Rise of the Crimson Standard

Chapter 4

Lucas nodded at Percival to tell him he'd finished setting the Flaretrap. Percival nodded back and gave the signal to move on. They'd been tasked with setting up the 'traps throughout the forests in the thick foliage along with four other platoons. Lucas had explained to Percival about their function. Apparently whenever one triggered the tripwire, a red flare went up. This was supposed to let the army know that the Beastmen were coming... or that a squirrel had got caught in the wire. That was why they were setting up multiple of the flaretraps, so that if a large enough body of Beastmen passed through, most of them would light up. Lucas trained his gun in front of himself. Percival followed him and Percival's platoon followed behind, on high alert. They reached another position where the flaretrap would go nicely. Lucas bent down and took his last trap and started setting it up. After this one, they'd go back and have some lunch. Lucas's fingers danced over the mechanism, and he set the tripwire low enough to not be noticed but high enough that it could be tripped upon. The Corporal knew his traps, it seemed. With the Flaretrap in place, Lucas gave a nod of satisfaction, signalling to Percival that it was ready. Percival acknowledged the signal with a firm nod of his own. They had set up their share of traps, and now it was time to rejoin the others for a well-deserved break.

Percival raised his voice just enough for his platoon to hear. "Good work, everyone. The Flaretraps are in place, and we've done our part to secure this area. Let's regroup and have some lunch."

His men responded with a few cheers and smiles. The tension of the mission had eased slightly with the successful completion of their tasks. They began to move back in the direction they had come, still vigilant but relieved to be out of the thick underbrush for a while.

The march back to their temporary camp was filled with the rustling of leaves and the distant sounds of the forest. The men were eager to rest, eat, and perhaps share a few stories before they returned to their duties.

When they finally got out into the open, a welcome sight met their eyes. Their camp was a splendid sight indeed. Tents stretched as far as the eye could see, some of them with their flags hoisted. Officers and grunts walked here and there, minding their own business. Suddenly, a loud whistle sounded and somewhere far away, drums began booming in a steady, loud, rhythm. Smoke drifted up from somewhere beyond Percival' sights. Shouts could be heard all around the camp, people rushing for their weapons.

Lucas cursed and looked at Percival "What do we do, sir?"

Percival's breath hitched in excitement as he looked back at Lucas. It was finally happening. What he'd signed up for in the first place. Blood. Then he turned towards his men and raised his voice "Keep yourselves ready and follow me".

Then he turned away, and started jogging towards the source of the sound, bumping into a few soldiers who were also going that way. More and more soldiers started shouting, officers giving confused and contradictory orders, and almost everybody Percival saw was running towards the source of the sounds. He glanced backwards to confirm his men were keeping up with him. They were. Percival could hear explosions going off now, along with seeing a fire burning at the front of the camp and quickly spreading. He slowed down to a stop. Lucas said "Sir?" behind him. Percival sighed. As much as he hated it, he wasn't going to charge headfirst into that hell and get himself and his soldiers killed. Then an idea struck him. He whirled on Lucas, who took a step back in surprise. "The horses".

"Sir?"

"Where are the horses?"

"The cavalry are out foraging".

"I know that damnit, do we not have a single horse in camp?"

Turner stepped forward and said "Sir, I think I saw some horses just outside the forest."