They camped just off the road the first night. Lord Yin and Lady Yang kept up the history lesson through the rest of the ride. Explaining the changes the Crimson Army over its existence so far.
Finn hadn't realized how much had changed in the centuries since the army's birth. The Camelia was the only estate in the Land of Sorrow that had its own full army, and it had been a matter of contention in the past. An estate having its own army was a threat to the throne, which controlled the only other army in the kingdom. The Imperial Army was three times the size of the Crimson Army, but they were responsible for the protection of the entire kingdom, as well as the capital and the royal family.
If the two armies every fought together, then the Imperial Army absorbed the Crimson Army, but a true integration had never happened. There had been three occasions when the Imperial Army had sent forces to augment the Crimson Army and conflicts between the Imperial Officers who'd expected to command everyone and the Crimson Army officers who were actually familiar with the war in the borderlands had nearly made the team up pointless.
On all three occasions the ruler of the time had to come out and command the combined force themselves. The Imperial Army didn't like to share funding either and according to Chenzhou, that was the saving grace for the Crimson Army. They were funded and supported by the Camelia Estate only and could not deploy to any other part of the Land of Sorrow without the throne's explicit permission.
Which would never happen unless the entirety of the imperial Army had been wiped out.
"Which would be the end of the Land of Sorrow." Chenzhou had drawled. Apparently, part of the Ascension of the First Blade was the explicit oath that the Crimson Army would never leave the Camelia.
There was no natural water at this stop, but they'd packed accordingly. Letting the horses drink their fill before anything else and then unsaddling them to let them relax properly.
Yuze took Snake and Fox and went to scout ahead, and Li set the guard, with enough people to ensure everyone would get a good night's sleep. No one was keen to continue deeper into the borderland already tired and stressed. Even if they weren't expecting contact with the enemy, there were plenty of things that could still go wrong.
Marian took charge of food, directing Finn, Emmy, and Patrick to help her prepare the ingredients for a quick stew of fried meat and vegetables to eat alongside their heavy bread, a military staple packed with nutrients and absolutely no taste.
Marian had brought extra to keep Eirian full, but the Princess didn't look all that enthusiastic about it.
Anna did her best to help Marian, but it was obvious she wasn't terribly comfortable camping out. She kept tripping over her long skirts on the uneven ground, having forgone the riding robes that had tapered legs Eirian and Marian had chosen.
She didn't complain though, just brushed herself off each time and went on.
Almost every inch of the prairie land had been farmed at one point or another by the tribes and the only flat ground were the beaten down roads made by the Crimson Army.
Since it was still the summer months the sun stayed high well into the evening, and it was warm enough that they didn't need too many layers to stay comfortable and they gathered around three small fires to eat. Most of the guards had set up their sleeping mats in a circle around Eirian and the others. There was enough distance they could talk quietly without being overheard, but the guards were close enough that they could quickly wake everyone in an emergency.
Marian's stew was enough to make the heavy bread edible, and everyone cleared their bowls after a long day of riding.
"Tomorrow will be an even longer ride." Captain Li advised. "Everyone needs to rest as much as they can tonight."
Eirian returned to the book she'd brought as the sun began to set, while Finn wandered off with Emmy and Patrick to explore the surrounding fields. Wheat was the primary export of the area and much of it grew wild now. Occasionally, the people of the Camelia would harvest the wild wheat when they ran low, but the wild wheat was less reliable and provided less quality flour.
***
Yuze, Snake, and Fox had each taken a different direction and pushed out far enough to scout ahead a few miles.
Yuze had found no sign of any of the tribes, the oldest detritus from several weeks prior. Given how close they still were to the Camelia it was likely a scouting party itself and it wasn't likely they'd be back this way in the following weeks.
The tribes rarely ventured this close to the Camelia itself, adjusting their routes to avoid coming close enough to be spotted by the guards, because the Camelia's forces could muster a near immediate response and had a long reach with some of the defenses along the Camelia's Walls.
He'd stopped at the meeting point he'd set for Snake and Fox, glancing at the sun. They should be back in the next hour.
If they weren't then he'd need to set off a flare and warn Chenzhou and the others.
He looked back the walls of the Camelia as he waited. They were still visible, rising above the western horizon, and would be for another two days of riding, speaking to the sheer size of the estate.
The tribes hated it just because of that, as they disliked any kind of permanent building.
Yuze had seen the walls of the Camelia from every distance imaginable, but he could still remember the first time when he was young and accompanying his master to the estate for the first time.
He could still remember the feeling of awe and fear and the cramp in his neck that had developed from trying to look up at the top of the walls.
~ tbc