Don't Forget

#22 A Change in Perspective

     Mitch and Vikk both opted to stay back after seeing the look in Lachlan's eyes. All of them are different people from who they once were, but this is a side of the General that Mitch never wants to see.
    The entire camp waits with an uneasy anticipation about what will happen with the Piscus Captain. A lot can be learned from someone so high ranked in the enemy army. The General won't let them off until he's sure there is no more secrets. This could go on for the entire week if nothing major comes up.
     "Hey Ty, what do you think Sky and Max went off to talk about?", Mitch looks over at the street rat. It's been nearly three hours since all the commotion settled down.
     "How am I suppose to know? All I know about the guy is that he has a weird thing with butter", Ty rolls his eyes. He caught Sky sneaking back into their room once, stealing a basket of nothing but butter sticks.
     "I feel wired just sitting around here and doing nothing", Vikk sighs. The group of three are waiting for news from either Lachlan or Sky. Most of the drills in the camp have come to a halt.
       Mitch about punches Sky in the face. The assassin suddenly dropped down from a nearby roof. He seems unconcerned with the squid, or Sub. The other assassin is currently passed out in the medic's ward.
"Can't you ever use the door like a normal person?", Ty spits out. All of Sky's 'dramatic entrances' are really starting to get on his nerves.
"But we're outside?", Sky cocks his head with a smirk. He loves annoying Ty with anything and everything. The two have grown closer then they realize.
     "There are more important things then you're come backs", Mitch grumbles at the two, "Sky, where's Max? You two have been gone for hours".
"Max and I only talked for five minutes. I've been wandering the camp for a while. Just looking", the assassin answers.
"You mean sculling in the shadows? Then where's Max? It's not like him to disappear like you do", Vikk laughs.
"Max is probably long gone by now", Sky shrugs, "Don't even think he stopped to grab an extra pair of underwear before stealing a horse".
"Where did he go? Are you finally scaring people away?", Ty drawls. He knows that Max wouldn't of done that, but he does know that Sky gets slightly unsettled when people show their fear of him.
     "Nobody told me that Max had a brother. Would of saved us both from a headache", Sky glares at Ty for his last comment.
     "Sky.... Max's brother is dead. He was killed by a squid patrol nearly seven years ago", Mitch's voice quiets. He remembers how the former Captain fell to pieces and gave away his position.
"It was about three years ago that I struck out on my first solo target. A serving boy almost ruined my entire night. Said his name was Ross", Sky shrugs. He pretends not to care very much.
The entire group goes quiet, including Mitch. He had only personaly met Max's brother a handful of times. Still, it's like a punch in the face to realize that the dead aren't so dead. No wonder they haven't seen Max. He's probably three hours gone by now. Mitch wouldn't of done it differently if it was his brother.
"And you didn't say anything!? Max has been crushed since Ross supposedly died", Mitch snaps. Keeping this kind of information greatly upsets him.
"I didn't know the two were related. If they haven't seen each other in years, surly an extra month doesn't amount to anything", the assassin brushes off Mitch's harsh words.
     "At least Max is going to go get him now. It'll be better to see him happy again", Vikk tries to lighten the mood. It's a little weird to see two sides of his life, Sky and Mitch, arguing like this.
     Mitch drops the current conversation when the General reappears. He can't help but notice that he's wearing a different change of clothes. Lachlan has a strained and slightly panicked look on his face. Whatever the squid said, it's not good.
"Mitch, round up all the unit leaders", Lachlan starts, "Choose two groups to stay here, and get the rest ready to march. Four messengers also have to go to the other camps".
"What's going on? It sounds like you're preparing for the end of the world!", Ty's eyes widen. That many troops never leave the camp.
"What going on, General?", Mitch straightens up. It's his job to deal with situations like this. "What did you learn from the squid? Are we launching an attack?".
"Not attacking. Defending. The squids have found the underground base. They're attacking it today", Lachlan explains with a blank expression.
Mitch instantly jumps into action. He disregards the rest of the group and sprints to the training grounds. Most of the unit leaders have been milling around in discussion, but they snap to attention at Mitch's appearance and stony expression.
"Units two and six are to remain here in rotating shifts. All other Units, ready to march in ten minutes. Minimum provisions. I need four messengers with the fastest horses", the Captain dishes out his orders, voice hard and determined, "Tell the other camps that the underground base is being attacked".
Some of the Unit leaders are stunned frozen, but most are moving right after the Captain is done speaking. The camp explodes into a bustle of activity. The messengers ride out within minutes. The other horses are loaded with supplies and one rider each. Most of the camp will be on foot, but only carrying armor and weapons.
Mitch wants all of them marching in as little time as possible. It'll take the rest of the day and part of the night to reach the underground base. The Piscus's attack will be in full effect by then. All the troops are simply too slow to make it in time. It only takes the Captain a few minutes to find the assassin.
"Sky, how long do you think it will take you to get to the base?", Mitch pulls him aside. Sky doesn't really know what to do in all the commotion.
"Probably an hour or two less than the time it'll take all of you", a small smirk grows on his face. A month in the camp has him itching to do something.
"Take Ty and some horses. I want you to try and help the people, but don't risk your lives. Come back and report to me if you can't do anything", the Captain gives out the order. His voice leaves no room for argument.
Sky nods before turning away to find his apprentice. He's caught up in the chaos, his indifferent mask slipping off. The two are gone in less then five minutes, pushing their horses for speed. An assassin may be the only one able to get close to the base without being spotted. Mitch would've sent Sub with them if he was awake.
The rest of the troops aren't ready for another fifteen minutes. Every second makes Mitch more anxious to leave. That base is full of untrained civilians and elders. Not to mention all the children and women. It was only a matter of time until the base was found, and they're lucky to have this much warning.
Still, it's come at a terrible cost. Most of the armies' supplies come from the base: food, clothes, and new recruits. The squids know it's location even if they do somehow chase them off. The base will have to be abandoned, the people relocated. There's nowhere to safely shelter so many people. Everything resides on the troops buying a little more time.
Twenty-one years into the war, the squids won't be very forgiving. The death count will surly include seventy percent of all the people. The rest will be forced into the squid controlled villages, or sent to the mines. No one's broken out of there in seven years.
Mitch and Lachlan are both mounted at the front of the small army. Vikk is one pace behind them on his own horse. Mitch could have easily sent him with Sky, but couldn't bring himself to let Vikk get separated again. Lachlan may have even ordered Vikk to stay. The last thing they need right now are the leaders fighting each other.
The troops are finally ready to set out. Mounted cavlery ride on the outside in an arrow formation. Many of them have bows to shoot from a distance. This formation is built for speed, but they could still be ambushed. They can only move as fast as a person can speed walk.
Mitch is worried about the trail that they'll leave. All the troops will move around the trees as much as possible, but smaller underbrush will be trampled beneath hooves and boots. It will be quite obvious that a large party went through this way. The trail leads right back to the camp.
But there's no time for extra detours. In order to avoid extra conflict, the troops already have to have travel east a half mile to avoid a small village before going straight to the base. It's lucky that they're the closest camp.
Sky and Ty will get there much faster. They may even be able to trade horses in the village without too much suspicion. The assassin could easily pretend to be delivering messages between villages. Most places would happily give them fresh horses in exchange for the tired ones.
"Do you think they can even do anything? Did I give them a death sentence?", Mitch sighs, looking to Lachlan. The Captain can only see an army waiting to kill the two.
"You know Ty. He's too slippery and quick to die. And that assassin isn't like anyone I've ever seen before. There's something about him that gives me hope", the General muses. He has no idea how he could get that feeling from an assassin; a murderer.
Mitch is quite for a moment, thinking about Lachlan's words. It takes him a minute to remember why they caught him so off guard. It's been a while since he thought of the missing Sorcerer. Seto's been gone for seven years now. Everything has been happening so fast, that Mitch hasn't had time to think.
"Look to the sky? Look to Sky", Mitch mumbles underneath his breath. Seto's words seemed so out of place at the time. Could this be what he meant? Is Sky more then he seems?
Questions will have to wait for now. A battle approaches on the horizon. Mitch is ready to focus on saving lives, for now.