[b]Chapter 3: March[/b]

"Mount up!" A voice shouted from down below the king's cliff. Leofric stood on the edge again and was in the process of buckling on his ebon cloak while eyeballing the commotion. The entire camp had been disassembled and a supply train of a few dozens of carts had been lined up on the flat expansion. His men were in a hurry to get into position, a three-man wide column was beginning to take shape next to the line of carts, separately looked after by near thirty men. The sound of horse neighs and shouts of men were near incessant, and had Leofric not watched them from above he'd near believe that they'd be under attack, or that a fire had broke out. Luckily it was neither of those.

The king finally reaches out for his delicate steel sword, stood resting against a stone. He throws the swordbelt around his waist and fastens it, then turning to descend the cliff. At its foot stood one of his men waiting, holding in the reins of Leofric's horse. The soldier bows his head as Leofric approaches and steps aside as the king heaves himself up into the saddle. Leofric collected the reins in his right hand and glanced over his shoulder briefly, ensuring that his men had formed up, and to his content they had. The cacophony from moments ago had silenced, and now only vague chatter and the clattering of equipment and armor was heard amongst the extending ranks. His gaze swept over to the carts and the horses that dragged them, they were to integrate into the rest of the force with steady intervals. A few men sat on top of the carts, whose tasks were to ensure nothing fell off.

Leofric turns his attention back to the front and spurs his horse into a trot. Behind him his men followed at a steady pace, their banners held high to display the royal sigil to signify them as an official force and deter any nay-well doers and possible brigands.

The road they followed led north, away from the Black Marsh and rocky landscape where they had made camp at. Above them the storm was relentlessly raging on, and the wind was viciously tearing in anything it crossed. The road was poorly maintained this far south, mainly because few dared to work so close to the wetlands, so pits in the road were common, and between those and the wind, the men upon the supply carts were struggling to keep the more loose items on, but so far nothing had come crashing down into the ground.

Theirs was a long march, but luckily the wind had begun to ease after an hour on the road. Occasionally they passed a lone house or mill, and Leofric figured that most of them were abandoned, judging by the lack of light and activity within them - or the residents were simply absent. He frowned. The few folks who still lived here had it rough and were forced to fend for themselves. Albeit often poor, they were prime targets for robbers and thieves. Few patrols ever came here, most were found around the forts in the Black Marsh or further north. He was going to make a change to that.

A few pedestrians came trudging around a bend in the road further ahead, hauling with them a covered wagon. Leofric counted up to ten and settled his gaze upon the cart as he and his men gradually approached closer. The smallfolks quickly shuffled to the side and bowed their heads as Leofric passed. He wasn't sure whether they did it out of respect, or if they recognized him. He did not carry a crown after all, not while in the field. He gave the commoners a nod in return and looked back ahead. Normally a search of the cart would have been conducted, but Leofric was not going to halt his army for a simple search, and instead concluded that the commoners had covered their cart to shelter its goods from the storm.

A sudden, cold breeze swept through the landscape, and a few moments after it began to rain. They had marched north-east for a few kilometers and the storm was still harassing them. Leofric shook his head and swept his cloak around him further. They ascended a long, but thankfully not too steep rise in the road, and a lonely, abandoned house raised itself up further ahead on the left side of the road. Leofric narrowed his eyes toward it with the wind beating in his face, and although he was positive the place had indeed been abandoned for long, he was certain that he saw a silhouette through one of the windows as he and his army got closer...