East of the River: Home of the Sun Clan sample (Act I) -- T. P. M. Thorne

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“I’ve… made a decision,” Sun Jian said as Sun Ce returned and took a casual seat near the entrance to the sleeping quarters. “I… have decided to-”
“Oh, Husband, no,” Lady Wu scoffed. “You signed up, didn’t you, to fight those cultists… so how many is it, then, exactly…? I have heard that there are thousands of them, maybe as many as a million; how do you intend to face them alone this time…?”
“No, no!” Sun Jian insisted. “I’ve actually put a militia together this time.”
“Well that’s something, I suppose,” Lady Wu grumbled as she wiped the baby boy’s face; the oblivious child laughed happily.
“Can I go and fight…?” Sun Ce asked eagerly.
“You’re nine!” Lady Wu scolded. “Save that nonsense for when you’re at least five years older! Who’s supposed to keep things here…?”
Sun Jian frowned and said, “Your brother-”
“No, he can go with you,” Lady Wu insisted. “If nothing else, he’s level-headed… he’ll maybe stop you from doing something reckless.”
Sun Ce laughed involuntarily, while his father was suitably awkward.
“This ‘militia’… how big is it?” Lady Wu prompted.
Sun Jian smiled sheepishly and said, “I promise, it’s a few hundred already; I’ve met four men, four really good, decent, honest, courageous men that have really helped me inspire people to-”
“Abandon their families and go off on some mad, suicidal mission to kill a load of heretics,” Lady Wu interrupted. “Why under Heaven is this not being done by the army…? Why do they need bands of ordinary men like you?”
“I’m not ordinary,” Sun Jian said with sudden seriousness.
“…Sorry,” Lady Wu sighed sadly. “I… I did not mean to belittle you; it’s just that I worry, for us all. We’re not wealthy… we can’t afford any more trouble.”
“To answer your question, the army is underfunded and inadequate… a sad sign of how bad things have got,” Sun Jian lamented.

“This whole region- nay, the whole country is badly run, and if I’m honest, I’m surprised that we haven’t seen something like this sooner… I’m doing this to stop it now before it spreads to the south and endangers us. Anyhow… the fact that I even had to go it alone against those pirates says enough about the state of things for some years, now… there were no soldiers for the people to ask help from then, either.”
“No… only good people, like you,” Lady Wu said soberly. After a pause, she smiled and added, “You’re far from ordinary, Husband. You’re quite amazing, in fact, and I’m sure that you probably could defeat them all on your own.”
“That’s right, he could!” Sun Ce proclaimed. “You’ll get them all, Father! One day, I’m gonna be brave and strong, like you, and get them old pirates!”
“Listen to him,” Lady Wu snickered. “Another one looking for a hero’s early grave, and he isn’t even ten.”
Sun Jian was morbidly silent.
“…Sorry,” Lady Wu said quietly. “How long do you think you’ll be away, you and your new friends…?”
“A few months, now that I come to think about it,” Sun Jian replied miserably. “Are you sure that your brother shouldn’t-”
“I said that he should go, and I think that he should; we’ve all got to do what we can against these dangerous heretics, right…?” Lady Wu suggested. “Off you go, then, Husband.”
“I’m not going yet!” Sun Jian chortled. “No, we set out in a few days; tonight, I must gather a few things… but in all, we’re going to need supplies, weapons, armour-”

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