Two weeks passed, and the orders stayed the same for the members of Blindfold. With the day of the harvest festival getting closer, the number of merchants and travelers that use Maruum as a checkpoint increased ten times as the number of occurrences increased. Commander Boltu decided to increase the number of squads on patrol, which helped to control the situation.
"Release my arm, you wench!" A furious shout can be heard at the street market, and a rotund man dressed in beautiful luxurious clothes is lying on the street. "I will make you lose your job, your miserable guard!"
"You are under arrest, according to royal law the act of intimidating merchants using your status is punished by thirty days in prison and the payment of six times the products you wanted to buy or one thousand gold coins" - With her knee over his arm that is bent to his back, Manila slowly describe the crime and punishment.
"I'm a representative of the Aklamad Tradin…AAAARGH!" The man screams when Manila twists his arm more.
"According to royal law, the act of intimidating any security forces using your status or the attempt of bribery to avoid punishment is punished by one year in prison and the payment of twenty thousand gold coins, in case any of these offenses you can't afford to pay the fine, you will be assigned to an officer that will decide to auction your belongings and even if all you had is not enough you will be sent to a labor camp."
"I will have your head in a silver plate at the end of the day!" The angry man continued to shout while being ignored. Soon, two guards arrive to apprehend him. She explains the charges against the man and walks towards the shop owner who was the victim of the man's actions.
"Are you okay, sir? Did he physically attack you?"
"No, I am okay. Thanks for coming because he was getting violent."
"I'm glad we arrived in time. My squadmates took care of his guards, but I'd like to advise you to follow the guards and be a witness in the case."
"I'm sorry, Miss Soldier, but I can't leave my shop unattended. It need to re-organize everything and be prepared for the rest of the day."
"Don't worry about that. My squadmates and I will take care of the shop. Your testimony is the best weapon against arrogant people like that man, so please help us to free the streets from unlawful troublemakers." She bowed to the merchant, who was caught by surprise.
"Please don't bow, lady! I will go there; thank you so much for helping me." He leaves feeling embarrassed and happy, the troublemaker may finally face the consequences.
A soldier of the Judgement Regiment arrives at the place where Manila and Elzen are taking care. He is calm, and he's using the scout gear. Normally, scouts serve as messengers when they are not on a mission.
"Squire Manila and Squire Elzen, the commander wishes to talk with you. The other members of your squad were already called."
"We will as soon as we finish our work here. Please send my apologies to the commander if we are late, but we can't leave for now."
The scout leaves after saluting the squires, no occurrences happened while the owner was out. Elzen even managed to help with the sales, thanks to his natural charisma. One hour later, the owner was back; he was extremely happy that they fulfilled the promise, and he offered a lifetime discount at his store anytime they wanted to buy something. Saying goodbye to the owner, the squires rush back to the encampment.
"Finally, everyone is here!" Commander Boltu starts talking when Manila and Elzen take their position. "Before I start the reason why I summoned all of you, let me congratulate the entire squad for the great performance patrolling the streets. All the reports were full of good remarks about your diligence and quick response to all kinds of occurrences in the last two weeks."
Full of pride, the squires smiled; It was the reward they were expecting, and all their hard work was being recognized.
"I had high hopes for this squad since I recruited every member. I knew all of you had potential, but your performance exceeded my hopes. Congratulations"
"Thank you, commander!" The squires respond together.
"Now…" Boltu pauses a little, and his smile disappears. "Four days ago, we received intel from our scouts that a group of bandits were building a hideout near the Antera cliffs going south from Maruum. I ordered the Aurora Squad to stop this group from finishing their objective. Until now, they didn't report their action, so I have a bad feeling that something went wrong."
"Your mission, Blindfold, is to investigate where we suspect the bandits are building their fortress, find what happened to Aurora, and if possible, rescue any survivors."
"Yes, Commander!" The squires respond in a loud voice.
"Remember, your safety is a priority in this mission. We need to know what happened to Aurora and the Bandits, I pray for your success! You're all dismissed, except for you, Squire Manila."
Commander Boltu waits until all the squires leave, closes the entrance to his tent, and asks the guards not to let anyone enter without his permission.
"So Squire Manila…" He speaks in a more gentle tone than before. "I heard about your feats during the patrols; I'm not surprised. You always did everything so meticulously and perfectly that I had no doubts about your efficiency."
"Thank you for the kind words, my lord." Her cheeks flush, and a shy smile appears on her face.
"You don't need to feel shy, I always watched you doing the tasks given in the mansion. Your professionalism and dedication to always doing everything correctly delights me." He puts a hand on her shoulder and laughs proudly.
"My lady, this will be your first mission, a dangerous one at least. I know you understand the risks, but I want you to remember, I await your return, and if possible without any injuries." He sounds like a parent worried about the welfare of his children.
"I will do my best to return uninjured, my lord, I will do my best!" She smiled at him, and a warm feeling spread through her chest. Making a simple bow, she leaves the commander's tent to prepare for the mission.
"Everything is okay?" With worry in his voice, Elzen approaches her when she enters the tent.
"Yes, the commander was just giving me some tips about the mission since this is my first dangerous mission."
"Come closer, everyone. We need to decide a few things before leaving." Woltur stands in the center of the tent, in front of him the improvised wooden table with a map open, when everyone gathers he speaks again. "As the commander ordered, we need to find what happened with the Aurora squad and deal with the bandit situation. We are going to this point here." He points at a big circle marked on the map.
"This is Antera Cliffs, a rock formation at the south of Orlos territory and the start of the mountain range that separates us from Virtus Arce. There are many ways to get to this place, and I believe the Aurora Squad used the easiest way to get in there." He points to the north part of the circle. "There is a small road that leads directly to the Cliffs, commonly used by gatherers and hunters, so I guess that Aurora used this path and got ambushed somehow by the bandits.
"So we are going to use the same path to investigate?" Asked Julienne in a shyly.
"No, we can't use the same route even if we want to investigate what happened. Imagine if we used the same route and got ambushed as they did, that would be a disaster." He points to the eastern part of the circle. "We are going to use a more risky route. It will take us more time to get into the objective, but it will help us to avoid what probably happened with Aurora."
"If we take a longer route as you suggest, the chances of their survival will be minimal." Said Caristo with a worried tone.
"I know Caristo, I know…but if we take the fast route, we will probably face the same problems they had. We need to be cautious and remember we don't know what happened, so if we do something predictable like that, we could endanger the entire mission." Woltur placed a hand on Caristo's shoulder. "We will do our best to save them if they are at risk, but we need to focus on our priority, finish the mission they started."
Caristo's face looks defeated and conflicted; he wants to save the members of Aurora the quickest way possible, but he knows that would endanger his squad. Manila looks at Woltur and starts to talk.
"What are we going to do after we reach the point that you decided?"
"I can't give you a detailed plan since it would be inaccurate, thanks to the lack of information, but the first step is to scout the area for tracks, traces, or anything that could lead us to this bandit fortress. If the rumors are true, there will be something to help us. Building a fortress is an ambitious and incredibly slow work in that region. Unless they are planning to build one inside a cave, we will find something."
"If we don't find anything, what are we going to do?"
"This is the worst scenario possible, but in that case, we are going to direct our attention to where Aurora planned to go. We will look for clues in that area." He points at the northern area of the circle.
"I already know the answer, and probably everyone here is thinking the same thing, but who will be the leader of this operation?" The squires looked at each other before they focused on Woltur. He smiles confidently.
"The trust you guys have in me for that is heartwarming and an honor, I will do my best to coordinate this mission."
"You are our best chance. You gave us a plan straight out of the mission debrief. I think I speak for all of us when I say that what you showed us was that you are the most prepared for that role at the moment." Said Elzen, giving a little tap on Woltur's back.
"Thank you again, so…let us begin the mission. We will depart immediately, and when we reach the foothills of Antera Cliffs, we will do a basic camp." He does the Felnatus salute with his right hand touching his left shoulder and his left hand pointing to the sky. "For Felnatus and the Star Mother!" All squires do the same, and together they shout. "For Felnatus and the Star Mother!"