A few days later, the matter does not allow me to rest. I visit Lieutenant Wolf's office. It's very cluttered - almost the opposite of what I'd expect of the Lieutenant. Rolled up maps, documents, books piled up on the floor, a sword propped up against his desk; his desk, so cluttered you can only see the wood from the sides, is filled with same kind of things; books, documents, maps. Nothing in the room seems to have any decorative purpose, just storage. Naturally, I salute.

"Novice Goat." he says, scribing something on a parchment, "To what do I owe the disturbance?" he asks, plucking his quill back into the inkwell and his hands finally become idle. Did he just make a sarcastic quip? "It's about Novice Owl."
"What of him?" He asks, very uninterested.
"I wanted to ask what do you think about him passing the exam next year, Lieutenant. As well as what would happen if he doesn't, at any point."
"Well..." He says, pausing for a second, "Let's say I have a decent amount of confidence he'll do fine. And if he doesn't... as long as he behaves, he'll be fine." he momentarily spreads his hands apart, then reconnects them, "Anything else?"
I utter out, "No, thank you, Lieutenant Wolf." then salute after, turning to leave the Lieutenant alone, he quickly blurts out, "Good thing I just remembered! Report to Lieutenant Cat for your assignment briefing in two weeks. Topside guards have already been informed you and a couple other Novices will be reassigned shortly."
I simply say, "Sir." and turn to exit, but the Lieutenant leaves a parting remark.

"I pity Novice Owl on a personal level." As he continues writing, fully immersed in his cluttered desk.

Owl and I do not interact much in those, quite possibly, the longest two weeks of my life here. But eventually, time comes to report to Lieutenant Cat. To not disturb the recruits, I manage to catch him after his lockpicking lessons.

I salute and report, "Lieutenant Cat, I've been ordered to report for assignment briefing." perhaps Lieutenant Wolf is rubbing off on me, but I just assumed his pose without thinking after saluting, and now I'm forced to go with it. "Mmm." The Lieutenant looks at me in silence for a moment. "You will be assigned to an outpost in the far south-west, near the border. Supposedly, the Emperor has his eyes set on the Paarnatau Kingdom¹Mountainous kingdom bordering the Empire, its economy is nearly entirely based on mining silver and gold. Despite its wealth in precious metals, its citizens have a binary choice: join the large and well funded military, or struggle and die in poverty.. His Majesty's magnanimous heart aches for the impoverished Paarnatau people, and he plans for them to become Imperial subjects. More hands are requested for upcoming operations." Lieutenant Cat whispers.
"I understand, Lieutenant."

He continues, "The wagon for you, and others, will be here in a day or two. I will let you know a few hours ahead of time, so try to not hide from me. Once wagon delivers you to the contact point - The Ale Bucket; once per day, exactly at noon, your contact will attempt to find you. He will use phrase-cipher 'Wine is sweeter than gold.' to which you will identify-counter with, 'Price of gold is hard to swallow.' do you understand?"
"Understood, Lieutenant."
"That's all for now, Novice. You're free to leave."
"Lieutenant." I salute, and head for the door, but he whispers out something that makes me pause, "It's a shame about Novice Owl." I look back at him, he adds "I was concerned he might fail, on the day of the exam." still whispering. I only answer, "Yes. It is."

Nothing more, nothing less. Indeed, it is a shame. But it's out of my hands. I have a new task now, I can only hope Owl manages to get by. Even though it's not likely I'll ever see him again, I'll hope he somehow got by.

Mere day later, Lieutenant Cat informs me the wagon will arrive today, while I'm biding my time. Few hours later, it's already here. For security reasons, we are riding out with our gear off, faces included. Beasts cannot be seen stalking the day, after all. My ride here was on a quite comfortable carriage; my ride out is a bare cargo wagon packed full of other Novices, but I wouldn't have it any other way, we're very comfortable working in packs, after all.

I arrive after multiple days of travel, a contact eventually identifies himself, and I'm taken to the outpost near Paarnatau. After taking a moment to learn this outpost's traits, as well as my commanders and new faces, I'm assigned into a pack of mostly fresh Novices, lead by an experienced Sergeant.
Not too long after, we are tasked with beheading the Paarnatau Kingdom's strategic decision-making. Our action begins before any rumors of war even enter the public consciousness. We link up with the pack stationed in Paarnatau, receive their intelligence report, identify high value targets, their soft spots, decide on our methods; Paarnatau military is in complete disarray after their chain of command collapses overnight, rendered incapable of organizing any resistance, long before any of the Empire's footmen march in. Due to my actions, the Kingdom's forces never realized they were under attack. We leave Paarnatau before the war officially ends, but its people start to fear the night; tales to scare the children with form.

When the moon hides behind the Natauyama; do not go outside, for the mountain beasts will devour you whole, leaving not a bone.²Paarnatau proverb for children.

KR

Thank you for making it this far, please let me know what you think. I appreciate any feedback, especially if it helps me grow and learn as a writer.