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.