“What do you suppose is on the other side of that, Yawdryl?” The Caerten’s voice ripped the him from his thoughts and slapped him right back into reality.
“Sir?” asked the Yawdryl.
“That…” The Caerten’s finger raised up and pointed to the horizon.
Miles off into the distance stood a gauntlet of barbed wire and death, and beyond that was Coftyr.
“Best to not worry about that, Caerten.”
The Caerten sighed, “We’ve enough to worry about, eh, Ryben?” Before the Yawdryl could respond the Caerten continued, “The country is beautiful here, innit? Sometimes you have to take it all in.”
Ryben agreed with a nod. It was beautiful here. Small huts lined the road they stood on. Tiny monuments of cobblestone topped with thatch roofs that held the richness of the land they sat on.
The Yawdryl breathed deeply and looked around him. The low roads that stretched from Jynty and out into the hills and valleys beyond hung low beneath the horizon. Cobblestone walls strained to keep the downs from sliding deep and burning the causey beneath them. All around a heavy mist hung in the air, not oppressive, but not comfortable. Living here would be just fine, but quartering here meant the vapors never truly left and bodies chafed and rubbed beneath perpetually damp uniforms.
Through the haze the echoes of a nearby iron-shaper hammering away on his anvil danced in the wet air. Ryben watched the faint outline of the shaper as it worked its magic into the anvil.
“You know. Sometimes I envy him.” Ryben said out loud.
“The Shaper?” the Caerten asked as he stepped forward and motioned for the Yawdryl to follow.
“Yes, Sir. He works his hammer, plies his trade. Lives his life in bliss. You know. Until some dolts like us show up and demand quarter. What are they going to do? Refuse? No.” The Yawdryl sighed thoughtfully.
The Caerten turns and looks to him as he spoke, “Combat fatigue setting in, Yawdryl?” He asked, but continued speaking before he could get an answer, “Ryben, we need to check on the engineers. They’ve been working all morning, and we shall need a field test soon. How about we head that aways now, and get the mission back into focus.”
“Daydreams are for grave teams, Sir.” Ryben replied.
BANG!
An explosion ripped through the air and echoed all through the valleys. The crack echoed into the hills then back again, and it was followed by a plume of white and black smoke that stretched through the dense fog.
The two Quar looked to each other knowingly and doubled their pace towards the engineer. Villagers started to poke their heads from windows, and a few even dared to walk out to investigate.
As the two entered the village square they came upon the engineer, or at least what was left of him, as well as the top secret project he had been working on, the Iron Stilty. The pair looked at the chassis and deduced that it had thrown a rod that had sent the engineer to the great beyond.
“Ah! Bugger! Byrten! Yawdryl Byrten are you here!” The Caerten yelled out.
“Setting a parameter, Sir! Only a matter of time before we have Coffers breathing down our throats after that.” Ryben said as he turned and started calling for his squad, “Pathfinders! On me!” His voice echoed through the mist.
Without acknowledging Ryben the Caerten called out again, “Byrten!”
“Moving, Sir!” Byrten’s voice sounded tinny and distant as it lumbered through the fog. The echo of his boots on the cobbleroad was hard to track with the chaos and haze.
“Byrten, send a runner to get the truck! We will need to tow! Get your squad and set up a perimeter! Work with Ryben to secure the area!
Soldiers yelled, ran, and performed their duties. They were ants all working together now to protect the colony. A runner left on foot to fetch the truck and soon all was quiet again. The villagers, amidst the chaos, had chosen to go back indoors. Even they knew the kind of attention this would attract.
“If we are lucky this mist will hold until the truck gets here…” The is-caerten prayed to himself. But it was as if the breath from his lips blew the fog from the village and he and his men were now naked and exposed to any that could see.