to stay as far away from the main camp as she could until they could go home.

Thankfully there were plenty of people who were eager to help do the breaking, so she hadn't had any trouble getting this mission.

She gazed at her team. Six, not including her, waiting in ambush for some militia or adventurer following the convoy, spread over a hundred meters. It was hard as hell to hide those kind of tracks, but there was a team doing it further along. They just had to make sure no one pounced on them until then.

Wait…where was Lerar? She couldn't see the damned longbowman anywhere, much less at his assigned spot, well hidden from the trail.

She cursed under her breath as she gestured for her rag tag group of 'soldiers' to stay put as she slinked her way towards where he should have been.

If that idiot had once again slinked off to scavenge or relieve himself, she swore…

She came to a stop as her well honed instincts screamed that something was off. She dropped into a crouch by reflex, and moved into the bushes.

She saw a glint, and parted some branches. Lerar's dagger. The boy mostly made do with his equipment, but that weapon was good steel, an heirloom, according to him. He'd never leave it behind.

Kafirra was no ranger, but even a quick survey told her that he hadn't let go of it willingly. There was a scuffle there, but one so brief she hadn't even heard or seen it. He'd been drawn out of position, drew his dagger, then…

Nothing. Just faint traces left by another pair of boots. Someone had literally lifted his body and hauled it out, not dragged it around or even rolled it into a bush. Hot damn, who could do that?

She pivoted around, and whistled.

Nothing answered. And she couldn't see any other members of her team.

Kafirra broke into a cold sweat. What the ever living shit? Oh could-

Two hands gripped her skull in a vice of steel, and a split second later she was looking at a pair of golden eyes, burning with a fire that filled her with dread.

She tried to move, draw her sword, anything, but her body refused to respond…which was when she realized she couldn't feel anything below her neck.

And that her attacker was standing behind her.

She had never turned. Only her head had.

Her body collapsed, and oblivion took her.

*****

"Flash." Whispered Airah, and there was a slight rustle in the bush ahead.

"Smoke." Answered Emma as she exited the undergrowth, a handful of militia in tow. George had been left in the village to recuperate and show Lenna's men the way, but a small team had insisted to accompany her. They'd even taken out one of the ambushes along the way on their own, before she even returned.

"Alright, we're clear." The dragon looked over her shoulder, where the half dozen bodies were laid out. Those…worried her. The two previous groups, the one she'd taken out at the edge of the village and those Emma and her team had annihilated were poorly positioned, and even worse trained. But these guys had been deployed with care and were expecting trouble.

Their leader had almost certainly been some kind of soldier too.

That meant they were getting close. Maybe even some kind of small rear guard?

Stellyra was tagging signs of passage, but they had no real databases or training on tracking. They could follow the anomalies, but not timestamp them.

"How many?" Asked the militawoman.

"Six." The militias smiled wolfishly, and Airah shook her head. "Still many more where those came from, so stay sharp."

"Right." Emma nodded. "I wonder why they left so many groups behind though."

"I'm guessing they heard that adventurers were helping the baroness. These ambushes wouldn't be enough for a real military pursuit, but they could kill a single adventurer."

"But not you."

"No, not me. Are we still catching up?"

"As far as I can tell, the tracks are getting fresher, but we're already way out." They'd been moving around for a couple of days. Thankfully, she could make up whatever excuses she wished to disappear for a couple of hours to go hunt and eat in her dragon form, the militia just gobbled it up.

"So we might be getting close to their camp. Excellent. Then let's not tarry."

They moved out again, Stellyra steadily updating their expected position on a map hovering in the air for Airah. They were both starting to fall back into old habits, communicating little unless strategy had to be hammered out, like the two old warriors they were. Besides, it wasn't like the AI needed to say anything. Tagging targets and proposing kill methods was all that was needed.

The baroness had to have reached the village by now. Probably was already following the trail.

All they had to do was find the camp, and clear the way.