The Sixth Lesson Of Utmost Practicality (2)

As the group approached the north gate, they came upon a group of riders waiting for departure. The old man said to Gabriel, "These are the riders we were about to send off on the mission, Honoris. They are our finest riders that we have to offer in our entire garrison of 100 guardsmen, not including the militia of course."

Gabriel nodded, "Good. We are travelling towards the nearest city, acting as an escort for an examinee of the upcoming arcane examinations. We must make it there in due time, so I will be heading north regardless. You may have your men follow us and report back the situation, there is no need for them to engage in combat if there is any as well."

The old man nodded gravely while suggesting, "Sir, perhaps you want to requisition more men? At the very least allow my personal retinue to go with you, they are all veterans whom have fought on the frontlines for many years against the Brutum. They even survived the eastern front during the last major stampede, gaining many merits for assisting in securing the mess in the end." He gestured towards the group of younger, but still quite old, men that had accompanied him since the start. Each of them fully armed and equipped, having a tinge of excitement on their faces as they imagined fighting alongside Gabriel.

"Our mission is of the utmost importance and thus we cannot afford any major delays, so I will have to take you up on your second offer. While I would love to borrow force from the town guard itself I will not needlessly weaken an entire town, not to mention a small elite force will work better for us anyways." As Gabriel finished, the 12 men gave a strict salute in gratitude and affirmation before heading to the nearby stables to grab more horses for the journey. While waiting Gabriel asked about the military history of the men he was now about to work with to which the old man proudly replied,

"They were the men under me when I was the leader of a small squad of in the eastern region. All of them are veteran Miles, some of them were even on the cusp of earning the title of Immunis before we all retired together."

Gabriel visibly surprised as to the level of competency of this towns guard, while Miles was above the green Tiro and below the elite Immunis, the fact that several of them were most likely qualified to advance before retiring…was quite amazing.

"I have read that some Immunis are even a match for fresh Legionnaires, what a scary town guard" thought Cyrus in passing as he listened in on the conversation.

No doubt pleased with the competence of the men he was temporarily receiving; Gabriel saluted and thanked the old veteran before turning to the freshly arrived Miles who had just rode in on their horses.

He addressed them in a loud commanding voice, "Men, I am Honoris Gabriel who is currently on an escort mission of utmost importance to me personally. You will be under my direct command for the following mission, the contents are as follows: Follow me on an aggressive exploratory probe northwards, where we will remove any obstacle in our path and rescue the Imperial Scouts that have gone missing if possible. Understood?!"

Each of the soldiers saluted while yelling in response, "Understood Honoris, Sir!"

Gabriel nodded in response, ordered the formation of the riders for the mission, before commanding the gate to open and heading off.