"I can not believe the she-beast thinks she has the right to give me orders! The audacity!" Maginum Opious seethed next to me. I wasn't sure if he wanted me to comment on her audacity or if he was simply fuming to himself, but I bobbed my head in a way that could be taken in a nod as I walked through… well, it wasn't a city.

  As of now, it looked like small clusters of buildings with plowed fields around them. It was not what I expected, and calling it odd didn't do what I was feeling justice. The Kin actually formed a wall tens — maybe hundreds — of square miles to protect farms. Farms that were being tended by hundreds of large bullkin? Or are they cowkin? I guess it would depend on the gender… They could be bovinekin. Fuck it, I don't care.

  I guess it kind of made sense if you looked at it from a practical point of view. From what I learned from Kanieta, stationary defensives were extremely important with the Kin's ability to stack spells nearly endlessly on top of each other. Most of their intention would have been to deny the area to the legions and Crescent Moon, should they attack.

  It still felt weird that there were sprouting crops and irrigation channels being dug everywhere I looked. As far as I was concerned, walls enclosed aas many buildings as possible while not cramming the area so tight that it made fighting in formation impractical.

  "Did you hear me, Scout Green?" the man said my name like it was a curse, though he might have had a reason. I had no idea how long he had been calling me.

  "Excuse my mistake, Prefect Opious. I was scanning the area for threats and not paying attention to the flow of conversation." I said, proud of my ability to think on my feet.

  Franklin snorted to my side in amusement. His response could have been about my blatant attempt to excuse how I was ignoring the other man, though I didn't really lie about inspecting the area. Or that there had been no flow of a conversation, just a one-sided torrent. Perhaps it was something entirely random that popped into his mind; who knew with the badgerkin.

  "Oh?" The man said, sounding a mixture of surprised and mollified. It was like the thought didn't even cross his mind that we were inside a foreign nation's fortress and we could be attacked. "Well, as you should as a scout, inept as an elf would be at the task compared to a human. Paying attention to your surroundings is commendable. As I was saying, what is your opinion on the competence of Legatus Panta."

  I said nothing for a few moments. The only sounds were the thudding of our feet against the hard-packed earth, chittering insects, and distant voices in the still air. I mulled the question over for a moment, taking my time as I wondered why he was asking rather than thinking of what to say. Finally, I opened my mouth, "From my experience, he is a serious man and a competent commander. Though my perspective is limited at best, as I have never directly interacted with the man."

  "Hmm," Hummed the older man in thought, "Would you say he was prone to rash actions? Perhaps, in the heat of the moment, he could… lose his mind under the pressure. That he would take rash actions without proper forethought to the repercussions."

  Ahh, I thought. He's trying to undermine Panta's competence. Maybe for Legatus Kellaport… but I think more for his own gain. Does he really think he can swoop in and take command of the 15th? However, the man could be onto something.

  Panta's actions led to a battle in Southtown, and the Kin gained a fortress literally within bowshot of the walls of the Triad. And that was only the major event; who knew what other details someone could find if they went digging?

  I put those thoughts aside as something far more critical crossed my mind. This man was a pompous twat, and I was still a part of the 15th. For good or ill, Panta was my legatus, and he had gotten the legion out of multiple fights, mostly intact. He deserved my trust and support, meaningless as it might be.

  Putting on a blissfully ignorant tone and expression, I said, "No, I wouldn't say that at all. If anything, I would say he makes us train and prepare for every circumstance too much."

  "To the point that you are exhausted and unable to take proper care of yourself?" Maginum suggested. "Maybe your rations are smaller than they should be?"

  Man, this guy is persistent. “No… more like we are too tired to… properly enjoy our free time. If you know what I mean."

  There was an astonished silence at my words, then the man muttered softly enough that I was positive I wasn't supposed to hear, but you know, long ears are good for something. "What was I expecting from an elf? Damn waste of space in the legion if you ask me." Then he spoke up, in a suddenly disinterested and dull tone, "Thank you for your opinion. Your insights were a great help."

  "It was my pleasure," I replied, letting the topic drop and causing silence to fall over our group.

  Almost an hour later, we made it to the turn in the road leading to a gate. Peaking over the wall, I could see the spires and middle fort of the Triad all but in a straight line from the gate. As I turned, Franklin called out, "Green." Turning to look at the badger, I saw him continuing to walk down the road perpendicular to the road, an arm raised in a wave, "Gonna check in with my elders. I'll meet up with you later."

  I waved back in response, suddenly feeling lonely. Shaking off the feeling, I called back, "See ya later." Then turned and started walking before the muttering of the prefect could get too loud. Even if he was in a different legion from me, pissing off someone with a higher rank only leads to trouble. It was rather annoying, but those in the higher ranks often turned out to be nobles with connections, and they were notoriously easy to offend.

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  Before we could reach the gate, the large double doors swung open, revealing another set of doors on the far side of a tunnel. The group of Kin guarding the gate didn't say anything to us, but one nodded his head to the side, signaling us to walk through. Not that I was paying much attention to them, as my eyes were on the figure standing in the shadows of the sallyport.

  For a moment, I thought it was Kanieta as I saw red fox tails swaying, but as I saw the figure move into the light, that hope was extinguished. It was a male foxkin. However, as I studied the other man, I was struck by how similar to Kanieta in appearance he was.

  I knew that we were allies, but walking through the tunnel put the hair on the back of my neck up. From the numerous holes in the ceiling and upper sections of the walls, there were many ways for anyone in the passage to be killed. And stopping before the wide-smiling Kin was not making the feeling any better.

  "Greetings Diplomat Green and Prefect Opious!" Said the Kin in an overly friendly and cheerful tone, "My name is Heckarock, and I have been tasked with accompanying you as an official representative to convey my people's intentions."

  "Oh?" Said the pompous man, "You mean how you are threatening to destroy a legion of the Republic after offering free passage? I would say that wars have been started for lesser reasons, but I am not sure you have the intelligence to understand the impact of your actions."

  The genuine smile that the Kin was giving me suddenly shifted, becoming predatory. It was like the man was looking at a toy that he would relish playing with. The oblivious man the intentions were focused on didn't notice a thing as he turned with a dismissive snort and marched through the last section of the tunnel as the doors opened.

  Locking eyes with me and then rolling his eyes while giving me a small bow, Heckarock jumped after the prefect and walked along amiably a step behind him. I didn't know much about the Kin, but from how the fox's tails swayed, it almost made him look like a cat about to pounce on its prey.

  I wasn't one to save someone from their own idiocy, so I pushed the entire situation to the back of my mind as I lurched into motion, just hoping this all ended soon. Taking quick steps, I moved to take up my position again.

  Popping out on the other side of the wall, I found myself in an unnaturally potted and open area. While a decent road ran from the gate of the wall to the Norther Fort's wall, the half-mile in between was filled with holes that varied from just large enough to step in to twist an ankle to three men being able to lay across the earthen dip. While the grass was beginning to sprout, in some areas, it was clear the landscape was designed and recently changed to make it hard for any attacker to approach the wall in formation.

  I thought it was clever on the Kin's part, but the prefect to my side was muttering about incompetent leadership, allowing foes to construct fortifications outside their walls. However, as far as I was concerned, the Triad was under siege, and an enemy constructing fortifications outside was expected. However, this did have the helpful effect of making one avenue of approach all but impassable to the Letairry and Derg.

  Besides the terrain, what caught my interest was the shouting on the Triad's walls. I was well aware that the Kin could make their camps all but invisible. I would guess those on watch had the unfortunate task of informing their superiors of a new massive fortress outside the walls, and everyone was scrambling to figure out if there was an imminent attack about to happen.

  As we approached the wall, the activity spiked around the gate, and two figures thumped to the ground before us. Saluting the knights, I began speaking before they could, "Knight Centurion, I am Scout Green of the 15th Legion sent out on an ambassadorial assignment to the Kin. I have just returned with Faction Leader Kanieta from the Cradle, where we encountered the 14th Legion attempting to withdraw to friendly territory. This is the prefect of the 14th, Maginum Opious. And this is messenger Heckarock to deliver the Kin's intentions."

  The head of the knight turned from me to the noble, his head held high like he was trying to show off his hairy nostrils as if that would earn him some standing among polite company. Wait, does the more hair you have, the higher your standing is? No, no, that's stupid. After taking in the prefect, he turned to Heckarock, his eyes narrowing in suspicion, and the fox waved his fingers at the knight, a playful smile on his lips.

  My body tensed as Knight Centurion Borment's hand twitched toward his sword before relaxing. Short as my thoughts and his inspection were, it was long enough for the knight to receive orders on how to deal with the situation, as he tilted his head to the side as he spoke. "We will be escorting you directly to Legatus Panta. Make sure not to play any games this time, Messenger Heckarock."

  Throwing a side-eyed glance at the Kin for the warning, I didn't say anything as I followed the knight. Before I could take three steps, four more knights landed before us and fanned out around our group — which was far more of a greeting party than I thought necessary. Falling in around us, the steel-clad figures formed a wall of steel and flesh. Rather than our protection, though we might not be entirely safe thanks to the Kin's presence, I thought the knights were more here to ensure we didn't talk to anyone.

  They might not know what I had to report, but the fact I arrived with the prefect of the 14th and a Kin meant I had news that could stir up a panic if not handled carefully. Or that should be their logic… and it wasn't wrong.

  I doubted the Kin had told Panta how the Cradles were decimated by Derg and transformed into blood golems. However, I also doubted the Kin could prevent legion scouts from discovering clues. Given how many people in the Triad had family relations out there… yeah, it's best to keep quiet about that for now.

  As we marched through the streets, people began pointing our group out. Some might have recognized us, but everyone could see my scout insignia and the prefect's 14th legion insignia, not to mention the foxkin's features. So it wasn't a surprise that others were paying attention.

  Word of our presence spread like wildfire, and by the time we were marching up to the command building in the Southern Fort, a crowd lining both sides of the street had formed. They were no doubt gossiping and throwing increasingly wild stories around, as was the habit of board legionnaires, but I somehow doubted they would be close to the truth.

  Not that I was focused on the conversations around us while marching. By the time we reached halfway up the bridge leading to the middle fort, my eyes were locked to the south, taking in the remnants of what had once been a city. After that, the journey turned into a blur, with the prefect chattering as he tried to discover what was going on.

  Walking up to the reinforced doors of the command center, a guard held up a hand, stopping us. "Wait here, Scout Green. The legatus wants to debrief you separately."

  Grinding my teeth in annoyance at the dismissive tone, I stepped to the side with my knight babysitter and watched the pompous asshat stride into the chamber with the Kin messenger.