A swarthy, weathered man stirred on the ground next to me on the simple stretchers our group had fashioned from local materials. I looked over at the man as he woke.

  "Hey, you, you're finally awake. You were trying to cross the border right? Same as us, and that—"

  "Honourless swine!" An enraged scream from my left cut off what was going to be an amicable introduction.

  The two men we'd grabbed, both with serious injuries, were scrambling from their stretchers in a bid to strangle each other, even if it killed them to do it. The other man was already awake and alert, giving him a significant advantage. I growled, rising from my chair and striding between them like I was breaking up a fight in a schoolyard or something.

  I intercepted the speaker, grabbing him by the upper arm and clamping down with my armoured gauntlet. Not hard, not enough to harm him, but enough to give him pause. My grip was much stronger than a normal man.

  "You two, shut up and don't reopen your wounds." I glared at each of them in turn. The deep cuts and scratches—to say nothing of their bruises—had to hurt like hell. Neither man seemed to notice beneath their own visible hatred for the other, though. I turned to the Imperial, the man who'd been part of the Empire's border guard, if we’d understood the situation right.

  "You. Why were you trying to kill this guy?"

  At that, both of them began to scream and carry on like barbaric animals. Not the civilised tantrums of diplomats, but more the hatred of two mortal enemies who believed the other was a stain on the cosmos. I grabbed the Imperial, physically dragging him across the dirt and over to the other side of our camp.

  "Chen, watch that other one. See if you can get anything out of him." I tossed the Imperial on the floor and noticed blood slowly spreading beneath his tan and brown uniform. He was very eager to be an idiot. I gave him a flat, unimpressed look.

  "Do that again, and I won’t bother with healing you, I'll just shoot you. We clear?"

  He nodded slowly, so I waved one of our mages over.

  Rovald walked up, nodding to me respectfully as he looked at the man’s bandages. They’d already been stained red, but now they were sodden and heavy with blood, again.

  “Take a look at this.” I gestured to the bleeding man. “This going to be a problem?”

  Rovald shrugged. “Not likely, we’ll change the bandages and he’ll be fine. It wasn’t smart, though. Your name?”

  “What?”

  “Your name.” Rovald repeated.

  “Terath-Yoki.”

  “Well, Terath, believe me when I say that you are lucky to be alive.”

  “What was that little spat at the border?” I interjected.

  “We’re border guards?” Terath said, confusion marring his features.

  “Right, and who’s that over there then?” I nodded in the direction of the other survivor we’d patched up.

  Terath’s face darkened. “Interloper, trespasser, filth. It matters not.”

  “You do know there’s a war going on, right?”

  “War? What war? There are only scoundrels and filth seeking to enter where they are not invited.” He spat on the ground next to him.

  “The… Vitaru, have returned. They nearly wiped out Wolfport and wrecked several outlying villages nearby. From what we can tell, they’re everywhere.”

  “If they are back, which is a foolish notion, they are not in my Empire." He scoffed. "We have kept our borders secure for many generations, allowing only the worthy and wealthy through.” He stated this proudly, if not arrogantly.

  I rolled my eyes. “Look, I don’t much care if you believe me or not, but I do need to gain entry to Drakitha. My men and I are looking for work and we’re heading west. The Eastern Kingdoms have grown too dangerous for my tastes.”

  He examined me with a more critical eye, curious rather than prideful, as he had been a moment before. “Soldier? Guard?”

  “Sellsword.” I nodded. “I used to be a soldier, don’t have anyone left to soldier for though.” I put on a convincing display of melancholy, because it was mostly real and there could very well be no one left back home.

  I’m not ashamed to say I was growing a little homesick. We’d already been on deployment for months, which while far from out of the ordinary, wasn’t the only thing weighing on me. The sheer distance and time that had passed me by added to the weight of what would otherwise have been a tolerable burden. If not for the team, I’d probably have gone mad already.

  “My sympathies, to you. It’s not been easy for the honourable ones among us.” He gave me a small rueful smile.

  “No.” I agreed. “It hasn’t.”

  “I may be able to grant you passage, but first I have to know what has become of my patrol. Their bodies must be returned for the last rites, if they did not survive as I did.”

  I’d seen the bodies, as we’d pulled Terath from among the dead. A group of roughly two dozen men had been patrolling there, but they’d all been slaughtered by two men. Whoever this other man was, he wasn’t ordinary. My suspicion was he was a mage, or he’d been travelling with one.

  The other man we’d seen was dressed identically to him. The dead ‘interloper’—as Terath had called him—and the survivor were both wrapped in smoke-coloured linen with harnesses and bandoliers filled with vials.

  They’d had various bits of gear on them hanging from belts and harnesses including a fair few weapons. We’d taken those of course, and the vials, as well as anything else we didn’t recognise but these two were the only survivors of the battle as far as we could tell. Everyone else had been stone-dead by the time we arrived, according to Rovald and Leyndal.

  Those two were the senior of the mages we’d brought along, the others were still experienced, but apparently they were junior enough to defer to the other two who I’d begun thinking of as veterans. I was sure I’d get the chance to be nosy and ask after their pasts at some point. The mission was sure to be a long one.

  “So, what will you do now?” Terath asked.

  “Now? Now, we get you and whoever that is over there cleaned up and healthy, and see about your patrol. From there, I hope we can travel to one of your cities and find work and you can return to your duties. I mean no offense, but we’ve got a purpose in mind for our journey to the Empire and we can’t be delayed any more than is necessary.”

  Terath nodded slightly, but predictably, his eyes went towards the other new resident of our camp. “I understand. These are dark times, after all. What about him?” Dark muttering followed that question and there was no doubt who Terath was talking about.

  Muttering with murderous overtones wasn’t a good sign, at least, not when said muttering was aimed at you or someone you needed alive. I’d have to make sure nothing happened between the two of them that delayed our mission. I wasn’t above leaving them to kill each other, but I’d prefer if that happened after we were past the Empire’s borders and well on our way to a city.

  I thought for a few more moments, and then answered Terath’s question. “He’ll come with us for now, same as you, but we’ll leave you to deal with him as you see fit when we part ways. It’s your sovereign territory and we have no right to interfere.”

  Terath nodded, as if I’d passed some kind of test. “This is acceptable. When I am healed, I will aid you.” He licked his lips. “First however, I require rest.”

  “Of course. We’re camped an hour east from where you were last. If it’s alright with you, we’ll set out tomorrow and find out what’s happened to your men. For now, have no fear. We’ll guard you and see to your wounds.”

  He nodded, eyes glazed over and deep in thought. “Acceptable. I’ve heard tales of sellswords who would’ve sooner step on my throat than heal me. By what name do you call yourselves?”

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  I’d rehearsed this answer, of course, as had everyone else. I’d also planned out a lot of the details concerning the mission—including, first and foremost, our official cover story. So, it was with no hesitation that I answered him.

  “We call ourselves the Raptors.”

  “Raptors? What’s a raptor?”

  That threw me for a minute, but I quickly recovered. “It’s—how to explain… It’s a carnivorous bird that hunts other animals as prey.”

  “Ah, I understand. We do not have so many birds in Drakitha. It sounds deadly.” He nodded, grinning slightly. “A powerful name.”

  “I’m glad you approve.” I grinned back.

  Chen’s voice broke up my little chat with Terath.

  “You should come and talk to this one, Ed. You need to hear what he has to say.”

  I kept the concern from my voice as I made an excuse to leave Terath with his thoughts.

  “That’s concerning.” I told Chen.

  “You don’t know the half of it.” He paused, abruptly, a pregnant silence emerging for a few moments. “I know I’m not normally the one people peg as smart, at least among us four, but if he’s telling the truth then we might need to make some edits to our plans.”

  “Edits? Why?” My stride lengthened a little and I made it to the other side of our camp in a few more seconds.

  “Ask him about his work.” Chen said, keeping our conversation private, from the looks of things. The man besides Chen continued to talk and didn’t pay me a second glance until I stood right in front of him.

  The weary-looking man was older, perhaps late forties, or early fifties if time had been especially kind to him. He was in a similar state to Terath, only a little worse off from the looks of things, probably on account of the fact he wasn’t wearing quite as much armour.

  He wasn’t built like a hardened soldier, but had the look of someone who used their brain more than their brawn. I could tell that even through what little leather and cloth he did have protecting him.

  “And you are?” I asked, sitting down next to him. It wasn’t exactly comfortable to sit in armour but I wanted to put him at ease by not towering over him.

  “Morakath Yelvani, archaeologist and historian.” His voice was proud, but shaken.

  Understandable, given the circumstances. An academic fit with what I was looking at. Though, most academics I knew would’ve pissed themselves in fear after being near a life and death struggle, let alone an actual battle. The mental image amused me for a moment before I answered the man, attempting to placate his disturbed mind while also seeking the answers I wanted.

  “I see. What’s someone like you doing way out here?” I smiled, looking around at the now arid landscape. The Empire it seemed was a desert of sand and rock. “Why were you crossing the border? It’s a dangerous time to be a traveller.”

  “My work takes me to interesting places.” Morakath shrugged. “You won’t find the ancient crypt of Torolf Janderson behind the local bakery, after all. I’m something of a treasure hunter, but I seek answers where others seek riches.”

  “Right, exactly.” I agreed with him like I had any clue what the hell he was talking about. “What brings you to the Empire, then?”

  “I’m looking for the Truthblade.” His face lit up and he smiled toothily at me. “I know you probably don’t believe it exists, but I really am sure about this.”

  I looked over at Chen and even through our suits I could tell he also thought this was highly suspicious timing. A spy? Someone seeking to throw us off the scent? Or was he really who he claimed to be?

  “Morakath, I’m going to be frank with you,” I paused a moment, making sure the rest of our group wasn’t listening too intently. It wouldn’t do to spook the old man, after all. “We’re also looking for the same thing.”

  The old man practically exploded at that, beleaguered elder academic replaced with the energy of a spry man twenty years his junior.

  “Really? Splendid! You must let me travel with you, I’d be eternally grateful.” He was too earnest, and it was all too convenient. This wasn’t

  An itchy, worming sensation like wriggling, rubbery slime against the inside of my shoulder blades. I hated that feeling, but that itch burrowed into my muscle and stayed there. I couldn’t shake it. It seemed to exist in a place I could feel, but not place, which was anathema to me after training my body for so long. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like what I was hearing either.

  “Chen, give it to me straight? What’s so important?”

  “He’s looking for the same thing we are?”

  “And that didn’t seem the least bit suspicious to you?”

  “Oh hell no, it’s a lot suspicious. Do we bring him with us?”

  Trusting him was out of the question, not now that I’d seen his ‘act’ if indeed I was right about him. Bringing him along though, that might have some merit.

  “Excuse me? Hello? Are you two alright?” Morakath huffed.

  I pasted my best customer-support smile on my face and oozed apology. “Yes, yes, my apologies. I was just thinking about the best way to bring you with us. I’m afraid we’re not provisioned for an extra passenger.”

  “Oh, it’s no bother.” He waved his hand at me, smiling with an edge I wouldn’t have seen if I hadn’t been looking for it. “I brought my own.” He hefted a knapsack in one hand.

  “Yeah, no doubt about it.” I told Chen, making very sure to face Morakath and keep the external speakers off. “He’s not who he says he is.”

  “I do need to find a book I’m missing however. I think one of those ruffians knocked it loose during the commotion.” He scowled, and I couldn’t help but smile, act or not.

  “Of course. It would be back where we picked you up, right?”

  “Certainly.” He smiled, nodding.

  Chen made a low, rumbling humming noise as a sign of distrust, or something to that effect. “Want me to keep an eye on him, watch him?” He asked.

  I didn’t nod, didn’t make a noise or make any motion that was out of place, but I did respond. “Like a hawk. Don’t leave his side. Tell him it’s for his protection and that he’s got information we’d really like, if he asks. It’s mostly true, so he should buy it.”

  Carrying two separate conversations under they eyes of someone you were trying to hide that fact from wasn’t as easy as it sounded, but the fact my suit computer transcribed everything made it far easier to keep track of things. It even went so far as to colour-code it all for me.

  Carver joined the conversation. “Have a plan in mind?”

  “I wasn’t expecting an old archaeologist-spy, so not really. I say we play it by ear and see how things work out. He clearly knows more than he’s told us, so don’t trust him, and don’t let him touch anything. You know the deal.”

  “Roger. I’ll watch him.”

  With what was almost assuredly a spy in our midst I preferred to keep a close eye on him. After cross-checking the stories of both men and having a private meeting with the six other mages along, we all agreed that we’d take the old man as far as the capital and see if we could get any more information from him.

  We didn’t have a clue if he was targeting us specifically, either because of what we were, or because of our mission. The numerous unknowns drove me to take a riskier path forward and let him travel with us. I was sure that he was another player in the game, so to speak, just one we hadn’t fully uncovered yet.

  As we approached the site of the battle at the border, I asked Carver to task his drone to follow the man from a high-altitude vantage point and keep an eye on him. If he was going to make a move, he’d do it after we were inside the Empire’s borders, or right before we crossed.

  I ordered the mages among us to keep a close watch for external threats, while us three Marines let our suits handle that task for us as we took a personal hand in being ready for whatever Morakath might pull on us.

  After reviving the two men things went smoothly, and so far as I could tell, we didn’t stumble across any more surprises.

  “This sure beats sneaking in, we’ve got an invitation from a guard.” Chen quipped.

  “Yeah, and a spy.” I dryly reminded him. “Don’t get too comfortable. Something tells me that a squad of border guards being wiped out doesn’t bode well for someone and that someone might be us.”

  “I hear ya.”

  I turned to Rovald who was walking nearby and peering into the distant desert.

  “Anything?”

  “No, just sand, and sand dunes, and more blasted sand.” He growled.

  Switching my suit over to the appropriate frequencies revealed much the same. Rolling waves of sand formed a sea of quartz, as far as the eye could see.

  “How’s the heat?”

  Rovald looked at me funny for a second, then broke into a scowl. “You lucky… Your armour protects you?”

  I grinned. “Yep.”

  “For your information, it’s hotter than a furnace out here. We’re all maintaining low-level spells just to keep the heat survivable.” He scowled again.

  They weren’t exactly dressed for the desert, but I’d correctly assumed they had some magical solution.

  Focusing on the ‘road’ ahead, was something of a comfort, there being no other signs of civilisation by now, deep as we were in the sands. The road leading inwards was less of a road now as it had been hours earlier, the sand having swallowed everything. Now it was more of a series of large light posts sticking up out of the sand dunes, like lanterns lighting the way in a blizzard. For all I knew, they were lanterns, even though they weren’t glowing at the moment. Regardless of what they did, they were the only trail we had to civilisation and presumably the nearest toilet, so we followed them, eyes peeled for trouble.

  “We follow this path for another three days, and then we will arrive in a city where you can be given appropriate documents.” Terath said, sidling up to me.

  “Documents?”

  “You’ll need appropriate identification and authorisation to be considered mercenaries, and not criminals.”

  “Letters of marque, then? How oddly civilised.” I snorted. I didn’t have a high opinion of what I’d been told passed for culture out here, but I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

  “Letters of what?” Terath looked at me like I was speaking gibberish.

  “Nevermind. You have family back home?”

  The sun might not kill me, but sheer boredom might do the job just as well. I figured I might as well strike up a conversation with the man given that we'd be spending three days together and I had unfettered access to a native.

  He nodded, stopping for a moment to pour sand from his boots.

  "Your wounds healing okay?"

  Terath grimaced, some twinge of pain no doubt. "They will heal."

  He was still on edge, and not quite trusting of us from the way he walked and shot us glances. In fairness, we'd only just met and he was probably aware that we could kill him in fifty different ways in about five seconds. Adding the fact that he owed his life to us would definitely make for an interesting mix of conflicting emotions. Those experiences could make anyone uneasy.

  "Unidentified humanoid signature, bearing two-two-five, range, six-seven-one metres." My suit intoned in my ears.

  My closed fist shot up and Carver and Chen each took a knee on one side of the formation up front.

  "Look lively, boys! We've got possible enemy contact." I shouted.

  The mages' moment of confusion didn't last a moment after, and shimmering discs and a dome of translucent magic appeared around us.

  "Confirm positive contact." I ordered.

  "Something is definitely out there, Riley. It just took off into the desert."

  "Shit. It knows we spotted it then."

  It was never a pleasant feeling being stalked.

  "Move out, keep your eyes peeled. We walk until just dawn, then set up the tents."

  We rose and continued on our path, keenly aware that something or someone was out there, watching us. Lately our luck seemed to rest of the flip of a coin. One moment we had exactly what we needed and we were blessed by good weather, perfect schedules and orderly peace and quiet. The next, we had to deal with a vampire or a swarm of dog-sized insect-spiders and everything went to shit.

  If Lady Luck smiled on us, then all that was out there in the desert was a bandit smart enough not to try something he'd regret. If. If only I actually believed that.