Needed more action.
She took the time to explain the problem to the minister that the others had decided to more or less be in charge. ‘Minister’ was a weird word: it turned out that there were apparently at least three different versions of Christianity, which surprised Liz’a a bit. And worried her, too: how was she supposed to know which church she needed to join? — Anyway, this minister seemed sensible, considering. Maybe he’d understand the problem.
“Look, Father,” Liz’a said, ignoring the slight wince on the other man’s face, “we’re not safe. We’re just not being hunted by the Legion right now. There are other things on the field here tonight besides my side’s patrols, and yours.”
“Do you mean beasts, my chi… Centurion?” replied the minister. “I would have thought that the larger animals would have been frightened away by our armies. And the smaller ones would be no threat to us.”
Liz’a nodded. “Regular animals, yes. But the mages release some very nasty creatures sometimes, just in case somebody’s trying to desert. Maybe one is out there tonight. Maybe one isn’t. But we can’t just run for it and hope for the best.”
“I understand,” said the minister. “But how do your mages control these beasts? What stops them from attacking your patrols?”
“Nothing,” said Liz’a, bleakly. “And they’re not my mages. They think we belong to them.”