A short time later, the three of them were sneaking up to the walls. (Patreon)

“It’s here,” Auriane said, pointing to a short section of wall that was low compared to the ground around it. A small pile of dirt, branches, and leaves made it climbable. “This is a security mistake,” Helena commented. “Yes, but teenagers use it to leave the village and return without getting caught. All small villages have spots like this.” As the archer helped the knight up the wall, she added, “the guard captain should find out about these activities and put an end to them.” “Have you ever met a teenager?” the messenger responded, while Helena reached to help the private climb the wall.

Broussard looked around, her trained eye taking in the situation. “Two guards over there, three over there. They are in groups, which is bad—but at the same time, discipline is lax and they aren’t paying attention. At least they are far enough apart we ought to be able to disable the groups one at a time.”

“Then, there’s the guards you can’t see yet,” Helena added, “we need to disable each group quickly before they catch on. And we need to rally the villagers quietly. Who do we need to meet?”

“Emile the tavern-keep can rouse much of the town if you contact her,” Auriane mused, “but we also need Yvette.” “Yvette?” the archer asked. “Yes, she’s an eccentric little woman who’s always trying to invent things to make business run more efficiently. She’s a competent smith, and great if you need to fix a simple tool. The problem is when she comes up with an idea to improve it.”

Helena looked quizzically at Auriane, and gestured to continue. “She has these grandiose ideas that she calls ‘mechanics’ that she learned growing up with the gnomes. Some people think she’s half or a quarter gnomish, but that’s neither here nor there. The problem is that her inventions always end up humiliating or hurting someone. Luckily, she often falls victim to them herself, but enough others have suffered that she’s been run out of town twice.” “And she’s still here?” “She always comes back, and we need a tinker in town to repair our tools, and she’s a good one if she doesn’t try to improve them.”

“Why do we need her then?” the private asked. “Were you not listening?” Helena admonished, “her inventions always seem to humiliate or hurt people. The trick will be deploying them against the enemy, instead of ourselves.” Auriane nodded. “There’s just one problem. She’s more than eccentric, and a little skittish, being that the town has turned against her more than once. I think I can talk her into joining us, but not if I get captured.”

Helena nodded, “Then our plan is clear. I’ll find this tavernkeep, that ought to be easy enough. Private, go with Auriane and find this Yvette. Try to stay below the radar, but protect her if you can. And try not to actually hurt anyone.”

“Come again, sir?” a bewildered Broussard said. “These women are soldiers just like you. They aren’t evil—“ “But they are fighting for the Foxgloves sisters.” “Exactly. They are following orders. IT’s those who are giving the orders that are evil.” “Alright, alright, try not to hurt anyone,” the private said, rolling her eyes.”