Beyond the enemy lines (1)

After the coordination meeting, Simon's plan received the consent of Count Zacharias and General Drevor, the only vote abstained is Commander Eric. At sunset on the same day a small group of soldiers is preparing for a suicide mission.

The small commando is formed by the expert in runic enchantments Igor, the communications officer John, the soldier of Vanein Mike and the wizard of the king Theodore Reed.

The general has suggested to minimize the soldier number. A smaller group is easier to hide and the runic caster will have less work to do. A bigger number would not make sense for a possible escape and not even made the difference in case of combat.

Igor, as an expert merchant, is officially appointed captain of the expedition. Each member is equipped with the dwarves chameleon-like cloaks, a strange water-working device and a runic box for communications.

As a suggestion from Igor, before the departure, a strange ceremony is performed. The general assists curious.

The dwarf declares to the two new members "You must make a vow of loyalty to Simon." continuing "You certainly will not understand why I ask you. You will discover the advantages during the trip. I do not ask you to take an oath of loyalty for the rest of your life. I just want you to make a deal with him, a small gesture just for the success of the plan. "

Mike answers cautiously "We can not take an oath so lightly."

Count Zacharias "I grant you the ability to swear loyalty to Simon for the success of this plan. Captain Drew told me that some strange magic becomes effective this way. Since he has made the pact with his commander, strength and agility are increasing considerably. "

The general "As the dwarf is responsible for the expedition, I do not see the problem of such a pledge. Let's limit it to the mission duration. "

Igor "How long have you been a soldier Mike? Do you consider yourself skilful? Please, challenge John in some activity. "

Mike "Let's throw daggers at a target?"

John "Ok"

The two are positioned in front of a tree. Mike weighs the dagger in his hand and with a decisive flick of the wrist throws the weapon towards the target. Perfect shot. "Are you able to do better?"

John takes the dagger. The weapon falls to the ground. Soldiers laugh. The boy collects the weapon and without too many ceremonies launches it against the tree. The dagger sticks a few centimeters lower than the target.

Mike looks at John and then talking to the dwarf "Pretty good boy. From how he launched it I would say he trained by hunting rabbits. "

John "It's the first time I have a dagger in my hand. A year ago I was a miner. "

General "Now I'm curious. I want to see the effect of loyalty oath on a trained soldier. "

The Count gently pushes his soldier to Simon and Mike kneels down and begrudgingly swears "If you insist I will swear loyalty. During this mission I swear to fight for Simon, commander of the Force of Fate mercenary company. "

Simon "I accept your oath."

Igor "Now try to throw the dagger"

Mike takes the dagger and with a dismissing flick throws it hard against the tree. Unbelievable. The weapon sticks into the handle of the dagger launched at the beginning of the challenge. The force of the shot makes the weapon penetrate well inside the trunk, creating a big crack in the bark.

General Drevor "Wonderful. Now I begin to understand how a group of two hundred mountain people did to defeat an enemy battalion. I do not want this information to be disclosed. If any enemy discovered it, Simon would become a target. "

Following the magician Theodore also engages in the oath of loyalty.

The group is ready. The four wear the cloaks and walk towards the mountains. The new cloaks are particularly functional. The 'chameleon' runes allow the small group to blend completely into the white and gray colors of the mountain paths.

Thanks to a strange goatskin-shaped device, Igor is able to transform small quantities of water into soft snowflakes. In this way it is possible to cover the traces left in the snow. Hiding the signs of four people and avoiding any careful scouts to notice them is a slow and complicated job.

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After six hours of walking the group is not even halfway along the route. Igor is meticulously erasing the traces. John finding a small cave not far from the path convinces the group to take a break. Mike and Theodore sit in a corner of the cave trying to keep an eye on the trail.

Along the way they only crossed enemy scouts once without being detected.

John takes a small dwarf device from his backpack. Once activated it starts to heat up without emitting smoke. The magician asks, "How many of those tricks do you have?"

Igor "Our commander has invested all our earnings in equipment."

Theodere "Fascinating. If we come back alive, I want you to show me something else. "

Igor "Of course we'll be back. I still have a lot of things to see. Moreover, John has not yet become a man, eehehe "

John "It's not something to tell everyone."

The anxiety accumulated during the trip seems to break up thanks to the small conversation.

Another six hours of walking then thanks to the favor of darkness the team manages to speed up the pace. Also thanks to the snowfall started a few hours earlier, the use of the device for the snow has become drastically simpler.

Once a few miles from the enemy's camp, the dwarf, with the device to see in the distance, examines the situation. The camp is almost twice the size of Olmaria. The troops of Luberistan wear all brown leather armor with white inserts on their shoulders.

The camp is visibly divided into two large sections. One dedicated to the official troops of the country and the other, much more chaotic, with the mercenary companies. The dwarf counts at least seven different banners. Most are human, but in a corner of the camp a large group of beastmen stands out. Unlike other mercenary groups with colorful equipment, they are equipped with full-black studded leather armor. The beast soldiers are almost all traced back to a feline tribe.

The surveillance is very tight so Igor orders John to find a place to rest. Entering the camp at night would be problematic. During the day there will be more movement and less checks.

John once he found a small recess, covered by some trees, prepares to inform the commander using the runic box.

While the boy reports to the command center, the wizard Theodore stands up suddenly.

"Magic!"

Igor "Shit! What type?"

Theodore "I do not know, but I feel like hands walking on the ground looking for something greedily. Before the oath I already had the ability to perceive the magic but not at this level. I know where it comes from. "

Mike "Can you do something? Otherwise the journey ends here. "

The magician sits back and starts breathing slowly. From the mouth of Theodore a thread of black smoke begins to accumulate in front of him. Smoke slowly continues to increase.

The others in the group look excited at the terrifying scene while the smoke slides all around the four, condensing into a kind of dome.

Suddenly in the coils of smoke one can glimpse the shape of a giant hand that touches the ground.

Igor "Crazy, it's really a giant hand. It's probably more effective than scouts. "

Mike "I do not understand if it found us or not."

The hand continues by feeling the whole dome and then continue. Theodore returning to breathing normally "I thank the Shadow God of having made that weird oath with the boy. My magic was strong enough to fool that magical hand. They have a very powerful wizard. Being able to send such a strong spell away from the wizard is very difficult and expensive. Fortunately my magic 'Shadow' is born with the purpose of deceiving. "

Igor "The general had a good idea to send you. We at the Force of Fate company have no experience in fighting wizards. "

Mike "Magic gives me goosebumps."

John "Well, Simon listened to everything from the runic box, so they know we're fine. We must be alert. I do not know if I can sleep. "

Igor "No, we will sleep in turn. A very important task awaits us tomorrow. Thousands of lives depend on our mission. "

Mike turns to one side and after only five heartbeats already sleeps deeply. The others look at him in disbelief, then smiling decide the guard duty.