Tales of the Trio: Unbroken

Chapter Sixteen

They got up from their seats and rushed to the food storage weapons drawn. When they entered they saw some spilt food and a woman against the wall scared, they asked what happened and she simply pointed towards the back. They investigated and found a young fox getting into some of the food, Wesley said "Oh good it's just a fox, we haven't been discovered by the orcs just yet." One of the soldiers said "Well I guess we can eat it" another soldier said "No it's to young let's get it out" they began to try to scare off the little fox, actually terrifying it and Lela shouted "What are you guys doing? Are you crazy? Do you want to die?" She got between them and the fox her swords pointed at the soldiers. Maximus calmly said "Lela, everything's fine they aren't going to hurt the innocent fox." She still had her eyes narrowed on them, Dominic used his magic to chill the air around her to help cool her off. The soldiers who were trying to scare off the fox backed off and said "Okay, okay we're sorry." Wesley gave them a look and those soldiers left the food storage, Wesley looked at Lela and asked "Are you okay?" She put her swords away and said "Yes, I'm sorry. Just the way they were acting with the fox backed into the wall reminded me of the orcs scaring the people in our village." She turned to the fox and slowly walked over to it, the fox calmed down and even let her pick it up. She carried it out and let it go by the trees, then they all returned back to the campfire. Maximus said "We need a strategy, what're we going to do? You've gathered a good amount of troops but this isn't enough." Wesley replied saying "You guys also got Kelna's help but even then we need more." People took turns giving their ideas and thoughts but none of them were panning out, while they sat there and thought Wesley remembered the note he was to give Lela, so he handed it to her explaining that it was from Verdell. After reading it she gasped and said "This is a list of everyone that's in debt to Verdell. His last gift to me was all of them. Guy's we can use these to get the man power and the supplies to take the castle back." Wesley nodded "That's our objective then. To reach out to these people and prepare. Marek you and your people go out and see how you can help the local communities so that we can hopefully get volunteers, supplies or money. Make sure you guys are respectful." Marek and his men nodded their understanding since they can be a rough bunch. Wesley continued "My men will defend the camp and hunt, as much as I hate to say this next part Lela, Maximus, and Dominic you three will have to go on your own to reach the people on this list. I know you guys can handle yourself, just try to avoid being captured again and fighting in any more battles?" They nodded. So everything is decided, they are to leave tomorrow heading towards a busy town with a river near it known for its fishing which is coincidentally why they're heading there, they are looking for Jackson, a fisherman. He's one of the names on Verdell's list, not sure what a fisherman can do for them other than provide fish but he has to be on the list for a reason right? The group spent the rest the night exchanging stories until it was time for bed.

Morning came around and they packed up some stuff for their travels, and ate a good meal. They said their goodbyes and parted ways for now, each going to complete their task. The trio were roaming through the forest, just the three of them again, except this time they felt more safe. Sure the orcs are still around but near here none have been seen also they don't have soldiers looking around for them anymore so it was just them and the sounds of the forest. While traveling they discussed Starlight Haven, and the chances they have of taking back the kingdom especially given the skill of the orcs in charge. It became nightfall and they weren't out of the forest yet so they decided to make camp there. They had brought their own rations, but decided to hunt since they were still in a forest and are more likely to find something. After some time passed they found a rabbit, Maximus shot an arrow at it but only grazed it, it was frantically hopping away, Lela looked at Maximus and said "You're still a bad shot." Maximus defensively replied "Do you want to try." Lela smiled and scratched her head "No, no it's your bow and I want you to get better." Maximus laughed and said "That's what I thought." While that conversation was happening Dominic had raised rocks up around the rabbit preventing it from escaping any further, after the little conversation Maximus walked over and quickly killed it and then Dominic lowered the rocks back into the ground. They went back to their camp and cooked up the rabbit, using Dominic's magic they were able to control the heat of the fire to cook the rabbit better. While they were eating they heard something come out of the bushes behind them, it was the same little fox from Starlight Haven. It slowly came over to them, staring at them curiously, Lela tossed a piece of her rabbit towards the fox. The fox backed away a little but then made its way over and ate it, then circled around the trio and just sat and watched them curiously from the distance, they finished their rabbit and headed to bed.

Morning came again and they pushed harder today so they'd cover more distance. They made it out of the forest and were in a plains now, it was a bit harder to travel across since the grass here was tall and the ground wasn't really all that flat, they eventually came across a trade route so the traveling became quicker now without the grass in the way and the ground being more even, when they set up camp later the fox showed up again. This pattern continued, travel by day, rest by night and have the fox watch them and be hiding before they woke. Some time passed and they reached Calchester, the city that Jackson lives. The city looked small, most of the houses were spread out, the close by river's width was really wide, a few large ships sat side by side in there. The trio understood now why this place was known for its fishing. They headed through looking for a market or something to ask around but there was none just houses and a few shops, as well as a few taverns. Though these buildings looked a bit funny since they were raised off the ground in case of flooding, it makes sense but looks funny is all. They decided they should head towards the river and see if they can talk to any of the fishermen. When they got closer they realized that the docks is actually the market place which makes sense since they're big on fishing. They began to ask around and after a bit they finally found him and walked over to his boat and confronted him. It looked like his other fishing buddies weren't on the boat with him at the time, though they could be below deck since the boat was a rather big for a fishing boat. When they got to him Maximus spoke "Are you Jackson?"
Jackson: "Yes, how can I help you?"
Maximus: "How do you know Verdell?"
Jackson: eyed the trio cautiously "Whose asking?"
Maximus: "You owe him a favor, why?"
Jackson: "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Lela: She pulled out a dagger and had it to his throat before he could back away.
Jackson: Panicking a little "Okay, okay yes I know Verdell. I owe him a favor because I'm a smuggler for the pirate lord of Marauder Island. This river leads to many cities and islands making it ideal, one of his former top smugglers was having trouble with moving cargo undetected through here and ever since I started doing it for them they had no need for him to be here and he had it out for me. Verdell solved the issue and saved my life."
Lela: Put her dagger away and backed away "He can't help us, this was a waste of time."
Dominic: "Surely there's something?"
Maximus "Pirates and smugglers can't help us with what we need, let's go."
While they were walking away Dominic asked "What if we used them to attack the kingdom's harbor cutting off supplies?" Maximus responded with "Even if the orcs could use ships and transport cargo where would they import from? Their camps and stuff are inland." Dominic thought for a few moments and realized Maximus was right.

They ended up leaving the place and heading to their next person, Derrick whose a body guard. They have use for bodyguards since they know how to fight and that's what they need. They're all upset from their wasted travel time and going for Derrick next should ensure they don't waste anymore valuable time. While traveling there every night when they stopped the same little fox would show up still following them, after three days of this they finally reached the city they needed to be at.