Given a Mission

Three days later, Master Huo summoned Shui, Riku and Jin.

"Tomorrow, we are going to Wadun Province." He told them directly. "We will be escorting the caravan bearing our tax collection for this month."

Shui raised a hand. "I thought that was the army's job."

"It is. The Widon Company will be sending the Fourth Squadron to see it safe. However, the Fourth Squadron is currently in a weak state. Many of their veteran troops were transferred to replenish other Squadrons in the Widon Company. Not only are their numbers only half of what they should be, most of them are new recruits barely out of training."

"That explains why you want to go in person." Shui nodded. "But why are we going? I mean… you could just bring fifty Regular Disciples or hire some mercenaries."

"You three are coming along for experience." Master Huang said.

"What about Huo?"

"Huo and Mu will be training the disciples while I'm gone." Master Huang got up. "It is a day's journey. We will be staying the night at Baron Tarn's castle. It is possible he may invite us to a formal dinner. Prepare accordingly."

With farewell salutations, they dispersed.

"Formal dinner? I'm more concerned about bandits!" Jin exclaimed.

"Relax. Most of the bandit gangs around here are 10-man gangs. I'd worry if I had to protect a single carriage with a pair of guards, but we'll have an entire Squadron around us. That's fifty men."

"Half a squadron. That's twenty-five." Jin corrected.

"Adding the three of us and Master Huang, we'd outnumber a 10-man gang three to one." Shui went on. "Plus, Master Huang is well known. What gang would dare?"

"What if a 100-man gang suddenly appears?" Jin asked.

"There are only three such bandit gangs in the Prowling Tiger Kingdom, and none of the three operate around the Tarn Barony. The nearest one is in the south, which means they'd have to go through Wadun Province and pass under the nose of Baron Tarn himself to get to us." Shui shook his head. "On this trip, I'm more afraid of boredom than bandits."

"What about…" Jin licked his lips. "What about marauders from the northern plains?"

"They'd have to get through Red Fang hill first. We're headed south, not north." Shui yawned. "Relax, Jin. This is an easy run. With Master Huang around, what could go wrong?"

Jin's face darkened, but he kept his silence.

"Riku!" Ruyi popped up from the side. "Mom wants to see you."

"Me?" Riku wondered what it was about as he followed her out.

Madam Huang got straight to the point. "You need to go shopping."

"Um… salutations, Madam Huang…" Riku clasped his fist in greeting a bit belatedly.

"We need to find you something formal to wear at Baron Tarn's dinner." Madam Huang rolled right on. "How much money do you have on hand?"

"Err…" Riku scratched his head. "I don't have any. Herman owes me 100 Lir, though…"

"Go collect from him and then come find us at the Erudite Scholar clothing shop." Madam Huang ordered. "Bring every coin you've got!"

Riku suddenly had a flash of insight as to where Ruyi learned her bossiness from.

Ruyi herself went with Riku to see that he properly collected his debt. With her around, Herman paid up without complaint, and then they were off to meet Madam Huang.

The following five hours were torture. Just… sheer torture. Riku would much rather have been Observing techniques at the drill yard. He would much rather be fighting the Ji cousins. He would rather be digging in the garden, or talking to Cymaria about herbs…

Ahem. Never mind that last bit.

In sort, Madam Huang and Ruyi dragged him around the marketplace trying on clothes. They were relentless! Riku would have been perfectly fine with the first thing the first shopkeeper he met recommended, but no, Madam Huang had him try out six different outfits, then haggled over the price, then left the shop and went to the next one and had him try five different outfits there, and then the next, and the next…

They only stopped for a late lunch because Ruyi said she was hungry. By then, Riku had visited a dozen different shops and tried on half a hundred or so outfits and none of them satisfied Madam Huang. Riku already attempted to just purchase whatever he thought suited him but Madam Huang always stopped him with no-nonsense strictness. Either the color was wrong for him, or wrong for the Baron, or the length did not fit, or the cutting wasn't right… Madam Huang had an endless mountain of excuses not to buy, all of which she very volubly exclaimed in front of increasingly exasperated salespeople.

Riku was in despair as they had lunch at the town square. While Madam Huang and Ruyi jabbered on and on about shops and decorations and complained endlessly about sales people, he spotted something of interest to him.

It was the Power Up Armory.

Riku would have bet his left shoe that they would have Spirit Swords on sale. While he hadn't actually tried to forge them yet, he felt that with his apparent need for money (Both Madam Huang and Ruyi had a lot to say about Riku's lack of shopping funds and apparent laziness), and his family name to uphold, it was perhaps a good opportunity to check out the competition.

Of course, that was why he found Aulonia browsing through the weapon racks, wearing a loose leather vest over a black tunic and a skirt of leather pleats.

Wait! No, that's not the competition he had come to check out! Not that he was checking out Aulonia!

"Huang Riku?" Aulonia noticed him observing her without Observing her. "What brings you here?"

"Spirit Swords!" Riku said at once. "And… armor, I guess?"

Aulonia looked… stylish and comfortable. Riku would have bet his right shoe along with his left that she could walk right into Baron Tarn's halls in her armor and nobody would think badly of her. Surely, if he had to choose an outfit to greet the commander of the Tarn Legion, armor would be the most practical.

"Armor? What kind of armor?" she asked.

"Something like what you're wearing? It looks good." Riku said without thinking.

Aulonia's face was turning red. Strange. It wasn't that hot in here. Then, she said, "Um… armor racks are over the other side. This area is for blunt weapons."

"Why would a sharp girl like you be looking for blunt weapons?" Riku asked, a bit dazed.

Aulonia's face was getting redder. "I should train in every weapon type. A warrior might be better off specializing in one, but a commander should know every weapon his troops can use."

"But…" a certain bias couldn't let him go. "But the strongest weapons are Spirit Swords, right?"

Aulonia fell silent, her expression turning serious. "At higher levels, yes. The Resonance between strong warriors and Spirit Swords is unmatched. But for the common footman, a long spear would be preferable against a cavalry charge. For an archer, a bow is everything. Having the right weapons or the right mix of weapons would determine victory or defeat for your troops upon the battlefield."

"Really? I heard the northern marauders all just use horse-bows." Riku mentioned.

"They also have sabers, but generally, yes, the combination of range and mobility make them a tough enemy to fight in the open. That's why our best defense is a good stout fort with lots of archers on top. A horse-bow has a shorter range than a regular bow, and if the archer using the regular bow is atop a high wall, he can shoot even farther."

"What if there isn't a high wall?" Riku asked.

"Then you better hope you have enough cavalry to catch them." Aulonia paused. "I hear the Striking Kite Kingdom trains their Legions to hold their shields up in tight formations that can repel arrows indefinitely, but we can't seem to get it to work right."

"And what's a good mix for caravan escorts?" Riku asked, thinking of tomorrow's mission.

"Archers and spearmen, I'd say. But most importantly, you'd need good recon. Having an early warning or avoiding ambushes entirely would make all the difference." Aulonia thought for a bit. "The worst thing you could possibly do is walk right into the middle of them without realizing it. Surrounded on all sides, bandits jumping from the trees above and from holes in the ground under you, your troops getting slaughtered from behind… it would be a commander's worst nightmare. Especially since bandits are generally unarmored, badly equipped and usually unskilled. It would be terribly embarrassing."

"So… if I were to escort a caravan, and there might be bandits… what kind of gear should I bring?" Riku asked.

Aulonia hesitated. "You shouldn't be telling me about this. The best protection that caravan would have is your secrecy."

Riku lowered his voice. "But you already know, don't you? Your grandfather is sending troops too."

Aulonia stared. "He keeps secrets a lot better than you do."

"How is it even a secret?" Riku asked, now whispering. "I thought everyone knows."

"Around this time of month, a caravan guarded by military forces that everyone knows about, and a Closer Disciple of the Magistrate is also protecting…" Aulonia glanced around. "It must be the tax collection."

Riku gulped.

"One day's journey to Baron Tarn's fortress on a smooth road. Some highlands, some woods, some grassland and a couple of villages." Aulonia considered. "Light armor, for sure. I'd wear soft leather, for ease and comfort over the long ride. For weapons, perhaps a single short sword or saber, or a bow and arrows with a dagger for short-range contingency. But why would you need armor? You can just…" she made a vague gesture.

"Earth Armor? It takes time to form and I can't keep it up for too long." Riku explained.

Aulonia shook her head. "You really shouldn't be spilling important secrets like that."

"Sorry."

There was a short silence.

"Also, there might be a formal dinner, so…" Riku cleared his throat. "Would armor be okay?"

"Knowing Baron Tarn? Yes, I would certainly recommend something plain and practical." Aulonia glanced down at herself. "Like this."

"Great!" Riku exulted. His shopping trip was over! "Where can I get those?"

Aulonia brought him over to the armor side and picked out the exact same vest as hers from a rack. As she went to get the skirt, however, Riku noticed there were leather-reinforced leggings of a matching style. Aulonia frowned at those. "Are you sure? They won't be as comfortable and it's a long trip."

"I'm sure." Riku grabbed those. "Otherwise, you and I will end up wearing exact matching outfits."

Someone might think he stole her gear if they saw him wearing the same thing. For some reason, Aulonia turned red again.