On Hostile Ground

As he watched the sun go down behind the treetops to the west Basordan realized that autumn had come. The days were getting shorter, the nights colder, and he could see both yellow and red among the leaves of oak and elm. The end of summer always brought sadness to his heart, reminding him of the mortality of all things. Even if he was still young there sometimes crept thoughts of death into his mind, reminding him that he wouldn´t live forever. Nothing lasted forever, be it the reign of kings or a woman´s love. Autumn was the season for such thoughts.

He turned his gaze away from the setting sun and inspected his companions. They were fifteen in all, good soldiers picked from his own garrison. They were the first group of reinforcements sent to join Rumpo and the people of the hippozone. Larger companies were on their way, bringing more material for building as well as supplies for themselves and the hippos already in the hippozone. When everyone had arrived there would be at least five hundred soldiers in the area southeast of Noori Vale, a considerable force of arms.

“Time to find somewhere to make camp.” Alikos said beside him.

Basordan nodded. “Aye. Let´s put another mile or two behind us, then we´ll find a place.”

“A nice inn with warm beds and pretty serving girls?”

“In your dreams, Alikos.”

They had entered enemy territory yesterday afternoon, making their way down from the mountains forming the border between the plains of Sim and the Noori´s lands. If everything proceeded as planned they would reach the hippozone just before nightfall tomorrow. It would be good to see Rumpo again. More then a year had passed since he last met his distant relative. Being of a younger branch of the royal family, Basordan didn´t spend much time in the royal palace in Hogbar. Neither did Alikos, even if he was cousin to the king´s son.

Basordan was the commander of the Apo garrison, stationed in the biggest city in south Filpini. Actually, it was the only settlement there worthy of being called a city. That part of the kingdom was mostly made up of small fishing villages, and Apo, situated at the foot of the holy mountain with the same name, had the only permanent garrison in the area.

Being a soldier in Apo might sound like a pretty comfortable life, but Basordan made sure there was no room for laziness. He took pride in the skill of the men he commanded, drilling them hard and making certain they looked good whenever a party from the royal palace came to visit. Alikos was his closest associate, and the two hippos had worked together for almost four years now and had become rather famous in the Filpini army.