Time to Hunt #2
The job I’d given Vasin while I was doing my training was to keep me informed of what was going on in our kingdom. He could communicate with all the other dragons in the land, and since they couldn’t talk to their masters and tell them about us, it was the safest source of information.
“There hasn’t been a word of it through the dragon community, but I have not gone near the castle grounds. I shall head there at once and see what I can find out. I may not be back tonight. Even flying, it is a good full day’s journey to get there.”
“I’ll be fine. I am surrounded by mercenaries, and we are going deep into the forest, so the chances of anyone seeing us are slim. I doubt that anything will happen,” I reassured him. “I don’t like that you’re going to be that far away, but we need the information.”
“Everybody mount up,” Cole called.
“Be safe, Cass. I will be back as soon as I find out something.”
I led Inali out of her stall and walked her out of the barn where the others gathered. It looked like there would be seventeen of us trainees and veterans combined. I shook my head to clear it once more before mounting. I needed to focus on the hunt for now.
Once everyone was ready, Cole and his mount shot off into the forest with us hot on his heels. After we had ridden for what felt like hours, judging by how much the sun had risen, Cole finally brought us to a halt and dismounted.
“Change of plans, guys. We aren’t going on a hunt… not a traditional one, anyway. Today, we are going to ‘play capture the flag, mercenary style,’ ” Cole announced as he pulled out two scarves, one bright red and the other sky blue.
“For you trainees, this is to test the level of your skill and see how you’re progressing.
The same rules as other mock battles apply.
If an arrow is shot anywhere close to you, it marks you as dead.
Likewise for knives. It shows your attacker had a clear enough shot that it could’ve killed you in a real situation.
Once marked, the person is then escorted to whatever area you make as a ‘prison.’ You will stay there unless you are freed by one of your team members. Any questions?” Cole asked.
Abbott stepped up next to Cole when no one said anything. “This game will be a little different. We want to test how you work as a team but also the skills you have. So we are adding in that if you capture all members of the other team, that will count as a win.”
“I’ll be the leader for one team, and Richard will be the leader for the other team,” Cole continued. “First, we will divide the veterans, then we’ll split the trainees. I don’t want to hear a damn word about us not making this a fair game.”
I was surprised Cole picked Richard as the other team leader, but then when I thought about it, it made sense. This was becoming a challenge to see who could lead their team to victory.
To ensure everything was fair, Becka placed colored stones into a bag that each person would pick from.
Once all the veterans had picked, then it was our turn.
Since there was an uneven number of trainees, there was one black stone that would allow that person to pick their team.
Lucky me, I was the one who picked the black stone.
“What team do you pick, Cassarah?” Becka asked when I showed her my stone.
I’d really hoped I wouldn’t need to make this choice, but I was destined to make these hard choices in my life now. I closed my eyes for a moment and thought about what would be the most beneficial.
“I choose Richard’s team,” I announced.
Becka's brows shot up in surprise, and I could see Cole scowling behind her. Abbott even seemed to be shocked by my choice since he was on Cole’s team too.
But I needed to be able to do this without them.
I needed to know I could handle things without them right by my side.
I didn’t know anyone on Richard’s team well, and that would make this an even better choice.
“Very well, the teams have been decided. We will sound the horn when we have each reached a point one hundred paces away,” Richard said, taking the blue scarf and waving for us to follow him.
“Good luck,” I said to Becka as I led Inali to follow the others.
“You too. Keep your wits about you, and you’ll be fine,” Becka called, giving me a little wave.
Richard led us toward the canyon, so we had rock on two sides and caves to hide the banner in. Once we found a spot a hundred paces away, we staked the horses behind a stack of boulders so they were hidden from sight. We gathered around while Richard hid the banner farther in the cave.
“All right, team… we can win this one of two ways,” Richard said when he joined us again. “We can focus on defending, or we can hunt. Which way do we want to win this?”
“I think we should defend. It will help our people as well as hone our skills,” Brit, a trainee, spoke up.
“What's the fun in that? I say we really show what our team is made of and capture them all,” Gareth, one of the veterans, countered.
The discussion went around and around. No one could agree on which course of action to take.
Richard just sat back and watched as everyone argued, not giving his input at all.
I watched as our team grew more and more aggressive in their views.
Paul got so frustrated he grabbed Gareth’s collar, readying to punch him.
This was doing us no good, and our so-called leader wasn’t doing a thing to help the situation.
“Enough,” I snapped, standing up from where I’d been observing. “How are we going to accomplish either task if we’re fighting amongst ourselves?”
At my words, they all stepped apart from each other, grumbling.
“Some of you veterans are acting no better than a trainee. If this is how you act on a real mission, then the fate of the mercenaries is grim indeed,” I said, exasperated.
I paused for a moment, shocked at the words coming out of my mouth. How could I say these things to them when I was nowhere near adequate? All of them were looking at me with a mixture of shame and irritation.
“Well then, do you have a better idea, Your Majesty?” Kasper said, crossing his arms and scowling at me.
Did I? I wasn’t even sure what the right course of action would be at this point, but we were out of time—the sound of a horn blew off in the distance.
Cole’s team was ready to start the hunt.
We needed a plan now before they found us standing here twiddling our thumbs.
Then an idea came to me, remembering one of the journals I’d been reading about past skirmishes the mercenaries had been involved in.
“As a matter of fact, I do. That is, if you would care to hear it. I wouldn’t want to get in the way of someone more experienced, such as yourself. Let’s hear your plan first?” I offered.
He cleared his throat and fidgeted uncomfortably. “You first.”
“How gracious of you,” I said, bowing my head slightly, knowing he was full of shit. “My humble opinion is that we do it all. Why should we pick one? There is more than one way to win the exercise, why limit ourselves?”
“Explain,” Paul said, walking over to me.
“We have nine members on our team, they only have eight. We should use the extra person to our advantage. We have two people scout out the situation and steal the banner. Then we have two groups hunting the other team while one of us defends our banner. I know Cole, and he’ll go for the harder victory and the satisfaction of capturing our people.
If we use this against him, then we have a chance. ”
“That’s some tricky thinking there, little lady.” Gareth grinned.
“We have four skilled mercenaries and five of us trainees. If we pair up with each other, that will give us experience and fresh eyes. The biggest challenge for both sides is being predictable. We’re all trained the same way, and we all respond to things in a similar way.
We need to change it up and use that very thing against them,” I said, feeling excitement burning through my veins.
“A while back, I was reading about this battle where they made a smoke screen to flush out the enemy hidden deep in the forest.”
Owen raised his hand, and I had to hold back a smile when I nodded to him. “How do you make a smoke screen?”
“We use the horses. From what I read, they took green branches off trees, covered them in moss, and lit it on fire so it just smoked and smoldered. That way it doesn’t set the horse or the forest on fire.”
“Anybody disagree with this plan?” Richard asked, finally deciding to participate.
Everyone murmured their agreement and bobbed their heads.
“Very well. Kasper, you and Paul will steal the banner… no better thief than you. Dani and Brit pair up. Gareth and Maddox, you’ll work with the girls to hunt down the other team.
Owen, you stay here and defend the banner.
Cassarah, you’re with me. We’ll work on flushing out the other team to make it easier for the others to hunt them down.
“To keep things interesting and unpredictable, I will not be leading this group. Cassarah, it was your idea, so I think you’re the best one to make it happen.
You said we need to be unexpected if we are going to win this, and I can’t think of anything more unexpected,” Richard announced, shocking me.
But I didn’t waste a second before taking control.
“Okay. Kasper, head out and only signal us if you have the banner. If you see the other team, avoid them at all costs. Your sole purpose is to stay undiscovered until you have your prize in hand, understood?” I asked, looking into Kasper’s weathered face.
He was the oldest of the bunch that came with us and one of the most vocal about his disapproval of me being brought into the clan. I needed him to work with me on this and stick with the plan. He was our failsafe—if we all got captured but those two were still out there, we had a chance to win.
“I will do my part. Don’t you worry your head, little queen,” he grunted aloud before he set out with his trainee.