Rise of the Horde

After experiencing a blissful and pleasurable night, Redore managed to sleep soundly. The woman by his side stuck to him like glue as she seek out his warmth.

"Who is it?" the viscount turned his gaze towards the entrance of the tent. He noticed the presence of someone outside.

"Commander Nassor is looking for you, my lord," one of them answered. Redore sat up and rubbed his sleepy eyes, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep. He looked over at the woman beside him, still sound asleep. He sighed and carefully extricated himself from her embrace, silently slipping out of bed and reaching for his clothes.

As he dressed, he couldn't help but think about the woman. He had just chanced upon her during his stroll, and they had passed the night in each other's embrace. She was beautiful and sensual, and their night of passion had been nothing short of amazing. But now, as he prepared to leave, he couldn't just leave her be.

Shaking his head, he turned his focus to the matter at hand. He had been summoned by Commander Nassor, and he needed to attend to his duties.

Exiting the tent, Redore grabbed his armor and sword. He peeked inside the tent one last time and nodded his head. Before he left the vicinity, he gave an order to the two soldiers who were outside.

When he arrived at the central tent, Nassor and the other commanders were already gathered there.

He could feel their eyes on him as he approached the group, but he just shrugged it off then gave out a yawn. He lacked sleep, but his body was already used to it.

"Viscount Redore," Nassor greeted him with a nod. "You seemed to have caused quite a commotion last night."

Redore did not respond, he only smiled in response.

"Someone had an eventful night," Kontar chuckled. "Thanks to your little stunt, a lot of our soldiers lost sleep because of the noise of your conquest. Her moans were too loud."

"That just meant that I did a very great job." Redore responded with pride. "We'll continue with the tales of my conquest later. We have more important matters to discuss."

"Very well." Kontar replied.

Nassor cleared his throat and got straight to business. "As you know, our forces are spread thin across this territory. We need to keep a close eye on our borders and be ready to defend ourselves at a moment's notice. I need you to take a small group of soldiers and scout the area to the west. See if there are any signs of the enemy's movements," as he directed his gaze at Kasto.

Lord Kasto nodded, knowing full well the importance of their mission. He had no qualms about taking on this task. "Consider it done," he replied curtly.

"About the supply lines of the enemy. I leave them to you and your unit," Nassor then pointed at a part of the map as he directed his gaze at the viscount. "You and your riders should swing south about half a day through this place. The tall bushes and sparse trees should provide you enough cover until you get to the forest."

"That is a lot of distance to cover," Redore commented, then stared at the details of the map. "How about this place to the north, along the streams? The giant boulders should provide us enough cover to remain unnoticed by the enemy scouts."

"Not possible." Nassor replied. Further east of the stream is an unfavorable terrain which would lengthen your journey. The heavy rain a few days ago had turned it into a muddy swamp."

"I don't have any problem with the distance. What I am worried about is this forest that we will have to go through." Redore circled his finger around the forest on the map. "This forest isn't called The Mystic Woods for nothing. We might get lost inside it, and who knows when we will get out or if we will ever get out of it?"

"Don't worry, we have someone in the army who considers that place as a playground." Nassor gave him a meaningful smile. "You would be greatly surprised if you will meet that person face to face," the old man whispered to himself.

"W-wait... Is there something that I should be aware of?" Redore was somewhat confused. Nassor shook his head, still with the meaningful smile on his lips. The viscount finally noticed that it wasn't just the old man who was giving him a meaningful smile but also the others.

"Nothing of great significance. It is just that, the guide might surprise you." Kontar was the one who replied to the viscount's question. 𝗯𝐞𝗱𝐧𝗼𝐯𝐞𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"I will need a day to gather my team and provisions," Redore uttered. "We cannot afford to leave anything to chance." He knew that the others were up to something but he was certain that it was harmless.

"Agreed," Nassor nodded his head. "Take all the time you need, but do not delay too long. The enemy is always watching, and we cannot afford to let our guard down."

Redore nodded in agreement and saluted the commanders before leaving the tent. He had a mission to prepare for, but he couldn't shake off his thoughts about the woman he had spent with last night.

"You should have told him already." Kontar chuckled. "No... It will be more fun if he doesn't know." Nassor replied with a grin.

"You going to drink that?" Karim, who had remained silent all this time, finally spoke, his index finger pointing at the flagon of wine in front of Kontar. The drunkard didn't even wait for a reply. He stretched his hand and grabbed the flagon.

"You know what, I am kind of amaze that your abilities still remained." Kontar stared at Karim with puzzlement. "Aren't you supposed to avoid drinking since it clouds your mind and affects your judgement? I hear a lot of priests preaching it. And yet here you are, drinking like there is no tomorrow."

"Those hypocrites? Let them utter all the nonsense that they want. I don't give a shit about those bastards." spicy words came out from the mouth of the paladin.

"And you spout more curses than divine phrases. I am beginning to wonder if what they say about being a paladin is true." Kontar turned his head towards Nassor.

"Don't look at me. I am as clueless as you are." Nassor shrugged his shoulders.

"Which is?" Karim asked after burping out loudly.

"That becoming a paladin is not as hard as they say."

"Why don't you try to find out," the paladin responded, then continued drinking. He was even about to reach for the flagon belonging to Nassor when the old man quickly kept it away from his reach.

"This is mine. Go get yourself another one from the supplies if you ain't satisfied still." Nassor then returned his gaze towards the map.