Chapter 18 - Mining Outpost

As we approached the mining outpost, we were hailed by the guards stationed on the palisade wall to prove our identities and state our business before we were allowed inside. Liyanne quietly mentioned that it wasn’t the standard procedure and advised us to stay cautious. As we entered the outpost, we immediately noticed how run-down it was. The few shacks found inside looked like they were about to collapse, the miners were all walking in tattered clothing and looked like they could collapse from lack of proper food and rest any minute now. I knew they were mostly former criminals or debt slaves, but I still deemed the conditions far from acceptable. However, we quickly learned it wasn’t the case only for the miners, either. The soldiers all looked malnourished as well and their equipment was in a surprisingly poor condition. All of them were also giving us far less than friendly glances as we walked past them, some even resting their hands on the hilts of their weapons as if reading themselves for trouble. This whole scene seemed surprisingly surreal even to me, and I thought I was prepared to see anything, as I didn’t know what to expect from this world yet.
I took a step closer to the princess, lowering my voice and asking just to confirm:
-Should this place be in such a bad state?
-No, something’s very much not right. Stay alert.
I nodded at Liyanne’s answer, instinctively placing my off-hand on the handle of my sword. I also noticed that Miya has moved a step or two closer to me, while the other three soldiers formed a tighter formation behind us. Everyone, either us or the guards, seemed to be highly alert and ready for a fight at a moment’s notice, even though there should be no need for that.
One of the gate guards escorted us towards one of the bigger buildings in the back of the outpost. It looked just as decrepit as any other one but, unlike in other places, there were at least signs of attempted repairs here. As we entered, we were met by an old-looking guard. He was wearing a proper set of battle armour instead of just lighter gambesons and mail like most of his comrades did. He looked just as bad as any other guard but, while most showed signs of resignation and generally being done with this place, this one seemed to maintain high morale and a sense of duty. When we entered, he looked up from the big map presenting the layout of the outpost and the mining shafts within the mountain and immediately stood at attention and saluted us, confusing the few other guards who were idling about in the building.
-Princess Liyanne, it’s an honour!
I was surprised at how deep his voice was. Given his appearance, I expected him to sound at least a little hoarse or weak but he came out clear and strong. Liyanne, however, simply walked up, shook his hand and sat down at the table. She was maintaining her cool, speaking softly and calmly, her actions showing no hesitation. Yet, her left hand was resting against her scabbard, ready at any moment to assist in pulling her sword out.
-Pleasure to meet you again, captain Garrock. We believe we found one of your guards on the road…
-Yes, but we sent him out only yesterday. Did he relay his message?
-We found him dead. A pack of Hyndralls overwhelmed him. He took a couple down with him but there were just too many. We found his remains the next day by sheer accident.
-Shame, he was a good guard, young too. I assume you know nothing about our current situation then?
-You would assume correctly. So, if you could enlighten us?
-Eh, you see, my lady, times have been tough lately. The amount of mutants attacking us have increased, we lost many men that are hard to replace, hunting and gathering became dangerous, so supplies started running low. And then, as if that wasn’t enough, we were hit with some illness to top it all off. Don’t worry, it has passed already, you shouldn’t be affected, but it left both my men and the miners weakened.
-This is a really bad situation indeed. Do you know where the monsters are coming from?
-Our hunters found a den south of here, about half a day’s walk away. It’s a cave at the foot of the second mountain range.
-So that’s a different den than the one we found. We located a Hyndrall den east of the tract, a few hours up it, near a rocky structure.
-Yeah, we never heard about this one before. That would explain why there’s so many monsters during each wave.
-I understand. We will return to Katerial after resting up for a bit to request backup for you. Stay strong until then.
The captain of the guard seemed to hesitate for a moment, opening his mouth as if to say something but restrained himself, simply bowing down slightly.
-That would be most appreciated, my lady.
Liyanne nodded and stood up, immediately turning away and leaving the building. We followed her until she stopped in a more secluded area. She turned towards us and pointed to the three soldiers that accompanied us from the city.
-I want you to spread out and collect information. I need to know what the strength of the garrison is, how much supplies they have and figure out what the situation with the miners is, if they show any signs of discontent or potential riot. Be swift but don’t raise suspicion. Go.
The three soldiers saluted and quickly fanned out, each taking one of the assigned tasks. With that, Liyanne turned towards me.
-Edward, what do you think about it?
I thought about it for a moment, scratching my chin. On one hand, if what the captain said was true, it would perfectly explain the state of the outpost as we see it. However, I was getting a weird feeling when looking at other guards, or more specifically, from the way they were looking at us. They were constantly being wary of us, as if ready to start fighting at a moment’s notice, almost as if they saw us as a threat to them for some reason. Something odd had to be happening here but I couldn’t quite tell what from just as little as that.
I glanced over at Miya but she simply shook her head. She probably had even less of an idea of what was going on here. I looked back at the princess, keeping my voice fairly quiet:
-There isn’t much I can say. I don’t know the organisation structure here to be able to analyse it for potential administrative flaws. As it comes to their situation with monsters, if they really are being attacked regularly from two sides, this could lead to this situation.
-It’s not that rare for monsters to attack human settlements, Katerial also suffered its own share of battles, but it’s not common either. There’s usually dozens of monsters taking part in such attacks and it usually takes months for the monster population to regrow. They, however, make it seem like they’re under a constant threat from them. It could be understood if there were numerous dens close-by but those are usually few and fairly far away as beasts often fight with one another as well. One of them is also a Hyndrall den and those monsters are known more to pick off smaller groups, not assaulting fortified positions.
-Could it be possible for the monsters to not be of natural origins? Like conjured beasts, summons or something similar?
-No, that would require either amounts of mana or numbers of magicians yet unseen.
-So, what are you making out of this then? That they’re pretending to get more supplies or something? Would they send a young soldier on a suicide mission for that?
-Or he could be planted as a distraction, too.
-You’re really thinking there’s something fishy going on here?
-I do. A few elements simply don’t match up. The guards here all wear uniforms of guards and soldiers from Katerial, yet the gatekeepers didn’t seem to recognise me, nor am I familiar with anyone here other than the captain. Garrock also mentioned that he suffered losses but so far it doesn’t seem like there’s a lack of personnel. If anything, there seems to be too many guards here compared to regular deployments. We’ll have to wait for the reports to confirm that, though. I also know that they already requested more rations to be delivered about a month ago and that it was approved, so they shouldn’t be short on supplies, especially if they’re missing people.
-That’s before we sent the criminal slaves we found at the bandit hideout, though.
-We also included more supplies with that prison caravan too, just to be on the safer side. There’s absolutely no reason for everyone to be this malnourished unless there’s either a lot more people here than should be or the supplies are being used for something else entirely.
-And let me guess, you want this properly investigated and dealt with before going back and reporting it at Katerial?
-Correct. Now, I still want to check a few things to make sure I’m not mistaken. May I ask you to keep an eye on Garrick, maybe even try to learn some more from him? I have a feeling you’ll do better at this than I would.
-Yeah, I’m a third party, unknown to him… Honestly, it could go either way but if something truly isn’t right, I might have the best chances here… Alright, I’ll play along.
-Thanks. Just don’t get yourself killed or captured, can you?
-Of course, you’re the princess, I couldn’t possibly steal your spotlight.
Liyanne clicked her tongue but then let out a short laugh. With a short wave and a simple “Be careful.”, she turned around and left. I continued to stand there, analysing the situation for a while, trying to contemplate what course of action would be the most suitable but with the limited amount of information we had, any possible option was a shot in the dark. Liyanne might be right that trying to learn something more is probably best for us right now.
-Miya, I want you to accompany me and keep an eye on our surroundings while I talk with this guy.
-Of course, Master.
I rolled my eyes. I still didn’t like her addressing me like that but given the situation we were in, it might be safer for both of us if she were to call me like that. We didn’t know what type of people exactly we were dealing with here, so, whether I liked it or not, I guess I’ll have to play along for now.
-..also, one more thing. I might end up saying something weird while I try to curry favours with him. He kept his mouth shut about it so far but we still can’t know how he will react to your race…
-I understand, I know you well enough by now to know you truly care about me and my sister. And I still remember the general perception people have of us. You needn’t worry, master, if the situation requires you to speak ill of us, I know you don’t mean it nor will I hold it against you.
-...thank you. And sorry in advance.
With that, I turned on my hill and headed towards the camp’s headquarters. The guard at the entrance tried to stop me on the first instinct but then seemed to remember who we were and quickly moved aside. We walked in and waited behind the entrance for the captain to finish talking to one of the guards and acknowledge us. He noticed us after a couple of seconds, quickly dismissed his underling and hailed us.
-What can I do for you, Sir…?
-Edward, captain. Princess Liyanne is interested if you could tell us more about the monster problem you’re facing, so that we can more adequately prepare the task force back at the capital city.
Garrock stared at me, frowning, clearly thinking about something. He took a moment to finally straighten up and reply to me, clearly unhappy that I’ve come to ask questions but still pretending to act relatively friendly with me.
-It’s mainly been Hyndralls and some other small monsters but their numbers have been surprisingly large.
-Could it be possible there are more dens than the two we know about so far?
-I doubt it. It’s unnatural for monster dens to appear in big numbers. We also used to scout the near-by terrain a lot but failed to spot any for months. Unless they all appeared in the last few weeks or so, there should only be the two.
-Do you have any maps of the region you could share? This would help better plan for the attack and help our mission as well.
The demeanour of the captain darkened suddenly, as if only now he realised something important that he overlooked until now. He looked me up and down for a second before he finally spoke, speaking slower and more carefully than before.
-What is princess Liyanne’s mission here anyway, soldier?
I straightened up, standing at attention and saluting to the captain, trying my absolute hardest not to smirk to myself at his confused look.
-Princess Liyanne was tasked with a recon mission to scout out and map local monster dens, Sir.
-What’s the purpose of this… recon mission?
-Better understanding the layout of the Frontier, locating potential spots for outposts, new potential natural resource collection sites and any potential dangers that might be lurking nearby, Sir!
-I see… and who are you, exactly?
-Edward, Sir, a soldier serving directly under princess Liyanne.
-A regular soldier wouldn’t be accompanied by someone like her. Nor would they allow a slave to carry armour and weapons. You’re some noble, aren’t you?
-No, Sir, that is not it. I am simply one of the princess's retainers. She, however, is one of the spoils from a recent raid on a bandit hideout. Since princess Liyanne couldn’t take her in as her slave due to her vows as a Paladin, she requested her to be transferred to me. As for her gear, she makes for a fine warrior and knows her place enough to not try anything funny.
-Shame. If she was your plaything, I’d offer to buy her off of you but I don’t want to get on the princess’s bad side, you know.
-If she was my slave, I’m afraid striking a deal would be just as difficult. She’s a rare commodity, Sir, even due to her race alone, not even mentioning her skills and compliancy. I wouldn’t want to part ways with her without a decent offer.
-Understandably so. Still, I wonder if you wouldn’t share her with us a little? Being stuck up here for so long, my boys and I could frankly use some relief.
The captain laughed. I tried my best not to throw a punch square in his face but I managed to limit myself to just clenching my fist and gritting my teeth. In the corner of my eye, I noticed some soldiers moving closer to us, as if they heard the conversation and wanted to be closer to a potential score. I noticed, however, that some of them were either having their hands on the hilts of their swords or holding their spears in a way that seemed like they’re ready for battle at any point. I also heard movement behind us, likely the guard at the door just blocked our exit. We were trapped. I could also see Miya tense up a little. She clearly hasn't taken Captain’s comment lightly, and understandable so. It seemed to reinforce her general opinion about mankind and to me, who was already acquainted with the subtle changes indicative of her emotions, it was apparent that her blood was boiling. I knew she was a step away from jumping the gun and striking but then she glanced over at me and seemed to calm down a little. If she acted rashly, we were both screwed up.
I managed to sneak a quick look around. We were severely outnumbered. It turned out there were way more guards inside than I initially noticed. I had to try to de-escalate things and find a way to walk out of this situation somehow. Even if those soldiers were third-rate at best, I wasn’t feeling comfortable fighting more than two at once. Miya could probably handle three or even four but we couldn’t gauge the ability of their captain. The guards also had the advantage of having spears. Again, Miya could probably dance around those with her swift movement and enhancement Skills but for me, who’s lacking both, they posed a real issue. Especially if those guys knew how to use them and would stack up behind the soldiers with swords and shields, basically meaning I would have to be worried about twice as many attacks at the same time.
-While I can understand and relate to where you’re coming from, Sir, I fear this will not be easily arranged.
-Oh, it can. All you have to do is keep your mouth shut about it and you won’t get hurt.
With that, one of the soldiers took a step forward and placed the tip of the spear on my shoulder, against my throat. I instinctively took a hold of my sword but that only prompted the other soldiers to draw their weapons, so, reluctantly, I moved my hand away. Miya seemed to have some more control over herself, likely being more aware of the soldiers’ intentions. She did glance at me with a hint of discomfort and unease. Even she wasn’t feeling comfortable with our chances here. Things were slipping, I had to figure something out and quickly.
Meanwhile, Garrock stood up from his chair and walked around the table, standing just in front of Miya, towering over her. He looked down at her, smiling to himself. Reaching out, he grabbed her chin and pulled it up a little.
-You sure are a cutie. I really wouldn’t mind making you my personal plaything. I might even do that, actually. I’ll just have to throw the princess and her guards to the Hyndralls and no one will suspect a thing, right? And you’ll be all mine-
At this point I knew well enough that if I don’t act now, I’m going to regret it forever. It was clear they would just kill me after the fact anyway, so I literally had nothing to lose. I noticed that the guard who was supposed to hold me in check was too preoccupied eyeing Miya to pay much attention to me, so I grabbed the spear he was holding and pulled on it. It came off his hands fairly easily, allowing me to strike the captain in his side with it, piercing the slightly rusty mail but inflicting only a fairly superficial wound. It would still be fairly painful, though, limiting his range of movements. Miya used this moment to push the surprised man away and drew her daggers, immediately jumping on the closest enemy, disarming him and throwing him against the wall. Meanwhile, I quickly drew my sword and got low on my knees, prepared to defend against any strikes coming my way but also positioning myself to easily manoeuvre around the second spearman on my side. The sudden escalation of the conflict caught the soldiers off-guard, giving me a moment to step on the offensive, getting that nasty spear out of my way and forcing the troublesome soldier into close quarters, leaving him at a massive disadvantage. Miya’s swift movements allowed her to throw a second soldier on the ground but now she was facing three opponents at once, with one trying to skewer her with a pike. Despite that, she was still taunting her opponents, hoping to cause them to slip up and give her an easier time dealing with them.
I quickly lost myself in combat, defending against two swordsmen and keeping a spearman on the defensive took the most out of me. Fighting one-on-ones was already troublesome, let alone being outnumbered like that. Our only salvation was the fact that Garrock decided to not engage in the fight but instead retreat and sounded an alarm. This gave us limited time before we were truly overwhelmed but this should also clue Liyanne and the other soldiers that something is wrong and potentially charge the enemy from the rear. I was also particularly thankful for those accursed Skills the people of this world love so much. The soldiers tried to use them in combat numerous times, giving me some moments of respite, allowing me to easily block and providing ample counter-attack opportunities, which eventually allowed me to critically wound one of my opponents. However, whenever those bastards managed to complete a Skill and strike at me with it, my shield arm would start screaming in pain, either from the sudden barrage of attacks of almost inhuman speed or the sheer power of the strike deflected. At one point I thought my arm had broken from the force of the strike. I was almost ready to throw the shield away so it doesn’t encumber me anymore but I realised I can still move my arm about as normal, although it was painful. I quickly thanked a divine, whichever one, that I was still fully combat capable but I knew well enough I will not be able to tank too many of those Skills.
It took us some time but I finally managed to down my second opponent, finally managing to deliver a cut into his armpit, rendering his sword arm useless and him at a serious risk of bleeding out. Miya, in the meantime, dealt with five if not six of them, all either unmoving or groaning in pain on the ground. The remaining forces decided to pull back and simply round up around us, blocking us from leaving the building. Garrock, at some point of this fight, made his way towards the entrance, still holding his side, which was visibly bleeding. It seemed the striked ended up being more devastating to him than I initially thought, however it still didn’t seem critical, definitely allowing him to fight.
While I certainly appreciated a moment to catch my breath and to let my left arm rest up a little bit, Miya seemed to want to just jump in and continue fighting. She did, however, pull back to my side and allowed herself a breather too, probably more by consideration of me than personal need. I glanced around the room, trying to see if I could find anything to give us an edge. No enemy reinforcements arrived yet but also no friendlies either, so we had to figure out if we wanted to try and hold out or attempt to push through them. The second option didn’t seem very realistic, though. Garrock and one other swordsman were blocking the door and we would still have to break through all the other soldiers first. On the other hand, inside the house, there wasn’t much furniture that could be used for quick barricades, maybe with the exception of the big table behind us but that one was now tossed against some wall with two of its legs chopped off. By itself, it wouldn’t offer any real protection for long and moving it over swiftly also wasn’t possible. If only there was a different route anywhere.
-I hear fighting.
I shot a glance towards Miya before returning to observing the enemy. For some reason they weren’t exactly thrilled with the idea of attacking us. Fairly confined space and their dead or dying comrades made larger, coordinated assault impossible and throwing themselves individually or in duos against us didn’t seem to work well for them so far.
-Ours?
Miya nodded. Personally, I couldn’t hear anything but I didn’t doubt her senses. If Liyanne and the knights were engaged, I would rather try to join up with them. Since they’re engaged, they likely won’t come to our rescue too soon, if at all. Even if they win their clash, I wasn’t sure what the soldiers were planning or how long we could really hold out anymore. Fighting in a bigger group would at least allow me some time to rest with properly coordinated switch tactics, or at least not have to worry about my sides and back so much. But how to break through them…
Miya shifted nervously. Stalling this engagement wasn’t to her liking but she wasn’t stupid enough to just rush in and strike at the enemy either. Despite how fired up for combat she is, she’s still maintaining a level headed approach…
…I almost gasped when I realised something. I shifted my stance slightly, pulling the sword back and extending the shield arm just slightly.
-Wish things would heat up soon.
Miya glanced at me with a slight confusion but then seemed to realise what I was referring to. She knew the stance I took and what I was planning to do, she saw me take it numerous times during training against some more cocky soldiers or guards who thought they could take me on. And she seemed to pick up on the clue as well, as she closed her eyes and shifted her stance slightly as well, taking a step behind me, murmuring something to herself. Then, out of blue, her daggers caught fire and she immediately tossed them towards the entrance, aiming at the enemy but some of the more flammable objects there instead. The soldiers were completely caught off-guard by this, initially assuming those were meant for them, and broke formation. When they started to realise what was happening, panic started to set in even more, leaving them completely wide open. That was exactly what I wanted. Before any of them could do anything, I charged forward, my shield up, managing to squeeze between two confused soldiers and ram right into Garrock, knocking him off-balance and pushing him out of the building. I tripped, landing on top of him but was almost immediately thrown to the side. The old captain turned out to be no pushover and to have quite some strength in himself. While rolling on the ground, I managed to hug the shield in a way that wouldn’t break or rip off my arm but I lost the grip on the sword in the meantime. When I looked up, I saw Miya dashing out of the building, having picked up both of her daggers first, and engaged Garrock, who already managed to stand up. He somehow managed to grab both of her arms as she was trying to cut at him and headbutted her in responce, knocking her on the ground just like that.
-Shame that I had to ruin that pretty face of yours a little there. But you might look even better this way.
I grit my teeth hearing him laugh. I tried to stand up but every part of my body hurt like hell and my head was spinning, making it nearly impossible. The captain noticed me, though, and started walking in my direction, grinning to himself. I watched as some of the soldiers managed to run out of the building, some with some burns but most mainly fine, who now surrounded and pinned Miya down to the ground and pulled her hair, making her look towards me. She tried breaking free but couldn’t. She was screaming but I couldn’t pick up any specific words. I tried pulling myself up again and managed to get up to my knees but then received a kick to the jaw and ended up flying and hitting the ground pretty hard yet again. All I could do now was turn over on my back and watch Garrock walk up to me with a wide grin. He was holding a sword in his hand. My sword.
-I’ll give you that, kid. You’re pretty good. But not good enough. Die with the knowledge that I’ll take good care of your little pet.
-Bastard…
I tried one more time to get up, to fight him, to at least kick him, to potentially awaken some sort of a hidden power in me like it always happens in fantasy stories when the main protagonist is about to die. I even started shouting in my head, calling on the gods of this realm, praying to them to come and help me but nothing was happening. I watched as Garrock gripped the sword with both hands, tip directed down, towards my throat, and raised it above his head.
-Still trying to fight, aye? Admirable.
With that, he brought the sword down. I flailed, trying to move away, to somehow dodge the strike, but I knew I couldn’t. This was supposed to be my last breath.