At the first sign of light, Nyris awoke in his bed and immediately pinched the bridge of his nose and question his career decision. It was Vincent rustling around to get his things ready for the day that woke him but he always made it a point to not get angry at the boy for doing his job. Sometimes though, he could just do it a little better. Hell, he could take a day off every now and again for all he cared.<br/><br/><strong>“Cap’n, Sir Marcus requested you as soon as you are able.”</strong>The young boy was laying out clothes for the day. Nyris had made it clear that he would be as casually dressed this entire trip and left all of his finer, court appropriate ware behind. This had him in a simple linen shirt dyed purple with black trousers that were sown in and outlined in gold silk. Despite the simplicity, the way the clothing was tailored and crafted it was still worth a pretty gold coin.<br/><br/>With a grunt of protest Nyris by sheer force of will got himself out of bed and stood in the middle of his tent to allow Vincent to dress him. This was his quiet time in the morning because once he left his tent he would be busy all day making securing safe travels for this small army. Unless spoken to, Vincent knew to remain quiet, and allow Nyris the time to think and formulate his day in the small amount of time it took him to get dressed. The days he was wearing armor it took Vincent a lot longer but this was quick and easy. Before leaving the tent the last thing he put on his was his Order of Knights belt and war sword. Unlike many who were well-rehearsed in court etiquette, there was never a time Nyris didn’t have his war sword on him.<br/><br/>Outside his tent, Nyris was greeted with the sound of men working. It struck him odd that he saw soldiers digging trenches and putting up walls. He was under the impression that they would be leaving after breakfast to get to the next checkpoint. They were scheduled to be back at the fortress in less than ten days. He scratched the growing stubble on his cheek and wondered what had changed. As he made his way towards the commander’s tent there were men at the pell with various weapons and even more posts being put up. As he got further and further into the camp it looked more like a camp preparing for war not retreat.<br/><br/>The opening to the tent was held aside by a guard as Nyris passed through the threshold.  Inside he was greeted with a cup of wine by a servant girl, who bowed before leaving, and the sight of servants hustling around at the commands of a man almost too tall for his own tent. Sir Marcus Hughes was one of the tallest men in the Kingdom and was nicknames ‘The Oak’ for it. Marcus hated that nickname which made it stick with the soldiers even more. The man, just over seven feet, was shouting orders while two squires worked laces and buckles to get the man armored. Both of them had stools so that they could work on Marcus’ upper body.  He was massive, not only in height but in overall size. This man clearly was built for war with thick, corded muscle and even scars on his face to turn anyone away. Even Nyris had to reaffirm himself when Marcus looked at him.<br/><br/><strong>“New orders.”</strong>Marcus shrugged the squires off of him once his chest plate was buckled in and moved powerfully towards the table. He slid over a rolled parchment for Nyris to take a look at. Once Nyris finished reading the report he tossed it back onto the table and stared directly back at Sir Marcus.<br/><br/><strong>“Look I don’ like’t either mate. Word came in giants are on tha loose between us and our rendezvous.”</strong>Marcus shrugged inside his harness - a testament to his raw strength to lift that much steel with his shoulders.<strong>“We dig in and wait for things to clear.”</strong>Marcus slid one more piece of paper across the table towards Nyris and remained silent while the Knight looked it over.<br/><br/>Every part of Nyris wanted to leave the tent, pack up his things and take off with his horses. The anxiety began to build up inside of him. Images of what he had already seen were recreated in his mind but reflected their current position and the still alive soldiers outside the tent.  In seconds he envisioned everyone’s demise. In one gulp Nyris downed the wine and placed the cup down on the table. His hand had been shaking and he wished not to outwardly show his fear.<br/><br/><strong>“The men are putting up a perimeter and we’re leaving some nasty tra-.”</strong>Marcus was cut off when Nyris slammed a fist onto the table. Everyone within the tent fell silent and stopped moving.<br/><br/><strong>“We are not facing humans Marcus!”</strong>Nyris boomed and his own terror betrayed him. If listening, the entire camp could have heard Nyris’ outburst.<strong>“They came from underneath us last time. How do you intend to keep something out that’s already below you?!”</strong>Nyris was full-on yelling like he was the commander lashing out at a subordinate in frustration. Truthfully Nyris wanted to reach across the table and pull Marcus to him face to face.<br/><br/>Marcus merely stood to his full height and crossed his arms. The man was so large that he was accustomed to showing off his size to get people to cooperate with him. The very last thing he needed inside his camp was division.  While it was true he had never seen or come up against the Wild before he had no intention of dying inside this camp. The standoff lasted for several, long seconds as the two waged war through stares.<br/><br/><strong>“Have anoth’r cup o’ wine Nyris and take a walk.”</strong>Marcus waved a hand at one of his servants and turned his back to the Knight signaling his end of the conversation. He went to work sifting through papers and making sure that everything he wanted to be done to get the camp ready was being done.<br/><br/>The same female servant that served him the first time returned with a fresh cup of wine and offered it to Nyris. This time her eyes were down and the cup shook in her hand much like Nyris’ did just moments ago. It was the visual of her fear that made Nyris snap out of it. He took the wine and looked at the back of Sir Marcus realizing his error. This wasn’t the first time he let his emotions get the best of him. However, he took the command and stepped out of the tent back into the first light of day with more than a few sideways glances in his direction.<br/><br/>Nyris paced furiously up and down the trench lines, inspecting walls and checking armor, anything to get his mind off of what may or may not happen. Out beyond the camp walls was nothing but flatland filled with wild grass in some places as high as a man’s knee. The treeline was nearly three hundred yards away in any direction. To calm himself Nyris stood outside the camp and stared into the trees. Everything around him was so peaceful - men digging in camp, early morning birds chirping and the sound of leaves shifting in the breeze that cooled his face. What really could go wrong on such a beautiful morning?<br/>