18. Bandits

The group had as many as 1 million people with about 15000 soldiers to maintain order, as this was the closest group to the nearest town there were multiple aristrocrats and upper society members who were easily identified by their clothing and belongings. These high class would only mingle amongst one and would disdain wanting to be near the lower class. There were few rare individuals in these upper class who would interact with the public.

When night fell the massive group were split into smaller groups and then set up camp. Campfires and light fixtures illuminated the surroundings bringing a little security and light towards their gloomy life.

Currently it was dinner and many had lined up towards the cooking quarters for food rations the rest either to weak to move or had their own provisions.

Gareth had been allocated to the 36th campsite, he chose to camp near the military to hear any new information. Soon a scout came rushing back and entered an officials tent, he didn't need to spy on them as sooner or later word would soon be spread among the soldier.

Soon enough he managed to overhear from a nearby patrol that the scout had spotted a massive encampment of bandits nearby. This wasn't a good sign for anyone, as for Gareth the belief that he could live a mediocre life after joining the refugees seemed not possible.

As he stared into the distance he could see the faces of numerous civilians who had left their home that they had lived for most of their lives and head towards an unknown settlement where there wasn't anyone they were familiar with. Yet in those eyes Gareth saw small glimpses of hope that they would survive and possibly return to their old homes one day.

Seeing the different looks on the people he saw, Gareth decided he would try to help them until they reached the settlement.

The next problem he faced was how could he be of help, and currently the biggest advantage that he had compared to these soldiers would be his experience in the wilderness. Of course he wasn't a professional wildlife expert but if he shared his expertise with the leader in charge then the situation may not be so dire.

Now knowing what direction he had to take, he set his sights towards the person in charge of this group camp. He had a few plans in mind, the first one was the most obvious to arrange a meeting with the person in charge, if he would be denied then he would have to head to other camps and see their higher ups. If that were to fail he would resort to sneaking in and persuasion which he hoped that he didn't have to resort to.

Gareth headed towards the military encampment and he easily noticed that he was being watched, as he went closer he was soon intercepted by a patrol.

"Speak! What plagues you that you need to enter military encampment?" Gareth responded "I need to speak to your higher up about dealing with the bandits."

The guard facial expression was hidden beneath his visor however Gareth could tell that his impression of him had fell.

"From the looks of you, you don't appear to be part of the influential camp, those bastards have been sending wave after wave of complaints to our captains about leaving behind the civilians to fend for themselves and just protect them. However not anyone can request an audience with our higher ups, tell me what our captain should hear then leave."

Although the soldier was not haughty Gareth could not completely share his plan with the common soldier so he just said "animals." The soldier went quiet for a minute before he turned around and disappeared,

Gareth waited for a little while and after a considerable amount of minutes the soldier returned and asked him to meet with the captain.

Following the soldier he was lead to a larger tent where he met a female wearing a modified suit. He couldn't recognise what she was wearing. It it was slick and outlined her figure, all he knew was it was probably a type of armour.

The female sat behind the table and she looked up when the soldier announced entry, there was a hint of surprise in her eyes but it quickly vanished returning to a passive look.

"Your idea was interesting, I am thinking of bringing you with me for a group debriefing later at night. You can explain your idea should you get a chance. You can now leave get yourself some rest you will be called later."

Gareth saluted before heading back which gave the captain another surprise. When she was alone she muttered "he seems to be a soldier but I don't recognise his salute, his gestures appear to be the same but there some minor differences towards his head, shoulder and elbow gestures. Maybe it's because he is too injured to salute properly." The captain seemed to find the answer to the strange salute.

Gareth was annoyed with himself he had wanted to act like a regular refugee when he instinctively saluted the captain thankfully his injuries helped cover his gesture and that his group was considered an experiment so the captain shouldn't be able to recognise him.