Border Control

The sound of metallic steps sounded as the soldiers came up the stairs. One by one they gradually came on deck looking around them and monitoring the movement of every person in their surroundings. Someone who appeared to be the supervisor of the small squad approached Aymon. He was a rather small person wearing his decorated uniform with pride and respect.

"Can I speak to the captain here?"

"Yes, that would be me" Aymon stepped up without showing any agitation.

"While my men are going to inspect the ship I would like to ask you a few questions"

"Of course, let me know how I can help you, sir."

"Perfect. you said that you deliver cloths correct? Could you show me the trading authorization?"

"Certainly, here it is."

Obviously, Aymon was thoroughly prepared for this situation and found a permit in the captain's cabin. There was only one problem though the papers were from before the rebellion and therefore outdated. While the supervisor checked the papers Aymon saw how another soldier started to inspect one of the crates. The Elfs from the Eagle Unit gradually lost their composure as he opened the lid and started to rummage through the contents.

"The date on these documents is from before the independence war. How does it come that you are only crossing the border now and that from a newly established country that is an enemy of the Empire?

Totally focused on what was going on behind the man in front of him Aymon ignored the question. His hand slowly went towards his back where a knife was hidden under his shirt. Immediately all the past memories rushed to his head, his dead father, Haemir who threw himself on the grenade to safe him and lastly his mother who died for all the tragedies that happened to the family. All memories suddenly vanished leaving only one thing in his mind, revenge. In front of him was standing a human, a human who shouldn't live, a human who caused the deaths of his brethren. His grip around the hilt of the knife tightened.

"I... I need to take re..."

A loud crash interrupted his sentence as one of the crates fell on deck. The moment it collided with the floor splinters and clothes flew through the air. One shattered piece of wood landed near Aymon barely missing him at hair's breadth. Samira came running down the stairs and fell on her knees in front of him.

"It... It is all my fault captain! When I tried to relocate the goods I tripped and the crate slipped down, please forgive me. I will make sure to make up for it!"

"Look at what you've done, this piece of wood nearly killed me! I will detract this from your pay and now make sure to clean up the mess you just made!"

The crash allowed Aymon to regain control over his emotions and thoughts. Additionally thanks to this small charade the soldiers stopped inspection the crates after seeing that there are only clothes on the floor.

"Sorry for this confusion, what was the question again?"

"I wanted to know why the papers are outdated and why you are coming from a region that declared independence against the Empire?" His voice became more severe

"Some of our crew members were killed during the war, so we needed to find new ones, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to operate the ship. Additionally, we were tailed for a week by an Elfen warship who tried to confiscate our cargo, forcing us to take a detour to get rid of them."

The tension in the air rose again as he was waiting for a response from the soldier. He had obviously prepared this lie beforehand but he was still unsure if it was good enough. Suddenly the eyes of the squad leader widened and he looked Aymon straight in the eyes.

"Sorry, for the inspection sir Niamh, I didn't know that you were from the Clodagh company."

He hastily gave the papers back and signalized his man to go back to the ship. As the enemy slowly went their way the atmosphere eased up like a heavy burden was lifted from it. Some people sat down as they were exhausted from the tension.

"Thank you Samira, it was the right thing to reveal my plans to you. Without your intervention, this could've gone terribly wrong."

"No worries, after all, we need to look out for each other's backs. But why in Riankes name did they just retreat like that, did they really bought our story?"

"I don't know about that but when they saw that this vessel is from a company called Clodagh he immediately called his man and went back. Do you know what this company is?"

"No idea. Maybe it is the company of some important aristocrat or something."

"The important thing is that there weren't any major problems, now we can focus on the mission ahead of us."

Totally forgetting the quarrel they had before the encounter happened, they headed towards Smithssard Mountains. The rest of the voyage went smoothly without any other accidents. After two days they finally reached the coast of the region. Big mountains grew out of the small landmass in front of them. It was a strange view since mountains are normally not directly on the coastline. A large thick cloud of black smoke was over the mountains signalizing the location of industrial buildings of the dwarfs and probably their hometown.

Ten weeks before winter, the news of the Elfen Union being created spread throughout the continents. Tensions rose with every oppressed race who began to hope for their independence.