Commando Part 11

As soon as it was over the crowds left the Warlord’s corpse at the doorstep to the lair of the now deceased Bandornez “No Beard”. Maurice looked down at the mangled, beaten, corpse of the Warlord that lay there lifeless. This corpse was one less enemy to worry about avenging the attack on their home base. Seeing another enemy taken out along with the Gantronese force sent here made it seem easier for the SCA to spread its alliance further into the Sarcagos. Tired of being under the threat of Gantronese invasion the people would probably choose to join them.

      A hand rested on his shoulder drawing his attention away from the Warlord who sent the mercenaries and bounty hunters after them. Brittany stood beside him with Hilastes and Amonif stood behind her. All three of them appeared ready to go home and prepare for the next target, which would no doubt be the Gargoyles. The quartet left the corpse there for someone else to bury as they went back to the city where the commander was waiting. Inside the city Major Vorheels thanked those who joined their ranks in this fight over the Sarcagos. A new era was rising inside the Unknown of lands. Sure enough the cities around Paqyk Summit sided with the Sarcagos Alliance to further secure their safety from the Gantronese influence. For a few weeks they stayed in the area while sending their forces back to home base in groups with the wounded. Under the cover of darkness a letter came to the Major from the VUVR itself via SCA headquarters. Inside a private room in a tavern the Major read out the letter to the Vestrisians. This letter’s contents held orders from the Furd Greymir himself.

      To the Vestrisians it was a relieving breath of fresh air to hear from their main commander. However to the others who sided with them it was only another voice of authority they’d have to follow and obey. Furd Greymir’s orders detailed congratulations on staying alive in the damned Unknown Lands and for creating alliances with the more civilized locals. The SCA were to act as a buffer against any more Gantronese invasions and her allies here. According to the Furd more progress was being made against the enemy in various fronts such as Zekmar, Al-Dadoria, the Bymere Country, Vidothra, and in Bisdolan. Their newest orders were now to scour the more civilized areas close to enemy territories in search of surviving Vestrisians. That meant going south of the Sarcagos and looking for every Vestrisian soul that could be alive. Each one they found was to be sent to the port city-state of Deveston.

      Once the orders were clear to everyone in the room they set out to return home. On their way out of the city they were greeted by the locals whose militia, fighters, police, and warriors donned something or dyed their clothing Vestrisian blue. Some even wave imitations of Vestrisian flags with the gold pitchfork, pick axe, anvil, crossed sword and wrench. Just about all of them shouted the war cry “URA” repeatedly to the marching Sarcagosee. The long march back to the home base at Bor Dorahl was a very long and arduous one. It was a slow trek because of the wounded that had to be hauled on the backs of transports, and wagons or carts. When they returned home it was already close to midnight.

      Maurice returned to his own quarters for a good rest for the night. He fell onto his bed and fell asleep in a fashion that was more like he had passed out. A long sleep was all he asked for after these battles. He woke up to the sounds of loud banging on a hard surface. It woke up or startled the whole building of residents. Maurice and a few others searched the place for the source of this noise as it continued every few moments. They discovered the source of the noise inside of the studies. There one of the dwarf members of the Red Hearts was trying to fix a desk. He kept trying to shove a piece into place but it only popped out. This seemed to frustrate the Dwarf who was a former carpenter, and a tinker. Everyone cursed him and left the room while a couple entered to help him. Disgruntled that he was woken up earlier than he’d liked Maurice went straight for the kitchens for his morning grub. At 9:54 a.m. the commando ate his morning meal with his companions including the Unseen Bears and Brittany’s group. They sat there for an hour as other residents came and left leaving the quartet to their own thoughts.

      In his mind Maurice contemplated the dangers of the Unknown lands that lay between them and the surviving Vestrisians. He got up to look at the map that was on the wall of the large lounge area next to the kitchens. It was a map of the entire Unknown lands with many of the areas marked as uncharted and some of the more civilized cultures and people marked down. There were at least 30 known purple beast tribes, three known Beast Men Tribe Confederacies, approximately seventeen cannibalistic tribes, four Green Demon Tribes all over the Unknown lands. He took a closer look at the Sarcagos and its settlements and kingdoms. To the south of the Sarcagos’ edges were the Tuxir and the Uwaux peoples. Around them were the more savage peoples and demon beasts. In the southern borders of the Unknown Lands with the seas were the more civilized states and cities including Borvados, and the island nations. As he scanned the map he realized there were more dangers that lurked in the jungles, swamps, bogs, marshes, fungal forests, rocky terrain with bits of grassland, woodlands, hills, and river plains here and there.

      Within moments of gazing at the Borvados portion he was summoned by Vorheels to the Colonel’s office next to his own living quarters. The commando took a seat in a chair as the Major closed the door to Colonel Bryce’s office. Bryce sat in his chair behind his desk in his Vestrisian uniform without the badges on. The Colonel had a long face with a few scars on one cheek and a natural military style mustache under an aquiline nose. His officer’s cap with the Vestrisian emblems in gold rested on a mannequin head. On Bryce’s desk were papers, files, and documents. One set of papers caught Maurice’s attention. They stuck out from the rest with the gold emblem of the VAVR. Bryce picked them up and flipped through them as he explained Maurice’s next set of missions and objectives. According to reports there were approximately two hundred fifteen Vestrisians held captive or prisoner in various places all over the Unknown Lands. Commando Lieutenant Maurice Viyamor was given the orders to head south west to the city-state of Rednight Fangsir. It was a vampire city on the edges of the Unknown Lands, Gantronese Empire, and the fringes of the civilized city-states. This city rested between six mountain peaks and the ocean with a large citadel-tower in the center within the Dyhrex Mountains.

      Without saying a word to his superiors Maurice took the orders exited the office then proceeded to gather a team for this little quest. He chose Brittany, Amonif, Hilastes, a Silver Harpy, several Onyx Cougars, a couple of Tuxir trackers, and prowlers, plus a lone Ranger. As soon as they were ready the party of twelve left Bor Durahl towards the south western routes. Within a few days they passed through Tuxir lands and crossed over into Uwaux territory. Neither of the Uxane groups had any quarrels with this and allowed them safe passage. A few even escorted them to a quicker route to reach the furthest borders of their lands. Going through the Uwaux lands they came across the more fertile lands with plains, forests, hills, foothills, bits of grassland and plenty of fungal forests and rocky terrain that bordered the marshes, bogs, and jungle-swamps of the Unknown lands. Among the more subtle appearances of the landscapes were villages, towns, nomadic encampments, dwellings dotting the regions of the Uwaux territories.

      On the southwestern borders the party of twelve was taken to the sacred mound of the Uwaux. Here the Uwaux lands ended and stretched eastward to the next mounds. Beyond these borders was the rest of the savage wild Unknown Lands. Just past this mound was a thick jungle that led to the marshes, bogs, swamps and into more jungle until it reached the Dyhrex Mountains.