Chapitre 14: Chapter 13: Reprieve
It didn't take long to pick up Anders and the others. It wasn't as packed as Valeria initially thought it would be. The trucks were initially meant for military transport before finding its way onto the black market and could fit around 24 people if they squeezed. Since they only had around 50 people at the moment, there was some wiggle room to work with even after packing away their equiptment.
In one of the trucks, Nadeemah took the wheel, Valeria rode shotgun, and Anders was sitting by where the cargo area and cabin met. A small panel slid open to reveal his smiling face to Valeria and Nadeemah as they drove.
"Seeing you good mood, I assume things went well on your end Valeria. What's the next move?"
Valeria hummed in agreement before responding.
"For now we drive ahead while covering our tracks. We don't want Kal'tsit catching up to us."
Anders nodded in agreement.
"True, we'll leave a trail in the sand with trucks this large. Can you use you're arts to make an artifical road under us so we're not leaving one behind to begin with?"
Valeria waved off the idea without much thought.
"I could, but it would be useless. Monst3r, that pet of hers, can detect the residual originium energy my arts would leave behind. She would just be able to follow that instead. No, we'll just keep driving until we run into a sandstorm. We can adjust our course there while the storm removes our tracks."
Nadeemah swept her eyes acrossed the open desert before them.
"Fine, at least there's nothing to crash into when we drive through one. Where am I going to be driving to once it happens?"
"Northeast, a little country called Kjerag in the snowy mountains. That's where we'll settle down and build a headquarters."
Nadeemah and Anders both gave Valeria a questioning look. The former unable to hold her curiosity.
"Kjerag? Never heard of it, what makes it special?"
Valeria leaned back into her seat and closed her eyes, relaxing after her day.
"Sarkaz mercenaries are mainly wanderers because they aren't welcome to settle down in most places. Our group is only made up of Sarkaz, the one exception being yourself. The only two realistic places we could set up are Kjerag and the Acahualla jungle in Sargon. The jungle is isolated enough that the Sargon government might not care about us, but as we grow bigger that may change. Kjerag however, doesn't have as much of a prejudice. They value isolationism, so the problems and views of the outside world don't affect them as much. Not even the infected have that hard of a time there."
Anders furrowed his brow in thought.
"If they are as isolated as you said, then would they even let us enter?"
Valeria responded with her voice sounding a bit softer as she teetered on the edge of falling asleep.
"Its fine. I have an old friend there who owes me a favor."
Anders was curious about anyone Valeria would call an old friend, but just shrugged his shoulders rather than disturb her sleep. Nadeemah was not as generous. With one hand on the wheel, she used the other hand to push on Valeria's shoulder.
"Hey, you're not allowed to sleep yet. You told me you would explain what was going on back there."
With a sigh, Valeria slightly opened her eyes.
"I suppose I did."
Valeria then proceeded to explain the ins and outs of the incident. About the Lord Ameer, the Padishah, and about her wanting to take the relic herself. Nadeemah nodded along through the tangent.
"Alright fine, I get it. Time was short, but next time try to let me know the plan ahead of time instead of feeding pieces as we go along. What about this Kal'tsit woman? You two seem eager to get away from her."
Anders' expression looked heavy while Valeria's twisted. Valeria spoke with a bit of annoyance leaking into her voice.
"She's a troublesome woman I've known for a long time. If she saw me, she would likely cause issues down the line regardless of what I plan to do because of my ... reputation."
Nadeemah raised a brow at the statement while Anders gave Valeria a look, but she just waved it off.
"If she is going to be working this closely with us, she should know. Bound to come out eventually anyway."
Nadeemah furrowed her brows.
"Come on, spill. Quit being so cryptic."
Anders gave her an amused look, anticipating her reaction to the news.
"Let me reintroduce you to Valeria. Have you ever heard of The Queen of Ruin?"
Nadeemah looks at Anders with a deadpan expression.
"No."
This time it was Anders and Valeria's turn to be surprised. Anders looked at Nadeemah with dumbfounded eyes.
"The Mad Dog of Kazdel?"
"Nope"
"The Queen of the Alecto Royal Court?"
"I don't know foreign polotics."
Valeria had to hold back a smile at Anders' growing distraught expression.
"Did your village never teach world history, Nadeemah?"
Nadeemah shook her head as she momentarily glanced at Valeria before focusing back on driving.
"No need for it. We only focused on practical things like my mechanical knowledge. Those are some pretty crazy nicknames though. How did you get them?"
Anders jumped in still riled up by the fact that she hasn't heard of Valeria.
"One time she hijacked a Victorian Duke's airship and crashed it into his estate while the Duke was inside."
Nadeemah's head whipped to the side staring at an unconcerned Valeria with wide eyes.
"He deserved it."
Before Nadeemah could say anything Anders continued.
"Another time she broke into the Emperor of Ursus' palace, beheaded him, and threw the body down the palace steps."
"Also deserved."
Not letting Nadeemah recover, Anders spoke again.
"She led a war campaign so bloody that it plunged Terra into a dark age for over 400 years. Scholars are still studying the ramifications of the Mad Dog's March to this day."
Valeria looked a little hesitant after the mention of the Mad Dog's March.
"That one may have been a bit much."
Nadeemah sank back into her seat with a pale expression before quietly laughing to herself.
"I'm working for a psychopath."
The statement actually brought a small smile to Valeria's face.
"So you've decided to work for me anyway?"
Nademah sighed while running one hand through her hair.
"You saved my life Valeria, and when I had nothing you gave me another place to belong. I'll stick with you, but if you start any unreasonable mass murders then I'm out."
Valeria leaned back into her seat while closing her eyes, the smile still gracing her lips.
"Fair enough."
Nadeemah was slightly startled by her calm reaction.
"You don't seem surprised."
Valeria gave an absent hum as she slowly drifted off.
"You don't live as long as I have without being able to read people. Relax as we travel, you'll need the rest. When we stop for the night I'll begin personally training you lot on how to fight."
Nadeemah nodded, her gaze scanning the horizon to find a sandstorm like they discussed earlier. Anders however looked at Valeria in absolute fear over the idea of her training. He considered telling the other Sarkaz in the truck, but decided against it. The ignorant fools would get too excited to rest and they would need it for the hell that was coming tonight.
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