The Foolhardies 201 The Spy Gone North

The two squad leaders, both of whom looked bedraggled and tired, gave each other knowing looks. 

It was weird how they were suddenly in sync when they were arguing like a divorced couple only a few days ago.

Thom was the first to speak out. 

"They're definitely here," he revealed. "Hiding to the north, behind our own lines…"

"Shit," I replied.

Thom took a sip from the water flask in his hand. Then he took a long breath and breathed in the cold desert air. 

"After we found them my men and I infiltrated their ranks," he admitted. 

That made sense, I thought. They were drow too so they'd fit in among drow units in the Scarlet Moon's army. 

"They've got a hundred thousand soldiers lying in wait to ambush Lord Rah's forces once they're called to service by Great General Garm," Thom added. "This was confirmed by the thousand-man commander I managed to kidnap…"

"What else did he tell you?" I asked. 

Thom's eyes turned left and then right. He was obviously scanning our surroundings, but seeing as we were meeting at the top of a sand dune east of the reserve army, I wasn't overly worried about eavesdroppers. 

We could still see the tail-end of the reserves on our left with the flag of the Foolhardies rising toward the backline. 

I had members from both Thom's and Thor's units return to the Foolhardies to get some rest which meant there were only a few of us now who could hear their tale. 

"Although an agreement has been made, they have yet to finalize it… I believe a final requirement is yet to be provided from Garm's end," Thom explained. 

He was surprisingly chatty. I expected him to make me work for the information he was readily giving me, but that might be more proof that our situation was direr. 

"Garm plans to defect to the Scarlet Moon," Thom revealed. "And with his victory in the Westersand, he'll be able to rest control of the entire Westmarch away from both the Trickster Pavilion and the Sunspire Dominion… and then lord over it as a governor for the Scarlet Moon."

"More like a puppet," Luca butt in. 

I was inclined to agree with him. Whatever they promised him, I doubt they would cede total control to Garm, an outsider. 

"I… I can't believe who would go to these lengths to betray my brother and I," Aura said with downcast eyes. 

The frown on her face now was one I didn't want to see. 

"What else did this captured commander tell you?" I urged Thom on. 

"Agents of the Scarlet Moon have been embedded into Garm's army as their spies," Thom revealed. "I don't believe they fully trust the Great General." 

"A traitor can't be trusted no matter what," Edo growled. 

Thom chuckled. "Well, that's all the intel I have… Unfortunately, my source expired during the interrogation…"

"That's too bad," I said although I didn't actually feel that way. "So why did it take you three nights to get back to us?"

"I went hunting," Thom pulled out his katana's handle and caressed it with long fingers. "I thought the hunting of a few commander heads could help sow a bit of chaos…"

"How many did you get?" I asked. 

"Nine hundred-man commanders, four five-hundred-man commanders, and two thousand-man commanders," he boasted. "You'd be proud, Dean." 

"So you were the reason their guard was up," Thor said with a shake of his head. 

"What about you Thor?" I asked. "I noticed there are fewer of you that returned." 

"Like the drow, we discovered the enemy in the desert, but not their army," Thor said. "Instead, we found small units roaming the north desert… and we engaged them to learn more information." 

"That's why you lost a few people," I noted. 

Thor nodded. "Some died in the fight, and after we learned what we learned, a few others died in the escape…" 

"The escape?" Luca repeated. 

"I'm sorry, boss," Thor said, lowering his head as he did. "But there were too many enemies for us to fight and although we learned much, I couldn't send you back the intel because we were forced to seek refuge with our right army…"

"You were in Llewellyn's grasp," I realized. 

"When soldiers loyal to the great bastard, Garm, learned we were members of your unit, they imprisoned me and my fellow kobolds," Thor whinnied. "And we were kept under makeshift cages for a day and a night…"

"F*ck," I whispered. "Llewellyn's an enemy after all…" 

Thor nodded while he continued to whinny. "She interrogated me… wanted to know what I learned and if I'd passed that information to you yet…" 

Thor looked up at me and I could see the apparent loyalty in his eyes. 

"But I wouldn't answer no matter what they did to me, boss," Thor said, turning around so we can see just what they'd done to him. "They cut off my tail on the second night but even then I wouldn't speak…" 

A kobold's tail was like a third arm or foot. It supported the kobold's balance among other neat uses that a human could never have. The loss of a tail was like the loss of a limb. 

The sight of the furry stump popping out of the hole in his breeches — breeches tailored for kobold-specific wear — angered me so much I momentarily saw red. 

"Llewellyn did this to you?" Aura asked sounding and looking aghast. 

Thor whinnied again. He didn't speak. 

I patted his head like I would my favorite dog — which was a form of endearment and wasn't me looking down on him — and said, "You did good…" 

My voice cracked a bit but I didn't mind, Thor had proven his loyalty many times over the past few months and this torture done to him would be avenged. 

"I promise, I'll make this right," I said to him. 

He shook his head, his ears pricking up as I continued to stroke his head. 

"You caring is more than I can ask for, boss," He said. "I am your loyal servant, after all…" 

"How did you escape, Thor?" Aura asked in a kind tone. 

"Verania sent men in secret to break us out… she told me to tell the lady," Thor turned his bright blue eyes on Aura, "that you're even now for the information our sprite delivered to her." 

Aura's eyes widened in surprise, and then, after her lips formed a wan smile, she said, "At least we know she's taking things seriously…" 

"Not that I want to belittle our friend's obvious sacrifice," Thom interrupted. "But you said you discovered information? I assume it was different from mine?"

Thor nodded his head. "Yes, yes… I found out that the black woman is here."

"The black… woman?" Luca asked. "Do we know anyone with that monicker?" 

"The one who slew my kobold friends in the Undercroft… the one you fought in the alleyway, she is here closeby," Thor revealed. 

Then it clicked. The Lord of Stars said he'd smelled Ardeen Spellweaver's scent when he met with Garm but what if he'd smelled someone else, someone who was always seen close to Ardeen's side, and would possibly have carried his scent. 

The implications of why she'd have his scent made me blush, and seeing the bright apple tinge of Luca's cheeks, I assumed he thought the same thing I did. Luckily, no one else noticed. After all, I didn't want Aura to think I was thinking about such green-minded thoughts. 

"That's not all… I also learned that she'd been sent to Garm to receive the prisoners he'd promised them," Thor revealed. 

He'd paused afterward, and I was only half-certain that it wasn't for dramatic effect, but a moment later, he raised a claw at Luca, then at me, and finally, at Aura. 

We didn't need an explanation to figure out why he'd pointed at us. 

"It would make sense for Dean to be a target… maybe even Luca so they can use him as a hostage to coerce Dean into whatever Ardeen Spellweaver wants him to do," Edo mused. "But why would they want Aura too?"

"Because they know or at least suspect at who she is," Thom answered. "You three must be the final requirement the Scarlet Moon asked of Garm for their support…" 

Edo hefted his glaive in his hands. "Dean, I think it's time we abandoned our post… it's too dangerous to linger." 

"You know, I think you're right, Edo," I answered. "The safety of Aura now has to be our first priority. Let's get out of here and report our findings to Darah."

Some of my friends think I'm the unluckiest guy in two worlds. That might have been true. At the very least, fate tended to throw me a curveball every time I expected a straight pitch to come my way. 

Tonight was no different for no sooner had I said what I said when the sand around us exploded like tiny geysers. And even before the sand settled back onto the ground, we saw the shadowy figures that had popped out from the ground. 

Apparently, my guys had unknowingly led the enemy right to us, and now our small group was surrounded by murderous intentions. 

Chapter end