Darien waited impatiently as the war council
continued. He reached under the patch covering his eye,
scratching an itch on the scar that used to be his eye, lost
to a mage's simple dart. Finally he saw the Captain
enter the courtyard. Darien and his fellow sergeants,
the dwarven axe-for-hire Falthen and the dwarven
outcast Geveren, approached quickly. "What news, Cap'n?"
Darien asked.
The Captain responded, "We are
badly outnumbered. We will begin the attack with
harrassment raids by the Lions, then a group of guards,
dwarves from the east and the lizardriders will form a
skirmish line to block the advance as our cavalry attacks
to their rear. We hope to free the slaves to assist
us. Falthen, your squad wil be going with the
blocking force as you have the best rapport with the
neighboring dwarves."
The last comment crushed
Darien's hopes of entering the battle. "Castle guard
again," he thought. "With your permission, sir, I'll have
my men prepare their gear and bed down since shifts
are going to get more frequent and longer." Captain
Blackfist nodded and added," Falthen, your squad leaves in
2 hours. Geveren, your squad will have to extend
their shift by 2 hours to pick up half of Falthen's
shift."
Darien left the impromptu meeting feeling deprived at a
chance for glory. The damned dwarves and the Lions would
claim the major share from this battle. He understood
the necessity of the job he did, he just had that
highlander blood that screamed for battle. Well, maybe he
would get lucky...
He arrived at the barracks
and briefed his squad. The disappointment was clear
on their faces. Still, they were professional
soldiers and understood the need to follow orders. "You
don't have to like it, you just have to do it," was a
well-known phrase in the ranks of soldiers such as these.
Darien finished his brief and then set about preparing
his gear for the possibility of battle. Once his gear
was checked for cleanliness and serviceability, he
laid it out so he could easily find everything, day or
night, then laid down to sleep.
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