English Encampment

The title of this article is conjectural. Although this article is based on canonical information, the actual name of this subject is pure **conjecture**.

## Behind the Scenes

### Chapter(s)

"Damaged Goods"

The **English Encampment** is where Amicia and Hugo de Rune are held captive by the invading English Army. Serving as the setting for "Damaged Goods", the camp holds many patrolling soldiers, the maze of tents thus proving difficult to navigate without arousing suspicion. Only with the help of two thieves, Mélie and Arthur, can the de Rune children successfully make their escape.

## History

### Damaged Goods

Having been captured before they could fully escape the battlefield, Amicia and Hugo are separated and confined to separate cages within the English Army's vast encampment. Upon waking, Amicia learns from one of the soldiers that the children are to be held for ransom to an unknown party. Fortunately for the de Rune children, a pair of sibling thieves named Mélie and Arthur intend to aid their escape.

Deftly picking the lock on Amicia's cage, Mélie proceeds to guide her through the first half of the encampment, the two girls evading many English soldiers with the help of Arthur's distractions. Along the way, they overhear a soldier in the mess hall tent bemoaning the army's dwindling supplies. Another group discusses the English Army's failure on the battlefield: rather than conquering Guyenne as easily as King Edward III had hoped, the army instead appears to be on the verge of a full retreat, largely due to the unforeseen arrival of the Bite.

Upon reaching the center of the camp, the two girls find Hugo trapped in a hanging cage and surrounded by soldiers. Fortunately, news of Amicia's escape ultimately aids in Hugo's own liberation, as the soldiers quickly split up to search the camp for their wayward prisoner. After retrieving her equipment from a nearby chest, Amicia quickly frees her brother, and they join Mélie in attempting to flee the camp.

Upon reaching the far side of the encampment, however, the three escapees discover the identity of the English Army's would-be benefactor: the gates open to reveal none other than Sir Nicholas and a group of Inquisition soldiers. Realizing that the de Rune children have clearly escaped on their own, Nicholas curses the incompetence of the English soldiers and prepares to secure Amicia and Hugo personally. Before he can even dismount his horse, Arthur hurls down a barrel of what is presumably flammable oil from the ramparts; the resulting explosion kills at least a few of Nicholas' soldiers and startles his horse long enough for Amicia, Hugo, and Mélie to escape along the ramparts.

Though Sir Nicholas rallies what soldiers he can and quickly gives chase, the children make their way into the empty prison yard, where a trapdoor used for dumping corpses awaits. While Mélie works to unlock the hatch, Amicia uses her sling to hold back their pursuers, allowing the three to escape the encampment into the forest beyond.

## Trivia

* The camp's silhouette can be seen during the previous chapter, "The Ravens' Spoils". This indicates that the encampment has been built just outside the area that becomes the corpse-laden battlefield.