The Immortal | Prequel Story |

Chapter 3 ~ Leaving the Fortress

Theose woke Iérti sometime after noon. Iérti rolled out of bed, having gotten sufficient sleep, though he would've liked more. After a breakfast of garlic rosemary hard bread and apple cider, Iérti dove right into work, looking at scrolls with the other generals and discussing their next move.

Mallen didn't wake until well after nightfall. By then, the four generals had already decided their next plan of action. After satisfying himself with a goblet of blood, Mallen went to watch the generals from afar, seated atop a high comfortable tree branch where he could see for many distances.

The men were getting ready to venture out after weeks of confinement. The fortress looked like a busy hive of bees as men rushed back and forth, loading arsenals of silver blades and wooden stakes into wagons, sharpening their silver swords, adjusting saddles on their horses, and putting on silver-plated armor.

Mallen singled out Iérti from among the bustle of men. The general of the East lands was talking with a supplier. Mallen's perfect hearing enabled him to catch a few snatches of their conversation.

"....sure there are at least thirty for every man," Iérti was saying. "Don't....the vampires to....extra just in case."

The supplier hurried to retrieve additional weapons upon Iérti's request.

Mallen took a sip of his goblet, watching as a little girl came to Iérti and handed him a cup of garlic-flavored water. Iérti smiled at the little girl and thanked her, finishing the entire cup, before handing it back to her. Mallen finished his own drink, sighing contently as he continued to spy on the fortress. Mallen left the tree branch shortly after Iérti went in a tent with some military officials.

Iérti showed the map he had gone over earlier with the other generals. "Avoid this stretch of forest," Iérti said, pointing to a marked area on the map. "It is the largest known vampire nest. We will head this way, towards the mountains. Since I will be leading this army, it is my duty to make sure you are all aware of our mission."

"How come we're heading away from the vampires and not towards them?" a sergeant asked.

"The mountains hold answers to the oldest vampire's origin. There, we will learn how to end their bloodthirst, once and for all," Iérti responded strongly, believing what he was saying. "By heading away from the vampires, we will draw them out and away from the direction of our fortress, keeping civilians safe. We'll have a little over half our army remain to keep the fortress guarded and armed."

"How many days will it take us to reach the mountains?" a military officer inquired.

"I'm estimating about eight days," said Iérti. "That's eight days to get there and eight days to get back."

"We must be fully ready," said the sergeant.

Iérti took the map from the table and rolled it up. "We'll head out before sunup and sleep in the open daylight until a few hours before sundown. Vampires can't attack us in daylight, so that's when we'll sleep and get some rest. Night is when we'll move."

As they went to prepare to head out, Iérti took a moment to relax briefly. He knew it would be an uneasy night. The waiting was the hardest part, as was adjusting from a normal sleep schedule. For Iérti, it wasn't hard, given he had already accustomed to staying up all night and getting his sleep just after dawn, but he knew most of the men would struggle with the sudden change in sleep schedule.

That was why prior to tonight, Iérti had most of the men take a week or two to adjust to the new schedule. Few resented having to adjust their normal schedules to match the times the vampires were awake and asleep. The week adjustment change was an optional choice, not given out as a requirement but more of a recommendation, being aware of those with families.