There looks to be trouble

The streets were cluttered and jovial as you made your patrol, traveling the Historic District. This immense bustling capital of the greatest Empire in the world was a humble city-state a few centuries ago. The original exterior wall was now the impromptu dividing line, and the structures on this side, save the original Palace, were far more humble in their size and decoration. You liked when your patrols included this part of the city, as it helped ground you on what could be done. With these simple origins, it showed to you that anything was possible.

Though the Empire had since moved most of its official functions out of this region of the city, the residents and enterprise were as prideful as any Citizen to be Intransicans, judging from the decorations that adorned the streets as you went by. Banners from tall windows and streamers connected buildings from opposite sides of the roads. A few emblems of the original Intransican Coat of Arms or Royal Insignia were shown on ancient flags, held as prized heirlooms by the families or businesses that still possessed them.

The path of your patrol route was densely crowded with loyal citizens having gathered on either side of the street to witness a parade that passed through. A number of parades would be held in the City today, often showing the might of the different Armies from the different Provinces, that were once independent nations before the Emperor joined the Western Nations of Man together under his banner. The Historic District Parade on the other hand was dedicated to the original forces of the Intransican Army that still stood to this day. Battalions of troops marched through, beginning with the cavalry regiments and Officers on horseback, followed by the various infantry, archers, and the auxiliaries. Interspersed between the regiments were groups of musicians and dancers, carrying the same triumphant tunes through from start to finish. From what you’d been told, retired veterans of the Triumverate War would march first ahead of the current force, but the last of them had died over a century ago. That there had been no campaign to fight in, successful or not, had become irrelevant by now.

They were soldiers to defend the Empire, that was enough. If there was trouble, they would defeat the enemy without question, as they had before. The strength of and brilliance of the Army was obvious to anyone bearing witness to this display. Intransica had been the last stand in the War of the Triumverate against the great Orcish General Kirgath. It was also where the simple soldier who would become the Immortal Emperor had first displayed his powers, equal to a God, to turn to tide of the battle, and eventually the war. Had the battle been lost, the war would be lost, and the ways of man would be destroyed as the monstrous and barbarous Orcs would have trampled all the way to the west coast of Tillanong, not only wiping out all of the nations of Men in their way, but those of the Elves and Dwarves to the South.

Having taken in a few moments, you continued your patrol, trying to weave through and around the spectators. Events like this are havens for pickpockets and other low-life scum, taking advantage of a large population of highly distracted individuals. Walking in the opposite direction, you had an expedited view of the proceedings, reaching the tail end, where a large ornamental display had been made and pulled through by horses, an approximation of the Throne of the Emperor sitting atop. It had once been common for him to actually sit on such displays in these parades, but he hasn’t been seen in public outside the palace in generations.

It was fortunate that he had not been there, as a vulgar and violent display of shark rocks, rotten food, and worse, was being heaved at the throne from those in the crowd on the opposing side of the street. There were loud cries of surprise and disgust. You were able to see a few of them, young men, dirty and surly, who dispatched their barrage as quickly as possible before running off through an alleyway.

“Stop!” You shouted as you started to chase after them, delayed and interfered with by the dense crowd, struggling to clear a space for you to move through. Cleared the other side of the street, moving was easier, and you made a full dash after them, your armor loudly clanging as you went. There was a sharp L-shaped turn in the alley, which you barreled down. The mob had gathered at the end of the alley, but rather than frightened and cowardly, they were clearly ready to fight.

“It’s not too late!” You shouted, “Turn yourselves in, and you’ll see justice done!”

“There can be no justice! If the Immortal Emperor can’t die, than his precious Empire has to!” The declaration was met with loud and passionate approval by the mob.

“You’re talking about treason! Be reasonable!” You tried to calm the situation down to little avail.

“So be it!” Another called out “I’d rather die standing for what’s right than have to live with my conscience of letting these atrocities continue!”

The steadfastness of their beliefs unsettled you, slightly. These clearly weren’t just disgruntled pedestrians or petty hoodlums. Not that there was much time to dwell on it. Feeding on each other’s energy, one of the members of the mob crossed the line, charging at you with a makeshift club. Seeing the attack coming, you were able to parry the club away, pulling the shaft up hard and fast to strike the attacker’s belly. The air out of his lungs and the pain stopped him cold, though this would only be the beginning. Another attacked, yelling as he came at you with a bladed weapon. Holding it up and behind his head, you could see the arc his arm would travel, a wide sweeping arc to try and remove your head from your body, one of the few areas where you were unarmored. Rather than deflecting, you took the instinctual move, with his torso fully exposed, shoving the bladed end of your halberd deep inside. His forward momentum caused to go even deeper in, a sickening noise of groans as it cut through flesh and organs. With a hard jerk, you pulled it out, the attacker falling dead on the ground. Though a couple gravitated towards their comrade, the sight only enraged the remaining mob further, rather than scaring them off.

The fury was unleashed as the mob tried to rush you, attacking you at once with whatever they had on them. It was hard to resist a sense of panic, never having been so completely outnumbered before, and never against such a fiercely hostile foe. A vivid flash of imagination went through your mind, of what would happen before they killed you. A violation of the cruelest sort. Your armor forcibly removed by cruel hands, your body shoved into the hard dirty ground as they take turns raping you again and again. It was enough to make you sick, and steeled your resolve to fight until the last.

You fended off the blows from the attackers as best you could. What the deflections of your halberd couldn’t ward off or strike back from, the heavy armor you wore protected you from. You still felt the impact of the blows from clubs and the like, but they were superficial and could be withstood, though not for long.

It proved to be long enough. A short, sharp horn blast bellowed as a squadron of your fellow soldiers. With weapons already drawn, and filling the end of the alley, there was nowhere to escape to. They gave no pause, no attempt to calm the situation, and gave no quarter. Every attacker was set upon by the Army, quickly and mercilessly dispatched. Though this is what you and your fellow soldiers had trained for, you’d never seen anything like it before, the unflinching speed and force. Though ecstatic to be left alive and untarnished, the sight would sit in your mind, festering.

You looked over the corpse of the man you slain. Something caught your eye that caused greater inspection. Bending down to rummage, you saw through his rough, heavily worn clothes a necklace of some kind, and a piece of parchment tucked away. Perhaps forseeing what might occur, it was bound in a protective layer of folded leaves, from a plant you’d never seen grow in this part of the Empire. While this exterior was clearly soaked in blood, it looked as though whatever the missive inside was would still be legible. You quickly took both, sliding under the plate of your armor just as someone had finally sought your attention.

“Well met, soldier” A strong, masculine voice called out. “Are you okay?” Turning about to face him, he was young man, though a few years on you. His light brown hair, like most, was kept very short. Though the armor you both wore gave a greater sense of height, they were equalizers, meaning he was still slightly shorter than you. That too, could be said of most men, you being unnaturally tall for a human woman since you were a child.

“Well met,” You replied, nodding as you regained your breath from the short, brutal fight “I’ll have some bruises to talk about, but I’ve got my wits, my limbs, and my life about me, thanks to you all.”

“I think you’ll have more than those things before too long.” He smiled “Charging after these hooligans, stopping them from any more acts of treason, fighting them by yourself. That takes courage, and a good bit of skill to hold out as long as you did.”

“I tried talking them down,” you shrugged “they seemed pretty committed to their cause. Sorry it had to come to this.”

“Don’t be” He replied coldly “They knew what they were getting into. If they’re fool enough to want to die for a foolish cause, we’ll happily oblige them. Besides, it seems there was a conspiracy.”

“What do you mean?” You asked

“They weren’t alone. There’s been a number of parades through different parts of Imperial City today. Bands like these have tried to attack all of them, some more successful than others.”

“Sounds pretty serious. Any idea what’s going on?”

“That’s above my pay.” He dismissed the question “If they were trying to send a message to the population, they certainly succeeded, though not the one they wanted to. They only showed the Empire’s strength, and that we won’t tolerate dissidents and traitors.”

“Indeed”, the words you heard haunted you, fearing that may have been precisely what these men were trying to accomplish.

“Ahnul, by the way” he extended his hand forward for a shake, which you strong reciprocated. “I lead this team”

“Brigid,” you gave a slight smile “I guess I have you to thanks for getting here so fast, and for saving my hide.”

“Don’t mention it. Anything for such a lovely lady and proud citizen. You’d do the same for me and my guys.”

“Of course” Though you meant it sincerely, your eyes drifted towards the other soldiers, who were moving the bodies into a rough pile, giving little care for the remains. “What’s to happen to them?”

“I wouldn’t worry about it. We’ll give them what Dineth demands we do and have them buried properly. Beyond that, not really any of our concerns. I’d be more concerned that you’re okay. Those hits can sneak up on you, give you an injury or something you don’t realize until later. You should get checked out, just to make sure.”

“Ya, that’s probably a good idea, I think I’ll head back than.”

“Hey,” As you started to walk off “I know we don’t know each other, and you don’t owe me anything, but maybe when you’re all done, we could meet up later? Not often I get to meet such a brave and strong lady, and I’d hate to let a chance float away”

“Sure, Ahnul” You agreed “Come find me, and we’ll figure something out.” You walked away from the scene, back out onto the street. Even in the short time, the parade had completely vanished, as had the crowd. It felt eerie; that this short dance of blood and violence had occurred and not a soul was aware or cared.

Looking back and forth down both ends of the road, the Historic District was it always had been. The resident citizens carried on, moving around you as if you weren’t even there. Not a single pair of eyes met yours.

Hoping to have some clarity of mind and wash these thoughts from your mind as you did the blood and grime from your armor, you headed back to the barracks.