Houses of stone and triangle-shaped roofs. Wooden stalls with messy painted signs covering a small cobblestone square. All this came into our line of sight in time for us to set camp.

People bustled about on the plaza at the center of the village. Perfusing the mellow mood of fading daylight with the wearied chatter and the dissonant grind of vendors closing their stalls for the day.

A sudden break in their usual monotone by the unusual echoes of a score of horse's hooves moved a dozen pairs of eyes in our direction. "Is that the capital's golden emblem on the armor of those horses?" they whispered. "It's the king's men!" they shouted.

"If that's the case, then that man over there must be..." Eyes grew to the size of saucers as they stared at me from a distance. Ten hoof beats later, only crates of beets, carrots, and cabbages remained in the now deserted plaza.

"We'll set up camp here. You over there, notify the head of the village of our presence. Everybody else, place our company's tents on the left and detainees on the right." The men immediately went to work.

"Oh, thank the gods. It's been weeks since we got to rest out of the open field." Calim groaned as he threw himself off the horse. "There is a tavern down the street. Some of the guys and I are planning to pay them a visit. Want to come?" An expectant smile split his face.

My lips pressed together before a smirk could manifest on my face. "Drinking on the job, I see."

"Oh, come on. I know you need a break. I also need a break. We'll leave the suspects with the lesser soldiers, and we can relax a little. What do you say?"

My brow lowered to shoot him my best disapproving look. It made Calim smirk, knowing very well I was about to give in. "Alright, but only for a short while."

"Yes, Your Grace. We'll meet at the tavern in twenty." With a triumphant smile, he turned and left to finish off the rest of his duties.

My gaze swept around the perimeter of the plaza, searching for any threats hiding in the shadows. Between two shops, in an alley full of unused wooden boxes, a tower of crates swayed back and forth. I glanced at the trees in the distance. "They're still, so, no wind." My body tensed and I crept closer. Placing my hand on the hilt of my sword, I mentally prepared myself for a confrontation. One of the rebels, maybe?

The fearful eyes of a boy emerged from behind the wall of crates as I inched closer. Next to him, two more boys rose and dipped to peer over the wooden boxes. Too scared to openly stare, but too curious to not sneak a peek at the scary man with icy eyes and a chilling semblance to match.

My tension lifted, and my heart clenched with pity for the three young boys in tattered clothes. Behind me, a soldier called, "Your Grace, we need your help."

"I'll be there in a moment." Glancing at the boys one last time, I turned back to the campsite to continue with my obligations.

Thirty minutes later, in front of the tavern, I braced myself for whatever was waiting for me inside. The wood creaked as I opened the door betraying the establishment's old age and being careful not to hit my head on the door frame, I ducked my head and walked inside.

Calim waved me over to the dark wooden bar counter, where he was sitting beside some of the men in our regiment. "Your Grace! Over here!"

The fearful looks from the people sitting by the tables pricked at the back of my head as I walked towards the bar. "Thank you for joining us, Your Grace." He grinned at my curt nod.

The gray-haired bartender standing at the other side of the counter bowed his head in a polite show of respect. "It's an honor to have Supreme Commander Nubilus in my establishment. I appreciate the great service you have done to keep our country safe." His thin lips curled upwards in a smile. "I have heard of the great things you have accomplished at such a young age." He said with a voice full of awe, "A knight by the age of nineteen, and a Supreme Commander at the age of twenty-two." He continued. "Please, order whatever you want. It's on the house."

Calim slung his arm around my shoulder, wafting the sweet smell of alcohol into my nostrils. "Yup. You got that right. This jasper-headed youngin' is also the best Supreme Commander this kingdom has ever had." At my disgruntled look, he dropped his arm and mumbled, "Sorry, I had a couple of drinks already."Turning to the bartender, I returned his polite gesture. "Thank you, you're very kind," After that, I ordered my food and ate in silence.

Back at the camp, the head of the village paced to and fro as he waited for me. "Good evening, Your Grace. I have notified the Duke of your upcoming visit. I have also provided some food for your soldiers and everyone else at the campsite." After a terse handshake on his part and a quick 'thank you' on mine. The man bowed his head and left.

Several men guarded the servants as they sat around a fire on the right side of the camp. They had blankets draped around their shoulders to ward off the chill of the cold night air as they ate. Most of them were silent, except the girl and the maid.

I watched as the maid spoke with trembling lips. Her right hand clutched the fabric of the front of her blouse, and her eyes filled with sadness. She waited for the girl to speak, but the girl looked up at the sky without uttering a word.

What are they talking about? I asked myself as I watched the girl staring up at the starry night sky. No, I don't have time for curiosity. After surveying the area one last time, I turned in for the day.

With my head cradled in my hands, I sat on the cot motionless. Engulfed by the gloomy pit that is my tent. The back of my hand rubbed at my stinging eyes, and my back crumbled under the weight of my exhaustion. When was the last time I slept? My jaw tensed with a suppressed yawn.

The wooden frame creaked as my body slumped into the taught fabric of my bed. Will I be able to fall asleep tonight? My eyes roved around the small shelter and like moths to a flame, they latched onto a spot where light filtered through the tent cloth.

The circle of yellow light ensnared my vision, setting a cruel trap before my very eyes. To my horror, the edges blackened and expanded with the intent to burn the canvas and me with it. Fire? Fire!, I sprung to my feet, but as soon as it appeared it vanished. My fingers brushed against the cool fabric. Did I fall asleep and not notice I was dreaming? I poked my head out of the tent. Most of the soldiers had settled for the day. The only ones awake were guarding the perimeter and the servants' tents. Waryly, I lay back down and fell asleep by the time the soft light of a new day started to appear.

Like taking a shot of very soupy dirt. I gulped down my deliciously rich but otherwise very gritty morning campfire coffee. "Are we ready for departure?"

Between partly closed eyes, Calim watched as men dismantled tents and loaded wagons. "Yes, Your Grace. We are ready to head out to the main town." His fingers rubbed his temples. Most probably trying to ward off his oncoming headache.

⚜⚜⚜

It took us half a day to reach the colorful, tall houses that lined the cobblestone streets leading to the heart of the city.

At the center, on the granite paved square referred to as the central plaza, stood Duke Ibrahim Cercis III. "Duke Nubilus, Your Grace! What a pleasure to see you again!". The raven-haired, bearded man hurried to meet us halfway.

"The pleasure is all mine. I would like to ask for your approval to set up camp here. We would also like to have the guarantee of safe passage towards Southbridge."

"Of course, of course! I approve of it." He exclaimed in his sing-song voice, without giving it a second thought. "But you're not planning to sleep here in the plaza, right? Nonsense, you will stay in my estate! You and your second-in-command can stay in my guest rooms. The soldiers have enough space in my yard to set up their tents." Then he added with a big grin and a wink, "It's a pretty big yard, you know."

"We are transporting suspects of treason, Sir.―"

He interrupted me with a wave of his hands. "No. It's already settled you will stay in my estate. I have full confidence in your soldiers. I know they will do anything they can to prevent any trouble." Wrinkles creased the sides of his eyes and mouth as he smiled wide.Well, we have no other choice now, do we? With an inward sigh, we changed our course to Duke Cercis' estate.

An imposing grey manor stood tall in the center of the manicured grounds of the Cercis estate. At the main mahogany double doors, a crowd garbed in their finest domestic worker attire anticipated our caravan's arrival.

A mousy-looking chambermaid approached the side of my horse after we pulled up in the front yard. "Good evening, Your Grace. I'll be escorting you to your chambers. Please follow me." After a look around to ensure the soldiers were hard at work. I followed the woman into and down a long hallway with too many chandeliers. "Dinner will be ready at five," she announced at the bedroom door, and with no more to say, I was left alone with the polished granite floors and grand oak bed of the Cercis Manor's guestroom.

It's been months since I've slept in a nice comfortable bed. A deep-rooted habit moved my gaze around the room until I could no longer stand the smell and stickiness of the grime and sweat on my skin. So, ripping my eyes from the balcony doors, I headed to the washroom.

⚜⚜⚜

"Oh, it's such a pleasure to eat when you have company." Duke Cercis stood up from his seat, and waved his hands over the large oak table. "Sit anywhere you like." Side dishes full of potatoes, greens, and other foods surrounded a roasted duck in the middle of the table. The scent of the spices on the duck meat made my mouth water. "I wanted to give you and your knights a proper meal since I heard you were out on this mission for a couple of months. I doubt you have properly fed yourselves during that time."

Beside me, Calim stepped forward, "Yes, Your Grace. We appreciate your generosity." Dropping into a seat, he started to fill his plate.

I sat down to Duke Cercis' left, and he turned to face me. "So, Duke Nubilus. How was the mission? Did you catch those troublemakers?"

My fork stabbed a slice of fragrant, juicy duck meat and brought it to my dish. "I can't give many details about the mission. But you can rest assured that the rebels have been taken care of."

"Marvelous! Those ruffians were nothing but trouble! Going around with smuggled weapons. Trying to get people to join their gang. Spreading around the narrative that the king is unfit to rule and that we should drag him off the throne." The Duke clicked his tongue in disapproval and served himself his food. "Enough of that topic. I heard, Sir. Nubilus, that the marble production in your dukedom has been quite abundant."

A delicious, soft as butter bite of the duck on my plate made my taste buds sing with joy. "Yes, Your Grace, about forty-six thousand tons this year."

With and impressed whistle Duke Cercis leaned forward in his seat. "Do you know how much that is worth?" He whipped around and Calim almost dropped his fork. "One ton of marble is worth twenty thousand. That's almost one billion a year." He swiveled back on me. "That is amazing. I also had an exceptional production year; our diamond mine production surpassed our expectations. Did you know we found a six-pound diamond in one of the mines? It was amazing! My dear wife says I should gift it to her as a token of the profound love that I hold for her." A dreamy smile smoothed his features, then he exclaimed with mock indignation. "Over my dead body."

Calim stabbed a potato on his plate. "Speaking of the Duchess, Your Grace. How is she?"

"Oh, she is well. She went to see our son off. He became a High Knight recently." With a proud smile he added, "I was an army man too, back in the day, you know? I served His Late Majesty, The King, for about thirty years. I helped with the war effort and with the protection of our borders. The construction of the getaway tunnels and the resolution of duchy disputes. All while being a young duke in charge of a territory."

I wonder what spices they used for this duck; will they give me the recipe if I asked for it? Duke Cercis turned to me again, and I nodded. Wait, what did he say? Everytime he would tun to me, my head would bob up and down in false agreement. This went on until the food went cold, and Duke Cercis decided it was time to retire. I've never been so grateful for cold food in my life.

A sigh was realeased from my lips when my back hit the soft mattress. Will I be able to sleep tonight, or will I have to endure another eternity of staring at the stone above my head? When it seemed that the answer was the latter. I jumped out of bed and chose an even better option, an eternity of starry skies out on the balcony on the small bench.

"Tents up! We leave in thirty!"

My body jolted at the shouts of the knights below. Is it morning already? I hurried inside and avoided the ghastly image of the tired man in the bathroom mirror. Just two more days. Two more days, and I'm going home.