I might as well have been a tree for how long I was waiting, but that would suggest I was rooted in place, and I wasn't. I was hiking next to the collection of personal guards protecting Legatus Kellaport and his command wagon, who refused to let me pass them for over an hour as we marched closer to the wall blocking our path.

  I knew the legatus knew I was here. How did I know that? I cracked their legion pulse encoding weeks ago out of boredom. It wasn't hard. For every three words, you swapped the first and third words, and the second word was the inverse of normal. It just repeated over and over.

  On the one hand, I was impressed that the entire legion, or at least the messengers, were trained to deliver and receive the pulse messages while encoded. On the far more pertinent hand, the 14th Legion was quite literally on the opposite side of the Republic from the Imperium, meaning the effort up until this point in time where we found ourselves fighting the Letairry and Kin — which no one could have expected — the encoding was pointless.

  No, it was worse than pointless. It was a power play mixed with busy work that ate into a legionary's free time, which the tribunes forced on the lower ranks. It would be like being stationed in the tropical swamps far to the south and having your legion prepare winter clothing and shelter. The whole thing screamed at me that someone thought they were clever and wanted to show off their nonexistent intellect.

  The real question was why they were sending pulse messages twenty feet when they could simply shout, or ancestors forbid, walk to deliver the message in six seconds. They could have also been in a union, but I must admit that would be a waste of mental energy and willpower. So, at least they weren't that incompetent.

  This is all a long way to say I intercepted the message they sent reporting my arrival and that I was delivering a message from the Kin. And then I heard Legatus Kellaport's response, which was that he was in a meeting — also known as lunch from the food I saw being carried into the wagon — and that I was to wait for his convenience.

  Which was annoying on two fronts. For one, I was waiting under the hot sun while marching… However, if I wanted to be reasonable, I would be baking regardless of what I was doing. But if I was going to mentally complain, the heat or cold always warranted an honorable mention. What was probing my nerves with a stick was the legionaries were throwing degrading looks my way while muttering insults loud enough for me to hear, which was practically a shout with the noises of a legion marching all around us.

  Most of the comments were about how I was an elf and didn't deserve to be a scout, but there was a growing coalition in the mass, convincing the others I was a traitor to the Republic. I was giving even odds that the group would claim the majority by the time I was finally allowed to pass.

  I honestly didn't care about their comments. What annoyed the shit out of me was that they seemed to be intentionally oblivious to the hypocritical fact that they also worked with the Kin, if not the most willingly. And then there was the fortress they were desperately trying to reach, which I was going to guess was standing due in no small part thanks to the Kin's aid.

  The second reason it was annoying is that by now— Andd, there it is. I thought with exasperated amusement as I intercepted another pulse message. I knew most of the fallout would land on me, so I was going to enjoy this.

  A slightly muffled voice shrieked four seconds after the pulse, "Why has the collum stopped!"

  My opinion of the man was trapped in the middle of one fact that could be interpreted in two ways. Justinian Kellaport, the Legatus of the 14th Legion, had gotten most of his troops out of a death trap and marched them through effectively three forces nearly right up to the walls of the Triad. It could also be said that when Basetown needed him most, he fled like a coward.

  At times, he seemed to show a cunning competence, and then there were times like now when something little went wrong, and he blew up, letting his anger out onto the whole camp. And the little event, at least to me, seemed to mostly be his fault.

  Really, the more I interacted with the man, the more I thought he was intelligent enough to understand he was stupid and shoved most of his work onto his subordinates. It was just his subordinates didn't seem to deserve his trust.

  Casually, like they wouldn't be the ones held at fault for this mess, I spoke to the legatus's personal guards for the second time, "I am here to deliver a message on behalf of the Kin." The guards looked at each other; their haughty and superior attitude evaporated, replaced with a palpable sweat-inducing concern.

  And now it was all worth it. I smiled knowingly at the guard commander, not bothering to hide my delight at his predicament. The man ground his teeth as he glared at me. I could see the dark thoughts churning behind his eyes as new life was given to his hatred-fueled anger, as if oil was poured onto a fire.

  This bastard had taken pleasure every time I came, making me wait for what had to be a day collectively, even when I was the one summoned. After all this time, I might have understated the importance of my message… Entirely on accident, of course.

  "Move!" The man snapped, gesturing with his spear. "Go report to the Legatus!"

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  "What?" I said in obviously feigned shock, "You are knowingly going against the command of your superior? We all heard the message to keep me here until he called. And he hasn't called. How can I, in good conscience as a responsible, law-abiding legionary, disobey a direct order from a superior? No, until I receive new orders, I will not budge from this spot!"

  The more I spoke, the more the man ground his teeth together and the farther his lips pulled back. It was starting to get to the point that I was concerned his teeth would crack, then I remembered this asshole was a petty tyrant that took pleasure from inconveniencing others, and that worry vanished.

  An uneasy silence filled the air around us. The man's face shifted through several expressions rapidly as he went down the chain of logic that my statement suggested. He finally settled on a scowling growl as a deep red spread up his neck and face until it reached his receding hairline.

  I smiled pleasantly at the man like I didn't have a care in the world, which only infuriated him more, as I intended. Yes, you balding halfwit, I cracked your encoded messages. Yes, I did intentionally cause this situation. And yes, you can't do jackshit about it as you inform the legatus it's all your fault the legion has stopped.

  Finally, the man sent off a pulse message. Seconds later, a message returned demanding that I be immediately escorted to the command wagon. "Come with me." The overweight man hissed before turning and quickly marching toward the large wagon in the center of the group of legionaries.

  Following quick on his heels, I kept next to him without passing or moving out of arm's length. I was eighty-three percent sure that was the standard that was supposed to be kept as a messenger. I knew I had made a lifelong enemy today, not that I really cared, but giving him an opportunity to get me punished would just be idiotic.

  The man clicked his tongue in disappointment when we arrived at the wagon, stopping at the guards stationed at the entrance. "Scout Green with a message from the Kin," Declared Guard Commander Uptons. One of the men on duty nodded at his words, then stepped up onto the first step of the wagon to lean into its interior.

  A moment later, the man came down and tilted his head to the side, signaling me to go in. Nodding to him in thanks, I walked up and ducked inside the door, my eyes taking a moment to adjust to the wagon's interior.

  While I couldn't look around, I could smell, and my nose was filled with the scent of tobacco. A moment later, I could see, and the first thing I noticed was that the smell was so thick inside the large wagon because of a layer of visible smoke obscuring the roof. As I turned to face deeper into the wagon, I was greeted by the sight of five men sitting around a table.

  To the sides of the wagon, there was just enough space for someone to slip by the seated people if they sucked in their gut, but not much else. Behind the table was what amounted to a small office. The rear wall was lined with small open cubbies with a few drawers and chests for documents underneath. As for the table that I assumed was meant to hold maps, it was covered in a cloth table cover and the remnants of a meal.

  Bringing my feet together and slamming my fist to my chest, I looked forward as I said, "Scout Green reporting as ordered."

  The small man sitting at the head of the table gave me a dismissive once over before waving his hand, holding a pipe for me to begin. "I am told you are belatedly here to tell me why my legion has stopped?" The man squeaked, conveniently forgetting that his own orders prevented me from giving my report. "Well, out with it, elf. This better be important."

  I shoved the spike of irritation I felt down at his condescending tone as I started speaking. "The Kin have informed me that they are not yet able to open the gates to allow our passage to the Triad. They apologize for the inconvenience and invite you to be their guests. To hurry things along, they wish for me to deliver a message to my legion." I might have added or changed some points, but I felt this was a better way to deliver they were hostages for negotiations.

  The man's face twisted with distaste, his too-large nose wrinkling with the facial movements. "It was my understanding that I had come to an agreement with the beasts. I would introduce them to the Senate for safe passage and push for peace with them. Not that I had much intention of doing so; they are barbarians, after all, but how dare they go back on their word!"

  “…If I may speak," I said, earning a glare but also a curt nod to continue speaking after a second, "The leadership of the Kin," and I made sure to put extra stress on the word, hoping to drive the point home but doubting it would matter, "was probably aware of your intentions. My time serving as an ambassador to them has taught me their powers are capable of much we could not imagine, and they were most likely monitoring you the whole time."

  "Do not trust his words, Justinian," The Prefect of the 14th, Maginum Opious, sneered while throwing me a side-eyed glance of distrust. "What can an elf know on the matter? Besides, the beasts intentionally exaggerate their powers to instill fear in our troops. I told you we should have done more to weaken them; look at our situation now, all but at their mercy! I say we form up and march on the walls within this very hour to show these abominations the might of the Republic."

  The man was an idiot, and he had the ear of the Legatus… which was just a disaster waiting to happen. I was no longer part of the conversation as they all forgot I was present, and they began arguing about what they should do.

  I don't know if it was just this legion, but they looked like petty children, each pushing their own agenda. One man joined in with the prefect, urging the legatus to attack the walls. Another wanted to escape to the river and construct a bridge while holding the Kin back. The last thought was to wait and see if Panta could come to an understanding or move to help in a breakout.

  After what I thought was far too long of ideas being thrown about, as they honestly had no understanding of the Kin's power when left to build upon itself, and thus didn't understand their own position, the conversation finally wound down. They decided that the Prefect and I should go to Panta before starting a war with a neutral force while we were already facing the hostile dark elves.

  I couldn't see any other option, but at least after half an hour of arguing, I was convinced… that none of the others had a viable option for the situation either… But that probably wasn't a good thing, considering they were in command of a legion, but I honestly didn't give much of a shit about the 14th at this point, though I did feel sorry for Lun and the others.

  Exiting the wagon, a haughty man at my heels, I moved to the smirking Kanieta lounging under the temperature-controlled tents nearby to inform her I was finally ready to return to the Triad.