Ozzy stopped himself from walking outside. It might not involve him at all. He was just a butcher selling meat. The Duchess used his shop as access to their cold storage, which was to the mutual benefit of Billy and Claudia, even if Billy didn't know all the details. A bunch of cavalry riding up at a gallop probably had nothing to do with him.

Probably...

In any case, he had meat to sell and customers to take care of. "I've got some smoked brisket here. Two days in the smoke house to get it tender. Comes from a giant weasel found down in the Bunny Barrow. Really tough until it sits in heat for a long time. I suggest wrapping the cuts in larding after you rub them with spices and cook them on low heat to finish them off. Excellent flavor."

"This over here are the breast and wing meat from giant carnivorous ostriches. The meat is firm and tasty. Cook them up like you would turkey, but give them twice as long in the oven if roasting. I like to slice them thin after some time in the oven, and fry up the slices with onions, and finally, sauté for an hour with vegetables."

"That marbled meat at the end? Well, let's just say it comes from something in the Pit of the Butcher that you never want to see. Takes a heavy cleaver to put them down, but those ten pound steaks are excellent on the grill or in the oven and will feed a whole family. That's one of the best cuts I have to offer."

"The army-dillo roasts, cutlets, and full loin pieces you can cook just like beef, but its more filling, better for you, and has a buttery taste you simply can't find elsewhere."

"Don't worry, we've got barrels of my award winning sausage. What award? That little piece of paper on the wall attests to how much the Emperor enjoyed my sausages. Need I say more?"

As he got into the role, more and more people arrived and the stacks of meat decreased. Happy customers were walking away with heavy packages, heading for home or to resupply their food stands and eateries.

"Nice job folks. Looks like I'll need to increase the frequency of shipments. Did we really sell most of that load?"

Daria and Polina laughed. "Yes, and the only reason we have sausages left is the extra ten barrels we had in back and we went through four of those. Word is increasing. We used to sell out of everything in four or five days. Now it's less than a day, and then just sausages for a week or two until the next wagon shows up. But it does give us time for a lot of other things." She patted her swollen belly and her husband blushed.

Ozzy smiled at her, "And you're conveniently close for a grandmotherly babysitter."

"Yes, the problem will be getting her back to the kitchen in time to serve dinner. I may end up spending time at home, she's worried that raising children in a butcher shop may not be the best thing for them."

"Whatever works for your family. If you need more space, we can turn the rooms behind the shop into a place for the kids. Just let me know and I'll bring a couple of friends and knock the job out in a day. I know some good carpenters, and I've got a little wood crafting experience myself. You four make the decisions, I just drop off the meat and give a little advice now and then."

The soldiers outside had brought up wagons and were loading up barrels from the storehouse, a worried looking sergeant keeping track of what they loaded. Something was bothering him, as he kept looking over his shoulder, as if he was hoping someone else would show up to help with the job. Or was he worried someone would show up? He looked out the window a few minutes later and saw that the very unhappy sergeant had just received bad news from a messenger. Ozzy couldn't decide and as the last customer walked away, he decided to find out. Wouldn't do for some group of clever thieves to steal a load of supplies under his nose.

"You're doing a great job here, keep up the good work. and I should go see if that fellow needs some advice, he looks like he's chewing twenty year old prunes." He said his goodbyes and walked outside, casually making his way to where the wagons were almost loaded. By his count they'd cleared out most of the warehouse.

Sergeant Osternhaus saw the Butcher walking toward him. He had very distinct orders about how to deal with the man: Listen to what he says, be polite, alert the authorities if he has found a threat to the city, and do not screw with his wagon. Having heard the stories of the foiled assassination attempt on the Duchess that the Butcher and Master Caldrius had stopped, he had no trouble with those orders.

He tried to keep a quaver from his voice as he addressed the Butcher. "How can I be of assistance today, citizen?"

Ozzy looked at the nervous sergeant and his men. They all looked young and had that certain aura that defined a new recruit from a seasoned veteran. Everyone was at attention, no one was relaxed, and they weren't quite sure what to do.

"Well, I was wondering that myself. Anything going on in the city I need to be aware of? Somethings got you on edge."

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Osternhaus stiffened, then forced himself to relax and above all, be polite. "Nothing really. We're heading out to take supplies to the front lines. Something big is up and the Duchess ordered us and another ten squads fresh out of training to bring all available supplies and scrape the barracks clean. I'm sure it shows. I was a jumped up corporal until last month and a private last spring in the City Guard. We thought we had an escort coming, but they're delayed by six hours, so we're leaving now."

"I take it the roads to the front are a bit perilous? That worries me. I have some letters I need to get to the Duchess and my own load of supplies to take to her. Sure would make me feel better if I could travel with you folks along the way. I'm sure the Duchess won't mind us grouping up for mutual support."

"No sir, I'm sure that's something she would be happy with."

Ozzy lit a cigar, then handed a second lit one to the new sergeant. "Well then, let's get this show on the road. Can't keep a Duchess waiting." He pulled his wagon to the front of the convoy, and then tore the lid off of a barrel. "But I've never met a soldier that wasn't hungry, grab a few of these links for lunch, and stuff more in your pockets. They'll be good for a few weeks in the cold air and keep you moving in a fight."

Chewing their lunch, they followed the Butcher and his wagon as he casually walked through the streets of Wolfsburg, pulling a load their wagons needed four horses each to move. As they approached the nearest teleporter, they saw a wagon similar to the Butcher's coming from a side street. It was being pulled by two men, dressed in peasants garb, with two women sitting casually on the driver's seat. One took their breath away as she smiled at them with twinkling eyes. She waved to the Butcher who seemed confused. And if she was a thing of beauty, it only made the cackling hag sitting next her look worse.

Ozzy looked at the wagon piled high with boxes, packages, bags of beans, coffee and sugar. All of them were marked with a familiar logo. His girl had went shopping and taking along Titania had probably made things worse. That seemed to be the old witch's specialty. He wasn't sure if the kitchen could hold a load like that. But he wasn't one to complain about better food and shiny copper kettles to cook it it. He was eating more and more these days.

"Ozzy, you should see the specials they had today! It was amazing!"

Titania let loose with a screeching laugh like the devil dragging a lost soul down to hell. "You should have seen those old biddies running around. First they formed a circle in case I challenged them to a duel, then this pretty thing mentioned her Gold Tier bank account and things got all hunky dory and the sale signs went up. I always wondered what happened to...well, not a story for here and now. But we shopped the heck out of the town. I even found a new cauldron!"

Suzette noticed the soldiers behind Ozzy, "Why do you have all those cute young men following you around like ducklings behind their mama? Are they coming to Sedgewick or Rowan?"

Ozzy looked back at the soldiers, then exhaled. He knew without a doubt what was happening next. "No, I have to take a load of supplies to the Duchess, and it's a perilous journey. Winter has patrols out everywhere. They're my escort. Might be late for dinner."

Suzette looked at Ernest and Bertrand, the two workers pulling her wagon, "I don't want to drag you two into a bad situation. Do you mind taking this wagon back to Sedgewick?"

Bertrand looked at his best friend. "She's going on a friendship adventure, Bertrand."

"So she is, Ernest. Boy, I'd love to go on an adventure and make new friends."

"But are we prepared for that, Bertrand."

"Well, I do have my paperclip collection with me."

"And I never leave home without my Rubber Ducky."

"Miss Suzette, if it's ok with you, we'd love to come along and make new friends."

The barmaid clapped, "Isn't this great, Ozzy. We can all go on an adventure together."

Ozzy looked over at the Sergeant, "Mind a few more coming along?"

"Ah, no sir, not at all. But, one question, is she the Mayor of Sedgewick?"

"Yep, let me introduce you two. Suzy, this is Sergeant Osternhaus. Sergeant, this is Suzette, Mayor of Sedgewick and proprietor of the Lonely Lass tavern. That's our friends Titania, Bertrand, and Ernest." All three waved at him.

"Very good, sir. We'll follow your lead and are happy to have them along." Especially since the Duchess had also given orders to anyone of his rank or above on how to properly act around the little Mayor who had humbled the Emperor. As for Titania, he'd seen old wanted posters with her face on them, and as a young child been told to eat his greens or the old witch would chew off his toes. Looking at her, he believed that more now than he had then. But she was with the Butcher, and his orders overrode an old wanted poster.

He was feeling a lot better about taking a load of supplies through an area where Winter raiders were lurking around.