"Why?"
The question escaped Aldreic before he could stop it.
The marching column slowed, and several riders turned toward him. For a heartbeat, only the steady clatter of hooves and the rustling canopy above could be heard.
Hugo smiled faintly before anyone else could answer.
"Easy now," he said, raising a hand toward the others. "He's only asking."
The mercenaries relaxed, though a few still looked at Aldreic as though he'd asked whether the sky was blue.
Hugo guided his horse toward the front of the column. "We're going to parley. If words can spare lives, then we owe them that chance."
He turned toward Jack.
"Ride ahead. Inform them we seek parley."
Jack gave a sharp nod before digging his heels into his horse. Within seconds he vanished down the forest road, swallowed by the trees.
Hugo looked over the column one last time.
"We'll make camp in the forest, away from the road. Hidden, but not suspicious. Until we know their intentions, nobody moves without orders."
He reached for his reins.
"I'll go myself."
Captain Wulfric urged his horse forward. "Then I'm coming."
Hugo shook his head almost immediately.
"No."
The answer surprised even Wulfric.
Instead, Hugo turned toward Morgana.
"You."
Her eyes widened slightly.
Then his gaze shifted to Aldreic.
"And you, boy."
Aldreic mounted the nearest horse without question. Before they departed, Wulfric rode beside him, handing him a neatly folded white banner fastened to a short pole.
"Raise this when we're close enough for them to see."
Aldreic nodded.
The four of them broke away from the main force.
The deeper they rode, the quieter the forest became.
Towering pines swallowed the morning light, leaving only scattered shafts of gold filtering through the branches. Hooves pressed softly against damp earth while a cold breeze carried the scent of moss and pine sap.
For several minutes...
No one spoke.
It was Hugo who finally broke the silence.
He kept his eyes ahead.
"Remember this, Aldreic."
His voice was calm, almost thoughtful.
"People like to say war solves problems."
He shook his head.
"It doesn't."
"It creates them."
The words lingered between the trees.
"The only time war should become your answer... is when every other answer has failed."
He glanced sideways at the young boy.
"And if you must fight, let it be because you're protecting something worth protecting."
Another silence followed.
Longer this time.
"There are already enough men who enjoy killing."
His grip tightened around the reins.
"Don't become one of them."
Aldreic looked ahead without replying.
Something about those words settled strangely inside him.
He couldn't explain why.
But they stayed.
The trees slowly began to thin.
Beyond them stretched a broad clearing lined with sharpened timber stakes and towering watchtowers. Thick smoke rose from countless cookfires into the pale morning sky. Dark banners bearing a black wolf twisted lazily in the wind.
Vargade.
It looked nothing like Britannia.
The camp was quieter.
More disciplined.
Soldiers moved with frightening precision, speaking little as they sharpened axes, repaired armor, or hauled supplies. There was no laughter. No idle chatter. Only work.
Hugo nodded toward the white banner.
"Raise it."
Aldreic lifted it high.
The cloth fluttered gently above them.
As they approached the outer barricade, dozens of eyes followed their every movement.
No smiles.
No curiosity.
Only suspicion.
Hugo leaned slightly toward Aldreic.
"The men you fought at the shore..."
"They were only border guards."
His eyes remained fixed on the fortress ahead.
"From this point onward, expect something different."
Aldreic studied the walls rising behind the camp.
"You've been here before?"
"No."
"Then how do you know the way to the capital?"
Hugo chuckled softly.
"We don't."
He pointed toward the distant mountains barely visible beyond the clouds.
"We only know the direction."
"The rest..."
"We learn."
By then, they had reached the wooden barricade.
Several Vargadian soldiers stepped forward, axes resting comfortably across their shoulders. Their armor was darker than any Aldreic had seen before, layered with iron plates stitched into thick leather. Fur cloaks hung from their backs despite the mild weather, and each man's beard seemed as wild as the forests surrounding them.
One of them looked at the white banner before barking something over his shoulder.
"Командира!"
Another disappeared between the rows of tents.
The waiting was brief.
A broad man emerged from the camp wearing dark lamellar armor trimmed with wolf fur. A long scar stretched from his temple to the edge of his jaw, disappearing beneath a thick beard. He studied the four visitors one by one before speaking.
"You come... for peace?"
His words were clear.
Measured.
Each one sounded deliberate.
Hugo inclined his head.
"We seek an audience."
The officer looked at him for another long moment before turning.
"Follow."
Nothing more.
The gates opened.
And for the first time...
They stepped into the Kingdom of Vargade
Chapter 13 – The Immortal King I (Part 2)
The officer led them through the camp without another word.
Hundreds of eyes followed.
The camp was unlike any Aldreic had seen. There were no drunken soldiers singing around fires, no loud boasts, no arguments over food. Men sharpened axes in silence. Blacksmiths hammered iron with rhythmic precision. Others hauled timber or trained with heavy wooden shields, every movement disciplined, every command answered immediately.
It felt less like an army...
and more like a machine.
The smell of roasted meat drifted through the air, mixing with smoke, horse sweat and fresh-cut pine. Wolf banners fluttered from tall poles planted throughout the encampment, their black cloth snapping in the cold wind.
They were foreigners here.
Everyone made sure they felt it.
The deeper they walked, the more the stares changed.
Some soldiers looked at Hugo with suspicion.
Others studied Aldreic, lingering just a second longer than necessary.
Most, however...
looked at Morgana.
She kept her head high, pretending not to notice, but every whistle, every low chuckle, every shameless stare made her shoulders stiffen. She folded her hands tighter in front of her dress, refusing to give them the satisfaction of seeing her discomfort.
"Don't look afraid."
She repeated it over and over inside her head.
"Don't look afraid."
A soldier muttered something as they passed.
Several others laughed.
She didn't understand a single word.
She didn't need to.
Their expressions translated enough.
Her breathing became shallower.
She searched for her father from the corner of her eye.
Hugo kept walking.
Straight ahead.
His face never changed.
Aldreic noticed.
Without saying a word, he slowed his pace.
Then stepped beside her.
Not in front.
Not behind.
Beside.
Just enough to interrupt the soldiers' line of sight.
Morgana glanced at him.
"...Thank you," she whispered so quietly she wasn't sure he had heard.
Aldreic simply kept walking.
"They're trying to make you lose your composure," he said without looking at her. "Don't let them."
His voice carried no emotion.
It was merely an observation.
Oddly...
It helped.
The soldiers continued staring.
But now, whenever their eyes drifted toward Morgana...
they first met Aldreic's.
One by one...
they looked away.
The officer finally stopped before the largest tent in the encampment.
Two guards pulled aside the heavy leather flaps.
"Commander."
He stepped aside.
The four entered.
The smell hit them first.
Roasted meat.
Wine.
Smoke.
The command tent was spacious but plain. Maps covered a heavy oak table in the center, held down by daggers driven through the corners. Spears and axes rested neatly against wooden supports, while a great bearskin lay sprawled across the floor.
Behind the table sat a giant of a man.
His shoulders seemed almost too broad for the chair beneath him. A thick black beard framed a scarred face weathered by countless winters, and despite sitting down, he somehow appeared taller than everyone else in the room.
One massive hand held a roasted leg of meat.
The other, a cup of dark wine.
He continued eating.
Not acknowledging them.
Not immediately.
Only after another slow bite did he lift his eyes.
They settled first...
on Morgana.
Silence.
Five long seconds.
She fought the urge to lower her gaze.
Then the man finally spoke.
"You."
His deep voice filled the tent.
"Name."
"M-Morgana."
He tilted his head.
"Louder."
She swallowed.
"Morgana."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Shy."
He turned toward the man standing beside him.
"Я хочу её."
The second man smirked.
Neither Hugo nor Morgana understood what had been said.
But something about the smile made Morgana's stomach tighten.
The giant's eyes shifted to Hugo.
"You father?"
"Yes."
"Hugo von Baldwin."
The commander's brow lifted slightly.
"Von... Baldwin."
He repeated the name slowly, committing it to memory.
Then his gaze drifted toward Aldreic.
Unlike the others...
the boy hadn't looked away once.
"You."
He pointed the bone still clutched in his hand.
"Name."
"Aldreic."
The commander stared.
Longer than before.
Then he spoke again, this time without taking his eyes off the boy.
"Нет..."
A pause.
"Мне не нравится этот мальчик."
The man beside him laughed quietly.
Aldreic frowned.
"I don't like his accent," he thought.
Every word felt heavy.
Measured.
As though the man was weighing each syllable before allowing it to leave his mouth.
The commander leaned back in his chair.
"What bring you to Vargade?"
Hugo stepped forward.
"We seek an audience with your king."
The room grew still.
Even the soldiers standing guard stopped moving.
The commander slowly lowered his cup.
His eyes narrowed.
"My king?"
"Yes."
"There is a request only His Majesty can answer."
The giant remained silent for several moments.
Finally he turned toward the man beside him.
"Сергей."
The man straightened immediately.
"Скажи разведчику... обратно столица."
He paused, glancing once toward Hugo before continuing.
"Спроси король... чужаки хотят аудиенция."
A brief silence.
Then a cold smile crossed his face.
"...Или убить."
Sergei bowed his head.
"Да, командир."
Without another word, he left the tent.
The commander picked up his cup again.
"You wait."
He drank.
"Three days."
Hugo inclined his head respectfully.
"We're grateful."
The commander gave a dismissive wave.
"Maybe king see you."
He took another bite of meat.
"Maybe not."
His eyes hardened.
"If lie..."
He pointed the bone directly at Hugo.
"...you die."
No one doubted him.
No one spoke as they stepped out of the command tent.
The flap fell shut behind them with a dull thud, muffling the sounds within. Hugo let out a slow breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. The meeting had gone better than he'd feared... though not nearly well enough to put his mind at ease.
Without a word, the same officer who had escorted them in motioned toward the camp's exit.
"Come."
The journey back through the encampment felt longer.
Perhaps because this time they had survived it.
The soldiers still watched them. Some continued eating as they passed, others leaned against wagons or sharpened blades, their conversations pausing just long enough for four pairs of foreign boots to walk by. A few exchanged quiet remarks in their own tongue.
Morgana couldn't understand a single word.
She wasn't sure she wanted to.
Even now, she could still feel Dmitri's eyes lingering on her.
She unconsciously wrapped an arm around herself.
Aldreic noticed.
"They're behind us now," he said quietly.
She looked at him.
"You don't seem scared."
"I am."
She blinked.
"You are?"
"I just don't know what fear is supposed to look like."
For a moment...
she didn't know how to answer that.
The officer stopped at the gate.
"You go."
Hugo inclined his head. "Thank you."
The man simply grunted before turning away.
The gates closed behind them.
Only then did Hugo allow himself to relax.
They mounted their horses once more.
The journey back was silent.
The white flag fluttered gently in the afternoon breeze.
No one felt like talking.
Each carried away something different from the meeting.
Hugo replayed every word Dmitri had spoken, searching for hidden meaning.
Morgana replayed every stare.
Aldreic replayed the commander's voice.
"I don't like his accent."
The thought returned so suddenly that he almost smiled.
Every sentence felt... shortened.
Heavy.
As though each word had to earn its place.
It was strange.
Different from anything he'd heard before.
The forest welcomed them again.
The familiar scent of pine slowly replaced smoke and roasted meat.
Soon the mercenary camp came into view.
The sentries straightened immediately.
"They're back!"
The cry spread quickly through the camp.
Wulfric emerged from his command tent before the horses had fully stopped.
His eyes searched each of their faces.
No blood.
No panic.
He let out the smallest sigh of relief.
"Well?"
Hugo climbed down first.
"They agreed to send word."
"And?"
"We wait."
"For how long?"
"Three days."
Wulfric nodded once, though the answer clearly disappointed him.
"I've waited longer."
Hugo gave a tired smile.
"I know."
"The commander?"
Wulfric asked.
Hugo looked back toward the road they had just travelled.
"A dangerous man."
There was a pause.
"But not the one we came to see."
The two captains exchanged a look only old comrades could understand.
The mission had only just begun.
As Wulfric began issuing fresh orders to prepare a longer camp, Morgana quietly slipped away from the gathering. No one stopped her.
She walked until the voices behind her faded into the forest.
Only then did she stop.
Her hands trembled.
She hated it.
She hated how small she'd felt.
How helpless she'd been.
She closed her eyes.
Then another image forced itself into her mind.
Aldreic.
Walking beside her.
Saying almost nothing.
Yet somehow making an entire camp of enemy soldiers hesitate.
She opened her eyes again.
"...Who are you?" she whispered to herself.
Not because she expected an answer.
But because, for the first time since meeting him...
she genuinely wanted to know.
Far beyond the forest...
beyond the rivers and mountains...
a lone rider urged his horse toward the distant capital of Vargade.
The message he carried would soon reach the Immortal King.
And with it...
the fate of every soul in the camp would begin to change.