"Maybe this is one of those seemingly insignificant decisions that turns out to be a lifesaver later on?" His lieutenant suggested, trying to lighten the mood.
Darius wasn't having it. But fortunately, one of the scouts had discovered the path. Though rough, it was better than trudging through thorns and hacking at leaves. Still impassable via horse, though.
And then a thought occurred to him. There was a path. Which meant one of two things. First, the occupied kingdom behind them knew of a way through this area. In that case, there was probably a map archived somewhere and this arduous task was absolutely pointless. It made sense too, since this path seemed as though it had been neglected for quite some time. Second, there was indeed an indigenous tribe living here, civilized enough to build such a path, which only made this even more complicated, since the rumors weren't exactly clear on whether the tribe was hostile or friendly.
Still, there could be no doubt that the path was more efficient, and he had his men continue down that route. But they had to advance in rows of three.
And then he spotted the small creatures, tossing a shiny object around. Well, time to find out the truth. "Hey!" He called out to them, waving a hand.
And then came the sound of conflict, like there was a battle going on nearby. But the screams of pain were more animalistic than human, half-giant, or dwarf. He immediately called four of his scouts and sent them running to investigate. Despite their unfamiliarity with the terrain, they were still able to nimbly dodge under the branches and over bushes.
When they arrived at the source of the noise, they were astonished at what they saw. Ape-like creatures battling it out with some fuzzy looking humans. But they quickly recovered and ran back to inform their captain.
Beneath the gold, the Bitter Steel.
03-Sep-2015 20:39:45
