Iris was still for a moment, and Zayn's words rang through her ears. The crowd parted to let her pass, but she did not move until the general held out his hand in her direction. Then, she stiffened and began to walk. Trying to walk with dignity, she kept her chin up as she marched to the stage.
When she arrived, she shook the offered hand and ducked in a small bow. Now, it was her turn to take her place at his side. When she did, she let her eyes survey the crowd. Among the men, she actually saw Kelgar, who looked just as surprised as she felt.
"As for those of you remaining, you will march for Krenshai Caverns immediately!" the general's voice was firm, "I will stand aside and let Sergeant Tusal instruct you on what to do next. As for the scouting groups, you are now to exit and follow your respective leader. That is all."
At that moment, General Zayn swiftly cut his hand in a sort of follow me gesture towards Iris and the rest of his group. Without pause, Iris followed the instruction and was the first one trailing after him. None of the spoke until they reached his office.
Zayn was the first to speak.
"Welcome to the scouting group, soldiers," he shot them all a very serious look, "I chose all of you because I know you to be very good at what you do. You're all my best fighters. We have already been called for a serious mission. While the rest of the men will be standing to fight against the Token army at Krenshai, we are assigned a different task. You see, while we know that they are invading our borders, we do not know why. We also do not know who is leading them. Our task, is to find out..." he paused, "as they have snuck past our borders, our job is to slip by theirs."
He pulled out a piece of parchment with all of the Tokens movements and attacks labeled onto it. He pointed at a place just outside of the country's southern border.
"From what we can tell, this seems to be the center of all the attacks. This is all we know. We sent out a few spies a few months ago when the problem started, and they found this place, but they were unable to slip through the entrance. They say it is heavily guarded," he motioned to a large fortress that had been drawn on the map. "We are going to attempt to do what the spies have not. I have reason to believe that their leader is within that very fortress." Iris stared intently at the map, wondering how they were going to accomplish such a feat. It seemed as if more than she had been thinking that very thing.
"Sir, how are we to do that?" the golden-eyed archer asked him.
"This is why I have chosen a group, Shen. One man alone cannot possibly think of everything by himself. We need perspective."
He looked around to a now excruciatingly silent group.
"Can we not just force our way in?" said Ra, the warrior, "if their army is marching out to meet our soldiers in the caverns like you have predicted, then how can there be a lot of men still stationed there?"
Iris knew upon hearing this that it wasn't the best idea.
"I suspect that their army is bigger than they are letting on. This is why I have drafted new people to this war. I hoped that the new trainees will give us advantage in numbers."
This made everyone in the group look over at Iris subconsciously. She wanted to squirm at all the stares, but she kept her composure. After that, no one had any ideas, only questions.
"Do we know how guarded this entrance is?" the other archer asked.
Iris could tell that he was a brave man, but he was a bit anxious at the idea of close range combat. After all, he was an archer. The general looked over at him.
"I expect it is heavily guarded there, which is why we need to be as careful as we can." Zayn told them. For a moment, he looked downward and Iris could tell that he and the rest of her group were in deep thought.
She wondered a little bit for herself, and then spat out a few words. It took a lot of courage for her to speak in front of them, due to the fact that they had way more time here than she did.
"Well, is there another entrance? Did your spies ever look for one?"
"They never noted any other entry into the fortress. When they went, all of the Tokens soldiers were there, so I doubt they even had the chance to get close enough to search the area as thoroughly as I would have liked. However, we might be able to. Once we get there, we'll decide on that. Do you have any other thoughts?" he asked.
Quickly, she shook her head and grew silent once more. She hoped that they wouldn't have to charge through the main doors and risk their lives trying to pass off as Tokens. Hearing this plan, Iris almost wished she was standing on the front line. At least there, she would be facing an army with thousands of other men instead of five.
"What about disguises?" asked the golden-eyed archer that had spoken right before Iris. He then began gesturing toward her and General Zayn, "we could try and use a disguise and hopefully find a separate place to enter from."
The thought was considered.
The swordsman spoke up, "What about a distraction? We could do something..." He tasted his next words, trying to find a term that fit. "...extravagant, perhaps, to draw the army's attention to whichever side of the fortress that we see fit. In the commotion, we could draw them away from where we are entering and possibly sneak in."
"I don't know if that would be safe for us. If we are seen by anyone near the stronghold, they would surely send out soldiers to find out what is going on."
General Zayn then rolled up his map, and put it in a compartment within his armor.
"We have until tomorrow morning, unlike the others, to leave this campsite. I'll speak again with my scouts. Perhaps they have some new information." Iris could tell by the look in his eyes that even he didn't believe it.
Zayn watched as all of his group left his office, all except for Ingred, who lingered for a moment as he waited on the others to leave before him. As Ingred was about to make his way out as well, Zayn stopped him by grabbing his shoulder. The rogue turned quickly and gracefully to stare the general in the eyes. Zayn then reached over his desk and began ruffling through his drawers.
After a second, he presented the arrow to a confused looking Ingred.
"I meant to give this to you during training yesterday," he held out the object for the rogue to take, "I promised my men two years ago that whoever retrieved this could keep it as a symbol of his resolve. While you were not here at the time to hear that, I still present this to you. Will you take it?" he asked her with a straight face.
She reached out and took the arrow from his outstretched palm, surveying it as if it were an artifact.
"I will," she said with a nod, "Thank you, general."
Once she left, the general paced about his cabin, mind flashing from one thing to another. On the forefront of his mind was the danger he was about to face.
The other thing on his mind were those that he had chosen to travel alongside him. While he had no doubt, as he'd announced to the other soldiers, that they were capable men, he still feared what might become of them. He did not fear his passing, but he did not wish to see these men die in front of him... because of him.
In his mind flashed Ingred, the rogue who was not only smaller than him, but younger than him by a few years. He did not want to be there to witness the light fade from such youthful eyes. The general consoled himself by remembering his fight with not only the rogue, but the others as well. They could hold their own.
That was why they had been picked.
However, even though they could stand against enemies as he could, he knew that they were also different than him in the sense of their life. He knew that they all had families: wives, children, mothers, fathers... that would also be affected if something were to happen to them. That was a lot in itself to live for. He hadn't had anyone to go home to.
He used to have his father, the former general, but he died on the job quite some time ago. He accepted this job in his father's place. At the time, he worried that he might meet the same fate, but now realized that life didn't mean much without others in it.
Either way, he knew that no matter what, this was his calling.
Later that night, Iris found herself sitting alone with Kayde in the rogue barracks. The cabin felt so different without any of the other men in it. Kayde had been waiting for her here as soon as she had gotten back from the general's cabin. Mainly, he was just there to keep her company. They talked and laughed now that she was free of the other men that had once resided in these barracks. The main thing he had told her was that he was proud of her for being accepted to fight alongside the leader of the army.
He spent a little of the time going over techniques again and sparring with her. In fact, they had just got through practicing when Iris heard a loud rap at her door. She waited for Kayde to hide before she opened the door. The sight was one she had not expected. General Zayn stood in front of her, but he did not look much like himself.
Instead of his armor, he was wearing a simple, sleeveless tunic, and his black hair was falling to his shoulders. Given, half of it was still pulled back and out of his face. Even without his usual attire, he looked respectable.
"If you wish to join," he said without a smile, "I and the rest of our group are building a bonfire tonight and roasting meat from the mess cabin for dinner. I would come, for it is the last decent meal you will have for a while."
Iris gave him a nod and watched as he retreated. Kayde was the one who finally shut the door and broke Iris's concentration. When she looked back at Kayde, he was giving her a quizzical look.
"Yes?" she asked.
"While I'm sure your general doesn't mind any stare he might receive, he may find it strange that it's coming from one of his men."
Iris instantaneously narrowed her eyes at Kayde and turned to face the other direction. She knew what he was insinuating and she didn't appreciate it. His face held a sort of playful, leery smile, and she wondered for a moment if teasing Kayde was any better than stern Kayde.
Iris growled, but said nothing. She immediately distracted herself, looking around the room for... something. What that something was, she didn't know. It took her a long minute to finally figure out that the item she searched for was one that she didn't have. Comfortable clothes. But she didn't have that luxury. She sighed after she had made that realization, and began to head for the door.
"I guess I'll go in armor," she muttered too low for even Kayde to hear before she made her way out the door.
Kayde didn't say anything at all to her as she left.
The bonfire wasn't too hard to find, even though Zayn was the only one there. Upon arrival, Iris began throwing kindling she found on the ground into the fire. After a moment, the general looked over at her, as if he were assessing her. Iris was careful not to meet his eyes as she helped him enhance the flames. She hadn't realized she'd be the first to arrive.
"You didn't change out of your armor?" he asked her, "We're not training here, Ingred. The purpose of this was to relax. I figured I'd made that decently clear."
He then motioned to his tunic.
"It's comfortable..." she lied.
She did not wish to tell him that she truly did not own anything else to wear here besides this. The general looked mildly surprised.
"Well, to each his own then."
At this, Iris was silent.
She had no idea what to say.
Ever since she'd been here, the only conversations they'd had were ones involving her fighting, techniques, or something along those lines. As far as the others, she hadn't spoken to them at all. In a way, she hoped it stayed this way simply because she was pretending to be a man.
She didn't wish to slip up and say something a man might not say. She looked over at the general to see that he was still looking at her. At that moment, she knew that she was expected to respond in some way.
"Perhaps so, sir," was all she could think of.
"So, Ingred," the general began, "do you have any family?"
This question surprised her, but she knew that it was one she could not get wrong.
"I have a father, an aunt, and a sister," Iris replied in her brusque voice, "they are why I am here. My father was originally going to come and fight, but he is old. It doesn't help that he has an injured knee either. He was named Elliot. My aunt is named Renna, and she lives with us. She takes care of us, especially my father. Iris Gwenneth is my sister's name..." she fibbed, "What of yours?"
"I do not have a family," he said simply. Immediately, she felt bad for asking.
"I'm sorry, sir," she said quietly.
"Eh, nothing to apologize for. I asked about yours."
The general added the final bits of wood and kindling to the fire.
"We all have a time that we are destined to leave this world. I will follow after my father and mother someday. Either way, would you help me roast the meat?" Iris was happy that the subject had changed. Even though she hadn't lost her whole family, she'd still known loss. To be reminded of it wasn't something she'd wished to happen here. She sighed, wondering what her mother would say if she were alive now.
At least her mother was watching over her. Maybe.
By the time they had the meat roasting on the fire, the swordsman arrived. He was dressed in attire much like the general's. He looked from Iris to Zayn quickly before asking if they needed any help. The general was the one to answer his question.
"No. Everything is in order... have a seat."
Iris took a seat along with him. The ground was not as comfortable as she would have liked, but she did not complain. In fact, upon Dregar's coming, she did not say a word at all. She watched as the rest of the men slowly filed in and listened as they all began to converse with one another. All except for her, of course. She went with her earlier decision to keep as quiet as she could.
Once dinner was served, the night went by fast, even for Iris. A couple of times, she was asked why she wasn't speaking, once from the general and once from Shen, to which she replied that she was thinking. However, everyone seemed to sense that Ingred was only shy, and deemed it understandable since she was a new recruit. Iris was the second to leave the campfire that night.
From what she'd seen, everyone seemed to be nice. Even Ra seemed to be somewhat decent, even though Iris could tell he was definitely a little rough around the edges when it came to words. However, even then, he was more appealing to speak with than she.
When she arrived at the cabin, she half expected to see Kayde there waiting on her. In fact, it puzzled her that he was not. His presence had become quite a comfort to her. She did not think on it long, however, as she knew she needed sleep. Tonight, she went to bed in the same bunk she was used to. Even though the room did not have its natural feeling about it, she still slept just the same.