Gregory shuddered in pleasure at the end of his climax. “Thank you for that…”
Three giggles came from lower down on the bed.
“They said today was okay to see others… we just started at midnight,” Yukiko grinned as she kissed her way up his chest. “We all wanted to get as much time as possible before today ends.”
“Sadly,” Jenn murmured, kissing up the other side of his chest, “we need to go back to our camps for a bit. It would probably be best before they wonder where we’ve gone.”
“I’ll stay here,” Mindie snickered, “since I don’t have to wait for orders.”
The three of them looked down at where she had her head nestled against Gregory’s thigh. She blushed lightly, but didn’t look away from them.
“You can’t stay there,” Gregory chuckled after a moment. “I’ll need to have breakfast at the very least.”
“And she’ll need more than what she’s already had,” Yukiko smirked.
“We’ll be back later,” Jenn sighed as she got out of bed to grab her clothing. “Yuki, you’ll take me back?”
“Yes.” With one last long look at Gregory, she kissed him lightly. “Don’t wear her out, dear one.”
Gregory flushed as he watched two of his three wives get out of bed to dress in the barely illuminated tent. Mindie had lit a candle before they’d piled onto him at third bell. They’d all known it was so she could watch, but none of them called her out on it.
The pair dressed in short order, but both gave the two still in bed loving looks. When they were finished, Yukiko whisked Jenn and herself away with shadows. With them gone, Gregory looked back at Mindie, who kissed his thigh.
“Normally, it’d be time for meditation,” Gregory murmured as he stroked Mindie’s head, rubbing behind one of her ears. “Today, I’d like to stay in bed. Come here, dear healer. It’s my turn to bring you pleasure.”
Mindie crawled up the bed so she could kiss him. “As my husband wishes.”
~*~*~
“Good morning, sir, ma’am,” Basal said when the pair came out of the bedroom.
“Good morning,” Mindie murmured, blushing deeper than Basal was. “Did we wake you?”
“No, ma’am. I woke up as normal.”
Rafiq lowered the book he’d been reading. “None of us knew you’d snuck in last night. It was a little surprising, but not shocking.”
“She arrived this morning, just… early. Very early,” Gregory said. “We followed the rules of the general.”
Rafiq grinned. “The letter of them, at the very least.”
“If we disturbed either of you, I apologize. We tried not to cause you problems.”
“Sorry,” Mindie said, bowing her head.
“No problems for me,” Rafiq said, but there was a hint of melancholy in his voice, as he was likely thinking of his wife.
“I’m fine,” Basal coughed. “It’s almost time for breakfast.”
“It is,” Gregory said. “Mindie, do you have a bowl and cup?”
“I do,” Mindie smiled. “I made sure to have a couple of sets on me. Having heard of what you all go through, it seemed prudent to have certain things in my ring.”
Leaving the tent, Gregory looked over the camp as he led Mindie to his normal table. With her there, all four spots were filled, so none of the men would be able to sit with them. It took a few moments, but the men soon realized they had a guest in camp. The word passed swiftly as everyone got ready for breakfast. A couple came by to thank Mindie for healing them during their time in the city. She was gracious when she spoke with them, making sure they were healthy before the men went on their way.
“Maybe do a check-up on all of them, then on Yuki’s and Jenn’s men?” Gregory suggested.
“That’s a good suggestion,” Mindie agreed. “I’ll do it after breakfast.”
The chime from Barny told them that food was ready.
“Thank you,” Gregory said, covering her hand with his. “I’ll hate next year, but I’ll love the years after that.”
She covered his hand with her free one. “All of us feel that way, too.”
Dot came over to them, bringing them their food. She set the small cauldron in the middle of the table for them to ladle out their own. “Good morning, healer,” Dot greeted Mindie.
“Good morning, Dot. I’ll be coming by later to see how you and your sister are health-wise.”
“Thank you, miss.” Dot bowed low before heading off to serve the next table.
~*~*~
Gregory was just finishing his meal when a sergeant in uniform came marching into the camp. The sergeant headed straight for Gregory; he looked intent, and Gregory wondered if his men had done something last night.
“Magi Gregory Pettit?” the sergeant asked brusquely.
“Yes, Sergeant. That is me.”
The man produced a scroll case from his belt. “Your orders, Magi. The quartermaster will be by with your supplies shortly. If you have extra requests, he will be the one to handle them.”
“Thank you, Sergeant,” Gregory said, taking the sealed tube, then saluting.
The sergeant returned the salute before turning sharply on his heel and marching off. Gregory caught sight of another two scroll cases affixed to the man’s belt, and he was sure those were his wives’ orders.
“I’ll go start with the men,” Mindie said, already done with her food.
Gregory gave her a smile. “Come back before you go, please?”
“I will.”
As Mindie left, Davis came over to sit down. “Orders, sir?”
“That’s what he said,” Gregory replied as he unscrewed the cap. “Let’s see where they’re sending us.”
Inside were a few sheets of parchment, along with a rolled map. Gregory handed the map to Davis, who began to get it set out the moment Basal cleared the table off. Gregory read through the orders before looking at the map.
“The northern wilds…” Rafiq said. He touched one of the villages. “This is the northernmost tip of the empire: Coldwood.”
“It’s also one of our two towns,” Gregory said as he tapped another one. “Icelake is the other. Our orders are to patrol between the two.”
“The route is clearly marked,” Davis said, tracing a line marked in red. “I’d call that five days of normal travel.”
“Five days in patrol, arriving the evening of the fifth,” Gregory said as he set his orders on the table. “Six and seven are to rest, recuperate, and resupply. Day eight, we head back the other way and repeat the cycle.”
“At least the men will get some downtime,” Davis murmured.
“Rafiq, anything you can add about the towns?” Gregory asked.
“The area is rife with wild bane beasts. It is also not uncommon for new eurtik slaves to be caught in the area. Both towns are known for their slave markets. Not only do the magi who patrol bring them in, but there are slavers who frequently go north to catch others.”
“Which is legal,” Gregory grumbled. He was as unhappy with it as Rafiq was.
Davis leaned in slightly, “We cannot stop them, but we can always demand to see their licenses for doing so if we meet them away from town.”
Gregory paused as he considered the positives and negatives of doing that. “As much as I want to… it’d hurt the unit, overall. Those people wouldn’t be averse to causing trouble for us.”
“The town magi would also not take kindly to it. They’re the ones who issue the licenses,” Rafiq added. “Both of those posts are magus-tiered magi. Neither are posts any magus wants normally, so they are probably doing… extra.”
Gregory’s lips thinned. “Like getting a cut of the proceeds from their slaver friends.”
Rafiq nodded. “At the very least.”
“So danger in the field and politics in the towns…” Gregory muttered.
“Very likely,” Davis agreed. “As long as they aren’t Eternal Flame, we should be fine, though, right?”
“Hopefully,” Gregory sighed. “This is to show that I’m not getting preferential treatment.”
“It’s the worst patrol post in the empire,” Rafiq said. “Injuries to the guard and magi are commonplace. Those two days in town are normally to help recover from wounds.”
Gregory’s lips pursed for a moment before he looked at Rafiq. “You know a lot about this specific post.”
“Lightshield mentioned that I should look into it a month before we left for Buldoun. I did as he suggested, and now I know why.”
“Why didn’t he mention it to me?” Gregory mused.
“He mentioned two other posts to me, as well. One was a port city assisting a magus there, and the other was a town magi posting along the Limaz border.”
“Maybe that’s where Yuki and Jenn are going?”
“Perhaps, but I felt like they were other possible places for you.”
“We’ll find out later, as I’m sure they’re getting their orders soon, too.”
The sound of wagons got Gregory’s attention. Glancing over, he saw a long line of laden wagons rolling toward the campgrounds. “That should be our supplies. Let’s get them situated. Did Barny get you a list, Davis?”
“Yes, sir. Mostly things I’d expect, but he did ask for a couple of seasonings that we normally don’t get.”
“We can ask. If he wants them, I’m inclined to make sure he has them. Perhaps the food will be even better.”
“Not going to argue,” Davis chuckled.
“After this, we’ll need to plot out our travel route to the north.”
“Should be fairly easy, sir. There’s a major road that goes from the city here most of the way north.”
“Standard load, plus the extras?”
“Yes, sir. Our next major resupply should be in a city a couple of weeks from here.”
“Understood. Get the wagons loaded with what they’re giving us. Let’s keep the fact that we have more in my ring between us.”
“Yes, sir,” Davis said.
“Hmm… wait a moment,” Gregory said as he stood up. “Basal!”
The young man came rushing over. “Yes, sir?”
“Go to my wives’ encampment and ask if their units would like to join mine here tonight for a feast. After this coming year, all three of our units will be together in Krogga. It’s best to get one more group dinner together and solidify some bonds.”
“Yes, sir,” Basal said as he hurried away.
“Good idea, sir,” Davis said.
“Thank you. I bet they want us to offload, so gather some of the men. The faster we get this done, the better.”
