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Gasper tightened his belt and stretched his armor as he prepared for a new day. There was a knock on the cabin's door. "Come in."
Master Rudolf was the first to enter, closely followed by Erick.
"You're here," Gasper muttered. Then he looked at the masked old steward. "How fare my men after yesterday?"
"Some have taken Ornell's tragedy as an example to learn from," Master Rudolf said. "Others are disturbed, and maybe even panicked."
"And Djark?" Gasper asked.
"Some of his lackeys have chosen caution and left his side," Erick was the one to answer this time. "But some others who didn't follow him before have begun supporting him. Unfortunately, the number of people he influences in the crew has risen."
There was a loud sigh, which Gasper realized came from Master Rudolf. The old man soon spoke again. "That is not all," he said. "There were two others like Djark, but they used to scheme in the dark before. Daunted by your public execution yesterday, they have joined the ranks of Djark."
"How many men support Djark now?" Gasper said.
"No less than 150 men," Master Rudolf said.
Gasper nodded then turned to Erick. "Summon Djark and his men to the middle of the camp. I have some commands to give them."
Erick nodded in affirmation. Before he left, Master Rudolf mouthed several names for him to summon along with the rest. They were the names of the men Erick wasn't aware were now following Djark.
After Erick left to summon the men, Master Rudolf spoke again. "Do you believe it's time?"
"Even if it isn't," Gasper said. "It's better to have Djark away from the camp than within it."
"True," the old man nodded. "I suppose we will see how he'll receive the news."
"He will either be infuriated because I will distance him from the rest of my men who he wants to tempt into following him," Gasper said. "Or he will rejoice, because he will have the chance to further separate his men from my crew. He could consider it a good start if he wants to strike out on his own and build a crew for himself soon."
"Hmm," Master Rudolf nodded again. "He might imagine that he will have all the time needed to persuade those men to leave with him later."
"Well," Gasper snorted. "He will have some time. But there will be no 'later'"
"I suppose not," Master Rudolf chuckled.
After a while, Gasper left the cabin followed by Master Rudolf. He headed to the middle of the camp where Djark and his men were summoned. A bit less than 150 men were gathered, and Djark was heading them. There were whispers and hisses among the men. Apparently they were a bit unsettled. Perhaps they thought Gasper was going to act against them now. Djark, however, didn't seem worried.
"Shut your flapping traps already," Gasper yelled. "There are things for you to do. So you better listen to my commands carefully."
The mutterings and hisses among the crowd died down with Gasper's words. The attention of the men was soon aimed at him.
"All those who have been summoned here will leave the camp at noon," Gasper said loudly. "You will begin patrolling west of the forest. You must prevent any peasants from fleeing to Ard. You must also prevent Ard's scouts from reaching the farmsteads and hamlets that are under our control. It's time for those in Ard to understand that this is no longer their land."
There was silence in response, as if the men were numb to his words. Perhaps they were still waiting for him to deliver worse news about their fate. But he wouldn't. Their fate would be his little surprise for them.
"The man in command will be Djark," Gasper continued. "You will take enough rations for the ten days you will spend away from the camp. Then you will return after that and be replaced by others. The lands between us and Ard must always be watched."
A smirk came over Djark's face when he heard that he was going to be in command. It didn't seem like he was going to question why 150 men were going to be sent instead of only a few good scouts. He was too pleased with the fact that he would have this opportunity to realize the oddity of the matter, or at least Gasper assumed so.
"We will do as you command, chief," Djark yelled. Then the men behind him shouted in agreement.
"Good," Gasper smiled. But inside he thought otherwise. Fool, Gasper looked at him then ran his eyes over the rest of the men. No. Fools.
After noon the selected men left the camp led by Djark. They were to stay west of the forest for ten days then return. Gasper rested in his cabin after sending them off. Now he would wait.
…
..
.
Two days later, he received the 'shocking' news in the morning. Half a regiment of cavalry from Ard had ridden his men down west of the forest the previous night. Ard's soldiers had done it so thoroughly that none of his men returned. Only after one of his scouts came upon the remains of the battle did he return to the camp and inform Erick. According to him, the cavalry of Ard was still present west of the forest.
Gasper was prepared for the news. He quickly roused his crew. His men weren't as ready as him, but before noon they were armed and ready. On his horse, and with Master Rudolf and Erick riding beside him, he led all of his men towards the southwest.
The sun was halfway down the horizon when they reached the remains of the battle. The bloody corpses were minced into unrecognizable piles of meat and bone. It was obvious that the mountless men led by Djark hadn't stood against Ard's cavalry. The mounted soldiers had ridden the bandits down and mixed their flesh with the dirt. Any man who knew a thing about war would know what this was no battle. It was slaughter.
After watching the sight for a while, Master Rudolf trotted closer to Gasper with his horse. "Do you think Djark is dead for certain?" he whispered.
"He should be," Gasper replied, his voice suppressed. "Does it matter, though? If the 500-man cavalry of Ard can't surround and kill 150 mountless bandits properly, then Djark might be the least of our worries."
The old steward nodded in agreement.
After a few moments of silence, he heard the sound of the ground being struck repeatedly akin to the suppressed beating of drums.
Erick Rode closer to Gasper and said, "horses."
"Yes," Gasper held back a smile. Then he turned to his men and began his speech. "Ard's cavalry is coming," he roared. "They have used their numbers to slaughter our comrades here, on this land. Now we outnumber them, four of us for each of them. We shall pay them back for last night's debt!"
There were a few yells that soon gathered shouts of agreement among the men. The response was enough for Gasper. He looked ahead again and saw the cavalry appearing in the distance. He drew his sword and pointed it at Ard's soldiers. "prepare your blades for their blood," he roared before trotting towards the rallied cavalry. His men charged from behind him and almost overtook his slow trot. He knew that there wasn't going to be a real battle. He didn't need to wait for his men to charge first. It was time to show his 'courage'. He roused his horse into a gallop, and he rode ahead, distancing himself from his men.
After he and his crew had covered half the distance to the enemy, the cavalry on the other side seemed to be turning around. He didn't slow down, supposedly unwitting of what they were doing. Soon the cavalry of Ard began riding in the opposite direction instead of charging at him and his men.
It took a few moments for his men to notice the oddity happening on their enemy's side. Then the charge slowed down gradually until it came to an eventless halt. If the enemy cavalry wanted to flee, then it wasn't possible for the bandits who had no mounts to chase.
Gasper brought his horse to a halt and turned around. He raised his sword high and pointed at the fleeing cavalry. "Ard's soldiers flees before us," he yelled. "The east is ours!"
"The east is ours!" his men echoed, almost hesitantly. Was the east theirs without a battle?
Gasper, however, didn't need to convince them. He only needed those who would hear of this convinced. The other bandit crews wouldn't pursue the specifics of his confrontation with Ard's army. They would only hear about a battle and a bloody battlefield. It would be difficult for them to know what happened with the Viscount not disclosing the events clearly, and with no one from Gasper's crew to tell the story as it truly was.
All Gasper needed was for the bandit crews in the north to hear about a conflict between his crew and Ard. With a few roars that encouraged his men, he turned them around and led them back towards their camp with a jest of a victory in his hands.