by Max Barry

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DispatchAccountMilitary

by Lake flotillas. . 124 reads.

The Journey - Part I

What dangers lie beyond this hill?
The wind whispered in their ears as they trudged up the hills. Behind the row of trees, rays of light from the moon peeked through the leaves, casting huge shadows on the trees on the ground.

"Disgusting," Katherine Rybeck (Rybeck v) muttered as they stomped on yet another muddy puddle. "How do you know we haven't gotten tricked?"

"We'll only know when we see it," Arthur Ballard (Lake flotillas) replied as he gazed ahead, ignoring the mudstains all over his uniform. "What's the next set of instructions, Au?"

Aumelodia (Aumelodia) fumbled the tattered piece of paper in his hands and squinted, trying to make out the words in the dim moonlight. "It says that after crossing to the other side of this hill we'll have reached the Pleasant Plains."

2 week ago, a mysterious letter had been brought to Arthur's attention, claiming to contain directions to the Lazarene Liberation Army (LLA)'s legendary lost headquarters - the Jade Fortress. This ancient stronghold, the fortress of one of the most powerful armies across the land in its heyday, had been lost over 500 years ago, when a mysterious plague wiped out the entire Army in an event known as the Great Calamity. Given its highly secretive location only known to members of the Army at that time, there were no survivors left to divulge its location.

What secrets hide behind these words?

Since then, various explorers have made it its mission to relocate the headquarters of the LLA. Over the past centuries, they have tried in vain to locate the Fortress, yet no one got any closer to finding it. Every clue was pursued, yet it seemed as though the Fortress never existed.

This letter, which Arthur had found stuck between an old atlas in an antique bookshop on the streets of Emerald City, seemed to be able to solve this 500-year mystery once and for all. It claimed that the Jade Fortress was located deep in the heart of the Viridian Mountains, a dark and forbidding place where it was said the sun never shines. It would make sense that the Fortress would be there, except that no one ever made it out of the mountains alive. Its reputation had grown so fearsome that even the most daring of people tremble whenever they hear its name.

Katherine, Arthur, and Aumelodia set off from Emerald City a week ago, determined to be the first to locate the Jade Fortress. Since then, they had crossed vast deserts, wide canyons, and various hills, on their way to the Mountains. The fortress was reputed to contain a library housing many legendary military texts lost to time, an armoury containing weapons and armor which was stronger than any other on Earth, and even supposedly a breeding ground for fearsome dragons, which the LLA would ride into battle on. Despite doubts about the last bit, legend holds that whoever who controls the Fortress could raise the most powerful army ever known to man.

"Watch out!" Katherine yelled and pulled out her pistol as she shot a wolf about to pounce on Aumelodia. The wolf crumpled to the ground, one of the many beasts that the trio had fought and defeated on their way to the Fortress. "Thanks," Aumelodia replied, a little shaken by the near-death experience.

Before long, they made it to the other side of the hills. Beyond them stretched out a vast, empty plain as far as they can see, punctuated by the occasional cluster of huts that hinted at human presence in the area. The Pleasant Plains was a misnomer; this was one of the most dangerous places in Lazarus. The rule of the wild, not the law, held supreme here. Various warring tribes that inhabit the Plains would battle on a regular basis, as well as kill any wandering Lazarene traveller that somehow entered the Plains.

They made their way to several ruined huts in the distance - probably belonging to some tribe that got destroyed a while ago. Some of the huts had markings on it, two of them in particular with the words "Liannah" and "Just bored". On the ground, spears brandished with the words "HYDRA Command" and "The Black Hawks" were scattered around - likely the names of the tribes that destroyed the place.

"Let's clean up the place and rest here," Arthur suggested. "We've still got a long way ahead."



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Lake flotillas

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