"I don't like it."
There was a deep crease in Sassun's brow as he looked at the series of diagrams Kaleesh had drawn in the sand. The diagrams all represented different battle formations prepared by the captain, ones he argued should be effective against Blightspawn.
Sassun, however, was clearly less than pleased with the captain's efforts — something he made no effort to hide.
"I don't like it," he repeated. "Each of these has you and Arran do all the fighting, while the rest of us do naught but hang back and scratch our backsides."
Kaleesh gave a slight chuckle, then shook his head. "Your role is to finish off any wounded Blightspawn and prevent us from being flanked. I do not expect that will leave you much time to scratch your behinds."
Sassun gave the captain a sour look. "It's a waste, is what it is. Fifty strong men, and all you'll have them do is cover you."
"Waste of not," Kaleesh replied, "these are the tactics I plan to use. Should they fall short, I will adjust them." He glanced at the sky, then continued, "There are still some hours of daylight left. Let's not waste them. Arran, you join us as well."
With a small sigh, Arran stood up from the ground, then waited patiently as Sassun gathered the troops for the drills ahead.
Nearly a week had passed since they'd left Lady Raina's fortress, and every evening since their departure, the captain had made his troops spend hours practicing formations.
Kaleesh had tried all sorts of tactics, but the ones he had eventually decided on had Arran and himself did most of the fighting, with the other mercenaries following behind to provide cover.
It was a sensible strategy, Arran thought. With the gap in strength between them and the others, it only made sense to keep the mercenaries out of harm's way.
Not all of the troops agreed with that, of course. Even if they understood the captain's intent, they were proud to a fault, and hiding behind their leaders carried a whiff of cowardice that few of them bore gladly.
Yet in the Wolfsblood Company, Kaleesh's word was law. And so, the mercenaries' complaints notwithstanding, they practiced the new formations until well after the sun had disappeared behind the horizon.
The days that followed were no different.
The group no longer traveled nearly as fast as they had during the previous months, and each night, they made camp several hours before sunset, giving the mercenaries plenty of time to drill and practice.
But even on the road, the captain no longer pushed his troops as hard as before. Instead, he allowed them regular breaks for rest and meals, and even entertained them with tales of past battles as they ate.
Had the circumstances been different, the mercenaries would have rejoiced at the leisurely journey. But as it was, they all knew the truth — that this was their final chance to rest before battle.
The landscape was pleasant, with grassy green hills that held large herds of cows and sheep. Underneath the bright sun and blue skies, it made for a rustic sight, and the region seemed as peaceful as any they'd encountered in their months of travel.
Yet with a closer look, it was obvious that these lands were well-prepared for war.
Even the smallest villages they passed were hidden behind tall walls, with watchful guards protecting their gates. And while the hills held plenty of herdsmen and farmers, there were nearly as many scouts to be seen, their eyes ever vigilant as they patrolled the region.
And then, there were the groups of soldiers on the roads.
The first of these, they met barely three days after leaving Lady Raina's fortress. It was a large group of well over a hundred soldiers, led by half a dozen Rangers.
The two groups' leaders exchanged words only briefly, but Arran was surprised to discover that these Darians had traveled over a thousand miles. And when he heard that they all came from the same town, he could not help but feel some worry.
To his eyes, the soldiers seemed little more than youths. They'd clearly received training, but it was just as clear that only the Rangers had any real experience.
If such a group encountered any real enemies, he could not imagine it ending well.
But as they slowly approached the Desolation, they met other groups more regularly. And it wasn't long before Arran realized that the first group had been stronger than most.
The smallest groups they encountered had no more than a dozen ill-equipped soldiers, and they were led by common soldiers rather than Rangers.
Whenever the Wolfsblood Company encountered these groups, both sides would briefly come to a halt, their leaders exchanging words about the road ahead before continuing onward.
The conversations were always short, but even so, Arran did not fail to notice that all but a few of the soldiers' leaders spoke with a grim resignation, as if they had already accepted that many of them would not return.
"How are these supposed to fight Blightspawn?" Arran asked as they left yet another group of Darians behind — farmboys all of them, with weapons that only barely deserved the name.
"They'll join other groups," Kaleesh explained. "There's a city called Knight's Watch, about a week's travel from Sacrifice. The smaller groups will join up with others there, so that they can reach Sacrifice safely."
Arran nodded in understanding. It made sense that the smaller groups would join forces — alone, they would stand little chance of survival. "Do you plan for us to take on any new allies?"
"Perhaps," the captain replied. "Though with us being outsiders, I doubt there will be many candidates."
Arran cast a brief glance at the group of soldiers behind them, then shook his head. "I wouldn't be too sure of that."
Some of the soldiers they'd met in the previous days had spoken to them with open disdain, and many had cast envious looks at their armor. Yet on the whole, most had treated them like equals — allies, even.
"I think it's different here," he continued hesitantly. "With the Blight this close, they don't seem to care as much about us being outsiders. It might matter in the east, but here, we have a common enemy."
Kaleesh whistled between his teeth. "It's possible, I suppose," he said, though his voice carried more than a hint of skepticism.
In truth, Arran wasn't fully convinced, either.
While the Darians they'd met in the west were certainly friendlier than those in the east, he knew that friendliness and respect were very different things. And whether they'd receive the latter remained to be seen.
They continued their journey at a slow but steady pace, each step they took bringing them closer to the edge of the Imperium. And as they advanced, the towns and villages they passed grew sparser, with the few that remained becoming increasingly well-defended.
This close to the border, there wasn't a settlement to be found that didn't resemble a fortress. Even the smallest villages had walls that could resist an army — for a time, at least — and the few towns they passed seemed every bit as impenetrable as Lady Raina's fortress had been.
They were barely two days' travel from Knight's Watch when they caught sight of a village roughly a mile down the road.
"Perhaps we should take the chance to resupply," Kaleesh said. "With all these soldiers, I expect that prices in Knight's Watch will be nothing short of extortionate."
Arran nodded. "That seems—"
He stopped talking mid-sentence, as he suddenly Sensed something he hadn't encountered in a long time. Magic. And though it only lasted for the briefest of moments, he had no doubt that it had come from the village.
"Trouble ahead," he said in a low voice. "In the village."
Kaleesh gave him a curious look, and for a moment, it looked like the captain was about to ask for more details. But instead, he raised his hand and gestured for the mercenaries to halt.
"Sassun," he said, as the troops came to a stop behind them. "When was the last time you saw a scout patrol?"
The commander considered the question for a few seconds, and as he did, his expression slowly turned ugly. "I haven't seen any today."
The captain smiled wryly. "Neither have I, come to think of it." He glanced at the village in the distance, then gave a small sigh. "Unless the Darians have given up on protecting their lands, it would seem we've run into an obstacle."
"What do we do?" Sassun asked, a grim look in his eyes as he examined their surroundings.
"I would suggest going around," Kaleesh said. "But…" His voice trailed off as he fixed his eyes on a distant hill, half a mile to the right of the village.
Arran followed the captain's gaze, narrowing his eyes as he peered at the hill. It took him a moment to spot what the captain had seen, but when he noticed it, a curse escaped his lips.
Atop the hill stood several large figures. Blightspawn, he knew. And although they were too far away for him to see their faces, he had no doubt that the creatures had already spotted them, as well.
"Two groups, then," Kaleesh said. "One in the village, and one—"
"Three," Sassun interrupted. "Look to the left, among the trees."
Arran did as he said, and a moment later, another curse fled his mouth. Just as Sassun had said, several large figures were hidden among the tree line.