by Victoria Sheridan 25th October 2020, 10:48 am
-Berreb, two hours later-
After a two-hour trip where she had plenty of time to think about what she was doing, Victoria arrived at the outskirts of the desert village and slowed down. She took off her backpack and fished out her job notice to have it ready to present to the village militia when they approached. Sure enough four men in tan uniforms armed with semi-automatic rifles approached her and Victoria remained calm. She waited until they got close, then slowly raised the job notice and waited until it was taken from her before she made another move. An older man with crisscrossed bandoliers took the job notice and read over it for a minute, then handed it back to her once he knew the nature of the brunette's business here.
"The chief's been waiting on you. You did good work for us last time. I'm sure that you'll come through for us again." He said to her with a smile. He motioned her forward and Victoria slowly moved the throttle up until she was moving forward at a walking pace while the militiamen followed off to the side. She easily navigated the slight incline without turning herself over or damaging her vehicle. She also avoided hitting any of the villagers or her militia escort, who had stepped back both to avoid being run over and to get a better look at the DH-40 Centaur Prototype which she was riding.
Victoria slowly rode into the village until she reached the chief's house while escorted by the militiamen. She shut off the Centaur and climbed off of it, then followed the men into the chief's house to meet with Berreb's leader and pick up the arms she was supposed to deliver. Victoria mentally prepared herself for what she was about to do.
-Inside the chief's house-
"Ah, welcome, Miss Sheridan!" the village chief greeted her warmly. Victoria raised a hand in greeting and stood in front of the table that the chief used as a desk, waiting for him to give her the details of the job. The older militiaman handed the chief the job notice and swiftly departed the tent to get back to his duties, leaving the brunette with the chief and his personal guard of eight men armed with semi-automatic rifles. The chief browsed the notice, then put it on the table and slid it back to her. Victoria approached slowly and took the job notice, then stepped back.
"I am glad that you took this job, Miss Sheridan. You came through for us last time and I'm certain that you'll come through for us again." He said to her.
"Thanks." Victoria said before asking for details on two very important questions.
"What do you need me to carry and where do you need me to go?" Victoria asked him. The chief smiled.
"I need you to ferry some surplus arms and ammunition to our ally Nebdoui, which lies many kilometers to the northwest. I believe that you may know it as the home of a Wizard Saint. Anyway, they need the supplies to begin outfitting the rest of their militia to better defend themselves from outlaws." He explained to her. Victoria used her special ability and saw that he was not lying to her about the errand. She relaxed a little, but she was still not certain whether she was ready to do what she was about to do. She must have been unable to conceal her uncertainty because the older man swiftly picked up on it and commented.
"I understand if you are uncertain about this errand. While the sultan claims he doesn't care about the desert villages just so long as they don't revolt against him, he may be displeased with weapons being ferried between them. If you do not want to do this, you may back out now and I will find someone else to transport the weapons." The chief offered. Victoria now faced the moment of truth.
Would she go through with the errand or would she back out?
The cause was just, but was she ready to face the power of the sultan, the Rune Knights, and Dies Irae should the sultan get upset about her activities?
Victoria took a deep breath. She made eye contact with the chief and spoke.
She would go into this with both eyes open.
"That won't be necessary, Chief. I'll take the weapons to Nebdoui." Victoria answered his question with confidence. She would stand behind the beliefs she had held ever since she was a member of Black Rose. She believed that someone had to stand up for the common man against evil. While plenty of guilds did that, Victoria felt that she had to stand behind her beliefs instead of wavering on them at the first sign of trouble. Not many guilds were willing to go against an entire government to help the common man and Victoria might piss off an entire government by the end of this job.
The chief smiled.
"Excellent. I knew that we could count on you. Now, let us get the weapons and ammunition loaded for transport. I trust that you did not walk here this time." He said to her. Victoria nodded.
"Not this time, Chief. You see, I recently got a vehicle from a couple of friends in Motor City and this is its first real test." Victoria informed him of how things had changed since her last visit to Berreb.
-Outside the chief's house-
The chief laid eyes on the DH-40 Centaur Prototype and was clearly impressed. So were the militiamen, who had stopped to look at the vehicle. Once they saw the chief arrive they hurried off to resume their duties before they got into trouble.
"I see this vehicle of yours, Miss Sheridan. I am impressed." He said to her. Victoria smiled.
"It should be able to carry what you need me to carry. It can also go pretty fast, so it shouldn't take too long for me to reach Nebdoui." Victoria said to him.
"Excellent. I will have your vehicle loaded and then I will send you on your way." He said. He motioned for a few militiamen to come to him. Once they had arrived he told them to get the supplies ready for transport to Nebdoui. They nodded and hurried off to procure the supplies. Meanwhile Victoria felt a strong wind blow her ponytail around as she cupped a hand over her mouth and nose to try and keep the sand from entering her mouth and nose. She had made certain to protect her eyes, but next time she needed to wear a face wrap to protect her nose and mouth from sand carried on the wind.
[Post Word Count: 1,126]
[Total Word Count: 2,064/5,000]