Prologue

The sudden war resulted in all able men and women being drafted into the militia. Sergeant Sid Smith met his newly drafted men at the barracks of Hensworth in Kystrand as they were being dressed for war.

After having received their standard equipment, the men were given 1 hour to say goodbye and sort out any last business they might have in Hensworth before leaving for the front line at Mellombotti. Eiderdrake spent his hour at the barfing dwarfs inn with Sergeant Smith talking loosely over some cold ale, while Einheri decided to see if he could stay ahead of things by acquiring some more knowledge of what was awaiting them in Mellomboti. To his disappointment, it seemed that the people here new little more than what he already did.

It was a long, cold and depressing travel from Hensworth to Mellomboti. The unit of Sergeant Smith sat in silence as the cold heavy rain of autumn drummed on the cover of their carriage, each men lost in their own dark thoughts.

When the unit arrived in Mellomboti, Sergeant Smith ordered Corporal Eiderdrake to organize camp while he went to receive his orders. Their orders were to attack the Icelandic forces at dawn, in order to test their capabilities and weaknesses. Many of the sergeants protested loudly to this, but their protests were waived off by the commanding officers.

The unit of Sergeant Smith spent the rest of the night training and bonding. While the majority of the unit trained, Sergeant Sid Smith ordered Einheri to acquire some bows and potions for his unit, as Einheri as a merchant was skilled in the arts of acquisitions. Although the means of which Einheri acquired the bows and the potions might not have been approved by the goodhearted sergeant, what he didn’t know didn’t hurt him. The Officer of who Einheri stole the potions (and some gold that was just lying there) probably wouldn’t need them as much as them anyway. The bows, well, although the requisition form was fake, it was a requisition form nonetheless.

When dawn came, so did the call to battle. The unit of Sergeant Smith were marching out side by side with a mercenary unit from Snyti. Eiderdrake had learned the previous night, that these men were of the drakefriend clan. A clan of feared and honoured mercenaries from Snyti, that onces were allies of the legendary dragons. Even better, he had learned that his father had most likely been a direct ascendant of the Drakefriends most powerful warriors.

The battle was long and bloody, a lot of good men were killed and a lot more wounded. The unit of Sergeant Smith fought well and defeated their enemies, although at a heavy cost. After having seen their forces being slaughtered on the battlefield, the officers of the militia decided that victory could only be achieved through other means. The mercenary unit from Snyti was given the order to infiltrate the enemy forces and to take out their general. The idea was that if they “cut the head of the serpent, the rest will die”. The mercenaries from Snyti, had lost a couple of good men in the battle, but also seen the remarkable deeds of Sergeant Smith and his unit. Sergeant Smith were invited to bring a selected few and join in on this dangerous task. He accepted and brought along Eiderdrake and Einheri as they had proven themselves in the days battle.

The mercenaries from Snyti have left for Kystrand to prepare their ship for the voyage behind enemy lines and Sergeant Smith is to meet them there in a 3 days’ time.