"Those who say war has no victors are those who waged it and lost. Wage your war with stratagems, and ensure you are not one of them." -Queen Viktoriya Dragunova

Isabel's writing slowed to a practical halt over the parchment, the ink yet to dry still shimmering in the dwindling candlelight as she turned her head to look outside. She rubbed her eyes in a circular motion, letting out a yawn.

— Dawn already?...

Three loud knocks reverberated through the room, almost shaking the door off its hinges. 

"Commander!"

"Enter."

Sir John stepped inside, still hastily fixing the latches of his armor.
"E—" he paused, noticing Isabel hunched over the table. "What are you working on?"
"The Prince requested our presence, I was writing a letter saying we have our hands full at the moment."
"Sounds about right, I would not appreciate being sent to the desert lands regardless! That is for certain."
"Aye."

Isabel then gave a curt nod. He was here for something other than chatter.
"O-Oh! Right! So, uh. Yeah! The town of Soden was taken by the beastmen last night! The General just received a messenger bird."
"...Give me the details on the way."

And just like that, the contingency of knights under the direct leadership of Lord Inquisitor Isabel Gottschuld was once again heading out on a mission without much respite.

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"With all due respect, sir, neither I nor any of my men can take much more of this." Ethan spoke, hands tight behind his back, his voice dry.

In front of him stood an old man with a suiting beer gut, scratching his smooth-shaven chin.
"Much more of what, Commander?"
"We have been sent on three back-to-back missions in a wild goose chase by the gods-damned CIA, without much explanation nor rest in between. My men are tired, and I can already hear a time bomb ticking away before one of us makes a foolish mistake that costs lives. We need rest."
"Watch your tone, Commander."
"I apologize, Gene—"
"Apology accepted. Now suck it up, and head to the next rendezvous point. Your informant will wait there per usual."

Ethan bit his lip, moving to stand in salute, pressing his feet together in a thump.
"Sir, yes, sir."

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"So what's the briefing?"

The inquisition rode out of the gates, people clearing the way and cheering, women throwing flowers in hopes of catching someone's attention, young boys running around wishing to one day ride alongside the brave knights. 

—Naive fools. The lot of them.

Sir John and Lady Alexa rode at the spear point with Isabel, the rest of the contingency rode a few meters behind them.
"The town of Soden, population 2,500, around 100 knights. Yesterday at around midnight assailants we believe to be from the rebellion silently stormed the gates and closed off the town, picking off the knights one by one. By the time anyone noticed and sent a bird, we believe the town had been completely under siege." 

"Do we know who sent the bird? Was there any signature? Mark? Anything?"

Sir John simply shook his head.

"My guess is, someone wanted us there. Most likely, a trap set by the rebellion. How long until we arrive at the town?" Isabel hypothesised.

"Three days at our current pace." 

"Keep your heads in the game, stay alert. I want a patrol to break out of the main force and scout a few hours ahead of us. Lady Alexa, go get your most trusted and head out. Take a squire with supplies as well, in case you get cut off. Sir John, make sure the squad leaders understand we are about to head into a quite disadvantageous ambush in a few days. We settle for camp at first star."

Lady Alexa and Sir John turned their horses, leaving Isabel alone at the front.

—There is no way the rebellion are that stupid. If they know the inquisition as well as I think they do, I would expect them to know ahead of time we will sniff out their ambush. What am I missing here?...

 Isabel nibbled on her gloved thumb out of habit.

 — I don't like this one tiny bit...

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The sun hung high in the skies over the Principality of Arturia. The golden desert sands as hostile as they are warm. It was a small offshoot of the empire controlled by the crown prince, Arthur Junior. A place hailed for its magnificent beaches, beautiful women, and lest one forgets, the best alcohol in all of Edengard.

"You called, my prince?"

A breathtaking young woman with tanned skin stood at the entrance to the lavish office overlooking the city of sand. She wore a see-through cyan mouth covering, and had free-flowing baggy pants of the same material. She wore a bra, and had an imposing cutlass at her hip. Most importantly, she had fox ears and a tail.

"How long ago have we sent the request to the inquisition again, Maria?"
"Two weeks ago, my prince."
"And how long would a back-and-forth usually take between here and the mainland again?"
"A few days at best, a week at worst, my prince."
"Chances that their bird was intercepted on the way here?"
"Slim to none, the mainland birds have a plethora of holy protections cast upon them."
"And we also know Isabel is not one to shirk her duties... It seems like we are out of options, we must ride to the capital—"

Maria suddenly had her hand to the prince's mouth, looking around cautiously as she withdrew the cutlass.
"There!"

She threw her cutlass at the wall as a grunt was heard.
Suddenly a cloaked figure rushed out of a crawl space, leaving drops of blood in their trail.
Maria made chase, but they were fast. By the time she turned a corner, they already turned the next one.

She stopped at a long corridor, looking at the drops of blood leading out of the window and towards the gates to the city streets.
The Prince walked up to her with a bloody cutlass in hand, offering it.
"You forgot your cutlass in the wall."

She winked at the prince, taking the cutlass before wiping it across a cloth and sheathing it back at her hip.
"For someone to breach security and escape even my notice; as well as know where the crawl spaces are located in the castle, and know the fastest way into the main street... we are dealing with no amateur, my prince. I recommend tripling security while I am away."
"And just what is it you are planning to do?"

Maria stopped at the window, her knee already over it as she licked her lips.
"Hunting~"