The jungle trail narrowed as the army came to a halt.Wagons creaked to a stop. Boots shuffled in place. The Legion began their careful, practiced routine — shields up along the perimeter, wounded guarded, pickets rotating out. It had become second nature now, like a ritual against collapse.Sarah adjusted the strap of her satchel and turned toward the small team behind her — Mira, Jace, and Theo. They were already tightening gear and checking weapons. They didn't need instructions. They all knew what this run was.Harold stood a few paces off, speaking low with Carter. His armor seemed heavier than usual today, not because of a burden of weight, but from the accumulated grime and fatigue. The dried blood clinging to one side seemed to breathe a metallic tang into the air, blending with the earthy scent of the jungle. His shoulder plate was dented from the last clash, giving off a faint squeal of metal when he moved. His face was drawn, as if the exhaustion had etched deeper than any sword could.He turned toward her just as she stepped forward."Here," he said, offering her a tightly folded parchment sealed in dull wax. "My message. My handwriting's still terrible."Sarah took it, looking at the mark in the wax of the Sprig and the blade. "I'll make up something dramatic if they can't read it."Harold exhaled through his nose, not quite a laugh. "Just make sure they know we're not here to conquer their mud village."She smirked. "You sure? Sounds like we could take 'em."Harold didn't answer. He just looked at her for a second too long.Then he glanced at the others, gave a nod — professional, commander-to-soldiers — and started to turn away.Sarah caught his sleeve."Wait. You're gonna do that thing again where you don't actually say the thing you're thinking. So let's get it over with."Harold paused, then tugged her a few steps away from the others, voice quieter now."You'll be moving fast. If they're hostile, don't play diplomat. Get out."She stared at him."That's not what you were actually going to say."He hesitated.Then: "I hate sending you ahead. I'd rather send Hale, Garrick, or ten fully armed soldiers." He paused, flexing his fingers slightly as if testing the strength in his injured arm, the faint tremor betraying a hidden doubt. "But you're faster, probably not smarter, and they'll underestimate you." His voice dipped. "And I trust you."Sarah swallowed, tongue poking at the inside of her cheek."I know," she said, suddenly tired. "But I'm seventeen, Harold. You know that, right? Like technically?""Yes," he said with mock exhaustion. "You've mentioned it a couple of times.""I should be at a coffee shop right now, failing calculus and yelling at my friends about group projects.""You were failing calculus anyway," he pointed out."That's not the point," she muttered.She looked down at the message again, then up at him."I'll get there. I'll deliver it. I'll tell Lord Dirt-Trench to prep for guests. And I'll even try not to scare them."Harold reached out, hand on her shoulder — and for a second, he wasn't a Lord, or a commander, or the one who killed the hobgoblin commander with a mana-lit sword and a broken arm. He was just her brother."Don't die, okay?" he said.She rolled her eyes. "God, you're so clingy."Then, more softly: "Yeah. Okay."They stood like that for a beat longer. Then she stepped back and turned to the team."Alright, degenerates," she called, loud again. "We've got a VIP meetup with Lord Trenches. Let's move."Mira adjusted her bow and gave a lazy two-finger salute. "On it, boss."Jace cracked his neck. "Can we not get shot this time?""No promises," Sarah said, already moving.They slipped past the front ranks of the army, onto a thinner trail. Behind them, the clatter of shields and tired boots began fading into the underbrush.The jungle narrowed around them into the usual sweaty, vine-choked gauntlet. Low branches slapped at their shoulders. The trail thinned until it was barely more than a rut between roots.They jogged at a quiet pace, not straining too hard. Occasionally, Sarah would slow briefly to scan the brush for signs of danger, finding only the persistent calls of birds and the unsettling drone of oversized insects.Eventually, Jace broke the silence."If I close my eyes, I can almost pretend this is a really messed-up nature hike."Mira snorted. "You mean, like, a team-building trip — but with actual death.""Yeah. Like one of those overpriced survival retreats. Except instead of a wellness coach, you get ambushed by raptor-riding lizard men." Jace continued.Theo grunted. "And instead of trail mix, it's jerky made from something that used to scream."Sarah grinned, eyes still scanning ahead. "Okay, but real talk — what's the first thing you'd eat if you could go back for one day?""Easy," Mira said. "Ice cold milk. With cinnamon toast crunch. And a spoon that's not made of wood or sadness.""Gyoza," Jace said immediately. "Like real ones, from that one place on 3rd. With the dipping sauce. I would sell one of Theo's kidneys.""I would let you," Theo said. "Honestly, I just want a chair that doesn't try to collapse my spine. Maybe AC."Sarah laughed. "I want a thirty-minute hot shower. And then... YouTube for five hours. Just garbage videos. People falling off skateboards. Compilation of cats fighting ghosts. That dumbass history channel where the guy yells about Caesar.""God," Mira muttered. "Remember binge-watching junk just because you could?"A pause stretched out.Then Theo said, more quietly, "Kinda weird how much I don't miss it sometimes."That slowed them a bit.Sarah glanced back."Yeah," she said. "I mean, I thought I would. But it's like... this place hurts more, but it matters more."Jace adjusted the grip on his spear. "Out there, it felt like we were just going through the motions. Everything is already done. No one can be the first anything; we can't make a difference on earth. Here we know we actually matter.""You sound like you're about to start a cult," Mira muttered."I'm just saying." He shrugged. "Back on Earth, I was failing pre-med. Here? I helped hold a trench line against a charging lizard. And didn't die."Theo nodded. "Here, we count every mile. Accomplishments matter; that feels... bigger. Building a settlement is bigger. Or as the legionaries like to shout. Vivat Imperium!"Sarah didn't say anything at first.Then: "Harold leans on us too much."That sobered them somewhat."He tries not to," she added quickly. "But he does. It's not just the battles. It's everything. The planning, the jokes when things get bleak. He's got too much weight on him, and he... offloads some onto us. He acts like he knows what he's doing. But...he really doesn't."Mira kicked a root out of her way. "It's 'cause he thinks you're unbreakable."Sarah's lips twitched. "I'm flattered. I'm also on my third healing potion this week. I think my spleen's on strike.""You've done a lot, but he's made some offhand comments, too. I think it's because he knows what you can become. Cause he's seen it right? In his past life." Theo said quietly.They kept walking. The forest pressed in again. For a while, no one spoke.Then Mira muttered, "I don't want to die in a mud village, Sarah.""You won't," Sarah replied."How do you know?" Mira asked.Sarah gave a grim smile. "Because you'll respawn, and I'd never hear the end of it from Harold."That broke the silence again—laughter — not loud, but real."Okay," Jace said, "but we all agree that if we find a coffee stash in this place, we keep it and lie to Harold's face, right?""Oh, absolutely," Sarah said. "That man made me fight a troll. He doesn't get coffee."They picked up speed again. The trail widened slightly.But the joking didn't return.Something in the air had shifted.They felt it before they saw it — that moment when the air changed.The jungle didn't end. It just... thinned. The vines were still there. The trees still pressed close. But the path underfoot hardened slightly, and there was more sky than there should've been.They weren't out of the forest, but they were on the edge of something.Sarah raised a hand, and the others slowed with her."No scouts," Mira murmured, scanning the trees.Theo frowned. "No cesspit outside the trench? That's gotta be a horrible smell inside that berm. No fire pits. No trail markings.""Too clean," Jace added. "Like no one's touched this ground in weeks."Then they saw it.The trench cut across the forest floor like a scar — deep and wide, angling slightly from left to right, ending in a sharp lip of packed dirt. Beyond it, just barely visible between the trees, was a squat wooden watchtower. Then another — far right. A third, just over the rise.And one dead center, right above what looked like the only entry point.Four towers all facing outward.Sarah stopped at the edge of the trench, the thick air abruptly giving way to an unsettling stillness. The soil, rather than smelling of the expected earthiness, carried an oddly sterile scent, like something scrubbed clean of life."Okay," she said softly. "That's a lot more real than I expected."The trench was rough but solid. Six feet deep, about four wide. Reinforced with mismatched timber and stones. Dirt piled behind it formed a low berm. She could make out the tips of more structures inside — maybe tents or shelters — but nothing clearly visible.Everything was tucked behind the line."We've been moving half a day," Theo said. "And this is the first man-made thing we've seen. And where are all the people?""No outposts," Mira muttered. "No patrols and no guards. Where are their adventures? They should be out here patrolling and gathering resources. They've pulled everything in behind the trench.""Or they've all been eaten," Jace offered.Sarah didn't respond. She was watching the towers now. There were people moving around in there. But they didn't seem very observant."Maybe they're watching us right now," Mira said. "Waiting to see if we try something.""Well, good news," Sarah said. "I'm too tired to climb a trench and stab anyone."She stepped forward to the lip, not crossing, and raised her voice."Dalen's hold! I'm Sarah — sister of Harold of the Landing. I've got a message."Silence. Then — the sound of movement.A shape appeared at the top of the central tower, headfirst, followed by shoulders, and a bow slowly raised to readiness. Another figure joined him a moment later in one of the side towers.They weren't aiming.But they weren't waving either.Sarah held up both hands and didn't move."Well," she muttered, "at least someone's alive in there. This place is a dump."
