章 14: Mia Fabeln

The troops had only been marching for a short while now. They could still sometimes see Five Cave Village between the trees, yet the expedition's mood was strange.

Everyone knew that this mission might end in a bloody battle against the Kunalls, but yet muffled snickering could be heard every so often. Berg, the good guy that he was, was doing his best to focus his eyes on the blades of grass on the ground, while Titus and Ferlin were doing much worse and could barely hold their laughter.

It seemed as if everyone was walking while trying to avoid their gaze from a blushing Chris.

Chris was utterly regretting joining up with the expedition. He would have been much safer at Five Cave Village, and he wouldn't need to ride this damn donkey. But as he got to know his subordinates, he came to learn about their strengths and weaknesses.

Berg would do great against the Kunalls in a fight, but he was too straightforward to be a good negotiator. Titus had more potential but was too sneaky, and Ferlin had no interest in politics. Chris was in no way well versed in politics, but he had watched a lot of Game of Thrones in his previous world, and he was crafty. All good arguments for him to feel confident he'd do well.

Therefore Chris decided to join the expedition; it was better that way anyways. A leader needs experience. He needs to be there for his people. And he needs to see at least one Kunall.

But he was an ordinary man from the modern world, how fit could his body be? He was an engineer that spent most of his days in front of a computer, and in his spare time he would play video games, read novels, watch tv shows, and enjoy the occasional tasteful erotica. Some people from his previous world would call him a lazy bum, but Chris preferred to be called a "connoisseur of adult entertainment".

There was no way he would be able to do a forced march and follow those trained hunters. The trip should take them one day, but how long would it take if he walked? Two days? Three? Or maybe more?

They had two horses and just one cart. At first, he expected to just sit on the cart and enjoy the trip. But the cart was already creaking under the weight of the goods, and it was also full of dangerous stuff.

The horses had to drag the cart without rest, and even Chris would not be as shameless as endanger their provisions by exhausting the horses with his extra weight.

Thus Chris ended up backed in a corner and forced to accept Titus' offer to ride the majestic Equus Asinus! Also known as Dalahan the donkey, which now made him the center of attention.

Chris' cheeks were completely red. His expression was weird, and it was as if his consciousness had left his body to escape the shame.

Titus eventually had to break the silence. "L-lord... Please don't hold it against me. We have no extra horses. This donkey was our only solution."

But even as he said that his voice kept cracking from the restrained laughter. Chris is a tall man. It was quite a sight to see him mounted on a small donkey. His feet reached the ground and sometimes bumped on rocks and branches. His head was actually lower than when he was standing, and Dalahan kept giving him nasty looks from time to time.

This time Dalahan followed up Titus with a "pfrrtrrtrr" in contestation which brought Chris back to reality.

"You damn donkey! Don't act so proud. See this?!" Chris pointed to his forehead. "I still have the bump! This is a rebellion against your king! I should have you for dinner!"

"Pfrrtrt" Dalahan turned his head to try and bite Chris.

"Gyaa! Careful stupid donkey! Want some of this huh?" Shouted Chris.

"Quick, now!" Shouted Berg.

A female scout on standby rushed to Dalahan and he eventually calmed down as she patted him. This was actually the third time since they left camp that a brawl almost happened between Chris and Dalahan.

"I swear, he is doing it on purpose." Said Chris. "You only like girls touching you huh? Someone has peculiar tastes huh!? Don't you think I want the same? As if I want to ride on your back!"

"And what kind of name is Dalahan for a donkey anyway?"

Ferlin smirked at Chris' question and took the opportunity to distract Chris from his mount. "Do you know the legend of Dalahan, my Lord?"

Chris seemed interested. "I don't".

"This is a legend passed down for at least a thousand years. It's the tale of a man that became the first human king after he defeated a real dragon. It's now known as The Tale of Dalahan, the Dragon Killer."

"A human killed a dragon alone?" Asked a surprised Chris.

"Haha well, details on the fight are a little blurry, as you'd expect of a thousand-year-old legend. But there really was a king named Dalahan."

"There are multiple version of the legend, and some say he killed the dragon alone, some say he had an army or a magical weapon. But all legends have in common that the dragon came to our land to claim it as his own."

"But isn't that still too cool a name for a donkey?" Asked Chris. "I feel like he is more of a "Potatoes" or "Dumb Donkey".

"Pfrrtf." Complained Dalahan.

"I'll let you know a secret." Said Ferlin as he leaned over. "The donkey was gifted to Titus' daughter, and she is a fan of the legend."

[Petunia?] Chris looked incredulously at Dalahan. [That's the pony she mentioned?]

"Huhu." Laughed Chris. "Thank you, I feel better."

And thus, the Sun King and his mighty steed continued their travel.

With this, the mood got considerably lighter, and the march progressed very fast.

Ferlin and his hunters knew the area well, so they avoided areas that were in the territory of dangerous beasts. There was hardly anything around that could threaten them, but they did not have time to waste on pointless battles.

They still had to fight off beasts a few times, even with those precautions. They were mostly beasts that had a particularly large hunting territory that were attracted by the provisions on the cart. The hunters had to clear off a few packs of wolves and some murkbeast, a smaller carnivorous predator that also hunts in a pack.

A giant (male) buffalo seemed to take a liking to Dalahan and chased him and Chris for a while before it gave up.

All in all, the hunters found the march quite uneventful and were still in good form when it was time to set camp, unlike Chris who was exhausted from the ride. That night he slept so well that he did not even wake up when another pack of wolves attacked the camp. All the howling and fighting noises were drowned by his slumber. Luckily the pack of wolves was easily dispatched.

The next morning. Chris was woken up by the smell of food.

Most of the camp was already packed up, and the cook was very busy as he had to prepare food for more than 200 people. Luckily, a few hunters offered him some help.

"Did you sleep well, my Lord?" Asked Berg with a smile.

"Like a baby. My butt is still killing me, though." A full day of riding will do that to an inexperienced rider. "How are we doing?"

Berg looked at Titus. "According to my men, we should be two-thirds of the way there. We should be there before noon."

"Good, we are on time."

The cook finished distributing the food to everyone, and the march resumed.

It was almost noon when Chris' group was stopped by the scouts they sent forward.

"Lord, Sir Berg, the refugee camp is just ahead. I'd recommend stopping here." Said one of the scouts.

Berg looked at Chris who gave his approval. "Alright! Everyone, we are setting up here! Remember our Lord's instructions! They must not feel intimidated by our actions. They are our brothers and sisters! Do not shame our Lord!"

"YES!" Answered the hunters in unison.

***** *****

The camp was quickly set up, and Chris and his subordinated where having a final briefing before taking action.

"Titus, I am counting on you to send a few scouts to warn us of the Kunalls. We need to know when they are around an hour from here." Ordered Chris.

"Very well. I will send two scouts. Can they borrow our two horses when they have sufficiently rested?"

"Sure."

"Berg, I am counting on you to select twenty people to accompany us to the refugee camp. Make sure they are capable and have calm personalities. Let's not take any risk." Continued Chris.

"Yes, my Lord!"

"Ferlin, you will stay with the hunters in case anything happens. Make sure to be able to move out at any moment. We never know what kind of welcome awaits us in that camp or if the Kunalls are ahead of schedule."

"By your orders!"

"Perfect! Everything is ready, now let's eat!" Chris was up, an empty bowl in hand and in line in front of the cook before anyone noticed anything.

Titus lined up behind him with a smile. "You know you can cut in line, right?"

"Don't say something stupid. There are no ranks when it comes to a hungry stomach." Chris hated to see his teachers cut in line at the university's cafeteria, back in his previous world.

***** *****

Chris and his men left for the refugee camp around 3 pm. Ferlin stayed behind as was planned. The two scouts had left southward for a few hours now.

The refugee camp was now in full view of Chris' group.

"Wooden barricades. They are ambitious." Commented Berg.

"So fast?" Titus was surprised. "There were none when we spotted their camp a few days ago."

"This might complicate things." Chris was worried. "If they are fortifying then..."

"They have stopped running." Said Titus.

Berg seemed worried as well. "Is it out of desperation? Or are they taking a stand against the Kunalls?"

"They will be harder to recruit if they already have their own plan. But it looks like we will have very skillful craftsmen if we succeed."

The three of them continued to chat as they got closer to the refugee camp. They were eventually spotted which seems to start a commotion in the camp.

"It took them too long to spot us. They probably don't have enough people to defend and scout properly." Commented Berg.

They were almost at the gate when Dalahan complained. "Prfffrfrt". Chris' worry made him tighten his grip on Dalahan's lead rope without noticing.

"Sorry little gu-"

[Oh crap! I am riding a donkey... To a negotiation!] He immediately jumped down and handed the lead rope to Titus. [Ah! Serves you right!]

"Stop there! What is your purpose in coming here?" Asked a guard.

Berg stepped up. "This is our leader, Chris Duhan. We are here to negotiate peacefully with your camp. Please take us to your leader."

"Very well. Please wait." The guard murmured something to another guard, then left in a hurry.

Chris and his men were welcomed in the camp shortly after. They were escorted as they were led to the center of the camp.

Chris noticed everyone had stopped working and were carefully watching them. He leaned towards Berg and said "They seem nervous. How come?"

"Looks like they probably had trouble with other human groups." Explained Berg. "Many humans fell to banditry to survive. Some even made deals with the Kunalls to hunt for slaves."

[Why am I not surprised there is slavery?] Thought Chris.

He continued to look around and saw no construction projects other than the current barricades, and everyone was still living in tents. But he was pleased to see horses, caravans, carts... He could even hear a hammer rhythmically hitting metal.

The sound appeared magical to their ears as Chris, Berg and Titus looked at each other and exclaimed in their minds. [They have a blacksmith!]

This was one of the most important occupations missing from Five Cave Village. They currently had no way to replenish their current stock of weapons and arrowheads. This made a blacksmith a solution to most of their worries.

"Stop!" A guard stopped them once they reached the center of camp. He walked in front of a tent and said: "This is the chief's tent! Beyond here no more than three people are allowed! No weapons allowed either!"

Berg frowned, he still did not know what kind of reception awaited them.

"Please stay with our men for now, I will go in alone." Offered Berg.

"Don't worry Bergy. It should be fine, look around us, they show worry on their faces but no hostility. They aren't bad people. It's too late to worry now anyways. We are in the middle of their camp. Let's show them our sincerity instead of our worries. Come on, let's go!"

Chris showed he was not armed and entered the tent. The first thing he noticed was the smell of books and parchments.

[... A library?] He thought as he saw the hundreds of books packed on the shelves and piled on the ground.

Next, he noticed how large the inside was. There was still enough space inside for ten people to sit side by side.

It was daytime, but the inside of the tent was dark and only illuminated by a single oil lamp on the table. There was likely no opening to protect the books from the outside elements.

He was soon followed by Berg and Titus who had been checked for weapons. Their faces also showed surprise at the inside of the tent.

As they stepped inside, a calm and beautiful voice grabbed their attention. "Welcome. I am Mia Fabeln. How should I address you?"

The voice came behind a stack of books from the lit table. The young woman from which the voice belonged to, stood up to meet them. She was around 25 years old. She was a year or two younger than Chris. Her appearance was neat and proper. If one would describe her aura, he would most likely use the words "calm", "cold", and "competent."

She had long black hair braided in a side bun, she wore a calm almost cold expression and did not wear any superfluous accessories. She was wearing a simple slimming black dress that almost reached the ground. She was a little smaller than Chris, but her confident posture made up for it.

Chris was stunned as he looked at her illuminated by the dancing flames of the lamp. She was calmly waiting for his answer. Only her eyes had a sharp glint as she looked in his direction.

But he quickly got his bearings back and said:

"Holy..." The strange thing was that his lips almost didn't move, yet Berg seemed to hear his reaction just fine.

"..." Berg let a sigh escape his lips. He too had a better understanding of his new king.