08:42 HOURS.

  SUNDAY, 04 NOIEMBRIE 1441.

  OUTSKIRTS OF FALKNER, YONDEL.

  THREE DAYS PASSED FOR TRANSIT. All passed within a blink of an eye.

  Every sight that was comforting; the sunsets over the royal capital, or the long stretch of beaches just outside of Bishmark were all replaced with the greens, oranges, reds, and browns of the late fall in the Frontier. Here it was no different than the wild west of the 1870s. Amongst scattered towns connected to larger settlements, bounty hunters, criminals, farmers, explorers all gathered in these unconquered lands. Some lived in harmony, and some died to the brutality of man. Others stayed in safety, daring not to leave the walls that protected them.

  Less than a day earlier the convoy had come across a pack of wild animals. Though the Rangers were quick to disengage wanting to put distance from where they had stumbled across a lair of sorts, the knights that accompanied them, Marco, Eugene, and Anne—the very same from their encounter in Bishmark—chose to dispatch such beasts and the threat they posed to the everyday traveler. Relenting, Captain Oliver and his fireteam led the group into the den, clearing the space before the knights even had a chance to engage the enemy. The Rangers had dispatched wolf-hybrids with precision shots to the torso, taking the beasts down with little ammunition expended. It was child’s play when compared to the trials of Pakistan and Africa.

  A steady breath escaped Mikes lips as a numb feeling in his left arm forced him awake. Blinking away the bright haze that stemmed from a ray of sunlight beaming straight onto his face, he let out a sudden cough. Darting his eyes around the empty carriage he was the only occupant besides the person still sleeping on his shoulder. To his left, Princess Lecca was once more slumped against his body covering herself with the woobie she had practically owned at this point. Her silver hair was slightly frazzled from not being maintained to a pristine condition for the last three days, and she had rolled up the sleeves of her blouse to accommodate for a plated leather vest she had adorned when they had passed Bishmark.

  Turning his gaze outside the carriage, he saw four of his fellow Rangers standing on a small ridge. They all scanned the distant horizon, with those he was able to identify, Simon and Alexander looking to the sprawling plains and forests with binoculars.

  He puffed his cheeks like a child as he softly grasped onto the princess. As he stood up, he moved a backpack with a tarp covering it below her head and tucked her in with his woobie. Ensuring his gear on the web-belt and plate carrier didn’t get caught stepping out of the carriage, he caught the attention of the Yondel knights and Rangers who were enjoying a slow and comfortable breakfast in the brisk morning cold that scoured the Frontier. Taking a moment to stretch his arms and legs, he took a deep breath of the pure air that was captured in the wilderness. He tucked his hands below his plate carrier and wandered to the small campfire that had been burning for the last two hours. Lecca was no different as her eyes snapped open to the crackle of the fire. She fought every urge to clamp her eyes shut once more until it was realized that she was no longer leaning against the sergeant. Looking down, she saw the man standing over the fire and struggled against the comfort of the “woobie” he had provided her for this venture as she crawled into the bright morning sun. Lowering herself silently from the carriage, she placed herself on Mike’s left, placing a soft hand on his shoulder.

  “Ah, Princess!” Knight Marco called out with a small smile on his face. “You just missed breakfast! It was apparently an “omelet” made by Holy Knight Malkovich.”

  Her smile dropped. Lecca saw Mike smirk from the corner of her eye as she looked upon the knights with a distraught expression as he watched the men eat the remaining egg dishes left out.

  “Hey Princess!” Simon walked from the ridge with Baker, Devlin, and Alexander. “Sleep well?”

  “Indeed.” She said as the men passed her up knocking Mike on his right shoulder. The sergeant remained silent as he threw a playful punch at the PFC before he could clamber back onto the carriage.

  “We leaving?” Mike asked.

  “Yup.” Was all Alexander said as he adjusted his rifle and underbarrel grenade launcher. The knights at the campfire quickly extinguished the flame and turned back to rejoin the first cart in the convoy.

  Gently placing a hand on Lecca’s shoulder, Mike drew the princess’s attention. He flashed her a small, tired smile as he climbed onto the lip of the carriage. Turning back and extending his right arm, he assisted the Silver Haired Demon as she sat down on his left once more settling in comfort as she stole the woobie that was in his lap, covering herself and enjoying the warmth that came with the cloth.

  Closing his eyes, Mike allowed her to maintain victory over his woobie as he once more fell into a deep sleep.

  12:12 HOURS.

  SUNDAY, 04 NOIEMBRIE 1441.

  SETTLMENT OF FALKNER, YONDEL.

  IT WAS A LONG JOURNEY TO THIS FORGOTTEN PLACE. Four hours had passed along empty dirt roads and desolate paths, but it was more than enough time and space for the Holy Knights to arrive at the primary settlement within the Frontier. It was the staging grounds for Operation First Stand. They wasted no time finding the settlement’s mayor, Harry Cald, who had given a brief on the current problem that plagued his people.

  “An organization that works outside of the normal Hunters Guild—The Volunteer Corps—has had an outpost they operated outside the walls suddenly go silent,” Harry said. “The Corps is a unit made of the people from all over the Frontier, and this place was their first attempt to create an outside base separate from any settlement. It was a store for weapons and information. All of it may very well hold answers to the mission you were sent here to undertake. From what we understand from the first search party we sent; something within the cave they operated out of is thought to have been taken over by members of the Demon Lord’s army and is currently being used as staging grounds against Falkner—”

  Captain Oliver frowned. “The Demon Lord is expanding his reach into the Frontier before he begins the incursion?”

  Harry nodded.

  “I can see why he would target strategic locations and the reason for taking out an arms cache,” Oliver said. “The Demon Lord ain’t no slouch.”

  “Naturally,” Harry added, “there’s a running theory that a segment of human tacticians is under his employment.”

  “Could either be of a twisted form of gunboat diplomacy or simple extortion. Humans on their side, or hostages,” Oliver said.

  “Either way,” Harry followed up, “I don’t think that they should be a problem for a counterattack if the Demon Lord calls for an invasion. With the Holy Knights here, led by the King’s assassin? There is little hope that they will fight back, let alone have the morale to sustain a war of attrition throughout the Frontier. With their supply lines it is unlikely that they will succeed, not with our allied settlement to the north.”

  “Good to know that you know your stuff,” Oliver commented. “If my men run interference and provide the Volunteer Corps with intelligence, it would be easy for them to get the army to come in and eliminate any strongholds that are already weakened.”

  “Are your men deployable?”

  Oliver arched an eyebrow, “Of course. But we’re running on fumes from our time traveling.”

  “All I kindly request is that you Holy Knights undertake the recovery mission for the Volunteer Corps. If you wish to cooperate with them, you will need trust over status.”

  Lecca-Maradel had been watching the exchange, trusting the captain to deal with the nuances of military politics. Her attention had been brought forward when Mayor Harry had made that request to take back the arms cache. It wasn’t their responsibility, and she agreed with the captain on their current readiness for combat. “Mayor Cald, I would advise not straining my men.” she said bluntly.

  Harry sighed as he leaned back in his office chair, “If it helps, this comes from Mr. Que, the current commanding officer of the Northern branch.”

  “Ma’am, I wouldn’t recommend getting too tied up,” Oliver warned the princess. “We can handle some stuff for them, but our assignment here can’t be spread too thin helping out the locals.”

  “Why would they want us to help?” Lecca said aloud before answering her own question. “This will be the first recorded instance of any summoned individuals working alongside local forces. There are no heroes, just normal men.”

  “A test. I would do something like it. To see if they’re worth our time,” Oliver understood it.

  “It would also be putting them in debt,” Harry offered.

  “Quite quaint for our line of work.” Lecca smiled.

  There should be a law against working on Sundays, Oliver thought. The princess had agreed to undertake the Volunteer Corps request to recover their assets. At first his day started with waking up at the break of dawn, navigating for their driver. And it would end with him leading a charge into unknown enemy territory. It was par for course when it came to dealing with people in this world, no intelligence, no plans, no real methodology. His adaptability was adhering to walking the lines from what he learned as an officer in the army. Strick regulations, standard operating procedures, rules of engagements. They all played a piece into what made him, his men, the army effective.

  Leaning against a window within the office, Oliver watched as an inspection was being performed near the building’s rear-courtyard.

  An older man in brown clothes adorned with metal armor walked down a single line of eight young men dressed in similar fashion. The older man’s attentive eyes didn’t miss any discrepancies that each man had. Some had dirtied armor or clothing, others hadn’t polished and sharpened their weapons. One’s shoes needed repair. And the most put together man had a poor haircut and slight shadow growing on his face. For military standards they were inexcusable. But if these were members of the Volunteer Corps—civilians—this was more than impressive. An organized force was something difficult to accomplish without structure, and these men had accomplished that seemingly at the lowest of levels. The inspector appeared to be akin to that of a platoon commander or element leader: his fatherly approach to correcting the men, ensuring they understood why such strictness was necessary to success, it was something that Oliver could come to appreciate. There was no need for screaming. Just the clear understanding of what could cause one to live or die. If these men were any like the guards, they stumbled across upon entering the settlement, then this was the watch relief for the mid-day. They weren’t Marines that were posted guarding POTUS or Annapolis, but instead normal men in a watch section defending their home, their lively hoods, their families.

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  13:52 HOURS.

  SUNDAY, 04 NOIEMBRIE 1441.

  OUTSKIRTS OF FALKNER, YONDEL.

  “This is something we usually leave to the PJs, but since no one else wants to do it, we’re ready.” Mike explained to Lecca as he racked the bolt of his carbine chambering a bullet.

  The journey wasn’t long to the outpost. Most of it was dismounted and on foot through narrow paths within the forests around Falkner. Under Lecca’s orders, and Oliver’s recommendations, Lieutenant Devlin’s strike team, augmented with members on Oliver’s fireteam were sent into the very cave where the Volunteer Corps had set up shop. Six awaited outside the entrance. The rest remained not long beyond a nearby set of boulders. Last minute gear checks were conducted. Weapons were taken off safe. Every strap that could be tightened and secured was to minimize the chances of getting caught on an edge. Lecca-Maradel stood beside her men. She had yet to withdraw any weapons. Her confidence in their fighting abilities had skyrocketed during the assault on Bishmark. They would protect her, but she would not be useless. If a fight truly broke out, her magic would even the playing field.

  Green stood in front of the cave entrance. He investigated the pitch-black darkness through his night vision; a curious thought passed as he activated the IR laser on his rifle letting it cut deep in the darkness before it stopped on a wall that was at least 50 yards deep. “I don’t think our NODs will work without IR lights. Not something I would want to get trapped in.” He earnestly said keeping his rifle trained on the cave.

  “Would you like me to cast a light spell?” Knight Marco stepped from the boulders as Oliver and Anothy watched him with annoyed gazes.

  “No, we’ll rely on our helmet lights.” Devlin said as he turned over the data pad on his left wrist. He tapped a setting on the device turning on an IR light that illuminated the entire cave entrance for Green.

  Marco looked into the cave. “Alright people, let’s find this weapons cache.” Lieutenant Devlin ordered as his men began to walk forward in a single collum. They entered the darkness being captured by the void. Princess Lecca-Maradel remained at the rear of the formation with Simon, she wandered with steady steps being consumed. The knight still outside of the cave felt his jaw tighten and turned around to see the two other Holy Knights sitting comfortably on the boulders watching the surrounding forest for any hostile movement.

  As Marco returned to them, Captain Oliver looked away from the forest, “So, what do you think is in there?”

  “If we don’t know what attacked them, a Golem.” Marco answered.

  “How do you kill a golem?” Oliver asked.

  Alexander looked towards the captain, along with the other knights.

  “Just aim for the mana gems scattered near the face.” Eugene explained as he looked at the captain.

  “Right…” Oliver said.

  “Are you going to inform your men?” Knight Anne asked, adjusting the robe she wore.

  “No,” Oliver said. “No need to distract them by clogging comms.”

  Lecca had to enhance her vision to even have the slightest chance of seeing the clear image that the Holy Knights used with their ‘NODs’. It had been five minutes since they entered a sub-tunnel system within the cave. A staircase led deeper, and upon descending three flights of stairs, they had reached a confined basin. The air was cold, and humid, and as Mike led the trail deeper into the labyrinth with Green.

  Coming to a halt in the passageway, Mike held a steady clenched fist in the air. Without a word, Green activated his IR light and shined it in front of Mike. His eyes widened beneath his goggles as he saw the sergeant staring at a large marble structure. “Sargent?” Devlin whispered. Making his clenched fist a thumbs up, he slowly twisted his rifle to the right facing a final pathway that led into a large room with a large structure at the end.

  He stared through his magnified sight; he slowly stepped through a puddle of water. Droplets of water fell all throughout the cave, being the only noise they could hear over their footsteps and soft breaths. Lecca was the last to enter the room. Her eye slowly adjusted—becoming strained from the application of mana—and she stared at the structure at the end of the room. A box. One that held a dark liquid leaking from the top corners.

  The Rangers spread out amongst the room, some seeking cover behind collapsed pillars or boulders that laid around the room. Lieutenant Devlin moved with Green on the right side. They came to a stop upon finding a pile of weapons and armor lying messily on the ground, much of it being submerged in a stream of water that had yet to move. There was no blood, so he could only hope that this was a part of the arms cache. When he got closer to the weapons, he noticed that the blades were chipped and the armor was heavily damaged from punctures.

  “Alright so we find weapons, but where are the people?” Simon asked as he moved to the left with Mike.

  “Everyone, stop moving!” Devlin ordered.

  Freezing in place snapping their rifles forward, the junior officer looked behind the formation, the doorway was clear under the gaze of his IR light, he slowly looked up towards the ceiling and traced the clear surface with his carbine. He didn’t see anything abnormal. No one questioned him as he continued to scan the room, the light from his helmet eventually settled at the end of the room.

  Staff Sergeant Baker felt his finger inch toward the trigger of his gun as he saw a minuscule glint from the ceiling.

  Explosions erupted from the ground as two hulking beasts made of stone plated their feet into the ground and stood tall over the Rangers. They stood tall and towered over the men, standing at 8’00’’ each. The being’s golden eyes stared at them gently as their three appendages floated calmly around their bodies.

  “Hold fire!” Devlin shouted. “Mike, Simon, Green, cover down on the princess!”

  “Golems?” Lecca said, feeling a course of lightning race down her right arm.

  The sergeant and privates raced to the princess’s side as they surrounded her forming a defensive triangle. Lecca remained still as she studied the monsters, watching as the stone beasts stared at the Rangers with seemingly curious eyes. A silent drip of a dark liquid form the appendages told the story of what happened to the Volunteer Corps troopers at this outpost.

  “MARKED BY THE ARCHITECTS.”

  A reverberating, metallic voice made Lieutenant Devlin hesitate as he felt his rifle lower.

  “NOT OF TRADITIONAL ORIGIN.”

  Feeling Baker’s hand grabbing his shoulder, the small tug was all he needed to start slowly working backwards. His rifle had become level again, not daring to look away from the monsters as the glow of their eyes intensified.

  “THEY ARE NOT HEROES.”

  “ACCESS IS RESCINDED.”

  Through his magnified sight, Mike’s legs began to falter as he halted near the entrance to the room. A single blink was all it took for the monster’s eyes to turn crimson red. Amongst the only things he could see from the single IR light on the monsters, the beaming lights hovered above the Lieutenant and Staff Sergeant Baker.

  “Contact!” Baker boomed as he kept his rifle trained on the stone monsters. “C’mon LT time to move!”

  “What’s the play, boss?” Green shouted.

  The two heads of each monster began to twitch erratically. Devlin knew that this was outside of his element. What they faced wasn’t any normal insurgent, hostile force, but instead magical beings made of pure stone. If logic applied, traditional munitions would do nothing against the beings. He himself was distracted from what they said, he couldn’t make sense of anything that was happening.

  “Lieutenant!” Mike said alarmed that the monsters were beginning to slowly shift in place.

  “Frag—” Baker said as he pulled a fragmentation grenade from his plate carrier. He held it separately in his left hand.

  The monster on the right looked directly at Devlin and stepped forward raising an appendage. His eyes grew and his jaw went slack.

  “Engage!”

  Pulling the pin on the explosive, Baker let out a scream as he threw it at the base of the monsters. As Lecca tried to step forward to help her men, Mike turned around and held her down, “Cover your ears and open your mouth!” He ordered. Lecca followed them at the perfect moment as the explosion erupted creating a large cloud of smoke. Though the fragmentations themselves wouldn’t be effective against the Golems, the blast and pressure did as Baker theorized: the sudden shock dislodged the unknown bond that held the stones together and sent them flying across the room.

  “On your feet! On your feet!” Simon shouted as he and Green moved in front of Mike and Lecca. They began to shoot and the Golems, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to do anything more.

  “Bounding!” Using two of three appendages to crawl forward towards Lieutenant Devlin and Baker, began to fall back under the cover of fire. Withdrawing his pistol, Mike held tightly onto Lecca’s hand as he slowly guided her through the doorway.

  “Got another one of those?” Devlin asked Baker as they fell back behind Simon and Green.

  “Only had one.”

  “FUBAR! Let’s get the fuck out of here!” Devlin shouted as he turned around with the Staff Sergeant.

  Not wanting to stick around to get hit by and appendage, Green and Simon began to pedal on their backfoot as they raced behind the men covering down their flank by providing an unrelenting number of bullets to the Golems. Upon their rifles expending every round that was in the magazine currently inserted, both men rose their weapons in the high ready and began to sprint out of the labyrinth catching up to the group that had gained 10 feet towards the exit.

  “They’re still coming!” Simon yelled as he looked behind him. He almost screamed in fear as the two golems chased them through the cave using their appendages to grab onto anything that could pull them forward. Despite not having usable legs, the speed they moved at was horrifying as it carved deep gashes into the ground and caused sparks to flicker from the friction of the stones rubbing against each other.

  “Lecca how do we fight these things!?” Mike asked as he still led her with his pistol aimed outwards towards the unknown darkness. Reaching the staircase they would need to climb to ascend, Lecca knew that if they took any longer, someone would die.

  “The eyes!” Letting goes of her hand and joining his fellow Rangers on the stairs, they aimed their weapons at the golems as they thrashed forward.

  “Fuck—we won’t hit shit!” Baker said trying to steady his reticle on the golem’s narrow head.

  Raising her right arm a purple light shot forward towards the Golems. The force was enough to still the beasts as they came to a halt ten meters away from the Rangers. Following the blast, every time the monsters attempted to move a purple hue would encircle them as Lecca left her armed raised letting a constant flow of negative mana wrap around the golems. “Now!” She ordered. Mike slowly lowered his handgun and placed it back into the holster on his right thigh.

  Green and Simon were the first to let loose expending five bullets in succession. The lead rounds pierced the gems in the head shattering them and making the bond holding the stones together negate collapsing the beasts. As they splintered into hundreds of pieces, the men kept their weapons trained until the cave they were in remained silent for three minutes.

  “Those things killed how many again?” Catching his breath, Green let his rifle fall onto his chest as he took a seat on the stairs.

  “Enough of them.” Baker stared at the bloodied stones through his night vision goggles.

  Feeling a migraine capture the front of her head, Lecca rested on the stairs above the men. They all looked up at her with bright smiles and expressions of relief. Mike too—he was the worried out of all of them—he was the only one that could clearly see the pain that she was trying to mask beneath a soft gaze.

  “Lecca. Let’s get out of here.” Mike said calmly as he wiped the sweat he could from under his helmet and goggles.

  “Yes, lets.”

  Lecca never felt so relieved to be exiting this cavern.

  Publicly Available Information: The Volunteer Corps: Northern Branch:

  Co-Founded by the current Commanding Officer of the Northern Branch, Darrel Winston Que, the Volunteer Corps is a two-century old organization that was founded during the original expansion of the Kingdom of Yondel. Made of civilians, the Corps recruits people from all walks of life to not only guarantee the safeguard of the nation, but to act as a force that is capable of standing against the Demon Lord’s Forces.

  Though political in nature due to being closely tied to the kingdom, the Volunteer Corps has had operational history of helping neighboring principalities and kingdoms in defending territory, helping with humanitarian needs, and acting as a non-governmental organization that has prevent conflict between rivaling factions.

  Though the Corps hold high casualties in the field of battle, they are among the world’s best non-government organized fighting force.