Before they left Grakle, they woke to find their tier had gone up. Gregory, Yukiko, and Jenn were all showing a single emerald circle illuminated by their medallions. They were concerned that their growth would cause problems in the tournament, but there wasn’t anything they could do about it. Mindie had reached the sixth rank of adept, which was still a little fast for a first-year magus.
The march out of the city wasn’t terrible. The men accepted that they would be moving all day without many complaints. They would camp outside of most villages, as the smaller settlements didn’t have the inns to hold all the men. It did allow them to bring enough water out of the villages for the men to scrub the dirt off. Since their units couldn’t stay in town, none of the magi did, either.
They stayed with their men, sharing a tent in the middle of the three units. With Egil’s words still clearly in mind, they were very careful about the fun they had. Mostly, they just cuddled for sleep, but when they enjoyed their time with one another, they made sure to muffle any sounds they might’ve made.
The fact that the magi refused to stay in the villages raised morale. To see their commanders forgo the comfort of the villages offset the fact that they all slept in the same tent.
During the days, the men were split into their squads and marched side by side with other units’ squads. It was known that, in a couple of years, they’d all be in Krogga together, so fostering comradery now was a focal point for the lieutenants.
Every morning after breakfast, but before they left, everyone gathered for the Peaceful Fist. Egil hadn’t spoken against it, as that was when they would normally break camp— it took no time with the three magi using their storage spaces to store everything, so they had the time to spare.
~*~*~
On their tenth day, they approached the town of Gullo.
“Davis, ride in ahead of us. Find inns that can hold the men. If needed, split them into squads,” Gregory told him.
“Max,” Yukiko called out to her lieutenant.
“Yes, ma’am,” Max said, understanding that he was being tasked with the same thing.
“Jayson,” Jenn nodded.
“I’ll handle it, ma’am,” Jayson saluted.
“Davis, stop by the carriage. See if Commander Magi-killer would like to room with one of the units or if he’ll make his own accommodations.”
“Yes, sir,” Davis saluted.
A moment later, the three lieutenants kicked their horses into a trot to outpace the rest of the group.
The three advisors shared a look; they would have more notes to make in their reports that evening. It was clear that the magi were thinking ahead as they should.
“We’ll need to ensure the sergeants reiterate to not let anyone cause them trouble. No doubt they’ll gamble in the common rooms when we stop,” Jenn said.
Yukiko looked toward the closest squads, a smile touching her lips. “No need. They already are.”
Glasson called Dot over to him. After a moment, she ran off to Milton, then went on to Townson. That same thing happened with Yukiko’s staff, and then Jenn’s.
“Yeah, I’d say they already are,” Gregory chuckled. “If they keep this up for our entire time with them, we’ll have minimal problems for years to come.”
“Agreed,” Jenn nodded.
The advisors again shared a look, as their notes for the evening had just doubled in size.
“We’ll have a bath tonight,” Yukiko said after a couple of minutes, then sighed in disappointment.
“We’ll each be in different inns,” Gregory nodded, knowing why she’d sighed.
“Unless Egil calls a dinner meeting,” Jenn said with an edge of hope to her tone.
“We could always bathe together, regardless. We’d just need to separate after dinner. Our men should be fine with that,” Yukiko said after a moment.
“Probably,” Gregory agreed. “Let’s see what the lieutenants have to say when they return.”
~*~*~
The march was halted a half-mile from the town as they waited for the lieutenants to return to them. Egil stepped out to confer with the advisors before going back into the carriage.
“Polka,” Gregory called to one of the cheetah eurtiks.
“Yes, sir?” Polka asked after rushing to him.
“Let the sergeants know that we’re waiting for the lieutenants to return. They went ahead to arrange rooms. It’s better for us and the town if we wait here until we know where inside the walls we’re going.”
“Yes, sir.” She glanced at Yukiko and Jenn. “Should I inform their sergeants, too, sir?”
“Please,” Yukiko smiled.
“It’d be appreciated, and save us having to call others over,” Jenn added.
“Right away,” Polka said, then sprinted to the closest group.
“Smart,” Willof said as he led the other advisors back to the magi. “The men would start to wonder if they were going to be camping here, otherwise.”
“The only reason we’d have to is if there aren’t enough rooms available,” Yukiko said. “Doing that would hurt morale, even if it was necessary.”
“We’ll need to get everyone settled, then head to the town bank,” Jenn added. “Have to get the pay for the men and to afford the rooms.”
“Men, first, but yes,” Gregory agreed.
They weren’t waiting too long before the lieutenants came riding out of Gullo. When they arrived, Davis addressed them, “Good news and bad. We have rooms for everyone, but they’re separated out across the town. Two of the inns we checked refused to let anyone with eurtik heritage stay. We found one that could take the squads with eurtik blood, but it means a squad from each unit has to stay there.”
“I’ll stay there, as well,” Yukiko said. “I’ll let them know that we appreciate their help.”
“Magi-killer is staying in one of the inns?” Gregory asked.
“Yes, sir. He’ll be at the inn you have a room at. He did say that he isn’t calling a meeting, in case you asked.”
“Very well. Get the sergeants organized. As soon as they’re informed where they’re going, we’ll ride in.”
“Yuki, we’ll see you at the bank,” Jenn said. “After that, dinner and a bath before you go back?”
“Yes. I’ll be waiting for you at the bank.”
The lieutenants rode off toward the men so they could get into town before the sun set.
~*~*~
The time it took to get everyone settled had the sun sinking before the magi made it to the town bank. The staff were still there, so they were able to get their pay chests refilled, even if it did take longer than they would’ve liked.
When they made it back to the inn where Gregory was staying, the last colors of sunset were fading from the sky. The four magi were glad to find a bathtub large enough for all of them. They didn’t linger for long, but they did make sure to scrub up and soak for a bit.
Dinner in the private dining room was decent, but a far cry from some of the meals they’d had together in the past. Mindie told them how Egil had asked her what she thought her lovers would do as they approached the town.
“He was pleased to see you take point on finding room for your men like you did,” Mindie said. “Having Davis check on us got a smile out of him.”
“Good. It’ll be a short night here. At least the men get a proper bath and rest. We’ll be back on the road early,” Gregory said.
“Yuki,” Mindie asked softly, “can I go with you tonight?”
Yukiko was slightly surprised that Mindie wasn’t going to stay with Gregory, but she smiled. “Of course. None of us would tell you no, Mindie.”
“Egil said we’d be stopping at two more large towns,” Mindie said. “I thought I could stay with each of you once.”
“I’m all for that,” Jenn grinned. “I call dibs next.”
Gregory laughed. “She beat me to it. I’ll take third, then.”
“We should check on our men before we turn in,” Yukiko sighed. “Dear ones, we’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Of course,” Jenn smiled. “I’ll take the two inns near mine if you’ll do the same, Yuki.”
“I’ll handle this one and the three nearest to it,” Gregory said. “We’ll see if our sergeants can accept us standing in for each other.”
“Best to check now so we can address it,” Yukiko agreed. “I don’t expect them to balk, though.”
“Neither do we, but best to check,” Jenn said. “Kisses before we leave?”
“Yes,” Mindie said quickly, the first to her feet.
The four exchanged kisses before they went their separate ways to check on the men.
~*~*~
Gregory didn’t find any trouble with the first two inns he checked in on. Both Yukiko’s and Jenn’s sergeants accepted him as a stand-in, assuring him that the men were behaving.
Gregory heard a raised voice from the third inn before he stepped inside. Pushing into the building, he found a squad of men in a verbal altercation with a group twice the size of theirs.
“Stand down!” Gregory barked as he triggered foresight.
The squad— one of Jenn’s— went still. The other group looked over their shoulders with a sneer only to go white-faced when they saw who had spoken.
“Magi?” The word was a hushed mutter.
“Explain!” Gregory commanded as he advanced on the groups.
“One of your people were cheating,” one of the men said stiffly. “When we called him out, the whole squad took offense.”
“Sir,” one of the guards said, “we didn’t cheat. Edward just had a lucky streak.”
“Lying dog!” one of the men snarled.
Gregory looked between the two groups where some vela, a cup, and dice were still on the table. “Let’s settle this civilly,” he said flatly. “Everyone but one of each group, step back from the table.”
There was clear hesitation on the other side, but the guards did as Gregory said instantly. After a moment, the first speaker stayed at the table.
“Magi, please don’t damage my establishment!” the bartender said pleadingly.
“I won’t, and I’ll do my best to stop others from doing so,” Gregory said when he finally came to a stop in front of the table. “These are the dice that were in use?”
“Yes,” Edward said.
“Yeah. A rigged set,” the speaker nodded.
“Turn out your pouches, roll up your sleeves, and take off your boots,” Gregory said. “Both of you.”
The guard started to do as they’d been told without question.
“What? Why?” the man asked.
“Because someone was obviously swapping dice. You say it was him, so I want to see if either of you has extra dice.”
A few minutes later, both men had been divested of the required items. No dice turned up, but Gregory could see the future turning now.
“Did anyone else touch the dice?” Gregory asked.
One of the men from the larger group surreptitiously pulled dice out to stuff them into his underwear, thinking he hadn’t been seen. No one expected Gregory to lunge into the crowd and grab the man’s hand.
“Don’t hide those,” Gregory said firmly, his aura flowing out to stop people from reacting. “You tried to frame these men?”
“I… I…!”
“Speak truthfully or you’ll be in a worse place,” Gregory said, staring into the man’s panicked eyes.
“Yes, sir…” the man whispered.
“Leon, why?!” the first man hissed. “Magi’s going to come down on all of us now!”
“No,” Gregory said as he pulled his aura back. “The rest of you can go. Leon here will stay. Men, gather your winnings and go to your rooms. The game is off.”
“Yes, sir,” Edward said as he quickly helped gather things up.
The larger group was quick to leave their friend to Gregory; most of the bar had cleared out when Gregory retracted his aura.
“What the fuck?” came a muttered voice from the hallway. “Sir?”
Gregory saw Jenn’s sergeant there, clearly fresh from the bath. “Your men are in their rooms. This one was the main problem, but your men should be reminded that when it comes to bar bets, it’s better to walk away than start a fight.”
“Yes, sir,” the sergeant said. He went up the stairs, clearly displeased at the situation.
“Sit, Leon,” Gregory said, pointing at a chair.
Leon took a seat, his heart racing— he was going to be forced into servitude. He could feel it.
Gregory took a seat. “Why?”
“They weren’t staying… they said they were leaving tomorrow. Fleecing them should’ve been easy. I slipped them the good dice so they’d bet big. Bill accused them before I could switch the dice back. Idiot.”
“You were,” Gregory nodded. “If you’re going to cheat someone, don’t make it people tied to a magi. Now, all that was lost was your money and your friends. If this had become an actual fight, I’d not be as generous. Pay the bartender for the loss of business, and then don’t come back for a week. If you do that, I’ll let it go.”
Leon frowned, then looked up slowly. “S-sir?”
“Would you rather I do differently?”
“No, sir!” Leon stood immediately. “I promise.”
“Go.”
Leon went to the bar, gave up the coin he had, then fled.
Gregory got to his feet slowly before going to the bar. “I apologize for the trouble. The men will be leaving in the morning. Did he make up for the loss of revenue?”
“Yes, sir,” the bartender said softly.
“Very good.” Gregory left the inn.
“A merciful magi?” The bartender asked the silence after Gregory was gone.
