Derick had a troubled look on his face. He was in his tent and was feeling rather uncomfortable. The Toledian general had repeated his command's three times before he finally came down to the northern camp. The fact that he had repeated his orders told Derick that the Toledian had no experience in the field of military what so ever. All soldiers followed orders, strictly and without hesitation. If a soldier would say no, he would normally mean it and stick with his opinion.
But the Toledian general did not know this and repeated his orders. Although the last message contained more threads to Derick than it did orders. Derick ignored all orders he got, even when the Toledian commanded him to come to the fortified hill. And now the General had seen no other option but to come down from his hill and meet Derick on his turf.
Derick looked at the count, who was wearing an extensively embroidered blouse with wide sleeves. The blouse was tamed by a decorated leather vest with long sleeves. His pants were of a bright yellow color, which caused Derick to blink with his eyes whenever he looked at them. To finish the costume, the Toledian wore a green hat with a bright red feather hanging from it. 'He was' thought Derick 'the kind of general which would kill his foes by making them laugh themselves to death'.
'Why do you define me?' the Toledian asked 'my orders were simple. You just travel to the mountain and position yourself there. If you got in a fight you could even find some glory for yourself and maybe earn a title of some small barony'. The Toledian paused to fiddle with the sleeve of his blouse, which had wrinkled a little. Derick looked in amusement as the Toledian tried and rub out the wrinkles. 'Anyway' the Toledian continued 'if it's anything like the country we've gone through you'll probably fall asleep in your saddle'. 'It isn't anything like the country you've been through' Derick almost shouted it 'The country you've been is almost entirely rid of Orcs. It's a ride through the parks of Nordan compared to the country that lies north of here. No army can go there and hope to live, let alone a small division like you suggested'.
'Now now' the Toledian answered 'it cannot be half as bad as you describe. We've been here for three weeks and not an Orc has come in sight'. 'That's because we keep them out of sight' Derick was beyond anger now, he stood up and looked the Toledian in the eyes 'We've kept them away from the hill, with our blood as the prize for your comfort. And what have you done? You've taken long baths, organized feasts and actually lay around getting sunburned while we bled and died to keep you safe. But this is where I draw the line I will not let three hundred men die because of a dumb order by an incompetent general'.
The Toledian rose from his chair. His mustache shivered with barely controlled anger 'If you don't follow my command's, I'll have your head for it. And if I can't have it here and now, I'll have it when we return home'. The Toledian turned around and walked outside. Derick watched him mount his horse and ride of towards the fortified hill. When he could no longer see the Toledian general he returned to his tent and called for Anglus. He wasn't sure what the Toledian general would do, but he wanted to be prepared for anything.
The following days the Toledian army prepared for a march, but this didn't calm Derick's nerves, because they could easily decide to attack his position before undertaking the dangerous mission Derick's men should have done. But in the end, his precautions weren't needed. Apart from a few insulting remarks, the Toledian army didn't attack them in any way. In fact most of the Toledian soldiers looked as if would rather be on their side of the hill. Derick watched as the Toledian army steadily walked through the mountain pass, which led towards the lands in the north.
That afternoon Derick walked around the camp and he saw a soldier sitting by a fire, holding a cop of hot coffee. Derick took place beside him. 'Got another cup?' Derick asked looking at the kettle which had been placed above the fire. 'Sure' the soldier answered and gave him a clean cup. Derick filled it from the kettle and relaxed as he drank. 'What's your name?' Derick asked. 'Björn' the young soldier replied. The man looked again, and in doubt he added the word 'sir'. 'Have you been in the army long Björn?' Derick asked. 'Since the beginning of this campaign, sir' Björn answered bitterly. Derick was surprised by the bitterness in the young mans tone, but then he realized that anyone who had followed him on this campaign could be considered a veteran. They had to fight for every bloody mile they conquered from the greenskins and even while the fighting was mostly against small tribes, they encountered several large forces of Orcs and their smaller Goblin kinsmen.
Derick didn't know what to say to a young man who had seen so much, so he didn't say anything. Instead he thought about the actions he would have to take. If they went on like the Emperor desired they would get killed, if they returned home they would be dishonored and if they stayed here no one would ever see their families again. Not a tough choice for himself, but Derick also had to decide for the men who were under his command. Because they were still in Orcish territory he couldn't let anyone leave his army. Partly because it would weaken their position, but mostly because Orcish tribes would attack any small group that would travel through these lands.
'I have a question' Derick said out loud. Björn was startled, because he had almost forgotten that Derick was still on the other side of the fire. 'A question, sir?' he replied. 'Yes' said Derick 'and sav' the sir for formal accasions will ya'. Derick was in doubt what to do, and as always his old accent was popping up. A habit which always made Anglus laugh. The soldier waited for his general to continue. Derick thought about the exact phrase to use.
'What do you think we should do now?' Derick asked. 'About what?' Björn replied. Derick calmly explained the situation and the results he thought would be the consequence. 'I don't know about everybody sir, but my company would stay with you. As most of the other companies that I've spoken'. Derick was happy with the news and it strengthened him in his decision. He thanked Björn for his honest words and walked away to look for Anglus. If they were going to stay they needed more defense than they had now.