Andrus Elgheny had never pictured these far-flung northern landscapes as the place he would serve the Imperium. There was too much rural land here; not enough of the order the metropolis enforced. At times he yearned for the storied walls and mega-cities of his home down south. Their stones held so much potency of will and governmental drive. The stones here held power too, but it was untamed and crude: its stories were not decent for his ears.
The people were similar to their environment as well. The local folk seemed mostly uncaring or even ignorant entirely of the workings and dealings above them. They considered Imperial concerns not relevant to the livelihood of their farms or craft shops. In their minds the quaint villages would go about just fine with or without the oversight of the Empire, and the presence of any kind of non-local law enforcement was met with annoyance or dirty looks. This despite all the good the Imperium did to ensure the continuity of that livelihood the villagers enjoyed. Anyone with proper sense could see that their bucolic pleasantries would collapse without Imperial systems behind the scenes. For many reasons Andrus had never developed a better relationship with the local folk, preferring to keep the populace at a good distance. In his figuring, his own job only required him to be in contact with the heads of the local forts and his liaisons back in the District. Any other fraternization was entirely optional.
Andrus' position was the official ambassador of the Imperium to Fort Ettan-Jhonson and the training grounds on the west flanks of the Green Mountains. In his assignment he was required to work with the local commanding officer, in this case a one Riannath Emberly. She was an excellent commander, though unfortunately strong-willed and too perceptive for his own purposes. It was actually her best qualities that had gotten her into trouble, Andrus reflected. She had always been less malleable than desired to the Imperium's requests, but he had usually been able to convince her of the wisdom of their council in the end. The fort was there to serve the interests of the Empire after all, not for its own sake or that of the locals. Lately though she had gotten obsessed with this notion of a mysterious change in the environment, giving credence to folktales and hearsay. Obviously he had not been able to dissuade her this time.
Andrus knew something was happening of course. He had perception himself enough to sense an ecological shifting of patterns. He also had orders though: an understanding from offices above his that such shifting of patterns were not his concern, and orders to make sure they were not the public's as well. No one would put much credit in rumors, but if an officer directed resources to investigating the situation...it could give power to the ideas and cause panic or worse. Andrus had tried to make Riannath understand this as well- to leave the stories as a hobby, but it seemed she could not be convinced to let it go. Maybe she had simply gone out on a longer patrol to clear her head, but he couldn't be sure of that. All he wanted to do was talk to her again, and to try to convince her more seriously.
When he first contacted his liaison at the Imperium office with his concern, he was given full control of the fort until its commanding officer could be found and either reinstated or replaced. Thus empowered he had quietly mobilized forces and established search teams in the surrounding hills as well as a blockade in the narrow part of the Winniaska valley to the east. He had confidence in his choice of a front line: there was a likelihood that Riannath had fled to the Pellier Mounts, and a danger that she would return from the capitol region with reinforcements. These would come in the form of mage-scholars and government officials, both of which would seriously complicate the situation. He had to control the flow of information from the east. The captains of the mountain warfare training facility had remained loyal to the Empire, and were watching all points entering from the north. The metro area was secure, and there was nothing to worry about from the south. That broad rolling land of soft hills south of the Winniaska was dominated by small farms and backwater forests. Andrus thought little of defending from that direction, figuring any retreat south by the rebellious commander was as good as exile.
Acting-Commander Elgheny liked to be at the front line of his operation. He wanted to be on the scene should there be a sighting of Riannath or any of her rebel soldiers. However, the post by the river crossing had been somewhat boring so far. Not many folks traveled past this point, or even crossed the bridge, and those that did were mostly farmers who found the extra questioning bothersome. Occasionally there would be an unaccounted traveler who would have to submit to a search. They were shady folk, but harmless and disgruntled by his soldiers' presence. Even carrying nothing suspicious, these travelers were often turned around and pointed back the way they came. Andrus couldn't risk letting communication through of any kind.
They had established a fore-guard down at the small brookside village nearby, much to the vexation of the villagers. It was only a temporary imposition until they had a better lead on the missing commandant, but there were brief moments when Andrus wondered if their operation here was worthwhile. At very least it was an attractive site: the small command bastion perched on a high bank above the river. Deep reflective water swirled by below, and the shining suspension bridge arced gracefully across to rich forest on the other side. The view would have been inspiring even without the bustle of soldiers.
One day around mid-morning he received a chirp from the fore-guard that a hauler had arrived at the checkpoint. It seemed it was another set of long-trail-trippers, this time a set of siblings on their way north. They only relayed traveler details up to the main post if they had stopped a non-local, or if they had reason to suspect the person. Andrus called back to send the hauler up to the bridge. Most likely it would be uninteresting. Another case of ruining some traveler's day by telling them they would have to find another way into the northern mountains.
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