Chapter 21 - Arrival At the Camp

Chapter 21 – Arrival at the Camp

Author's Note: None today!

After saying a warm goodbye to the Ivyred family, we were preparing to head off to the north. I was strapping Indigo to the cart when Rishia suddenly approached us, flailing around frantically.

"Can I please join your party! I can't repay you enough for saving me!"

Uh… What?

Did I really want another member in this party?

"Sorry, Rishia, but it's too dangerous. We are off to end a civil war."

"B-But, I'll be useful! I can read and write and…"

"Hold that thought."

The reading part wasn't too helpful, but writing? No one in my party could write that well, and I had a whole constitution and code of law planned out for the new country. If Rishia could write the constitution for me while I read it aloud, that would make my job much easier, and reduce the chance that somebody could word the constitution differently from what I intended.

"Alright, Rishia. After careful consideration, you're in."

"Yay! Thanks! I'll prove myself to be useful."

"Before you come, though, pack a quill, a ton of ink, and a few hundred pages of paper."

"I'll be right on it, Satoshi. Give me a minute."

Rishia bolted back into the house and emerged a few minutes later with an armful of writing materials.

"Count and Countess Ivyred, are you alright with this?"

"Definitely. We could not imagine a more trustworthy person than yourself, who risked his very life to rescue our daughter."

"Then, we'll be off. Get ready, Rishia, because your fingers might fall off from all that writing you're about to do."

As we hit the road and Indigo began steadily trotting towards the mountain range dividing Melromarc from the northern country, Rishia pulled out her quill and prepared to right.

"We the People of Arcium," I dictated. "Having overthrown the tyrannical royalists who have oppressed us for so long, do seek to establish a free, just, and democratic state, enshrining the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all sentient beings."

Rishia, seemingly confused from all the enlightened ideas that I was speaking about, or what an "Arcium" was, which was the new name I came up with for the country in order to rid itself of its monarchist past.

"On this momentous day, we hereby establish this Constitution for the United Republic of Arcium."

"How much more do I have to write?"

"Only about 5,000 more words. Then, we also have a bill of rights and a code of law to jot down as well."

Rishia groaned in displeasure at hearing the gargantuan word count she had to write.

As night fell, we had reached the tall and menacing mountains that lumbered before us. Before we reached the northern country, we had to take a narrow mountain pass to arrive at the rebel stronghold. We'd already sent a messenger long ago informing the rebels of our arrival, so they were sure to welcome us upon our arrival.

"The Prime Minister, picked by the democratically elected parliament," I continued to read to Rishia. "shall attend to all domestic policies and affairs, while the President, elected by the people of Arcium through a national popular vote, shall tend to all foreign policies and affairs."

At this point, Rishia could barely keep her eyes awake. I was quite impressed with her speed, as she had almost finished writing the entire constitution at this point, as well as the bill of rights.

"That's enough, Rishia. You've done good. Let us rest the night and arrive at our destination the next day."

Rishia sighed in relief as she dropped her quill and collapsed onto the soft grass. Indigo turned back into a human as he helped Eda and Rojeel unpack the cooking supplies.

After chowing down dinner, I handed my sleeping bag to Rishia.

"Rishia, you can have my sleeping bag."

"Really? But where will you sleep?"

"I'll just sleep outside. I had a lot of experience doing this when I was a kid."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, just get some good sleep because we have a lot of work to do tomorrow."

"Alright then. Thanks a lot!"

Truth be told, I actually didn't go camping very much when I was a kid. I just said that because I felt bad that she had to do all my writing for me. Sadly, I haven't made much progress on learning the written language of Melromarc anyways.

After making sure that everyone fell asleep and that there were no bandits or threats nearby, I went to sleep to prepare for the big day coming up ahead.

I woke up ahead of everyone in order to verify the surrounding lands with the map I bought. Apparently, there were two possible ways across the mountain range, but the smaller and more dangerous pass was quicker. I already wasted enough time, and the country was in dire circumstances, so only the quickest way would do.

"Wake up everybody! We need to cross that mountain range in 6 hours, in order to arrive before noon!"

My party members reluctantly arose from their slumber, and upon my command began packing up as fast they could. I strapped Indigo to the cart while helping everybody else prepare themselves.

I was astounded at how fast we crossed the mountains. Sure, Indigo almost fell off one time, but other than that we had no further issues. Also, we dispatched a gang of bandits who thought it was a good idea to attack us. We didn't even need to kill anyone, the sheer speed of my arrows scared them, causing them to fall off the cliff.

As soon as I reached New Fort, the ragtag settlement of the rebels, what seemed to be their commander greeted me with respect.

"Thank you for arriving, bow hero. We hope you will be of upmost help to us."

"I am humbled to be in your presence, commander. I believe we should discuss our plans inside the tent."

"Agreed." He nodded. "The other commanders are inside as well."

Before that, though, I made a round around the camp, meeting and greeting the other leaders of the revolution, soldiers, porters and other personnel. The food situation was dire, and the morale of the troops were low. Now, I didn't have military experience or anything, but I was a fiery orator, and the sheer presence of the bow hero alone had caused them to cheer up and regain all of their energy.

After going through our plans, and me presenting the completed constitution to him, the first commander sighed and told me what was really going on within the camp.

"Truth be told, all of the revolutionaries have different ideals and interests. At this rate, the movement will fall apart. We need a victory soon or we will lose."

"Understood." I sympathized.

"However, your arrival changes everything. You're competent, and you are highly respected and revered. I had a talk with all the other commanders, and they all agreed that you should become our leader and new commander. You're the only person who we can all agree to be our leader."

The other commanders all nodded in unison.

This was a big job, and I wasn't sure if I could do it, but if it prevented the fall of the revolution, I had to step up and take the job.

"My friends. I am humbled to be considered for such an important role in your movement. If no one will object, I will gladly accept this role, and lead us until we have achieved victory over the despot king!"

All of the commanders clapped and cheered.

Now, it was time to make my grand speech to the soldiers, before we mounted our grand offensive.

Chapter 22 out soon! The big battles will occur soon!