97 A Night of Confusion (1/2)
”Where are they?”
With sword in hand, Ivan turned his head from side to side. After hearing the scout's grave report, he rallied all the men he could find and rushed to direction the scout pointed to.
But the scene only bore darkness. The soldiers in the vicinity were even asleep.
He searched for the scout to clarify the report. The scout was gone.
”Where is the scout?” he asked Skall and Braun beside him.
The two men also searched for the scout. The man was truly gone as if he didn't exist in the first place.
”He's gone” Braun said.
”Maybe it was a false alarm?” Skall commented. The prince was also ready for the battle and he had nearly a cohort of Wismarines at his back.
Ivan eyed the soldiers whose tents were in the area. They were just waking up.
”Hey, you!” he demanded the soldiers' attention. ”Have you seen the enemies?”
The soldiers looked at each other.
”No Your Highness. We were sleeping until you arrived. Are we under attack?” one of them, probably a Centurion, said.
His eyebrows met. He was shaken when he heard that Timothy was attacking. But standing here in darkness with a few thousand soldiers at his back made him look like a fool.
”Sir!”
He looked to the direction of the voice. Another man on horseback approached them. The soldier saluted.
”A mutiny sir. There is a mutiny in the eastern part of the camp!”
He didn't waste a single second and rushed to the eastern part of the camp. A mutiny is worse than an attack.
But when they arrived, the same thing greeted them – a peaceful camp. There were no riots, not even a single cry of rebellion. The soldiers in the part of camp all had a surprised look on their faces.
By now, he had managed to rally maybe a fourth of his forces and he truly looked like a fool. The men will surely gossip tomorrow on how he destroyed their rest. They will laugh at him for getting worked up for nothing.
He looked for the scout who tricked him but the soldier was missing again.
”They are playing tricks on you” Skall's voice sounded. ”Punish them Ivan. In Wismar, we don't let mere soldiers play tricks like these. Show them that you are not a person to be messed with”
”Sir!”
The same scene was repeated, a scout riding towards them. As expected, the scout saluted and reported another grave news.
But unlike before, he was now agitated after being humiliated. He grabbed the soldier's neck and pinned him on the ground.
”What games are you playing at? Why in Ashkara's name are you doing this to me? I am your Prince!”
The soldier's eyes became watery. ”Sir, I'm not playing games with you. We are under attack! Believe me. I searched all over the camp for you.”
He pulled the soldier's hair and forced an eye contact with him. ”If you are lying, I will personally cut your tongue!”
He didn't wait to hear for the soldier's reply and stood up. ”Let's go!” he shouted an order to the men.
Unlike before, they didn't rush and took their time. He kept his eye on the scout the whole time.
But when they arrived, he realized that the scout was telling the truth. Hundreds of tents were burning and the soldiers were busy putting out the fire.
”What happened!?” he demanded answer from one of the soldiers.
The soldier put down a pail of water and clumsily saluted. ”They… they came out from the darkness sir. They were fast and we didn't have time to react. The next thing we know our tents were torched and they were gone”