B2 Chapter 49: A Night on the Town

B2 Chapter 49: A Night on the Town

The dragon followed the column of Legionnaires, returning half a dozen times throughout the day. Often it brought with it other items such as additional massive tree trunks or boulders that were subsequently “presented” to the Legion—or rather, dropped directly in their path with all the enthusiasm of a child showing off a new toy.

They did try to communicate with it. Marcus knew more than his share of tales about the intelligence and cunning of dragons. Yet this one left something to be desired, to say the least.

Once he worked up the courage to approach and speak with the monstrous scaled beast, his reward was… nothing. A blank stare of incomprehension. The others were met with the same response. Even Iladrien who, for some bizarre reason, actually spoke and understood draconic had no luck. The dragon might as well have ignored them. Though perhaps things would have been different if the elf hadn't left his mount safely behind.

Each time the dragon approached, they managed to mollify it by sending ballista bolts shooting off into the distance. The simple action sent the great creature bounding away like a wolf after a rabbit. Sometimes it would bring the projectiles back and block their path again, refusing to move until another one was fired. Others, it would continue flying away and disappear for hours.

This was one of the latter times. Marcus watched as the sparkling pink form soared across the horizon, dipping down occasionally to explore some of the nearby hills. Deep gouges carved into their sides were visible even from this distance, the depressions made without apparent rhyme or reason.

Needless to say, the whole situation resulted in quite a tense march.

The Legionnaires around him remained on-edge as the day wore on. Gaius in particular kept one eye constantly on their new travel companion, the officer jumpier than a grasshopper on a hot stove. And no wonder. Despite their luck so far, there was no telling when it might run out and see all of them turned into crispy little morsels.

Marcus jogged alongside the column at a steady clip, trying to keep from feeling bored out of his mind. The elves had opted to remain out of sight for the moment, just in case the dragon had a taste for more than just horses, meaning he couldn't even pass the time by continuing his conversation with the diplomat. Not that it would have been particularly fruitful. He was far less confident in his conversational skills while running.

Still, the Legion was moving slow enough that he could actually keep up without feeling too exhausted. Without their horses, they needed to match their pace to accommodate their slowest member—the baroness.

The woman and her daughter weren't marching, of course. The Legion had loaded them onto a hastily-fashioned cart rather than deal with their absolutely sluggish pace. But evidently, pulling a cart was different enough from proper marching technique that the men couldn't take full advantage of their related skills.

Marcus glanced over at the baroness to see her chatting with one of the Legionnaires keeping watch over her.

"Do you have a family back home? A wife, perhaps?"

"No." The man shrugged as though it were hardly worth noting.

"Hum." The baroness adopted a thoughtful expression. "That's surprising."

"...Why?"

She gestured to the soldier. "I would expect that a man such as yourself would find no shortage of interest from any woman."

The man snorted. "Legionnaires don't marry. Though that rule gets… overlooked, occasionally."

"Ah. I see." She shifted her posture to more forthrightly display her "assets". "Is the ban only against marriage? Or…?"

Marcus winced. At first, he had been glad to see that she had seemingly suppressed her antagonism to the Legion. However, the more he listened in on her conversations with the guards, the more he became certain of her plan.

Fortunately, the woman was not exactly skilled in the art of seduction. But between her respectable charisma stat and the fact that she was literally the only woman around for miles, she didn't have to be. Her efforts were subtle enough to not be obvious to the Legionnaires around her. It also helped that there had been nowhere near enough women in Habersville for the entire army, and even fewer unwed ones.

So, as soldiers were wont to do, they smiled at her words and stared at her breasts. Of course, they had enough discipline not to actually harm or touch their captive in any way. Once he'd picked up on the issue, Marcus had also made sure to inform Gaius, and the officer had carefully chosen guards with good reputations from that point on to ensure they watched each other.

Still, Marcus kept an eye on the situation himself. Just in case. None of the Legionnaires seemed stupid enough to make any moves on the baroness they were ransoming off or try to help her escape. But smarter men had done stupider things for the sake of a beautiful woman.

After what seemed like an eternity, the dragon finally disappeared over the horizon. After an hour of marching without seeing hide or scale of the thing, Marcus felt their entire group breathe a sigh of relief. So much so that they quickened their pace in an effort to put some distance between them and the dragon. Though Marcus sincerely doubted it made much of a difference.

A couple of days later, the capital of the duchy came into view. The sprawling city of Dellend stood tall and proud, a bustling crowd milling about its gates. Beyond its white walls, the very tips of the mages’ academy and adventures’ guild stretched toward the sky as though competing to be tallest. The place was second only to the royal capital itself in terms of both size and grandeur.

The Legionnaires made camp some distance away, hidden in a copse of trees set amongst the seas of brown grasses. The Legionnaires quickly erected some defenses and concealed the camp that appeared to spring out of nothing. Between the fact that the road bent around the island of green and the density of the foliage, Marcus felt it would be surprisingly difficult for anyone but a scouting troop to spot them. 

Once the initial flurry of activity had subsided, Marcus slumped onto a felled log with a long sigh and massaged his aching feet. When he'd decided to follow the Legion around and chronicle their exploits, he'd never imagined that it would involve quite this much legwork. If he had, then perhaps he would have reconsidered the whole deal. The idea of a warm bath right now sounded absolutely divine.

He paused. That gave him an idea.

"Gaius," Marcus called over to the officer as he sent a group of centurions about some task or another. Gaius looked at him questioningly. "You intended to wait until tomorrow to contact the duke, correct?"

"That's right. Why?"

"Well, what do you say to me going into the city today to gather some information?" Marcus tapped the side of his nose. "It wouldn't hurt to get the lay of the land a little bit, perhaps find out the latest news from the locals."

Gaius considered his proposal for only a second before nodding. "Agreed. That's not a bad plan. Give me a moment to finish checking in on the last centuries and I'll think of some questions for you to ask."

"Of course, of course!" Marcus agreed easily. "Though I would ask that you don't delay for too long. From this distance, it will take some time still to reach Dellend's gates, especially on foot."

Gaius winced at the reminder of their lost horses. "All right. I'll put together a list within the hour."

"Would you perhaps be willing to accept company?"

Marcus turned to see Iladrien's blonde form approaching, his forest-colored cloak seeming to blend in with the foliage around them even now.

The bard's eyebrows rose. “But of course. Although, are you entirely certain you wish to come? My understanding of your people is that you much prefer scenery such as this to the dark alleys and cold stone of a city.”

Iladrien shrugged. “You are not incorrect. However, one's dislike of such things is no excuse to remain entirely ignorant of them. And I must admit to some curiosity. It has been quite a long time since any of our people have visited a human settlement, aside from your own Habersville.” He nodded to Gaius.

“If that is the case, then your presence in the city may draw undue attention.” Gaius pointed out.

“Ah, don't worry about that.” Marcus patted Iladrien's shoulder and grinned. “I should be able to help on that front.”

The elf stiffened slightly at the gesture of familiarity, but said nothing. The young Legionnaire nodded. “In that case, I have no objections. So long as you remain discreet.”

Marcus's grin widened. “Discreet? What kind of bard would I be to slip through a settlement entirely unnoticed? But, we'll be sure to draw only the right kind of attention.”

Gaius gave an amused chuckle and shook his head. “Fair enough. I'll get to putting together that list then.

***

By the time they arrived at the city, the sun was just beginning to touch the horizon and paint it with hues of deep orange and dusk. Even the crowd hoping to gain entry to Dellend had more or less dispersed for the evening. Those wagons and travelers who were too poor or didn't care to pay for lodging within the city gathered beneath its walls. The result was a makeshift little town of their own on the outskirts, almost like another district entirely.

Marcus looked over their little group. A handful of Legionnaires and elves had accompanied them with the intent to set up camp outside the city. That way, they could provide assistance or run messages back to Gaius as needed.

The Legionnaires looked distinctly uncomfortable, some of them having removed their armor to appear more like a mercenary band than a group of actual soldiers. The elves all wore hoods, Iladrien included, to hide their ears and ageless features. The final result was a band that looked perhaps a little shady and suspicious, but not enough to warrant further investigation so long as they stayed outside of the city.

Marcus watched as the group began erecting a small outpost of their own with the practical efficiency he'd come to expect from the Legion. He couldn't help but shake his head at the sight. Hopefully they wouldn't go so far as to encircle the thing in a defensible wall like they did every other camp. That would be certain to raise some eyebrows.

“This is where we part ways, it seems.” Marcus called to his companions as they worked. "I suppose we'll see you all tomorrow?"

"Seems like it." One of the older Legionnaires scoffed. "Still can't believe you got away with this shit. 'Gather some information' my ass. The only information you're gonna be gathering is about the different venereal diseases in the city."

"How crude!" Marcus looked affronted. "I am a man of duty in all things, dear Augustus. The tribunus laticlavius gave me a list of information to gather, and I intend to do just that. Now, if I happen to be particularly efficient in my mission and find myself with a bit of free time…"

"Whatever." The Legionnaire gave Marcus a hearty slap on the back. "Do us all a favor and bring back some good booze while you're in there. The officers and centurions claimed most of the good shit when we took the last city."

"That, I can certainly do." Marcus grinned. He turned to Iladrien. "Are you ready to go, Andra?"

The elf nodded at the alias they'd agreed upon. "Indeed. Although it appears that a bit of haste may be in order on our part.”

He raised a finger toward the gate. As Marcus followed the direction he'd indicated, he saw the massive portcullis just beginning to lower.

Marcus swore under his breath. "Farewell, lads! Don't miss me too much!"

With that, the two set off at a run.