The Story of Eidolas

Thunder roars overhead and the others jump in fright. The East isn’t known for its storms and they take it as an ill omen. The East breeds such funny people. I walk over to my
countrymen who sit around a fire chatting happily. The weather doesn’t bother us one bit despite its difference to the clear skies of Zena. The word is fickle with its moods outside of Zena but we are used to change. I see Abalam polishing his war sword while Faregoh and Yerin practice with metal dummy swords. I can feel eyes upon as I move through our camp. A Zenan using a metal sword for war they ask, it’s almost a heresy. At the command tent the 2 guards part their war halberds to let me through before very carefully relocking the blades. The antechamber appears empty, the table and 4 chairs organised tidily to the left, while a small fire crackles to my right.


“The eastern one joins us at last” A voice says behind me. I turn to see Captain Tilel Magorav staring at me.

“Judge a man by his skill Captain, not his choice of weapon.” I casually reply.

“As long as you carry a metal blade you do not fight as a Zenan but as an eastern savage.”

I face him with anger in my eyes “Is that so?” He returns my stare with hostility for a few seconds but cannot hold it. He breaks into a grin and clasps my shoulder guard, fashioned into the shape of a roaring lion, “Haha I can’t help myself friend.” he laughs.

“Haha I’m used to it by now Josep.” I reply returning his laugh “I assume the commander wishes to see me?”

“He’s still talking with the Carim ambassador, the bastards want more from us apparently.”

“You’d think they’d be happy enough to let us attack Astora without needing payment.”

“You would, but the Earl is a bastard.”

“Haha I won’t argue there. So were you just waiting to needle me or do you have business here?”

“You know me, I never miss a chance to have my fun. But now you mention it I should get back to my unit. Have fun in there Easty.”

“So long.” I reply as he leaves the tent. I take a seat in the antechamber resting my the commander won’t be long, but knowing the Carimese they won’t leave till they have what they want. I rest my head on the padded backing of the chair and attempt to drift off, making use of this waste of time.

***
“Enjoying yourself Eidolas?” The voice of the captain wakes me. I open my eyes to see him standing just outside his main chambers staring at me.

"Not as much as you sir.” He laughs and waves me into his tent. I rise, brushing the soot off my boots as I do and follow him into his room.

“Make yourself comfortable Captain.” All business now. I take one of the 2 chairs in front of his
desk. No expense spared here, both the chairs and the desk are made of shaped crystal, polished to a mirror sheen and overlaid with soft purple velvet. The commander takes his seat on the other side and I take the moment to look around. A picture of the glass palace and a few more crystal pieces of furniture dot the room. The only exception being his bed which appears to be made purely of blue velvet.


The captain shuffles the documents on his desk to the side but not before I see the royal seal of Carim on many of them. The bastards must be pushing hard.

“So what do you have for me Captain?” the commander starts.

“The Eastern forces make good progress. A few mishaps with their supply wagons are causing some trouble but they are keeping up with us. As far as I can tell the Carimese aren’t yet making additional demands of them. The detachment they sent with us are a bit jumpy from the storm but otherwise fine.”

“Superstition is in their blood, they cannot help but be afraid. Doubtless they will shake it off
in time for battle.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure Commander. From what I can understand they think the storm is an omen of the coming battle.”

“Ha. And they wonder why they are called savages. We will deal with them soon. But for now, as you surely know, the Carimese are making demands.”

“What do they want from us? We have already supplied them with crystal and scientists. What more do they want?”

The captain walks over to his door and seals it. He looks at me as if sizing me up. “You’re a good man Eidolas. Good at keeping secrets, good at stealthing around. I know I can trust you with this. They want people, people too ... experiment on. The material and manpower we gave them was good enough, but they need subjects apparently.”

“Surely you cannot give up our own men?!” I exclaim outraged.

“I did not say that Captain, calm yourself. They want Astorans, prisoners of war.”

I look at the captain ready to speak but take his advice before I do, calming myself. He waits
paiently for my response. Finally I am ready. “Then what is the problem? We will be taking prisoners during the battle. We do not want to have to feed them and guard them. Why not hand them over?”

The commander looks at me with outrage on his face. “You would really do that Captain, hand over people to be experimented on? Do you understand what the Earl is trying to do? Have you heard the rumours?”

“Surely they are just rumours?”

The commander laughs morbidly “I would think one such as yourself would be the first to try and confirm those rumours Captain. Nevertheless the East the men I have sent the Earl already have provided me with proof. The rumours are all true.”

The weight of this sinks in. The prisoners won’t just be experimented on, they will be annihilated, all for the Earl’s ambition.

“Forgive me Captain” the commander interrupts my thoughts “These decision are above your rank. You can return to your duties. But do me a favour and think of what I have told you. And remember not to tell anyone else.”


With that I am dismissed. I leave his tent, passing by the guards again. Outside it is night time. I can hear owls all around the camp hooting and flying. Their presence is better than any sentry we have. Most of the men are already asleep although Abalam is still polishing his war sword. I will have to have words with him about wasting supplies, but he likes to be able to see himself, and his enemies see themselves in the blade. He looks up as I pass by and I nod at him. Knowingly he stops polishing his sword and wraps it up in its covers. I find my tent and undress, removing my breastplate carefully. Like my weapon I have replaced parts of my armour with non crystal parts too. Despite this a lifetime of training means I am no less careful with it. I fall into my sleeping roll, contemplating the Commanders words.

***
Aroused by the morning bugle call I easily rise. The nap at the captains yesterday gave me a
lot more sleep than I’m used to. The life of a mercenary is a harsh one. I carefully pull on my uniform and buckle on my spare crystal sword. I know the commander, he’ll want to meet with
the Eastern leader to talk about what Carim is doing. Better look my best. I pull back my tent curtain and walk out to
see my troupe aligned and ready for inspection.
Many cannot hide the shock of seeing me belted with a crystal weapon
instead of my uchi. On the other hand I
can hold in the amusement I get from the shock on their faces.


“Eyes up, shoulders back, legs parted” I order. They immediately follow. I walk through the ranks, inspecting each
soldiers dress individually. As usual
there are 4 or 5 I find in need of a fix up, but my standards are more
scrutinizing than most. Abalam shows me
his blade and I inspect it too. While
not officially need it keeps his morale up to know the blade is perfect. I finish off by ensuring Faregoh and Yerin
get their metal blades repaired. Their
night of sparring left the blades horribly chipped. I can only imagine what they will do to their
crystal ones in battle.


The troupe splits apart and begins disassembling the camp,
ready to move. I begin with my own tent
but I stop when I see Uhet making his way towards me.


“The Captain wishes you to join him. He is on his way to the Eastern camp.”


“Very well. I’ll
follow.” I say, motioning him to lead me.
He turns and weaves through the troupe, myself following close behind.


***


The commander greets me at the edge of our camp alone.


“Captain.” He nods at
me before setting off.


My surprise initially locks me in place before I run a few
paces to catch up. “Sir why are there no
other captains? No honour guard?”


“They are unneeded here Eidolas, and only yourself and Uhet
can be trusted with what I will say to their Warlord.”


“You think the East have been asked the same as us?”


“I think they said yes Captain, and that’s why they go
untroubled by further emissaries.”


It makes sense I realise, I doubt the warlord cares much
about prisoners; the barbarians probably do little better to prisoners in their
homeland. We spend the rest of the short
trip in silence, most of our concentration going into making our way through
the undergrowth of the forest. While
taking the forest paths to hide our movement makes sense, I can’t help but
think it’s slowing us down too much and we are simply giving the Astorans more
time to plan. I keep such thoughts to
myself though, there is no point bringing them up now.


The eastern camp is packed up and about to start moving by
the time we arrive. Only their continued
trouble with the supply wagons holding them up.
The guards recognise us instantly and allow us passage through to the
warlord, who remains in his tent, albeit one with no furnishings. Upon seeing the commander enter he dismisses
all but his translator.


“Who is this extra with you?” the translator asks.


“This is Captain Eidolas, he can be trusted.”


The warlord emits a chuckle before responding “Ah, the
famous Eidolas. The Zenan of East. Very well, why you come to talk now?”


“It is about the Carimese emissaries. My detachment with you says you have not been
bothered by them in weeks, yet they continue to pester my camp.”


“Ah yes the godly men.
They want prisoners, I have no use for them so I say yes. You have answered different.”


“You understand what they are doing to the prisoners?”


“In East, if man surrenders, the foe cut off his manhood and
his nose. That way everyone know he
afraid of death. Is worse than
death. Why should Astorans be
different?”


“Because the earl doesn’t just want those who surrender, he
wants you to take men alive specifically.”


“The East will crush Astora Zenan. We are little for their people. If the Carim wants prisoners, we will get
them. If you do not want to do the same,
that is your problem. But you will march
with me. I pay you to fight and you
will.”


I can see Uhet tense from the corner of my eye. I remain calm knowing the Warlord will not
dare risk fighting us.


“I have no intention of turning back now Warlord. You will get what you paid for.”


“Then we are done.
Now I must leave, and so to must you.”


“My men have already moved on. I will be travelling with my detachment
attached to you today.”


The warlord snorts “Fine then.”


“Come Uhet, Captain.” the commander waves us out with him.

***


The walk is a slow one.
The eastern force is much larger and slower than our own. It is a nice change, especially since the
forests of Carim are so unlike any in Zena or the east. No humidity or heat, perfectly cool and
comfortable. I can tell the commander
separated himself from me when we arrived, he doesn’t want to be questioned
about why he came here. Even I could see
it was pointless from the first words.
Being known by the warlord was also something I wished to avoid. While I prefer their weapons and armour I
dislike their company and prefer to be with my countrymen. Even this troupe, of whom only the captain
Berato Miloj is known to me, is far better company.


The forest path the eastern forces follow is a main one, not
an offshoot like ours, and thus it is much straighter and well kept than the
one the Zenans follow. Yet the trouble
with the supply wagons persists. Wheels
are broken every hour or they become bogged down. The warlord is almost out of spare wheels and
when I go over to offer help I can see his barely contained rage. I decide I’d rather return to Miloj’s stories
than risk his wrath by helping out.


***


Evening comes at last and I find Uhet next to me.


“The Commander will see you now Captain.”


Berato turns to me “Guess you’ll be heading back then
Eidolas?”


“Probably, my own troupe needs me. No holidays for me.”


“Haha isn’t that the truth.
Well it was good to see a fresh face over this mangy lot.” His voice
raises towards the end and good natured laughter comes from the other men.


“And it was good to see how you were doing Ber. I’ll see you in Astora.”


Uhet leads me to the edge of the camp where I once again
find the Captain waiting alone. I keep
my silence for the trip back, not knowing how to demand why we wasted our
time. The commander evidently doesn’t wish
to share either as he remains quiet, only a thanks for helping before he
dismisses me. I return to my troupe as
they are laying down for sleep. A few
sleepy salutes are thrown my way and I return their one for their efforts. The 2 extra treks have tired me more than
usual, and I’m glad for the extra sleep I got last night.


***


God I hate these eastern fools. They want to try and hide our presence from
the Astorans still. They’ve ordered us
to, rather than continue on with them along the plains, continue through the
forest as long as possible. But they
forgot to mention the Astoran forests arte nothing like those in Carim. No paths, no sun yet it’s still hot, the
humidity is sky high. Just like home I
guess. I can only hope Oscar rides out
to meet us soon so we do not have to swelter in this hell for much longer.


I also fear for the men.
Over half are failing inspection and I have had to ban Abalam from
polishing his weapon. The sweat and
grime builds up to quickly and he’s spending far too much time on it. He hasn’t spoken to me since but it needed to
be done. Miloj’s troupe has rejoined us
though and he, Magorav and I have spent the time catching up. I can tell he’s glad to be back with us even
in these conditions.

***


The morning is still young but Til and I are already up
playing Hupokin, a Zenan card game. With
us rapidly approaching our target we spend most of the day marching, and there
is little time to relax apart from the early morning.


“Another day to sweat, eh Easty.” Tilel comments as he picks
up another card.


“Far too true Til.” I reply dropping 2 “Our water supplies
have to be low by now.”


“My men reckon the commanders collecting our sweat to keep
supplies up. But truthfully I have no
idea.”


“Don’t even think about it” I see him contemplating a raise
“Well as long as it keeps running. Hey
Ber!”


I wave to Berato as he walks over to us although my smile
drops a fraction to see that Uhet is with him.



“Hey Til. Easty the
commander’s looking for you.” I look
over to Uhet who simply nods.


“Guess I’ll see you guys later. Don’t forget you owe me Til”


“I had you this game!”


I laugh as I follow Uhet.
When we’re out of their site Uhet looks over his shoulder and whispers
“Don’t be too sure Captain.” The comment
surprises me a little, not only because Uhet rarely talks to anyone but the
commander. An extended mission for my troupe
this far out? Not a good sign.


Further bad sign come in the form of an eastern honour guard
outside the commander’s tent and an entire troupe standing to the ready
nearby. I brush past them with ease,
many recognising me from the metal sword I wear, further recognition I could do
without. Despite the mass of men outside
I cannot hear raised voices from the antechamber. I push open the flap and walk in to see the
commander and the warlord pouring over maps of Astora. His translator sits in a nearby chair,
obviously unused for a time. The
commander looks up when I enter, a flash of relief brushing over his face.


“Captain Eidolas at last.”


The translator rises and walks to his master’s side “You are
the stealther?”


“Eidolas is my best spook Warlord.” the commander responds
defensively.


“Man of talents I see.
Very well, you will help put an end to nonsense. I tell you again Commander, Astorans no
sneak, they charge.”


“Then how do you explain my missing patrols? The traps that line the road? Something is out there terrorising my men.”


“Oscar is ready for battle, I can see his forces. You must be ready to fight.”


“I cannot fight if I cannot move!” the commander’s voice has
risen in anger. As the 2 argue I look
over the maps, seeing where the patrols have been going missing, noticing the
the trap positions, judging travel times.
As the background noise threatens to explode I grab a pen and mark the
maps.


“What are you doing?” the Warlord demands.


“If the Astorans have men out here they are there” I say,
pointing to a spot on the map. “I draw a
second line and a few more circles “That’s where the next trap line will be,
and that’s the areas patrol will go missing.”


The commander looks at me in shock before rifling through
the pile and pulling out a bundle of patrol report cards. He places tyhem
around the map, showing the planned paths of the most recent patrols. Showing the newest missing patrols and traps
exactly where I drew them.


“Your man is good.” the translator sounds impressed but it’s
hard to tell how the warlord feels. “If you feel necessary send him out, but
you must be ready. We attack tomorrow”
he finishes before walking out.


“Can you do it Eidolas?”


“Do what?”


“Find these Astorans and kill them by tomorrow?”


I pause, reviewing my estimate, looking at the best paths,
calculating how long it would take a troupe to move.


“If they’re there ...” I reply “Then it can be done.”


“Then leave now.
Leave your camp, others will see to it.
Full battle dress, war weapons permitted.”


“Yes sir” I salute and leave, only barging into a man
shrouded in black silk. “Who are you?” I demand.


“Chiang Huy, Shadow leader of East. Warlord sent to join you.”


“Join me? Us?”


Chiang steps aside to reveal 9 other similarly attired men.


“Fine, follow me to my troupe. We will leave together.”


Chiang nods to his men and the follow me. Through various glances I can tell are
noticed I see that even here the shadows don’t move normally. They seem to flow rather than walk, making no
sounds. I wonder why the warlord even
wanted my troupe sent. I doubt any
Astorans could beat these 10 men alone.

“Come on you dull bits of glass hop to we’re moving out!” The troupe jumps at my voice. Many are still half asleep. “Didn’t you hear me you crackers? I said get to it! Full battle dress let’s go!”

That one gets them moving; the mention of a fight will do that to any soldier. “Leave the camp just get your armour and on! War weapons permitted, one day rations everything else stays behind.” A cheer goes up when war weapons are approved, no Zenan likes using metal ones. Well, there’s always an exception. I walk over to Abalam and toss him a bottle of polish. “Use it quick.” He face immediately lights up and he goes into overdrive, that’s one happy soldier.

Once ready the troupe splits into squads and lines up in inspection lines. “Right, this here is Chiang Huy, Shadow leader. Him and his men are with us for this. Don’t bother them, there’s no time. We’re heading out to catch the Astorans that are haunting the woods around us. They’re stealthy so keep your heads up and backs covered. Everyone got that? Then let’s go!”

“HUWAH!” the troupe responds and marches out after me.

***

I wave Abalam up and he circles to my left with his squad. I can barely see Chiang and his shadows to my right. The camp is just ahead, fires still burning and a few shapes visibly moving.
I wave up a second squad. Faregoh and his squad move to back up Abalam. A shadow appears at my side giving me 5 taps. 5 astorans that they can see. Not a large force, but it wouldn’t need to be. I hold up an open hand. 40 men will move in. I close my fist and we move.

Abalam and Faregoh to the left, Chiang to the right and myself in the centre. Just as we’re about to strike I hear screams from the left but have no time to look, I’m drawing my weapon and leaping at one of the sitting figures who spins around and blocks my attack. Taken by surprise I’m on the back foot till one of my men rescues me. He lasts 5 seconds before the Astoran’s blade takes his throat, the foe’s blade swirling an intricate dance that leapt through his guard.
But he bought me time and I press the attack. I push the attack, attacking low forcing his blade down. Catching his blade below mine I swing a punch before he can twist away. He reels back, blood flowing from his mouth. I thrust my blade through his heart before he can recover. I look up to see the battle over.

The screaming is yet to stop and I rush to my left. Abalam and his squad surround Faregoh and his men, all 10 on the ground screaming. Abalam stops me rushing in, pointing to the ground where I see purple spikes emerging from the ground. I look to Faregoh who nods and I give the signal. Abalam and his men draw crossbows and end the suffering although I can see he lost 3 men to the battle. I walk over to where Chiang attacked from. He shows me similar spikes on his side his men dodged. His 9 shadows are still with him. My squad is at half strength however, Faregoh’s targets having to be taken out by them. 5 men for 18. Not good. These Astorans were prepared for us. The must’ve seen us somehow. Still they’re dead and they will bother us no longer. I form up my survivors and we rejoin the main host. I can see their surprise at our reduced numbers. 30 men left and 12 returned. I’m very glad for the Shadows, they basically saved the attack.
***

The troupe forms up and we prepare to set off. It took us longer than expected to find the
camp, the astorans had made camp in the thickest part of the woods and the map
I had estimated their location on not showing how large the area would be, nor
how insanely difficult it would be to search.
No wonder they felt safe lighting a fire.


But first we must bury the bodies and break the blades. I will not let my men rot in this
jungle. Nor will I let our foes touch
their war blades. “Iugar and Lodas,
start digging graves. Hefula find
something to cover the spikes with.
Abalam, when he’s done have your men collect their blades. Everyone else on guard.”


“Why are we waiting here?
We must get to the battle.”
Chiang appears at my shoulder in his typical fashion. I believe it’s meant to unsettle the
receiver.


“I will not leave without burying my men.”


“Let the bodies rot, good for forest.”


“Not good for morale.”


“Missing battle not good for-“


A loud zing followed by a thwack is heard, the sound of a
crossbow bolt firing and hitting flesh.
From the corner of my eye I see a shadow drop, but Chaing, whose view is
obstructed by me, doesn’t.


“Down!” I yell. My
men, trained to listen to my orders duck down perfectly. Chiang, for once taken by surprise,
doesn’t. I see his head turn and quickly
count glance over his men. I can even
imagine his eyes widening in surprise when 2 more bolts land, one killing
another shadow. Chiang’s head snap round
180 degrees as he is hit by the second.


“Shields up!” I yell and can hear the sound of 80 shields
being raised “Stay in cover!”


I look around but can no longer see Chiang’s shadows. I crawl over to him and check his wound. The cloth covering did nothing to soften the
blow, he would’ve been killed instantly.
I leave his body to rot and feed the forest while I crawl over to my
men. There haven’t been any more shots
fired but I doubt they’re gone.


“Any luck locating a source?” I ask Abalam.


“None. We know where
the last shot came from but i doubt they stayed still.”


“So we’re stuck.”


“The way I see it,” he replies “we have 2 options.”


“Let’s hear ‘em.”

“We can stay here and hop we spot them. Or we can form up and rush out oping they
miss a lot.”


“Haha I don’t think they’re gonna miss. But form everyone into circles with shields
outwards. I want minimal exposure. But not one big group, I want sentries trying
to find them.”


“Where did the shadows go?”


“I don’t know. They
just disappeared. Probably ran off. Hopefully to find the shooter though, not
just running away.”


“Ha, we can pray.”


Abalam crawls off to spread my orders. I stick with his squad and try to think of a
plan to get us out without getting killed.
Within 5 minutes he crawls back.


“It’s too far” I muse.


“What is?”


I turn to him “Anywhere.
We don’t know where they are, we can’t see them. You know how thick this bush is there’s no
way we can break out of here. We have to
find them.”


“I already told everyone to get their crossbow out.”


“Good, it’s the only chance we’ll have to take them down.”


Just then I hear a roar followed by a scream to my
left. Multiple crossbow let loose and I
keep count, tracking the reloading times for each. The sound of a blade piercing flesh, a death
cry, my men cheering and silence.


“Find out what that was!” I whisper at Abalam. He nods and sends Gepot out to
investigate. It’s a tense wait until he
returns. Having to crawl around takes
time. When he returns he reports “They
found one. He was behind a tree so Iugar
had his men charge him with blades. He
lost 4 guys but they got him.”


“I counted about 6 crossbows.” I reply “Assuming we got 1
there’s at least 5 more.”


“Still too many to run.”


“Yep. Any ideas?” The
squad greets me with empty stares. We’re
stuck, and the battle will be starting any minute. “Right, we can’t afford this. We need out get out. Get the men out and moving, start trying to
find these bastards. We’ve got numbers
and just as much shadow as them. But no
more risks, crossbows and traps, got it?”


The squad nod and I send each of them to a different squad
to pass along the plan. I prep my
crossbow up, and once the squad has returned fire it up to signal everyone to
move. The rustle of the underbrush is
audible yet too similar to pinpoint any single location. I lead my own squad through, keeping in a
tight circle. Everyone moves slowly
towards the location of the path. If we
get there we can follow it back and hopefully they’ll give up.