The moon was high up in the sky, barely showing a pale, thin smile as it peeked amidst the clouds. Its subdued brilliance didn't quite reach the ground, only revealing the looming silhouette of the somber mountain past the light of the torch the sentinels were carrying.
The ember glow managed to dispel the darkness around them just enough for them to see a couple of steps in front of them, as if the night refused to make way for the light of the flame.
"It's dark as a wolf's mouth out here."
"The moon is very dim today. We better keep our eyes open. The savages know to take advantage of nights like these."
"Um, Captain, Sir, how many times have you faced the savages?"
"Ah, Sloan, you have only faced them once, haven't you?"
"Yes, Sir. Sadly I was patrolling with a large squad at the time, barely managed to moisten my sword with one of them."
"They might be barbarians, but it is truly unwise to underestimate them, Sloan. Remember that."
"What is there to fear? There are five of us here, and we are well equipped for any contingency."
Sloan struck his chest with a confident fist while looking at the men around him. They didn't return his earnest gaze, looking at him with pity.
"Hahaha. What is there to fear? Sloan, how many weeks have passed since you arrived from the front?"
"Almost two weeks, Sir."
"Have you ever gone to the infirmary inside the compound?"
"The infirmary? No, Sir. Why?"
The Captain's face grew darker, making a chill go down his spine. Not even in the front had Sloan seen such a cold, murderous fury reflected in someone's eyes.
"You should go when we finish our rounds. Have you ever wondered why, despite being in a war against the Quantia Empire, the Kingdom still equips this fort so well? What we are protecting the Kingdom against are not people. They are beasts, capable of killing ten men without making a sound. A Ronna warrior could slice your neck from ear to ear if you're not careful. They are silent and deadly."
"But, Sir, they only carry stone weapons and cover themselves in furs and crude fabrics. Shouldn't we be able to kill them pretty easily?"
"Yes, they are poorly equipped. But have you ever stopped to think that even when we greatly outnumber them and we have iron armors and swords we haven't been able to conquer them? The war between us has been going on for centuries now, and no side is wining."
Sloan was confused, making his Captain chuckle.
"What I mean to say is that even with all the advantages we hold over them we are still unable to eliminate them. Do you understand why that is?"
"Why, Sir?"
"Because they are extremely superior to us when it comes to battle prowess. Now think, what would happen if this fort fell and those fiends made their way into the Kingdom? How long do you thing Pillis would last against those monsters?"
Sloan shuddered as he thought about his family, waiting for him back at the city. They had just been transferred here from the south in a rush, despite his pleas to wait a bit longer for his wife to recover from the birth of their second child.
'They must really want you there,' she had told him. But now he was coming to realize that his promotion might not really turn out to be such a good thing as he had expected.
"Do you even know why you were transferred here?"
He shook his head.
"Because a month ago the fort was attacked. We don't know how, but the monsters made their way inside. We lost forty seven men."
Sloan's chin trembled.
"How many of theirs did we get?"
"Nine. Four men and five women."
The rest of their entourage looked at the newcomer with compassion. They had all been naïve once, believing this to be an opportunity to rise in the ranks and make contributions while killing some savages, but reality had turned out to be much crueler.
Most were lucky if they reached past the one year mark, and those who made it were not those who had the best skills or build. The ones who survived were the ones who had avid eyes and quick reflexes. Only distrustful people survived the border.
"I, Uh... Thank you, Sir... I'll keep it in mind."
Suddenly the radiance of the torch in Sloan's hand seemed much dimmer, and the darkness around him all encompassing.
"Sir... If you don't mind me asking..."
"Yes?"
"Why do the Ronna let women fight? Isn't that a disadvantage for them in battle?"
This time, the whole squad laughed out loud. Once the Captain had calmed down he finally answered with a gruesome smirk in his face.
"Oh, Sloan, you better get that thought out of your head. You might be used to cambrian women, but the Ronna are a different breed. The men are sturdy and quite fast, truly a difficult opponent to face, but the ones that begin the surprise attacks are the women. They are vicious and ruthless, not hesitating to kill you our dying to your blade. They are not as strong, but they are aware of that as well. I don't know what training they go through, but the way they fight is something I've never seen before. I once watched one loose an arm to one of our commanders and keep running towards him while holding the fallen knife with her teeth. Despite her grave wounds, the Ronna managed to retreat. The commander did not."
"What happened to him?"
"He died to that same knife."
Sloan's face grew pale and he hesitated to take the next step forward. Before he could stop entirely, a strong hand slapped his back to wake him out of his daze.
"C'mon, Captain! You will scare the newbie if you keep going with your stories! Yes the Ronna are ruthless, but we are proud soldiers of the Kingdom of Cambria! Don't worry, Sloan. All of us are veterans here in the frontier. There is not much that can get past us. The savages are fearsome, but we are absolutely terrifying."
The young soldier didn't really know if he truly understood the meaning behind those words, but he didn't have much more time to ponder after he heard the rustling of leaves to his right.
From between two bushes a pale, bloodied hand reached out, clawing into the ground to slowly pull a small figure into their view. It was a child, older than his firstborn but still far from puberty, with matted hair and bloodied rags that were leaving a moist trail behind them as they crawled further towards their sphere of light.
"Who are you? Stop right there!"
Despite the sword being pointed at them, the child kept crawling towards them at a slow pace, heaving and mumbling.
The squad stood frozen in horror at the sight, barely registering the groaned words the child was saying.
"He... Help me... It hurts... Da... Daddy... Mommy... Help..."
The Captain was the first to snap out of it. Standing in front of the pitiful creature with his sword drawn.
"Captain... What do we do?"
"Step back. It might be a trap."
"Their skin... It is a cambrian child."
"They have mixed over there too. Don't forget that."
"But wouldn't they have attacked already?"
"They might be waiting for us to lower our guard. Stay alert."
Meanwhile, the child finally came under the light of the torch. The smell of blood was overwhelming.
"Help... Me... Hurts."
Sloan couldn't take it any longer and stepped forward, pushing away the Captain's hand trying to stop him.
He kneeled next to the child and lifted them up, studying their face.
"It's a girl. She's not mixed, you can tell from her eyes."
The squad finally released their tense postures and sheathed their swords.
"What is she doing all the way over here? There are no children in the fort."
Sloan held the girl over his legs and asked gently.
"What happened?"
"I looked... for... Daddy... Mommy... is dead."
"Who attacked you?"
The soldier's soft question seemed to ignite something in the child as she quickly began thrashing around.
"They did!... It hurts! Stop!... Stop it!... Please! Help!... No!... Please!"
Her small hands pushed Sloan away while her legs kicked at him with all their might. Her eyes were wide in horror, looking at something above his shoulder.
The squat turned to follow her gaze, but there was nothing there.
"Shhh. Calm down. You're safe now. Hey! Calm down!"
Despite his efforts, the girl kept moving, twitching and screaming while trying to get away from them. Sloan looked towards his comrades.
"She seems to be really traumatized."
"The Ronna must have done this to her. Those disgusting fiends."
The Captain still stared at the girl impassively. Before Sloan could even react, a strong slap resounded across the night.
The child's face harshly turned to the side, and a small trail of blood fell from her nose. Her unfocused eyes finally stabilized, meeting the Captain's steeled gaze.
"It's a trap."
"What?"
The girl resumed her screaming. This time even more distressed than before. Tears fell from her face while she clawed at the arms that held her.
The rest of the squad grew somber, drawing their swords from their scabbards one more, stepping closer to where Sloan was kneeling.
"Sir? What are you doing? She's just a child! No one has attacked us!"
The Captain ignored his startled eyes.
"Step away from her, Sloan. She's acting."
Sloan looked down at the screaming girl. How could this be an act? The blood was still warm on his hands and her tears were real.
"Sir-"
"I said step away, Sloan. That is an order."
The girl's eyes wandered around again in a frenzied search for something. They seemed to pause for a second before resuming their crazy twirling.
"No! It hurts!... Stop!... Help!... Help me!"
His Captain came closer. The edge of his sword glinting in the light.
"Captain, Sir, don't do this!"
"Step away from that girl Sloan! Can't you see there are no wounds in her body? Step away from her! Now!"
Sloan gazed at the torn rags. The Captain was right. There were no wounds beneath the fresh blood. He looked up at the child's face, freezing when he met her eyes.
She was looking straight back at him too.
He did not realize what was happening when his sword flew from his scabbard, slashing at his leg before a hard object hit his temple.
He fell to the floor with a thud. Through his hazy vision he could see the child grabbing him and pulling him close to her just as searing pain exploded in his shoulder.
"Damn it, Sloan! I told you to get away from her!"
He felt himself slump against someone's body. His Captain's voice boomed right next to his ear.
"Damned wench! She must be one of them! Catch her!"
After that, everything went black.