Chapter 118: The Intruder

Kothar rode confidently up to the gate, and nodded at the guards, a Tribesman in dark green armor and a soldier with the emblem of a snake on his chest, likely from one of the nobles that was accompanying Tam.

As soon as they saw the proud Hawk on Kothar's chest armor, they stood up straight, and saluted him, the Tribesman beating his chest with his fist in a sign of respect.

Kothar rode into the camp, which was well organized, there were soldiers milled about everywhere, a mishmash of individuals from the Tribes, Tam's Hawks and from the nobles' personal forces.

Kothar heard whispers as he rode through the camp, many of them curious. The more observant soldiers speculated as to what kind of mission this guardsman of the Grand Marshal himself had been on, especially since his ornate armor and high quality horse signaled that he was at the very least a Captain.

[I think you've just started at least 50 odd rumors just by riding through this camp. Look at the faces of these soldiers, they're almost reverent. Just what has your father been doing in Kalun?] Silane noted, as the soldiers scrambled out of the way of Kothar's horse, even those that were meters away.

The camp was massive, and the tents were grouped in clusters, with soldiers from specific tribes clumping together, and those from the armies of respective nobles doing the same. 

That wasn't to say that they were all completely isolated, Kothar saw Tribesmen chatting with soldiers from Ursten, and a group of Ursten soldiers enjoying a meal by the cook fire of a group of Tribesmen.

There was an enormous ring of empty dirt around the center of the camp, around which groups of stern faced men wearing the familiar symbol of the Hawk patrolled. 

"Halt!" The nearby patrol called out to Kothar as he rode toward the cluster of tents at the center of the camp. Kothar hadn't expected to be questioned by anyone at all until he met Tam, he was counting on the fact that they wouldn't.

"Yes?" Kothar answered gruffly, trying to give his best impression of an annoyed superior officer.

"Sir, we'll need you to provide this week's passphrase, and the Grand Marshal isn't expecting any visitors today, so we'll need you to wait until the Patrol Captain gets here." The man speaking had dark bushy sideburns, and dwarfed his fellow soldiers, in width but not in height, giving him a very wide appearance.

"Alright." Kothar steered his horse in the direction that they indicated, but pulled the reins and the horse came to halt. Even after the lengthy journey it had just undergone, Kothar's horse was as sprightly as ever, skipping back and forth as the unfamiliar soldiers neared.

"Sir, would you mind explaining what your business with the Grand Marshal is, so whoever goes to fetch the Patrol Captain doesn't get their ear chewed off. He would  appreciate an explanation." The soldier with the sideburns said politely, but there was a hint of suspicion in his eyes, he was quite sure never to have seen a soldier in the Hawks who wore a full faced helm, and he was certain there were no ranking soldiers who wore full face helms, there was something fishy about his.

"I cannot, apologies. It is strictly confidential." Kothar responded, as he dismounted his horse and removed the saddle, it definitely deserved a break after carrying him for so long.

"Confidential? All right. Jon, go fetch the Patrol Captain and tell him we have an unexpected visitor." The soldier with massive sideburns said cheerfully, masking his distrust. As he did so, Kothar recoiled internally, he was beginning to think all of Tam's Hawks would be collapsing on to him today.

[So what's next, Kothar, should have asked Simon for some of his Thief skills and just snuck past all of these men.] Silane was having the time of her life, especially since she could tell how much Kothar was squirming behind the helmet.

[Very funny, Silane. But you make a fair point, I think it wouldn't hurt to learn some new skills, or find some new spells to learn. But you're more than capable of coming up with new ones for me, right?] Kothar knew that the comment would motivate Silane to come with a new spell but would also annoy her, since she knew exactly what Kothar was doing.

[Fine, but don't think that I won't make a spell that explodes in your face.] Silane grumbled.

[I'd be a poor Mage if I couldn't even recognize a spell that did that.] Kothar laughed internally, and some of the stress he was feeling melted away.

"Well, what do we have here!" A pompous voice called out, a man in fine clothing was striding across the ground that separated the cluster of tents in the center of the camp from the rest.

He wore high leather riding boots that were a dark blue color, and still bore the speckled pattern of the beast that they had been harvested from. Unlike many of Tam's soldiers he didn't wear any armor, but instead wore a fine army uniform, that wouldn't be out of place at ball, but like the rest of his fellow soldiers an enormous blue hawk soared across his chest.

The man twirled his lengthy mustache, that covered most of his aged face, and stared at Kothar with his small brown eyes.

"Explain yourself, Sirrah!" The Patrol Captain yelled, stamping one foot down suddenly, his attitude matched his appearance exactly. The thin sheath that hung at his side swung from the shock.

"Sorry, on confidential business." Kothar gave him a terse reply, keeping his words to a minimum. In case any of the soldiers recognized his voice, as distorted as it was. He could have fought alongside many of them during the battle against Kultas.

"No Sir! At the very least, you must have a passphrase! Nobody sees the Grand Marshal without a passphrase, nobody!" The Patrol Captain's voice rose and rose in volume, and a clump of soldiers began to gather, with soldiers in the central cluster of camps beginning to poke their heads out to investigate.

"I'm sorry, I really cannot say." Kothar did his best not to escalate the situation, but the Patrol Captain's face grew red, and in one smooth motion, he unsheathed the rapier at his belt, and pointed it at Kothar's throat.