It had been a few days since Lagsan had begun his journey from the valley with the ten thousand men under his command. And now he was just about to reach his destination. Where he would unfurl this genius but risky and dangerous plan. Lagsan and his men were dressed in the standard uniform of the Golden Company.
Although he had faith in his abilities and in Lord Aeos' plan, there was an uneasy feeling present in his heart. He was a bit anxious and overwhelmed thinking about what was about to come.
Despite all the precautions, the plan was a bit risky, and if it did not work out, then most probably he would have to fight a battle with a force that would have an equal number of men as him.
"Commander Lagsan," a man at his side said. "We are just about to reach our destination."
The man was one among the forty six who had been acting as mercenaries inside the Golden Company, the spies, and had joined Lagsan in his camp a few days back.
Lagsan gave a nod as he squinted his eyes and looked ahead. He could spot the start of a dense forest, and a camp had been set up at the edge of that forest. The camp belonged to the ten thousand sellswords of the Golden Company who had not participated in the battle.
Lagsan took a deep breath as he spurred his horse in that direction.
.
.
.
The sound of steel clanging against steel was echoing in a small clearing a couple hundred feet inside the forest. A bare chested man, Valdora, was duelling with one of his fellow sellswords of the Golden Company. He was drenched in sweat and was panting from breathlessness and yet he was not stopping. It was a method for him to calm his mind and not to overthink about certain things.
Valdora, after Ser Harry Strickland and a couple of more officers, was the fourth highest ranking officer of the Golden Company. And since the remaining three officers had gone on their campaign against Meereen, Valdora was the one currently commanding the remaining forces. Valdora was not a very great warrior as his other three counterparts but his abilities to manage the soldiers, logistics, their movement and strategy made him an invaluable asset.
The last few days had been extremely tough for Valdora. Initially, when Ser Harry Strickland had departed with the fifteen thousand men for the campaign, he, like most of them, had been thrilled at the prospect of earning such a hefty sum from the magisters. And considering that he did not even have to put his life at risk in the battle made it even better.
But all his hopes and fantasies and expectations had come crashing down. Like everyone in Essos and Westeros alike, when he had received the news of what had happened at the battlefield, he had been shocked.
Even at worst he had expected that Meereen might be able to hold on to their walls for a couple of days before the walls would be breached. After all, their forces had an entire sellsword company that specialised in sieges. Defeat of Meereen and Lord Aeos was certain in his mind.
But defeat of the army of the Dothraki and the sellswords companies was not something Valdora had even considered in his dreams.
But even then the defeat had not been the most shocking part. The unusual reports he had received from the battlefield, about beasts and unseen methods of killings, were what had shocked him the most. Like everybody else, he too had no explanation about the events.
The only silver lining for him had been that no report or rumour had placed the casualty count of the Golden Company sellswords at more than five thousand. And thus he had waited and waited to receive any news from the survivors of his company.
And the news did come. Around ten thousand Golden Company mercenaries had been spotted marching in the direction of this camp. Though there had been no news about Harry Strickland or the other two officers.
Valdora, in desperation and anxiety, had tried to contact them, impatient to know what had happened. But he had received no response from them. Although the news continued to come about the ten thousand men constantly marching toward him, not a single message from their side had made him more anxious. He could not understand what was happening and he could only wait.
"Vice Commander Valdora," the voice of one of the men snapped Valdora's attention away from the duel. "The scouts have spotted the incoming men. They will be here in no time."
Valdora took a deep breath and sighed, lowering his sword as he walked to a chair where his clothes and armour had been placed. He had been expecting their arrival.
He dressed himself quickly and followed the soldier toward the outer side of the camp.
Valdora, followed by a few more high ranking officers of the Golden Company arrived at the edge of the camp and spotted the massive army that had just reached the gate. He squinted his eyes as he looked at the man leading them. He could not recognise him.
But he did recognise the man who was walking just behind the leader. He was the spy who had been able to reach one of the highest positions inside the Golden Company, and thus Valdora was familiar with his face.
Lagsan climbed down from his horse and approached Valdora, followed by his own men.
"Vice Commander Valdora," Lagsan greeted with a small tilt of his head.
"Who are you?" Valdora asked with a frown. "Where are Ser Harry Strickland and the others?"
"They have died," Lagsan replied.
Valdora did not react. He had been expecting exactly this.
"What happened at the battlefield?" Valdora questioned. "And again, who are you? How are you the one leading the men?"
Lagsan did not answer immediately.
"I think we should discuss it inside," he said after a pause. "Where every officer of the Golden Company is present."
Valdora looked at him with narrowed eyes before finally nodding and gesturing for Lagsan to follow behind.
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