A Stroll on a Late Summer Day

With the stupor of sleep not yet lifted from her, Yorresie dragged herself out of bed after being awoken. As a teacher, she was no stranger to waking early. She had duties to the church to fulfill even before beginning her preparations for the day's lessons. The trade expedition somehow required her to wake even earlier than was usual for her, and she was not enthused about it.

Once her morning ritual was finished, she felt more alert, but any who routinely encountered her in the opening hours of the day would have been able to tell that her disposition did not go unscathed by the shift in schedule. She grabbed the bag that had been prepared for her and made for the gathering site.

The sun was only just returning to the sky, leaving the air the coolest it would be that summer day. Sparse fog clouds spent their final moments in the lowest points in Merridian. Night owls that had failed to make it home from last night's frivolities were stirred by the passing of early birds unwilling or incapable of forfeiting the fruits exclusive to morning business. Yorresie silently prayed for both sorts and their respective struggles.

Having nearly reached the gathering place, she spied a pair of knights standing a ways away with a child. It looked like the child was desperately and vainly attempting to recover some plush toy from the big and strong warriors.

"... and then she FALLS upon its blade, spilling her guts hither and yon!" The first knight placed a knife under the plush toy's arm, giving it the appearance of a skewering victim.

"No!" cried the child, clearly disturbed by the thought of their favourite inanimate friend being so gruesomely undone. They tried and failed again to reclaim the toy.

The second knight gave a chuckle, amused by the young one's distress. "Aw, don't cry now," he said, stooping down to approximate eye level with the child. "Your birdie only got run through. There's loads worse ways to be killed by a demon."

"Her name is Floure the Falcon! And she wouldn't be killed by demons! She would fly away!" The child jumped and swiped at the animal again.

"Qaniit?" Yorresie called out as she recognised her student. The child faced her, tears welling in their eyes. Yorresie fought to keep her ensuing rage down. "What's going on here?"

At the sight of their familiar teacher, the child ran to her sheltering arms.

"Ah! Good morning to you, sister," the first knight greeted, perfectly affable.

The demeanor of the second was identical to his companion. "We were enlightening our small friend here on the perils risked by any that dare leave the safety of the city."

"Mayhap the education should be left to their instructor." Yorresie spoke sternly and held out one hand, clearly demanding the plush toy be turned over.

With an air of indifference the first knight complied with an underhand toss. "No need to go telling Geod on us, sister. We were only making mirth."

Yorresie caught the sewn bird, her expression unshaken by the weak claims of noble intentions. While the so-called protectors strolled away, she knelt and offered the plush to her student, who accepted it with grateful relief. "Are you alright, honey?"

"Yeah," Qaniit said with some remaining shakiness in their voice. They held the toy close.

"What are you doing out this early anyhow?"

"I heard all this noise outside my window," the child explained. "I saw all the people coming here and I wanted to see what was going on."

"Oh, sweetheart," Yorresie took her student in a nurturing hug. "Never stop being curious. But maybe next time, don't come alone, okay?" Qaniit nodded. "Okay. Why don't you head home now? Get all the sleep you can."

The nun watched to ensure her student at least made it out of sight without further trouble. She then went the same way as the thugs. As she had assumed, they too were there to depart with the caravan that morning. She picked them out from the small crowd beside... oh, for Geod's sake...

The two ruffians stood with a third to complete the set: that one knight, Zaida, if she remembered correctly.

"New necklace, Zaida?" one of them observed her latest accessory.

"Yeah, does it look good?"

"Meh, can't say it goes with the armour."

"Yeah, it's a bit glitzy for the uniform," the other added. "Looks nice though. Might go better with casual threads."

"Alright everyone! Hold your tongues for just a moment." An authoritative voice commanded silence from those gathered. He was large, even for a knight, with short black hair and tattoos peeking from beneath one sleeve. "We're going to do a head count before taking off. My name is Marama Puhipi and you all answer to me for the duration of this journey. You can call me Sergeant Puhipi, or sir-"

"Or daddy!" called out an anonymous voice. Laughter rippled through the crowd.

"Whoever said that, I'm going to find you, and if you're one of my knights, you'll be getting a dozen lashes for that."

"Don't encourage them!" said a second one. More laughter rippled.

"You're all a bunch of miscreants," the sergeant shook his head. "Just answer when I read your name."

Puhipi went down his roster, listing off the names of those from the knights, the church, and the traders they were accompanying. When Yorresie responded to her own name, she noticed Zaida look over and - seemingly spotting her for the first time - hastily avert her eyes. The nun felt a flicker of gratification at the thought of the goon being intimidated by her.

It was unambiguously dawn by the time they set out. Zaida fingered the pendant she had attained the day prior. As the convoy drew closer to the limits of the city, her confidence in the enchanted piece was shaken. It was enchanted, that much she knew. She had watched it ward off a dozen spells when she had first put it on and requested a demonstration from the vendor. And it went without saying that it did not interfere with the magic that concealed her identity. Still, electric bolts and disguise spells were not quite on the same level as a barricade powerful enough to protect an entire city. What if it was not powerful enough, and it simply gave out the minute it met the shield? Was she entrusting a beetle to halt a rhinoceros?

Eventually the thing she had been dreading was within sight - so to speak. Exiting the city gates, there was no visible trace of the barrier, only the knowledge that it was indeed there. Zaida ignored the parting words and waving hands from the guards manning the gate. She was fixated on bracing herself for the excruciating pain of her form being lit with fire; hoping that if the pendant did fail, she might at least be spared the reaction time to avoid anything lethal.

Nothing happened as she stepped over the threshold and out of the city, nor ten paces after that, nor thirty. Had the necklace worked?

"Don't go letting your shoulders creep that high."

Zaida jumped when Sergeant Puhipi clapped a hand on her back.

"We're here to protect and reassure the merchants, not make them look brave by comparison."

"Sorry, Marama," Zaida said, using the man's first name as he had insisted she do many training sessions ago.

"Puff out your chest a little more," he advised. "Walk tall. At least act confident. Half of guard duty is looking scary enough that the smaller baddies don't get any ideas."

"Right." Zaida released the breath she had not realised she was holding.

"What's the matter?" Marama noted the woman's unlevel demeanour. "Not comfortable being outside the walls?"

"Sort of."

"Don't dwell on it," the sergeant gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "I know we're outside the barrier now, but it's not as dangerous out here as they say. Demons usually only attack in groups if there's a stationary target, and I don't think we need to worry about anything dumb enough to try and take us all on its own."

Zaida knew firsthand that he was largely correct, but she was not about to fill him in on the true cause for her concern. Besides, now that she knew the pendant worked, she had little to fuss over. Marama broke away to circle the party and check in that all was as it should be.

The convoy marched at a steady pace; easy enough for those on foot to keep up. Oxen, mules, and the likes drew wagons packed with supplies for the journey, and goods produced in Merridian to be sold. Setting out that morning, and moving at the rate they were, they ought to arrive at their destination midafternoon the following day.

It was around a half hour later when Marama came back around and drew even with Zaida once more. He threw a look over his shoulder before nudging his fellow knight. "Psst, do you know that nun? The one behind me with no cap and veil."

Zaida glanced to confirm whom he was referring to. "Not properly. I can't say I know her name, but we're acquainted, she and I. I don't think she likes me."

Marama gave a humorous snort. "I'd say that tracks. Seen her look your way a couple of times on my way around. I've seen better reactions from lasses seeing their darlings in someone else's arms."

Zaida only pursed her lips in response.

"What, do you mean you gave her a reason to stare daggers at you like that?"

"I... I don't know. I guess..." Zaida felt hesitant about which details she shared with the sergeant. She still lacked a complete understanding of the differences between demon and human society. She was not sure about the severity of her supposed offenses toward that nun, and feared what the reaction might be if she shared that she had, unknowingly, committed some grievous human taboo.

Marama stole another glance at Yorresie, then looked sidelong at Zaida. "Well this all sounds like something for the two of you to sort out yourselves, but if you need a hand mending bridges, I'll see what I can do."

The noon sun beat down upon the convoy until they finally caved in and stopped for a recess and luncheon. The travellers tucked themselves into whatever shade they could find, be it under a tree just off the road, or under some of the wagons' canopies, or even the shallow slivers against the sides of the wagons.

Using her teeth, Zaida tore away chunks from the cured meat she was provided. Some of the knights seated with her shared looks at this, but said nothing.

"Don't you think it's funny?" a one of them said, addressing the group. "How the decrees were made on the same day?"

"What do you mean, Sergei?" asked a second knight that Zaida knew as Migdalia.

"This whole promiscuity and lust-baiting thing. Word went out among the order the same day the lot from the church started opening their beds too. Don't you think there's got to be something more to that?"

"You're remembering wrong," said a third; Cole. "We started it, then a week later the nuns turned naughty."

"Have you got something wrong with your head?" Migdalia accused him. "No, Sergei's right; both started on the same day."

The discussion quickly dissolved into a fundamental disagreement on when exactly the two decrees were made. Uninterested, Zaida allowed her gaze to wander. It landed on that nun, who was standing off from the rest of the caravan and facing away. The knight went back and forth in her mind on whether to try and talk to her. The bolder side won out. Finishing off her meat, she dusted her hands and stood.

"Erm, pardon me," she called for the nun's attention once she was within speaking distance.

The other woman turned toward Zaida, and that was when she saw that her hands had been pressed together. Zaida understood this to be something some humans did when they were performing some sort of spiritual action.

"I was in the middle of a prayer," the nun said, her mood already having visibly fallen upon seeing Zaida.

"Ah, sorry. I'll... come back later when it's more convenient."

"Just say it now. I've already had to stop." The impatience on her voice was plenty audible to the knight. "What do you need?"

"I came over to clear things up," Zaida stated. The nun raised an eyebrow at this. "I feel that there's something of a hostility between us, and I hoped to come to an understanding on it. First of all, what is your name?"

Something clicked for Yorresie in that moment. The understanding that, after all this time, the bully she had so resented did not even know her name led her to an epiphany: She's not malevolent, she's just that dull.

"Uh, Y-Yorresie." The possibilities unlocked by this new information tripped her for a moment.

"Yorresie, I apologise for any transgressions toward you. I understand that it may not fair for you to have to explain it to me, but I ask that you tell me what it is I did to offend you."

"It..." the nun mentally raced for a response.

"INCOMING!"

Everyone's attention was ripped toward the violent disturbance. One knight had thrown herself in the way of a charging demon. She protected her comrade from its spear by deflecting the thrust along her bracer. Now on alert, everyone saw it; the small army of monsters rushing the convoy. Bone fiends and dread golems led while zombies stumbled on behind.

"To arms!" Marama bellowed. "Protect the traders and church folk!"

Most of the knights were caught off guard. Some still had their weapons on them or within arm's reach, but many had set them aside to properly relax for the meal. No one had expected trouble. The forces of the Demon Lord were upon them mere seconds after the first cries. Some were **** to make do with bare knuckles and empty hands.