Midnight arrived with a thick river fog rolling through the valley, swallowing the rocky ridges in gray mist.
In the secluded pine hollow two miles west of the border, the Calamity Squad checked their gear by the dim light of a hooded lantern.
"Remember," Nathaniel muttered, keeping his voice to a whisper. "We are scouts tonight, not shock troops. If we run into eighty Imperial Menavliatons on a narrow bridge, my crossbow is just going to tickle their breastplates."
"Nobody is charging Menavliatons, Nate," Yuzon said quietly, testing the pull of his Yew hunting bow. "Those heavy polearms are built to impale charging horses. If we see purple banners, we stay in the brush and write down numbers."
Jade buckled his mail coif, resting his short spear across his saddle horn. "Keep the mounts muffled. We lead them by the reins across the stone bridge. If iron horseshoes clatter on the paving stones, Achios's sentries on the castle ridge will light the beacon fires before we take ten steps."
Quick footsteps crunched on the gravel behind them. Scout Officer Mara stepped out from the pine shadows, accompanied by eight of her veteran archers carrying composite war bows and quivers of bodkin arrows.
Right behind Mara hobbled Garek, his left arm still wrapped in a protective cloth sling and a broadsword hanging from his right hip.
Numerius did a double-take, a massive grin spreading across his face. "Well, well. Look who decided to join the midnight stroll. Shouldn't you be in bed nursing that shoulder, scarface?"
Garek grunted, his face turning slightly red under his beard. "Shut your mouth, mace kid. I volunteered to come along on official observation duty. Someone has to make sure you green recruits don't trip over your own reins in the dark."
Nathaniel leaned over his saddle, grinning slyly. "Admit it, Garek. You're our number one fanboy now. First you tell the entire camp that Matty threw an eight-foot boss ten feet into the air, and now you're sneaking out past midnight just to watch us ride horses."
"I am not a fanboy!" Garek snapped in an irritated whisper, waving his good hand. "I am a seasoned Golden Boar veteran evaluating squad cohesion!"
Mataranas walked past, leading his black workhorse. Matty stopped, looked down at Garek's sling, and gave a single, slow nod. "Good arm, Garek. Its healing well."
Garek instantly straightened his posture, clearing his throat with sudden, awkward politeness. "Uh, thanks, Matty Boy. Doing great. Just a little stiff."
Numerius burst out laughing into his sleeve. "See? He's completely house-trained now."
Mara rolled her eyes, shaking her head at Garek. "Enough bickering, you lot. Bridge is two hundred yards ahead. Achios keeps two sentries stationed at the eastern gatehouse of the bridge. My eight archers and Garek will take up overwatch positions in the boulders on this side of the river. If those sentries reach for their alarm horn, we pin them to the stone."
"We'll cross on foot and secure the eastern gatehouse silently," Jade said.
"Good," Mara replied with a nod. "Once you clear the bridge, you've got four hours before dawn to map the patrol pickets between the village of Veron and the village of Goleryn. Move out."
The Calamity Squad led their five horses down the narrow dirt trail toward the river.
The sound of rushing water grew louder as the pines gave way to the riverbank. Through the fog, the massive stone bridge of Veron Crossing spanned forty yards across the dark, churning water. On the far side stood a square stone gatehouse, with a single torch flickering above the archway.
Jade signaled a halt with a raised hand.
Beside him, Yuzon pulled out his brass spyglass, resting his elbow on a boulder to peer through the mist.
[+1 Scouting]
"Two Imperial sentries at the gatehouse," Yuzon whispered in Jade's ear. "Both wearing studded leather and iron skullcaps. One is leaning on an iron spear near the torch, half-asleep. The other is sitting on a wooden bench, eating bread."
"No heavy armor," Jade noted. "They are local levy watchmen, not the elite castle garrison."
Jade turned to Mataranas and Numerius. "Matty, Num, leave your horses with Nathaniel and Yuzon. We cross on foot along the outer stone parapet. We take them down quietly from behind."
Mataranas handed his reins to Nathaniel without a word, unhooking his heavy cavalry shield. Numerius drew his mace, crouching low.
The three of them moved onto the bridge, staying low against the cold stone wall. The thick river fog and the roar of the water below masked the sound of their leather boots on the wet flagstones.
Step by step, they crossed the bridge.
Twenty yards out, the seated Imperial sentry yawned loudly, tossing a crust of bread onto the stones. The standing sentry shifted his weight on his spear, looking out over the water, completely oblivious to the three figures emerging from the mist along the parapet.
Jade gave the signal.
Mataranas surged forward with terrifying speed for a man his size. Before the standing sentry could turn his head, Matty's heavy arm locked around the man's throat, dragging him backward into the shadows while clamping a hand over his mouth.
At the same instant, Numerius lunged at the seated sentry. The guard scrambled to stand, his hand reaching for the alarm horn hanging from his belt, but Numerius slammed his shield boss straight into the man's chest. The impact knocked the breath out of the guard's lungs, and Numerius drove his knee into the sentry's gut, pinning him to the stone floor before a single shout could escape.
Jade stepped in, drawing his short steel arming sword and pressing the flat of the cold blade against the guard's throat.
"Make a sound, and you don't wake up," Jade whispered harshly.
The Imperial guard froze, his eyes wide with terror, nodding frantically.
Jade pulled off the sentry's alarm horn and tossed it into the brush. Mataranas used strips of leather cloth from their packs to gag and bind both watchmen, tucking them safely behind the wooden supply crates inside the gatehouse.
[Bridge Picket Cleared Silently]
[+50 XP]
Jade walked to the edge of the gatehouse and waved his arm toward the western bank.
Across the water, Nathaniel and Yuzon led all five horses across the bridge, followed briefly by Scout Officer Mara and Garek.
"Clean work," Mara said, inspecting the bound sentries with an approving smirk. "The bridge is secure. My eight archers will hold this crossing until you return. Don't get cornered in the valley."
"We'll be back before sunrise," Jade promised.
The Calamity Squad mounted their horses on the eastern bank, leaving the river behind as they turned down the dark cobblestone road leading into Imperial territory.
The valley opened up beneath the looming shadow of Veron Castle. To the south lay the agricultural village of Veron, its thatched cottage roofs clustered near wheat fields. To the northeast, the road branched toward the bound farming hamlet of Goleryn.
The squad trotted along a high dirt ridge running parallel to the main road, keeping their horses hidden among thick gorse bushes and rocky crags.
Around two in the morning, Yuzon raised his hand, pulling his grey mare to a halt behind a rocky outcrop.
"Torches on the road," Yuzon said, unslinging his brass spyglass.
Jade, Numerius, and Nathaniel dismounted, crawling to the edge of the ridge to look down into the valley.
Three hundred yards below on the cobblestone road, an Imperial military patrol was marching in tight formation.
At the front walked eight heavily armored soldiers clad in segmented iron cuirasses, carrying massive eight-foot polearms with broad steel blades. Behind them marched six Imperial crossbowmen wearing purple tunics and steel kettle helmets, accompanied by two mounted sergeants on armored coursers.
"Those are the Menavliatons," Yuzon whispered, pointing at the polearms. "Look at the length of those blades. One thrust from those weapons will pierce a charging horse clean through the chest."
Numerius squinted down at the formation, letting out a low breath. "Look at that armor. Those iron plates cover the whole torso and shoulders. My mace would need three full swings to crack that chest piece."
"And they are patrolling on a strict thirty-minute rotation between the castle gates and the village of Veron," Jade observed, pulling out a piece of charcoal and parchment to map the road. "That is Achios's main picket line. They keep the supply route locked down."
Nathaniel nudged Jade's shoulder, pointing his finger toward the northern fork of the road. "Look at that cart coming down from Goleryn."
Through the darkness, a light two-wheeled Imperial courier cart rumbled down the dirt road from the direction of Goleryn. A single driver held the reins, flanked by two mounted Imperial outriders carrying light spears.
"That's a dispatch cart," Nathaniel analyzed, his eyes gleaming with trade and logistics insight. "Look at the iron lockbox bolted to the seat. That is an official courier run carrying grain manifests and orders between Goleryn and the castle."
"We take that cart," Jade decided immediately. "We get Achios's supply records, map his exact provisions, and learn his troop counts without touching a single peasant home."
"How do we hit them without alerting the heavy patrol?" Numerius asked, gripping his mace.
Jade checked the distance. "The heavy Menavliaton patrol just turned the bend toward Veron. We have roughly eight minutes before they loop back. We set a road trap at the creek crossing below."
The squad scrambled back to their horses, leading them down a dry gully that intersected the road near a wooden creek culvert.
The Imperial courier cart rumbled closer, the two mounted outriders chatting casually in low Imperial accents.
As the cart reached the creek culvert, Mataranas stepped his heavy black workhorse directly out of the brush, blocking the narrow wooden bridge with his massive cavalry shield raised.
The lead Imperial outrider gasped, his horse rearing in shock. "Who goes there? By order of Clan Corenios, clear the road!"
Snap!
From the high brush, Nathaniel fired his light crossbow. The bolt punched straight into the wooden wheel hub of the courier cart, shattering the axle peg and locking the wheel with a violent lurch that threw the driver off his seat.
[+1 Crossbow]
Before the two outriders could lower their light spears, Yuzon drew his hunting bow from the shadows, sending two broadhead arrows whistling through the air. The arrows struck the outriders' spear shafts, snapping the ash wood in half with pinpoint precision.
[+1 Bow]
Numerius rode in from the left flank with his iron-banded mace raised high, letting out a ferocious roar that echoed through the gully.
The two Imperial outriders, their spears shattered and facing a massive shock trooper and an unbreakable shield wall in the dark, threw their hands up and dropped their reins in surrender.
"We yield! We yield!" the lead outrider cried, holding up empty hands.
Jade rode forward on his brown gelding, short spear lowered. "Disarm and step away from the horses. Nobody needs to die tonight."
Within two minutes, the squad disarmed the outriders and bound them alongside the dazed cart driver near the creek bank.
Nathaniel jogged over to the damaged cart, pulled out his dagger, and pried open the iron dispatch box bolted to the wooden bench.
Inside lay three rolled parchment scrolls bearing the purple wax seal of Clan Corenios, alongside a small pouch containing twenty Imperial silver denars.
Nathaniel unrolled the top scroll, holding it close to the hooded lantern. His eyes scanned the Imperial trade script.
"This is the official garrison manifest for Veron Castle," Nathaniel reported, his face breaking into a wide, triumphant grin. "Lord Achios is stockpiling four hundred bushels of wheat and twenty barrels of salted beef from Goleryn. His total garrison count is eighty-two soldiers, with twenty Menavliatons rotating on field patrol."
Nathaniel tapped the second parchment. "And there is a dispatch note here. Achios's bailiff reports that mountain raiders in the northern crags have been raiding their courier lines, and Achios was preparing to send a twenty-man purge patrol into the hills next week."
Jade took the manifest, rolling it carefully and stowing it in his leather pack.
"This is exactly what Rodrik needs," Jade said. "We have Achios's exact garrison numbers, his supply schedules, and his picket rotations. And we did it without burning a single cottage."
Thwack!
A sharp whistling sound sliced through the dark night air.
Before anyone could react, a black-fletched arrow punched straight through the chest of the first bound Imperial outrider. The man let out a wet gasp, collapsing dead onto the damp grass.
Thwack!
A second arrow hissed down from the dark ridge, striking the second outrider directly through the throat.
Thwack!
A third arrow thundered down with lethal precision, taking the bound cart driver squarely in the eye. The driver slumped over the culvert stones without making a sound. Three Imperial captives, dead in three seconds.
"Cover!" Jade hissed, raising his round shield and dropping low.
Mataranas instantly brought his heavy cavalry shield up, while Nathaniel and Numerius scrambled behind the damaged cart, weapons raised. Yuzon nocked a broadhead arrow in a split second, looking up at the rocky ridge above the creek.
High up on the cliff line, silhouetted against the dark sky, a single masked figure stood among the pines with a drawn recurve bow.
The masked figure stared down at the Calamity Squad for half a second, then lowered the bow, turned on his heel, and melted away into the dark timber without making a single sound.
"Did you see that?" Numerius whispered, his knuckles white on his mace. "Who the hell was that?"
Yuzon lowered his hunting bow slowly, inspecting the black fletching on the arrows in the dead bodies. "Probably one of Mara's veteran scouts on high overwatch. Making sure no Imperial witnesses are left behind to describe our faces."
"Ruthless," Nathaniel muttered, swallowing hard as he looked at the three dead Imperials.
"Heavy patrol is going to loop back in two minutes," Yuzon warned, listening to the distant clinking of iron armor down the valley road. "If they find bodies on the road, the whole valley locks down."
"Push the bodies into the creek," Jade ordered quickly. "Let the current carry them downstream."
Mataranas and Numerius moved fast. Matty grabbed the dead driver, heaving the body over the wooden culvert railing, while Numerius dragged the two dead outriders and dumped them into the rushing creek water. The dark water splashed, sweeping the bodies away beneath the stone bridge and out of sight.
[Active Objective Complete Scout Veron and Goleryn Routes]
[Captured Imperial Military Dispatch Acquired]
[Renown Gained +2 | Total Renown 34]
[Influence Gained +1 | Total Influence 7]
"Grab the silver pouch and the courier mounts," Jade commanded. "Calamity Squad, fall back to the crossing."
The five friends took the two captured Imperial horses, mounted their own steeds, and galloped back along the high ridge toward the river bridge.
By four in the morning, the Calamity Squad crossed back over the stone bridge of Veron Crossing.
Scout Officer Mara and Garek stepped out from the western gatehouse, eight veteran archers keeping watch from the surrounding boulders. Mara lowered her bow with a wide, approving grin, while Garek stared at the two captured Imperial horses and the rolled parchment scrolls in Jade's hand with his mouth hanging open.
"Are you serious?" Garek spluttered, pointing a trembling finger at the captured horses. "You were ordered to scout the road, and you come back with two Imperial mounts, twenty silver denars, and the lord's personal paperwork in four hours without raising a single alarm?"
Numerius tossed the captured silver pouch in his palm, grinning ear to ear at Garek. "We're overachievers, scarface. You want to tell the camp we wrestled the horses out of the Emperor's personal bedroom this time?"
Garek threw his good hand up in the air, groaning in complete disbelief. "Gods above, you farm boys are going to give me a heart attack. First the raider boss, now horse thievery."
Nathaniel handed one of the captured horse reins to Garek with a polite bow. "A gift from the Calamity Squad, Garek. To help with that fan club of yours."
Garek grunted, his face flushing red, but he took the reins with a reluctant, genuine smirk. "I hate you lot. I really do."
Jade looked over at Scout Officer Mara, his eyes narrowing slightly as he studied her face and the quivers of her eight archers.
"We had some uninvited help at the creek, Mara," Jade said, keeping his voice quiet and direct. "Someone perched up on the high ridge put black-fletched arrows through all three of our bound captives before vanishing into the pines."
Yuzon watched Mara closely, testing her reaction. "Clean shots. Recurve bow. Three kills in three seconds."
Mara met Jade's gaze without blinking, her face completely calm as she feigned ignorance.
"Black fletching?" Mara shrugged casually, adjusting the strap on her composite bow. "Wasn't my archers. We held overwatch right here at the stone bridge all night. Probably mountain bandits or local poachers cleaning up after your mess. You should thank them for tying up loose ends."
Jade held her gaze for a second, catching a subtle, knowing twitch at the corner of Mara's mouth before she turned away.
"Right," Jade muttered under his breath. "Mountain poachers with tournament-level aim."
Mara patted Jade's saddle horn, ignoring his mutter. "Exact troop counts, picket schedules, and supply routes?"
"Everything Achios has written down," Jade reported, patting his pack.
"Damn good scouting, Calamity Squad," Mara said, signaling her eight archers to fall back. "Captain Rodrik is going to love this."
The squad rode back into the secluded pine hollow just as the first faint gray light of dawn broke over the eastern mountains.
Jade looked back toward the high stone towers of Veron Castle. They had completed their first major border reconnaissance, captured high-level Imperial intelligence, and earned more renown and influence.
"Get some rest," Jade told his squad as they unsaddled their mounts. "When Rodrik reads these dispatches, the real war begins."