The Eve of Battle

"I think we're getting close," Stoneheart said, looking at the six dead men on the ground in front of them.

They had already spent the better part of two weeks in search of the army, and although they had come across several scouting parties, there was little sign of the main force.

The region was hilly and densely forested, and the terrain made it far harder to find the army than they had anticipated. In such an environment, they could have easily passed within a mile of their enemies without ever noticing.

Initially, they had thought they could simply capture a few scouts and wring information from those, but the scouts fought with an almost religious fervor, choosing death over capture. And when they finally caught one alive, the man bit off his tongue before they could make him speak.

After that, they had stopped trying to capture their enemies alive.