Drake looked up at Kami’s great Lantern in the sky, an imitation, Darke thought, of the sun that was in his own territory. Although bright and hot like the sun Drake remembered, this lantern was small and close to the land, as if a person could almost reach up and grab it from the tops of the highest buildings in the endless city. Additionally, the lantern moved across the sky like the sun, but where it went to each night Drake could not even guess for it certainly did not set down over the horizon. Drake knew this could not happen because there was no horizon as Drake understood it to be.
Drake and the company of men he was with were positioned out on the furthest edge of the land Kami still held as his territory and like the harsh line of an impassable river, the light the lantern provided did not show on the the dirt the enemy technically held only paces away from where Drake stood on the far southern perimeter.
Drake had been in stationed in the area of the Frontline along with all the other recruits from the wilderness after they left the dark catacombs of The Endless City. Although Drake had been told many times that Kami did not shed his light on the enemy land and could see it from afar at the encampment, this was the first time in the three months he was this close to the exact edge of it and Drake couldn’t understand how it could be true. Drake’s curiosity had gotten the better of him and he had taken an impromptu hike to this spot after his work ended. He stared numbly at the dark hollow trees, ferns, and grasses on the other side and shook his head continually.
“The miracles of Kami.” Ashton commented dryly, behind Drake. He was not as shocked as Drake and Ashton continued passively, “considering all the other things he does, why does this one bother you so much?”
“The light just ends!” Drake said angrily. “How can that be? It doesn’t make any sense, I don’t understand! Does our enemy just carry a bunch of torches with them when they come up?”
Ashton sighed and rolled his eyes. He said, “My homeland doesn’t have any light at all.”
Drake snarled unreasonably, “That doesn’t make any sense either. Kami-sama, I hate this kind of sorcery.”
Drake stepped forward some, right up to the edge and brought his hand out to pass over the barrier. He hesitated for a moment as if a beast would suddenly jump out at him once he breached it, but then firmly stuck his hand through. He watched in fascination as a black shadow appeared on the arm he put out. He rotated it, then pulled his hand back, shaking his head again.
Ashton looked around with a frown on his face, searching for potential intruders. After a few moments of letting Drake sate his curiosity he said, “We should head back Drake. It took us an hour to get here, another hour to return. We will have only lost not only our meal but our own time to sleep, you know.”
Drake snorted. “I made Heath promise to save some food for us.” He said, turning back toward Ashton with an evil smile. “He wouldn’t dare cross me, our only problem is if he gets caught…”
“Not unlikely to happen,” Ashton replied picking up Drake’s pack and giving it to him. “I won’t bet on a full belly tonight. I hope satisfying your curiosity will be sufficient for you, I know how grumpy you get when you miss a meal.”
“I did not make you come,” Drake grumbled, putting his pack on his and picking up his spear he had leaned against a tree. With a nod they started their march back to camp.
Drake and Ashton, along with the rest of his squad from the floor, had been positioned on the furthest edge of Kami’s territory, far away from the secure forts and central administration of the Frontline and the central hill. They inhabited the dark woodlands straight southwest from the gate, on the border of the plains, the forest, and the enemy. There, the Lantern of Kami was the dimmest and the bread of Kami took the longest to arrive. Nestled into the side of a hill and surrounded by mournful trees, Drake was sure that he was part of the least valuable and least maintained stronghold in Kami’s territory. Nevertheless, the fighting Drake and Ashton already experienced here was fierce.
When Drake and the rest of the scouting legion first arrived three months ago, fresh from the training catacombs, none of the troops were experienced in battle outside of training, none had killed before, and none were equipped to handle major incursions with the enemy. As part of the Defensive Mandate, the forces of Kami had spread their troops to fill in every corner of their territory, including this forsaken plot of land. When the scouting legion arrived, led by their passionate Lieutenant Dravis, they had to hastily put together the fort they now inhabited.
From the tactical standpoint, the new tiny fort was supposed to be a mere lookout post there to gather news and transmit information to headquarters via the lone spell caster, Horace, they had with them. For all practical purposes, actual clashes with the enemy were meant to be avoided; Drake understood that as did the lone magician Horace they had with them. But their commander, Lieutenant Dravis, felt otherwise. To Drake’s endless frustration, even with only the small contingent of scout class soldiers under his command, when the enemy approached Kami’s borders, Lieutenant Dravis directly opposed the entrance of any enemy troops within his jurisdiction, regardless of what type of enemy advanced on them.
Under the enthusiastic Dravis’s command the five hundred men that composed the legion fought with a heart that could only derive from absolute belief in the power and salvation of their god. It amazed Drake to see the men’s spirit and stubbornness in the battles they had had so far. The soldiers scrapped for every inch of territory they were designated to defend as if every step on it by the enemy was a blasphemous outrage only repaired by rivers of blood.
Drake and Ashton understood, though, that this speck of territory was the least concern of the god that dwelled in the city, so many miles away. Those two fought instead for their own lives, and the lives of their friends who had been put into the same scouting legion as them. Of the 500 men that were there, the majority were men who had been on the same training floor as them and had come from the same floor as them.
Drake remembered clearly the first time they had the enemy invaded their land. They had been spotted in the territory only a week after the men arrived and before their fort was even completed. Drake witnessed directly the words and action of Dravis at that time. Upon hearing the news, Dravis had issued out the entirety of his forces to meet them directly in battle, disregarding common sense, the battle tactics given to him by his commander at Central, his own life, and the furious cries of his spellcaster who vainly screamed to the lieutenant that such actions were foolish and downright insane.
Dravis’s words were clear though, “By the Staff of Kami, Horace, the battlefield is not the place for cowards! We have been purposed by Kami on High to defend and keep his territory; I cannot look away as the barbarian scum defile our land with their filthy footsteps!”
The priest, Horace, had screamed back in frustration and fear. “It is not our job to engage the enemy!” he had pleaded. “We are a mere scouting legion not equipped for this kind of work. We are here to spy and report, not fight! Do you even listen to your orders given to you by your own commander? How are we supposed to handle that kind of enemy force? We are not equipped to handle this, we will all certainly be killed! We need to scatter and let this force pass so that our rearguard can handle it, people who are there to actually fight the enemy! This is our job!”
“You sent the report to Central I had asked you to, already, correct?” Dravis had asked, looking out over his region from the wall of his partially constructed wooden fort.
“Yes!” Horace had replied emphatically.
The lieutenant then countered, “Then we have done only the least of our duties. We have a higher cause to consider, we need to teach the barbarians that even one foot in our territory will mean the end to their abominable lives!”
Horace almost cried; a sight that many of the men enjoyed seeing. With a charismatic attitude, the lieutenant led the men himself, putting his own life on the line for his principles. He believed that men could accomplish greatness with the power of Kami behind them. Drake believed that man was going to get them all killed.
During the fight that ensued, Dravis had led his men bravely. That skirmish was the first time that Drake had killed a man, the fallen soldier screaming in agony and curses as Drake split open his side with a face of white, but it was not the last time Drake thought he was going to die. What began as harassment and guerrilla tactics against the well-armed enemy soon turned into a fierce battle for survival. Eventually, most of Dravis’s men were encircled and grouped together by a well trained and eager enemy. At that moment, Drake felt that he would die at the end of the many and deadly glittering spears aimed at him and his companions.
The cloaked and shrewd Horace with them wove desperately what magic he could to protect them, but Drake could tell there was little he could accomplish. Horace had raved wildly, cursing the lieutenant in, “Damn you Dravis! Your foolishness has gotten us all killed, where is your eternal glory now?!”
But the lieutenant had merely smiled and held fast with his men, tightening their circle. Drake hardened his heart against him, but Dravis was much cleverer than either Drake or the Horace had given him credit for.
Before the enemy could close in for the final strike, there was a loud blow of a horn near them and a mounted legion had come charging in, brandishing their swords and lances in a glorious rescue, breaking the enemy line. Soon after, an armored battalion came up as well and together, those two units pushed back the snarling enemy and slew all that came into reach of their cold swords and spears. The scouting legion looked on in wonder to see the hope of life returned. Dravis stood proudly before his men, watching the last ranks of the enemy fall back into their own dark territory. The reinforcements had been planned; he had called for them immediately when he heard that the enemy troops had come. Apparently, he had set out only to delay the enemy until they arrived.
Dravis had called out to his men afterwards, “See what we can accomplish?! We, the lowest rank of soldiers in the far out reaches of Kami’s hand? It was said that we should hide from the fight, but look at what we have accomplished! The hand of Kami is great, so great that even the smallest people can make a difference in the fight. Kami has given us the opportunity to fight for him, do not hesitate when he is with you! For there is power, and honor, and glory, and victory for those who trust in Kami and fulfill his Will!”
After that first battle Dravis had come up to Drake and Ashton as they rested, sitting down on the gnarled land that had housed the battle. The men were exhausted, but excited; the lieutenant was vibrant with energy. “Good work!” he had called out joyfully, looking down at them. “The last of the enemy is getting cleaned up as we speak. Praise be to Kami for the strength in our arms! We will be rewarded for our deeds.”
Drake had responded angrily, panting, “You couldn’t have told us you had called for reinforcements? I thought we were done for!” Ashton said nothing, still recovering his strength.
“You should have had more faith in me,” the lieutenant had said with a light sparkle in his eyes and hitting his chest with his hand. “I am not as crazy as our esteemed spell caster would have you believe. Besides, he was the one who sent the message for me, but that did not stop him from losing faith, the coward.”
Drake only shook his head and rested on the ground along with the rest of the men. They had miraculously suffered few casualties, and none from Drake’s close friends. The scouting class of soldiers were light and quick; the agility let them buy time for the reinforcements to come and to stave off the enemy attacks. Despite all of Drake’s misgivings, it was true that Dravis’s goals were being accomplished.
Since then, there have been multiple incursions with the enemy, and they fought them with similar heart. As always, Dravis refused to let the enemy travel unhindered through his territory despite the counsel of his peers and the magicians.
“Only an order from my commanding officer will make me change!” He had once said boldly during a regional meeting via magic. The other lieutenants looked at him gravely, but his commanding officer didn’t say a word. Grudgingly, Drake admired how straightforward and persistent the man was, as well as his unmovable faith in the salvation of Kami. Drake was not surprised to see that the men followed Dravis wholeheartedly; he seemed like a man filled with the sacred spirit of Kami. He was a like prophet among the plebeians. Drake supposed that if he had the same faith in Kami’s salvation as they all did, he too, would be spirited to work above and beyond the limits of a scouting legion. But Drake knew that this behavior was exactly what the indoctrination was design to create. As it was, he felt the lieutenant would still get them all killed soon.
Ashton took the events better than Drake and shrugged it off. “For now,” he had said. “The only thing we can do is put in our best effort to keep ourselves and our squad alive. There is no changing our commander’s mind.”
And so, the time went by on active positions on the far side of the Frontline. The attacks increased in power and persistence and there was little time for rest. They had almost been overrun not a few times and had narrow escapes. Drake suspected the rest of the frontline was feeling pressure as well but no news reached them on the edge. The reinforcements that came up during the battles came later each occurrence and with less intensity and, from Drake’s point of view, it was only a matter of time before they would lose this particular region to the enemy. The enemy was relentless but, according to Dravis, they would only gain the territory over the dead bodies of the entire scouting legion. Drake wondered if he would ever get out of there.
Dravis had promoted Drake to squad leader after the second battle and Drake had balked at the idea. “Me, as squad leader?” he protested. “There are many other better qualified men than me. Hourbour would make a better leader than me, he has the heart and the faith to-.”
Darvis had interrupted him cheerfully, “Certainly Hourbour is a good man. He is passionate, trustworthy, and honest. All the men here are great Drake, but I need something different than that, something that you have.” Drake didn’t understand. “I need someone who can rationally act in tough situations, and not just act blindly on faith.”
“But that is exactly what you do!” Drake responded crossly, forgetting to be respectful.
The man laughed it off. “I’m more than just that Drake.” He said easily, tapping the side of his head with a smile, “I have a brain as well, but I just disguise it better than most. You should learn to disguise yours too if you don’t want people to know you have one.” For Drake, Dravis was a difficult man to understand.
As Drake and Ashton marched back to camp, they met several of their own sentries, each calling out to Drake respectively as he and Ashton passed by. Drake waved back good naturedly, feeling somehow at home here. Inside of him a small part detested that feeling.
When the duo arrived back at camp, the Great Lantern had passed completely and night had come upon them. They passed quickly to their own quarters that houses their squad of men. Drake looked up at the wooden plaque hung over the doorframe of the barracks and smiled tightly at the sight. He had made it himself and on it he had written the foreign words from the training level, to struggle with fate.
When Drake and Ashton entered Horebore looked up from his laying position on his bed. He asked with a frown, “Where have you two been? You have missed the meal, we were worried about you. I had to lead the men in prayer in your place, Drake.”
“I am sure you did a great job,” Drake replied easily, feeling tired as he put down his pack next to his bed. The one great drawback to being a squad leader was the expectation that he lead the prayers that occurred before the meals. Drake hated it, and skirted that responsibility whenever he could.
Horebour grunted, pleased at the compliment, but Vanyor piped in. “But where were you?”
“We did some reconnaissance,” Ashton lied easily. “Drake had a feeling about the southern edge, so we went to investigate. We found nothing suspicious though.”
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“I admire the dedication,” Horebore said, sitting up, “But couldn’t you have just sent a team to investigate for you?”
“That would have defeated the purpose,” Drake mumbled softly to himself. He took off his armor with gusto. He then added loudly, “I couldn’t send people away just for my hunch. And as it turned out I was wrong, so I am glad we did it ourselves.”
“Was it worth the loss of our meals?” Ashton replied pointedly, taking off his own armor as well.
Drake glanced over at Heath brightly, sitting on his own bed a little ways away. “Not if our operation went as planned!”
Heath replied back with a smile and a thumbs up, a sign he learned from Drake. He said energetically, “The mission was a great success! Full reserves have been kept with me as planned.” he reached across towards his luggage and retrieved a bulging bag.
“The spoils of war!” Drake laughed eagerly, bounding over to Heath and rubbing the kid’s head. He reached out to the food.
“You stole from Kami’s table!?” Vanyor said, crossly. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”
“Don’t be like that, Vanyor.” Drake replied, his mouth full. “We were doing the work of Kami, how can this be wrong?” Ashton snorted but didn’t say anything. He, too, came over and grabbed some dried fruit. Horeboure laughed at them.
Soon, the food was eaten and Vanyor was persuaded to silence. It was already past the time of sleep accounted for for the squad so they quickly all laid down to get what rest they could. Oftentimes, the enemy attacks came at night, so they gear was kep close by them if needed. It was quiet in the camp.
On this night, after darkness had fully settled across the territory, the enemy came in again. They were spotted almost immediately by the skillful eyes of the scouts and was quickly reported to the lieutenant at camp. When the news came, a loud horn was sounded, waking the men who were asleep and announcing the need to prepare for war. Drake was used to this but cursed the enemy that they should choose this night, a night he was already without much rest. Once heard, the men prepared themselves itself for battle with eagerness, even before the lieutenant gave the order to. They had gone through the motions enough to know and had won every time.
As his squad readied, Drake split off and headed directly toward Dravis’s office, along with the other squad leaders. There, they would hear the reports from the scouts, formulate a plan, and then execute Dravis’s orders. Drake feared for what the scouts would bear tonight and he was not disappointed. Despite Drake’s opinions on the matters, plans were made and orders were given. The squad leaders headed out, but Drake remained behind.
“This is crazy, Lieutenant,” Drake practically shouted at the painfully cheerful Dravis across the short makeshift table from him. Dravis once again made Drake realise that, besides the intense skirmishes they had been forced to participate in, Drake fiercest fights were with mad officers who composed Kami-sama’s glorious army. The lieutenant he was talking to frowned back at Drake and continued to attach his chest armor to himself without pause.
The two of them were now alone inside the small room that served as the main office of the lieutenant’s regiment. The others had left without a complaint but Drake alone couldn’t leave without at least a word of protest. These orders were beyond Drake’s tolerance.
Lieutenant Dravis sighed and looked back at Drake. “Why am I not surprised that you remain to question me?”
“It’s your fault for promoting me to squad leader!” Drake bit back. “If you want me to be quiet, then dismiss me from the rank!”
Dravis smiled slyly at Drake. “No, I will not do that. You are too valuable to not use you, despite your irritating attitude.”
Drake straightened up and glared at the man. He said sweetly, “It’s my duty to inform you that your strategy is flawed.”
“It’s worked every other time.” Dravis replied casually, tightening the straps on his breastplate.
“We can keep doing this forever!” Drake finally burst. “The enemy attacks have been getting more intense every time, eventually we will be overrun! We need to retreat back while we can! Even our esteemed priest, Horace, agrees with me this time!”
Dravis looked up sharply at Horace’s name and he spoke, “I’d say that this time, it is you who are agreeing with that priest.”
Drake replied indignantly, “Sir!”
But Dravis waved off Drake’s concern and started strapping on his arm guards in silence. After a moment, he spoke, “Are you a prophet, Drake?”
Drake was caught off guard by the question. “I... what? No, I’m not a prophet.”
“Then how can you know, Drake, that we will fail here? There are none who know the future here, only Kami-sama sees all.” Dravis paused and gave Drake his full attention. “We have been given responsibility to protect this holy land, it’s not something we can run away from.”
“We are a scouting legion!” Drake protested. “We are not supposed to be fighting anything.”
Dravis scowled, and then continued to fasten his armor on, “Now you really are sounding like our esteemed priest, Horace. He’s given me that line so many times, I’ve lost count. Listen Drake, and have some faith! We’ve been outnumbered from the start, is today really any different? It is Kami-sama’s strength we have relied on, not our own. He will not fail us, not this time and not any time in the future! I may not be a prophet either, but that is something I now that we can count on! Come on now Drake, the enemy is fast approaching, if the reports can be believed.”
The man had finished putting his battle gear on and grabbing his sword; he left the bare office with a smile at Drake and went to go find Horace to make his report to Central with him. Drake was left fuming but there was nothing he could do. From the beginning, it had been impossible to deter the lieutenant from his plans. Drake went out and joined the rest of the company.
Hourbour was bruised and had a large scrape on his side that was still healing from the previous battle, but he took up arms enthusiastically despite the wounds. He had taken on the role of spiritual guider since the company had left the training floor and the care of Hairly. “Once again, we arm ourselves with metal and march out to meet the enemy with swords!” he said loudly to the legion that stood inside the courtyard of the fort. “But do not forget the more important protection we all must bring with us. Guard your hearts and your minds from the deceits and the shadows of the enemy!” he shouted out. “The day is Kami’s; let us fight to keep it so!”
The men shouted back with a “Hurrah!” This speech and drumming was a ritual and Drake understood the importance of getting the men fired up for the action. He participated as heartily as the others despite the growing dread in his heart.
Hourbour continued on, “We fight not for our own lives, for we have already given those to Kami. We fight on, comforted by his salvation. Do not lose hope in the faithfulness of Kami, those who die on the battlefield will be ushered into the paradise of the righteous and into the presence of the god himself! We fight to protect each other, to protect this land, and to protect the city! Rejoice! Rejoice I say, for the kingdom of Kami is at hand!”
The men cried out again and shook their spears and banged their shields inside the small fort. Other shouting could be heard above the clamor from less enlightened men.
“Let’s send those demons from whence they came!”
“Let’s slaughter the lot of them!”
“Death to all who dare tread upon the sacred ground of Kami!”
“Death to the Barbarians!”
The enemy was only leagues away to the west though; they would have to hurry if they were to meet them. The lieutenant was late and when he finally appeared, the magician was with him. The lieutenant was vibrant as always and he smiled and waved at his men like he always did. He was just a battered as the soldiers and his survival through all the intense fights had made him bigger than life. In contrast though, Horace looked exceptional pale and dead eyed, like he was heading for his grave.
The lieutenant came up and took Hourbour’s spot before the army, dismissing him to his post. One of the men shouted out, “Were you able to get the message out?”
The lieutenant winked, “as always, the guard will be coming shortly. And again, as always, we will head out and meet them first! For every footprint they dare to leave behind on Kami’s sacred land, we will cleave off a head in homage! Who’s with me?!”
They were all with him and they shouted so, shouted that they were ready to send the demons back to their dark recesses. Drake didn’t like the looks on the magician’s face though; it looked more defeated than usual. There was little time to consider it, though, and the company moved out of the fort and headed towards the predefined positions. There was careful planning for these incursions, planning that had saved the men’s lives many times already. The men trusted in their lieutenant.
The scouts had reported a relatively smaller number of units entering the territory this time, but spread further apart than usual as if to avoid a mass ambush. But this worked in favor of Kami’s forces as they were able to move quicker and surer in the woodlands and dispatch the spread-out troops in small groups at a time. Drake and Ashton held a rear position further away from the fight, but they could hear distant sporadic clashes of men and the occasional wail of death. As it was, this fight would end without the need for reinforcements, it seemed.
Drake looked up at the sky, but as always, there were no stars. The wind rustled towards them, bringing loose leaves and the sounds of battle. When the breeze died down, all turned quiet again. The night lingered on.
Ashton spoke quietly, “I don’t like this. Why did these forces spread themselves out like this? They must know that it only gives us an advantage over them, it doesn’t make sense.”
Drake shrugged, still upset and now tired and apathetic. “They must simply be trying new tactics. Last time we were able to ambush a great lot of them at once because they were too close together. This is probably an overreaction.” He ended sarcastically, “Let’s just have faith in the strength of Kami. I don’t want to care anymore.”
Ashton persisted though, and ignored Drake’s jab. “Doesn’t the lieutenant know that we are spread out now as well? More than usual at least. Our ability to communicate with each other has been compromised.”
Ashton was right on that account. The enemy had spread itself out so much that the small squads of soldiers could no longer communicate effectively. Drake tried to dismiss it though. “We’ve dealt with situations like this before. We are not much more spread out than usual. We have a plan Ashton, and it is working well so far. There haven’t been any red arrows in the sky yet, have there?”
The flaming arrows in the sky were how the non-magical units communicated with each other. Every color meant something, but the red one meant trouble. Ashton had been scanning the skies intently and could only shake his head to Drake’s question. There have been no red signals so far; in fact, there have been no signals at all.
Ashton could only mutter, “This situation is too different than usual. I don’t like it.”
Drake let the silence creep in around them. They did have a small lantern with them, but of course it was unlit. The only light they could see by was the light emanating from the city. During the day the city looked normal; if normal could be how you describe it. Even from the legion’s far away region the city stood tall and enormous. The walls rose up vertically in impenetrable, unscalable, and immeasurable heights of grey stone. It was like a fortress made of mountains. From where Drake was now, he still had to crane his neck slightly to see the fog covered tops of the wall. At least from that sight, Drake could understand why everybody believed the god who created it was invincible. Drake couldn’t understand why they even fought for this territory outside the walls when the city was so impregnable.
Drake wished he could have seen the inside of the city, but his group had issued out of the tunnel almost right at the gate. It was as if they were purposely withheld from seeing the wonders of the city and Drake felt affronted by the act. Many of the other soldiers were dismayed at not being able to behold the city as well. One of the favorite pastimes of the men was to sit around the few natives in the fort and listen to their stories and descriptions of the wondrous city. Drake was conflicted to stay and listen to the tales, he was mad at himself for even wanting to see the city.
During the day, the city stood in majesty, but at night it shown in glory. Dull golden light drifted from the city walls as if the walls themselves created the light. It shone onto Kami’s territory and provided the little light they could use in the darkness. As it was true there were no stars in the sky, so also was there no moon.
Ashton was bothered little by the lack of light in the darkness and, considering the man had lived in blackness his whole life, he was actually more comfortable without the bright lantern in the sky during the day. When he first saw it he squawked with fright as if the very light burned him. The unnatural reaction of the light had to be cured quickly though, all the other wilderness people basked in the rays as if they were nourished from it. And after the months in the dark underground caverns, Drake too, enjoyed the light from Kami’s lantern on his skin once again.
The line of thought led him once again to his memories of home and the burning sun that resided there. For the thousandth time that month, he wondered if he would ever be able to return to that land. He asked suddenly, breaking the long silence, “What are we doing here, Ashton?”
Ashton snorted, “Obviously, we are holding up the rear guard. Somebody has to do that. This is probably punishment for your objections you voiced at the lieutenant.”
“No not that,” Drake said, standing up straight. “I mean, look at us! We are literally fighting an enemy we know nothing about except for the propaganda given to us, for a side that kidnapped us and tried to brainwash us!”
Ashton didn’t turn to look at Drake. He cussed suddenly, “Blast! Where is that yellow sheen of light!? It has been too long; we should have seen it by now! This is wrong, everything is wrong!”
“Calm down,” Drake said, surprised at the outburst. “The troops are more spread out, it will take longer. Just be patient, you will see it. Just be glad we weren’t given front class action this time.”
Ashton grumbled, “I’d rather be up front where I would know what was happening. Staying back here in the dark in maddening!” He strained his eyes, but sighed. He pounded a tree then said to Drake, “I do not know Drake. What else could we be doing now?”
Drake fired back quickly, “Looking for a chance to escape! Plotting our revenge! Creating a conspiracy, a hundred other things! We are alone right now, nobody would notice if we simply left. They would assume we had gotten killed or carried away! Why don’t we just run away right now, it would be easy! We could have done it earlier, who would know? They would never suspect desertion.”
Ashton shook his head, “It’s not that simple and you know it! We agreed to escape if we had been sent to the wilderness, but we haven’t. We are here at the frontline, we have no idea what is out there and right now we are alive. Sure, the food is a little scarcer, but it could be worse. Besides,” he said, turning to Drake earnestly. “We are needed here. I do not think I can simply leave our friends, do you? Hourbour, Vanyour, Heath and Gethroe. Can you really just pack up and leave them here?”
Drake kicked a rock away; it thudded against a tree out of sight. He said ruefully after a moment, “I don’t suppose they would come with us?”
Ashton chuckled at the idea. “More likely they would talk you out of ever leaving and convince you of the salvation of Kami for real.” Drake chuckled softly as well. Silence wafted over them again like the breeze in the trees above them.
Drake shifted in the night. He said sadly, “It’s just that, I feel we are just waiting for our death here. You know what I mean?”
Ashton turned to answer but, there was a sudden disturbance to their right. Drake and Ashton became alert immediately, drawing weapons and ducking down behind the bushes in case an enemy chanced by. It was unlikely that the enemy had penetrated the second line without them knowing, but they had to be ready.
A moment later two friendlies came into view. It was Heath and Micheal, the two soldiers who were also positioned as rear guards and were close by to them. They stopped at Drake’s previous spot and looked around. Micheal was one of the few natives that were part of the scouting legion. The natives were easily identified due to the long hair they kept in contrast to the short hair the wilderness men had. Micheal was a short but fiery woman who was a zealot for Kami. After a moment, she whistled softly around, signaling to Drake and Ashton to come out. Without another moment wasted, they emerged and approached the pair.
“What are you doing here?” Drake hissed softly. “There hasn’t been a signal for the next wave yet. What happened?” The two soldiers held similar positions away from them in the territory. Like Drake and Ashton they should be waiting for a signal to advance forward.
Heath answered back, “The signal is late! Something must be wrong!”
Drake replied roughly, “If something had gone wrong we would have seen that too! There would have been red flares in the sky! The forces are just delayed because the enemy is spread out so much. There isn’t anything to be concerned about.”
“We should have seen something either way by now!” snarled the woman, startling Drake. She had her sword on her back instead of a shield and she carried her spear in her left hand. She pointed her finger accusingly at Drake. “It is your responsibility as the group leader to investigate this! Yet you have stayed here and done nothing!” Drake found it difficult to respond. “You need to go forward and find out what is happening, now!”
Drake wanted to shout back and say that he never wanted the position of group leader in the first place. To say that he did not like have the responsibility of the command, even though his actual authority was small. But he didn’t, he knew he couldn’t without compromising himself. They were all willing lackeys of Kami after all…
Ashton piped in quietly, “She’s right Drake, I understand that you feel the need to stay put as per orders and wait for the signal. But something is clearly wrong. We should have seen some signal by now. It’s too late for every contingency plan we have. We need to move ahead and figure out what is going on.”
“Fine.” He bit off with intensity, “But you three are coming with me.”
“Wha-!” Heath started but Drake interrupted.
“If something has gone awry as you all claim,” Drake said snapping at them. “Then you will be no use back here. And if everything is fine and I am made out to simply be a worry wart in front of the lieutenant, then I will not be alone.” Heath grumbled a little, but neither Micheal nor Ashton said anything. “Come on Ashton,” Drake then said reaching into his pack. He pulled out a strange container from it while Ashton readied an arrow on his bow.
The container held flammable goo that Drake couldn’t figure out what it was; he supposed it had some magical properties. It produced a deep violet color as it burned and without hesitation Drake spread some on Ashton’s arrow and lit it on fire. With the glowing tip Ashton pointed the bow straight up and pulled back on the string. He let it go with a load twang and the group watched it fly into the air above the trees and then fall away to the far left. It was Drake’s signal that he was moving forward outside of the lieutenant orders and for the other groups to stay put for now.
“Let’s go!” Drake said, putting the container away and slinging the bag around his back. He picked up his spear and led the group away deeper in the woods. Despite the gloom of night and the occasional clang of metal and men, the group moved forward boldly.