The Crystal Prize

by Calden

3 The Exam

“Alright runts, it’s time for your final exam. I’ve spent two years training you all. You have worked day and night, without break, the whole time; what do you have to show for it? If I’d had my way I would have thrown you against the trees as pups to see who dropped first. Unfortunately it wasn’t my call, so I was stuck with you whelps. When you came into my camp you were nothing but a rabble , I don’t see a difference!” Tiberius Gratius, the Praefectus Castrorum of the training camp, barked at the recruits in front of him.

“You are here to prove your worth to the Legion. You are here to show you are not as worthless as the other two thousand pups who have taken the exam the past two months. You are to take equipment from the pile behind me and go to one of the four bases in the area, some maps have them all on, some only have a few, some of you may not even get a map. It’s all about speed, quick thinking, strategy and teamwork. Working together with each other, making the most of each other’s skills and equipment is the secret to success and conquest.” He paced along the line in front of him. Every recruit stood stock-still, listening to his every word.

“You know your squads, you now know your objective. You are facing the Legion, Legatus Aetius is leading them himself! Do not underestimate them, and remember this: Fail, and you make me look bad. Make me look bad and you will wish that you runts will have died in the caves you were found in before I will skin you myself!” For thirty seconds the recruits and Tiberius stood in complete silence before concluded his instructions with a quick nod to the assembled dogs before him and bounded into the forest. The group suddenly broke formation and split into their respective squads, grabbed their equipment and disappeared into the forest around them.

One group however, did not join the scramble for the best equipment. Instead they formed up on their leader and waited for instructions. Their leader was an average size canine with dark grey fur and piercing grey eyes. He was flanked by both a humongous brute and a smaller canine, both with the same light grey fur as the other.

The canine counted down from five. As he finished four packs and four sets of armour landed in front of him, followed by a lithe almost black canine, already wearing his armour with his pack on his back. The armoured canine dropped to one knee and pressed a clenched fist to his heart in salute.

“Octavius I have five packs with all equipment we need with our personalized armours. The others have scattered with what they could find and whatever armour they could grab, some of which I managed to sabotage last night.” He spoke barely above a whisper.

“Sabotaged? What have you done Sextus?” The leader asked. Sextus simply laughed in response. “No matter. Marcus, Lucius, Numeria, arm yourselves.” The lone female of the group who had been standing as close as she could to Octavius quickly began to put on her armour. The others followed suit. Octavius then began clasping his own armour onto himself. While most canini had roughly the same uniform armour, Lucius and Marcus had crafted each of them their own personalized armour. Sextus’ for example was not primarily steel and was instead mainly thick studded leather to grant him greater mobility and stealth. The female, Numeria, held her weapon for a moment before jabbing it into the air and swinging it a couple of times until she was happy it was indeed hers and was still correctly weighted. Most soldiers of the canini specialised with swords and shields. Numeria was one of the few that had trained to master the spear as a primary weapon. Along with her spear she had three javelins held with a strap on her back while the others only had one in case of emergency. Sextus handed them each a container of bright orange liquid which they clipped onto their belts.

“It’s the paint to show ‘burned’ supplies. Using it on any equipment renders it unusable for the rest of the exercise. There’s a brush in the lid, see? There aren’t that many, even less now that we’ve got these!”

Once all five of them had donned their armour they turned to Lucius and Octavius who had begun to scan a map of the area.

“Now the four bases the praefectus mentioned are in the forest are here, here, here and here. They all have their strengths and weaknesses: Unus is closest and we could get there quickly but it is likely to be the most fortified and doing the same as the rank and file will do nothing to help our grades. Duo is a little out of the forest so there is no threat of ambush from the trees but the hill will give the soldiers a better chance at seeing us. Tres is deep within the forest and is probably the simplest to get into but again many others will target it for that reason. Finally Quattuor is on this small island on a lake on the eastern side of the forest so a nighttime amphibious assault is the best tactic but still the one they will expect, anything else would be too easily spotted. They will not expect many to attempt to strike there so it will not be as well guarded as the others. ” Octavius pointed to an area on the map away from where the four bases were. “This is where Legatus Aetius is leading the legion against us. If we can get inside of that post and take the daggers there is no way anybody can score higher than us in this exam.” The group nodded in assent.Lucius pulled a quill and some ink from his pack and began to annotate the map.

“If we take this route we can try and avoid opposing teams but it would mean we would have to try and take the command base head on and the other teams might catch onto our plan. Instead I would recommend we go this way. By going towards tres and then traveling downstream we can make up for lost time and we should be able to sneak our way in, ‘burn’ the supplies, and take the daggers. This river is the most likely source of water for the base so there must be an access to the base from it.” Octavius agreed and the group sprung into action, marching into the forest quickly, hoping to make up for lost time.

---

After the group marched for hours before Octavius signalled for them to stop. The all heard it. Another group was nearby. While they were too far for most of the group to hear Numeria smiled and began to whisper.

“It’s Aurelius’ group. Tres, the base we’re looking for? Yeah, it’s about half an hour south of their position. They plan on sleeping here and attempting a midnight raid. Sounds like they got a pretty decent haul with the kit. Not as good as us but we did have Sextus steal some stuff for us. They plan on sneaking over the wall and taking the legionnaires by surprise.” She squealed happily as Octavius grabbed her by her waist and whispered something in her ear that made her giggle uncontrollably. he turned to look at the rest of his team while she giggled. “Sextus: see if you can do anything to hamper their midnight raid. Numeria: accompany him. As long as you do not get caught we will be fine. Lucius and Marcus: look at the map and figure out are next heading and where we can sleep for the night. We will need as much energy as we can get to take on Legate Aetius.” Sextus and Numeria instantly leapt up into the trees and ran along the branches, jumping from tree to tree, until they reached the opposing campsite.

“From the looks of it They’ve left Agrippa awake on watch while they sleep. Why don’t you go down and do your thing?” Sextus asked. Numeria winked and swung around the trunk of the tree. Sextus watched from above as Numeria crept behind Agrippa and lightly kissed him. Agrippa jumped and drew his sword but lowered it again when he saw Numeria. She whispered something in his ear which plastered a stupid grin on his face and quickly pulled him into a deep kiss and held him there. With him distracted Sextus pulled a small blade and a vial from his belt. He poured the liquid onto his blade and dropped it down. Numeria’s arm shot out and perfectly grabbed the blade before using it to slightly scratch Agrippa’s arm. A cross between fear and confusion flashed before the soldier’s face before he collapsed into the dirt. Numeria spat at the group while Sextus slid down the tree trunk. “Like the taste? Oh don’t give me that look. just scratch the rest of them and they won’t wake up for at least another eight hours. If the sun hasn’t risen by then the Gods are on their side. Or the mules.” Sextus joked as. Numeria made a small cut near each of the ankles of the group then passed him the knife and he wiped on a cloth from his belt. “Useful little poison I mixed up. It even speeds up the healing of the wound so there won’t be any evidence of us being here. Aurelius and his team’ll wake up and think Agrippa fell asleep before waking up the next watch. Nobody’ll believe you were here so long as we leave no trace of our being here.”

After a night camped out in the branches of a tree, the group woke as the day began to Dawn and silently geared up. The quiet between them was broken as Lucius emerged through the leaves carrying a scroll.

“It’s not perfect but I managed to get something together.” Lucius unrolled the scroll on the ground. “There is one main entrance here. It is well fortified so I am going to guess that they expect at least one group to attempt what we are attempting. Attempting to use the trees to swing down will not work either. Little past here they have cut down all the trees to make a clearing and a fort. Meaning no way to leap down into it. The base is temporary and on the bank rather than over the river so we cannot swim inside. From the looks of it our only option is to attack the main gate which makes Sextus’ stealth almost useless and I will not be nearly as useful in a fight as Octavius or Marcus.” There was silence as the group let Lucius’ report sink in. Finally the usually silent Marcus spoke, surprising everyone.

“Did you make a mistake Octavius? It would be acceptable. We could still move to another camp.” Octavius gritted his teeth and shook his head, his eyes were still locked onto the map.

“I cannot do that to you all. You have all put in too much effort for me to call a retreat. I promised you top scores and I keep my promises. You are all more than my fellow soldiers, more than my squadmates. I will do right by you all, my friends. My pack.” All of a sudden Octavius picked up the map flipped it over. “Lucius give me your quill.” Octavius pulled a small jar of green fire from his pack. Octavius held up a small crystal disk with a letter ‘V’ inscribed on it, opened the jar and dropped it into the it. Immediately the flame turned from green to black. Octavian tipped the black flame onto the scroll and watched as it was engulfed in the flames. “Now we wait.”

“Aurelius! What was that?” Agrippa yelled as the fire erupted in front of his eyes. Aurelius quickly ripped his pack off of his back and lifted his paw to stomp out the flames but they vanished as quickly as they had appeared, leaving no sign of damage. He opened it up and reached inside, pulling out a small scroll. He read it, put his pack back onto his back and began to quickly move onwards, calling back to his squad.

“Come on, we have to strike now if we have any chance of getting a good grade on this.”

Aurelius raced forwards towards the base in front of them, ignoring the questions his team were asking about the fire as they followed. As they ran Aurelius became aware of a similar noise of rushing footsteps in the distance. “Your plan had better work Octavius.” He whispered.

Almost the entire garrison at the command base poured out of the gate. Octavian did not need Numeria’s hearing to tell that they were moving out to the four bases.

“Follow me, we will skirt around to the rear of the command post.” The base was circled by a curtain of high wooden walls. The trees cut down to form the clearing had been cut in half with the flat edge on the outside use to make the wall tight and strong. “It’ll be too smooth for Sextus to climb. They will not expect us to try and strike here but by no means is it weak. Marcus, would you kindly give us an entrance?” Marcus hunkered down and began to dig. Huge mounds of earth flew back as the hulking canine tunneled under the wall, making a passage large enough for himself to stand in. He grunted once he reached the other side and the group casually walked through it. “Now, Marcus and Sextus: incapacitate the soldiers here. There will only be one or two and you should be able to catch them unawares, giving the advantage you need to deal with them. Remember these are soldiers from the Arrival; they know what they are doing. be careful. You two deal with their supplies. Do not try and leave without your daggers. I am going for a little talk with Legatus Aetius about our grades. Meet here once you’re done”

Sextus vaulted onto the wall and began running along with Marcus walking slowly behind on the group.

“Three ahead, I’ll take ‘em out.” Sextus drew three daggers from his belt and coated them in the liquid clipped to his belt. Expertly he threw the daggers and drugged two of legionnaires in front of him. The third looked up to see where the dagger that very narrowly missed his face came from to see Sextus. Before he could sound the alarm Marcus wrapped his gigantic paws around the soldier’s face and clamped them until the canine lost consciousness. No matter how hard the he struggled the soldier was unable to break free of Marcus’ vice-like grip.

“Let’s grab the daggers and get out of here. The longer we stay the higher the chance there is of us getting caught.” The pair grabbed the daggers and ran towards the tunnel. When they arrived Numeria and Lucius were waiting for them, their prizes hanging from their armour. Lucius nudged Numeria to bring the others to her attention.

“An entire storehouse of weaponry, all of the highest quality. All dealt with as far as the exercise is concerned. Any news from Octavius?” Marcus shook his head. “Same for us. We hoped he would have passed you.”

“I do not like leaving him.” Numeria whispered.

“He can protect himself Numeria.” Sextus Chastised. “He can handle one or two guards just fine. You can’t always be there to protect him.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Meanwhile guard dropped to his knees, a sword pointed at his neck.

“Dead.” Octavius muttered as he threw the soldier’s sword to the ground and sat on the stool in front of him. “I would like to make my report in person sir.” Aetius smiled and leant forward. waiting for him to begin. “When Gratius first mentioned this exam would be team based I guessed that if I was able to coordinate the entire trainee legion we could never fail. From that point I began working on a project. I had Sextus retrieve an order I made outside of camp for a jar of dragonfire and two crystal disks containing magic from the mules. It took a great deal of time but finally I found a way to attune the magic held within the crystal to a symbol carved into it. I then carved the symbol onto small pieces of wood, one of which I gave to each of the squad leaders. We were advantaged from the start of the exercise with our personalised armour and fully equipped pack hidden beforehand by Sextus. When we arrived here I used the fire to send a message to each of them. Here, look.” Octavius took a small wooden disc, a second crystal disk of the same size, a scrap of paper and another jar of green fire from his pack and placed the wooden disk on the desk in front of Aetius. Octavius dropped the crystal into the fire and poured it onto the paper. As the paper was engulfed by the flames the wooden disk ignited and in its place appeared the piece of paper, totally unharmed.

“I sent a message telling each and every squad leader to attack simultaneously. This forced you to send out your reserve troops and make it far more manageable to raid your base. You will find that your supplies are marked as burnt and your sentries are unconscious thanks to my team. Your dagger, sir, if you will.” Octavius held out his paw. Aetius laughed and handed a dagger with its gilded silver handle to him.

“Genius. The use of dragonfire is genius. Can you replicate it? With this our invasion plan change significantly, think of what we could transport with higher levels of concentrated magic. Unfortunately your plan was flawed.” All of a sudden Octavius’ squad was escorted into the tent by five of Aetius’ elite Praetorians. “I had five of my men leave the camp and with orders to return shortly after. Cardinus: report!” One of the praetorians stepped forward

“We found the sentires unconscious and split up to search the interior and exterior of the base. We were able to strike them from both sides of the tunnel they dug underneath the wall to get in. They fought admirably but in the end we had more energy and the element of surprise.” Aetius looked solemnly at Octavius and took the dagger as four letters appeared in fire in front of him. They were sealed with the number’s I to IV carved into the wax.

“One way messaging is still useful Octavius. Your use of the fire and its creation, your use of your team’s skills and your strategy have gained you high marks. Unfortunately you have failed the exam, I am ashamed that you have been captured along with your team and, as these messages show, all four bases are double garrisoned and are fully controlled by my legionaries. Not a single one of your peers has succeeded in taking a base. I thought so much of you Octavius, you and your peer group. You were to be the generation to reclaim our empire. No matter, we will find another batch of pups.” Aetius stopped as Octavius raised a paw.

“Sir, if you would not mind. Please read the note.” Aetius hesitated before lifting the scrap of paper. Written on it were the words:

It’s time

The corners of the tent were sliced open by swords on all sides and the canopy was ripped away to reveal the entirety of the training legion holding daggers. Scattered around were members of the praetorian guard disarmed and held down. Octavius stood up and reclaimed the gilded dagger from the stunned Legatus.

“I had the squads run towards the bases before retreating back into the forests and sprinting here. My squad and I gave it enough time for you to mobilise and for the other squads to get close. I assumed you would see through my ruse and leave your elite troops. Numeria would have heard your soldiers in enough time to warn the others and make your sneak attack useless. Had I not ordered them to be captured they could have defeated your guards. I did not fall into your trap sir, you have fallen into mine.”

There was silence as a grim smile grew upon Aetius’ face. before he raised his voice and addressed the entire training legion surrounding him.

“Welcome to the legion recruits.”

Comments

[djthomp]

Hmn, nice Roman feel to these diamond dogs.

[Calden]

4013322

I want to hear the story!
Aww, no story?

maybe someday I will come back to the story

Thanks for the heads up with that line by the way. I went over it and, in my eyes, fixed it. Glad you like it :D