“Not knowing the enemy you are fighting against is akin to fighting while blindfolded.” - Saying attributed to Gregorian Aurelius Secundus, famed General and later Second Emperor of the Elmaiya Empire.
“She’s the one that you mentioned?” asked Reinhardt as he went into one of the small tents used to house the captives. The female captive in question – a young woman with black hair and eyes typical of the invaders – was tied to the main pole of the tent with a rope, though with enough slack that she could move around a bit to use the chamber pot or to lay down and sleep.
Naturally, the captives had also been completely stripped of their equipment, left only with their tunics and pants, all their weapons and armor confiscated to make sure that they wouldn’t be able to make an escape. The knot used by the mercenaries to tie them to the pole was one that was very difficult if not impossible to unravel without using a knife, and it was unlikely that the captives’ teeth would be able to cut through the sturdy rope.
The woman looked up from her seated position when she heard the tent’s flap being opened, only to back away with evident fright on her face when she saw Reinhardt stroll in. In some ways, her reaction was not too strange. People who were not used to therians would inevitably link the breeds that resembled predatory beasts to their counterpart, and Reinhardt definitely qualified with his large frame and fierce appearance.
“She’s the one,” said Elfriede, who walked into the tent after Reinhardt did. “Her common’s a bit hard to get, very accented, but it's passable enough for us to communicate with.” Elfriede then turned to face the seated captive, who was leaning against the tent’s central pillar after she backed away in fright earlier. “This is the Captain of our Company. Introduce yourself.”
“I- I am Sao-Wei Kang Hua-Li, adjutant to Sao-Shao Wu, who you captured yesterday along with the rest of us,” said the woman somewhat haltingly. Some of her words were completely unfamiliar to both Reinhardt and Elfriede and they assumed them to be some sort of military ranks used by the invaders, based on the context.
“Tell us, where are you fellows from? Never seen that style of armor around here before,” said Reinhardt. He spoke slowly and made sure to pronounce every word clearly given the rather limited language skills of the captive. The armor and weapons used by the foreign invaders were indeed of a style that was decidedly different to those found in Alcidea, so his curiosity about their origin was understandable.
“We… are from the Empire,” replied the young woman somewhat haltingly, probably trying to remember the right word to convey the proper information.
“Which Empire?” Reinhardt asked once more.
“The Al-Shan Empire. Our nation is an archipelago in the sea, around two week’s journey from this land by ship. I’m afraid I’m not familiar enough with the directions and whatnot to say much more on this matter,” said the woman after some thought. A few of the words she used were archaic terms that had long fallen into disuse, so it took a bit for Reinhardt and Elfriede to parse the meaning of her words properly.
“Now I remember where I thought I had seen similar designs as their stuff before,” Reinhardt said all of a sudden as a thought came unbidden. “Those relics we got with our share back in Theodinaz had similar designs, though not quite like what these people wear,” he noted. “Did your nation trade with ours in the past? Like a couple centuries ago or further back?”
“We did, we did,” said the young woman as she nodded vigorously at that question. “My own family are descendants of merchants who had once dealt with foreigners from across the sea. That is why we still teach the language used by the foreigners amongst our own family,” she added. “It has been long since we last had contact with such merchants, though. I believe the last time we had contact was before the unification war and the founding of the Empire a couple centuries ago.”
“Nations across the sea, huh? I think we better ask Lars or Loren about this. They’d be more likely to have read something relevant than the rest of us,” said Reinhardt with a shake of his head. He was not too well-read or well-versed about history and things that happened long ago, but Lars and Loren were bookworms who often spent their free time in libraries when they were camped near a city.
“As for you… miss Hua-li? Is that the right way to address you?”
“Hua-Li is my personal name, Sir. My family name is Kang,” replied the young woman.
“Miss Kang, then,” said Reinhardt in acquiescence. It didn’t cost him anything to be polite to someone willing to be cooperative. “As Elfriede mentioned when we caught the lot of you, you will not be harmed as long as you remain cooperative. Please save us all the pain and trouble and don’t try to escape or resist. You wouldn’t like the results.”
“Understood, Sir. I wouldn’t dream of it,” said Hua-Li seriously. She was apparently quite intimidated by the fact that she was a captive, deep in the forest, and surrounded by a couple thousand rough mercenaries all around her. Of course, the very idea of resisting or escaping would require her to be able to escape her bonds first, which was unlikely to begin with.
“Good. We will bring you over to the main camp tomorrow. Be on your best behavior and you might be rewarded for your cooperation,” said Reinhardt in a more mollifying tone. The importance of someone capable of interpreting for them meant that they could get information out of the other cooperative captives, and question the rest properly at the same time. “You will find us quite fair and generous in this regard, I assure you.”
Avitue
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“Not knowing the enemy you are fighting against is akin to fighting while blindfolded.” - Saying attributed to Gregorian Aurelius Secundus, famed General and later Second Emperor of the Elmaiya Empire.
“She’s the one that you mentioned?” asked Reinhardt as he went into one of the small tents used to house the captives. The female captive in question – a young woman with black hair and eyes typical of the invaders – was tied to the main pole of the tent with a rope, though with enough slack that she could move around a bit to use the chamber pot or to lay down and sleep.
Naturally, the captives had also been completely stripped of their equipment, left only with their tunics and pants, all their weapons and armor confiscated to make sure that they wouldn’t be able to make an escape. The knot used by the mercenaries to tie them to the pole was one that was very difficult if not impossible to unravel without using a knife, and it was unlikely that the captives’ teeth would be able to cut through the sturdy rope.
The woman looked up from her seated position when she heard the tent’s flap being opened, only to back away with evident fright on her face when she saw Reinhardt stroll in. In some ways, her reaction was not too strange. People who were not used to therians would inevitably link the breeds that resembled predatory beasts to their counterpart, and Reinhardt definitely qualified with his large frame and fierce appearance.
“She’s the one,” said Elfriede, who walked into the tent after Reinhardt did. “Her common’s a bit hard to get, very accented, but it's passable enough for us to communicate with.” Elfriede then turned to face the seated captive, who was leaning against the tent’s central pillar after she backed away in fright earlier. “This is the Captain of our Company. Introduce yourself.”
“I- I am Sao-Wei Kang Hua-Li, adjutant to Sao-Shao Wu, who you captured yesterday along with the rest of us,” said the woman somewhat haltingly. Some of her words were completely unfamiliar to both Reinhardt and Elfriede and they assumed them to be some sort of military ranks used by the invaders, based on the context.
“Tell us, where are you fellows from? Never seen that style of armor around here before,” said Reinhardt. He spoke slowly and made sure to pronounce every word clearly given the rather limited language skills of the captive. The armor and weapons used by the foreign invaders were indeed of a style that was decidedly different to those found in Alcidea, so his curiosity about their origin was understandable.
“We… are from the Empire,” replied the young woman somewhat haltingly, probably trying to remember the right word to convey the proper information.
“Which Empire?” Reinhardt asked once more.
“The Al-Shan Empire. Our nation is an archipelago in the sea, around two week’s journey from this land by ship. I’m afraid I’m not familiar enough with the directions and whatnot to say much more on this matter,” said the woman after some thought. A few of the words she used were archaic terms that had long fallen into disuse, so it took a bit for Reinhardt and Elfriede to parse the meaning of her words properly.
“Now I remember where I thought I had seen similar designs as their stuff before,” Reinhardt said all of a sudden as a thought came unbidden. “Those relics we got with our share back in Theodinaz had similar designs, though not quite like what these people wear,” he noted. “Did your nation trade with ours in the past? Like a couple centuries ago or further back?”
“We did, we did,” said the young woman as she nodded vigorously at that question. “My own family are descendants of merchants who had once dealt with foreigners from across the sea. That is why we still teach the language used by the foreigners amongst our own family,” she added. “It has been long since we last had contact with such merchants, though. I believe the last time we had contact was before the unification war and the founding of the Empire a couple centuries ago.”
“Nations across the sea, huh? I think we better ask Lars or Loren about this. They’d be more likely to have read something relevant than the rest of us,” said Reinhardt with a shake of his head. He was not too well-read or well-versed about history and things that happened long ago, but Lars and Loren were bookworms who often spent their free time in libraries when they were camped near a city.
“As for you… miss Hua-li? Is that the right way to address you?”
“Hua-Li is my personal name, Sir. My family name is Kang,” replied the young woman.
“Miss Kang, then,” said Reinhardt in acquiescence. It didn’t cost him anything to be polite to someone willing to be cooperative. “As Elfriede mentioned when we caught the lot of you, you will not be harmed as long as you remain cooperative. Please save us all the pain and trouble and don’t try to escape or resist. You wouldn’t like the results.”
“Understood, Sir. I wouldn’t dream of it,” said Hua-Li seriously. She was apparently quite intimidated by the fact that she was a captive, deep in the forest, and surrounded by a couple thousand rough mercenaries all around her. Of course, the very idea of resisting or escaping would require her to be able to escape her bonds first, which was unlikely to begin with.
“Good. We will bring you over to the main camp tomorrow. Be on your best behavior and you might be rewarded for your cooperation,” said Reinhardt in a more mollifying tone. The importance of someone capable of interpreting for them meant that they could get information out of the other cooperative captives, and question the rest properly at the same time. “You will find us quite fair and generous in this regard, I assure you.”
Avitue
If you enjoy this story, please consider leaving a rating or review to help it gain more exposure (and help counter the haters), thank you!
Read ahead on my Patreon! For 5$ a month patrons will gain early access of up to 25 chapters ahead, or for 10$ a month, gain early access of up to 55 (10% bonus) chapters ahead!
Or you can subscribe to all my stories and get a 10% discount on the price!
Join the Discord for silly stuff and chat with us!
