Tales of the Lorekeepers 01 - Rise of the Red Dragon

Saxons.”
    His companions exchanged an irritated look, but Samuel ignored them. He was in charge of this mission and these two amateurs were not going to ruin everything. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, put his left hand up to shield his eyes from the bright summer sun, and went back to studying the enemy camp.
    Unlike the Britons’ camp, the Saxons’ looked more sturdily built, and certainly more comfortable. It was evident that the enemy had intended to use it as a permanent base, rather than an easily movable bivouac.
    The first building was either the barracks or a dormitory. Entirely made out of blackened wood, it was at least twenty meters long and had only one floor. There was no door at the back, but Samuel could see movement inside the building through the few windows in the back wall. From time to time, a face would briefly appear in a window and look toward the forest where Samuel and his friends were hiding. Every time, Samuel would hold his breath and try to bury himself deeper in the damp grass. Fortunately, nobody had seen them yet.
    It was doubly impressive that they had successfully remained hidden, given that Samuel’s companions could not keep still for more than a few seconds.
    Left of the dormitory, and perpendicular to it, stood a second building, also made of blackened wood. This one, however, stood a couple of meters above the ground, held by three wooden beams and massive arches. It was probably a command post or an arsenal, Samuel thought.
    One thing was certain: it was not in either of these buildings that Samuel and his companions would find those they were looking for.
    “I’m starting to get hungry,” said Thomas. “When are we going to eat?”
    “Not before we’ve freed our friends,” answered Samuel. “Now shut up.”
    “Yeah, shut up,” repeated Tony.
    “ You shut up,” said Thomas.
    “Are you guys done already?” Samuel asked. “Our friends depend on us. You want them to be massacred by the Saxons because our enemy figured out we were about to launch an attack on their camp?”
    “No,” said Thomas and Tony timidly.
    “Then keep your mouths shut!”
    Samuel shook his legs to get rid of a line of ants, which seemed determined to crawl over his body to get back to their nest, then resumed his surveillance of the Saxons’ camp. In the middle of it stood their objective: a wooden tower, three stories high. According to the information the Britons had obtained, that was where the prisoners were kept. The presence of archers at the top of the tower and the guards patrolling around it seemed to confirm their suspicions. Samuel studied the surroundings one more time and tried to identify any flaws in the Saxons’ defense. Any time now, the Briton army would launch their assault on the camp, and if they hoped to be successful in their mission, he had to be ready for every scenario. The Saxons were most likely anticipating a rescue attempt and Samuel knew that their success was far from granted.
    “Why is it taking so long?” asked Tony with a disgruntled sigh. “What the heck are they doing?”
    Samuel had to admit that his companion was right. It had been over two hours since the three boys had left the main body of the Briton army. The plan was for them to use the cover of the trees and go around the enemy camp. They had all agreed that Samuel and his companions would have an hour to get into position. Then the army would charge the front of the Saxon camp to create a diversion. Simultaneously, the three boys would infiltrate the camp from the back and make their way to the central tower to free the prisoners.
    Samuel had initially thought that they would be late to get into position, since Tony had led them in circles for thirty minutes, all along maintaining that he knew his way around the forest perfectly well. Samuel had been forced to take charge of the group and, after much debate, they had finally found the right path. When they had taken up their position, Samuel had been afraid that they had missed the rendezvous, but the Saxons’ camp had been calm and quiet. Apparently, the Briton army was also late. Samuel thought the leaders had probably argued on the way here, like he had done with his companions.
    “Maybe we should try to get closer,” suggested Thomas. “Maybe the army wants to see us before they launch the attack. They probably want to make sure we’re in place and ready to play our part.”
    “They will never be able to see this side