Trudging around the outskirts, far enough away from the battle so they wouldn't be noticed heading to their new mission to strike at the supply chains feeding the Rock Troll army.
The battle was taking place in a valley between two mountain ranges which they had to traverse through to get at their supplies.
With little information provided, it soon became apparent that the mountain range was far wider than first predicted. The rugged terrain and thin air made progress slow as they climbed higher in altitude.
The first night was spent on top of a mountain in a quickly dug cave to hide from the frigid wind and the fire that they needed for warmth.
The men were getting along miserably, grumpy and cold, their once-quiet voices were now loud and snappy as they barked at each other for the littlest things.
Theoric was the only one not having a problem, for as he slept his body was going through a metamorphosis, his strength and knowledge slowly increasing as time went on.
His last sleep brought him the most significant benefit yet as he felt a symbolic click go off in his head releasing a bit of the tension he has for using his abilities. Now able to use his powers with far less strain for longer periods.
This helped keep his mood high despite the uncomfortable conditions he found himself in.
---------
The 2nd day they headed into the depths of the mountain range where what little wildlife this planet had still survived despite the Rock Trolls threat to its existence.
Theoric the only one in a position to think about things other than the mission questioned how this was possible, an ominous feeling growing in him.
The other Asgardians were just happy to see something other than rocks for the first time, trees, grass, and other plant life dotted the area with small creatures visible. Tracks of bigger game could be seen from the muddy footprints by the flowing stream.
They were now in a bowl of mountains that seemed to house a protected environment, unusual for the barren planet.
Theoric was the only one on high alert as the rest lowered their guard to enjoy the nice change of pace, quenching their thirst as they took a break by the stream.
Vott laughed merrily seeing his men's spirits improve- "Theoric, now is the time to relax, it's not often you get situations like these, you should take advantage of it while you can, plenty of fighting in the future."
Theoric didn't understand why he was acting this way, even if he wanted to take a break, why was he so loose and uncaring, he didn't even order any of the men to guard them.
Theoric- "Sir don't you think you're a bit too relaxed?"
Vott ignored him as he started taking his armor off laughing.
Theoric went on full alert as he saw this, looking around he saw half the men doing similar with the other half looking on concerned.
Seeing Serk acting normal he called out- "Serk, report!"
Serk hearing his name called looked over to see Vott stripping his gear off next to a concerned Theoric. Rushing over he saluted him without hesitation, already taking him to be 2nd in command like many others.
"Sir, on the way we found what we thought were edibles and some of the men decided to eat them after running out of rations, unprepared for how long we would be in the mountains." Looking over to Vott who was now almost nude, "It seems Captain took some as well."
To make matters worse they could now hear the howls of incoming Rock Trolls in the distance.
Theoric frowned at the noise with a visible shudder from Serk who was worried about what would happen with half the men out of their minds.
Looking at the now naked men who wrestled against anyone trying to ruin their fun as they danced around.
Theoric taking command ordered- "Tell those who are not inebriated to tie the ones who are down so we can better defend them, make sure you hurry we don't have time to waste."
Serk- "Sir, can you heal them?"
Theoric feeling stupid for not thinking of it himself gave it a shot only to look disappointed- "It doesn't seem like I can, maybe because they're not actually hurt in any way, it's more like a drunken state or maybe I just can't wield my healing well enough to figure it out right now and we don't seem to have the time for me to practice, do as I said and prepare."
________________________________
Gaark and Ekak, twin brother elites in Ulik's army, were ordered to go into the depths of the mountain and find a group of sneaky Asgardians to kill.
Slightly bigger than the surrounding Trolls in height as well as mass, helped them to stand out with their barbarian style armor which only covered their joints and weak points leaving most their body unprotected, along with their twin horned helmets and hammer weapons.
The mountains were thought to be cursed by many, trolls who ventured inside often to never return.
Gaark and Ekak didn't believe in such things and were more than willing to venture inside on orders from their king. The same couldn't be said for their men though as they entered deeper into the mountains.
When they reached the inner bowl discovering the prehistoric space, many of them on edge started to freak out and let out howls involuntarily at the slightest movement.
Gaark angrily shouted- "Shut up you bunch of worthless cowards, you just gave away our position."
Ekak feeling the same- "If one more of you makes a peep without our orders, we'll kill you and leave you to rot in this cursed place."
Which helped to shut them up.
__________________________________
Theoric had the naked men tied up together in the middle so they could easily be watched and protected.
The situation wasn't good though, already one of the lowest numbered squads around with 31 members left after recent battles.
They were now down to 16 men, this was a complete disaster. If the trolls came in their usual numbers, they would be hard-pressed to keep alive let alone defend these naked fools.
Theoric seeing no other choice ordered 4 men to stay behind and defend them while the rest headed out to engage the enemy at a safer distance away.
Wildlife scattered away from the surroundings as the two forces came face to face.
Theoric gripped his sword, watching the trolls who were now a stone's throw away, his men visibly nervous, shaking a little as they saw the number of trolls despite the odds being similar to usual. The stress was far greater with their smaller number amplifying the feeling of being alone against an army.
Luckily the trolls were only 50 strong, after not being able to get many to agree to come into the mountains as well as not wanting to risk to big of a force in case the curse rumors were true. Ulik felt like this would be enough after thinking back on how easily he wiped them out the last time, he had complete trust in Gaark and Ekak to take care of it.
The trolls let out their howls as they charged the now 12 Asgardians who were in a tightly packed curved line ready to form a circle when they became surrounded in order to protect each other's backs.