Chapter 37 - Back to Cirrus
Paulus and Tolando looked around the area, still trying to get a handle on what they’ve been seeing. There was no outright rebellion going on, but there was such a massive feeling of defeat covering the area that nobody could really get anything done. They had been in the Cirrus region for over a month and had found little to get positive about.
"This is completely insane," Paulus exclaimed, "There is such a feeling of dread around here and there is no reason for it."
"Not in what they’ve let us see at any rate," Tolando said, "Do you get the feeling that the good Colonel isn’t letting us see everything?"
"Yes," Paulus agreed, "I am getting that feeling."
"So what are we going to do?" Tolando wondered.
"Let’s get out of here," Paulus said, "I want to walk the streets of the city."
"That could be dangerous," Tolando warned, "You sure about that?"
"We’re not going to learn anything in here," Paulus said, "Get ready. We’re going walking."
The two men changed into civilian clothes for their foray. Paulus wore a set of local clothing that he had had made especially for him. It was an iron woven fabric that was exceedingly hard to stab through and cut properly to hide dart pistols and knives. Tolando had a similar set of clothes, though his were larger and hid more weapons.
The two men went out and used their passes to get out of the gates. Being personal representative of the Mullinix had benefits that even the Colonel couldn’t stop. The regular troops weren’t allowed off the base except for patrols, but the guards couldn’t keep Paulus and his guard from going out, as they answered to Massimaferro and no one else.
The base itself was about four miles outside of Cirrus City, a healthy walk by most standards. Paulus and Tolando checked bicycles out of the base equipment pool and rode quickly around, making sure they’d lost anyone that had been following from the Colonel’s staff.
"You know," Paulus said as they rode out in the sunshine, "This is actually a really pretty region."
"Too bad it is so easy to get killed down here," Tolando shrugged, "If we can ever end the problems with the Mavelans this might actually be a nice place to visit."
"The lake areas have been better," Paulus said, "I went there soon after the defection. Beautiful scenery. Too bad the only real roads to that area go through Cirrus City and the area where Facie’s soldiers continually hit."
"Doesn’t make for a great vacation spot, does it?" Tolando agreed, "So where are we going?"
"The soldiers don’t seem to know anything but what the Colonel tells them," Paulus said, "I want to talk to the locals. Thankfully, the only thing that has gone right in this area is the education system. All the locals now speak passable Mullinix and most of the children have now grown up speaking it."
"What is our cover?" Tolando asked him.
"Reporters," Paulus shrugged, "They’re supposed to ask questions."
"People down here don’t like reporters," Tolando reminded him, "All the reporters in the Mavelans are government agents. You’d be better off just leaving your position nebulous."
"Works for me," Paulus nodded, "Let’s go."
The two of them rode the bicycles into town and headed over to the inn. The buildings in Cirrus City tended to be made of wood, considering the mountain forests provided a ready and almost endless supply of wood. The trees up there grew in a matter of a few years and the wet climate made it difficult for fires to take hold. The main inn in Cirrus city was made of the local wood and showed many patches, mostly due to burning arrows and catapulted burning rocks tossed into the city by the Mavelans.
"This looks like a fun area to live," Paulus said, seeing the inn, "Every time I come here there are new groups of patches."
"They still lob stuff from the mountains," an old man on the front porch of the inn told him, "Those damned soldiers don’t do a thing about it, neither."
"What else have they been doing?" Paulus asked him, "My name is Paulus Tally by the way."
"Patrick Fisher," the old man said, offering his hand, "I’ve lived in this city my whole damned life and I tell you things just keep getting worse here."
"It’s a pretty area," Paulus said, "Didn’t things get better when the Mullinix moved in?"
"In a lot of ways it did," the old man acknowledged, "Taxes went way down and we didn’t have troops breathing down our necks all the time. The Mullinix take their share, but they take from everyone equally."
"So what is the problem?" Paulus wondered.
"The Mavelans still hold the Mountains just south of the city," the old man said, "Facie is still pissed that we split and let the Mullinix in. They constantly bombard stuff into the city and hunt down our people for sport. Whenever their border troops are bored or hungry they make raids."
"Why don’t the soldiers stop them?" Paulus asked, genuinely wondering.
"That damned Colonel doesn’t want his troops getting hurt to protect us," the old man said sourly, "He doesn’t seem to like us very much. The Mullinix up north seem content to hold the status quo as long as it doesn’t move us into full blown warfare."
"How many people die each year?" Paulus wondered.
"Enough," the old man said, "The army pukes come out to clean up the mess when big ones happen, but most of the time we lose a couple people. Not enough for them to care about."
"Thank you," Paulus said, "Let’s hope that somebody does something on this soon."
"I doubt it," the old man said, "The only reason we don’t go back to the Mavelans is that Facie would undoubtedly either kill or conscript us all after the insult."
"That lunatic probably would do it," Paulus nodded, "See you around maybe."
Paulus and Tolando went in to the building and saw a few people sitting around. You could tell they were locals by the fact that they were underfed and many of them appeared injured. It was a sad place by the look of it and they weren’t used to seeing unfamiliar people coming in.
"Can I help you?" the surprised man behind the desk said in halting Mullinix, "You aren’t from around here, are you?"
"No sir," Paulus agreed, "Just touring around the region, ended up here."
"Boy you must be crazy," a young man said in clear Mullinix, "This place is dangerous."
"He’s right," the man behind the counter said, "People end up dead around here if they aren’t careful. You sure you want to stay here?"
"It’s too late to go anywhere else," Paulus shrugged, "Will I be safe enough in the Inn?"
"I could use the business," the man behind the counter shrugged, "I’m all empty right now. Only place that does any business is the kitchen. I’ll give you a room away from the mountains, as they are the safest."
"I appreciate it," Paulus nodded, "Is there anything interesting to do in town?"
This question elicited a wave of laughter from the men sitting in the building. Paulus looked around quizzically and wondered what was so funny about the question. Finally one of the men sitting there stopped laughing enough to answer.
"At night you’re lucky not to get killed most of the time," the man told him, "If you have any sense you’ll stay in here tonight, hope that the Mavelan soldiers don’t make a full on raid on the town, and get out at first light."
"If they do make a full on raid?" Paulus asked.
"Take cover and try not to get in their way," the man suggested.
"Thanks," Paulus nodded and then looked at Tolando, who shrugged.
The man at the desk handed Paulus a key and they went up to find their room. The building itself was in serious disrepair and showed signs of neglect as they walked up the stairs. The room was the farthest and, as promised, was facing away from the Mountain ridges outside of town. Paulus was nearly floored by the reaction he was getting here.
"The Colonel here isn’t even trying to help these people," Paulus said, "What the hell happened here?"
"I don’t think things
are going right," Tolando said, "I haven’t even seen a public member of the guard yet."
"I know it," Paulus nodded, "I’m beginning to think that Colonel LaPorte and his idiotic staff have been bullshitting us. Things are bad and getting worse."
"LaPorte has been setting up his own warped little empire down here," Tolando said, "His minders have been watching you like a hawk, but I got out and found that they are selling the supplies we send down here. That son of a bitch is making a mint of this region’s suffering."
"We need to get back north," Paulus said, "This is insane. Massy, Iggy and Medo need to know this immediately."
"That could be a problem," Tolando said, "LaPorte has to know by now that we got out. He probably suspects what we know. We head north and we’re going to have to do it on our own."
"What do you suggest?" Paulus asked him, curious what his guard had up his sleeve.
"Surprise LaPorte," Tolando suggested, "Massimaferro has the Siraq trip in a few weeks anyway. There is nothing we can do immediately. So we stay here and keep watching, just look around and let LaPorte lead us around."
"I’m still worried about that army on the other side of the mountain," Paulus frowned, "They could come across at any time."
"LaPorte isn’t stupid enough to let them in," Tolando shrugged, "Is he?"
"I sincerely hope not. In any case we’ll spend a couple days here in town," Paulus said, "I want to know more about the people here and stay through a few of those raids. We’ll go back to base and talk to LaPorte after that."
"I’ll follow you," Tolando nodded, "Where to now?"
"We’ve got a couple hours of daylight left," Paulus said, "Let’s go around the few shops that are left. I want to know just how much is being charged for things."
The Mullinix Book 1: Ascension Page 39
