32 Movement in the Woods

"Raise the alarm!" Eduardo shouted outside, to no one in particular. There was a confused clammer as Red Ribbons hurried from their bunkhouses.

Some were armed and prepared. Octavian was gripping his large warhammer, it was rumoured that he slept with his weapon at night, as if it was his comforter. Francois ran from his bunkhouse, he tripped over his pants that were still halfway pulled up and fell to the ground clumsily, he was quickly hoisted to the air by Anne who ran after him.

"To the fort walls!" Eduardo yelled loudly at the unassuming men that were lining up in the fort centre. They looked towards the scene of Rollo collapsed on the floor. There were a few confused, shocked and angry faces among the group. Especially Hilda.

"Rollo!" Hilda yelled loudly in shock, the friend of hers, who had persuaded her to join the Red Ribbons lay on the headquarter steps receiving treatment from Bella who had been near the doorway.

"Archers to the walls!" Tsubotai shouted as he ran to grab his bow, closely followed by an angry looking Boudica.

"Any available person who can hold a weapon, grab a weapon and join us!" She yelled loudly. Jorg and Sengo followed closely behind Boudica and Tsubotai and headed towards their workshop.

"We will distribute anything we have!" Jorg shouted.

"Blood will flow!" Sengo added, a crazed look in his eyes.

Hilda ignored the orders being screamed around her and ran towards the collapsed Rollo. She bent down and placed her hand on to his warm back, slightly below the location of the arrow. Her hand became warm and wet from the blood that was flowing quickly from him.

"Rollo?" She asked, to no reply. A tear loosely dropping down her cheek. "Don't leave me!"

"I'll take care of him." Bella said gently, "Get your weapons, the Boss will want to find out who did this, that is what you need to do!"

Hilda nodded in agreement. "I'll kill who ever did this." she said under her breath.

"Good, use that!" Bella replied. "You will be more useful doing that than being here."

Hilda nodded in agreement and began running towards her bunkhouse to grab her sword from her weapon rack.

There was more hustle as more Red Ribbons marched out . Some of the new townsfolk had also ran out to see the commotion and were directed towards the blacksmith workshop to grab an assortment of weapons.

"We need a doctor!" Bella explained to Mark as he approached. "I don't think there is much I can do for him!"

"One will he here soon." Mark replied, deep in contemplation. He was wondering who had attacked one of his men, and wondered where Leif and Dwayne were that had accompanied him.

"Wilson!" He exclaimed. "Are they alive?"

"Your mercenary group number has not decreased, which means that they are alive." Wilson replied.

"Is there a way to track where they are?" Mark asked.

"Maybe when you level up?" Wilson replied

"A doctor?" Sakura replied, interrupting his thoughts and conversation with Wilson.

"I'll fetch the prisoner faster!" Eduardo offered, who was stood next to them, directing the Red Ribbons nearby.

Little Tai and Gan Ning ran passed, their swords drawn as they headed towards the gates, a couple of the ex slaves who were now lived in the small town ran behind them with a concoction of weapons.

"Will you be ok here?" Mark asked Bella.

"Yes, go! You have an army to run." Bella replied. "I really need to get some training for this."

Mark smiled at her before turning to head back in to the headquarters and grab his spear, but Dian Wei was already stood there, weapons in hand.

"Here you are boss." He said, passing the spear across to Mark. The sharp bladed edge shining in the moonlight.

Mark looked at him aghast, it would take a while to get used to having a Bodyguard behind him at all times. It did make him feel more safe and secure, but somehow Dian Wei was silent even for his size.

Mark turned and walked quickly towards the huge fort gate. Red Ribbons clambered around, pacing the small walkway that covered the rim of the fort. There were shouts of orders as men reacted to the sudden alarm. Mark was impressed by their quickness, and realised he had never considered they could be attacked here.

He reached the gate and climbed a small staircase that led to the top. Awaiting him was Tsubotai who stood calmly looking out across the forest ahead.

The sun had set by now, and the moon shone brightly, reflecting against the calm ocean that was behind them. The trees looked calm as the wind was silent this evening. There was no sound coming from the now dark forest.

"Something isn't right." Tsubotai said to Mark.

"I agree, how did he get here, where are the others?" Mark replied.

"I spoke with Coyotl who was watching the gate tonight, he said that Rollo sped through the forest on horseback, he recognised him approaching and opened the gate immediately. He jumped from his horse and sped towards the headquarters, he was obviously in a rush as he hadn't stopped to say hello!" Tsubotai informed Mark. "Coyotl grabbed the horse and sent for it to be placed in the stable, it seemed exhaused but it was unwounded."

"Hopefully he survives and we can get some more information!" Mark replied, looking around his surroundings.

Red Ribbons walked across the fort walls, with villagers and the Silent division holding bows and watching across the fields surrounding them. A group of the Light division were stood behind the fort walls, holding their swords and shields, Gan Ning at the front with his dual swords. Rollo was a member of his force and we wouldn't accept anyone hurting him. Little Tai and his Heavy troops stood nearby, sharpening their blades and preparing to head out into the forest to find more details of what had happened.

Boudica approached Mark and Tsubotai above the fort gate, her longbow grasped tightly in his hand. Dian Wei stood nearby, watching out in to the forest with a complicated look on his face.

"We have the whole fort covered, some of the villagers have hunted before and are adept in the bow. If anyone approaches we will notice them." She stated.

"I wanted this fort to be a paradise, not a defensive stronghold." Mark replied.

"We may need to rethink our situation." Boudica replied. "We are not the only group of mercenaries. There are bandits and highway men all around this area of Honda, Sakura told me."

"No one would be brave enough to attack a group of our size." Tsubotai replied. "Something isn't right."

The forest maintained it's silence, as Mark watched on from the Fort walls. The lack of movement was eerie and he pondered what his next steps should be. He wanted to send Little Tai to investigate, he had a strong force available to him, with Octavian, Lucan, Vlad and the twins stood ready to strike. At the same time, he didn't want to take any unnecessary risks.

Tsubotai remained calm as he stared out, where as Boudica wandered the walls, checking in on her men and the villagers, making sure they were alert and prepared for anything.

There was the sound of sprinting and the hard ground and Mark turned to look. Eduardo was approaching fast, quickly reaching the stairs and running up them. The stairs groaned as he ran up, and Mark felt they should he upgraded when they had chance.

"The doctor is dealing with him, he said the head is deep and he has passed out through blood loss. Its touch and go if he will make it. I said if you save him, you are free." Eduardo updated them, "I felt that would motivate him."

Mark nodded in agreement.

"Get yourself armed, we'll may need every available man." Mark replied.

Eduardo agreed and headed back towards his bunkhouse, aiming to collect his sword.

"What's that?" Tsubotai exclaimed, pointing in to the forest beyond. A trail of smoke could be seen heading towards them.

"Archers to the front!" Boudica shouted quickly. Her men quickly sprinted across the walls towards the gate, whilst the villagers maintained their positions and vigilance.

"Gan Ning, Little Tai!" Mark shouted. "Prepare your men by the gate, something is approaching!"

The smoke trail approached them quickly, and the sounds of shouting could soon be heard, the shouting was still distant and incoherent, but whoever was approaching was not hiding their arrival.

Soon flames could be seen, most likely from torches as the the smoke trial reached closer to the edge of the forest. Silhouettes could soon be seen, heading quickly in the direction of the fort.

"Archers take aim!" Boudica ordered calmly. Her archers placed arrows on their bows and slowly pulled them back, aiming at the forest infront of them.

A horseman sped past the silhouettes that started to become people. He held a torch in his hand, with his other hand grasping the reigns tightly. The horseman disregarded his own safety as he galloped quickly.

"Should I fire?" Boudica asked, awaiting the order diligently. Her bow was raised high and she was grasping the arrow tightly, confident in her shot.

"Get ready." Mark replied, feeling indecisive. He wanted to see the approaching faces, but if he left it too late they wouldn't be able to get enough shots fired and could be attacked quickly. He also didn't know the numbers of the approaching men yet, but it seemed to be between fifteen and twenty.

"Wait!" Tsubotai shouted, "Open the gate!"