"Alright chief, why have you decided to bother me today?" Avin asked, slumping down on the bench and twirling the metal link between his fingers.
The chief eyed him, "You seem awfully calm, even after hearing about the trial of spirits. Even I'm surprised they're holding the trials so early."
"What do you want me to do? Throw a fit? Yeah, I admit it did take me by surprise, but well… it's not like I had set up any expectations for myself. Vlad had taught me to always expect the worst." Avin said with a snort.
"How very pragmatic of him, regardless. Are you sure you're fine with it?"
Avin eyed the chief and replied with a deadpan tone, "What do you think?"
Kevan just coughed, "What do I think? What does it matter, never mind, anyways, why were you here again?"
"What do you mean, you called for me?"
"Oh Yes! There was a raid in an outpost village in the east, just a few passes east. The Ulov took some prisoners with them this time, killed all the men and some children managed to run away. I am thinking of taking the prisoners back from the Ulov camp."
"You know where they set up the camp?" Avin asked.
"Yes, I sent a scout last night, and they just returned a few hours ago. They have about twenty women and some children as hostages." Kevan replied with a grim voice.
"Hmm, is that why the Oracle was here to see you? To offer advice on how to take out the rescue mission?" Avin asked, intrigued.
Kevan sighed and shook his head, "She was here to stop me from going."
Avin's eyes widened in surprise, "b-but why? Don't they care about the kidnapped people?"
"No, they care, Avin, they care about their people more than you can imagine, they have after all dedicated their whole life in the service of their people, they give up on their family, and loved ones for that purpose alone. I hope you do not forget it. But… at the same time, they're just as pragmatic as your master. Anyways, as to why Aari Dreni tried stopping me, I'm not sure. I think she suspects some kind of trap. And honestly, I can see why… the Ulov have been very cunning as of late."
"So…" Avin replied confused, "Are you going to the rescue or not?"
Kevan gave him a toothy smile, "Oh, we are going, Avin, we're going into the flight expecting them to spring a trap on us. I won't just foolishly walk into an ambush, you see, I have a plan, we will reply suprises with surprises."
With that, they departed. The preparations were already done, Krimzon guards dressed in black leather arms and their faces painted dark green. They looked menacing and deadly, exactly what he had come to expect of these men these last few years.
They made their way through the woods, like wolves, at a steady jog while making minimal noise. Yeben and Genfi jogged beside their chief like his personal guards, while Avin was in the back, just behind Korli.
"I think this is the first time I'm going into a battle with you, Avin. I know you've been in a couple of scuffles with Chief Kevan; he never stops talking about those."
"He talked about those? Only good things I hope." Avin replied sarcastically.
"Not sure if you could call those good things... terrifying would be a better word," Korli said laughing.
The Krimzon guards were about fifteen in total, Avin the sixteenth. It was a good number for a raiding party, the Ulov and Krimzons never enaged in grand battles of hundreds throwing all their forces in a single battle.
Avin had heard the Ulov were about twenty, an even number.
But if the Krimzon guards can take advantage of the moment of surprise, they might win this without casualties. Normally, In these kinds of battles and ambushes, shock matters more than the numbers. If you can break their sense of security at the start and make them panic, you've done half the job already.
Well, it might've worked on an ordinary group of people.
But not on a group of Ulov warriors, they were intoxicated on the drug amberlips, try to shock them and they'll retaliate with an even greater resilience.
Preferably they had to kill the Ulovs to the last man, but that rarely happened. Whenever you take out half of their numbers they will retreat.
The Ulov's doctrine to approach a battle was a mess honestly. There was no way to deal with them permanently. In the past, the Krimzons had tried, multiple times, to eradicate them, but to no success. The Ulov would always retreat deep north whenever their numbers dwindled, the place where the Krimzons couldn't find them, only to come back south when their numbers recovered a couple of generations later.
Avin shook himself and checked his weapons again, making sure they were ready and loaded.
Avin felt tense, more than he usually did before a fight. He shouldn't have been, Avin knew that the chief was prepared for any trap that the Ulov might have set up for them, but what if the chief had miscalculated?
Avin couldn't be sure, but it wasn't the time to overthink this; he would just trust the chief's plan. Kevan might've been a carefree man, but he was extra careful when it came to matters such as these.
Soon enough, after a couple of hours of rapid March, they reached the northern borders of the Krimzon territory. From here on they would be in the Ulov territories.
***
The Ulov camp was set atop an open hill that offered a good open view of the surroundings. Avin was looking at them from the south, hidden among a dense collection of bushes. He and Kevan looked up and found about twenty-one Ulov of different tribes mingling about. The prisoners were tied to the eastern edge of the camp, it was the wrong place to tie the prisoners– exposed on three sides–which meant only one thing.
"The prisoners are bait." Kevan whispered, his voice hard and gaze dark.
"So… what do we do?" Avin asked.
"Hmm, I have an Idea, but I would like to have your thoughts." The chief asked.
Avin considered before replying, "If they've set an ambush for us they'll expect us to go for the prisoners first. But if we don't go for the prisoners, they can use them as leverage against us. We would have to be quick and precise, take them down before they could reach the hostages."
Kevan nodded, "Yes, but that is easier said than done. That's why we need to find some way to keep them away from the prisoners while we engage their warriors. What would even be the point of this if we can't even protect and recover our hostages, even if we kill those Ulov scum."
"Revenge?" Avin asked.
Kevan just chuckled, "I wish that I could agree with you kid, but unfortunately, I'm a chief. I can't afford to risk the lives of my people for something as petty as revenge."
Avin didn't really agree with that statement, but he could understand it nonetheless. "Alright chief, so how do we separate the prisoners and the raiders?"
"Hmm I have a very risky and stupid idea." Kevan said.
"Well that's nothing new chief, you've always been risky and stupid." That earned him a smack in the back of the head.
***
It turned dark and the Ulov camp lit up a big bonfire in the middle of the camp. it's light reached just to the edge of their camp.
"Argh! my knees still ache after that brat kicked me, this is too much work, and it's not proper work no!" Jokh cursed as he sat near the prisoners, nursing his knees where a bruise was hurting like hell.
"Tell me about it, why do we have to bother with the children anyways, killing them shits would make it all so much easier." His companion said picking his teeth with a bone.
The third one from the Aidar clan just shook his head, he sat a little farther from the two, clearly creating space between him and the two Tulok, he had been assigned to guard the prisoners with.
"Reven and that black armored demon wants children alive for something, probably some dark Arts, or who knows, knowing the new Kultan, that monster. He might just want to eat them."
The two Tulok chuckled as they poked two bound women with a stick, "did you hear that little rabbit, someone wants to eat you."
The two Krimzon women whimped and squeaked, kicking with their feet trying to get away from the Ulov's prodding. Only making the Ulov's more amused, it was a sport to them after all, to play with their prize.
Jokh stood up, trying to put weight on his bruised leg and grunted, "I'll kill the brat if I find him again, no matter what the Kultan chief says, I'll kill em' bloody, mark my word."
"You won't get the chance."
"We'll see…" Jokh scoffed... and then frowned, his companions also turned to look at each other.
"Who…?" The Aidar asked but was cut short when he heard the rustling of grass–too late.
Jokh turned towards the direction where the voice came from, it was darkness, just beyond where the camplight's reach.
A sound of something cutting the air came, too late as Jokh felt something touch his neck and the world spun around him.
His companion bolted up straight but his legs lost all its strength as a long curved sword, with a red rippling pattern dug into his chest, the Tulok screamed in pain as Kevan slashed the sword free and dashed towards the Aidar who swung his axe.
Kevan's sword bisected the Aidars torso in half, his body and blade both glowing like the moonlight. And Kevan's red eyes had turned silver blue like the moon itself.
He was the carrier of the elemental spirit Lunela, giving Kevan the ability to harness the power of moonlight itself.
Kevan hungrily absorbed the moonlight, the silver white glow emanating from his body only increasing as time went on under the celestial lights.
The scream of the Tulok had already alerted the Ulov camp, they would come for him now. Already Kevan could see five of them charging towards him.
Kevan turned towards the dozen prisoners, they looked at him with wide eyes and realization dawned on them, tears fell from their eyes, and Kevan slashed at the binds of the three closest to him.
"Free the others." He ordered, they were stunned for a moment but then got to work in panic.
Kevan turned back to the Ulov charging towards them and smiled as he dug his heels, "Here they come…"
Kevan braced, parrying a swing at him and thrusting his saber through the raider's guts. He pulled his saber back, and kicked the man who's guts was on the verge to spilling out towards the second one coming from behind him. Kevan stood his ground, twirling his weapon in his hands, eager...
The scream of the Ulov was signal enough for the Krimzon guard. Avin crouched in the bushes in anticipation as the figures of the Ulov became clear as the stood up and ran about in hurry.
There was a sharp whistle from behind Avin, followed by the sound of snapping wood, as a dozen long crossbows–The new toys Kevan had told him about before departing, unleashed a volley of two arrows each.
Avin had to admit these crossbows were impressive, apparently Vlad had himself designed and commissioned it for the Krimzon guard, a few weeks ago. They were heavy, and harder to load for sure, not really practical for combat just yet, these were prototypes.
Two dozen arrows from a dozen crossbows launched and figures screamed in the distance, Avin smiled and pulled his thin double edged sword out–and dashed towards the Ulov while the chief made sure to keep prisoners and the Ulov separate.
"Here we go.."