Chapter 24: The Bandit in the Enemy's Den

"What am I even doing here?" Logan shivered in fear. He hid behind a drum near the weapon storage in the camp of Hammer's army. "That Colt sent me to die." He grabbed his head and almost cried as he regretted his decision.

Colt had sent him as a spy in the enemy's camp.

"What should I do? What if they catch me? Would they kill me?" He almost pissed in his pants while he thought about all the worst-case scenarios. He heard someone approaching the storage tent. He peeked a little to see it was two royal guards of Hammer.

"King Hammer is fighting for his life," the first guard said. "I wonder if he would survive."

"If he does not survive, what would become of us?" the second guard said. "What if Prince Rozerd and Prince Colt come out to be the victor? What would become of us?"

"Do not be ridiculous." The first guard shrugged. "They can not win against us. Look at how mighty we are. Do not overestimate them just because they fought against us equally in one battle."

"I know. Hey, I have recently heard some rumors going around," the second guard lowered his voice.

"What is it?"

"Do not tell anyone, but I have heard Commander Varius is ambitious for power. He is waiting for a chance to stab behind the back of our king."

"What the hell are you talking about?" the first guard reacted in surprise. "Watch your mouth before anyone hears you. Commander Varius would tear you apart if he gets the wind of this rumour."

"I know. But this is only a rumour. It could not be true. After all, he has been loyal to King Hammer all his life. Why would he do something like this now?"

"True. Whoever is spreading this rumour should be found."

"Oh, so someone is spreading rumors about Varius," Logan thought as he overheard the conversation.

A third guard arrived at the scene. "Hey, guys, have you heard this rumour?"

"About Commander Varius?" the first guard responded. "Yes, we have."

"Commander Varius? What are you talking about?" the guard reacted as if he did not understand him.

The first and second guards glanced at each other in confusion.

"What is it you have heard?" the second guard asked the third.

"Ah, it is about the new temporary leader of us," the third guard replied. "Until King Hammer is treated, they will choose a new acting leader of the army."

"Should it not be Commander Varius?" the first guard wondered. "He is most loyal to the king. He has proved himself a worthy commander on the battlefield. He is the most suitable one to take charge."

"You are right, but what if the rumors are true?" the second guard said with a dense look. "There is a question mark on his loyalty. What if he hijacks the position and betrays our king?"

"You are right. But the rumors might not be true," the first guard responded.

"Wait, wait, what is this rumour you are talking about?" the third guard asked.

Logan could not hear them properly as they began talking in a lower tone. He leaned a bit forward to listen to their conversation clearly, but he accidentally pushed the drum to fall over. It fell with a thud and Logan was out in the plain sight.

"Ah, I am f***ed now. It is over." He pissed his pants as he trembled in terror.

The guards looked at him, shivering like a cat in the rain.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" the first guard put his sword on his neck. "Are you a spy?"

"No, no, wait. I am not a spy." Logan did not know what to do. These soldiers could kill him at any moment. "I was just looking for some food. I was hungry."

"Do you think we are idiots, huh?" The first guard pulled him by his hair.

"Ouch, ouch. Not my hair. It hurts."

"What should we do with him?" the third guard wondered.

"We should take him to Commander Varius," the second guard suggested. "He would decide his fate."

Just when he heard the name of Varius, Logan began to weep. "No, not Varius, please." He remembered his previous encounter with him. He was almost dead then, and he knew Varius would kill him this time for sure.

Varius, meanwhile, could not stop the thoughts of Lolofiya from barging into his mind. He remembered again and again about the moment she had bestowed her divine present on him. "What is this feeling? Why can not I stop thinking about her?" he wondered.

At the moment, the three guards brought Logan to him.

"Commander, we caught this man sneaking into our camp," the first guard said. "We believe he is a spy sent by our enemies."

Varius looked at Logan and raised a brow as he could not recognize him. How could he? The soldiers had beaten him up, making his face barely recognizable.

"Why did you bring him to me? Kill him and send his head to his masters," Varius said and began to walk away when Logan spoke in a hurried voice.

"Wait, wait, master Varius, it is me. Do you not recognize me?"

Varius recognized it as one of the familiar voices, but he could not remember whom it belonged to. "Who are you?"

"It is me, Logan, the bandit. The one who had sold Prince Colt to the governor of the Wild. The one whom you had beaten up." Logan hoped for Varius to recognize him.

"Oh, it is you," Varius remembered him. "What are you doing here?" He pulled out his sword and kept it on his neck. "Are you a spy?"

"No, no, I am not a spy, master," Logan pleaded. "Please, do not kill me." He had to come with something or he would be killed at the moment. He somehow cooked up a false story and blurted it out. "When you had beaten me, my men lost all respect for me and abandoned me. I could loot no one alone. I went starving for days and when I was passing from here with no hope left, I found your camp. I did not know it was yours. I only wanted some food. Master, believe me. I am not a spy! I am only a poor man!" He grabbed the leg of Varius and cried.

"Oye, leave his foot." The first guard tried to pull him away.

"Besides, I have heard some strange things about you," Logan said to Varius, looking up into his eye with a serious face. "I hope you would listen to me."

The soldiers looked at each other as his sudden change of demeanor surprised them. They doubted if he would tell their commander about the rumors about him.

"What is it? Speak," Varius ordered him.

"I will tell you, but in private."

"Master, he is trying to pull something. Just order us and we will finish him," the second guard said and pulled out his sword, but Varius stopped him.

"Wait, I will listen to what he has to say." He glared at Logan. "And if it turns out to be insignificant, I will end his life personally."

The guards glanced at each other again. They then bowed and left. "As you order, sir."

"Now, what was it you wanted to say?" Varius demanded from Logan.

"Ah, about that…" Logan then told him everything he had overheard earlier, making Varius's face tense. He understood he had managed to get through him and this matter was a lot more serious than it looked.

"Are you speaking the truth?" Varius asked.

"I have no reason to lie, master," Logan replied. "I bet my life on it."

Varius gritted his teeth. "Those dastards. They are spreading rumors to discredit me. They are trying to remove me from their way." He looked at Logan. "You, bandit…"

"Yes, sir."

"Your fortune favored you today. You will work for me for now. If you do as I say, I will spare your life."

Logan sat there, bewildered at his words. "What?"

"You heard it right. If you do not try anything funny, you can save your life. Just do as I say," Varius explained again.

Logan jumped to his feet immediately and bowed. "As you order, sir." Just when he bowed, he had a smile on his face. "Mission phase one - infiltration successful."

"But if you turn out to be someone suspicious, you will lose your head," Varius declared. "I have my eyes on you."

Logan gulped at his words. His bladder was empty right now or he would have pissed in pants again.

EARLIER

"What? Are you telling me to offer myself to them?" Logan reacted in shock. "They would kill me, thinking I am a spy."

"You would show yourself to one of the royal guards," Colt said. "They do not know you. They do not kill a spy until they get approval from a higher-up. They will take you to Varius. He would never think of you as my ally as you had sold me to the governor of the bordering castle. You just have to persuade him."

"And how exactly would I do that?"

"About that…" Colt scratched his head with an awkward smile. "I have not thought about that. Just make something up at the moment."

"What?" Logan reacted. "I am not going in there with a half-baked plan like this!"

"Oye, oye, are you even in a position to choose?" Kyte said with his arms crossed. "Do you not remember your pledge? You pledged to even die for our prince. Should I make you remember it?" He touched his sword to scare him.

"Fine." Logan agreed unwillingly. "At least give me some ideas. What would I tell Varius to believe me? You know him better."

"Umm… tell him you love him and want to marry him," Kyte suggested with a quizzical expression. "He will surely make you his wife."

"As if he would do that!" Logan shouted.

"Or you can twerk in front of him. He might enjoy your performance and decide to spare your life," Kyte suggested again.

"Stop giving me weird ideas!" Logan grabbed his head with a hopeless expression and dropped to his knees. "I am dead."

***

Fortune favors the brave. He did not know he would succeed in infiltrating the enemy camp. He now had to move into the next phase of his mission.