Chapter 115: The Mercenaries

Chapter 115: The Mercenaries



The sun had barely risen above the horizon, casting a faint orange glow over the landscape as the mercenary lieutenant, Rourke, and his small team of scouts made their way through the dense forest. The undergrowth crunched beneath their boots, and the air was thick with the scent of pine and damp earth. Rourke, a seasoned warrior with a weathered face and a piercing gaze, led the group with the confidence of someone who had seen more battles than he cared to remember.

They moved swiftly and silently, each man alert to the slightest sound. The mission was simple: scout the outskirts of Ferm and report back any activity. The city had been abandoned for months, and they expected to find little more than crumbling ruins and perhaps a few scavengers. But as they neared the edge of the forest, Rourke couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that something was off.

"Keep your eyes peeled," Rourke whispered, his voice barely audible as he signaled for the group to slow down. The forest thinned out ahead, revealing a clear view of the city beyond. Or at least, what should have been the city.

As they stepped out of the tree line, the men froze in their tracks. Where they had expected to see the decaying remnants of Ferm, they instead saw a city that looked nothing like the one they remembered. The once-ruined buildings had been replaced with modern, sturdy structures. Roads that had been cracked and overgrown were now smooth and meticulously maintained. The entire landscape had transformed into something unrecognizable.

"What the hell...?" One of the scouts, a lanky man named Sykes, muttered under his breath as he took in the sight before him. His voice trembled with disbelief.Findd new stories at novelhall.com

Rourke narrowed his eyes, scanning the horizon. The city stretched out before them, its newly built structures gleaming in the morning light. Soldiers patrolled the streets, their movements coordinated and disciplined. Carriages-sleek and unfamiliar-were parked in neat rows along the roads. In the distance, the faint sound of machinery echoed through the air.

"This... this can't be Ferm," another scout, Bren, stammered. His usually calm demeanor was shaken by the impossibility of what he was seeing. "It's like... like the city was rebuilt overnight."

Rourke clenched his jaw, trying to process the scene before him. He had scouted Ferm before, back when it was little more than a ghost town, ravaged by the fear of the flame dragon. But this-this was something entirely different.

"Everyone stay low," Rourke ordered, his voice a harsh whisper. He motioned for the group to take cover behind a cluster of trees that lined the forest's edge. "We need to get a closer look, but we can't risk being spotted."

"We need to find out who's behind this," Rourke said and continued. "We can't just go back and tell Garrick that Ferm's turned into some kind of fortress. He'll want details, and we need to give him something solid."

Sykes, still visibly shaken, nodded. "But how do we get closer without being seen? Those soldiers... they're not like any we've come across before. They don't seem to wield a bow or a sword."

Rourke frowned, considering Sykes' observation. "You're right. They're armed with something else, something we don't understand. We have to assume they're more dangerous than any soldiers we've encountered before." He scanned the city again, noting the disciplined movements and strange, unfamiliar weapons. "We'll have to be extra careful." Bren, always the pragmatist, spoke up. "We need to find a vantage point, somewhere we can observe without being detected. There might be a hill or some higher ground nearby. That way, we can see more of the city and those soldiers without getting too close."

Rourke nodded in agreement. "Good idea. Let's move along the perimeter, keep an eye out for any elevation."

The group continued to move cautiously along the edge of the forest, staying low and using the thick undergrowth for cover. After several tense minutes, they came across a small hill that offered a partial view of the city from above. Rourke signaled for the men to halt as he carefully crawled up the incline, his binoculars in hand. He peered over the edge, his breath catching as he took in the sight.

"Okay, this is the best view and already enough information. I will have to go back to the outpost and report this to Garrick," Rourke said, lowering the binoculars and taking a deep breath to steady himself. "Bren, you stay here and keep watch with Sykes. Document everything you can movement patterns, number of soldiers, any carriages. We need to know as much as possible."

Bren nodded, pulling out a small notebook and a charcoal pencil from his pouch. "Got it, Rourke. We'll keep an eye on things."

Rourke turned to the rest of the group. "The rest of you, we're heading back to the hideout.

Stay alert; we don't know what we might run into on the way back. No unnecessary noise or

movement, understood?"

"Understood!"