Ceres and Brennan came together again, blades ringing out loud in the emptiness of the circle. The blades cashed together a couple of times before each moved away to seek a new angle. Both were breathing heavier now, sweat soaked clothing pulled at them as they each took the respite to gather another breath of air. Suddenly Brennan closed the distance feinting high and then sweeping to the left. Initially he believed the move would work as Ceres’ eyes widened in alarm but a second later, he realised she had not taken the feint and simply baited him. This was punctuated by the blunted practice sword crashing into his side and doubling him over.

 Ceres’ concern was waived by the, albeit pained, laughter coming from Brennan as he slowly eased himself back onto his feet.

Brennan: “You got me again girl, I thought I was getting better!”

Ceres: “You are getting better, but so am I!”

The pair remained silent for a moment, comfortable in one another’s company and taking the opportunity to rest they surveyed the town from the training field. Junker was small compared to many of the other towns in the area though not a village as some passers-by accused it of. After a couple of minutes Brennan broke the silence.

Brennan: “Come on then, since you won drinks are on me!”

Ceres Grinned.

Ceres: “So same as always! If you worked on not being so predictable you could save yourself a fortune in ale!”

Brennan: “Well it won’t make any difference by tomorrow.” Brennan said with a grin. “What is mine is yours and all that…”

Ceres flushed thinking about the ceremony tomorrow. She was excited but between her work at the bakery and militia training she’d not had much time to really think about it. She smiled to think about it as she allowed herself to lean into Brennan who put an arm around her shoulders as they slowly walked into town.

Ceres: “You know that is all the more reason for you to improve right? You don’t want your wife to keep showing you up on the practice field!”

Brennan laughed along, his face genuinely amused as he looked at Ceres.

Brennan: “Honey, apart from the Captain there isn’t one of those sort jokers in the militia squad can even hope to keep up with you! They think you go easy on me as it is… you don’t do you?”

Ceres gave Brennan a shocked look as though she had been caught out, let the moment stretch and then laughed.

Ceres: “No idiot I’m not taking it easy on you! Wouldn’t do you much good if you got in a real fight. I’ve always had a knack for it but unlike the others you at least work hard at it and take it seriously.”

Brennan didn’t want to admit the only reason he showed up to so many practices and worked so hard was to be around Ceres. He’d been in love with her since they were children together and the feelings had only grown as they got older. She may be flattered to some degree but as they were getting married tomorrow that battle was already won. She took the militia training very seriously.

The good thing about the training field was that it was not far from the tavern and the pair made their way.

Midday on a weekday the tavern was quite quiet, there was a couple of travelling merchants in talking to Jake the bar owner and a few other locals dotted around. Old Scabs was sitting at the bar and took the time to leer at Ceres before returning to his drink.

Brennan: “Hi Jake!”

Jake: “Brennan! Good to see you my boy, and Ceres lovely as ever! What would it take to get you out of the bakery and working here? You’d double my custom”

Ceres gave Jake a smile.

Ceres: Jake, you know I’d drop it all for you in a heartbeat, Brennan here included” (at this Brennan pulled  a face) “                but it was hard enough to convince my mother to let me join the militia. If you want me to work here you’d have to go through her.”

Jake rubbed his chin thoughtfully. In the end he sighed.

Jake: “Alas no, that’s one battle I would not pick, even for you my dear. What can I get you?”

Brennan: “Two ales please.”

Jake: “You buying again? Or should I say, did you get your arse handed to you again?”

Jake was a genial soul and the joke was made without malice.

Brennan gave him a grin.

Brennan: Indeed I did! I think my Ceres may be wasted here!”

Ceres blushed and at this point one of the merchants piped up,

Merchant 1: “Handy fighter are you? Might be that you are needed sooner than you think! Trouble brewing in the world!”

Merchant 2: “Shush man! They don’t need to hear this, nothing more than gossip to get good folk all riled up.”

Ceres: “Well you’re going to have to tell us now! “

Merchant 2: “Really it’s nothi-“

The first speaker, who was clearly quite far into his cup, interrupted his friend.

Merchant 1: “Ratmen! They are back! Saw them with my own eyes I did, filthy rodents are coming back. Mark me when they come not nowhere will be safe!”

At this Old Scabs, who had been listening in joined the conversation.

Old Scabs: “Leave off you drunken oaf! Ratmen aint been seen for 30 years! Not since the feral wars, we didn’t just drive the bastards back, we followed the foul bastards back into their holes, burned out the breeding nests, what few of them was left won’t be coming back I guarantee that.”

He paused and took a big swig of ale but kept a hand raised so all would know there was more to follow.

Old Scabs: “And trust me that’s just as well. No fighters round these parts to ward em off. The only way this one here is wasted is her spending her time swinging a sword round and not lying on her back.”

At this Brennan leapt to his feet, his eyes flashing anger but Ceres put a hand on his arm to stop him starting anything. Still, the move was not missed by Old Scabs who smiled a mirthless grin at Brennan.

Old Scabs: “Gonna start something boy? Show off that pretty little rack of tits sitting next to you? That’s all you and the rest of the militia are good for. Showing off and attacking old men. Bloody fool waste of time and money.”

It was at this that Ceres leapt to her feet and Brennan suddenly found himself doing the restraining.

“Its not a waste! It’s a duty! An honour, what if people need us, what if they need someone when the lord or the legion can’t help? Who will help then? You?! You were supposed to be somebody once, now look at you!”

Old Scabs expression had changed to something unpleasant and suddenly Brennan was nervous. Scabs was short, wiry and 20 years past his best but he had fought in the feral wars and certainly seen a damn sight more action than anyone other than the Captain.

Old Scabs: “A duty?” He spit on the ground. “You don’t know a thing little girl. You can prance around the circle all you want, it don’t make you nothin! Don’t think for one second beating local idiots like this one means you will be ready for anything but a good raping if you ever went near a real fight!”

In truth, Brennan privately kind of agreed about the militia. He only did it to be around Ceres and it was an easy way to earn a few extra Aureus. The town was smack in the middle of the Empire, surrounded by larger towns, cities and garrisons. There were no ongoing wars, times were prosperous, in the unlikely event of bandits in the area it would be a local lord or legion that dealt with it. Only Ceres or the Captain seemed to take it any way seriously. The Captain had fought in the wars years earlier and was entitled to be a bit paranoid. Ceres, well duty was certainly important to her but more than that she never seemed more alive than when she had a blade in hand.

She was quickly coming to life again, her reaching for the hilt of the sheathed practice sword. Old Scabs was aware of this and worryingly he did not look scared, angry or drunk. He looked ready.

It was that at that moment that the door banged open and Brenna’s prayers were answered as the Captain swept in, seemingly oblivious to the tension that was now sweeping the tavern.

Captain: “Jake, Ale please! Ceres, I see you pull that sword I’ll stick it up your arse and make you walk home with it!” Just as Scabs started to grin the Captain turned the full weight of his gaze onto him.

Captain: “Scabs I’m sure you provoked the girl, I’m also sure you don’t realise how good she is getting with that sword or an old coward like you wouldn’t even make eye contact with her.”

By the time he had finished the Ale was already in front of him, he gave Jake a smile and five Aureus more than he needed to. Scabs got up his drink unfinished and walked out muttering to himself. People may have thought the Captain was crazy but nobody messed with him.

“Now Ceres, Brennan would you care to tell me what all that was about? I know Scabs gets under people’s skin but with what he’s been through he at least has some excuse.”

Brennan bristled at this where Ceres ducked her head in shame before her mentor’s chastisement.

Captain: “Look kids I’m not trying to get you down but Scabs well for one despite what I said, he’s not a man you should pick a fight with lightly. I’ve never seen him in action but I know a fighter when I see one.

Ceres: “I’m sorry Captain I should know better than to rise to him, was just petty stuff really, he seemed to get triggered when the merchant here mentioned Ratmen sighting I should-“

But the Captain’s focus shifted straight to the merchant who almost fell back off his bar stool from the sheer intensity of the Captain’s stare.

Captain: “Ratmen sighting, when?! Where?!”

The first Merchant struggled to answer.

“Merchant 2: “Pay no heed to my friend here my lord. Just an old fool too far into his cups and believing others tales.”

 Captain: “What tales?”

Merchant 2: “Well was a couple of weeks back we was travelling through Brightvoon, there was talk in the taverns there of people going missing in the outlying villages. The usual stuff, women carried off in the night, scuttling sounds, the usual rubbish every time a bandit raid kicks off.”

The Captain looked straight at the first Merchant, unblinking.

Captain: “You said that you had seen them…”

Merchant 1: “I did!... I mean.. That is…  I saw something… not two days passed. We were camping just off the road not two days gone on our way here. I woke up in the night and I swear in the trees I saw red eyes staring back at me, they glowed!”

Merchant 2 “You fucking idiot! You know how many animals have red eyes! Hell what if it was just a regular rat? If it was Ratmen why didn’t they kill us ey?  Slit our throats in our sleep and take off with everything?”

Brennan was inclined to agree with the second Merchant, it seemed the first was just too far into his cups but Ceres as she usually did looked straight to the Captain.

Ceres: “Captain what do you think?”

The Captain dragged a hand across his jaw.

Captain: “Nobody ever died from being too prepared. Could be Ratmen stragglers, could be bandits, could be nothing. No harm in being ready, if it was Ratmen on the road and if they were targeting the town they wouldn’t draw attention by attacking two merchants who will be here anyway”

Brennan: “Surely you’re not taking this talk too seriously?!”

Captain: “With the wedding tomorrow would be a perfect time to attack if they were watching and waiting for a good time to attack.”

Brennan: “Now hey, on the words of a, no offence, drunken merchant who saw a pair of red eyes you are not suggesting we-“

Captain: “No Brennan, of course not. You two enjoy your wedding tomorrow but I will see which of the other militia I can gather up and keep on alert.”

Brennan did not think that would go down well, a small town like there’s tended to celebrate weddings all together, it was a good excuse to drink, eat and relax. Still at least he and Ceres would not be on duty, although the concerned look on her face might be a problem. Thanks Captain and drunk Merchant!

The conversation continued a little while as the Captain and Ceres tried to identify the most likely militia candidates to stand watch during the wedding and best patrol routes when Ceres asked a question.

Ceres: “Captain, you mentioned Scabs, been the way he is from what he saw in the Feral Wars but you were there and don’t seem so embittered, same for a lot of people. Why should he get a pass?”

The Captain paused a second, some of the usual intensity seeming to shrink out of him. Eventually he answered.

Captain: “He doesn’t get a pass Ceres but the things we saw, well we saw different things. I was a Captain by the time the war came to a close. I’d been decorated fighting in the field and when we followed them down to the caverns. I was spared the worst part of the war.”

He seemed to stop, he looked thoughtful, almost vulnerable.

Ceres: “Captain? The worst part?”

Captain: “You heard how we ended the war right?”

Ceres nodded, her expression confused.

Ceres: “Sure we all know, the Ratmen came out of their caverns, flooded the surface. Eventually they were beaten back. We followed them into the Caverns, destroyed the underground cities and burned out the breeding nests.”

Captain: “You say it so casually. Think about it for just one second. When we discuss the Ratmen they take on all the animalistic traits, their differences are what we focus, their crimes. Remember this, they are every bit as intelligent as humans, capable of thoughts, feelings and emotions. They were a society, not so different from ours, they were not known to one another as ‘Ratmen’ but as Nezun. Think again what it really meant to burn the breeding nests.”

The reality of it started to dawn on Ceres but the Captain was not finished.

Captain: “Armed men walked into the pits where the Nezun females laid, pregnant or suckling young, where small Nezun ran and played. Where births were still taking place, armed men, men like Old Scabs walked among them and killed them. Young, Old, Mothers, Children and then set grease fires just to make sure. That’s what Scabs saw, what he did. An know this; after that, if the Nezun ever do come back they will make us pay ten fold.”