Chapter 68 Drawing a line (1/2)

It doesn't take long for us to catch up, since the two soldiers are moving cautiously, attempting to avoid the notice of the thronging monsters in the forest.

Every now and again I notice one of them looking up, doubtless keeping an eye out for the gargoyle monsters that nest in the roof. I haven't seen any sign of those things for a while now but I don't doubt they are still up there somewhere.

Fingers crossed that when they do show up they decide to swoop down on someone else.

The two soldiers move with practiced ease through the area, avoiding pitfalls and reading the signs of monsters being nearby.

I'm honestly impressed by their level of knowledge. They seem to know exactly where every monster nearby is without having to actually lay eyes on it. I'm desperately hoping that doesn't include me!

Or Tiny.

The way they move seems to indicate they know exactly where they are in the open s.p.a.ce and exactly where it is they want to go. I wonder how they are doing that. Do they recognise the features of the ceiling? Are they able to track their locations based on familiar features of the rock up there?

That makes so much d.a.m.n sense I'm shocked I never thought of it before. After the thought occurs to me I start to glance up at the ceiling, using my advanced eyesight to pick out obvious features to try and recall later.

After an hour of travel we arrive at what appears to have been the destination the soldiers were heading for.

A large hill rises from the forest floor and in one side a tunnel has been cut, leading down into the hill and downward. At the entrance to the tunnel two more soldiers are standing guard, attempting to appear inconspicuous, not wanting to draw too much monstrous attention.

The two I'd followed solute at the entrance, hands over hearts of some such and then enter the tunnel, their dark uniforms quickly blending into the shadows as they move out of sight.

Dammit!

If only I had mind reading or telepathy or something. How am I supposed to glean information from these people? They must know so much that I couldn't possibly find out on my own! A veritable goldmine of information is sitting right here in front of me and I cannot access it in any way! Gah! This is maddening!

I decide to stay and watch this apparent human camp for a while. I can't think of anything more threatening to the colony than an attack by these d.a.m.nable soldiers, so in my capacity as a scout it is my duty to observe them until I am satisfied that they pose no threat.

Two hours later, my dedication to the cause has faded somewhat.

The two guards out the front were rotated, replaced by two almost identical guards. The new guards were not the two I'd followed to this location so at least I learned that there are at a minimum six people within this camp.

Tiny is growing completely bored and is having a nap behind me. Thankfully there is enough background noise to wash out his gentle snoring.

I spend my time observing the humans and seeing what I can learn from them by picking up on the details.

Their boots are fairly distinctive, made of stiff looking leather and dyed black the boots are laced from the heel to half way to the knee. The breastplate appears to be made of some kind of stiff leather, once again dyed black and st.i.tched with some sort of gold embroidery. I think there is an insignia on the armour but I can't quite make it out.

The arms borne by each soldier appear to be slightly different. When I'd arrived, the first two guards had both worn a long sword on their hip and had a large s.h.i.+eld across their back. The two who replaced them however, where different. One had two short strapped across the back in an x. The second uncased a crossbow from their back when they came out, slotted a bolt and cranked back on the shaft before taking up his post.

Seems like a bit of an odd army. Almost every individual is armed with a different weapon!