Exiting the communications tower, I saw thirty men sectioned off, expectantly standing at attention. The other twenty were slouched along the wall, peering off towards the mountainous horizon.
"Are your preparations done?"
I spoke to the thirty men lined up against the wall. The question was more for formalities sake than anyone else so I proceeded down the stairs we came from, expecting the obvious answer to follow behind me. And so it did.
"Aye commander!"
My men followed my lead down the stairs and towards the looming, rusted portcullis.
Looking up at the orange streaked iron gate, I remembered the past again. The past of mere weeks ago. A time when the beastmen barbarians, along with their human masters, were mercilessly pummeling our walls with high-level magic and animal-like strength. The walls shook and were stained wet.
That attack brought us nearest to our demise, but we held. Barely. We hadn't seen another attack since then.
Turning around, I signaled my comrades to halt and file up. Once the eerie din died down, I spoke.
"Judging by your timely split in ranks, I assume you all know the mission. But for those of you who only did what you were told by your seniors or recently moved to my regiment, I'll give the briefing. Our objective is to scout for human or beastmen advance parties. Once spotted we are to make the judgement of whether to report back or neutralize the group. Listen closely to my second in command, Vyen, or myself if you don't want to be executed for acting independently. Any questions?"
Taking the prolonged silence as a signal to proceed, I flagged down the guards within the gate tower. In response, they raised the portcullis. I led my men out.
Immediately outside the gate, a new war-torn world greeted us. Craters left by magical bombardments littered the ground. A once beautiful moat spiderwebbed its way across the large clearing like a bunch of brown snakes struggling, locked in a race. The left side, or the eastern territory, was less ravaged and the forest spread up into the looming mountains, seemingly unaffected by the state of the world.
However, I knew better. The mountain and forest dryads were up in arms against any enemy they happened to catch in their stealthily laid traps of leaves. Once calm streams were dyed a murky brown due sediment and runoff from the war. Animals were scarcely found nowadays since they all went into hiding long ago.
I began to navigate my way through the minefield of potholes and stone towards this forest.
"Remind me why we have to go into this damned place again?"
I chuckle a little at Vyen's sarcastic remark.
"Come one Vyen, don't tell me you don't want to go scouting a forest that is impossible to see through. We wouldn't want a surprise ambush of beastmen running full tilt into our fortress gate before we even have the chance to respond, right?"
"Ah, I guess you got that right commander. Search for beastmen, search for humans, hope we don't run into any dryads or their kin. Its the fucking same every time. I mean..."
I tune out Vyen's complaints. He doesn't mind since I do it every time he starts blabbering on about the fruitlessness of the war or the danger of our mission. Instead, I choose to examine the forest's edge for minor changes. Things like large branches being shifted, trampling, a new patch of leaves, an odd array of bushes, and so on. All of these can signal a trap set by dryads or beastmen ambushes.
Fortunately, nothing new had sprouted up since my last excursion into the forest, at least nothing that my two years of experience within the forest noticed.
So, we continued walking, into the forest and into our fate.
Darkness soon shrouded my group as the canopy grew thick with dark colored leaves characteristic of the late summer months. A gentle green aura from the glowbeetles fell from the tree limbs, gracing the forest floor with a mystical glow. Old trees loomed in the darkness, like sentinels set to guard the forest from the feint of heart. A thick bed of leaves and shrubs coated the ground, lending a rich earthy smell to the air. It was comforting. I grew calm as with the rest of my veteran companions. Even Vyen stopped complaining as a soft smile slightly pushed his cheeks up.
However, we all were on alert. We knew that we had entered a no-man's land of three armies and all we had to do was walk, watch, and survive.
And so, I continued marching further into the fabricated night. A mysterious heartfelt thrum resonated throughout the forest, becoming louder as we delved deeper into the dark. But still, we paid no heed towards the ominous sounds. We were all experienced within the forest and were confident in our abilities.
However, when our confidence was soaring and our wariness was lax, that was when fate decided to play its cruel sport.
The forest appeared to be unchanged to our experienced eyes. However, we never followed the same path consecutively, fearing that a detectable trail may form if we did, so we barely recognized our current location. I walked up towards a small forest wash that couldn't be more than two meters deep.
Inspecting the lay and direction of the wash, I could determine where the tallest peaks were by following the lay of the land. I proceeded to look at the sun's position since the wash offered a welcome break in the tree cover. Through this method, I reaffirmed the time and our location within my head.
I shot up a short hand signal to my comrades, calling for a temporary rest. Although, my signal appeared to be unnecessary since the veteran warriors were already pulling out water canteens and setting up hidden temporary guard posts. None of us spoke. Speaking now could mean death and, more often than not nowadays, it did.
The silent circle of troops finally settled into the land, blending in superbly with the surrounding area that even I could barely notice each individual.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
My hands stopped what they were doing and immediately darted towards the longsword at my waist.
Straining my ears I listened.
Nothing.
I noticed my comrades mirroring my actions with spears, bows, and magic. Still though, silence surrounded us.
Gently, I began to step towards where the sound came from.
My feet silently brushed past the leaf strewn floor. Still, nothing greeted my advance.
At that moment a quiet voice appeared.
"It... it got Gilmor."
The silence in the clearing was absolute so the voice carried to all of our ears.
-Swoosh-
"Ahhhhhhh!"
"Tighten the ranks!"
Two voices shouted at the same time. One was on the other side of our encirclement directly behind me. The second was mine.
At my call, the remaining warriors and I formed up around our rangers and casters. Silence once again filled the clearing.
Who were the attackers? I didn't know. Nobody knew, but we could all guess. Although none of us had seen them, we all feared the worst.
Suddenly, I instinctually felt a threat coming from behind me. I raised my sword and spun in one fluid motion.
-Shik-
The tip of my sword felt heavy before I could finish my turn.
"Urk."
Fear enveloped me.
"Beastmen Elite Hunters! Magicians blast the area. Watch the shadows!"
We were fighting against a top squad of the beastmen. The elite of the biological weapons. The worst of the human creations.
"[Firebolt]"
"[Moving Earth]"
"[Stone Shot]"
"[Static Field]"
Simultaneously, the few magicians in our small group finished their spells. The ground began to ripple in a circle away from us like a pebble falling into water. A bright light shot forth towards the dark and purple energy ripples coursed across the ground around us.
"Archers!"
Next, the archers each knocked an arrow to their bow. Each string was pulled taught and released with a powerful thrum.
"Keep firing!"
This time, Vyen shouted the command before me.
-Thump-
Finally, I thought that I heard the sound of an arrow sinking into flesh. We could win this. I believed. However, reality was harsh and my fantasy was shattered as I felt someone slump against my side and slide down towards the ground.
I glanced over. I immediately realized how wrong I was. There was an arrow lodged halfway through the corpses neck. The body coughed and a fountain of blood spurted from the mouth and wound with each breath.
Feeling another dangerous presence approaching, I forcibly averted my gaze. Swinging my sword, an arrow shattered in front of me.
-Thunk-
-Thump-
-Crack-
At this moment, I remembered that reality was cruel.
This battle wasn't a battle. We were lambs at the slaughter.
"Sleep well dwarf."