The advancement had begun with Markos, Dionysus, and General Demeter's army. They were marching south towards where the scout had come from. Markos was a little worried as well as some of the men that had seen General Demeter and Markos' faces after what the scout had said. But Dionysus was not. Dionysus had a very troubling and menacing smile on his face, as if saying nothing could scare him, as if to say he should be the one to be feared, not them. Even though many of the men found his smile and expression to be scary and unsettling, it yet also made them feel better about what was going to happen. These men understood what he could do to people in battle. These men knew what he would do to the generals and soldiers that got in his way.
After several hours marching, General Demeter had ordered the men to set up camp and prepare themselves for what was coming in the next few days. But Markos could tell something was on Dionysus' mind. Something wasn't sitting right, and Markos could see that. So he asked Dionysus to take a walk with him and talk for a bit.
During the walk, Markos had learned that Dionysus was worried that the Spartans and Corinthians and the rest of the Peloponessian League were planning an ambush on the trail to the place the scout had come from. Markos wanted to tell General Demeter, but Dionysus said otherwise. Dionysus wanted to do scout work of his own and check ahead while everyone was sleeping. Markos said nothing.
Dionysus walked carefully and quietly through the woods, staying off the road and trails. His actions were done this way to avoid being seen and ultimately captured by any Spartans or Corinthians. Although he doubted their ability to do so. After a while, he heard some rustling at the base of a hill not too far away. Dionysus made his way towards the hill. The rustling came from the other side of the hill he came up upon, so he began to climb, to get a vantage point up above. Once he made it to the top, he slowly crawled forward to peak down to see what was happening below. Dionysus couldn't believe what he saw. His suspicions were correct.
He waited and watched, and the number of men, Spartans and Corinthians alike, that he saw was beyond frightening, even for Dionysus. This group of men seemed to be at least the size of his army, if not maybe more. It was unbelievable to Dionysus. He could only imagine how many more groups of men like this were around here. Dionysus couldn't bear the thought of his friends and men getting caught in this ambush.
Dionysus began his trek back to the camp. It wasn't necessarily long, but he had to be far more careful now. The sun had begun to rise, and he was more visible now than before. So he slid through the woods almost without a sound. Dionysus had reached a point where the trees were so thick that it still looked dark. He used that to his advantage and began moving faster towards the camp. Dionysus wasn't sure if Demeter knew he was still out there running about. But he didn't want to find out.
Dionysus had made it back to camp, no General Demeter in site, so he hustled to his tent. He had just begun to lay down after removing his gear.
"So what did you find, Dionysus?" A low toned voice that wasn't too familiar to Dionysus said. "Is it anything you should worry about? Should you say something to Demeter? Or even Markos? Would either truly believe you?" Dionysus was startled. He poked his head out of his tent. There was no one. All Dionysus could see was Markos and Demeter's tents. It didn't take long for Dionysus to get up, grab his gear, and take a walk through the camp. He wasn't sure who that was talking to him. He wasn't even sure of who all knew he was off and out of the camp doing something.
A few minutes later, Markos and Demeter arose. Markos walked up to Dionysus. He once again saw that look on Dionysus' face.
"What did you see? Is it anything like you thought, or is it alright?" Markos asked Dionysus
"The malakas, they have at least one group of Spartans and Corinthians the size of our army lying in wait. Just waiting for us to come across. " Dionysus whispered to Markos. "I believe we should wait on reinforcements or at least wait them out."
"Tell Demeter. He's most likely going to listen to you. He'll probably forget the fact that you were out scouting without him knowing." Markos remarked while placing a hand on Dionysus' shoulder. Dionysus walked over to General Demeter and calmly waited for Demeter to acknowledge him before speaking.
"General, can I speak to you privately? Either in the command tent or outside the camp." Dionysus asked, hoping General Demeter would oblige.
"Certainly, Dionysus." He returned with, "You men are dismissed." Dionysus walked into the command tent while the men Demeter was talking to left. "What is it?"
"I was scouting ahead, and I found a group of Spartans and Corinthians along the road set up for an ambush, sir," Remarked Dionysus, "I believe we should wait for a reinforcing army."
"Well, I suppose if you believe that, it probably should be done. But I don't see why you were out scouting. I don't recall allowing my best soldier out to scout." Demeter hissed.
"Sir, with all do respect, whether you like it or not, without me going out and scouting, we'd all be dead." Fired back, Dionysus.
"Well, since I know what you can do to people who get on your bad side, I'm willing to drop it. Now I do agree with you, and I am more than willing to instate a training period while we wait for a reinforcing army. I will send out a messenger as soon as I can."
"Thank you, sir." Dionysus said before walking out of the tent.