//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Temple of the Stars // by OrphiusOlyandra //------------------------------// I watched as the others flew off into the night sky. “You are an idiot. We could have escaped and now you’ve doomed us to a fate worse than death.” “Thou blame us and yet who was the fool that used so much magic?” I snapped back. My legs collapsed out from under me and my headache pounded without respite. There was no escape and there would be no fight. What was the point in fleeing when capture was imminent? Lies and trickery? There were potions and spells to act against that, and there was little doubt in my mind that I would be unable to trick a well-trained gryphon. Unlike a certain white alicorn I could name. So all I did was tap my pegasus magic and wash away the footprints of my companions. No doubt they would notice, but it was not as though I was going to talk. Plus, there must be some reason they were excavating my old temple and I needed to know why. They had not changed so much in the past one thousand years for me to believe it was a purely archaeological inquiry. There was a deeper meaning behind their actions. And if there was no deeper plan then they would pay for defiling my precious temple for no just cause. I did not have to wait long for the gryphons to appear. Within ten minutes a dozen gryphons had surrounded me, all the while, I examined my hoof, giving myself a hooficure as they pointed spears at me. Truly pathetic. Have they already forgotten why this area was called the Nightmare Plains? It was here that I slaughtered their army to the last gryphon. It was here that I ended their first pathetic excuse for a war. Like playing against a foal in chess, they were crushed in one fell swoop. How dare they raise their spears a- “You are still disguised. Remember?” The amusement was clear in Nightmare’s voice. The only thing that betrayed my embarrassment was a slight pause in my filing. Then, with a shrug, I examined my hoof in the moonlight. It was passable. Just. There was a heavy thud and a gryphon landed in front of me, but still far enough away to be outside the ring of soldiers that circled me. I didn’t recognize the iconography on his chest plate, but it looked like a stylized image of a bird in flight. From the way the others immediately stepped aside to let him in, he had to be a high ranking officer. Grey fur and white feathers - nothing remarkable at all. How boring. “They fear him,” remarked Nightmare. “Look at that black one, he’s trembling and can barely look the officer in the eye.” “Your name, unicorn.” His voice was a deep baritone, calm and collected as though it was nothing more than a routine checkup at the border. Look at him, so smug in his position of power, as though he could command me to do anything just because he had minions by his side. Truly a pathetic specimen. “Ou-” “Let me speak, your archaic speech will surely give us away.” Give up a part of my body? Ha! I would rather be dead than to suffer that fate again. “Considering the look of that gryphon? You will probably die if they find out.” Kill an alicorn? I was immortal. Blood meant nothing to me. Time meant nothing to me. I was eternal. Neither crucifix nor torture can break my soul. Fools. Each and every one of them were fools. I am the night and the night is eternal. “Our name is Polaris and it is a pleasure to meet thee. We would rise and shake thy claw, but we are afraid any action on our part will lead to our sudden demise.” The gryphon’s eyes narrowed at my polite introduction. A hardened officer indeed. “Our passport is located in our backpack if thou wouldst prefer to verify our claims.” “Awwwwww, look at you, trying so hard to be polite and sociable. If only Celestia could see you now! Her wittle baby sister is finally growing up.” My eye twitched. With an eye trained on me, he cracked open the passport and skimmed through it before tossing it over to one of his underlings. Soon my backpack followed suit and everything was dumped onto the ground. Finally, he held out a claw and said, “Your weapons.” Unbuckling each one, I laid them down on the ground by his feet and waited patiently. I etched the officer’s face into my mind’s eye so that if I ever saw him again, I would recognize him and make him pay for going through my private items. They were mine, not his, how dare he place his vile claws on them! “Of course, because that is the important thing right now. Not the fact that WE’RE GOING TO DIE! Oh, I’m sorry, did I shatter whatever deluded world you’re living in?” “We do not remember you being so chatty two days ago.” “Yeah well, I don’t remember fearing for my life either. What was that word Gilda used all the time? Oh, right. That’s a fucking Wide Eyes commander. Are you purposely trying to get us killed you psychopathic, murderous, insane, crazy filly!? Oh, those were Gilda’s words as well, not mine. Paraphrased slightly, but still her words. Maybe you should let me kill her. Pleeeeeeease?” “Commander Teotore, this passport says it’s signed by a ‘Princess Luna’.” “It does indeed,” replied the grey gryphon. “That name is classified. This entire area is classified. Once we get back to base you will all be offered a Drought of Forgetfulness. You will all take it and the next day you will wake up with no memory of tonight. If you do not, you will be found in a ditch and be labeled as an unfortunate victim of a mugging. If you write anything or do anything to try and remind yourself of tonight, you will go missing while on active duty and you will not be found again. Understood?” “Yes sir!” they replied as one with a salute. They may be fools, but they were well trained fools. Or as I prefer to call them, pawns. “Now, as for you little filly-” I bit back a growl. “-what are you doing here? Equines do not use cubs as soldiers nor do they give passports to them, especially from Princess Luna herself... For you to be here is odd to say the least.” He reached into a small concealed pouch and drew out a clawful of powder. “Do you know what this is?” I stared him straight in the eye. “Does it matter if we know or not?” “You are either an idiot or an experienced spy. And given that we know ponies have no need of spies...” He tossed the power into the air and began chanting in that unfamiliar tongue. As it landed on my body, it began glowing light green, reacting to my magical disguise and outlining my wings for all to see. “Well now, this is a pleasant surprise.” He gave me a deep bow, one that was sufficient for a mare of my station. “I welcome you to the Gryphon Kingdom, your majesty. If you would follow us, we shall gladly take you to see Abilio- the commanding officer of the Wide Eyes. From there, we can arrange a suitable transport for you to the capital city of Aviana where you can have an audience with the king. He has been most eager to speak with you.” “And thou said we would die. Ha! To think that Nightmare Moon would be scared like a little filly over such a preposterous concept.” “If it wasn’t because I need you alive to exist, you would be a mere crater in the ground right now.” “If we knew how to remove thy vile presence, thou wouldst not exist anymore.” “To think we wouldst meet such a charming and polite gryphon-” “Are you flirting with him?” Nightmare’s tone was stuck somewhere between amusement and surprise. “Look at you, got an eye for other species I see.” “-in the military. It wouldst be our greatest pleasure to meet thy king. Lead the way, kind knight.” “Commander.” A new gryphon landed in the clearing with a bow. Was- was that a female? Surely not! They would rather die than have a female in the milita- “It’s a male. That’s a male.” My eyes bulged out of my head. That was a male? He looked more feminine than Gilda! And had the same coloring. “You say that as though it would be a hard thing to do.” Fine, he’s more feminine than the Bearer of Generosity. “Now that’s just insulting.” “To whom?” “We found tracks inside the camp. Two pony mares and a gryphon female.” He placed Gilda’s abandoned breast plate on the ground. “And this.” The commander picked the armor up and examined it in his claws. “Find the other two,” he said simply before turning to face me. “A female? Why would you be traveling with a female gryphon your highness?” He added quietly, “Or provide armor for her...” “We are travelling in an unfamiliar land. The gryphoness knows this land and sought to provide her services in exchange for monetary gain,” I replied, pretending to not hear that final comment. “Not many gryphonesses are well traveled,” the extremely feminine gryphon interjected. “Even fewer know the borderlands.” “That would certainly explain how she got us lost. She told us that we were travelling towards the capital.” “And you did not notice as she led you into a military compound? You simply accepted the circuitous route she led you on through our encampment, a route that only happened to be perfect for a stealth entry?” “The guard took one look at her and told us she was a wanted criminal in your nation and lead us to thy compound. We had little choice in the matter. When the landslide occurred we acted upon pure instinct and teleported out.” “I did not find any trace of a guard in the tracks I saw.” “Perhaps thou need retraining then. Art thou calling us a liar?” He bowed low. “I would never say that. Perhaps you are confused? I’ve only ever known a few that could track as well as I.” “Perhaps a trap then? A princess wouldst net a handsome ransom after all.” He merely smiled at that. “Who would be foolish enough to try and capture an alicorn? That would be an exercise in futility.” “The world is full of fools.” “It is indeed,” he answered with another bow to me. He turned to face the commander. “Sir I would like to head the search for the mare and the gryphoness.” “As far as we know, they perished in the avalanche,” I replied with a shrug. “Well we can’t take the chance that anyone who wished to kidnap the princess would escape, now can we?” “Thou art a credit to thy nation.” I returned the bow Commander Teotore watched the exchange impassively. “Very well then Graciano. You shall lead the search for the two missing females.” “Thank you commander.” He lowered his head before he turned around and began giving orders to the other soldiers. None of them seemed to be happy to be taking orders from him. “You three are with me. Twenty meter spread pattern.” He paused. “No, make that forty meters and you four are to come with me as well.” He pointed a claw at the gryphons mentioned. “It’s still dark so you know regulation.” With that he took off heading towards the Equestrian border, and the gryphons he’d mentioned left with him. “Lead the way Sir Knight.” Teotore bowed again. “Forgive Graciano. You may have noticed his... appearance. He tries quite hard to compensate for it, and it’s a shame that so few are willing to give him the respect that is right for one as talented as him. If he was rude to you, your majesty, I’m sure it was unintended.” “We understand kind sir; when we first saw him, we admit to thinking he was female.” The commander smiled, though it didn’t touch his eyes. “Yes, I knew him when he was younger. He had a sister that looked more masculine than he did. When I first met him, I thought his sibling was the eldest son.” He chuckled. “Still, those who judge him for his appearance will find themselves at a great disadvantage.” “Fools will be fools,” I replied though Nightmare Moon snorted in my mind. “Yes, they will.” He bowed again. When he rose his arms indicated another direction. “This way your majesty, are you feeling well to walk?” “Well enough.” I looked up at him through my eyelashes, earning me another round of laughter from Nightmare. “Lead the way.” “Alright,” I said as I cracked my back. “I’m beat. We can rest here today.” It’d been a full night of walk and flight since we’d left Luna. “Here?” Trixie sounded horrified as she looked around us. “Yep,” I smiled as I crawled in under the brush. I fucking love snake plant. The stuff has saved my ass on more than a few occasions. It’s called snake plant because... well, you know, snakes usually hang around in it. But it was nighttime and mid-autumn, so I wasn’t worried. Still, I carefully checked for any scales as I slithered under the thick bush on my belly. The stuff was really common out here in the land near the Equestrian border. It has a thick canopy, so anyone flying over won’t see you and it’s common enough that checking all the patches would be way too much for most. Plus it was a bit prickly, so only woodsy types like me ever used it. “It’s a bush. You expect Trixie to sleep under a bush?” “Find me a five star hotel and we can stay there, as long as you pay.” I called back to her. “Trixie is not stupid, she does not want a luxury place to sleep. But a wet patch of dirt underneath an itchy plant is far beneath her.” she paused. “Can’t you make a campsite or something?” “A campsite would be visible from the air,” I answered her. “And what would you want me to make it with?” I couldn’t see it, but I assume Trixie shrugged. “How would Trixie know? Leaves or something.” I rolled my eyes. Yeah, leaves out here. What leaves are big enough in the Nightmare Plains for me to make a camp with. By Tartarus, how the heck would you make a camp with leaves? Mud and spit or something? “Just get in the bush Trixie!” I called out to her as I rolled onto my back and tried to get comfy in the damp scrub. “No. Trixie shall sleep out here, thank you very much.” I paused for a moment. “You know why this place is called the Nightmare Plains?” I asked her. “Trixie assumed it had something to do with Nightmare Moon and history,” she answered me. ...Shit, she might be right about that. “Whatever. Look, this place is home to all sorts of nasty predators. You sleep out in the open and that’s asking for trouble. Not to mention the chances of a gryphon army patrol going overhead and spotting you.” “...” I heard Trixie take breath to argue, but she didn’t say anything. “Listen Trix this-” “Don’t call Trixie that.” I rolled my eyes. “Listen, this isn’t the worst situation I’ve ever been in.” That was a lie. This was easily the deepest shit I’d ever been in. You can always tell when I’m lying because I drop my curses. “And I know the Kingdom-Equestria border like the back of my hand. Just trust me alright? This is the best place for us to sleep until nighttime again.” We needed to sleep during the day because Trixie’d freeze to death at night and it was safer to travel by dark. Also we’d be easier to spot traveling during the day. Trixie didn’t answer me, but I heard the sound of rustling bushes and cursing and in a few seconds I felt her touch my leg. “Trixie blames you for this,” she muttered as she crawled past me. “How the fuck is this my fault?” I asked her. “You tracked Trixie down for Luna didn’t you?” she spat back at me. Shit... that was actually a good point. “Whatever; fuck you too.” We were silent after that for a while, and I rolled over to try and sleep. Even for someone who’s used to the bush like me, sleeping on the damp ground under a kinda prickly bush isn’t easy. Hell, Dash would have a hard time of it. Hey! I thought of Dash and didn’t feel like shit! This getting her off my mind thing was finally fucking working! … … Fuck, I miss Dash. Trixie was rolling around constantly. Her repeated shifting was getting on my nerves. Rustle, rustle. I grit my jaw. Rustle. I clenched my fist. Rustle. “Just lay still!” I shouted at her. She huffed. “Trixie can’t get comfortable.” That was another thing. “Speak in the goddesses damned first person...” I growled at her. “Stop saying Trixie all the time.” She just sniffed at that and didn’t answer. Whatever, as long as she was quiet. I closed my eyes and tried to get back to sleep. “Gilda?” I groaned. “What?” She paused. “Back there... you said you thought Trixie-I... You said I was going to die.” ...Fuck. “Did I?” “Yes... Do you really think so?” “...” I’m used to lying. I’m a good liar, I do it a lot and get away with it too. But... “Why?” she asked me. “I... fuck.” I knew how she was feeling. I mean, fuck. Way to make me feel like shit. I had to try and remember that Trixie wasn’t me. She wasn’t an emotionally stunted half insane cultural reject that could count their real friends on one hand. She was an egotist, she gave a shit about others and what they thought about her. “Oh...” Trixie said when I didn’t answer. Fuck, I couldn’t let her think that I thought she was fucking doomed or something. “Okay, no. It’s not like that.” She didn’t say anything again. “Look Trix, I... I shouldn’t have said that alright? I didn’t think about it.” I paused, but I knew that wasn’t enough. Fuck... I’m so shit with words. But I can lie. “Trix, compared to what I had when I first got into shit like this, you’re goddesses damn loaded. Look, you’re not alone, the gryphon army might not know you’re here, and you’ve got me with you. I’m good at this stuff, I’ve been here before. I’m not saying this is a day at the office or whatever, but if I survived when I was just a dumb ass cub, you can survive now. Alright? Cheer the fuck up.” “Okay,” she answered me, but she didn’t sound convinced. I sighed. “Trix... I got you into this mess okay? I’ll do what I can do get you out of it. Alright? That’s a promise.” She didn’t answer me. We lay there in silence for a while, and I did my best to ignore the sunlight filtering down through the scrub over our heads. I closed my eyes again. “Gilda?” I didn’t feel as frustrated this time as I answered. “Yeah?” “Back in the temple...” Oh goddesses. She’s like an old mate that remembers everything I say and uses it against me later! “In the temple, you said you can kill a pony.” I grimaced. “Trixie... do you really want to ask me that?” She paused. “So you have?” I sighed and lied again. “Nope.” “Oh... really?” she sounded surprised. “Yep. I was just trying to act badass.” Just tell her what she needs to hear. “What’d you think I was? A hitmare or something?” I laughed at that, though it sounded a bit forced to me. Thank fuck she joined me with a chuckle. “Okay then. Trixie just thought with you sneaking through the camp like that, that you might be an agent or assassin or something.” “Nah,” I answered her. “Nothing badass like that, just normal illegal stuff.” Things were quiet again. Maybe this time I could finally get to fucking sleep. “So what is it you do?” Trixie asked me. “Luna mentioned she found you in jail.” “Oh that? That was just a barfight I started.” I paused for a moment. “Nah, I do all sorts of stuff for bits.” That was true. “Just, think of me as like a freelance general criminal or something.” “Okay then...” Finally. Maybe- “So, Nightmare said you were an exile.” Oh for fucks sake. “No, she was wrong about that.” “Really? But didn’t she read it from your mind or-” “No I’m not an exile.” I told her. “Just... more or less a wanted criminal.” That was sort of true. I technically wasn’t an exile, but only because they’d never bothered with a trial. With me, there wouldn’t be a trial or an execution. It would be back alley, strangle chord, dumpster. “What are you wanted for?” “A couple of things.” I answered. “How about you then Trix. What’s up with you?” “What do you mean?” she asked me. “I mean, you were wanted when I found you. What was it for?” She huffed haughtily. “That? That was ridiculous. A travesty of justice is what it was.” Ah fuck. I regretted asking already. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is a stage magician, and she stopped at a small town not far from Canterlot. She set up her stage, did her show and the entire town began heckling her for no good reason. Being great and powerful, Trixie decided to challenge them. Anything those hicks could do, she could do better. Everything went well and of course Trixie showed them all up, for she is great and powerful.” Fuck. Why the heck did I have to cheer her up again? Couldn’t I have just left her miserable and quiet? “Trixie told the story of how she once vanquished an Ursa Major.” Wait... what the fuck? “What?” She paused. “Trixie once vanquished an Ursa Major.” I blinked in disbelief. “You once killed an Ursa Major?” I asked her. “...Yes.” she answered, though she was a bit slow to answer. “Bullshit.” I called her out. “It’s true!” she protested “Bull. Fucking. Shit.” She huffed. “Fine then, fine. Trixie didn’t actually kill an Ursa Major, she just vanquished it through her wit and charm.” I smirked. “I repeat: bullshit.” “Oh hush you. You sound just like those hicks from Ponyville.” The name grabbed my attention. “Ponyville?” “Yes, Ponyville. Why, have you been there?” “Yeah,” I answered. “Shit town isn’t it?” “Oh yes,” Trixie answered. “Miserable hole of inbred hicks who wouldn’t know talent if it bit them on the flank.” “Damn right!” I said. “Pack of mother fuckers and backstabbers the whole goddess damn lot.” “Oh Trixie knows!” she nodded her head at me. “How can such a place be allowed in Equestria?” “Yeah,” I snorted as I nodded. “Whole place should be demolished.” Trixie chuckled. “With luck they’ll do it themselves.” “What do you mean?” “I mean while Trixie was there, because she’d boasted about defeating an Ursa Major, two youths from the town went into the Everfree to find an Ursa so she could vanquish it again.” “You’re kidding right?” I asked. “No!” she laughed as she answered. “The two buck toothed inbred colts, went into the Everfree, found an Ursa, lured it back to town, and expected me to vanquish it!” She laughed and I joined her. “What kind of diseased mind would do such a thing?” “Oh fuck me! That didn’t happen. No one could be that stupid!” “No! Trixie swears it’s true!” We both laughed together. “Alright, alright, so then what happened?” I asked. “Then, when Trixie failed... well she didn’t fail because Trixie never fails...” “Whatever, just tell me what happened.” “When Trixie did not vanquish the Ursa, it destroyed several houses and wandered around the town for a bit.” “What stopped it?” She paused. “Oh... Well another unicorn named Twilight Sparkle arrived, and because Trixie had already weakened the Ursa-” “Bullshit.” She ignored me. “-she managed to overcome it. Well, for some reason Trixie got blamed for the property damage, and she didn’t have a bit to her name because of her home being destroyed by the Ursa. So because she could not pay the debts, she faced prison if caught.” “That sucks. How the fuck did you get pinned with the property damage?” “The town of hicks banded together, so of course it was their word against mine.” “Fuck. Tough luck dude.” We sat in silence for a moment. “Ponyville sucks.” “Yes it does,” Trixie agreed. “Douchebags, the lot of them.” “Mmhm!” She nodded enthusiastically. “The Pink Bitch in particular.” “And Twilight too! Especially Twilight.” “Yeah. Fuck Dash! Who needs her?” “Yes! Who needs her!” she agreed then paused. “Wait what?” I blinked realizing what I’d said. “Uh, nothing.” “Dash?” she asked. “Who’s Dash?” “No one.” I told her and rolled over so she couldn’t see my face. “Dash, Dash...” she breathed in. “Rainbow Dash? That mare with the strange mane?” “No!” I said, but I knew from the way I said it even someone as fucking stupid as Trixie would know it wasn’t true. Trixie paused. “So you knew this Dash?” I didn’t answer. “Was she... a friend?” “Go to sleep Trixie.” “...Your marefriend?” “No!” I rolled over to face her. “Fucking Tartarus no!” She paused. “Okay then.” She turned away so I couldn’t see her face. “What?” I asked. She didn’t answer me. “Dash was never my marefriend.” “If you say so.” “What the fuck does that mean?” “Nothing.” “Bullshit it means nothing. Dash wasn’t my marefriend.” “Of course. I never said she was.” It took me a moment to realize she was implying unrequited love or some shit. “And no it wasn’t like that either.” “Mmhmm.” “Fuck you Trix.” I said as I rolled away. “I’m sure you’d love to, fillyfooler,” she muttered. “The fuck was that?” I turned my head to look over at her. “Trixie didn’t say anything.” “Damn right she didn’t,” I said. “Get some fucking sleep.” “Sir?” asked one of the soldiers as Graciano drew to a halt. Graciano held a talon up in response, silencing him. The soldiers that were with him slowed to a halt, as word was passed between them that their Commanding Officer had called a stop. Graciano itched his lower beak as he slowed his flapping and lowered to the ground. When he landed, he paused and thought to himself. This female... It was stupid of him to assume she would head straight for the border. He ignored the sound of the seven other soldiers coming to a stop around him. “Feeling tired sir?” one of them asked with a smirk on his beak. Graciano spared him a glance, but decided not to reprimand him. He’d learned long ago that any insecurity he had about his appearance was a weakness for others to exploit. He’d get himself nowhere by lashing out any that mocked him. No this female wasn’t likely to rush for the border in a blind panic. No, she had a mare with her, and was carrying her. That meant she wouldn’t be able to fly that far. Not to mention border patrols and soldiers. No, she’d be a fool to fly that way. “Is he polishing his claws?” one of the younger soldiers snickered to a friend. Graciano’s gaze snapped towards him. There was a difference between letting his appearance be a weakness, and letting others treat him weak for it. The very worst thing about gryphon culture is the only thing that is respected is strength. Graciano was put at an immediate disadvantage then, because of his... shapeliness. Graciano walked towards him, noting the clan mark on his breastplate. The crimson triple slash of the Red Ends, going from top right to lower left. No it was unlikely that this female would head for the border, unless she was an idiot, and if she was an idiot she’d be caught at the border anyway. “Soldier, do you have a name?” Graciano asked him. He snapped a salute. “Yes sir, Al-” “I did not ask what it was,” Graciano interrupted him. “Just if you had it... Would you like to keep your name?” He hated acting like this, some scary not mentally stable gryphon. It’s a shame it was so necessary so often. Not to mention the chances of actually finding good tracks with the head start she had. No it would be a waste of time to chase to the border. The soldier’s eyes widened at the implied threat. “Sir I-” “That’s a yes then? You like your name?” Graciano grabbed the top of his breastplate and pulled his face closer. “Then why would you go and insult a Wide Eyes behind his back? Well I suppose that’s at least that’s slightly less stupid than insulting one to his face,” and there it was, the fear in his eyes, and the respect with it. It was a shame that he had to rant like a villain in a comic to get either. No, their quarry was far more likely to flee in another direction than the border. Their time here would be better spent elsewhere. It was a matter of where would they go? “Sir I-” “Did not slander me behind my back in any way? No I thought not. That would be extremely stupid.” Graciano let go of the soldier’s breastplate and he fell back into a salute. “You’ve been warned.” He turned to face the rest of the soldiers. “For the rest of the journey this gryphon does not have a name. If I hear anyone talking to him, or call him by name, or refer to him in any way, they will lose their name, and their clan, and they will not be getting either back.” “Yes sir,” they all cried out. No, if this gryphon was smart she’d head to a nearby settlement, and find a way south from there. There were only a handful of settlements close enough for them to travel on foot in just a few days, and only one that was a known harbor for criminals. But still, there was the chance that she was actually stupid. Luna’s story and disguise had certainly been as thin as paper. He would assume that any gryphon working for or with her would be just as foolish. Still, he couldn’t make assumptions; he had too little information to go off of. “You four,” he selected four at random. “You will continue south and keep up your search until you reach the border. The rest of you with me.” “Sir?” one of them asked. “Aren’t we supposed to be searching for the two missing sentients?” Graciano sighed as he turned towards him. “Yes.” Was it so hard to take orders from an officer? Why did they insist on pushing him? “Then shouldn’t we-” “Continue south towards the border? Tell me, what tracks have you seen?” “None sir.” “That’s because they’re flying. I’m sure you understand the difficulties in tracking something that flies?” “Yes sir.” “Then you’ll know we won’t see any trace of them until they land, and even when they do it’s entirely possible that we will miss them. Tracking a flying target requires assumptions and guesswork, yes? The assumptions we’re making are that they are stupid females who would rush to the border in a panic. That is a possibility. The other assumption we could make, is that they are not entirely foolish, and are heading to somewhere else. The best place for them to hide would be Port Town, so we are going to cover both possibilities and have soldiers chase them south, and cut them off at Port Town. Do you understand?” He would have rolled his eyes, but that would have ruined the effect of his little rant. He had no interest in bullying soldiers that couldn’t argue back, but so often he had no choice. “Yes sir.” “Good, and if you wish to do well in your military career, I advise you to not directly question a Wide Eyes, yes?” “Yes sir.” “Good, now take the soldiers I selected and continue to chase them south. I will lead the others and cut them off at Port Town. Do you understand? Require any further justification and explanation?” Graciano had to admit he envied the commander quite a bit. When Teotore entered a room it was instantaneous. He did not have to fight for his due or put on a show to get it. No, he was just given it, and the ones who gave it were left hoping he did not ask for more. “No sir.” “Then you have your orders.” He gave a crisp salute before barking orders at the soldiers under his command and flying away. “You three with me,” Graciano told the remainder once he’d left. With that they took off, making a beeline for Port Town.