Chương 77: The New Camp

Burr was a good horse, but she couldn't gallop forever. Once we'd ridden far enough south that I couldn't see Castle Urcia behind us, I slowed to a steady trot. The roads were hard to make out, but there were still a few trails of packed snow that led south, which we followed.

"Yell at me if I ride off-course, will you?" I told Anchor. He was the one with the maps.

"Will do," Anchor replied.

"You don't know your way around yet?" Sage asked. She didn't have a horse of her own yet, so she and Morph rode on the back of Brawl's horse at the moment. But we'd take turns carrying our medic.

"Alright, well, considering I've only been a couple miles' ride away from the castle on my own, I haven't exactly had time to memorize the route back to Slowbend," I said.

"But I know the general way."

"I have never been this far east, brother," Brawl said, as if to reassure me.

"It will be new to me as well."

"Nor have I," Sage added reluctantly. I wanted to ask her why she'd mentioned it in the first place then, but I kept my lips sealed.

"Then we'll follow the maps," I said.

"And we'll make it there in no time." We gave our horses a break every few hours, and we made sure that they were always well-fed. Every night, even though it was cold, we brushed them down. It wasn't as cold or snowy as the winters I was used to back on Earth, but when all we had was our coats and cloaks, the nights were rough. We slept close to the embers of the fire while one of us kept watch. On the third day of riding, Anchor heard an orc call in the distance.

I didn't catch it, nor did Brawl or Sage, but Anchor had the best perception of all of us.

"What do you say, sergeant?" Anchor asked.

"Pick up the pace for a little bit?"

"Run?" I shook my head, then glanced at the sparse forest, in the direction that he'd indicated the call came from.

"We have to deal with them before they cause problems. I'd bet they're all Irons."

"We're on a tight schedule," Anchor warned.

"We'll be quick," I replied.

"And no one is going to get hurt. Except the orcs." We took our horses off-trail, then dismounted and chased the orcs as far as we could. There were only about five of them.

"They must have gotten stranded from their raiding party," Sage whispered. In the winter, orcs had been making more and more small raids to feed themselves and maintain their armies that had crossed the Thelea river in the autumn attack. They were all scattered and spread out, and it was difficult to anticipate where they were going to attack. We'd done our best to clear them out of the nearby Labyrinths, though. I whispered, "Anchor, hang back. Pick off a couple from a distance.

Brawl and I will take the orcs that try to run. They'll scatter left and right. I'll intercept right. Brawl, you intercept left." The large Dupe nodded. Normally, I wouldn't split up with Brawl. We were far better when we fought together. But these orcs weren't strong enough to pose a massive threat, and it would be over in a blink. I nodded to Anchor. He drew back his bow and fired a shot, and it pierced through the side of an orc's head. The orcs scattered, rushing away from their dying comrade.

Brawl caught one with a swipe of his flail, and I impaled one with a lunge and a jab. Anchor shot another before it could gut Brawl with a dagger, and I used my Art on the last one, catching it in a well of enhanced gravity before it could escape. It fell face-first to the ground, arm twisting unnaturally, chin mashing into the dirt, and I pierced it through the back with a spear. That was the last of them.

"Is everyone alright?" Sage asked, letting Morph carry her forward.

"I'm good," I said, and the others replied similarly. As Sage checked them anyway, I siphoned the Presences from the fallen orcs—what we could gather. It was bad luck today, and I only got two. One belonged to Anchor and the other to Brawl.

"For you," I said, distributing the Presences. After a few more seconds, I added, "Let's get moving again. Sorry about the delay, but we couldn't just let those guys run free." We continued south, following the Urcia Road. There were a few nearby villages to rest in at night, especially when we got closer to the 294th's camp.

A big road like this had plenty of places to rest, if you could time it right between villages, but with the orc raids, people weren't inclined to stay in non-fortified villages if they had anywhere else to go. Even if they were inhabited, most were only half-full at best. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Until the fourth day, when we found a completely full village. In fact, it was overfull.

A newly-build wooden palisade surrounded it, and tents popped up outside the wall. A garrison of Dupes stood outside the gates, watching us as we rode through. People packed the streets, probably fleeing violence elsewhere, and non-Dupes wore orange gambesons and carried spears. They'd joined the city guard.

"That was abrupt," Anchor said.

"That's how you can tell the 294th is getting closer," I replied.

"They can't be that strong," Sage muttered. She and Morph were riding on my horse at the moment.

"They weren't," I said.

"But it sounds like they've started stepping up. Something about being the only front-line battalion that held in the autumn attacks must've helped their egos."

"Or they saw that victory was possible, brother," Brawl said.

"Someone showed them. This was your battalion, was it not?"

"That's correct," I replied.

"Well, whatever the reason," Anchor said, "we're in the shadow of their protection, now. There should be more scattered villages." Along with the scattered villages, there were more farmhouses and farmers remaining in the countryside, and a few travellers on the road. They all dipped their heads to us as we passed. We weren't obviously sappers yet, so to them, they were probably just honouring regular soldiers. It only took one more day of riding before we found the camp. But it was far more than just a camp, now.

Instead of a palisade wall, a new fortification made of stacked fieldstones and grout ringed the old camp. Slowbend was mostly abandoned, and its materials had been harvested to build the fort. With the new wall around the camp, there was more than enough room for the old residents of the village to create a fortified city. When we reached the gate, two Dupes waited for us out front.

"What battalion do you belong to?" one of them shouted.

"We don't recognize you!"

"You know these Dupes?" Anchor asked.

"No, I can't say I do, but it'd be hard to remember all of them," I replied. I cleared my throat, then said, "We're the squad from Castle Urcia. Lord Ceonwin sent us to assist you. We must speak with Commander Galliard." The two guards outside the gate glanced at each other. One said, "You? You're the ones they sent? We requested a squad of full sappers, not trainees."

"You're not the only battalion in need of assistance," I said.

"We're all you'll get. Now let's see the commander."

"Yes, sergeant. I will tell him you've arrived. Meet him at his tent." I nodded.

"Same place?"

"You—" The second soldier tilted his head.

"Wait, Sergeant Levi?"

"That's me," I replied.

"Are the rumours about Oschester true? Did you really kill a Black Captain?" I winced.

"I didn't think word would travel that quickly."

"Soak it in, brother," Brawl said.

"They know you across all the land! It is a sign of your great deeds!"

"I—" I sighed.

"I'm not looking to be a legend. I'm here to get things done."

"You might have to become a legend if you want to get things done," Anchor said, patting me on the shoulder.

"Come on, let's find your commander's tent, then settle down. I'm hungry, and we could use at least one night's good sleep before setting off." I grimaced and looked up at the sky. It was an overcast midwinter day, but the sun was getting low. There was no sense setting off right now. We rode into camp. Most of the Dupes still used tents, but a ring of newly-constructed longhouses surrounded the edges of the fort. Most of the villagers from Slowbend lived there.

At the moment, most of them helped keep the fires going, or were returning from the countryside with firewood. There were a few blacksmith shops now, too, and a little more open space for training—especially in the central camp clearing. As we rode through the clearing, we kept to the edges. There were about seventy-five non-Dupe men waiting in the plaza, dressed in the greens and blues of mercenary companies, and armed to the teeth with their guild weapons.

Lieutenant Finger paced in front of them, commanding, "Here, your standing does not matter. This is war, and you will obey our sergeants and lieutenants. They have more training and experience than you. On the orders of Lord Ceonwin, your guilds now defer to our authority. Disobedience will result in your immediate dismissal! Am I understood?"

"Yes, lieutenant!" the mercenaries shouted in unison.

"Proceed to the armoury and find your new livery, then."

"We're taking everyone we can, I guess," I muttered.

"We need the numbers," Anchor said.

"At least they're pulling their gaiters up and not letting the mercs walk all over us." I led them to Galliard's tent, where we dismounted and tied our horses up. I pushed open the tent's flap and ducked inside, but we had to wait a few minutes for Galliard to arrive. He and a few sergeants stepped in. As soon as he saw me, he nodded, then dismissed the sergeants.

"You?"

"We're the squad Ceonwin dispatched to help," I said.

"The Ealdorman is being quite stingy, it seems," Galliard replied.

"Apologies, Levi, I don't mean to degrade you, but we were expecting more."

"His men are tied up with other tasks. He thought, because I knew the 294th, I would be well-suited to the task." Galliard nodded hesitantly.

"Perhaps. Let's see, then. Do you think you can take out the convoy our scouts spotted?"

"I'll see it done," I said.

"Give me as many squads as you can spare, and I'll take them down for you. As long as your scouts reported the correct numbers." Considering our luck with Oschester, I didn't trust the scouts' reports entirely. We had to be ready to deal with more than we were expecting.

"I'll give you Romance's squad and two others," Galliard said.

"You leave tomorrow morning. Follow the scouts' directions, and move quickly."