When the sun rose the next morning, the adventurers were already out in the woods surrounding the fort. One of the most important things for them to learn was to keep unit cohesion, to stay together with their banner in all situations. Bordan had warned that this would probably be a challenge for them, but Edwin hadn’t appreciated quite how hard it would be. The first half hour or so had gone well, with the banner officers leading their units around the forest at different speeds, but when Bordan ramped up the difficulty and had them operate in close proximity to each other, things started falling apart. After a particularly confusing maneuver, one of the banners had ended up with almost three times as many members as it was meant to have.
“This is pointless without unit flags,” Bordan grumbled when they made their way back to the fort at noon. “If we can get them to simply look out for their flag and stay close to it, this can work. We just don’t have the time for anything more complex.”
“It was just the first day,” Edwin soothed him. “They’ll get the hang of it soon enough. What’s next?”
“I got us time on the practice fields one of the archery ranges this afternoon. We all need to learn how to fight with so many others in close proximity, and the marksmen can work on assigning targets to avoid wasting shots.”
They headed to the range first, as it was on the way to the practice field. As they approached, Edwin realized that it was already occupied. Bordan furrowed his brow and approached an officer who was watching the shooters from the side.
“Excuse me, captain, I was under the impression that we had the range now.”
“Ah, the adventurers,” the man said, turning. “Don’t worry, we will be out of your hair in a moment.”
He whistled sharply, then gave a few hand signals to those on the range. Immediately, several voices started shouting orders, and the crossbowmen began running toward the targets to collect their bolts and clear the range.
“As a crossbow cohort, we need range time more than anything,” the officer said apologetically. “so I had them keep going until you showed up. Cleaning up should only take a minute, you can start setting up in the meantime.”
“Alright, no problem,” Bordan said, then excused himself to coordinate the marksmen as the soldiers began leaving the range, streaming past them to line up to the side. Edwin was watching the commotion when a voice cut through the din right next to him.
“Leo? Is that you?”
Edwin turned, surprised. Leodin, who was standing beside him, had turned white as a sheet, his eyes fixed on an approaching soldier. The newcomer stopped in front of Edwin’s teammate, looking at him with a disappointed expression.
“Oh Leo, you got pulled into this too? Mom is going to be beside herself with worry.”
Leodin’s ashen face pulled into a rigid mask.
“Hello, Gedrin.”
Edwin looked between the two, slowly catching on to what was happening. At first glance, they looked very different – where Leodin was short and lithe, Gedrin was a good head taller and muscular. Once he knew to look for it though, Edwin spotted the similarities in the shape of their faces, the curve of their noses, and the slightly pointy chins. Gedrin didn’t look much older, which meant that he was most likely Leodin’s brother.
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“I thought you were just trying to prove a point when you said you were leaving to become an adventurer,” Gedrin continued, frowning. “I was sure that you’d come to your senses once you had time to cool off. You know that you’re not cut out for this.”
Someone whistled, and Gedrin looked to where the soldiers were forming up in marching formation.
“I need to go, but this conversation isn’t over, you hear me?” Gedrin said with a frown, then jogged off to join the others. Leodin just stood there, fists balled, face impassive.
“So…” Edwin said, snapping the young marksman out of it.
“Don’t wanna talk about it,” Leodin mumbled, walking onto the range.
“Leodin…” Salissa began, but he whirled around, growling at them.
“I said I don’t. Want. To talk about it!” Then he stomped off.
“What was that about?” Bordan asked, rejoining them. “Did something happen?”
“I think you just missed Leodin’s brother,” Edwin replied, scratching his chin in thought. “Did he ever talk about his family? Maybe when you were going to the capital, Salissa?”
“No,” she said, looking worried. “He said he left home to become an adventurer, but he never even mentioned any siblings. I asked about his parents once, but he dodged the question, so I didn’t pry. That was really weird, though. You think he’ll be okay?”
“He looked pretty rattled,” Edwin said. “I don’t think it would be good to pressure him on it. I’m sure he’ll tell us when he’s ready.”
By the time they met up again in the evening, Leodin had collected himself. He was still acting strangely, though, more closed off than usual. When Salissa carefully tried to steer the conversation to what had happened, he shot her a scathing look and stalked off, slamming the door. The young mage sat stunned, mouth open like a fish out of water, and Bordan put a hand on her shoulder.
“He’s not angry at you, just worked up. He’ll come around, don’t worry. Just give him some space.”
And so, they did. Leodin was strung tightly like a bowstring, barely speaking except when he almost bit the head off a fellow marksman who had grabbed one of his bolts by mistake. The only bright spot was that they didn’t run across Gedrin again – the fort was large, and both soldiers and adventurers spent every waking moment training. Still, Leodin hadn’t returned to his usual self by the time something else demanded everyone’s attention.
--- ----- ---
The rest of the adventurers were out on maneuvers, their movements having improved drastically over the last few days. It really had become much easier to coordinate once each banner had received a small, green pennant with their unit designation. Today, however, Bordan and his party were not with them, standing instead on the inner wall of the headquarters building, looking down the main road. A convoy of coaches and wagons had just cleared the palisade and was climbing the small incline toward them.
“This is it, isn’t it,” Salissa said quietly. “I think I was maybe hoping that it was all a mistake, that they would think better of it and come to their senses. It’s really happening.”
“This is it,” Bordan acknowledged with a slow nod. “Their arrival was the last thing we were waiting for; it won’t be long now until we march.”
They watched as the vehicles approached, the oxen slowly but inevitably pulling them onwards. Finally, Bordan slapped the battlements they were leaning on and turned to leave.
“Come on, I’m sure the meeting will begin soon. Let’s head inside before the General starts sending people to look for us.”
The others followed, Edwin lingering a moment longer. One of the freight wagons turned off the road into the carriage house, giving him a glimpse of the crest on its side. The insignia of the Mage’s College was a blue, four-pointed star, and seeing it displayed prominently twisted his stomach into a knot. A major part of the reason for becoming an adventurer in the farthest barony of the duchy had been to stay away from mages. Now, he was about to step into a room with a whole bunch of them.
As Edwin followed his teammates, he idly wondered where it had all gone wrong. Was it all just a sequence of cruel coincidences, or was he really that terrible at planning?