Narus turned and exited the driver’s box. The news T’Potsa had given him was far from good. The Lord in his wisdom had decided that they would stop at a small clearing along the road, while still inside this forsaken dungeon. They had traveled almost a day beyond where the dungeon field should have stopped. He had never known a dungeon to expand this far in such a short time frame. He had been here only a year ago and the dungeon had grown immensely in that time. He thought of his friend who had driven for more than a full day desperate to get them outside of the dungeon, pushing himself and the transport beyond reasonable limits to get them to safety. If nothing else the fellow needs rest.
As he made his way past the door that led to the noble’s rooms the door opened suddenly and the young lord appeared in it, face pale from obvious motion sickness. Despite the lord’s obvious distress the man, upon seeing the leader of his escort, puffed up his chest, which caused his belly fat to jiggle even with all of the clothing he had on. The man cocked his head upwards to Narus and said in a high-pitched whine “Oh, guard leader. Good, I was meaning to speak with you. It seems our good driver has finally decided to quit jostling us around. I say the last day has been the most unpleasant experience. I had a fitful sleep during the night because of it. I trust that you will begin the preparations for our excursion to get some sunlight.”
Narus took a moment to himself before nodding at the lord. He had experienced plenty of issues attempting to convince some nobles that their decisions were horrible ones. “The company believes that the best location would be outside of the dungeon field.” He had hoped that by giving his opinion in such a way that the lord would defer to his judgement in this, and they would continue on for just a little longer. The dungeon field couldn’t have expanded much further along.
Much to Narus’ dismay the lord huffed, “We must be close enough to the end of the field, surely nothing will notice us all the way out here. Go finish your preparations, I wish to feel the sun on my skin as quickly as possible. You and your men will just have to protect us from what little trouble may find us.”
Narus wanted to interject with his desire to keep moving once more, but the lord took that time to turn back into his compartment and said as he closed the door, “Have some of the servants prepare the outdoor dining arrangements, I feel like having lunch in the open air.” The door slammed shut in Narus’ face before he could make his objections further known, and he debated for several long minutes on whether to knock and insist that they continue moving or if he should keep his growing frustration to himself.
Narus approached the rear compartments to gather the men under his command, with the exception of the Lord’s personal guard, as they claimed he did not have authority over them. The rear compartments were spacious, but not grandly decorated like the front sections. The lord never planned to step foot inside this area, so no decorations were added. These areas were for the few servants to prepare meals for everyone else, to take care of the need for cleaning, and for the less important passengers to sleep. Luckily it did contain a small room set aside for the guard to train. He had taken advantage of this time on the road to drill some of his newer guards on the proper formations they commonly used. All had basic combat training, anyone aspiring along the martial path usually did, but it was never up to his standards. His people valued martial traditions more than the people of this continent, but he would mold his guards into something that would be acceptable back in his homeland.
He arrived at the guard’s resting quarters to find a few asleep after a long training session, but most were awake, and some were preparing for their shifts of maintaining watch on the roof of the transport. He noticed his newest recruit, Vinatas, hunched over two different books. One he was scribbling something into, and the other he was reading while muttering to himself. The young man wanted to be a scribe, but in order to pass the tests for that you had to study at the Academy, which the man could not afford, and so found himself working as a guard for hire to scrape together all of the money he could. Or at least that was the story that he had told Narus during his interview.
After taking a moment to study the men under his command, Narus clapped his hands together loudly, which caused more than one person to startle awake and reach for their weapons. After allowing himself a small smile, Narus called out “We had stopped so that the lord could stretch his legs outside of the transport.” That statement drew many of the guards present to look at him as thought he had just grown a second head. Before anyone could make a remark about their situation Narus raised a hand and held it up, stopping any comments, “If the employer, which is a lord I remind you all, wants to step outside in a dungeon that is acting strange, we will follow that demand. However, we will not do so blindly. I want everyone to secure the area. We will establish a defensive perimeter around the section of the area that the lord will choose and if, mists forbid, any goblin’s show up we will act swiftly and decisively.”
A wave of doubts and frustrations at the absurdity of stopping in a dungeon field to enjoy the scenery played out on every face among the guards present, and Narus seeing his newest member about to say something, that could probably be interpreted as negative by any of the servants to the lord that may be nearby, quickly spoke up once again, “This isn’t a discussion, it’s an order. You have five minutes to prepare your gear while I coordinate with the lord’s personal guard.”
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After a quick word with the captain of the lord’s guard, Narus found himself outside with the twenty guards that his company had been contracted to provide for this trip. They stood in five rows of four guards each, equipment neatly prepared and at a ready stance. Each guard had been provided a shield, a spear, and a set of armor by the company. The equipment that Narus and his company could provide was not comparable to a wealthy noble or a large company, but it was better than most of them had signed on with. All of his guards had been provided chainmail hauberks, with the front liners also getting chainmail coifs and chausses. It was a far cry from the protection provided by his Ekritan armor, but he doubted many of them could wear an armor set like his. He had spent years training to just move around in the heavy and thick plates. All of the guards also had shields, but the ranged guards among those he brought carried smaller bucklers. Those bucklers rested attached to their belts currently. All of them also carried spears that the company provided. Most martial classes had some skills with spears as it was a very common weapon for guards the world over, but everyone also carried a side arm that each individual had to provide. Most were in acceptable shape, Vinatas being the only standout as his side arm was a small knife. Narus would let that slide, as this was his first contract with the company, but he would impress just how important a good sidearm was for the young man at the conclusion of the journey. The few ranged guards also carried their ranged weapon of choice with them, for most that was a shortbow, but one of his seasoned guards utilized a repeating crossbow that he had picked up on his travels to the Astral Monasteries.
After having spent a few minutes inspecting his men, Narus belted out his commands to secure the area. He ordered that the treeline should be extended out another twenty feet to allow for better visibility and a small barricade be established with the cut trees. He also commands the ranged guards to get atop the transport and keep watch coordinating with the lord’s guard as needed.
As his men were about to do as he had ordered, a voice from behind him spoke, “That will not be needed commander. We will use the forest to help hide the transport, and I believe that cutting down all of the trees will spoil the view that the young lord wishes to admire.”
The tone that the servant used had caught Narus by surprise. It had been obvious that the servant did not look at the guard company with a positive stance. The disdain that was evident on the man’s face, made it clear. He did not want the guards doing anything he deemed as unneccesary.
Narus gathered himself and attempted to protest, “I do not believe that to be a good decision. As it stands, we will have no visibility if anything should attempt to attack us right now. The treeline needs to be pushed back so that our lookouts on the roof will have ample sight lines and warning.”
The servant just let out a derisive huff before responding, “The lord has paid for you to escort him to the capital for his meeting with the emperor, and you are expected to be able to defend him no matter the situation. In this situation, the treeline will remain where it is.”
Narus opened his mouth to continue his protest when the servant narrowed his eyes threateningly, “The lord has desired that no trees are to be cut, and doing so will directly be going against one of the important members of the nobility of the great city of Talbreth, but also be defying the direct command of the owner of this very transport. The transport that you are currently bound and contracted for.”
Narus ground his teeth in frustration before replying, “If that is what the lord wishes. We will not move the treeline. At least allow us to cut down a few trees further out to build a barricade in case of attack.”
The servant instantly responded, “Denied. The lord believes we are far enough removed from the hunting grounds of the goblins that all will be fine. All you need to do is stand near the transport and be ready to respond as his lord commands.”
Narus’ anger began to cause his face to flush as heat rushed to his head, but he forced himself to calm, and then half turned to his mean, “As the lord wishes, all frontliners head to the transport and prepare to stand by as needed. Ranged guards, head to the roof to begin lookout.” He could see the worry and conflict spread across the faces of the men that trusted him with their lives, and again the newest member was about to speak but Narus cut him off before his words made the situation worse, Narus spoke more forcefully than he needed, “You have your orders men, carry them out as you have been trained.”
Immediately, all of the guards turned to carry out his orders, and Narus walked up to the servant. The man was much shorter than Narus and likely weighed less than his breastplate. Narus stared down at the smaller man with narrowed eyes that contained barely restrained rage, “It is ill advised to countermand the orders of the person in charge of the security of your lord.” The servant had the wits to step back as the full force of Narus’ gaze landed upon him, “A…are you threatening the lord or his servants? I.. I will have you know that all decisions have come directly from his lord and have the approval of the guard captain himself.” The man’s posture was unsure now that it was just Narus and himself.
Narus struggled to keep his voice even as he responded, “I have no need to threaten your lord. History tells us that those who will not listen to those with knowledge on matters are doomed to learn their follies firsthand. I will fulfill my contract to the best of my and my men’s ability.” Narus then turned and began to march away, leaving the servant dumbstruck for a few more minutes before he could again hear the servant yelling something at him. He was no longer listening to the idiot who was clearly trying to get everyone here killed.
Unseen by the now silently raging Narus, nor the servant who was mentally justifying his position to his lord. From the vantage point of a small bush hidden just within the treeline a small pair of eyes witnessed the scene that had played out. Followed shortly after by a sharp toothed grin appeared below the eyes. The eyes closed, the disappeared, and the bush swayed shortly thereafter, events already set in motion.
