Dalton, for his part, was busy working away in the kitchen, trying to prepare a meal for the army, especially for all the new volunteers that had come in recently. Well, it wasn't exactly an army, but he didn't really know what else to call it. Fortunately, the villagers had thanked them with a plentiful amount of gifts, including some utensils, some other materials for cooking, and lots of excess food that they scrounged together. That day, Dalton had decided to try cooking some venison, as he had noticed most of the army clamoring for some good quality meat for the past few days. Oh, they hadn't said anything to him, but something about their demeanor gave him the suspicion, which was confirmed when he started handing out plates. He quickly cooked the venison until there was only a little bit of pink in the center and then prepared a vegetable "slaw" to go on top; he didn't really know whether that was the right way to cook venison, but he figured it was close enough to beef that most of the same principles applied.
Of course, if it was the wrong way, he'd know soon enough. He definitely hoped not though, since he had already made a rather big mess up just that week. His big plan during the bandit invasion was to cut a big hole in the back of the barn to scare the horses through. While he was right that if the horses had stampeded out the front entrance, everyone friend and foe would've been crushed, he neglected to notice the rather big doors on the back there. Worse, after the battle was over, the locals had said that a good number of the horses were actually the villagers' horses, which he just scared away into the surrounding countryside! Dalton still was a bit stung over that mishap, but thankfully the villagers were far more happy with the bandits gone than they were annoyed that the horses had been scared away. It probably helped that he spent that night and most of the next day finding all the horses and rounding them up.
He tried to push this stupid moment out of his head, but it kept nagging him. Had it been a worse miscalculation, he could've killed somebody. The villagers also could've used that as an excuse to not give the party what they needed. After some time of these and many other thoughts stewing in his head, he eventually said to himself "I suppose it's best to leave the strategizing to the strategists. Oh well, at least everything turned out okay." while preparing the last batch of venison. Well, nobody had gotten sick yet, so he presumed if he did make a mistake, it wouldn't be that bad. "Then again," he thought "they might just be so hungry that they don't mind. Regardless, I think I'll take a break in the crew quarters."
He cleaned up the mess he had made cooking the food, then headed down the hallways. After a few moments, he decided to just go exploring the fort, after all there wasn't much else to do at the moment...
0=I====>
Inside one of the many forts of Edea captured by Geraden, a certain army commander paced back and forth. He was a gruff man, big, mean, and very strong looking, he was clad in black armor with some purple lining and the insignia of Geraden. Eventually, he stopped pacing and said "What do you mean they haven't been found yet?" A rather timid looking soldier replied with a weak "W-w-well, we just haven't been able to find any trace of the prince or those seen escorting him." The commander reeled on the soldier and yelled, practically in his face "Then do your accursed jobs and find them already!"
A voice came down from a nearby hallway "My my, somebody certainly seems to be in a bad mood today." The commander perked up right away and, his voice still tinged with rage "I really don't need you to tell me how angry I can or can't be Venn." A lean man, dressed in long purple robes and having white hair and golden eyes, made himself shown in the entryway. The soldier jumped up in shock at the name, then turned around towards him "V-v-Venn? What are y-y-you doing here?" Venn's face lit up with a smile, the kind of smile that conjures images of a sadistic torturer about to cut his victim to ribbons. Then he said, matter of factly "Oh, I'm just passing through. Hehe, oh I do love giving our leaders a surprise visit, it's quite fun!"
"Oh shut up and tell me what you're after" the commander said with a grunt.
"Oh come on..." Venn said, dissatisfied "why are you people always so serious?" He gave that smile again and said "No matter, at least you're still alive eh? I was just checking up on how the prince hunting is going. Given your reaction I imagine you're having some kind of trouble?"
The commander then yelled again "OF COURSE I'M HAVING TROUBLE YOU..." he cut himself off before he insulted his superior "Yes...yes we are. Our spies in Aurora still haven't found those accursed men. If I don't capture those men soon---"
"Then you'll be an absolutely charming skel-lee-ton" Venn said, still smiling. "At any rate, why are you looking up there? They are still in Edea, otherwise you would've been posted up in Aurora!" The commander, barely containing his rage said "Why would they be down here? We have access to every fort they have, and our patrols are looking for them everywhere. If they were still here, we'd have the prince's head by now!"
Venn tilted his head slightly "Really? I think they would've made quite the ruckus if they had left the country! And besides that, we don't have every fort down here." He then reached into his shoulder pack and pulled out a roll containing a few old documents. He then flung the maps into the commander's face, which he quickly picked up and glanced at. The commander responded with "What is this?", which prompted Venn to answer "Oh just some old documents detailing a fortress they ended up abandoning. I don't know who would do such a silly thing, build a castle then just split when they're done. But then, who can know the mind of an Edean? I only have a hunch to go on, but I think our little band of misfits is hiding out there, it's certainly close enough to the palace. And with that, I have your orders, to march a force of...oh I think about a thousand should do it, to X marks the spot! I think they've probably become complacent and are still holed up there, but on the off chance they decide to flee, I can cut them off at the Jinn border, Commander Ralos can take command of all the ports and lock them down, and... heh well they'd be food for Exotria, but just in case I've deployed Commander Ulvan over that aways with a small force. That sounds good to you yes?"
The commander just sighed and said, "Very well, I think we're going on a wild goose chase more than anything, but I don't have anything else to go on."
Venn gave a big grin and said "Wonderful! Just remember, the early skel-lee-ton skewers the peasant!" He then left, followed closely behind by the commander.