"Yes, I think I can sleep now."He yawned before he could say more."See?"
"Then go, and I'll see you in a few hours."
"Be careful.I know you're going to have to overexert yourself, but be careful all the same."
Euclid kissed him again, something hard and desperate in it, eyes glistening as he drew back."It's been a very long time since there was someone to care about me so.I'll see you soon."
Then he was gone, and Dipak sighed softly as he headed off to bed.
Chapter Twelve
The preparations were made with enough time to sit and worry, for better and worse.After he'd woken, Dipak had spent a great deal of time making all the arrows he possibly could and stashing them around the forest.He added food and other supplies to the caches, as it would probably be a very long night, even if everything went in their favor, and nothing ever went entirely in anyone's favor.Especially not in war, which was barely contained chaos at best.
As he'd suspected, Minali had tricks aplenty for them to use, and even some spells of protection that she'd made and stowed for emergencies.He wore one now, wrapped around his wrist beneath his glove.
Abhishek had the same, and they'd given them to others in the forest who were likeliest to encounter soldiers—and Pitambar, who had volunteered to serve as a place of retreat as he was so deep in the forest that it would take significant time and effort for the soldiers to reach him, even if they were entirely successful.
Dipak had not thought much of him, what with his behavior regarding Euclid, but also sometimes people were just awkward and dense, and Pitambar was certainly proving himself in other ways—and the fact he wasn't lashing out or even seemed to hold a grudge.That spoke to his character far more than the initial issue.
Hopefully, nobody would get that far into the forest.
Thankfully, the army had arrived right as night was falling, exactly as predicted and hoped.A small band of dumbasses had wandered into the forest against orders, and Dipak hadn't bothered to save them when a demon wyrm snagged one of them and a pair of mated cockatrices had gotten the others.He did not enjoy anyone's death, but he had chosen the people of the forest, the people of Euclid's territory.Theirterritory, because he was for all intents and purposes betrothed to a dragon.
Anyway, their terrified screaming and the chilling end of those screams, the way those paralyzed by the cockatrice continued to moan and whimper as they were feasted on until they at last bled out, were unfortunately useful.
The poor bastards should at least be grateful they weren't the wyrm victim; that poor bastard was still alive in the wyrm's gullet, until its poison finished dissolving him into mush from the inside out.
Horrible for them, useful for him, because the other soldiers would now be terrified—and many grieving.Grief and fear were great for destabilizing armies.Some would also be angry and wanting to lash out at the forest, and while that could be dangerous, angry people were often stupid people, which also worked to their favor.
He waited until a half hour or so after the last call went out, when nearly everyone would be either asleep, too lazy or comfortable to get out of bed, or too scared of what they might come across if they did get up.
"All right, I'm going for the guards first, and then the middle of the camp, where the bulk of the officer tents are.I'm going to start with the general and work my way down the ranks from there.The lieutenants will be on the fringes, stationed at regular intervals between all their units.I'll leave them to you.If you can also hit the supply chain officers, especially those in charge of the food, all the better.They'll be in the green tent."
Abhishek gave a quick flick of his fingers in a signal ofunderstood."Meet back here in thirty?"
"Sounds good."
"Be careful," Euclid said, "both of you.I cannot sense anything amiss, but my neck prickles all the same.Something is awry, and I do not know what.Show utmost care."
"Don't have to tell me twice," Abhishek replied, and then was slipping away into the night, keeping to the ground as he crept toward the encampment.
Dipak gave Euclid a quick kiss and then slipped away himself, stepping into nothing and emerging by the first guard posting.A quick knife to the throat and that was one down.The next was a pair, easily attended as he appeared right between them and took them out in two quick stab wounds each.
All the watch guards went down with similar ease, which wasn't really surprising.The fact there'd been so little discipline that an entire group had been able to venture into the woods to meet a slow and painful death said that whoever was in charge had not brought their best, likely on purpose, as this was a stupid, dangerous, selfish waste of time and resources.At leastsomebodyin the military had some sense.Must be Bachchan or Misra, they were the only generals with anything resembling sense.
Pity he'd have to kill them, but they should have refused the orders altogether.He laid the final dead guards gently on the ground, silently reciting prayers, and then took a shortcut into the middle of camp—and froze in terror.
He'd assumed the soldiers' terror had come from their dead comrades, but no, everybody here was more afraid of what would happen if the flame ogre chained up in the middle of the camp broke free of the physical and magical chains containing it.
Dipak immediately returned to Euclid."They have a flame ogre.That's how they're going to burn the forest.Find Abhishek and retreat.I'm still going to try and kill as much of the command as I can, and if I can locate the mage or mages controlling the ogre, I'll grab them, but you've got to warn the others of what we're really facing."
Worry etched lines into Euclid's face that for once made him look almost every single one of his many centuries of life."Be careful, hunter.I just found you, I could not bear it if I immediately lost you."
"I will, I promise."Dipak kissed him, hard and quick, and then returned to where he'd been earlier.
Immediately north of the ogre was the black tent of the general.Black dye was difficult to make, and therefore obscenely expensive, and he'd always thought it stupid that was the color chosen for the generals' tents.The logic was that it would make them more difficult to locate in the dark, but brown or blue would work as well for that, and they were always located in the very center of camp anyway.Ego above all else.
He focused on the tent, then stepped into the dark and emerged right in the middle of it.Euclid's little trick was becoming his favorite thing in the world.He would need to remember not to use it some days, so he would not lose his edge in hunting by conventional means.
