Femi's leather boots struck the cobblestones of the Town in the morning.
Heavy, measured footsteps passed on either side of him. The solemn column advanced with a chill breeze.
Sea mist drifted through the Town at dawn. The locals hid inside their houses, peering out with fear and curiosity. Sweet Home was an Island, and with the sea wind blowing day and night, it was much damper than Free City.
"This Town has a population of just over Three Thousand. Fewer than seventeen hundred can carry a Magic Musket."
"That few?"
Nearly half were elderly or children...
"Many of them are boys who haven't come of age yet, because..." Jack let the sentence trail off.
Femi recalled what he knew about Sweet Home and approached Mrs. Orok. "Mrs. Orok, please set aside some open ground for us to camp and train the Militia. Send the Town chief with us, too."
Looking far more haggard, Mrs. Orok craned her neck in search of Annan. "Your City Lord..."
"Lord Annan won't be involved."
Mrs. Orok was a major customer who had bought a hundred Magic Cannons and a thousand Magic Muskets. She was also Annan's... suitor. Femi remained polite with her, then followed the Town chief to mark out a site outside the Town.
Once the townspeople learned that Mrs. Orok had invited them as reinforcements, they came out to size up these men who looked like elite cavalry...
But Carl, the Captain of the Town Guards and an elite Warrior, could tell they were ordinary people.
"Mrs. Orok, these men..." Carl, the captain of the Town Guards, couldn't help asking.
"I trust them, Carl." Mrs. Orok was still thinking about Annan's beauty.
Femi had the Town chief hire workers to build the camp, then asked Carl, the Captain of the Town