The funny thing about being among soldiers is how quickly you tend to get your flow with them. I have not been in a proper army for ten years or so and still I can find myself working with them so efficiently. It is almost like I am back the legion planning our next attack on our enemies.

While most of my work is still pointing on a paper and explaining stuff, it is still a wonder at how quickly I got into the rhythm. Well, I guess that is a good thing.

I have been spending the last couple of days helping out the mayfires to strengthen their defenses. I am not a particularly skilled strategist but my insight into formations is about the most useful tool that they have at the moment. Most of them have pretty useful formations for their defense that they simply do not know how to use. It is almost like giving a monkey a spear, I tell you. They have been doing themselves more harm than good.

Their defense can be boosted simply by moving the postions of a few of these formations. I don't give them too many of these suggestions though. I do not want to lose an escape route if something were to happen.

While I know the location of every trap, every defensive wall that the mayfires are using they are careful in not letting me know the true strength of the enemies they face. I can tell from the map the vague postions of each enemy powerhouse but there is nothing concrete for me to work on. They certainly have given me no hard numbers, but some things can still be inferred which I am recording right now.

The main threat here is the necromancers, even though the mayfires have really been trying to downplay their strength. They seem to have greater numbers and they certainly seem to have the greater strength. They also are infinitely more better at dealing with the traps that the mayfires have sprinkled around their defenses so generously.

Among the vampires, the vampire captains are the only real threats that they have. Even they will not be able do much to the more combat oriented mayfires. Sure, the mayfires might not be able to kill them but they can still cause them retreat with quite a bit of ease.

The necromancers are also very good at what they are doing. They have completely managed to lock the mayfires in a bubble in the eastern wing of the inner keep. The mayfires are holding them back with a combination of defensive formations and soldiers. While the necromancers will not be able to burst this bubble any time soon, they are certainly trying their best.

The necromancers have the benefits of numbers too. The horde can keep harassing the mayfires, something that they cannot ignore fully and essentially force the mayfires into a state of constant vigilance. It is about the quickest way to cause the mayfires to lose their focus, which will only benefit the enemy.

Still, It is a pretty effective defense. A series of traps, walls and other nasty things that I do not want to be mentioning here. If only they knew how to set them up properly. I can suggest a few changes but it would be hard to execute such changes on the battlefield now.

Over the last couple of days I have been studying these formations as much as I can. Other than helping out the mayfires, just knowing of the arsenal of the mayfires can greatly reduce the threat of these formations. The mayfires certainly have an obsession with traps, is all I will tell. Anything beyond will cause vital information to be lost.

The mayfires are also planning something that is pretty big. I would assume it is something to do with getting me the formation that is blocking our conversation with the head office.

It is assumed to be right at the center of the other side of the inner keep, though I cant be certain about the exact location. To get there, you would need to enter deep into the territory of the enemy forces. Right now, that is the only move that the mayfires have to get reinforcements. (Let's just say that these people really need the reinforcement too.). Such an attack would certainly require a lot of daring and a lot of planning.

That is also a problem. The timing is weird. It is pretty unlikely that these people were just waiting passively until now to suddenly have such an offensive plan. If they have a plan of attack, they must have been making it before I had even appeared in this place. Maybe they have decided to finally deal with the because they have finally found a formation mage to do so. Maybe, I just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Rather than comfort me, it causes me more worry.

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This leads me to the second problem and that would be about the mayfires themselves. They certainly have been quite careful around me. I have not managed to make it out of the absolute barrier in the last of couple of days, even after multiple requests to do so.

They have been quite careful in making sure that I am not in a position to control any formation without them knowing. It is not easy to ignore every time a soldier enters into the striking distance every time I have to study a formation. I have ignored them for now as I am sure any hostile movement and my head will fall.

On top of all of this I have not felt the presence of my sword as well in the last couple of days. I have a feeling that they are separating us for pretty obvious reasons.

They do not trust me, yet they have been more than willing to share this plan of attack with me. They are either very desperate or very confident that they will be able to deal with me if something were to happen.

Such caution would not be given to the captain of a troop with only four folks. Looks like my popularity is not as well hidden as I would have hoped it to be. Well, this close to the black mountain It was a pretty significant probability that I would be recognised. If we can have a list on the mayfires, it would be idiocy to assume that the mayfires do not have a similar file. Maybe not as detailed, but a few lines on me still are a few lines on me.

I certainly have to be more careful with my sword in the future. Without it, I certainly can't think of any violent actions that I can take that won't end in failure. This sense of powerlessness is something that is terrifying me if I am to be honest. For now, being diplomatic seems to be the only way that I can act.

Still, ignoring all of this they have been treating us us still pretty well. The room that they have given us seems to be some kind of a guest room, with pretty comfortable beds if you can ignore that the room has been stuffed to its brim with beds. A room that can fit one bed has somehow been stuffed with four. At the moment I am not able to even turn towards the door to this room without waking somebody up.

The door opens behind me as one of the two soldiers enter the room. Other than me Trevor is already in the room. The others have been doing hard labour for the mayfires and judging from the way that they have been working, the mayfires are not easy masters.

The other two have mostly been given grunt work. They certainly can learn nothing from their work other than how much work they can do before exhaustion consumes them. Trevor has been given no work, but the man has not been leaving this room. I have to assume that he has his reasons.

Well, at the moment there is something else about Trevor that is a more immediate worry for me. There has been something about that man has done that has been bothering me the last couple of days.

"Trevor, I have something to ask you.", I speak. Trevor is on the bed next to me staring at the ceiling. He is lost in his own thoughts.

"You can ask, captain.", replies the man quite neutrally. Sometimes it is so hard to tell the man's emotion.

"Well, why did you speak in front of the family head?", I ask the man. "It is not like you to behave as you did. You certainly seems to have provoked the man completely."

"Well, there are many reasons for that, captain. Of them the only one that matters is that I don't trust the mayfires.", replies the man. "He is a shifty bastard as far as I can tell. They are hiding something pretty big judging from the way that they have been behaving. They have not even been allowing me out of this room the last couple of days."

"Well, it is not like we have much choice. We certainly can't deal with a necromancer with a horde of zombies on our own. I don't even have my sword.", I reply.

"Well, we do still have moves to play, captain even though it might not seem like the case", speaks Trevor. "The only thing that we don't know is the moves that we have to play. I am sure that we will be able to figure it out soon enough. I already have ab Idea in what we can do."

"Well, what should I do until then?", I ask the man.

"The only thing that you can. You have to assist them.", replies Trevor. "Not doing so will certainly result in our deaths. Whatever has to happened, I will have to do it. You do anything out of the ordinary, we all will be killed. Regardless, I think that our aims have aligned together anyways. It is not like these people will refuse even a baby in this fight let alone a troop of the toayk guards."

"Still, that doesn't explain what you did.", I ask the man. "You are not one prone to impulses and I cannot think of any benefit what you have done will be giving us."

"Well, I assume it would be better to make them think that the group is more divided than it actually is.", replies Trevor. "What better way than to play an ambitious underling. One that certainly wouldn't mind snitching on his master should the mayfires require. After all, if they can control the story that the head office will hear then why would they need to worry about a child."

Speaking this trevor turns towards me.

"Still, to think the man had such an ego. It would be wise not provoke it too much. A scheming mans moves can be predicted, an emotional ones cannot be." he speaks. "For now, he has given no inclination of causing us any problems."

"Still, we cannot do much without their support.", I speak to the man.

"They haven't killed us yet, captain. That must mean that they cannot act without us too.", replies the old man. "Do not think much of it. Overthinking on the thoughts of other men is the quickest way to lose your own."

Saying Trevor turns away from me. Taking the man's advice I go to sleep as well.