Commando Part 32

Maurice had to reign in his large cat steed away from the strange beasts. He was some what relieved to see his own steed was not the only one being reigned in from the beasts. Hilastes, Amonif's and Brittany's steeds pawed at these strange beasts the missing Vestrisians rode. Eyanosa had to help get their steeds to quit messing with the strange mounts. At first their new Vestrisian friends, his countrymen, thought the cat steeds were attacking or trying to eat their mounts. Some of them galloped further ahead straying a little from the trail. After a few attempts it only encouraged the cat steeds to give chase. It took four attempts to get the steeds calm on both sides of the group.

Once order was returned to the caravan of soldiers, and warrior s Steele-Oakley led them on a partially kept trail. On the backs of their mounts the vestrisians led them into the night. They camped out along the trail until down when someone stirred them awake. Maurice turned over with Brittany in his arms to see who woke them up. A group of children dressed in temple monk uniforms dyed orange stood on the road with curious faces. Ten of them stood over Maurice and a few of his companions.

Morning had arrived to bring in a new day with aid from the rising sun. It also brought curious children who wore monk uniforms and had partially shaven heads. Traveling with these children were three monks in dark red robes over their uniforms. These monks appeared to be senior members and a Master escorting these children on some pilgrimage. Before Maurice and his companions could say a word to these children the senior Monks herded them away. They did not know where these monks came from or where they were going. However their uniforms did remind him of other students they came across earlier.

Getting up for the day's journey the commando and his companions prepared for an other stretch of traveling. With one of the outskirt Vestrisians, Advorix in the lead they pressed further on the path that want through the less dense jungles. This part of the vast jungle appeared different than the rest. Most of the foliage were bushes, wild plants, and tall trees. On the flanks of the path Maurice noticed somethings hanging from the trees. Numerous objects dangled from the trees on their lower branches. He squinted his eyes suspicious of these hanging objects. It did not take long for him to realize those hanging objects were corpses, and weird cocoon looking hives.

Maurice speculated those corpses belonged to the invaders who died by the hands of savages, natives, and various creatures here. However the creatures would be called monsters, demons, or evil spawn by those outside the Unknown Lands. He remembered one person who wore very thick glasses who enjoyed studying creatures of nature. The cocoons reminded him of that very same person whose name he forgot. His hobby of nature became an obsession that saw him sent away for a year. That was back in Maurice's childhood before the founding the VUVR.

Somebody touched his arm snapping him out of this train of thought and his memories. He looked to see Brittany's hand on his arm. She got him out of his own thoughts which he was in for several minutes. He found he had fallen behind and stopped in the middle of the trail. Their companions were well ahead of them before noticing he fell behind. Brittany pulled on his arm beckoning him to catch up with the rest.

Tearing his attention away from the distraction Maurice rejoined his companions allowing their journey to progress. For a few hours they continued their journey until they came across a large structure. This large structure stood in the middle of a hand or machine made clearing. It held the shape of a ring with a triangle prism in the center. The triangle part stood three stories high, the ring part stood twenty feet high and surrounded by barriers with gaps in between. Most of it was constructed out of strange metal that was beginning to rust. Portions of this fort were patched up with rocks and wood. The jungle itself was taking over portions of the outer defenses.

Their outskirt friends led them to the entrance whose doors were replaced with logs tied together to form one. A head popped up from the main ring of the defense. This figure hailed them with a warm greeting. Advorix informed the figure who they were and why they had come all the way here. Whoever this figure was they sounded a little disgruntled about the mention of Caligari. He disappeared from view, but his voice remained within earshot. Several moments passed as the single figure on the wall spoke whoever else was inside the fort. A minute later and the figure reappeared to allow them entry into the fort. The door made from logs opened revealing four Vestrisians in worn out uniforms that had not been properly clean in years.

A quartet of rugged vestrisians studied them for a few moments then their eyes stuck on Maurice. They nearly lost their breathe from the shock of seeing Maurice Viyamor. Each one recognized the Lieutenant. Like a friend who had not seen an old colleague in a while the four vestrisians embraced him with a welcoming hug. When they surrounded him with embracing arms their faces became familiar to him. Their names returned to his memory. These four were known as Thomas Vincent, Gregory Fitz, Marcus Kymir, and Taheton from the Riouquois Nations. He served alongside these men with thousands of others in the expeditionary forces. Lieutenant Thomas Vincent was a law enforcer or sheriff deputy from Boathria, Privates Gregory Fitz, and Marcus Kymir hailed from the city of Zedakand. Gregory worked as a dock laborer before enlisting. For him to survive here surprised Maurice since he came from the city. Marcus, a half elf, used to be in a band before things went bad between him and the bad. The half elf was forced to go seek a life in the ranks of the VAVR.

The last time he saw them Maurice and his comrades in the Vestrisian Army had just defeated a hunting party of Gantronese. This party stalked their unit in the forests surrounding an ancient abandoned city-state. For months these Gantronese gave chase, ambushed, played cat and mouse until the Vestrisians and allied natives cornered them against the cursed mountains of the Vergud Nepas. A few months later the Gantronese began to push them out while the Unknown Lands turned on both armies. Their own forces scattered to the east, north, west, and south. Communication was cut off and they hardly heard from anyone else from the Expeditionary Forces until a year and a half ago.

Seeing these men again brought tears to his own eyes. Any comrade whom he fought alongside became like a brother or sister to him. He embraced each one like a family member would. Hilastes, and Amonif embraced these Vestrisian Comrades feeling happy to see more Vestrisians alive in this cursed, dangerous lands. The rest of the Vestrisians embraced their fellow countrymen. When the Vestrisians were done with their hellos they introduced them to the rest of Maurice's companions. Lieutenant Vincent led them inside the fort where they were greeted by twenty seven other warriors and the figure who granted them entry. This figure was a Borvadosian called Kanuna an infantrymen first, and a Borvadosian scout second. He had the typical Borvadosian skin tone with some of garb his people wore over his uniform.

These twenty seven warriors were a mix of native Uxane, modernized Dark Elves, Eothians, Grussians, Evusians, Meze warriors, and Zema Ilam exiles. Most of them did not wear their respective garbs of their own nations. They wore the modern clothes of today's era among more hide clothing or hand made. Some wore roughened field shirts, Gantronese jumpsuit uniforms, hunting apparel of different camouflage colors, explorer's vests and trousers over colorful shirts that faded, and mercenary style clothing fit for this type of climate. Each one wielded a different type of rifle, assault rifle, shotgun, a few T.M. 13 Bolt Action rifles, Grussian Repeaters, Gantronese Yekato rifles, and a variety of unfamiliar pistols, revolvers among crude looking firearms. Most of the weapons appeared modified or customized by their wielders that their shapes could be mistaken for a different firearm. For melee weapons he only saw knives, daggers, axes, machetes, war clubs, but no maces, or swords and anything that would stick out completely.

Maurice looked around this foot seeing a variety of small structures built for living, and sustaining a life in these lands. It mostly consisted of tents, clearing out Gantronese structures that still stood, erected shacks, hunts out of logs and metal. Behind the triangle structure he thought he saw a trading post. There was enough for more than a hundred or so. The only residents here were five Vestrisians and twenty seven other warriors, explorers, renegades, huntsmen turned fighter, and exiled soldiers. Speeding things up Maurice asked for permission to see the inside of the triangle structure. To his dismay the residents refused saying they were not trusted yet. For nearly an hour he argued with them hoping to make a deal with them even though he wanted to use this as a base of operations. His Vestrisian countrymen pressed on their allies to let them in due to his own rank. One of the warriors spat on each party claiming the jungle itself was their enemy and stormed off. Vincent urged the others to allow entry since Maurice was under orders of a superior officer. Forced to give in the rest allowed them to enter, but unarmed. Maurice understood where they came from. When one discovers a place like this in good shape and conditions they would claim it as theirs. Looking up at the structure Maurice felt more secure about traveling the road knowing there was a place for them to fall back to. This discovery gave Maurice more hope for future searches for lost Vestrisians.