“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to our morning program.
Today, the federal government has made several statements to the general public about the economic crisis, stemming from the effects of the Transference:
The first of which covers the fuel supply, which was heavily rationed for all private motor vehicles. This had led to overcrowding in several areas in Arden, where the underground metro companies had reported nearly twenty percent overcapacity. The airline industries - however, are currently in the process of downsizing, with many companies forced to ground their new fleet of CA-124 Stardreamer airliners delivered by Evalyn Aerospace just last year, with their future currently uncertain. The state-owned company - Gazrabotaprom, in contrast, has opened new oil fields in the Black Plain of the Principality of Lior, aiding to relieve the fuel supply situation.
The second of which regards food supply, with the Army now in the process of delivering emergency war-time rations from storages to poorer neighborhoods across the country to prevent food shortages. We have received confirmation of these deliveries by the residents, having been interviewed by several local independent news outlets for the past few days.
The third statement was in regards to material input. Kuznetsmach, the largest steel producer in the country has taken the full force of the lack of raw iron and other ores, with the company losing almost thirty percent of its stock value. Due to this, the price of steel and other alloys necessary for heavy and light industries has almost quadrupled, raising consumer price index by a significant margin. Ambassador Reiker is currently in talks with Prince Eidrian and his government, but the negotiation is currently at a standstill, with no clear statement from Freyra at this point in time.
Moving on to the postwar situation in the Eastern Continent, President Irwin has promised swift political reform and security for the newly independent Elvish Republic which borders the Kingdom of Azuria, as well as more expansive economic investments into both the Elvish Republic and Azuria itself. Arden has said that this is to both help secure the United Federation’s food supply and improve living conditions on the continent. Duke Kalush ad Azuri has made highly positive statements in regards to the economic investments, with the majority of criticism currently coming from the aristocracies within the kingdom itself. The aristocracies were expressing great dissatisfaction to the Duke’s rule due to the shortages of tenant farmers to work on the land. Farmers across Azuria are expecting the Duke to reform the kingdom to favor homesteading, and suppress the aristocracies’ rule.
According to the federal government, the first of twenty million Credits worth of military equipment has been purchased by the Kingdom of Azuria through the Strategic Assistance Act, with delivery expected to be completed within a month’s time. The contract consists largely of R-25 rifles and infantry equipment, but also UMT trucks and two batteries of 127mm-caliber GT127D1 towed howitzers along with their associated training, maintenance contracts, as well as relevant ammunition stock leftover from the military buildup. The Kingdom of Azuria have also expressed interests on the purchase of helicopters and light aircrafts to replace their wyvern cavalry, but the Federal government has yet to expand the Strategic Assistance Act to more advanced equipment, pointing to Azuria’s current lack of service infrastructure for the aircrafts.
The Department of War has announced that the private military contractor - Rosemary Security, has been awarded the contract to train the Azurian military personnel with the first Azurian recruits expected to enter service and deployed into the Elvish Republic within a few short months. The CEO of Rosemary Group - Mr. Alphonso Anatoli, has solidified his company’s commitment to providing professional training and services for Azuria in accordance with the contracts, and that his company is ready for any expansion of forces in the Eastern Continent in accordance with the Azurian government’s needs. The cost of the contracts are currently unknown, but experts have estimated that Azuria has expended an equivalent of nearly sixty million Credits for Rosemary Group’s service and weaponry, taken into account of the fifteen million Credits for firearm imports through the Strategic Assistance Act.
For the time being, Rosemary Security have been reported to have deployed nearly a thousand contractors in Lassesanta and Arvandor in the Elvish Republic to support Azurian troop with upholding stability as the 5th Marines continued their gradual withdrawal back to Azuria, with another thousand private contractors concentrating near the city state of Swetall, belonging to the now Kingdom of Yaria. Interviewed civilians in Avatia suggested that Rosemary Security have deployed several detachments of LT-series light tracked armored vehicles as mobile armor as well as hundreds of militarized pickup trucks and other vehicles to support its security mission in the region.
Moving to commerce, today we brought good news. Most legacy trade tariffs and trade restrictions between the Kingdom of Azuria, the Principality of Lior and the Elvish Republic have been lifted thanks largely to President Irwin’s administration acting as broker. Despite this, the public is still uncertain of the future. Protests have emerged across Westleigh, Beckham, Tel Aliya and Zalivohrad, demanding a return to a state of normalcy. Both the Army and Navy have expanded their humanitarian relief effort and patrol across all three states, ensuring continuing security and stability as curfew law is projected to cease once the supply of raw material stabilizes.
Experts estimated that it would take time to recover, most likely within a year in the most optimistic estimation if the Principality of Lior agreed to allow foreign ownership and investments into their mines. Red Dragon - the largest mining guild in Lior, as well as White Tassel - the largest magical gem producer in the Eastern Continent, have expressed extreme disapproval with foreign ownership and foreign mining of Lior’s resources. Many suspected that the two guilds were lobbying the Prince to stall negotiations with Ambassador Reiker, with many more outlets pointing to their ever growing profits as justification for their claims.
That concludes our morning program today. Jane Karol, Federal News Network, reporting from Arden. Stay tuned for our afternoon program.”
Somewhere in the Principality of Lior.
July 7th, 1427.
As the early morning fog settled in, the three figures found themselves out in a desolate field, far away from any trade routes or settlement. Sounds of crickets lingered as several fireflies dotted around the grass, providing flickering light in place of the sun which has yet to rise on the horizon.
“Owain dragged his asses off the tavern yesterday. He apologized quite a bit about it.” Livna said as she disembarked from her bike. “Apparently that jackass was part of Owain’s party - the Order of Scarlet.”
Kreuger took off his helmet, finally getting one after Owain’s recommendation. Too bad, he’d have to leave it in a short moment. “You remember that elf, Sasha? The one that looked off from the rest of the women there?”
“Yeah, boss. She’s probably his personal guard or some shit. Don’t all rich, snobby shit rags have someone like that?” Sasha turns on the field computer, checking if the signal is still beeping so that the Red Team can find them in the middle of nowhere.
Kreuger checks his surroundings, scanning the dark scenery with a night vision monocular on his head. A bright stream of light - invisible on his right naked eye but clearer than day on his left, emerged behind a small hill. Infrared light bulbs, he figured.
“Red Team is here, let’s give ‘em a greeting.” Kreuger said.
A pair of trucks arrived, bringing half a dozen operatives on them with each individual brandishing a different style of clothing local to Lior and Azuria, but all were carrying firearms.
The front truck stopped, disembarking a cloaked man holding a rifle. He marches towards the three operatives, hands tight on the suppressed R-25. “Stalkers?”
Kreuger pulled down his shemagh, revealing his bearded face before lifting his monocular up. “Hey Raptor, did you get my text?” He offered a hug and a friendly smile, even though he was barely visible in the near-pitch black environment.
“Sure fuckin’ did,” The cloaked man pulled down his hood, revealing a middle aged man in a bonnie hat before accepting the friendly hug from Kreuger. “Heard you need one of our small trucks.”
“Operational requirements. How’s the first day been, Rap?”
“Ambassador Reiker got an empty basement under the embassy where most of my team is now stationed. They got the surveillance system and the drone control setted up.” Raptor explained before giving Kreuger a key to his truck. “Questing, huh? Shit… I wish I was in your shoes. Shame that the War Department chose y’all to be undercover adventurers this time.”
“Trust me, you don’t want to be in my world.” Kreuger recalled, lifting his shemagh to Raptor as a hint to its history.
“Maybe. At least under the embassy we got soda and movies. Your world is more exciting, but just straight up batshit crazy at times. I think I’d prefer to stay in my world.” Raptor said with a calm done as he looked back at his team, who sat idly on the trucks as they kept watch of their surroundings.
“Three dirt bikes for one small truck. I’d say it’s a good deal, for now.” Kreuger gave Raptor the bike keys collected from his teammates before patting his shoulder. “Don’t break our toys, we’ll have ‘em back.”
“Same can be said to you, Kreuger.” Raptor replied.
“Don’t worry, we’ll probably break this truck sooner than you think. But it’s fine, right Sasha?” Kreuger turned his head to Sasha with a smile.
“Only if I’m still alive after you’ve broken it, boss.” Sasha answered, lifting his shoulders as a gesture: I Don’t Know.
“I’ll make sure you guys will.” Raptor replied, pulling out several maps from one of his chest pouches, handing it to Kreuger. “The 177th have taken photos of Torpa Valley and marked all possible enemies' locations as well as their patrol routes. Not particularly detailed, you three gave them only six hours to do recon anyway.”
“Tight schedule.” Kreuger took the maps. “At least some information is better than nothing. Sometimes you’ve gotta figure it out on the move.”
“Do me a favor and don’t pull another Zhihao’s palace stunt with your so-called ‘figure out on the move’. I’ll help coordinate in-theater air assets and intelligence.” Raptor shook his head as he walked to one of the bikes, hopping on it before turning the keys to start the vehicle. “Happy hunting, Stalker.” He bids farewell.
As Raptor and the rest of the Red Team left, Kreuger inspected his shemagh again, recalling the time when he got it. “Yeah. Guess I’ll try…”
– –
Freyra, Principality of Lior.
The three arrived at the Adventurers’ Guild on their new truck, excited about their first quest on the fantastical new world. Seeing Vaughan and Thorcass standing next to a wooden cart around the cargo handling area, Kreuger steered the vehicle, maneuvering it next to the cart.
“Good mornin’, sir Vaughan.” Sasha greeted, hopping off the rear bed of the truck with his crossbow, making sure he didn’t step on the many cardboard boxes of civilian MREs they brought with them. Since they’ve accepted the second commission as well, they have to bring enough food to feed an entire section of the mine for a week, totalling around twenty workers.
“Oh! You’re here!” Vaughan’s worried expression turned animated, happy that their words are true.
“I was worried that you were lying to me about the truck since yesterday.” Thorcass folded his arms.
Livna disembarked from the passenger seat after tucking away her PDW and wrapping herself in a new, warmer cloak to cover herself from the chilly morning air. According to Red Team’s weather reports, today is going to be much colder and drier than yesterday. Such erratic change of weather is probably normal here, unlike in Azuria where a supposed Goddess blessed the land with an eternity of bountiful harvests a couple hundred years back. Quite an outlandish myth, she thought, but then magic exists in this world so it might not have been so far-fetched.
“Let’s move the goods quickly, we don’t have all day.” Livna said, eyeing the bulky pile of boxes on the wagon. Stacks upon stacks of wooden chests, wrapped mails and other miscellaneous items - perhaps personal deliveries, filled almost the entire rear of the cart. While it was indeed a lot of items, there was still space for what they’ve brought with them.
Kreuger eyed the fuel gauge on the small truck. While definitely enough for the distance they’d travel on, he was hoping that he could bring some extra gasoline - just in case they’d some more. But the truck was about to reach its limit already, so he can’t exactly shove more flammables next to valuable cargo.
He pulled out a map from his pouch, carefully crossing his finger on the route through Torpa Valley. Lots of turns, lots of suspected bandit camps and even more abandoned mineshafts. Fuck, it’s gonna be messy, he just had a feeling.
After disembarking from the driver’s position, Krueger made his way to the back of the cart, aiding the two merchants with transferring the goods from the cart to the truck. Trading some pleasantry with Vaughan while moving goods, he noticed a small glint in the sky above, ominously loitering silently almost out of sight. Most people would’ve thought that it was just a wild wyvern, but he knew exactly what it was.
The lab puke’s from AMRA did it again. After he made some special request earlier in the day, Red Team had reported that they’ve gotten a prototype called an unmanned drone up in the air, armed with a couple GB-100 small diameter laser-guided bombs.
How the thing even flew without pilots mattered very little to him though, technology evolves faster than he could understand how they work every time AMRA dips their hands into his business. But he does appreciate some high-tech tools and weapon they gave him though, that’s something worthy. The only time he was let down by AMRA was when the prototype rifle melted and blew itself up from overheating a couple years back in Yunna, where he had used the experimental 6.27mm caseless ammunition rifle on full automatic for a prolonged period during a shootout to get out of Zhihao’s palace.
“What did you do before, Kreuger?” Vaughan asked him as he continued to shove cargo on to the rear of the small truck. “Given that you’re a C-tier, you must’ve had some experience as a D-tier, no?”
Kreuger thought about it for a split second, before resuming the work. “Not much, just stuff.”
“I see… you like to keep secrets then.”
“Everyone has secrets.” He helped Sasha with lifting a particularly bulky chest, before turning back to Vaughan. “I don’t trust someone who doesn’t have a dark side.”
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“Trust is crucial for any line of work.” Vaughan remarked, gesturing at the small truck with a smile. “I placed my trust in you three, and was rewarded with this.”
“That’s just life’s advice, sir Vaughan. I’m sure you have things others don’t want to know too.”
“You’re right… haha.” Vaughan let out a nervous laughter, thinking of what could happen to him if he couldn’t deliver the goods in time.
– –
“Interesting crossbow you got there, where can I get one?” Thorcass asked Sasha, his wolf ears twitching in curiosity as he eyed the expensive compound crossbow slingling on the adventurer’s back.
“Oh, I got this from a merchant in Azuria.” Sasha answered him with a straight face. “It’s a better place than here anyway…”
“Perhaps your view finds merit. This kingdom isn’t exactly a pleasant place to be, but there is money to be made. Maybe I’ll move to Azuria if I can, rumor has it that it’s a good place to settle down with all the rapid development currently happening.” Thorcass said.
“Well, I wish you good luck on that then.” Sasha patted the wolfman, finally finishing up with transfering the goods to the truck. He climbed into the rear seat, taking up an overwatch position as Vaughan and Thorcass hopped on their horses, ready to make ready for the trip ahead.
– –
Torpa Valley
Kreuger knew it was bad, but he didn’t realized how fucking absurd this new world could be.
Red and orange cliffs - carved by ancient winds dominate the scenery, with their height almost reaching skyscraper level. Scattered throughout the valley are remains of old mineshafts, abandoned long ago from times when they were filled with miners and laborers.
Despite the fact that it’s almost noon, the atmosphere is one of ominous chilliness between the cliffs next to the path they were taking. Very little sunlight managed to snuck down, saved for a few spots where there’s little rock overhang.
What concerns Kreuger more than most is that several broken wooden carts are scattered throughout the valley, with their wooden chests emptied of their content. Remnants of animal bones - perhaps horses or donkeys, are scattered throughout the valley, with some having holes on their skulls. No doubt ambushes happened here often, yet few traces of fallen adventurers or dead merchants could be found.
Kreuger assumed that the bandits also took all the bodies to either sell or use up already, who knows what happens around here. More than a decade of travelling around countries while going undercover for work have exposed him to the worst that humanity has to offer.
He steered the vehicle around a particularly large boulder, only to find the dirt path even in rougher condition. “Anything yet, Sasha?”
“None. These bastards aren’t coming out.” Sasha aimed his crossbow around as he looked into the thermal scope, scanning the interior of the dark, murky mineshafts for any signs of bandits. Sitting on the trunk of the vehicle with the cargo, he acts as a lookout for any signs of danger.
Livna sat on the passenger seat next to Kreuger, her hand already on the RS-46 PDW as her eyes danced around every small detail of the valley.
Kreuger flashed a glance at her. “Calm down, Liv. No need to be that serious.”
“Can’t be too careful, boss.” She said, tightening her grip on the PDW.
“Maybe you’re right.” Kreuger reached for the computer sitting next to the dashboard, connecting to the frequency again. “This is Blue Team, contact Overwatch, request SITREP. Over.”
The computer’s speaker flipped to life, its light turned from red to green as a signal came in. “Copy that, Blue Team. No visible signatures. Repeat. No visible signatures. All clear. Over.”
Kreuger pressed on the radio again, turning on the microphone. “Copy that, Overwatch. Over.”
“I don’t trust the drone’s sensor very much.” Livna said as she continued to keep watch. “They hide inside the shafts, no way the drone is gonna see any of ‘em.”
Livna’s logic made sense to Kreuger. While having drone overwatch ensures that no one would approach them from above the cliffs, the presence of empty mineshafts meant that the bandits could attack from anywhere as long as there is a tunnel or shaft nearby.
The truck continued to move forwards, staying close behind Vaughan who rode on his horse, who’s also on high alert. Despite that, Kreuger could tell that the man is on the verge of shitting himself out of anxiety.
“Hold up, boss. I saw something.” Sasha said, causing Kreuger to hit the brake on the vehicle. “Twelve O’clock, One-fifty to two hundred meters ahead.” He said as he adjusts his thermal scope before quickly swapping to his binoculars to take a better look at the silhouette.
Inside what appeared to be an abandoned wagon, a woman sat all alone as she pressed her hand against her hip, trying to stop what Sasha assumed to be bleeding. She suddenly turned her head at the group, trying to gesture for help.
The woman’s outfit was that of an adventurer, which was adorned with many colorful accessories from top to bottom. Blood dripped from the wagon, which the group assumed to be from the female adventurer’s injuries.
“Help me! Somebody!” The female adventurer cried out.
“That doesn’t look good.” Thorcass said to Kreuger as he moved his horse next to the driver’s window, before moving back next to Vaughan on the rear.
“I’ll go help her, boss.” Livna put her hand on the truck door befor-
“Don’t.” Kreuger stopped her as he grabbed her arm before looking back at Sasha on the vehicle’s cargo bed. “Something’s off.”
Sasha turns on the laser designator, pointing it at the wagon ahead.
He flipped on the computer sitting on the dashboard again. “Contact Overwatch. How’d you copy? Over.”
“Copy, Blue Team. What’s the matter?”
“We got a situation. Injured combatant, obstructed from birdseye's view inside the wagon ahead. Possible ambush. Over.” Kreuger spoke with a neutral tone.
“Copy that, Blue Team. Laser’s locked on the wagon. No other signatures spotted. Repeat. No other signatures spotted.”
“You think this is an ambush, boss?” Livna gave Kreuger a side-eye before moving her eyes back on the injured adventurer sitting inside the wagon. “She looked pretty badly injured.”
“Tsk. Fuck that.” Kreuger twitches his face. “That amount of blood that bitch lost would’ve killed her twice over. Look around her. No dead horses, no dead bodies around, not even signs of struggle.”
“Yeah… seems like you’re right, boss.” Sasha looked through the thermal scope attached on his compound crossbow again, his finger pressed on the computer’s trigger button as the built in ballistic calculator - which was connected to a portable computer on his backpack, gave him a precise point to aim on the tiny screen within the scope.
The female adventurer’s blood temperature was closer to the area around her than her body, which was a dead giveaway. The woman’s body temperature was also unlike someone who’s about to be dead, glowing a bright white in contrast to the more subtle shade that a near-death individual usually emits.
Kreuger looked at the area around a wagon, which he assumed to be a particularly large and abandoned mining area. Half a dozen entrances, from tiny holes to large entrances could be seen just from their position alone, all the entrances of which pointed at the wagon ahead.
Shit couldn’t have been more obvious. Whoever set up this ambush was clearly an amateur, or is just confident that somebody would be dumb enough to fall for it. At least they tried to use women to lure people in as well as letting their guard down.
“Overwatch. Target the largest entrance ahead on our two o’clock, delayed fuse, two hundred meters ahead. Over.”
“Copy that, Blue Team. Laser locked. Weapon’s hot. Over.”
“How’d you know they’re in the largest entrance, boss?” Livna turned her head to him.
“Just a hunch.” Kreuger answered.
Vaughan and Thorcass rode up next to the truck, knocking on the glass window before Kreuger slid it down. “What are we doing now?” Vaughan asked him.
“It’s a trap.” Kreuger said, turning to Sasha. “Pop her toe or something.”
“You got it boss.” Sasha holds the weapon steady, aiming up to compensate for the arrow’s drop. A two hundred meter shot is usually only done in a volley for a near-medieval place like this, but with the integration of the ballistic scope into the crossbow, he has few worries about missing his shot as long as the arrow within is in good condition.
He took a deep breath, stabilizing the crossbow on the hood of the vehicle as the computer calculated the trajectory.
“That’s gonna be a long shot, even for a seasoned adventurer. Are you sure he could hit it?” Thorcass asked.
“Just wait for it…” Kreuger mumbles, his hand on the computer on the dashboard.
Sasha squeezed the trigger, releasing the arrow into the air. The composite arrow flew quickly through the air, landing on the female adventurer’s thigh.
“AGH!” She yelled out, rolling out of the carriage before quickly standing up on one leg. “You fuckers! Get them, boys! Kill them!”
Sound of men roared out from the empty mineshafts, which was heard clearly by the group down below.
“Engage now, Overwatch.” Kreuger spoke to the radio.
“Copy. Danger close. Take cover.”
“I fuckin’ called it.” Kreuger exited the vehicle, pulling out his Azurian sabre. “Let’s see if my swordman training holds up. Time to get to work”
“Take cover behind the rock, both of you!” Sasha pointed at the boulder nearby. “NOW!”
“O-okay?!” Vaughan moved back, fearful for his life as he closely followed behind Thorcass. “We count on you!”
A dozen hooded bandits emerged from the mineshaft, running and wildly firing arrows at the vehicle ahead. Due to the poor range of their longbows, the arrows fell harmlessly short into the dirt.
Whistling sounds screamed in from the sky, turning into deafening explosions within the mineshaft as a pair of guided bombs struck the largest entrance, caving in the bandits.
“What the hell was that?!” Vaughan yelped, covering his ear along with Thorcass.
Despite being stunned from the shock from the explosions, a few bandits who made it out unscathed pushed forward, rushing at the three with swords and knives. “What the fuck?! Get them!”
One of the bandits slump down lifelessly as an arrow pierce through his head. Sasha reloads his crossbow, pulling another arrow from his quiver. “I’ll cover!” He yelled.
Kreuger blocked a sword strike, quickly swiping one of the bandit’s legs to knock him down. Livna stabbed the bandit down with her knife, before quickly ducking to let Kreuger swing his sabre at another bandit, only to find it knocked out of his hand.
Kreuger quickly grabbed the man by the shoulder, breaking his hand to disarm him. He held the man in place as he struggled with him, before turning to Livna. Seeing that Liv is busy with fighting a particularly large beastman with a spear, he turned to Sasha. “Sasha! You mind helping me out?!”
An arrow went through the bandit’s leg, forcing him down onto his knee. “Reloading!” Sasha yelled.
Seeing the opportunity, Kreuger wrestled the man onto his back before pulling out a knife, dropping his entire body on him to weigh the stab, making sure that the man couldn’t resist the force of the knife entering his body.
He stopped resisting, which prompted Kreuger to quickly grab his sabre. “Liv! Get down!”
He threw the sabre at the beastman, causing him to drop the spear. Livna quickly slashed his knees, dropping him down before climbing on his back. She pulled out both of her knives, stabbing the beastman’s eyes, causing him to instantly die as the knives entered his brain.
The beastman’s body dropped down, with Livna adjusting her mitznefet before pulling the sabre out of the beastman’s chest. “Thanks, boss.”
“Die you bitch!” Another bandit with a sword dashed forward behind her.
Livna quickly dodge but was cut across her left arm, backing on her knees against a building as she held her arm tightly, trying to stop the bleeding. “Shit!”
Kreuger dashed up, tackling the bandit down. Seeing another bandit rushing towards him, he turned to Sasha, only to find him busy with firing at another bandit.
The bandit swung his sword, ready to kill Kreuger.
CLANK
Thorcass suddenly appeared, blocking the sword strike with his own. “Now!” He yelled at Sasha, who quickly fired an arrow into the bandit’s head, killing him instantly.
Kreuger took the opportunity, turning his head down as he tightened both of his hands on the bandit’s neck. He struggled for a short while, until the bandit finally passed out.
“Thanks!” He rolled to the side, grabbing his sabre again as he stood up, taking his stance against the few remaining bandits.
“Shit-!” The bandits ran, quickly retreating into one of the nearby empty mineshafts.
Kreuger pulled out an FR-57 grenade from his rear pouch. “Don’t you fuckin’ run!” He pulled the pin, quickly throwing it into the dark tunnel.
The grenade went off, ejecting dust and debris out of the tunnel after the yelling of men ceased.
“I-think that’s all of them.” Vaughan peered his head out from behind the boulder.
Kreuger ran towards Livna, checking her bleeding. “You alright?”
“...No. I’m not.” She answered, groaning in pain.
Thorcass grabbed a medicine bag hanging on his horse, pulling out a bandage and offering it to Kreuger. “Here, she’ll need this.”
“Thanks.” Kreuger said as he proceeded to bandage Livna, rolling the cloth around her left arm.
“I’ve been in a worse situation than this.” She said, smiling a bit.
“Just like Al-Anwar eh?” Kreuger chuckled, finishing up with his bandaging.
Livna rolled her eyes. “Ugh… don’t remind me of what I did in that place.”
As Vaughan and Thorcass gathered all the weapons and equipment from the bandits’ bodies, they both took a long look around the area where they’d almost walked into the ambush.
“Where did those explosions come from?” Thorcass asked the three, turning to Kreuger and Livna in particular. “And where did you get that grenade? I thought the Elysians don’t sell explosives and firearms to Lior?”
“You know these things?” Kreuger raised an eyebrow.
He folded his arms. “I pay attention to the news, unlike my partner here. Ain’t that right, Vaugh?”
“You’re the smart one here. Unlike me.” Vaughan said, picking up a nice looking sword from a bandit. “Woah… this one is worth probably twenty gold coins!”
“Being smart and being wise are different, you know it.” Thorcass looked back at Livna, noticing the PDW slinging on her hip. “I have my suspicions. You three aren’t from Azuria aren’t you?” He asked, giving them a blank stare.
Kreuger, Livna and Sasha stayed awkwardly silent, knowing that they’ve just been exposed.
“I’ve heard rumors of the immense firepower the Elysians had during their war with the Yarian Empire. I don’t know why you Elysians are here, but you’ve just saved both of our lives and fought off the bandits. I will not delve further into why you three are here.” Thorcass said, getting back on his horse. “I don’t care if you three are spies or adventurers or whatever. Everyone has their business. We’ll make sure to pay you once the contract completes.”
Vaughan finally caught on, his face turned to Sasha with an understanding look. “You said that you don’t trust anyone without a dark side to themselves. I guess I understand it now.”
“Glad you do.” Sasha nodded.
“Now.” Kreuger stood up, helping Livna to get back on the truck. “Promise us that you won’t tell this to anyone. We’ll leave you be.”
“We won’t.” Vaughan answered. “Besides, we have to make haste. Lest we be late.”
“Mmmhmm.” Livna nodded.
“YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!” The fake - or rather, now actually injured fake female adventurer yelled out, sitting next to the abandoned wagon ahead. “YOU ARE FUCKING DEAD, YOU HEAR ME?! I AM A-”
As the woman’s voice seemingly drowned into obscurity, Vaughan turned to Kreuger with a confused expression. “What do we do with her?”
“Hey Sasha.” Kreuger said, putting his shemagh back on again. “We got duct tape right?”
Sasha let out a devious smile as he folded away his compound crossbow. “Yeah boss, we do…”
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