Checking his inventory, Ash found the barrel easily. It was aptly named barrel of oats. Ash continued to put things in his inventory one after another and found that even the barrels could be stacked as long as they contained the same item inside of them. Arrows, food, swords, pikes, and tools all went into his inventory until the four wagons were completely empty.
“I said you could lighten the load, but I never expected you to empty it completely,” the older knight said laughing. “Most nobles are about as much use as a wet towel in a rainstorm, but even if you can’t fight, as a pack mule you are worth keeping around.”
Though his words were a little harsh, the look on the knight’s face was light and had the hint of a smile. Luckily the inventory of the wagons were mostly the same thing over and over so even though he was carrying it with him, it had taken up slightly less than ninety spaces in his inventory. From what he learned, no one else had the inventory ability like he did and even he didn’t have an ability that would explain it. It was just there, but Ash was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth so he decided not to question it too deeply.
With the supplies situated, Ash and Allice each mounted their horses. Ash had ridden a horse a few times before so he didn’t find it too difficult. Allice on the other hand had to be held after losing her balance and falling backward, much to the mirth of the onlookers. Once they were both mounted, half the knights took the lead while the others took the rear with the now empty wagons and the regular soldiers in the center. Ash and Allice were given positions at the front though they were behind the majority of the knights.
After less than an hour in the saddle Allice started to wine as she shifted around trying to get comfortable. Ash was tempted to make a joke but upon seeing her face had wisely decided against it.
The first day they didn’t make what Ash would consider good time. Even with the wagons empty, it was slow moving with so many people at once, but Ash didn’t mind the relaxed pace. He had decided to join the war effort, but by no means was he in a rush to arrive.
The group of soldiers only took small breaks when they marched and even ate while in the saddle. The food was hard bread and dried meat. Ash ate without complaint, but he felt that it was rather lacking. As this thought crossed his mind, Ash couldn’t suppress the laugh that bubbled out, drawing a few odd stairs. It wasn’t that long ago that Ash would have been happy to receive a war meal at all and now he found himself being picky. Shaking his head, he once again found himself surprised at how much a person’s life can change in a short period of time.
At night they decided to camp when they reached a large open field that was large enough for the entire group without having to be too pressed in. Ash and Allice were given spots at the very center of the camp and asked to set up first. Ash did as he was instructed and pulled the large tent from his inventory and started setting it up. Since he had shown his ability to store tings earlier, it didn’t shock anyone but there were more than a few who watched him with enthusiasm, chief among them was Allice.
The tent was large, but was easy to set up since it had been enchanted. Ash still had to stake it to the ground and raise the center pole, but after that, all he had to do was touch a crystal and the tent rose into the air and the canvas just seemed to meld into a tent.
Inside, Ash pulled two beds from his inventory placing one on each side of the tent then called Allice inside.
“Yes Master,” Allice said in a pained voice as she entered the tent.
“I was just letting you know that I set up your bed if you want to lay down for a bit and get off your feet,” Ash said as she waved his hand toward the bed in the corner of the tent opposite from his own.
Allice rubbed her backside and grimaced, causing Ash to laugh. He had ridden a horse as a child once and afterwards he had spent two days feeling as if he had broken something in his butt so he could understand the pain she was feeling. When Allice saw that it wasn’t just a mat, but a full bed, her eyes widened then she looked over and seemed to just notice that Ash too was laying on a full bed.
“Master,” Allice said slightly hesitantly.
“Yes,” Ash replied as he stretched out and relaxed his muscles.
“Since no one else is here, I was hoping that master would let me sleep with him,” Allice said the words seemed half forced.
“Allice, I told you wait until you are a bit older to ask,”
“I am of age,” Allice said a tinge of indignation in her voice. “I…Just want for master to hold me.”
Looking up, Ash could see something in Allice’s eyes, but it took him a moment to figure out what it was. It was fear. He didn’t know what she was afraid of, but the fear was evident enough. Letting out a deep sigh, Ash motioned for her to come over. Allice didn’t respond, but silently walked over to where Ash lay and removed her boots before laying down beside him.
The beds that Ash had brought were not large, but still had enough space that both Allice and Ash could lay on the without having to touch. Ash tried to make enough space, but Allice had other ideas. She grabbed Ash’s Arm and pulled it over her and hugged it tightly. Since she was turned away from him, Ash couldn’t see her face but from the shaking of her body Ash could tell that she was crying.
“What’s wrong?” Ash asked in as gentle of a tone as he could.
“I don’t want master to die,” Allice replied between tears.
“What makes you think I am going to die?” Ash asked as he reached up with his free hand and stroked Allice’s head.
“Momma use to talk about dad,” Alice said after a long moment of silence. “She said we used to live far away and father was a great knight. Then a war broke out between my father’s lord and another and a war started. Father never came home. I don’t remember what he looked like, but whenever I think of you fighting, I remember my momma’s stories about father.”
Hearing Allice’s story, he started to understand why she had fought so hard to go with him. He had spent a lot of time with Allice since she had become his slave and had a good understanding of her. She was a nice, gentle girl who loved her family, but she had a hard life. Her father died when she was a babe and her mother died leaving her to raise her brother. She had worked hard and still fallen into a position of slaver in the end. Since then, Ash had taken care of her and she was always guilt ridden, more than once breaking down into tears. Not just in front of Ash, but around the other slaves as well. Ash knew that Allice tended to blame everything that happened on herself as if she were the cause of all the bad luck in the world.
“Allice listen to me,” Ash said sternly. Allice turned and with wet eyes looked at Ash. “I will not die. At least not any time soon, so you don’t need to worry.” As he spoke, Ash continued to rub his hand through Allice silky hair.
Allice looked up at Ash with her large eyes and gave him a weak smile that quickly turned slightly devilish before she quickly kissed him lightly on the lips. Before he could respond to her action, Allice threw her arms around Ash and buried her head into his chest. Looking at the small girl who was so desperately clinging to him, Ash only shook his head.
It didn’t take long before a soft gentle snore came from Allice while her grip slackened. Ash quietly slipped from the bed and quickly exited the tent.
Outside a few other tents were put up but most of them were small and looked as if they would have trouble fitting one person. The air was starting to turn cold and it had already snowed a few days, though as of yet it had not lasted the coming day and had quickly melted. Since it was nearly full winter, it seemed odd that a war was starting.
“Lord Hawkwing,” A voice called out, almost as soon as Ash had exited his tent. Turning his head, Ash saw the older knight who he had talked to before leaving the city. “Lord Hawkwing, you have all the provisions so I was wondering if you could bring out one of the supper casks.”
Ash quickly searched through his inventory and found a large barrel that was named just as the knight had requested and pulled
it out. “What is inside it?”
“Ah...It is a mix of grain and dried meat and vegetables that can be cooked with water to make a soup. That said, most the soldiers just call it rock soup since the dried parts are a bit hard to chew,” the knight said with a bit of a laugh. “I am Knight Captain Jonas. I figure we will be spending a lot of time together so might as well get to know you a bit. Care to join me and the boys for a few drinks? That is if you don’t mind bringing out one of the casks of ale that we had hidden in the wagon,” the knight added with a wink.
“I think I will,” Ash said laughing as he followed behind the captain.
Just as the captain said, the food was less then desirable, but it still filled the belly. After they ate, all the knights gathered around making jokes, most of them making even Ash’s ears burn slightly.
Out of the thirty knights, eleven of them were women. They ranged from the age of nineteen to forty yet when they were all together, they all seemed as if they were nothing but a large family. They seemed a little tense when Ash was around at first, but after he didn’t say anything about them drinking ale and even gave out one of his casks of spiced wine they started to loosen up around him. A few of the female knights even jokingly asked him to their tents.
After the sun went down, Ash returned to his tent to find Allice still sleeping soundly. With a light smile, he crawled back in the bed and covered them both with the warm blankets and drifted off to sleep.
8-3
It took twenty days before they reached the first border fort. Thanks to the large river that separated the Hawkwing duchy from its neighbors, there were limited places they could face attack without warning. One of those was the Reinhorn Plains. It was over a hundred mile stretch of open rolling plains.
When Ash thought “fort”, he was expecting something large and imposing. Instead what he found was nothing more than a wall made of logs surrounding a group of tents. The logs were soaked in a black liquid making them nearly impervious to fire, but a strong mage could still easily open up a hole in the wall. When Ash asked about the small forts, the knight captain gave a knowing nod.
It seemed that the log forts were common and spread out every ten miles. Each one contained no more than a hundred soldiers and two knights at any time. They were not meant to hold the line, just delay the enemy. Larger forts further back were built using earth magic.
Unlike the fort being built outside the duchy capital, the ones made by the knight mages were not meant to last centuries. However, they would hold off for years against standard attacks. Each fort was given one earth mage and each day he would spend his time building and reinforcing the fort. Once again though the forts were nothing more than a wall with tents inside. If the war lasted long enough, that would change, but that would take years for a single mage to accomplish.
At each small fort they dropped off supplies and troops until Ash’s inventory had grown light. Once they were down to only twenty normal troops and four knights they started making their way to their assigned post.
Ash and the others were assigned to the forward group. Unlike those in the fort who stayed within a limited area looking out for enemy approach, the forward group stayed close to the border constantly moving looking for any signs of impending attack. While the forts were the shield, the advanced group was the dagger that struck from the back.
While there were only ten small forts, four advance groups and two larger forts in the Reinhorn Plains there were a total of eighteen small forts, seven advance groups and four large forts throughout the entire duchy. Ash’s group was in charge of twenty-five miles of open land. It was at the edge of a small canyon and one of the areas that was unlikely for an attack, but it still had to be watched. Ash believed that it was Emelia’s hand trying to keep him safe. It bothered him somewhat, but she was the duchess so he had little say in where his group would be stationed.
The group of knights that Ash worked with had a knight captain who was in charge of the group, and three sergeants who were each assigned a small number of regular soldiers. Normally there was an additional knight who would be ranked a lieutenant. The lieutenant would normally be in charge of supplies and rations so that duty had been given over to Ash. It wasn’t a hard job, he just had to make sure that when they started to run low on supplies to make a supply request at a local fort to get them refilled. Thankfully Ash could carry a large amount of supplies without being burdened which made the captain very happy.
Most the time the group would have to make small caches of supplies so that they wouldn’t be slowed down. With Ash around now they could carry it with them and didn’t have to worry about running low though they still hid some caches just in case the worst came to pass.
Each day the group moved a few miles. The plan was to dig out a series of encampments that would hide them from site. Normally this would take a great deal of time and effort. Thankfully though, Ash’s ability to manipulate the earth made it fast. Instead of months of digging, each time they reached one of their designated spots, Ash was able to dig what the knights called badger burrows.
Each burrow was only big enough for one person, or in Ash’s case two. They would start as just a hole large enough that when laying down you couldn’t be seen from the distance. From there they would be dug out enough that you could stand in them with only your head sticking out. At this stage, a lean-to would be built, hiding the hole using wood and shrubs. Once it was deep enough to stand in, a small pit would be dug so that a person could sleep laying down. Finally tunnels would be dug, connecting the different burrows.
They would only stay at one place for three days before moving to the next. As the weeks passed, they decided to make more and more burrows thanks to Ash’s useful abilities. It wasn’t until they had been stationed at the border for three weeks that they caught their first signs of any enemy troops.
It was after midday and Ash and the others were taking a small break when one of their scouts rushed back. “Report,” the captain said in a low yet stern tone.
“Sir, more than five hundred troops coming from the west. They are comprised of mostly foot soldiers, but more than thirty of them are on horseback,” the young scout said as he still struggled for breath.
“Were you spotted?” The captain asked as his hand drifted down to his sword hilt.
“No sir,” the scout said a nervous twinge in his voice. “I was in a small corps of trees…Making water sir…That is when I caught sight of them.”
“Sargent Tennian, I want you to keep track of the enemy’s movements,” the captain barked to one of the older knights. “We will be moving out to bunker five and wait until nightfall so that we can access the situation. Barker, you are to head back to Gort Yewell and report our findings.”
Everyone moved quickly as the captain gave orders. The closest burrow was still more than two miles away and every moment they sat around increased their chances of being found. Their main job was not to fight against large forces, but smaller scouting parties if they were found. In the case of larger forces they were to report and if possible delay their supply line.
It took less than an hour to reach the burrow where the knights and soldiers quickly found succor. Under the captain’s orders, Ash started to clear out a large center area where all the tunnels between the burrows came together. It was not a hard job, though it did take almost half of his MP. When he was finished, the area was just large enough for all of them to sit within the room though only with a fingers width between them. The room became even more crowded when the captain pulled out a rough map of the surrounding area.
They only had an estimate of where the force was and where they were going but that was more than enough to make a few plans. They couldn’t do much, but if Ash could get to their supplies, he could carry them off without much trouble. The earlier scout hadn’t got to take a long look at the force, but there had to be wagons either with the group or behind it.
Everything seemed to be going well until a loud voic
e echoed through the tunnels. “Report scout,” the captain said as soon as the man sent to watch the advancing army rushed into the small manmade cavern.
“Sir, they somehow know where we are,” the scout said in a hurried voice. “At first I just thought it was coincidence that they turned in this direction, but then I noticed who their scout was. They have Lord Gats as the scout and the leader is Lord Quirelen.”
“How many troops do they have?” The captain asked, his face paling.
“More than originally thought,” the scout reported, his voice trembling. “The group first encountered was only the tip of the spear. Less than a mile behind them were another thousand troops at least. I couldn’t get too close and only noticed them when they appeared behind the forward party.”
The captain started cursing. “Looks like the king wants the war finished quickly.”
“What is going on captain?” Ash asked from the side.
“The men that the scout saw are the kings own elite knights. They might be wearing the colors of other nobles, but they only listen to the orders of the king. It seems that since the king couldn’t stop the war he decided to help behind the scenes. The duchess must hear of this. Everyone, we will split up here, each going our own way. They have horses and we are miles from the nearest fort. Everyone try to reach a town or fort and send word back to her grace.”
For the next half hour Ash handed out rations to each soldier before they disappeared into the darkness. The captain wanted Ash to be the first to leave, but he refused knowing that each person would need some of the items that he alone carried.
Reborn: Demon's Heritage Page 2