Reincarnated! A Tale of the Sorceress Amaya

The storm dispersed and we continued our journey. Adhira lived alone in the forest and did not have a lot of things. She collected her few belongings and happily joined us, in hopes of becoming a maid knight. The villagers mostly accepted her presence. A storm sprite was not that worrying when you already had an archfey, a kitsune, a dryad, elementals,... We truly were an interesting group.

We avoided big cities as we travelled. Despite that we encountered a few patrols. Iris was the one dealing with them. Her military history was rather helpful, combined with our intimidating presence. The civil war became more and more visible. We found a village that had been burned down. If there were any survivors they had already left.

A week later our caravan neared the mountains. The wide road was a remainder of the once flourishing trade, before the Empire tried to conquer the dwarven kingdom. While the sides of the road were partly overgrown, it still worked fine for our wagons.

“There will be a small border outpost.” Iris said. “The dwarves have shut their gates a long time ago. Some say they have been permanently sealed and can no longer be opened. Regardless, the Empire keeps a watch there. It’s not a prestigious post and you will mostly find people with little influence. That means no big nobles and many regular people. Please do not kill them.”

“We will try talking. If that fails we add some intimidation. If combat breaks out our main goal will be to protect the villagers.” I responded.

“Hopefully they will see reason, may I accompany you?” She asked.

“Certainly! Maybe Lucy, you and I will go to the outpost. That should be enough and there will be plenty of protection for the caravan.”

The outpost was on a small hill next to the road. It clearly had been bigger at some point. The outer walls were in disrepair. One could almost think it was abandoned. Our caravan was clearly visible but no one came to greet us, or ask any questions.

“Is that normal?” I asked Iris.

“No. Protocol would dictate to send a patrol if they spotted a caravan. There could be something wrong here.”

“Ok, it will take the wagons another 30 min to get there. Let’s go ahead. Lily, keep the villagers safe.”

I thought for a moment, then summoned Shani too.

“The cutest incarnation of wrath has arrived!” Somehow Shani had bunny ears made of wind this time. Which did not really scream wrath to me.

“Hi Shani, please protect the people. We are going to investigate this border outpost. Something seems wrong.”

“Sure. If you find something sliceable herd it this way!”

That should be enough protection. Iris, Lucy and myself began running towards the outpost. The gate was wide open and we could see some movement inside. What we found was unexpected. Iris was shocked.

“Are they… drunk?” Lucy asked.

I sniffed. “It reeks of booze and vomit.”

The three of us were standing in the courtyard, prepared for battle. Yet there was no enemy. There was nobody guarding the entrance. Soldiers were lying around, playing cards, having drinks.

“Huh? Who are you guys?” One of them asked. “You lost?”

“SOLDIER, GET ME YOUR COMMANDER!” Iris shouted.

The man stiffened and somehow tried to straighten. It was interesting because Iris was not wearing a uniform. She wore a maid outfit we had acquired from the late baron’s castle.

“NOW, SOLDIER!”

Her tone had an effect. He scrambled away, almost tripping. The other people in the courtyard looked at us.

“BEING VISIBLY DRUNK ON DUTY IS A CLEAR VIOLATION OF IMPERIAL LAW. YOU ARE SOLDIERS, ACT LIKE IT!”

A few of them had the decency to look ashamed. “I can’t believe this.” Iris said to us in a normal voice. “And I was concerned for their safety. We should have brought Shani with us.”

An unshaven man who looked tired emerged from the keep. His uniform had seen better days, but it was clearly that of an officer.

“Lieutenant, explain yourself!” Iris demanded.

“Huh? Who are you? What’s with all the shouting?”

“Your garrison is a disgrace! The gate is unguarded, there is no one keeping an eye on the road, the soldiers are not ready for combat, your uniform is in an unacceptable state, considering you are not in the field…” Iris admonished him.

“Hey, have you seen this place? Nobody comes here. Even food only gets delivered once a month!”

“That is no excuse for failing your duties! You should be court-martialed!”

He looked at her. “You are just some rich person's maid. In service of what?” He looked at us. “A noble from the Dominion? You are some sort of tourist? Think it’s funny shouting at a soldier? I can have you arrested.”

“This is Iris, the former vice-captain of the imperial garrison in Unitera. Now she is our loyal maid knight.” I pointed out. “And yes, I am Countess Amaya Delphinium, this is Countess Lucy Delphinium, we are nobles from the Dominion.”

The man blinked, then laughed. “Maid knight? Former vice captain?”

His laughter turned into a gurgling sound as Iris grabbed him by the throat.

“MY PATIENCE IS AT AN END! I MIGHT BE NO LONGER PART OF THE IMPERIAL MILITARY, BUT I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS! WHO IS THE SECOND IN COMMAND?”

“Hey, easy there lady. We would not want to turn this into a fight.” One of the soldiers said. The ones who actually had weapons nearby were now armed and looked at us, warily.

Lucy snorted. “Fight? I am surprised you even know the word.”

“Look, you are all scary fighters, super important people. We get it. Now let the lieutenant down.” The man tried again.

Iris threw the lieutenant in his face. Both landed on the floor.

“My ladies, I will teach them some manners.” Iris said. Then she charged the soldiers with her glaive. She did not try to kill them, but she gave them a beating. About 15 soldiers were around. None stood a chance. One of them tried to take Lucy hostage. She grabbed his sword with her bare hand, then punched him in the face.

Soon they were all lying on the ground, moaning in pain.

“BE GRATEFUL THAT I AM NOT ASKING SHANI TO PAY YOU A VISIT. SHE WOULD LITERALLY BATHE IN YOUR BLOOD!” Iris shouted.

“I am not sure if that threat works if you don’t know Shani.” Lucy commented.

“Iris is just venting. I doubt many of them are capable of listening right now anyway.” I responded.

“I am sorry for my outbursts, my ladies.” Iris apologised.

“It’s fine. I can understand your frustrations.” I said.

We left the outpost behind and returned to our caravan.