Seven Districts: Battlefield Park

[DUEL Rory Laurent]

"Geez, Max. Slow the hell down," Rory grumbled as she pulled her messenger bag free of a thorny bush it had snagged on. She readjusted the strap which crossed her chest and sat on her opposing shoulder.

Max paused impatiently. He seemed at complete ease snaking his way through the thick forest on the East end of Battlefield Park. That crazy wild quality that he always flaunted, which clashed so violently against the backdrop of the populated Arena, seemed to make him a perfect fit in this remote location. Max seemed completely at home here.

As soon as she was free, Max wordlessly pushed on and continued to lead Rory deeper into the dense forest. Their destination, a place Max and Altara claimed to have found while hunting, did not appear until they were nearly on top of it. The forest undergrowth seemed to be in the process of swallowing up the thick stone walls of the abandoned armory. Intrusive ivy climbed up the walls and wild roses had sprung up through the opened gate.

"Here we are," Max announced, holding out a hand as if waiting for payment.

Rory rolled her eyes at him and dug into her bag for his payout – a tin of Rory’s homemade sugary brownies with a thick layer of chocolate fudge icing on top. Max grinned like a little boy as he took the tin.

"I’ll wait here and guard the brownies," he said as he pulled the lid off the tin. Rory nodded before stepping towards the opened gate. "Have fun," he added as an afterthought.

Rory twisted to eye Max as he took a seat on a large fallen tree. "What do you mean by that?" Rory asked.

"I just mean that I think you’ll enjoy the company in there," Max replied making little effort to hide his mirth.

Max was certainly up to something. Not that Max being up to something should be anything of a surprise. Max always had something up his sleeve. His unpredictable nature gave him a dangerous air. Although that quality usually kept him in trouble, that same quality made him a top tier duelist. "I thought you said this place was empty," Rory said suspiciously.

Max paused before taking his first bite to consider how to answer Rory’s concerns without really answering them. "Most would say it is but you’re talented," Max replied cheekily before stuffing the brownie in his mouth.

Rory shook her head at him before entering the compound. Inside the heavy walls were several well constructed buildings with the same thick stone walls. While wandering through the complex, she noted a mess, a soldiers’ barracks with enough room for a small contingent of roughly thirty men, an officer’s barracks, and a room full of poorly maintained but well crafted weapons. She entered the armory for a better look at the collection of weapons. A remarkably detailed hilt on a broadsword drew her gaze. The armory was an accumulation of lethal weapons yet many were so carefully crafted and detailed that one couldn’t help but admire them as pieces of artwork.

The clash of blades caused her to look up suddenly from the chain mail she had been inspecting. A couple of deep voices with teasing tones exchanged inaudible quips. This place wasn’t abandoned. She could only imagine the trouble that she was going to get into if a couple of soldiers or, worse yet, ruffian gangsters caught her in their weapon stash.

Rory stepped out of the armory and caught sight of a trio of men in the middle of the courtyard between the buildings. Two men were sparring with a pair of dull swords while a third stoof off to the side, critiquing their form. All three were wearing immaculate red and black uniforms with well-shined black boots but the uniforms were from no militia that Rory recognized.

She approached the man off to the side who immediately offered her a warm smile. "Hello. I’m so sorry for interrupting. My name’s Rory Laurent and my friend told me that this property was abandoned."

The broad-chested soldier laughed warmly. His brown eyes crinkled in amusement. "Abandoned? Well, no, ma’am. There is a small group of thirty-five of us here at this outpost," the soldier replied. "I’m afraid that your friend was pulling your leg."

Rory squinted at him for a long moment. Thirty-five men? She certainly hadn’t seen any men, save these three, when wandering around the property. In fact, she had not even seen any signs that soldiers were living here – no stores of food, no personal effects, no linens on the mattresses. "Oh. Well, I’m terribly sorry, Captain Morris," she said as she offered a hand to shake, having noted his name from a shiny badge displayed on the breast of his uniform.

"It’s not at all a problem, Ms. Laurent," he replied warmly as he stuck his hand into hers. The moment he did, Rory released her hold on her power and struggled through the mass of the soldier’s memories that came rushing at her. She just wanted to figure out who he was, not his deepest darkest secret.

A singular memory appeared to her. Captain Morris was on reconnaissance not far from this armory many, many years prior. He and the five men he was leading never saw the ambush that had been set up for them. A slicing cut to the guy had ended the young, handsome Captain Morris’s life.

With a gasping intake of breath, Rory released her hold on the hand and took a small step back. "Are you alright?" asked Captain Morris... or what she now knew to be the ghost of Captain Morris. She left the question unanswered for a moment as she glanced passed him. The two spirits who had been sparring had suddenly disappeared as mysteriously as they had appeared.

"Y-yes, I’m fine. Thank you again," Rory rushed as she quickly moved for the opened gate. She glanced back before stepping through back into the forest surrounding but Morris too had disappeared.

Max rose as he saw Rory’s flushed face. "You met everybody then?"

Rory glared at him sternly. "This was a huge waste of time, Max. I can’t give a baron property already inhabited by ghosts." Of course, it probably wasn't good enough reasoning. She knew that being a medium she probably attracted the ghosts and saw them much more vividly. Yet the thought of living amongst the dead simply freaked her out.

Max rolled his eyes, annoyed by Rory’s lack of vision. "Come on, Rory. This place has potential."

For the second time in her search, Rory got the creeping feeling that her aide’s motives might not be entirely altruistic but being that her aide today was Max, she should have realized that before starting out. Glancing back over her shoulder at the building, she gave a shrug. "Alright, alright. I doubt I’d find anything better out here anyway."

Max mirrored her shrug before he started guiding her back towards civilization. "I guess I’ve got number five," Rory murmured while swatting away a fly.