Private Tales Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Arrows

[Nugai]

"Time to go."

Nugai tossed the piece of grass he'd been chewing on to the ground before he clicked his heels into Bato's flanks. He'd gotten all that he needed to know from this little scouting mission. It would be a long trek back to the camp, and he wanted to arrive before the Captain could possibly be convinced to move.

It had been the right call to delay their progression and take a survey of the situation. Things would've gotten nasty if they hadn't known about the ambush. There wasn't much chance of avoiding it without completely turning around, and he doubted that their employers would be fine with that. Maybe Cato could talk some sense into them, but it was always the rich bastards that thought they could a little time with blood. Maybe if they weren't so good at their job, they wouldn't be so willing to take those risks.

A little more than an hour later, he passed their forward scouts and was within the quick encampment that they'd set up when they'd realized they were being scouted. They had been subtle, but vagrants always smelled the same. They might have skirted around other scouts, but they'd made the mistake of snooping on Nugai. He worked his way through the low laying tents towards command.

He hopped off Bato and quickly ducked through the canvas flap. Cato had apparently managed to placate their paycheck for the moment. He'd almost expected them to still be arguing, but it was better this way. He didn't like to interrupt inane arguments with worse news.

"Think you owe me a beer on this one, Captain." He walked up to the table with the map and moved a rock marker to where he'd seen the camp. "They're camped a few clicks up the road. Numbers look even, but they've got a pretty good position. It'll be a tough little scrap."

If they made us push forward, he left unsaid. It'd probably be easier to assume that wasn't an option.

 

[Cato]

"I bloody get it, but I'm not going anywhere until my scouts return," repeated Cato for the third time in as many minutes. He was growing increasingly frustrated and that was never a good thing. Cato was less temperamental than many of his peers but he still killed people for a living. A fact which these idiotic nobles seemed to constantly forget. True, killing them would likely cause Cato and his bunch a whole bag of trouble but at some point, it didn't matter. Fortunately, his murderous disposition manifested into reason on his employers part and they left him to his business.

Cato used the time to grab himself a quick meal and a brief moment of rest, if it could even be called that.

"Told you before, Nugai," the captain said without bothering to look up from the map. "You already get paid wages. Why the hell would I buy you a drink for doing your job?" There was frustration in the mercenary's tone but it was not directed at the new arrival. The captain would likely end up buying the man an ale when this was all over, assuming they both were still breathing.

"Seems like they aren't completely useless then," he said as studied the area around the newly marked location. The problem was that there was no realistic way to avoid the ambush without a significant delay. Cato knew that their employers would not tolerate any further mishaps. It would have been best to just walk away from the contract but the 'Shields had already taken half of the payment upfront.

Desperate times...

He looked at Nugai once more and then turned his gaze towards the other person in the tent. "What do you think? Let Nugai and his boys deal with the scouts, then hit em hard and fast? If we had more time my squad could've setup some traps but we're shit out luck this time round."

 

[Khulan Altan]

"Impudence," The great Red Ass of the Bloody Fourth growled, his jet black gaze fixed on the map and the markers which showed their enemies position. "That you would ask for beer instead of wine? Ha!" His hot breath boomed with a waft of hot sorghum wine. His eyes widened, with a wild fury, and his finger struck out and pointed at the chokepoint, where the ambush lay in wait. "We know they are there, but they do not know that we know!" He grinned, mad as he looked to Cato and Nugal. "We spring their trap." He traced his finger in to the chasm, then zipped it back out. "Send our employer's guard in with their fancy armor," his eyes squinted to joyous slits, and his teeth showed as his grin grew wider. Like a child in on his own joke.

"I ride with them, Alok and Serja's fighting group come with. We are well armored, and have the fastest boars with the thickest hides," he huffed and nodded, sure. His massive hand snatched up a small earthen cup, a miracle it didn't shatter between his fingers as he poured some wine from the gourd bottle that rested on the table before him. He let the bottle down with a hollow glug of liquid splashed back down at its base. He offered the cup up to Nugal with a harsh sniff and grunt. "We take some shafts, there is no no doubt, but they will be all the easier for you to pick off, exposed and attacking, would they not?" His eyes narrowed slyly, and he jostled the drink in offer once more.

Nugai Cato

 

[Nugai]

"Beer's a small price to pay for quick reports, Captain."

He gave Cato a sly grin as he waited for Captain Khulan's response. There was some amount of risk inherent to any of these scenarios, but it would probably come down to who had the better soldiers. No doubt, these bandits were just ruffians trying to make a quick quid. There was little chance they'd hold up in a real scrap against the Black Shields.

"Wine makes me sleepy," He responded to Khulan's inquiry with a shrug. "Wont say no, but it does make me sleepy."

He'd always leaned more towards a quick and clean engagement, without any of the frills. However, if using the merchants as bait got a few of them nicked in their egos, it might hit two birds with one stones. He'd offer them up like spitted pigs, if that were an option. Unfortunately, dead men don't pay their bills.

"Always did like skewering fish in a barrel, sirs," He muttered his input, as he took a swig of the wine. He gave a surprised frown. He'd expected it to taste like piss. "Ain't half bad."

 

[Cato]

"How in the hells have you managed to survive this long, Khu?" Cato asked in half-jest. The bloody Fourth had certainly earned its name and part of that was due to the crazy bastard standing next to him. There was no arguing that the Fourth was far better suited for the task than Cato's own unit. Cato couldn't even be sure half his men knew a horse's ass from its mouth. 'Course Khulan and his men were riding a different sort of beast but the point still stood. He trusted them not to balk as arrows rained down on them. The problem was not with the Fourth, mad as they were.

"I know you and your boys are always down for a good scrap, but the same can't be said for some others," the mercenary captain explained with a sigh. "Their armor is indeed fancy and also too clean by half. I'd have a better chance convincing you to go sober than getting those idiots to agree to a charge."

Cato swore inwardly and then paused as his gaze rested on Nugai. One could almost see the gears turning in his head, finally culminating in a feral grin. "Those bastards still have no idea about the ambush. They've been happy to look the part of vanguard, so why not give them the privilege in earnest?"

The mercenary had been at his wit's end dealing with these useless cunts all journey. He just needed to make sure the merchants made it to their destination in one piece. Cato also knew that Khulan's men would be riding with them so it wasn't like he was sending them to their death. Hopefully their armor wasn't just fancy on the outside.

"I'll go inform our employers of the 'plan', leave you lads to your preparation."

 

[Khulan Altan]

Khulan grunted, throaty and hot, lip curling into a snarl. No teeth bared just then, but the threat was there, and it grew ever more present. Till he saw the scout take his drink. Then it vanished. A new grunt. Short. He approved and went on listening.

"Of course it is not, Nugai," he huffed. "You drink with Khulan Altan, not Khulan Bakuyan, that son of a half-wit," he bared his teeth then. Half smile. Half threat. "And dare you ever doubt my taste in drink again I shall see that-"

Cato cut in with a question, and drew the narrowed gaze of the Red Ass. "HA!" he smiled wide. "They say the gods simply sculpt me different," he smacked his large belly. And that was proof enough.

When the cunning Captain spoke, Khulan listened intently. Brow knit with concentration. "Never," he interjected at the mention of sobriety, and when the plan unfolded, Khulan's mouth bared all his yellowed teeth. "Come then, Nugai the quiet," he took his wine skin and poured the pungent sorghum wine to fill Nugai's cup. "Let us drink again, in our preperation," he raised his wine skin up with his large hand in wordless toast, and poured the wine from on high into his gaping mouth.

Battle would be upon them soon. And he would not be caught unready.

 

[Nugai]

"Won't 'ear no complaining on my account, Caps. Not if it puts a few dents in their prim and posh purses."

Captain Khulan offered a toast, and he gave him a nod as he responded, "Aye, I'll drink to that."

He finished the drink almost in full, as offered his two superiors a sharp salute and a small bow of the head before he pushed his hat back on his head. With the plans all in order, he ducked out of the tent to where someone was still waiting with Bato in tow. The poor bastard didn't need to watch Bato, he wouldn't have left the spot without Nugai present, but these southern mercenaries had odd ways with their animals.

He nodded to the guard, and hopped up on Bato in one smooth motion. It wouldn't take long for him to prepare. He'd make check his arrows, make sure that his spears and swords were ready. Most of the work would once again rest on Cato's shoulder to set the scene for these liveried bastards and the poor saps that had decided to try to get a leg up on the Black shields.

 

[Cato]

The mercenary captain first made his way to where the rest of the Third was located. He needed to make sure that they were ready to set off, or would be in the near future. Cato often had a hell of a time trying to track them down. Many of them were used to working on their own, oftentimes gone for months without a word. The Third did all those small things that the other units didn't. It made for a ragtag bunch and a headache to be sure. Even with all that, they were reliable when it really mattered and that's all the captain cared about.

He managed to rouse most of them and left the rest to the sergeants. It was easier when he explained that they weren't just going to blindly walk into an ambush. More accurately, that others would be springing the trap for them. Their employers had been rather ungracious and mercenaries loved nothing more than petty revenge. Cato was certainly not above such shallow pleasures.

It was near an hour later when the captain finally emerged from the merchants' tent. They had initially told him to fuck off but Cato knew how to deal with this lot. The proud were all too easy to manipulate. 'Course the 'Shields had a reputation to maintain, but by their nature they didn't care about much so long as they got paid. Didn't care if their reputation or armor got a bit muddied.

"Find the captain of the Fourth and let him know we're setting off in a bell's time," he ordered a corporal upon returning to the Third. Cato would leave Nugai to decide where he played his part as was often the way. The camp had already begun to bustle with activity as the merchants' private forces made ready.

An hour later, the vanguard set off with Cato and his unit carefully lagging behind. Battle would soon be upon them.