Darsumi used every connection he had in the city to gather information on the current movements and actions of the authorities, but the Adventurer's Guild and the Royal Palace heavily regulated the flow of information. The only thing he learned was what had happened during the festival and the subsequent aftermath. Needless to say, Dar was shaken by the extent of the damage caused by the Hounds. The central area was blocked off, and repairs were already underway, so he didn’t bother trying to get in for more information. On his way back to the tavern, another thought nagged at him.
“I feel like I forgot to mention something to Bones…but for the life of me, I can’t remember what! It’s on the tip of my tongue…”
Dar returned to the tavern a few hours after Bones had left and found everyone already up and about, eager to hear what news he would bring. Dar relayed everything he had learned about the previous day’s events, and he saw the same look of shock on everyone’s faces. He also mentioned that, due to the city’s lockdown, they couldn’t return to Stonefalls for the time being. The others didn’t make a fuss, having expected bad news, but Dar vowed he would soon find a way to circumvent the security.
While the dwarves were prevented from leaving the city, they were not barred from leaving the tavern. After Dar finished, everyone except Hem headed outside to tend to their own matters. Once they were gone, Dar turned to Hem and asked him what was on his mind.
"On my mind?" Hem questioned, his bushy eyebrow raised. "That’s what I should be askin’ ye! Ye been frownin’ ever since ye got back!"
"You noticed, huh? I keep having this nagging feeling that I forgot to mention something important to Bones about the Desolate Lands…"
"Well, let’s see… ye told ‘im how awesome Gobrick is, what places he should visit, explained what the Desolate Lands are, mentioned the Rift, and that he should watch out fer the Divine Order!" Hem quickly listed everything they discussed.
"The Divine Order?" Dar repeated, frowning deeper. "Did I really mention the Divine Order to Bones?" Hem thought long and hard before shaking his head, saying he didn’t remember Dar mentioning the Order.
"I forgot about the Divine Order!" Dar exclaimed. Hem took a step back in surprise and chuckled. "Ye gettin’ senile, ye ol’ bat!"
cough "No joke, Hem!" Dar said, but Hem assured him that Bones would be able to handle it. Besides, who knows when, or if, Bones would even decide to go to the Desolate Lands. There were other rifts he could use to enter the Nether Realm. Dar calmed down after Hem made a valid point and nodded.
"You’re right. No point stressing about it now. We have our own matters to worry about, and Bones is no longer our concern!"
Hem tilted his head and said he wouldn’t put it quite that way, but agreed with Dar. There was the matter of selling and trading stolen goods, finding a way home, and running the shop.
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The wagon heading for the frontlines stopped at the garrison as scheduled and picked up four more men who reluctantly volunteered to contribute to the war effort. The wagon was now full, with the prisoners sitting side by side, barely any room to spare. Their next stop was the military camp.
Bones kept a low profile in his small corner of the wagon, relying on his senses to get a feel for the people he was traveling with. Some seemed to know each other, while others minded their own business and tried not to draw attention. The most noticeable thing to Bones was the level of everyone in the wagon. He was among the lowest level, with only one young man being lower than him at level twenty-six. Bones used Soul Link to probe where he could and sensed that everyone was sizing each other up, though most of the attention was focused on the young man. The two highest levels among the prisoners stuck together, and Bones sensed their gears turning as they contemplated how and when to attempt an escape.
It was a futile effort, in his opinion, as the wagon’s escort, while only three men, were all higher level than any of the prisoners. At the front was a soldier in heavy armor at level forty-one, while behind the wagon were two soldiers, lightly dressed. They seemed relaxed and chatted as they traveled, but Bones could tell these two were more dangerous than the soldier at the front. Their levels were forty-four and forty-five.
The two highest-level prisoners weren't deterred by the escort’s superior levels. In hushed voices, they planned their course of action. However, a few hours later, they realized they couldn’t remove their shackles and quietly sat down for the remainder of the journey.
By sunset, they could see a fence made of wooden spikes pointing outwards, encircling the camp. The prisoners couldn’t see the camp itself, but the commotion and the unmistakable smell indicated they had reached their destination.
Five minutes later, the wagon stopped at the gates, where the prisoners were taken out and lined up. They were instructed not to move and to await further orders. Soon, a man in formal military attire appeared with a stack of papers in his hands.
Everyone could see that the man they soon learned was the commander didn’t give a rat’s ass about the prisoners. He met them out of obligation, then left shortly after, giving orders and handing a stack of papers to his subordinate. An officer approached the lineup, papers in hand, and inspected each of the prisoners. He paused briefly by Bones, glancing at the worn robe and hood covering his head. The officer scoffed, nodded, and continued issuing orders to the soldiers.
Bones half-expected to be forced to remove his hood, but fortunately, the officer was the same person Darsumi had bribed, along with the coachman.
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The soldiers split the prisoners into two groups, placing Bones and the young man together with the two would-be escapees, Muck and Tate. Bones found the group arrangement odd. Sensing the ill-advised intentions of the other two members of his group, he came to a realization.
If I’m not mistaken, the young lad and I are meant to serve as experience boosts for the aspiring high-levels. Freebies…
Bones exhaled in annoyance. However, after some thought, he reconsidered the situation. From the commander’s perspective, he probably deemed the level twenty-six and thirty-two prisoners as unworthy of further attention and decided to give the two highest levels among them a fighting chance to prove themselves.
Well, now that I know where I stand on the battlefield, it’ll be easier to decide what to do and how to go about it.
Bones glanced at the young man and saw a panicked expression quickly turning to desperation. The young man seemed to realize he would soon be fighting not just against enemies, but against his own party members. He glanced back at Bones, but Bones looked away.
Sorry, lad. I’m not here to save people…
After completing the delivery of fresh recruits, Bones’ transport turned and left the way it came. The camp gates opened, and soldiers led the two groups inside in single file. Bones noticed that they weren’t the only group of prisoners arriving that day. Five groups of five men each were already lined up in front of a large tent.
Bones felt the ambient mana shift slightly as more than twenty-five people, including soldiers, turned to them and used Identify on the newcomers simultaneously. Their attention then focused on Bones, who couldn’t be easily identified.
"Attention, everyone!" a man shouted as he stepped out of the tent, directing everyone’s attention to himself. He turned to the newcomers and nodded to the soldiers escorting them. The soldier nudged the first prisoner to step forward and stand in line, and the others followed. Once everyone was properly lined up, the man introduced himself as Lieutenant Stelan Gloomforce. He explained that he was in charge of the south camp and mentioned that there were multiple camps.
"You’re here because of an opportunity that has presented itself to you, whether voluntarily or involuntarily. Your duties will be to the kingdom, and depending on your contribution to the war, your sentence may be reduced or even entirely removed. Many of you would not see the light of day otherwise, so don't squander this chance!"
"Each of you is grouped into a party of five, give or take. Take a good look at your party members because they will be the line that separates you from going back home in a wagon or in a body bag!"
Everyone glanced at the person next to them, and murmurs began to circulate. One man stepped out of line and voiced his disagreement with his party members. Bones glanced at his own group and identified his fellow members. They were all low level, like him, so he could understand the man's frustration. However, Lieutenant Gloomforce was adamant that group changes were not allowed, and his word was final.
Stelan continued the briefing and reassured everyone that they were not expected to go to the frontlines unless absolutely necessary or by choice. Many prisoners were relieved to hear that their duties would primarily involve mundane but necessary tasks around the camp. These included washing clothes, helping with cooking, cleaning, repairing weapons and armor, and patrolling the camp's surroundings.
After the briefing, each group was assigned a tent and given their first task. Bones sat on a tree trunk chair outside his tent, observing as everyone indulged in their food. Their initial assignment was to patrol the nearby woods for any signs of the enemy. Essentially, if they encountered enemy forces, their dying screams would alert the soldiers back at the camp.
The shabby armor and weapons they were issued would do more harm than good against properly equipped soldiers. However, Bones saw this assignment as a perfect opportunity to distance himself from the camp and fight the war at his own pace, without a lieutenant or commander breathing down his neck.
Bones learned that there were three army camps on the battlefield. The one they were in was the smallest of the three, located south of the fortress and near the swamps and marshes. It was intended for low-level soldiers. The camp between the fortress and the south camp was the largest, housing the main army and the majority of adventurers. The north camp, while larger than the south camp, had fewer occupants. This camp was situated between the fortress and the mines and was manned by gold rankers.
Bones' position as a prisoner in the camp was precarious. It wasn’t just that the soldiers in the south camp were higher level than the prisoners; it was that soldiers, regardless of their level, were valued more than prisoners. Prisoners were considered cannon fodder, and while it seemed they might be kept out of harm's way, Bones had heard that situations deemed "absolutely necessary" occurred frequently, forcing prisoners to engage the enemy. Additionally, there was the matter of culling the weak.
He noticed that higher-level prisoners were grouped with lower levels, and it wasn’t to balance power within the groups. Bones harbored a suspicion that all the groups would soon be assigned patrol duties over the next few days, and the surviving prisoners would be consolidated into a single unit ready to fight the war.
Bones’ otherwise peaceful evening was disrupted when three soldiers approached his tent. They were a textbook example of the haughtiness that often came with their occupation, and the soldier at the front of the trio was particularly full of himself.
"You there. You came from the capital?" The man’s voice was flat and youthful, coming from beneath his helmet.
"You hear me, prisoner? I asked you a question!" The young soldier's tone grew sharper. Bones tilted his head slightly toward the man but kept his face hidden.
"Aye, my ears aren’t what they used to be... Yes, I came from the capital," Bones replied.
The soldiers exchanged glances, and the young soldier asked, in the same emotionless tone, "What happened during the festival?"
Ah, I see... Bones glanced around and noticed other prisoners animatedly discussing the same topic with the soldiers, using hand gestures and grand motions to convey their stories.
"The opening ceremony was interrupted by an attack on the main square," Bones said, noting the soldier lifting the visor on his helmet to reveal a boyish face.
"Did you see the attack? Who attacked? Were there any casualties? How many people died?"
"Sorry, lad, I was too far from the central area…" Bones responded, puzzled about why they thought he’d have any relevant information, given his prisoner status.
"Ah…right." The soldier seemed to realize he was questioning a prisoner about an event he was unlikely to have witnessed. Bones watched them leave in silence.
An hour later, Lieutenant Stelan approached the tent with Muck and Tate in tow. Bones recognized this as the signal for his first and possibly last assignment.