![Veilbinder - Chapter 21 [Preview]](https://external-preview.redd.it/8PqvwFWiJIxFJiRlx7G96B9Fd2JZ_BeRvFjjPIf1oL0.png?width=320&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=cfe457a14b58cfa930cb74e9a009b0467c4925ed)
Veilbinder - Chapter 21 [Preview]
Holy cow. It certainly doesn't feel like it's been almost a year and a half. Life has been quite an adventure. I lost my job November 2024 which was why I stopped posting, but on the plus side, I was hired at a place I actually enjoy working at late last year and I feel like I'm in a place to get the ball rolling again, so let's kick things off with the first part of Chapter 21. The rest of the chapter has been undergoing rewrite after rewrite as the story has slowly evolved in the time since the last post, but I should have it up by next week.
I'm going to be regularly posting on Wednesdays, anything extra will be posted on Saturdays. Thank you all for sticking around, please enjoy my ramblings!
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“Welp, there she goes…” James quipped quietly to himself. His eyes were squinted against the glare of the early morning sun as he leaned against the side of their vehicle.
They were on a hillside to the south of the city. The brilliant light danced across the surface of the bay which served as the lifeline to the city of Aestrahd and which was speckled with ships and boats slowly meandering their way across the water. He didn’t envy what the Captain, the King, and their respective advisors must have been going through seeing as it was impossible to hide the Bornholm anywhere populated. The sailless steel monolith of a ship dwarfed anything that sailed the Tyran seas, not to mention it looked nothing like any ship yet built in this world. Already, rumors about the giant metal ship were on their way to spreading at a handful of distant ports, so to keep them as just that for a while longer, the ship was being moved to a sheltered cove a short way to the south. It was both away from prying eyes and easily defended, though lacking in natural resources and difficult to reach, which led to the current task of securing the land route to her new berth.
He and the rest of the Charlie One under the command of Sergeant Brian Okoda and currently without their long time second in command were waiting on their counterparts from the imperial garrison. With them was a second squad headed by Lance Corporal William Mason. They had been sitting for only a few minutes when Gabriella Perez called out from her place on the roof of their vehicle.
”Heads up everyone, we got movement along the tree line.” She said, thankful for a distraction as she shifted up to a kneel from her hunched and cross-legged sitting position. She brought up a pair of compact binoculars and in the distance she could make out the familiar dark-furred shape of Commander Atha’s second in command, Mirun. He was accompanied by several subordinates in the scouts’ characteristic cloth and leather armor. “I see Atha’s lap cat and three others. Don’t recognize ‘em but they’re in matching uniforms.”
Thomas snickered, “Bet two silvers you won’t say that to his face.”
”Eh, why not, count me in. Money's on Gabs.” James drawled while Gabriella rolled her eyes. Even now, it still occasionally caught him off guard when he was reminded about how well some were adjusting to their new environment.
”I don’t think that’s going to go as well as you think.” Came Brian’s voice from within the armored hull of the Mutt. “Now can it and mount up.”
Thomas and James both acknowledged the command and shared a glance, the former with a mischievous grin while the latter could only give him a subtle shake of the head to try and warn him off before they both piled into the vehicle.
”Comin’ downstairs.” Gabby announced before unceremoniously dropping down through the roof hatch. Her hands swung up to the lip of the hatch to arrest her fall as, with a soft thud, she landed flat on her rear between the driver and passenger seats. Looking up, she swung the metal lid closed and secured it in place, giving the latch a couple confirmatory tugs before crabbing her way into the passenger seat and refreshing the vehicle's navigation system. This would be a new route for them and once they were out of the mapped region near Aestrahd they would once again launch a drone to start surveying the area just as they had done on the way to the city.
With a final check complete, the Mutts’ electric motors whirred to life as both squads set off towards the trees.
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