“Squire!” Gharland called again. His tone was rough; he was in a bad mood.
Landry raced over to the Captain once again and started unstrapping, unclipping, and removing his armour, piece by piece. Gharland stood motionless as he did so, watching his company set up. Tomas looked at the man, still so unsure of what to make of him.
“Is there a problem, boy?” Gharland shouted at Tomas. He had noticed him staring.
Tomas quickly turned back to the sticks that he was breaking up for their fire. “No problem, m’lord.”
“Then quit your staring, boy.”
Britus overheard the Captain’s remarks, rushing over. “Is this one bothering you, Captain? I can pound some sense to him if you like.”
Britus made a fist, eyes locked on Tomas like a hunting dog. Tomas did not look away from the sticks, despite clearly hearing the threat.
“That won’t be necessary.” Gharland snarled. “Not yet, anyway.”
The fire was lit, and the soldiers set up Gharland’s tent before laying out their bedrolls and chowing down on what was left of their rations.
Once Landry had removed the Captain’s armour, he began cleaning and polishing it by the fire. Gharland made his way over to Tomas and Rilan as they took their packs off their horses.
“We ride through the Darkwood at dawn. I hope you lads know where you are going,” Gharland said to the boys. His tone was still overly threatening, more so than usual.
Perhaps being so close to completing his orders is making him anxious.
Tomas could feel the tension that had been rising in the group since travelling past Hollowhill and seeing devastation in the countryside. It was a sight that had cut at the spirits of even the hardest among them.
No one knew if the efforts to thwart the invasion were working.
“The Darkwood is thick, my lord. Easy to get lost in,” Rilan replied.
Gharland raised an eyebrow, suspicious of Rilan’s comment. Tomas was quick to interject- he did not want the Captain suspecting they had lied to him about knowing the way to the Repository.
“By that he means that the road through the forest can be difficult to navigate, m’lord. But do not fear- we know the way,” Tomas said.
“I hope so… for your sakes,” Gharland said, stepping closer. The man towered above them. “I would hate to think you told lies to a captain of the King’s Army.”
Tomas gulped. “We will get us to the Grand Repository, m’lord.”
Gharland nodded. “You will stop calling me ‘m’lord’. I’m no fucking lord. I am your captain. You will address me as ‘ser’ from now on.” The captain began to walk to tent. “Lieutenant,” he shouted.
“Aye, ser?” Britus said.
“Sort out a watch for the night. Two-hour shifts. We ride at dawn.” The Captain snuck into his tent, away from the rest. Landry sat outside the tent at a smaller fire, cooking up a small stew for the Captain’s supper.
Rilan leant in towards Tomas to speak softly. “Captain’s got a real stick up his arse today.”
Tomas could not help but crack a smile. “I hope we remember the way.”
“How can we not? We’ve lived in the area all our lives.”
“It’s not like we ever ventured out of town all that often, though,” Tomas said.
He was focusing on Gharland’s words and was beginning to worry. Did they actually know the way to the Grand Repository? Had they indeed made it up to escape the horrors of the battlefield? Neither of them had ever taken the path before.
Tomas looked through the dark wall of pine trees, into the blackness ahead full of twisting vegetation and rugged rocks.
“Those woods are a maze.”
Rilan huffed. “Look, we find the path, we follow the path to the mountain, then we stick to the road up the mountain. There’s only one road up to the Grand Repository, right? It can’t be all that hard, can it?”
Tomas nodded unsurely. He wanted to take on Rilan’s optimism. Yet something at the back of his mind was pulling at the threads of his confidence.
What if we don’t know the way? Did we sign on to something that we weren’t capable of?
The idea of getting lost in the Darkwood was not a reassuring one… almost as scary as being accused of lying by Captain Gharland.
“Hey,” Rilan said, nudging Tomas and pulling him out of his worries. “Stop overthinking.”
Clouds were rolling in from the mountains, turning the sky into a starless, moonless expanse of black and grey. Some light snow fell from the heavens like thousands of tiny angels gracefully gliding towards the ground. The only illumination came from the several campfires around the site as the area fell into dark.
A distant howl interrupted the quiet chatter amongst the campsites. Everybody went dead silent as the monstrous noise echoed around them. Another howl, almost a shriek, came from out of the black, much closer than the first.
Tomas and Rilan both stood up, listening intently.
“Was that a wolf?” old man Hemish asked, munching on a half-rotting apple he found along the road.
“That’s not like any wolf I’ve ever heard,” Rilan shuttered.
Tomas focused on every sound to try and make it out. He waited to hear it again.
Another howl. Harsher, more piercing.
“A bear, maybe?” a young soldier named Antony asked.
“Have you ever heard a bear howl?” Smiling John joked, elbowing his comrade. “Fuckin’ idiot.”
“Be quiet,” Rilan said sternly.
The soldiers sealed their mouths, eyeing the recruit with confusion.
“Did he just tell me to be quiet?” Antony asked sarcastically.
“Will you shut up!?” Tomas blurted out. He and Rilan stood motionless.
Lieutenant Britus stormed over to the boys. “Who do you think you are, boy? Giving orders to my men?”
A
