The Heroes of The Elemental Academies Book 3 The Tides of War

Chapter 24: Scouting Durindal

Seth

   The morning sun's rays glinted off of metal as Seth and his squad moved through the shrubs and bushes as stealthily as they could. Fresh pine needles crackled under his feet and the air was filled with the smell of great pines and dirt.
His hand came up slapping the side of his face. His attempt at killing the insect that had been buzzing around his head for the last hour and a half failed. The little insect danced out of his reach every time he came close to swatting it down. He stifled a curse and continued through the next bush.
They'd been out here for nearly a full day searching and scouting ahead. Although they had maps this area was reported to be overrun with demons so maps did them very little without knowing the enemy positions. Their goal was to find a route to Durindal that was relatively free of enemies.
   Seth nodded to Aisha as she moved up beside him both were crouching in the undergrowth. Silently, He reached forward and tapped the fresh mulch covering the forest floor in front of him. An invisible pulse expanded outward from his touch imperceptible to the eyes but for Seth it provided him with a map of the surrounding area. A sudden feeling of nausea almost caused him to lose his link to the map. He quickly found the source, two pings of red on his otherwise clear map. His blood chilled at how close they were. He had been practicing his Tremor as he called it, for some time. Ever since he got back from the first mission. But since Rylee's training on Fey gathering he, realized he still had so much to learn.
    Rising just slightly so the others could see him, he motioned them back; away from the way the demons were going. With out a word his squad followed.
  It didn't take them long to return to the small camp they had set up. They kept it tucked away hidden in a grove surrounded by dense underbrush and vines. The trees branch intertwined around them creating a thicket with only one entrance. That was Leon's work, and it did well to hide them from the roving bands of demons. None of them spoke until they were in the camp and the way was shut behind them.
   " How many did you discover this time,"   Leon began as Carla started to tend to their dying fire. Aisha disappeared into one of the tents. Karta, Justin and him plopped themselves down in front of the fire. Leon stood by the entrance on guard. He hadn't gone with them due to him being the only one who could open the way through the vines.
   There were only two," Seth answered. He was trying to find a safe way through the forest to Durindal. Their mission was to scout out the city.
   "But, just like before there was no pattern or discernible route. They seemed to just be moving at random."
  "So what you're saying is that they don't seem like patrols?"
   "That's my working theory for right now."
   Justin sat up straighter wiping his brow as he did, sweat was dripping from his face.
   "What if they wanted us to think that?" Honestly the idea had crossed his mind but he quickly dismissed it.
   "I don't think so. If anything it would be smarter of them to do random patrols."
  "How so?" Leon asked.
   " so we couldn't predict their movements," He explained. He felt a ping of frustration towards the task they had been given. It couldn't just be an easy hike.
   "Either way we will probably have to eliminate them."
  "Not necessarily," Aisha stated as she exited the tent a rolled up piece of paper in her hand. She sat down next to Seth unrolling the paper as she did. Seth leaned over to look. She was showing him a map. It was crudely drawn but he quickly picked out the landmarks on the map. It was a map of the northern part of the Academy territory. The top right corner of the map showed a moderately sized city with three walls surrounding it like a target. To the south and west was a dense forest. Seth tapped the map just slightly north of where the encampment was. They hadn't marked it on the map in case they were discovered or worse captured.
    "We are here," he stated. He drew his finger across the map in a diagonal line to where Durindal was on the map.
"And this is where we need to be. So what I need is ideas." Carla came and stood behind him looking down at the map, she frowned.
"Shouldn't you have a plan?" She opined. He shrugged.
"Probably," he admitted. " But I don't. Any suggestions," he added, Aisha sighed loudly.
  " I can't believe you are supposed to be one of the Disciples," He said nothing continuing to stare at the map.

   "What if we try to draw them away with a few of us while the rest make a quick scout of the enemy at Durindal," Karta suggested. Seth glanced over at him and then looked at all the others in turn. It was clear however that no other ideas were forth coming.

  "That idea might have merit Karta but..." He stopped for a moment to brush the hair out of his eyes so he could better see the map. "Just let me think it over for the night and if I don't come up with another plan, i'll at least flesh this idea out more so that we have a proper plan in place."

  "You know what," Aisha said as she picked up another log and placed it on the fire. "You almost sounded like a leader there." Seth threw her a smirk over the fire and continued studying the map for a few more minutes before he ordered them all to pack it in. Justin would take first shift. Seth went to his tent which consisted of a small sleeping bag and a small desk he had fashioned out of light. It produced its own light so he had no need of a torch. setting the map down at the table he sat in the chair and began the intense work of preparing a plan.

   It was a sleepless night for him. But he had a plan now. He was going to go with the plan Karta had mentioned the night before but he had made a few changes. They were going to have two of them distract patrols while he, Aisha and Leon would make straight for Durindal and attempt to sneak inside the city. Once inside they would have only an hour to get as much intel as they could before retreating. Then it was all about getting out and back to base. When he exited his tent he was surprised to find Aisha already tending a fresh fire. Small but strong.
She gave him a small smile as he walked by but said nothing. There were dark circles under her eyes. So, he wasn't the only one who hadn't gotten much sleep, he noted to himself. He checked in with Leon briefly who was one guard duty before returning to sit in front of the fire. Most of that day was spent explaining the plan to the others and preparing. The easy part believe it or not would be getting into the city. At least it would be depending on the amount of soldiers there were. They would have no choice but to set out at night so they waited.

Seth spent his time gathering Fey into his core. He hadn't had much time recently to do his prayer meditation, so it was a welcome exercise. However night fell sooner than he would have liked. They were all gathered around the fire ready to set out. They were carrying nothing. They would not even wear armor. Seth didn't want to risk them getting spotted. He did however have mixed feelings about this operation. He'd never planned anything like this before and now that it was about to happen the cold sweat wouldn't stop pouring down his face. "What if something went wrong?" "What if they were discovered." These thoughts kept rolling around in his head. He managed to put them to the side. What was important right now was focusing on doing whatever he could to make sure it was a success. At least, that's what he had to tell himself to keep his nerve.

"You all have the devices I gave you earlier right?" He looked around at the group as they all nodded. "Alright good remember don't put them in until we exit the grove. Karta! If we do not return by tonight then you are to pack up and return to camp for reinforcements." Karta's head was down. He seemed to be embarrassed that he was the only one staying. Justin clapped Karta on the shoulder.

"Don't worry," He said projecting confidence that not even Seth was feeling. "If things go wrong we'll need you to save our bacon." This was rewarded by a small smile from Karta.

"You're damn right! Don't make me have to come in there with the calvary." Seth turned away from them to face the entrance of their little camp. A sense of unease rose from his gut and a almost certain feeling of doom caused him to hesitate. Forcefully, he pushed the feelings aside and began walking.

"Alright everyone!" He commanded. "Move out!"