Scent: Part 29

They left the blazing ships behind them and made their way inland where they were to rendezvous with Sanya's force. They made good time, the rain had abated and as the darkness receded the warm rays of the sun lit up the meadows they travelled through.  The mood of the company was good as they stopped for breakfast. It gave the wounded a chance to cress their wounds and marvel at the fact that the cuts and scratches that Reven had received had all but healed leaving only pink blemishes on his skin. After the skirmish on the beach the scouts had a new found respect for Reven and he was treated as one of their own. Fang had also made new friends and they laughed and joked telling stories of the fighting on the beach until it was time to move on.

Goren's scouts caught up with Sanya and the main body of the force by late afternoon. They had made camp near the battleground that they had fought on and the ground was littered with the bodies of the fallen raiders. Sanya greeted Goren warmly and he gave an account of nights proceedings. The news on the numbers of raiders that had landed troubled Sanya as the force was smaller by half than the thousand strong army that she was expecting. It meant that there could be an army of nearly three and a half thousand warriors roaming through the grasslands. Such a force could have the potential to bring one of the smaller cities to its knees and give the raiders a much sort after foothold in Orland. 

Sanya called a meeting of her captains to hear reports on the disposition of the army and outline her plans for the coming days. The warriors that walked the Path of Iron were fearsome in battle and the fact they had only lost three troops was testament to that. There were some injuries scattered throughout the different units but on the whole Sanya's company of warriors were in good shape. The company was to move on to Einder's Keep the next day where they will scout for the raiders troops and use the keep as a central point to conduct their search. Sanya pulled Reven aside as the captains filed out. 'Tomorrow you will report to Captain Ingerham. He will command you when we reach the keep. Stay as close to him as you can, you can learn a lot from him.' Sanya said whilst sitting down and relaxing. 'Thank you Mistress. I will do all that he asks' Reven replied. Sanya smiled, 'See the smith before you go to sleep. I had him fashion you and Fang some armour and it should be ready by now, I fear you will have need of it in the next few days'. 'I will Mistress.' Reven responded. She nodded her head and looked at some maps she had bunched in her hand and Reven took that as his cue to leave. As he reached the flaps of the tent Sanya called out after him, 'Reven'. He turned, 'Well done. Goren said you acquitted yourself well last night. Keep if up.' with that she returned to her maps and Reven left. 

The smith had been busy indeed. Reven and Fang waited at the side of his tent whilst he fetched out the pieces of their armour. Fang's was a smaller version of Kaleth's plate mail. The large crescent shaped pieces of metal overlapping like the scales of a fish to encase his side's in steel splendour. Each plate had a pattern engraved around the sides and they looked to Reven to look like hundreds of small fangs! They put it on Fang and made him run around to ensure it didn't hinder his movement. It was a near perfect fit. The smith adjusted the straps and Reven decided to leave the armour in place overnight to let Fang get used to his new metal skin. Reven's armour was decorated in the same fashion with the exception of the shoulder guards that were both fang filled, gaping mouths. The smith explained that even though he would like to have taken credit for the armour he actually used some of Sanya's own suits and made changes here and there to accommodate the fit. Reven thanked him after the man had helped him into the armour and he and Fang strode across the camp top their tent with a chorus of wolf whistles going up from the other troops. Reven's smile broadened as he enjoyed the camaraderie. He was starting to feel at one with these warriors of Iron.