A cool breeze lifted off the Eastern seafront and rolled over the Mildrin Hills, which toppled one over the other, just South of Oaksguard. The crisp air was filled with the salty sent of the Midsea, so strong that a deep breath seemed to sting the lungs. The sun had fallen and the moon had risen to her peak. The night was still, as were the Mildrin Hills. They were a rough terrain, difficult for any caravan to travel. There was one road, however, which ran below the tall cliffs and hills.
This road provided a way for Lord Siln's caravans to travel between Oaksguard and the Southern city of Cranst. It was the only way to travel between the two cities, unless the Mildrin Hills were surpassed to the West, a route which followed the Valendale. The Valendale was the land of central Miriela, which separated the East from the West. It was unsettled and dangerous, filled with beasts and thieves alike. The Valendale River ran from North to South, all the way across Miriela. A single bridge, the Redbridge, was the only way to cross it.
The moonlight reached down through the twisted branches of old dying trees, as weeds below grew like a rolling storm. Anticipation began to swirl through the Mildrin Hills, joining the salty sea breeze. A loud crunch, the snap of a branch, the sound broke the tranquility of the night. All of the land was alert, and the night's peace was replaced with tension. A group of wagons sat just off the road, the caravan's tradesmen resting for the night.
"What was that? Hey, you hear that noise? Sounded like it was over there, just beyond that pile of rock. Maybe near that oak over there. What ya think, hey?" Said a young tradesman of the caravan. A caravan of four wagons was making its way through the Mildrin Hills, on its way North to Oaksguard.
Nervously, the guardsman whispered to his captain, who lay sleeping in the back of the wagon. "Sir, did you hear me? Wake up, Sir," The young tradesman said again.
The caravan wagons all flew Ferenor's banner, the yellow serpent. Weapons and armor forged at the Grounds of Ferenor, sent from the hand of Lord Thomas Siln. Supplies had run from Ferenor to Kessex, then Highland, across the Redbridge and to Cranst. And from Cranst, they went North to reach Oaksguard. Each kingdom had its own set of tradesmen who lead the wagons along the route.
The tradesmen were guards, trained in combat, sent to defend the wagons from highwaymen and thieves. Back and forth they would ride, from kingdom to kingdom. Unfortunately for the tradesmen and guards of Cranst, the Mildrin Hills had become one of the most dangerous trade routes in Miriela.
"What are ya waking me for boy? It's the dead of night, now let me rest," The Captain of the caravan said.
"I've been a huntsman all my life, this may be my first caravan but I know the sound of a deer or an elk or a bear wondering' about. That sound was different, that was no animal. I hear the other tradesmen talk in the taverns, they say a group of highwaymen, just three men, walk the Mildrin Road during the night. They move with the trees, sway with the breeze, can't been seen, can't be heard either. Some of the caravans don't come back, and the highwaymen," The young tradesmen was cut off.
"Would ya shut the hell up, boy? The caravans don't make it back because of weather, famine, or sickness. It's happened for years, the Mildrin Road ain't no walk through the fields. I've seen men die on this route with my own eyes, frozen in the cold, or eaten alive by a beast. If you don't keep your wits about ya, this land will swallow you whole, boy. Damn ramblin', we stopped for the night to sleep. You're on guard for the night, but a deer walkin' about don't call for ya wakin' me," Said the Captain. The other tradesmen, hearing the talk from the nearby wagons, awoke as well.
The boy sat shaking, looking out the back of the open wagon. He looked nervous, and he reeked of fear. They always did. Tallion kept low towards the ground, as he continued to watch and listen from afar.
Eventually the other men fell back to sleep and the young man was alone on his guard. The night's breeze soon lulled him to sleep as well, and the vulnerable caravan sat unguarded. Tallion gave a signal to his brothers, and the two knelt low to the ground, to hold guard as Tallion started the heist. Under the dim moonlight, he slowly crept towards the wagons. He was to give the signal, as always, before his younger brothers joined him in the stealthy robbery.
The caravan was still in silence as Tallion began to slowly creep forward. He lay low to the ground, covering himself with a blanket of darkness.
The men who slept outside the wagon remained lost in a dreaming haze. Tallion's heart raced as another snap of a branch echoed out through the hills around him. The young guard began to wake again. Tallion looked for his brothers but could not see them through the dark. He stayed low afraid to move and unsure of what to do.
Suddenly, a sharp sound whistled past Tallion's head and dashed forward towards the wagons. Tallion looked up and saw an arrow stuck in the side of the wagon.
"Arrows!" Screamed the young guard keeping watch. The men were soon all awake, scurrying about the wagons, reaching for swords. Another two arrows screamed past Tallion's head, but these didn't miss their targets.
Each of the arrows cracked through the skulls of a guardsmen. With arrows raining from the darkness, the caravan sat helpless. Tallion was furious. He hadn't given a signal to fire. He never liked the heists resulting in death. He didn't mind taking lives, but the thought of losing his brothers was too much for him to handle. They both meant everything to him.
"Get back to cover! Arm yourselves," The Captain yelled. He sat low to the ground, his back against one of the wagons. His sword was drawn, but he could not seem to hide his own fear. He clung to the wagon, like a sailor slinging to a ship at sea. Low to the ground, his body was hidden from the fire of the arrows, but he was not hidden at all from Tallion. Tallion had crawled through the tall blades of grass unnoticed and waited like a snake ready to strike.
The tradesmen all had to be removed from the caravan, and the Captain was no exception. Tallion reached for his bow, which was tight around his shoulder. He strung an arrow and from his knee, he fired towards the caravan. His arrow reached the Captain skull with full force, and passed through his right eye. Shrieks of horror cried out through the dark, before Tallion sent a second arrow through his chest.
With their Captain dead, it wasn't long before the rest of the tradesmen ran South through the Mildrin, and abandoned the caravan. They grabbed their weapons and stumbled in the darkness away from the arrows, desperately searching for safety. Within seconds, the entire caravan was cleared and the wagons free for the taking. The men were all dead or gone, all besides one.
One tradesman, stood alone, sword in hand, peering out into the dark, unable to spot his enemy. "I'm sworn to protect the caravan with my life, and that's what I plan to do. So come on then, at least be man enough to step out and face me."
Tallion lit his torch, a signal for his brothers to move forward. The three brothers stepped out of the darkness and surrounded the man, who stood alone.
"Well, come on then you bastards. I'll take each one-" Before the guard could speak another word, an arrow pierced his chest, sending his clinched corpse to meet the rough dirt below. Rowland placed his bow back around his shoulder and retrieved his arrow.
"I'm glad we could take the caravan without raising any alarm, brother." Tallion looked at his younger brother, Guthrum, with disgust. The initial arrow had come from him, Tallion was sure. Guthrum returned a sharp glare to Tallion, as Rowland, the middle brother, brought a torch closer to the caravan.
"Does it matter how we got it? This is the one she wanted, weaponry from Ferenor. This will serve The Revolution well, brothers," Guthrum said with pride, as he stood looking over the caravan.
"Hitch the oxen, let's take the wagons to the cavern. Then I'll meet with Alina. She'll want to know of our success," Tallion said.
Often, they would work at night, though they seldom killed. Instead, they would simply take enough from the caravan to gain, but little enough to go unnoticed. However, this caravan was an exception. The armor and weapons it carried were enough to arm The Revolution. The wagons were to be taken to the caves, East of Oaksgaurd, on the coast of the Midsea.
As any tree, The Tree of Morione needed water to grow. A cavernous system was used, formed by natural wells, that ran from the coast into the peasant grounds of Oaksguard, at the Common Well. Once the caravans reached the caverns, the materials were unloaded and packaged in buckets, barrels, and crates. These packages were then floated down the waters of the cavernous system, to be retrieved by other Revolution members at the wells within Oaksgaurd. Other materials that The Revolution wished remain in storage, were kept in the caverns. This system allowed Alina Morione to move in secrete, allowing her power to remain outside the city walls, but with convenient access.
Tallion and his brothers moved the caravan quickly. They knew the Mildrin Hills better than any. As children, the peasant boys would escape the city, and explore the hills themselves, sometimes for days. Now well past their twentieth name days, the brothers moved through the Mildrin Hills with years of experience.
Tallion, Rowland, and Guthrum continued to move swiftly through the night. They were still several days away from arriving at the caverns on the Eastern coast. The caverns were a long way away, and traveling the Mildrin was no easy feat. It was a grueling terrain, far from ideal for a caravan. The Mildrin Road was the only way to venture through the land, for most. Tallion, however, had made paths of his own through the years, paths that only he and his brothers knew of, paths fit to move a caravan, fit to move an army.
"With this weaponry at hand, The Revolution will possess more power than Oaksguard's own army. This shipment is the largest Ferenor has sent yet. Alina will be pleased. This caravan carries victory, brothers." Tallion spoke to his younger brothers with confidence. His long black hair bounced as the wagons rocked back and forth.
Tallion loved his brothers and they loved him. They respected him, as more than just a brother. To them, Tallion was their Lord, their master, their king. They knew no one else to follow, and the bond the three had formed was made strong by trust. The three were perhaps more loyal to one another than any kingdom was to The Realm.
"So, will she be ready now? Is this what she needed in order to strike? It seems we've been waiting for so long. Word has it that more than half of the Oaksguard Army has joined us. Lord Gessel won't stand a chance against an armed Revolution," Rowland said.
"Alina will strike when The Revolution is ready, Rowland. Until that point, our power must be hidden. We must grow in the shadows, away from the light. And you must be patient," Tallion responded, as the trio continued to ride.
"The time to strike is now. We can arrest caravans in the Mildrin, but we can only take so many. Many more travel safely and reach the city each day. The more that do, the stronger that the Oaksguard army becomes. But the Revolution now has weaponry, we have the men, if we attack now, Oaksguard is ours," Guthrum interjected, as the brothers continued to quarrel.
"Taking Oaksguard has never been our problem, Guthrum. The Realm is our problem. If we take control over Oaksguard, what's not to say that another kingdom of The Realm won't try to restore the city's governance? What's to say that the day Alina sits on the throne isn't the night that she hangs from a tree? We must be prepared to defend against the kingdoms of The Realm, before we are ready to denounce Kline Wullmont's throne," Tallion said.
It was not the first time he had had this conversation. He and Alina spoke often, discussing The Revolution's next move, its potential consequence and their battle strategy. Their conversations were kept secret from everyone, even Rowland and Guthrum. But Tallion knew that even he did not know all there was to be known. Alina kept much of her planning to herself.
"The Realm? Ha, we'll never be a force capable of defeating The Realm. Hell, Ferenor alone would trample us over. Alina must have some great secretes, Tallion, if she has instilled this much confidence in you. The Revolution was always about overthrowing Oaksguard, about restoring the city's power, and giving the people of this great city a chance to decide their own fate," Rowland said.
The Revolution had been an idea of Alina's for years. After the attack from Esternlund, the idea seemed more and more of a possibility. But the union of The Realm made Alina's dream seem more like a fiction than a reality.
"You underestimate Alina, brother. She will reveal her plans when the time is right," Tallion said, with a slight grin on his face. A grin that left his brothers both wondering what he knew. He was sure they were often frustrated by it, but The Revolution would only be successful if it moved discretely.
"We trust you, brother. Always have, always will. It's Alina that we question. Years of promises that remain to be unseen. We've been her errand boys for far too long, Tallion," Guthrum said.
"Our service is necessary, and our patience, even more so. Now keep your eyes peeled and your mouths shut. We have a long journey yet," Tallion said to end the conversation. It was hard for him to keep secrets from his brothers. He wanted to tell them about Alina's plan, all that they had discussed over the years, their plans to dethrone Lord Gessel and to take Oaksguard. But the information was far too fragile to be spoken of.
His brothers would learn of it soon enough, and they would rise from the dirt of peasant hood into the riches of nobility. Tallion took a deep breath in, inhaling the crisp air of the night. He felt a sense of pride, knowing that this weaponry was the last of what Alina needed before her strike. His mind raced through their plan, analyzing what was to come next.
Rowland and Guthrum were right, Oaksguard could be taken, but The Revolution could not defend it against The Realm. But they wouldn't have to. Alina had made an ally, a powerful ally. And together, Oaksguard could not only be defended, but The Revolution could spread.
Tallion caught himself. His mind was wondering. Hegrasped the reins tightly and steered the oxen onward. Alina's words were allcoming to fruition before his eyes. Tallion believed in her. Alina was the onlygood in the world he had ever seen, and he knew that he'd lay down his life ifthat's what she asked. The wagons traveled North towards the Caverns and theTree of Morione grew stronger still.