the wall of the poor hut.
‘Where are the troops?’ Rex seemed to be comfortable in his role as a stern non-commissioned officer. Darius was grateful to him for that.
‘I-i-i-in the enclave,’ the man managed to say.
‘And at the post?’
The soldier looked towards the pale guard who was still trembling by the gate.
‘Where are the rest of them?’ The corporal's voice carried, echoing off the stone cliffs towering over what was supposed to be a border post.
‘I-i-i-i-i-in t-the en-enclave,’ the governor's man repeated. It seemed that all his previous arrogance had evaporated, leaving not even the slightest trace behind.
‘Gather everyone present at the post!’ commanded the corporal, and without waiting for a response, he turned his mount around. ‘Immediately!’ he barked without even looking back.
This time, the soldier fell, but, urged on, he scrambled almost on all fours towards the other cottages. In the meantime, the corporal rode up to the colonel.
‘Even in the saddle, I could smell booze,’ Rex muttered, wrinkling his nose.
‘It's only noon, and already such a mess,’ Darius looked around again. ‘I wonder if this is a remnant of last night or if they've been drinking since morning.’ He shook his head in dissatisfaction. ‘You're doing well, by the way,’ he added.
‘I thought it would be better if I talked to... people like them.’ Capal seemed a little confused, though it was hard to say why exactly.
‘As I said, you did well, but in future, wait for the signal to act,’ Bleist said gently.
‘Yes, sir, Colonel.’ The Guardsman was visibly relieved.
Gathering, and more importantly, lining up the soldiers from the checkpoint took a long time for a military unit. Although, judging by the condition of the personnel stationed here, they gathered quickly anyway. Even from a distance, a cursory inspection made it clear that most of them were already heavily intoxicated, while the rest had simply been dragged out of their beds with terrible hangovers.
The senior private and his ten, not fully dressed, governor's soldiers looked at the Guards with horror. The
