A Rebel’s Letters

12/13/1230

To My Dearest Brother Eric Cryfall,

I regret to inform you that my latest mission, to infiltrate the area held by the invaders from the country Tirewind (fictional country and universe) known as the Bluegate Fields, has not been the rousing success that we had hoped. For my own safety, I will not be including my or your address in these letters, and will be using our aliases instead.

I have been in a small town in the region for about three months now, and the people here are content with living with the invading army in their lands. Everyday, they steal and plunder, and even kill suspected rebels, but they will not rise up against them.

I remember trying to talk to a local butcher. The only one I did dare talk to for days. I asked him what he thought about the army that was now stationed on his homeland. He told me that he didn’t care if they were an invading army, as long as they as they paid for the food they ate. He told me that he didn’t want to hear of the capital city, believing that they had abandoned him long ago.

As for bad news, that was not the last of it. I was given a message from rebel command that there was going to be another rebel spy in the town I was living in. When he arrived, someone must’ve discovered that he was a rebel and directly reported it to the enemy army. Before they could torture him for information, he drank the poison that was given to all of us so that he would never tell them anything. Everyday, I fear that I would share the same fate as him.

Sincerely,

Your Beloved Brother, Sam Cryfall

02/20/1231

To My Dearest Brother Eric Cryfall,

Out of duty, I will continue my mission in Bluegate Fields, even as I fear for my safety everyday. There are days when I wonder if I have been dreaming and I am actually in a prison cell, awaiting execution carried out by the invaders. I have been drinking heavily to calm myself and I am throwing up everyday because of it.

I was walking to my hotel one day, and I witnessed a group of soldiers bringing down a house for no reason. They claimed to have discovered that the house was hiding rebels and insurgents when in fact, they wouldn’t have. I have walked by that house many times in the months I have been here and it would be one of the last places I would suspect other rebels to hide. It is simply too small to be an effective headquarters for us.

There was an instance where I accidentally ran into a group of Tirewind soldiers. I was going back to the hotel slightly drunk as I needed a drink to get through my anxious day. When they stopped me, I almost threw up due to stress. They asked me what I was doing at such a late hour. I simply told them I was at the bar and doing nothing else. There was a moment when it became clear that they didn’t believe me, and I almost fainted because of it. Finally, they revealed that they were only pretending to be suspicious and laughed. I hadn’t felt more relieved after in years.

However, not everything in my life has been so miserable as there was one merchant that I was able to talk to who also agreed with me in disliking the invaders. He told me that he remembers the days back when we were free and yearns for those days. As we talked, it was the first time I had felt any hope in years, and I asked him if he could, would he join the rebels. He said he would.

Sincerely,

Your Beloved Brother, Sam Cryfall

07/17/1231

To My Dearest Brother Eric Cryfall,

After months of misery, I believe that I was able to find someone in the town who could help the rebels. The merchant that I spoke to you about earlier has agreed to help me and the other rebels by not only giving us money but also giving us a place to hide in a warehouse that he owned outside of town.

As for good news, I am afraid that would be all of it. The number of soldiers in the town has increased. As for the reason why, I do not know, but the amount of violence in the town has only increased because of it. Tirewind soldiers are now openly looting and burning houses and farms, and there have been riots in the town because of that. Despite the increase in discontent in the town, most of the people here remain too afraid to revolt against the Tirewind army.

The Tirewind army has also been openly investigating people in the town whom they find suspicious. I was unlucky enough to have been one of them. They went to the hotel, and questioned me about what I was doing there, especially since I had stayed there for months. I went with the story that the rebels gave me, which was that I was a merchant who had fallen on hard times, and was waiting for a family member to return and help me with my business.

The soldiers then questioned me further on my story, demanding me to give them names of the relative that I was expecting. Unfortunately, the story I created with the rebels only went so far, and we didn’t come up with any names that we could tell enemy soldiers. I decided that if I was going to say a name, it would be someone unrelated to rebel activities for safety and said a name of a family friend, Tom Yourem. The thugs were satisfied and decided to leave me alone. I hadn’t felt happier to be alone in a long time.

It has been almost a year since my mission began and I am worried that the work I spent so long on would be for nothing. Me and the merchant have discussed leaving due to the increased amount of hostile security in the town. If all I have managed to do in the months I have been in this town was finding another ally, then I think that, overall, it would’ve been worthwhile.

Sincerely,

Your Beloved Brother, Sam Cryfall