After their adventures to the Sántí Isles, George and Luzius decide to rest in the Whistling Bird, the best tavern in the city, perhaps even the entire nation of Highblade. Suddenly, William storms into the tavern. "And what in the name of hell do you two lads think you're doing?!"

Luzius puts his glass of milk down and George does the same with his mug of mead. "Can't we rest for a bit?! I'm exhausted, bloody hell," George groans. "A battle will ensue sooner or later! We must get as many nations back on our side as possible!" The younger Highbladian chuckles at his general's demand. "Don't be mad just 'cause your precious queen is miles away!" Oh, bad choice of words, Luzius thinks to himself.

Suddenly, out of rage, William grabs George by his collar with a threatening glare. "Listen here, you little piece of cocky pig shit! If you do not come along with us right now, I will convince the king into letting you be hanged publicly due to high treason! If His Majesty does not allow that, I WILL SNAP YOUR WEE NECK MESELF! HAVE I MADE MYSELF CLEAR?!" 

The entire tavern goes quiet as William finishes berating George. "Y-Yes, sir...!" George mutters with a look of fear and shock in his eyes. William tosses George to the ground before he turns his back. "You, Decimus, come!" he orders. Luzius takes a look at George, his eyes still widened in shock. "George, are you h-?" Before Luzius could offer any help, George stands up with a huff. "Old son of a bitch can't even take a joke..."

Strangely, William leads them towards the port of Highblade instead of the king's keep. "Sir, where are we going?" Luzius asks. "I already have a destination for us: the jungle of Mezikta." "More savages?! Permission to say that you have lost your mind, gener-!" William glares daggers at George, which shuts him up right away. "That's it, then. Set sail to Mezikta!"

Luzius and William begin to converse as they and their army sail further. George is sleeping inside of the ship. "I take it that you have chosen that destination. Why, if I may ask?" William smiles. "I have a cousin living there. A bastard, but she's a good woman at heart." "Good to look at too!" William scowls at the seaman who said that. "Say such a thing again and I will cut your balls off and feed them to the sharks!"

The templar chuckles as William says that and the seaman hangs his head low with a nod. "A bastard?" "Aye. My uncle, he was the Duke of Emberrock and he fell in love with a Mezikta woman during an expedition." "Was? Is he dead?" William can't help but roar with laughter as Luzius' mind immediately goes towards that. "Oh, no! Well, probably not, he could've died of age by now, I don't know, but he abdicated as the Duke of Emberrock and handed his duties over to my father." Luzius nods understandingly.

"You must be glad to see your cousin again, I take it?" William smiles again. "Indeed. I have traveled to Mezikta to see her many times now. " After saying that, his smile fades. "Then again, Mezikta has been marked with a red flag on the king's map. I hope that everything and everyone is well. Especially Fiana."

After many hours, they sing a shanty about an adventurer looking for a treasure in a cave deep in the jungle. As they stop singing, they see the lush trees of Mezikta in the distance. "Land, ho!" George, who has been awakened by the singing, sighs. "Let's just hope they will not throw spears at us." "They won't, lad. I have sent a letter to Fiana to meet us in a secluded grove."

The fleet of the Royal Union slowly halts at the Mezikta jungle. "We're safe. For now," George grunts. William is the first to step onto the grass. Every single one of the soldiers look around in a mesmerised manner. "Be still, my beating heart..." "Why don't our forests look like that?!" William laughs to himself. "Happens every time..." "Can you blame them? This looks...magnificent!" Luzius exclaims.

Suddenly, a set of whistles can be heard. One short one, one long one, one short one, in that order. William looks in the direction of the whistles, his cousin immediately standing there. 

"Been a long time, Billy," she chuckles. "Sure has been, Fia!" They shake hands before Fiana looks behind her cousin. "On duty again?" William shrugs. "You could say that." George leans towards Luzius. "Who the hell is this...?" "The general's cousin, I suppose..." "A bastard?" "...Yes," Luzius replies with a quiet sigh.

Fiana's gaze suddenly lands on Luzius and George. "These don't exactly look like Royal Union soldiers." William looks behind himself. "Oh, these two lads? Decimus, lad of Stonegrove, get over here!"

Both of the young men do as their general tells them. "His Majesty, High King Barclay, paired me up with these two. That's Luzius." He points at the templar before pointing at the young warrior from Stonegrove. "And that's an arsehole."

George rolls his eyes and directs an insulting gesture towards William. Meanwhile, Luzius smiles and nods at Fiana. "I'm Luzius Decimus. That's George of Stonegrove." Fiana returns Luzius' smile. "I'm Fiana of the Mezikta people. Good to meet you." She turns to William and says something in her language while nodding her head towards George, to which William snickers and nods. "Whatever you say..." "What did she just say?!" George exclaims.

Fiana ignores George's question. "Didn't know you understand Mezik, sir," Luzius notices. "Barely," Fiana quips, earning a playful whack on the shoulder from William. "At least I'm good at spear fishing!" "For an outsider!" Then, Fiana turns towards George and Luzius. "You two ever went spear fishing?" Luzius shakes his head gently while George replies with a "Hrmph... No."

"Well, you will need to learn how to if you plan on staying longer. We don't fish with rods." "Told you, savages," George mutters towards Luzius. Fiona, having heard that, chuckles. "Ilu atuduta mi lachukwa!" "Okay, seriously, what is she saying?!" "I'm not insulting you, if that is what you are thinking!" Fiona says towards George's question. "Goresby?!" "She really wasn't insulting you. I'm not saying more."

As they stumble upon a proper path, Fiana come to a halt. "Hey, what's wrong?" "It'd be better if some of your army hides!" "What-?!" "NO TIME!" Fiana jumps into the bushes along with Luzius, William and George.

The sound of engines can be heard as a vehicle drives through the waypath, with kobolds inside of that vehicle. One third of the Royal Army reacts too late and, as a consequence, is gunned down by the kobolds, who let out maniacal shrieking laughter. "These little sh-!" "Shh....!" Luckily, the kobolds drive away without checking in the bushes.

As soon as they step out of the bushes, William kicks away the sword of a fallen soldier away in rage. "Little long-eared pieces of SHIT!" "Wouldn't yell around if I were you, chief," George quips. "What are kobolds doing here, Fiana? Are the Mar'shakh here?" Luzius asks. Fiana sighs and shakes her head. 

"Not quite... The Armi Company."

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Ilu atuduta mi lachukwa  = Mezik for 'I like his attitude'