"Soldiers!" The large group of men, clutching their weapons and shields stood in formation in the camp center near the gate, stiff. Cadin stood in front of the square formation with his hands behind his back. The soldiers were a mix of injured and uninjured, their eyes filled with anger.
"Last night, our camp was attacked by a powerful force. We have lost many in this sudden assault. But despite overwhelming numbers and the hopelessness of our situation, we managed to hold, to reclaim our camp, and to hold the line. Now, the enemy has retreated, seemingly coming from the forest we have fought in." Cadin started pacing left and right in front of the soldiers, staring at each one with a similar face of hatred.
"We have lost brothers and sisters here, people we lived with and befriended. All lost to foreign invaders across the plains. We have shown them that we are not willing to bend the knee, even when the odds are all against us. And this attack has shown to them that even if we lose many, our spirits never falter, and we will take as much of their men with us in death. Today, we shall return to the forest and take the battle to them once more. And, unlike them, take their camp and break their army!" The army responded in sync with a yell.
Cadin ordered the army to exit through the gate, outside his cavalrymen escorts, already reinforced with a few reserves awaiting him outside.
Mounting the horse, Joken began ordering the soldiers in their formations.
Soon, the army was divided into smaller units, with Cadin's unit at the very front. Soldiers stood in a square, shields ready, swords prepared, and quivers filled with arrows, ready for the battle that is to come.
Cadin took one more look at the camp's destroyed interior, some stood while many lay as a pile of charred black lumber, being removed by the remaining civilians as they began reconstructing with what they had left.
In a minute, the army began to march, leaving the camp and directly under the morning sun already rising above the horizon, providing a warm breeze throughout the area.
'Grass.' In a second, the color of the white cloak changed, quickly matching the color of the grass they walked on. Cadin pulled up his hood as the sun continued to beat down on them.
The army groups marched in sync behind Cadin's, their eyes still filled with an overwhelming anger as they gripped their weapons and shields tight. Cadin looked forward, nothing but plains could be seen for miles and a few small hills of green.
As he continued on, he noticed something on the grass ahead of them. Blood and a few scattered arrows around the place.
Cadin glanced quickly at them before looking forward again, "We need to speak with the leaders of that forest tribe, that candidate needs to be dealt with quickly."
Hours passed, they soon arrived at the forest's entrance with the sun higher in the sky.
"Men, remember your formations, when we enter that forest, danger and death lurks in every corner, and at any second, any failure with the formation will mean our doom. Now, prepare!" Immediately, the soldiers raised their shields to the sides and above them, compressing with one another.
Joken and the horsemen moved closer with Cadin, forming a small circle around him with shields raised above their heads.
They entered inside, leaving the comforts of the outside and venturing into the forest.
As they ventured deeper, a shadowy figure landed on the path in front of them, stopping them dead in their tracks. It pulled down its green hood, it was Foren.
"Cadin, was your camp attacked?"
"Indeed it was, how did you know?" Foren sighed before continuing.
"We saw an army moving through the trees, almost a hundred or so shadows of fighters moving everywhere, one of our scouts reported back on it, another was found killed with an arrow in his neck. We attempted to ambush them but lost some more in the process with only a dozen or so dead to show for it." His voice grew in irritance, visibly frustrated with retelling his loss.
"We wish to speak with Silvia, so we may discuss a plan on this. Since both of us were affected in this attack-"
Before he could continue speaking, Foren interrupted, "They took one of the camps we conquered. Our guards were killed, one of the survivors recalled a fighter who moved in front of his unit, one with a hood concealing its face, at one point he detailed an arrow hitting its head just for it to rip it out and continue fighting."
'That candidate again…' He thought, annoyed by the sudden news.
"Very well, but we need to move quickly. Scouts reported that some enemy fighters were seen moving around the forest. Let us go." Cadin motioned for his soldiers to begin moving again, this time at a faster pace as Foren went with them, staying near the shields, readying his bow.
"My remaining soldiers are above us, fortunately we could secure our route but this is not a guarantee. Our enemy is getting stronger and stronger and we barely know why."
They continued moving until finally arriving at Foren's camp, seeing the elevator ready for us, at the bottom, partially covered by bushes.
Cadin dismounted his horse along with a few other cavalrymen.
He turned around to his soldiers, "Men, you may rest for now but stick close to one another and near cover in case an attack commences." After talking, Cadin walked to the elevator, followed by Joken and the cavalrymen.
Once all had got on, the elevator began ascending, Cadin could see his soldiers resting on the road and a few resting in the bushes, away from the road.
After a minute, the elevator reached the top, the chatter of people walking around, carrying an assortment of items greeted him. Foren appeared from the crowd, motioning them to follow.