2 legions to threaten innocent citizens Not if I can help it Frida thought grimly She walked briskly toward the plains boundary trying to act comfortable in the borrowed gray skin that masked her olive green coloring and family tat too Her usual camouflage clothing had been replaced with a red and white jogging suit and her dark hair was encircled by a terrycloth headband So not me she reflected with a slight grin But the costume would help her infiltrate the griefers hillside encampment and hopefully find a way to help her battalion over come their evil zombie and skeleton troops As she traveled she rehearsed the spiel meant to convince Lady Craven’s officers to let her ally with them I’m Drift from the Mushroom Island 6 grief ers We lost our base during that last tsunami I heard about your cause and want to join up Frida knew she would have to perform a test to prove her trustworthiness Her battalion supply chief Jools had equipped her with TNT and fire starter to booby trap the enemy camp but the explosives would also be believable griefer weapons She’d just have to find the right moment to wield them preferably not against civilians She sighed Liberating villagers and safeguarding borders was not her career of choice She had been born a survivalist trained by skilled women to fend Nancy Osa
3 for herself in the jungle Her goal was simply to live a good life undisturbed by the dark forces of the world In better days she had done just that But now that the mobs had been rallied and unified by sorcer ers bent on conquering the free lands that life was over unless Frida and her compatriots could pre vent or win an all out war Better to be on the offensive than the defensive she thought glad to have under taken a solo mission to stir things up Maybe she could put Battalion Zero in the win column this time around Still she’d have to confront her opponents first deliberately making herself a target I might as well call myself Bull’s-Eye she mumbled Basically asking to be attacked reminded her of climbing on a horse for the first time She and her pals in Rob’s cavalry unit had discovered that taming and riding wild beasts was easier said than done but it was something Frida had always wanted to do The ability to ride could certainly benefit a young woman making her way in the Overworld alone Horses were fast they could jump high and Frida had to admit they were good company She had never needed company before but after riding with the bat talion she had grown used to the closeness As unfamiliar as her solitude seemed now she was enjoying the feeling of freedom that came from Battalion Banished
4 surviving alone A chicken tottered into view through the high plains grass and Frida pulled out her iron sword and dispatched the bird eating it imme diately She waited a moment to see whether the raw flesh would make her sick but it didn’t Risks never bothered her when the chance of success was greater than or equal to that of harm This larger risk though would be worth it she had already decided She repeated aloud the sentiment that Corporal Kim had once voiced The only acceptable Overworld is a free Overworld Frida would have to leave that notion at the plains boundary though which she could make out across the dusky fields in the distance There Lady Craven’s underlings would be waiting I’m Drift she said again as though to convince herself Soon she approached the border where open grass lands met rocky foothills At least she knew the odds of skeletons spawning there 100 percent She pulled out her bow and stuck an arrow in the back waistband of her pants It wouldn’t do to appear aggressive but then again a girl had to be ready to defend herself The suspense did not last long Th-oop Thoo-thoo-thoo-ppp An arrow landed at her feet and then three more in a circle around her They had flown from a dark thicket of spruce trees Nancy Osa
5 up ahead Do I have to be right all the time she muttered Identify yourself traveler came a nasal voice that Frida knew well Its owner knew her too but had not identified her so perhaps the ploy was working already Frida certainly didn’t look like herself anymore They call me Drift she said to the unseen crea ture in the trees just as she’d rehearsed I have busi ness with the griefer boss Lady Craven A taunting laugh sailed her way But does she have business with you I doubt it Already Frida tired of talking with the cowardly griefer Legs who always hid behind any handy body guard Then come out where we can see each other and I’ll prove it to you Prove it to this the stuffy voice demanded The next thing Frida knew a cross looking creeper broke out of the brush and ate up the distance between them Frida didn’t want to waste three arrows on this mobster right off the bat so she stood her ground The creeper’s patchy green skin and hollow black eye sockets did not scare her off Before it could get within detonation range Frida exchanged her bow for flint and steel from her inven tory Ch-oom The next best thing to avoiding a creep er’s explosion was to make one ignite Battalion Banished
