"Fucking hell." Charles twisted the man's neck and threw him to the floor. He dragged it away to a hole in a wall not far from the camp. Clearing up any traces of his presence, he cut his hand, dropping some blood before giving a small whistle. Slowly, he backed up, creating a new set of footprints heading towards the camp. From the cave, a large grey wolf came out with sharp eyes. It smelt the corpse before silently dragging its meal back into its den.
Charles knew he was on a timer now. He knew Micheal's camp would get suspicious when the scout didn't return. He hadn't wanted to kill the man, but luck wasn't on his side, and the scout had stepped on his body outside the camp. He rubbed dirt on his face and threw himself on the floor, slowly crawling towards the ridge that overlooked the camp.
"Let's see." He took out the telescope that Alfred had given him. The entire camp wasn't large, only holding a couple hundred people. Despite this, he was nervous about tomorrow. They only had fifty men to face the force, and he couldn't trust the child king fully. Moments like this made him hate being unable to say no to his brother when he made requests. After thirty minutes, Charles noticed the camp waking. He knew he was out of time and silently slipped into the dark before being found.
"We found traces, Prince Micheal. It seems he walked too close to a wolf's den. No traces of another could be found." Micheal grunted, waving the man away. He sat alone in his tent, staring at the ground. The past month had been brutal to Michael's health. The once strong man was now a physical and mental wreck. The once muscular man had lost the majority of it. His skin had turned ghost white, and his eyes were bloodshot. Madness had seeped into them as he no longer could trust anyone.
Despite the scout's warning, the fear in his eyes never disappeared. They had never found the watcher who first spotted them. Thoughts of a grand army waiting for him with Snowid's head flooded his mind. "No, it's impossible." He said quietly under his breath. He had seen Snowid training and couldn't imagine any human defeating that monster. He curled himself on his bed and tried to sleep, but every branch breaking awoke him.
"The only path a force that large we will be able to take is this one." Charles dragged his finger across the map. Alfred nodded, putting his hand on his chin. He analysed the best strategy he could implement.
"How long will it take for them to leave the forest?"
"Depends. The weather stays like this; we're looking at two days if they are slow and one if they are quick." Charles broke and looked at Alfred, analysing the map. He had been holding his tongue for long enough, and he couldn't take it any more. "My King. How do you exactly plan to fight this force? We're heavily outnumbered."
"Ha." Alfred sighed. He knew he couldn't dodge this for so long. Despite this, he had been apprehensive to say anything to his men, unsure if they could be completely trusted. He took a deep look into Charles's eyes and sighed once more. He was Raven's brother. He hoped that the blood ties meant something about both their characters. "Okay. On this ridge, we will have half our men, the other half on the opposite side. Pushing a chopped tree here will force their convoy to stop. Fast and hard, we will unleash a rain of arrows onto them. Three of four volleys, no more, before running back into the forest. Horses will be ready a bit behind to have a quick getaway."
Charles looked at the map. He was a hunter. He understood the forest better than anyone. He could see all the merits in Alfred's plan, but he could also tell that the kid didn't have much experience in the forest. "The horses won't work. Sure, we can have them ready, but how many men can ride one in a dense forest? Instead, place most of our men on the ridge. We follow the plan but wait for them to charge up the hill. Have a couple of spike walls ready to be pulled up for when they are close. We can attack through it. From behind, a few men hiding on the opposite side rush the covey. Destroy a couple of supplies, kill a couple of men and slip away. We can rendevour here. I lead the small group, and you lead the other group."
Alfred nodded. He knew the frontman had more experience in the forest, and any advice he gave was helpful. "Will do as you say. Take a couple of men and prepare the tree. You know best in these parts. I'll get the spike ready." Charles got up and left the tent. Alfred followed behind him. "Ten of you go into the forest and gather logs. Not too large, we need to create small stake walls. Everyone else rests; we must be ready to move early in the morning." Alfred didn't follow the others to sleep, waiting for Charles to return.
The night was long for Alfred. His men worked quickly, gathering everything they needed. He stayed up with them, sharpening the logs and creating the stakes. By the time he had finished, he only had a few hours to rest. "You head here and create a small camp for us." He could see the men were tired but didn't have time to rest. Despite this, he felt bad for them. "I'm sorry for forcing so much work on you men. I will give you the honours you deserve after this war." The annoyance in the ten men vanished as they gave tired salutes. Alfred could only sigh as he turned to his tent to get the little rest he could.