The Fratians, the small yet growing empire, whose heart lies in the depths of the Fratis, followed a strict way of life. Governments who were not under their rule were considered barbarians, savages, a plague that had to be dealt with. Even if sometimes some tribes voluntarily annexed into their domain, most of the times they attacked other realms inside both the Steppes and the Highlands.

Nevertheless, even if they could have conquered tribes, their small army would never be able to withstand in a battle against the army belonging to the Empire of Adeluna. They had better equipment and way bigger numbers, so an all out battle was no option. Even then, the Fratians were always opposed to the "Tyrannical and barbaric rule of Adeluna" so, in most cases, they acted as pillagers and slavers, hurting the "Jewel of Canelux" in more passive ways.

This time, Tacitus Silanus, governor of the Fratian Empire, thought that it was time to sacrifice a few of his warriors in order to strike fear and chaos in the people of Adeluna by attacking a smaller settlement outside the city's walls, sacking the houses and in the best of cases, getting captives. So they chose a small village which had a few guards and only one watchtower, this way reinforcements from the main city would arrive too late.

So Silanus chose 10 warriors who would risk their lives in a mission he wouldn't even be in. 3 orcs and 7 Fratians (2 of them women, the rest men) would infiltrate in the city and attack. With a carriage, they lied to the guards saying they were selling armory, but instead hid their weapons and equipment in there, so the soldiers could attack once they were in the center of the village.

And so, when everyone less expected, the attack had begun! By equipping their leather armor, the 3 orc berserkers began to attack every villager they could see with their heavy claymores, maces and axes. Meanwhile, 5 of the Fratians, with their heavy equipment, short swords and large shields attacked mainly the guards. To aid from distance, the remaining two infiltrated to the almost abandoned watchtowers, stealthy murdered the marksmen and stole their crossbows. Now, if anybody tried to attack the ground force, they would simply shoot at it. "THIS is WHAT happens when you serve the Fake Queen! Today you will pay with your lives!" Yelled one soldier, as he, amongst the other ones, easily repelled the few guardsmen that opossed them. 

Why was it that it was always the good days that had to go bad so quickly. Why couldn't it have been a day when he was already grumpy and wanting to hurt someone?

It had merely been meant to be a visit and delivery day, delivering fresh goods and vegetables to Iva's biological father's family in the small village on the outskirts of Adeluna city. It was a walk and visit that had grown on him, for he actually liked the family, and unlike being in Parvpora, he rather liked that people worshiped his wife and gave thanks to her for her bounteous blessings. The warlock looked across the kitchen area to where D'Artagnan was crouching with his aunt and mother. The young warrior had volunteered to come with Drae and Drae had been happy to have him along. 

"Who are they?" one of the frightened women asked from where she crouched, absolutely terrified. 

"Not sure," Drae replied. "I couldn't get a good look at them," he sighed and ventured to look up through the window. "But I'd be next to useless," he admitted. "I don't know much about Canelux in general," he explained. You could ask him about the people and cultures of Parvpora and he could talk until the next dawn, but he was still learning about the sister continent. He growled deep in his throat. 

"Talk about a rotten time to get caught by surprise," he muttered. "Damn mercs…" he growled. 

"Fratians," was the first word out of Dart's mouth and he didn't stutter. "P-pretty ballsy of them to t-try something like this," the lanky youth commented. He adjusted his leather armor slightly, aware it wouldn't do too much against axes and arrows. But the young man had grown sure with a blade, which his hand now rested on. He looked to the warlock. "How m-many?"

Drae lifted his eyes and looked through the grime-caked glass and did a quick survey. 

"I count at least seven. Could be more. Two orcs, two archers in the guard tower, and I see three of them going after the patrol soldiers," Drae replied. 

Dart thought quickly. "For the sake erring on the s-s-side of c-caution, we sh-should c-count on there being at least a full dozen," he told Drae, who nodded at him, agreeing that the logic was probably sound. "What are you thinking?"

The warlock scrutinized the scenario outside. "Do you have a root cellar?" he asked of Dart's aunt, who nodded. "Fine. The two of you get down to the root cellar and stay there until we come for you. Kid, what equipment have you got on you?"

"Just w-what you see. I didn't expect this t-t-to happen," Dart replied. He looked at his mother. "F-Father's bow?" 

"In the barn," his mother responded, and Dart shook his head. "Too far… What about Rohan's old sling?" he asked. His aunt looked surprised. "I think it is in the drawer, just over there…" she said pointing. Dart scrambled across the floor and pulled open the draw. Sure enough there was his cousin's old rawhide sling. "Well, we got something then," he replied. "You two head for the root cellar," he urged the two women. They nodded and quietly slunk out the back door and disappeared into the root cellar. Dart moved over to Drae. 

"Ready when you are…"

These poorly trained villagers in cheap guard armor were no match for the elite Fratian soldiers, selected by general Silanus himself. Most of the good guards were usually at the center of Adeluna, not protecting minor settlements. The rampaging orcs were weakening the patrollers' lines, while the Fratians were in a thick defensive position, repelling everyone who approached with their spear.

When the moment came, the Fratians threw their spears as javelins at their foes, murdering or injuring most of them. For the lucky ones who blocked the spears with their shields, a sword in their chest would end them. The marksmen were shooting at the guardsmen from behind too; such a pitiful death! One of two lucky guards was able to slash one of the orc's neck. Surprisingly, this did not kill him, however the second one thrusted a spear in the berserker's stomach, killing him. Nonetheless, this only angered the remaining orcs even more!

Another guard carelessly rushed at the soldiers with a maul, hoping to do something. Even if the Fratian soldier blocked all the hits, the guard's maul was strong enough to weaken the shield at the point it was quite useless. Although another trooper named Cassius killed the guard, blocking the heavy hits tired the soldiers whose shield was no more. Unfortunately for this soldier, a valiant patroller managed to stab him through the worn out shield, using a sturdy halberd. 

It was astonishing how the guardsmen, who considerably outnumbered the Fratians, were losing in such a pathetic way. For now, only 3 attackers were dead. 1 orc and 2 Fratians. (The second one was assassinated by a guard, who using a spear, pierced his neck). The battle was so bad for them, that the frightened guards and patrollers began to retreat! 14 remaining guards were fleeing from battle, it was such a shameful display! 

On the other side, the Fratian crossbowwoman who had infiltrated to the watchtower had spotted someone on the roof of a house. Two men, actually! They didn't seem to be guards, so most likely fighters defending the village? Such a waste of lives, they thought. Defending the towns of such a corrupt kingdom! The markswoman shot at one of the men, aiming for the head… Fortunately to the adventurer, she missed the shot! The bolt ended up in a wall, just besides the man's head.

"Holy–!!" Drae swore loudly as the bolt whizzed by his ear and embedded into the thatching of the roof he and Dart were using to get a better look at the situation. He turned and looked at the young man. "You seriously think this was a good idea?" he demanded over the noise of the fighting below them, sticking the gangly young man with a steely glare. 

"Well if you would keep your head down!" Dart snapped back as he leveled himself up again. The fratian woman was busy trying to reload the crossbow now, and he raised his sling. He whipped it about to get some momentum before the smooth round iron ball was sent sailing through the air, directly towards the woman's head. "How about instead of complaining, you count like you said you would!" Dart hissed as he dropped back down to take cover. 

Drae made a face at D'Artagnan before he got up and counted bodies on the ground. 

"I count three of theirs, and more than double of the city guards," the warlock counted. "If I cover you, can you make it to that watch tower?" he said looking at Dart. The young man nodded. "Great, let's move!"

The last few guardsmen were dead or retreated, nevertheless it was most likely that better trained reinforcements would arrive from a bigger settlement, or perhaps from the Capital itself. So, the Fratian henchmen had little time to sack the city before they'd be able to leave Adeluna. 

Meanwhile, the second marksman saw how the iron round, with the streght of a bullet, hit his companion's head, killing her. Of course, his main priority was to kill the slinger with his crossbow. Fortunately for him, two of the footsoldiers saw how the crossbowwoman was killed and arrived to aid.

One of these soldiers was Cassius, the highest ranking amongst the henchmen, assigned as the captain of this mission. So, while the rest of the Fratians and orc berserkers entered house to house, taking what seemed to be valuable, Cassius, accompanied by the other trooper, entered the house and tried to reach the cellar these two men were hiding into. Cassius had a shortsword and a shield, of course a heavy set of armor too, while the other one had a spear and a shield, chainmail and leather instead of steel as an armor.

"Drop your weapon, you vermin! Your dearth of hostility will be rewarded by a quick, merciful death!" Yelled Cassius, as he, along with the other trooper, found himself in the same floor as their two foes. They raised their shields in a defensive position and readied for any savage assault.