Artemis Files (0.5)

Chapter 14

Early - Mid 2273 - Brotherhood Base Midwestern Chapter

It took Artemis a few more months to heal enough to contribute. She'd come to an agreement of sorts with the local Elder, and High Elder that she would be a temporary soldier since she didn't have the money to pay for their services, having given the last of her caps to the farmers. They'd denied payment up front so she snuck it in their spare cap jar she'd noticed on the table when they weren't looking. As they were coming to this agreement she asked about the farmers as well as X6. Both the Elder of this chapter and the High Elder smiled when the farmers were mentioned.

"Don't worry, Artemis," the Elder said. A sweet but stern, grandmotherly like woman who was somewhere in her 50's or maybe 60's. "My soldiers tell me the farmers are safe and they haven't seen hide or hair of the man that was following you." Apparently the farmers send at least a few escaped slaves this way, knowing the Brotherhood was safe. They weren't part of the Brotherhood themselves but they were allies. In exchange for any spare food they'd managed to grow and the fact that some of these escaped slaved became soldiers, they got protection, medical aide and trading rights despite being outside the borders. As for X6 it appeared that despite her accident, Artemis was right in that she'd lose X6's trail in the blizzard. The farmers had even sent word that they hadn't seen him since the one time he came looking for her and hoped that was a good sign.

This was a great relief to Artemis. As spring came she felt well enough to at least do some hunting and foraging for the Brotherhood. Afterwards Lucian, the High Elder's adopted son, would take the time to train her in sword fighting. Something she'd attempted to learn in the Institute but there was an excuse most of the time, so it never really caught on. "Oh, Artemis," the High Elder said suddenly. "Before you leave, we suspect there is a traitor among us. We don't know the extent of their plan but we've found a few of our soldiers dead under mysterious circumstances."

Artemis cocked an eyebrow. "And this person, this killer, how can you be so sure they're Brotherhood? Who says it's not one of the tribals or some other local enemy?" She could see where this was heading but she wanted to know as much as possible and even something that seemed minor would go a long way to help her.

The High Elder smiled at her, glad to someone that wasn't afraid to ask him questions. "These soldiers are, more often then not, on missions that only I and a select few know about. At first we actually did think it was some tribal or whatever but when we sent in spies to each tribal to study their ways of living, we quickly realized it wasn't tribals or some other local. The customs don't match. And since these missions aren't usually public knowledge, that can only mean it's someone on the inside. In my inner circle too so the list of names is pretty short."

That made sense. Still, Artemis kept her eyebrow raised. "And you came to me specifically because?"

The High Elder looked at her a bit more serious. "You're the new person, both to the Brotherhood and to the area in general. People don't know you very well, how you do things, and all that, so if you're careful, they may not be as cautious around you. Since this has been going on for a while, it's safe to say it's not you. It's also nice to have the perspective of the new person. Someone with fresh eyes. An outsider. All I ask is that you keep your eyes open, and come to me as soon as you find out anything, assuming you do of course."

This made sense and she nodded. "Sure I'll keep my eyes and ears open. I'll tell you what I've learned if anything." Both the High Elder and Elder nodded and thanked her before she turned around and left the base. Warm spring air greeted her skin and the smell of the blooming cherry trees along with the other smells of the forest that surrounded this place filled her lungs as she took a deep breath. Petal floated to the forest floor and made the area look dreamlike and beautiful. The only snow left being on the peak of the massive mountain in the somewhat distant east, Ezofuji, that looked over the lake on the opposite shore.