Raen moved some 10 steps before crouching down and staring at a faint indentation in the soil. Too shallow for an animal, too recent for the earlier scouts.

  ‘Heavy boots,’ he whispered inwardly. ‘But the heel is wrong.’

  ‘Padded soles?’

  A faint sound then reached him from the right – two soft taps on a tree. Selise’s signal.

  Before she could appear, however, Thatch emerged from a bush. His cat-like grin was gone, replaced by a cold expression.

  “6 men, potentially 7 nearby. Waiting with crossbows for whoever enters that choke point.”

  Raen didn’t look. He didn’t need to, as he knew what place Thatch meant.

  It was the same one that the scouts of the former timeline were cut down. The same place Adam died.

  “And further ahead?” Raen asked.

  He heard a soft step from the side as Selise appeared.

  “A second group, but I couldn’t see what they were armed with. They’re well hidden. About 10 of them.”

  Raen inhaled slowly, nodding at Thatch.

  Two layers.

  A kill zone … and another group waiting for the survivors.

  Even worse than he remembered.

  “Can we take them?” Selise asked with a heavy tone. “Their numbers are … higher than I expected.”

  “Head-on? No way.” Raen said, shaking his head.

  Thatch smiled, however. “Good thing we’re not going to, right Cap’n?”

  “Of course not,” Raen grinned, turning around. “Let’s go back, we need to make a plan.”

  As they withdrew, Raen cast one last glance back, his gaze passing by the dense foliage of the forest, staring at the place where Adam had met his untimely end in his timeline.

  ‘That will not happen today.’

  ***

  At the camp.

  In Tarris’ tent, about the same time Raen and his team stopped and split up, Commander Tarris stood with hands clasped behind his back, staring at the maps spread across his table.

  The tent felt colder than it should have as even the glow of the oil lamps dimmed, flickering against the maps with fresh cuts that marked suspicious routes, patrol patterns that didn’t quite align.

  Finn, his lieutenant, entered quietly, his footsteps barely audible.

  “They’re moving,” Finn reported, “Just as you expected. Three scouts have been behaving suspiciously since the teams deployed.”

  “Those who believe they are about to achieve their goals will usually let their guard down,” Tarris grunted, his eyes narrowing as he pushed aside a parchment, revealing a stack of sworn testimonies of the night watch. The testimonies were waiting for him when he entered the tent.

  “Those are?”

  “Further evidence, probably placed by that kid,” Tarris said as the image of Thatch grinning flashed in his mind for an instant.

  The testimonies confirmed what Raen had told him, word for word.

  Treason.

  “Should we detain the scouts and the watch commander now?” Finn asked.

  “No, we wait a bit longer. I don’t want to only catch them, I want to take the whole nest in one fell swoop.”

  Finn hesitated upon hearing the commander’s words. “…Then, who do we report this to?”

  Tarris’s jaw tightened.

  “Not the army commander, if we tell him, the spies will know within minutes.”

  Tarris scowled, disgust plain on his face. “Useless bastard, I should’ve retired before being stuck under his command.”

  “We’ll go to the battalion commander.”

  “Should I –“

  Tarris shook his head before Finn could finish.

  “I’ll personally go see him,” Tarris said, rubbing the bridge of his nose, exhaustion flickering in his eyes.

  “I’m getting too old for this bullshit.”

  ***

  Tarris left his tent, acting as if he was on the edge, a regular occurrence each time he sent the scouts out. Everyone in camp had learned to give him plenty of space when he wore that expression.

  The empire had been on the back foot the entire war against Azurand. The Imperial forces were fighting on multiple fronts thanks to the entire ‘Alliance’ attacking it from all sides. Their army was just a part of the entire force, ordered to push the kingdom of Azurand back.

  The scouts of their army were decimated by the enemy. Each time a scouting team was sent was a possibility of a massacre. Because of that, the commander was always on edge. He had lost weight in the last couple of months and was one of the last people anyone wished to get on the nerves of.

  He moved quickly through the camp and reached the tent of the battalion commander. The guards nodded and stepped aside without a word. Tarris going to the battalion commander was almost a daily occurrence. Nobody thought anything of it.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Tarris.” The battalion commander glanced up as he entered, then frowned. Something in Tarris’ expression made him set down the report he’d been reading.

  “What happened?”

  “We have spies.”

  No panic. No surprise.

  Just a narrowing of the eyes.

  “How many?”

  “Enough,” Tarris said. “And I intend to drag them out before the day is finished.”

  The battalion commander nodded once. His expression shifted into something colder – the face of a man preparing for a purge.

  “Then let’s begin. What did you have in mind?”

  ***

  “Those are indeed grave news,” Rais said, exhaling slowly. He was one of the veteran squad leaders in the makeshift team – a man in his thirties with grays already visible and scars covering his arms. “Thank Aragos you noticed something was off ahead of time, otherwise, we’d be dead by now.”

  “Team leader, are you sure it is a good idea to attack them?” A pale young man asked nervously, a strand of light brown hair falling over his left eye.

  “They have numerical superiority. Even if we manage to take them by surprise, we can only deal with one team swiftly. The other will respond quickly, casualties will be inevitable.” Rais said, his voice calm but firm.

  ‘As expected from a veteran squad leader.’ Raen thought, nodding inwardly at his words.

  “You're right about the numbers, Rais, but you’re wrong about the final part,” Raen said, confidently staring at Rais.

  “Casualties are not inevitable; in fact, there will be none – as long as we do this smartly.”

  “I cannot find a way for something like that to happen. Please elaborate.” Rais said, crossing his arms in front of him, his expression skeptical but intrigued.

  “The enemy has placed 6 crossbowmen right above the choke point – filled with traps, no doubt about it – with a seventh person being on the boulder behind them. He’s in charge of observing the surrounding area to notice anyone who might try to sneak close.”

  Thatch glanced at Raen upon hearing his words. His usual smile was absent, a glint passing through his eyes.

  “Isn’t that even worse than expected? How are we supposed to take them by surprise then?” Another person asked, fear visible in his voice.

  “You don’t have to worry about that person,” Raen said, glancing over at Thatch.

  “Can you kill him without alerting the others?”

  Thatch placed a hand on his chin, thinking carefully, “Hmmm, I think so.”

  ‘Tch, as if you couldn’t easily eliminate them all.’ Raen thought before looking at the rest of his teammates.

  “With the observer down, we can move from behind. The enemy won’t be paying attention there – they have a man covering that angle. The rest of the crossbowmen will be focused on the choke point, waiting for our arrival.”

  “What if he fails?” A third member asked, to which Thatch merely chuckled softly.

  “He won’t,” Raen said, continuing with his plan. The more he talked, the more Rais, Adam, and the rest of the group widened their eyes, hope and determination visible in them.

  “Let’s go,” Raen said.

  The others nodded.

  ***

  Later that day, in the evening.

  Back in the camp, Tarris was standing in the middle of his tent, with all the scouts present.

  “Any news from the scouting teams we sent?” He asked, prompting one of them to shake his head.

  “Nothing yet, sir. They were supposed to reach their objectives and return to the camp by now, but they are still not present.” The scout said, prompting Tarris to nod his head and exhale sharply.

  He then slammed his closed fist on the new table they had placed. The wood exploded as the table split in half.

  “We’re moving out. We’re going to split into 3 groups, each one following the route of one scouting team, and we’re going to go check out what happened.”

  The scouts were surprised by his command, not expecting it.

  “Sir, but –“

  “I said, follow me.” Tarris’s voice dropped to something so cold that it sent shivers down their spines.

  They left the tent and made their way out of the camp, equipment ready, all of them staring at the back of the commander. Three of them, however, were feeling different compared to the rest.

  They were confused.

  “I will lead one team, as for the other two –“

  “Sir, movement up ahead, somebody is coming!” One scout shouted.

  Some four hundred meters away from the camp, a lone person had emerged from the bushes, stumbling toward the camp.

  Tarris immediately moved, running forward at a speed that surprised even his own men.

  “Sir, come back, it could be an enemy!” One scout shouted as they all ran toward Tarris, trying to stop him. They failed. Tarris was simply too fast.

  By the time they caught up to him, Tarris had stopped.

  That’s when the scouts recognized him.

  It was Raen.

  He was drenched in blood, his uniform soaked through. Cuts and bruises were visible on his exposed skin; his left arm was beside him, badly injured.

  He was barely standing properly.

  “Raen … what in the world ha –“

  “It’s your fault!” Raen shouted, eyes ablaze in fury as he stared at Tarris with clenched teeth.

  “I told you the route was compromised!”

  “I told you it was too dangerous!”

  “It’s your fault!” Raen said, each word of his stabbing into the hearts of the scouts, his voice alone causing fear.

  “They’re all dead … because of you!” Raen roared. He then lunged.

  Tarris, bewildered, didn’t move fast enough. Raen punched him square in the jaw, both of them falling to the ground.

  Raen fell on top of him and suddenly started choking him.

  “Die! Die! Die!”

  “Squad leader Raen, stop it!” The scouts shouted, sprinting towards Raen. They grabbed his arms, attempting to get him off Tarris. It took four of them – four – to drag him away.

  Even then, they struggled to hold him. He fought them, thrashing, screaming, his rage so immense it seemed impossible to contain.

  What nobody saw – what no one could have seen unless they were looking for it – was the moment right before Raen’s hands closed around Tarris’s throat.

  A mere instant.

  A single exchanged glance.

  And if anyone watched more carefully, they might have noticed the fact that although Tarris’s face was red from being choked, his breathing was relatively fine.

  “They’re all dead?” Tarris asked absentmindedly, his voice full of shock and disbelief.

  “You bastards, let me go. I’m going to kill that senile bastard!” Raen shouted, struggling against the four scouts.

  Tarris stood with a pale face, his hands shaking. He took a moment to collect himself before turning to one of the scouts.

  “Report to the battalion commander, the scouting teams have been annihilated. The enemy is close. The camp should be on full alert!”

  The scout who quickly saluted before sprinting back. A sly smile flickered across his face as he ran.

  “You!” Tarris pointed at another scout. “Visit Major Vares, tell him to get the troops closest to here ready!”

  He turned to a third scout. “And you – find the night watch commander. Tell him to have his men on full alert!”

  Both scouts saluted and ran back to camp.

  As they ran back, the two gave a nearly unnoticeable glance at one another, hiding a smirk each.

  ***

  Tarris stood up and made his way to Raen, who was still being held down, his cries still audible – loud enough that the scouts running back to camp could hear him.

  Tarris stood and waited several seconds. He waited until all three scouts were back in camp.

  “It’s enough,” he said quietly. “They can’t hear you any longer.”

  The instant Tarris spoke, Raen stopped struggling.

  His body relaxed, allowing the scouts to hold him with ease now, his anger melting away like snow on a warm day.

  “I think they bought it,” Raen said, his voice calm and collected, breath evening out as Tarris nodded at him.

  “Very good acting, squad leader … but I have to admit, I did not expect this upon reading your note.”

  Tarris thought back to earlier, when he returned to his tent after sending the scouting teams out. Together with the written testimonies that Thatch had left was a note. Directly from Raen, telling him that if all went well, he would return alone to make the spies believe their plan went well.

  The note simply said: ‘Act along my ploy.’

  “Was punching me really necessary, though?” Tarris asked as he rubbed his jaw.

  Raen chuckled. “You barely felt it.”

  “Sir …” One of the scouts still holding Raen looked between them, his face full of confusion. “This … um … what is –“

  “The three I sent back are spies; they leaked our routes and are now going to join the rest of the spies in the camp,” Tarris said as he sighed.

  “Release the squad leader, please.”

  The scouts did as they were told and stepped back, their faces frozen in shock.

  Raen cranked his neck and stood up, his ‘injured’ left arm suddenly perfectly fine.

  “You’re late. I was about to go and search for you.”

  “It’s good I arrived now, then.” Raen chuckled.

  “How did the operation go? Any casualties?” Tarris asked, prompting Raen to take a deep breath.

  He then looked at Tarris with a smirk.