The sun was peeking over the horizon, its hot colors painted the sky with beautiful shades of yellow and orange, bringing life and warmth to the waking nation of Roam.
Romelus stood at the training field impatiently. It has been two weeks and the rookies still had trouble waking up early, it was understandable for the volunteers coming from Equestria, the time difference been almost ten hours, but the majority of the troops lived in Zebrica. It was unacceptable!
He watched the sun, it’s light still at the rooftops of the buildings, ‘Whoever arrives after sunlight touched the floor will suffer double duty today.’ thought Romelus.
The first recruits began to arrive in a hurry, their stumbling steps being worsened by their sleepiness. As they reached the training field, they went into formation and saluted their superior.
Romelus didn’t salute back, instead, he frowned. “You’re late!”
“Sir! Sorry, sir!” The recruits replied in fear. They knew that Romelus wasn’t unfair or cruel, and they respected him for that, but they also knew that the thing he hated the most, is tardiness.
Romelus paced in front of his designated troops, inspecting them like a bird of prey. Their red and black uniforms were in good condition, not pristine, but presentable. “Swords out!” he commanded. Their swords seemed to be well cared for, he nodded to each soldier he passed, approving their appearance and signaling them to sheathe their swords. At the last soldier, a brown striped mare with green eyes, he stopped. Her sword had a well-cared blade at the base, but fresh red stains at the tip corrupted its otherwise pristine condition.
Romelus glared into her emerald green eyes, searching for the cause of her poor maintenance. Her eyes jumped to and fro, avoiding his. She began to sweat, her resistance trembling under his penetrating gaze. She gave a quick glance to her left hoof, as she straightened her stance. The small gesture giving her away.
“Private Venus?” Romelus asked, his voice tough but calm.
“Y-yes sir?” she replied, visibly trembling. Fearing her possible punishment.
“Would you mind telling me why your sword is uncared for?”
“I’m sorry sir, I was negligent! It won't happen again, I promise!” She replied as she saluted with her left hoof. The wrong hoof.
“Is there something else you would like to tell me?" He pressed on, still glaring directly into her eyes.
“N-no s-sir!”
“Then why did you saluted me with the wrong hoof?”
Her eyes went wide, he noticed! Now she was caught lying to an official, she was doomed! “I... I…” She tried to say, but Romelus raised his hoof, asking for silence.
“Show me your right hoof, private.”
Venus imply raised her right hoof, revealing a deep cut at the base. The cut was clean but bleeding, nothing serious, but she needed medical attention.
‘She cut herself when cleaning her sword.’ Romelus thought, remembering how many times he had to deal with this kind of injury. It was a common rookie mistake.
“P-please sir, don’t send me to the infirmary…” Venus pleaded through a trembling whisper.
The infirmary, every soldier that needed to visit the infirmary during training hours earned some bad reputation for being careless or clumsy, that can really put a soldier down and it was not what she needed after committing such a basic mistake.
Romelus refocused his attention on the rest of the troops, who were staring at them before straightening back into a formation under his gaze. “Alright soldiers, I think today is a good day for me to teach you the basic procedures on how to apply first aid to an injured ally during combat! Private Venus here will assist me so I can demonstrate! Now, go fetch you first aid kits!”
“Yes, sir!” His troops shouted in unison as they hurried back to their tents to fetch the necessary items.
Private Venus muttered a silent “Thank you, sir” as she went off as well.
A small smirk ran across Romelus face. ‘Newbies.’
*** *** ***
The class continued through the morning, Private Venus was already treated by Romelus as he instructed the others on their own procedures.
“Now, be careful not to tie the bandages too tight, it’s important to keep the wound away from dirt but it’s also important to make sure that blood can run through under the skin and…”
“Captain Romelus?” Another official interrupted his instructions, bringing a scroll in his mouth.
“Yes?” Romelus asked, grabbing the scroll from his mouth so he could speak more easily.
“The Caesar is waiting for pony ambassadors to arrive, they’ll be arriving at Bahari Soko in thirty minutes. The Caesar wants the ponies escorted to the capital.” The official explained while Romelus read the orders.
‘More ponies coming to Roam, and at such a hostile state?’ Romelus asked himself, it seemed that the ponies still wanted to negotiate peace after all. “Understood.” Romelus saluted his messenger. Now, returning his attention to his troops, he barked, “Attention!”
His troops hurried into formation, abandoning their equipment.
“The Caesar is expecting ponies ambassadors to arrive in thirty minutes and he wants them escorted to the capital!” Considering who to send he pointed his hooves to two of his soldiers. “Private Kagiso, Private Funani! I’m assigning you to this mission.”
“Yes, sir!” They barked back.
“Don’t. Be. Late.” Romelus warned dangerously.
Violet felt the cold ocean breeze on her face, the smell of salt water permeated her nostrils and brought up a bad past experience as her giant steam powered boat swayed through the waves of a calm sea on a sunny day. The sea always made her sick, but nothing could bring her down now, the seaside market city, Bahari Soko was just ahead!
The seagulls announced their arrival to the rest of the ship, who worked hard to make sure everything on the ship was in order and ready to reach land.
“Isn’t it exciting?! One of the oldest civilizations in all of Equus, and we finally arrived!” Violet squealed, happier than a filly on Hearth's Warming Eve.
“Yes, of course, and a really exotic culture.” Her assistant, Ink Spot, a beige mare with black mane and a scroll and quill for a cutie mark answered, clearly less excited than Violet.
Violet turned around to look at her assistant. Noticing that she wasn’t all that comfortable on coming to Roam, she tried to cheer her up. “Oh, come on Inky! This place is awesome! If we’re lucky, we can even spend some time in the market and taste some of Roam’s native foods!”
With exotic food as the main focus, Ink Spot brightened up a little, her sweet tooth overcoming her reservations. “Ohhh, I always wanted to taste that “Açai Ice Cream” I’ve heard…”
“That and much more my dear,” Violet assured her. Her smile growing more and more as they approached the harbor.
“Stay focused, cousin. We’re here to get our coal back, not to chitchat with the zebras.” A deep voice called her, killing her joy instantly. The voice belonged to her cousin Sharp Spear, he was tasked to accompany her and keep her safe alongside two of his fellow soldiers.
Sure they were family but they were far from close. His antics and manners displeased Violet greatly, she asked the princess if another soldier could take his place, but his skills and experience made him difficult to be replaced.
“The coal is not ours, Sharp Spear, and we’re not here to “take it back”. We’re here to prevent a war to happen.” Violet retorted dangerously. What nerves he had! We’re on a mission of peace in a great and rich nation and the only thing he thinks is about what he wants?! There are way more things at risk than just coal!
As Violet remembered how much things depended on her success she began to doubt her abilities. Sure, Princess Celestia herself taught her all she needed to know to fulfill her duty, and the princess wouldn’t send her here if she didn’t believe her but… was it enough?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the shouts of Captain Zacarun, an elderly but sturdy looking zebra stallion. “We’re docked! All passengers please proceed to exit on the left side of the ship!”
This is it! Roam at last!
Violet grabbed her saddlebags and darted out of the ship so fast not even a hungry manticore could keep up with her. She proceeded through all the customs and other procedures as fast as she could, eager to finally meet the famous market. The approaching war was noticeable, zebra soldiers searched pony passengers and checked their papers much more thoroughly, distrust and apathy took over their actions.
She was finally released and got out of the harbor. She followed the path that led her to the main market street where she was told would be guards waiting for her, but as she turned the final corner and reached her destination, she was stunned.
The market street was bursting with life, zebras came and went every which way carrying their merchandise. There was no boring stone walls, only hundreds upon hundreds of colorful cloths and tapestry, their beauty as mesmerizing as a radiant phoenix. The shop owners shouted their goods on the street, luring eager customers to their shops. Ships of all shapes and sizes unloaded their shipments on the far harbor which restocked the shops.
“Wow…” Ink Spot gasped, even though she wasn’t as excited to be there, but the sight was breathtaking nonetheless.
“Where are the soldiers that were supposed to escort us?” Sharp Spear asked, looking around for the supposed soldiers.
He was right, there were no soldiers waiting for them. Violet saw the opportunity to explore the market. “I’ll go do some shopping. Please call me when our escort arrives please?” She asked Ink Spot.
“But we sh…” She tried to counter but Violet was already darting to the market.
“I won’t take long!”
There she was, at the famous market at last. The shops displayed clothing, spices, foods, jewelry, gadgets and so many other things that Violet didn’t even know where to start! Her eyes darted around from shop to shop until they landed on a small table on the street. The table displayed some intricate, hoof-crafted bone bracelets. It had glyphs and marks weaved together, creating complex designs that she recognized immediately.
Violet approached the shop, her gaze never leaving the bracelets. “Are those authentic high priestess ritual bracelets from the second era?!” She muttered aloud.
“Ah, you have good eyes, little pony.” The shop owner said as he approached her. He was an elderly zebra stallion with a rough, raspy voice. His coat and mane now had more white than black.
“Oh, excuse me, sir, I didn’t mean to bother you,” Violet said, straightening herself so she could greet the old stallion.
“You bother me not child, here, take a closer look.” the shop owner offered her the bracelet.
She held it in her hooves with the most care in the world, gently turning the bracelet around so she could see the design. At close, she could confirm that the piece was genuine! Golden details accentuated the runes as it converged into a central “jewel” made of fossilized tree sap.
“It's so beautiful…” Violet whispered softly, her eyes shining with wonder and amazement.
“A fine piece indeed, it would complement you purple amulet well.” the shop owner commented as Violet returned the bracelet to him.
“Are they for sale?” Violet asked with hope. She needed to have it!
“Of course.”
“How much are you asking for it?”
“Hunm… it was a hard piece to find and restore… I was thinking about… three hundred denarii.”
Violet eyes widened in realization. She just arrived and haven’t had the chance to exchange her bits for denarius!”
“I’m sorry sir, but I just arrived from Equestria and haven’t had the chance to exchange my money! Would you be willing to accept two hundred and fifty bits instead?” Violet pleaded, showing her bits to the shop owner.
It was a hard choice for him, Equestrian bits were getting hard to exchange but they were more worth than Roam denarius… at the end of the trade, he would be getting seventy-five more denarii than his original offer.
“Hunm… bits are getting hard to exchange, but I was surprised you knew our story enough to identify these relics… alright, child, you have a deal.” The shop owner said, passing her the bracelet.
“Thank you, sir!”
*** *** ***
Thirty minutes have passed. The guards haven’t arrived yet and Violet was still wandering around the market. She was about to enter another store when she heard her assistant calling her. Violet navigated through the crowd to her friend who was looking for her at the entrance of the market.
“What is it Inky?”
“The soldiers have arrived, we need to go.”
“Oh, yes of course!”
They hurried back to Sharp Spear and the recently arrived zebra soldiers. At the arrival of Violet and Ink Spot both zebras saluted them and struggled to apologize in Equestrian, “We’re sorry we’re late… we didn’t intend on making you wait.”
“Yes, of course, you are,” Sharp Spear replied, disdain hidden in his voice. “Now, take us to the capital, yes?”
“Yes.” The soldier saluted again and began walking them to the train station.
“They’re mad at us. Damn ponies, I bet they’re gonna complain about our mistake… Captain Romelus is gonna skin us alive!” Kagiso nervously muttered to Funani in Zebrican.
“Quiet! They’re gonna be suspicious about our whispering!” Funani hissed back.
Violet approached them and reassured them in Zebrican, “Don’t worry friends, I’m not gonna let him complain about it.”
Both soldiers looked at each other in surprise. “Y-you understand Zebrican?”
“Of course! It would be rude to visit your incredible nation without knowing how to speak your language.” She replied with a wink, trying to calm the soldiers.
“Y-yes… Thank you, miss…”
Footnote: Level up! (2)
Character: Romelus Montakeus
Skills Raised:
Melee Weapons: 39
Survival: 41
*** *** ***
Character: Violet Amulet
Skills Raised:
Barter: 50
Speech: 50