Infiltration
Amar turned around to look at Logan, with the two now alone at the battle site. He walked up to his friend, and they started conversing.
“You doing ok out here?”
“Yeah, somehow Remy and I have managed.”
“Well you two certainly left a mess back at Errstile, Gregor’s been dealing with the fallout ever since you left.”
Logan let out a sigh. He had hoped that his friends wouldn’t get in trouble for Logan’s issues, but it seemed like the Prince was just that sort of person. It didn’t sound like anything extreme had happened though, so Logan moved on.
“Yeah… tell him I’m sorry when you get a chance, ok? But I have something else I have to tell you.”
Amar looked at him for a second, before asking, “What’s up?”
“Well, me and Remy have been pushing pretty far into the woods here, and well… It was no accident that we were here for the battle. We found the enemy's base, and from what we could hear, they were planning to attack the next day.”
Amar’s face smoothed over, instantly her expression becoming hard to read. Logan imagined he had a similar look on his face when he had first seen those doors swing open, and the enemy troops poured out.
After a while, Amar managed to school herself back into relaxing, and continued the conversation.
“Really, the Harthians plan to attack within the next day?”
Huh, the enemies are Harthians, I think that was the country all the way up North. That’s good to know, just calling them enemies was getting annoying.
“Yeah, Remy heard the speech their boss was giving to the troops.”
“Then I have to return to Fort Errstile, and prepare them for an attack. Thanks for letting us know… and I’m sorry Logan, but I have to go back.”
“Yeah… it’s all good. It would be nice to have someone else out here but…”
Logan trailed off as he thought of someone that may join him.
“But…?” Amar prompted.
“But I might know someone who would be willing to come with me. Amar, do you think you could help me sneak back into the Fort?”
Amar’s answer didn’t match her annoyed expression.
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This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Amar, Logan, and Remy made their way back towards Fort Errstile, at a much reduced pace from both of them. For Logan’s part, he couldn’t just teleport ahead, as he didn’t want to leave Amar. For her, Amar was forced to slow down to accommodate Logan’s injured back.
Amar had been worried that the Harthians would catch up to them, but Logan reminded her that he had managed to gain a lot of distance by teleporting ahead of them. Remy squeaked out his agreement, which had made Amar laugh, and melted some of her tension away.
Both of them still remained aware of their surroundings, however. Amar had started using an advanced version of Root that let her scout out her surroundings, while Logan and Remy kept their eyes open, and their teleports ready, in case of trouble.
However, their return journey ended up rather boring, their group not being accosted until Fort Errstile was in the distance, the tents and wooden tower breaking up the endless landscape of trees and forest. Logan felt somewhat conflicted coming back here, but shrugged it off, and explained his plan to Amar.
She would go back into camp, and quickly find a uniform that would fit Logan. Then, he would sneak into the Fort with her, before they split up. From there, Amar would inform the officers and the Prince about the impending attack, while Logan would find his new partner in crime. Then, while the camp was in chaos preparing, Logan would slip back out again, and try to put as much distance as he could between himself and what would inevitably become a bloody battlefield.
It was a simple plan in ideation, but its execution would be the crucial step. Logan would rather not have to make another dashing escape, and hoped that if he pulled it off properly, he could waltz out the front gate, companions in tow.
Of course, that was if nothing went wrong, and Logan’s plan went accordingly. As he considered it, Logan found he didn’t think that was very likely.
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Gregor was in the middle of an officer’s meeting when he heard pounding footsteps outside. Through the tent flaps, he heard a brief, terse conversation, before those flaps opened, and Amar strode in.
The assembled officer’s in the tent, including the Prince, looked at Amar with some disdain, but she didn’t see, already dropping to one knee.
“Sirs, I have to inform you of an impending attack.”
At that phrase, all the emotion drained out of the room. Silence reigned for a few tense moments, before someone found their words. Of course, it was his highness Prince Augustus who spoke first.
“How did you learn of the enemy’s plans to attack, Private.”
“I just returned from a scouting detail, where we encountered the enemy’s scouts as well. After the battle, one of our prisoners revealed their army was following behind them, and that an attack would happen within the day.”
At that, murmurs went around the tent, as the officers involved started discussing the ramifications of the new intel. The Prince however, was silent, a vein steadily growing larger on his forehead. Then, like a dam broke, he started speaking, and didn’t stop.
Directions were spewed out like a geyser, rapid fire, and to each of the officer’s in attendance, detailing their assignments in only a few meaningful words. It was like the Prince was a man possessed, easily directing their entire group towards the most effective ways to contribute.
The tirade actually raised Gregor’s opinion of the man, as he hadn’t thought much of the Prince’s tactical and organizational mind before. Gregor supposed there was a reason the Prince had been assigned to Fort Errstile, after all.
Then, came Gregor’s assignment.
“Captain Greatwood, I’m assigning you to guard over my dearest sister. Let me make this perfectly clear, if I find she has suffered any injury, your head will roll. Next up…”
Gregor gulped, and then looked over to where the Princess’s tent was located. Then he gulped again.
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So far, Logan’s plan had actually worked. Amar had quickly come back out of the Fort with a tabard in the Austen Kingdom’s colors, letting Logan slip right into the camp without issue. Then the two had split up, and Logan had started working on his mission.
Gliding around the thoroughfare, Logan walked through the camp, until he reached the center. He could hear the Prince’s raised voice from inside the command tent, signifying that Amar’s portion of the plot was going well, leaving Logan to tackle his own objective. Walking forwards, Logan avoided the tents, and ambled over towards the singular wooden structure.
As always, there was a steady stream of people trickling in and out, marking this building as the information hub for the camp. Logan had been counting on this, as it let him join the flow and easily enter the building without being stopped. Once inside, Logan looked around, and listened to all the conversations happening.
It seemed they had already been clued in to the impending attack, and no one had any attention to spare for someone else. Which meant Logan’s plan was still working perfectly, which for some reason made him increasingly nervous. Although things were proceeding without flaw, Logan couldn’t help but feel like the other shoe was just about to drop.
Regardless, Logan shook his head, and focused on what he had to do. Slipping through the throng of people, he made his way over towards a simple wooden door, and walked through. A familiar spiral staircase met him, and Logan descended into the dark and damp prison of Fort Errstile.
Similarly to his last visit, only two cells were full, one holding his target, and the other holding a dead body.
“Hi, I’m back!”