Simas shouted.
"We'll pitch the pavilions here. Using this as our base, we plan to search Nordmar Gorge."
Simas passed the detailed instructions on to Gerry Cressen, Vice Commander of House Tiregel's knights.
Gerry, who had dark brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard, gave the instructions.
"You must all be tired from coming all the way to Nordmar Gorge. Pitch the pavilions and tents here and eat.
As it happens, there's a wide meadow near Nordmar Gorge, so it's suitable as a base. The search of Nordmar Gorge will start tomorrow. Rest well today for tomorrow."
This spot, some 500 meters short of Nordmar Gorge, was an area where low vegetation spread out widely.
The baggage train was putting up the pavilions where the knights would stay. They were taking firewood out of the carts and stacking it beside the cooking area. The soldiers were putting up tents for two or three men to share here and there.
Rafin and Rewad saw to the meals of Gerhardt and Lancis, the knights they served, then ate mixed in with the soldiers.
The baggage train had prepared onion soup, reindeer jerky, and black bread. Rewad dipped his black bread in the soup as he looked at Nordmar Gorge in the distance. He couldn't even guess how deep the gorge might be.
Rewad asked Rafin.
"We won't be able to take the horses if we're searching the gorge, will we?"
Rafin was chewing a big bite of reindeer jerky.
"We're not moving anywhere fast; we'll be searching every corner of the gorge, so horses would just get in the way."
"I hear the barbarians use axes as weapons."
"Axes are powerful, but they have shorter reach than swords. You have to use that when you fight barbarians. You remember what I taught at Castow Castle?"
"You said not to lose your center."
"Right. Make sure you keep that firmly in your head."
Rewad was full of regret, wondering how it would have been if the follow-up force had joined them too. He was worried about how many barbarians there might be. And how strong the yetis would be.
"When things get dangerous, I'm coming to your side."
At Barad Castle, Rewad had told Rafin a great many things he knew.
But to survive here near the Grimhall Mountains, you needed strong fighting power more than that sort of information. He found himself wanting to rely on Rafin, whom he had grown close to all this while.
"Do that. Don't worry too much. I'll make sure you, at least, don't die. Just don't get your head cut off in one blow. The baggage train brought plenty of potions, so even if you get hurt, it can be treated right away."
Rewad smiled sheepishly and patted Rafin on the back.
Rafin thought that here, rather than at Barad Castle, he could naturally fall into conversation with the other knights. At the meal the day before they marched out of Castow Castle, he had seen House Rosrad's woman knight, Sabel Noriton, talking with Nichiye Noriton, House Tiregel's scholar.
From what the soldiers around him had said, he knew Nichiye was a distant uncle of Sabel's. If Nichiye Noriton was a scholar, he held an important position in House Tiregel.
Rafin wanted to know about House Noriton.
"Rewad, do you know anything about House Noriton?"
"What's this? You interested in Dame Sabel Noriton? Come to think of it, House Tiregel has a woman knight too."
"She's twice my age; you think I'm interested in her as a woman? Dame Sabel is the niece of House Tiregel's scholar, you know. It seems she has a link to House Tiregel too."
"House Noriton is a house that used to be in the South. It has a rather unusual trait."
Rafin's past life had been so long ago that House Noriton hadn't even existed back then.
"What's that?"
Rewad lowered his voice.
"House Noriton is a house with a strong information network. So they even carry out assassinations using that information."
"Oh. Interesting!"
Hearing what Rewad said, Rafin wanted to know more about House Noriton. If used well, a house like that could make things possible that were carried out quietly behind the scenes.
The knights and soldiers had finished eating and were resting. While going to relieve himself, Rafin took a turn around the area, looking for where Sabel Noriton was.
She was beside a pavilion, drinking something and chatting with some knights. Rafin did his business, then wandered over near Sabel Noriton.
Since Rafin had taught the soldiers combat skills at Castow Castle, he expected that if he strolled around near the knights, someone would speak to him.
Rafin's guess proved right.
A huge red-haired man with broad shoulders spoke to him.
"Well, well, who's this? It's Rafin Valone. Come here."
The red-haired man beckoned to Rafin, gesturing for him to come to his side. Rafin went and sat beside the red-haired man as if he couldn't refuse.
There were four knights there from House Rosrad and House Tiregel.
The red-haired man went on.
"Rafin, soon to be a knight. Haha. Where were you wandering around?"
"I was relieving myself over there and took a short walk nearby."
"I'm Valk. First time I've seen you this close."
Valk offered his hand. Valk's hand was big and thick.
"Good to meet you."
Sabel was pleased to see Valk greet Rafin, a squire, so warmly. The knights and soldiers of both houses had to join forces to fight the barbarians, so having a bond between them was a good thing.
Sabel spoke.
"As Sir Valk says, if this expedition ends in success, Rafin can become a knight."
"Do you really think so?"
"Of course. There's no follow-up force and no mage. If you do well in a situation like this, the lord will allow it."
"If I become a knight in House Rosrad and establish myself well, the lord will trust House Valone all the more. Dame Sabel, at Castow Castle I saw that you seem to know House Tiregel's scholar."
Valk cut in.
"Oh, you didn't know. Dame Sabel is the scholar's distant niece."
"Then, you're both from House Noriton. My house is only a frontier house. It's bad enough that I left home to be a squire at Barad Castle even though I'm my house's eldest son. I think House Noriton has a strength of its own that will let it survive to the end, however chaotic the world becomes."
Sabel wondered whether Rafin knew something about her house.
"You know something about House Noriton?"
"Since I was little, I worked hard at combat training like riding, swordsmanship, and lance work, but I didn't neglect my studies either.
When I was little, the scholar taught me that having the wisdom to grasp the state of affairs around you is very important for a house to survive.
In that respect, House Noriton has a great strength. It's something I can learn from."
Rafin let Sabel glimpse a little of what he really thought.
Valk, who had been listening beside them, wasn't of noble birth, so it was hard for him to join in Rafin and Sabel's conversation.
"Honestly, it's no life for someone who isn't nobly born."
Valk drained the wine in his pewter cup.
"I'm glad you think well of my house. There are people who look down on House Noriton for playing politics behind the scenes with information. If you become a knight, Rafin, let's talk more, knight to knight."
"Good. That's a promise."
Rafin had achieved what he had set out to do today. What Rafin had just said to Sabel wasn't flattery. Grasping the state of affairs well was essential not only for his house's survival but for Rafin's own survival.
The ability to play politics behind the scenes with information meant one could not only avoid danger but even eliminate potential enemies.
Sabel poured Rafin a cup of wine. Rafin drank the wine in good spirits and left.
Early the next morning, they finished breakfast and were getting ready to leave to search Nordmar Gorge.
Simas climbed onto the platform set up on the grassland.
"Half our troops will be committed to searching Nordmar Gorge. The other half will stand by here, fully equipped.
Tomorrow, the troops who stood by today will be committed to the search.
As you can see, Nordmar Gorge is wide and deep. For the time being, we plan to search only as far as will let us get back to this grassland before the sun goes down.
I will call out the search teams. Step forward."
Simas handed the list of knights in the first search teams to Gerry, Vice Commander of House Tiregel's knights.
Gerhardt, the knight Rafin served, and Lancis, the knight Rewad served, were called for today's search teams.
Some 500 combined soldiers walked toward Nordmar Gorge. All the knights in the search teams walked too, without riding.
The closer Rafin got to Nordmar Gorge, the bigger the gorge seemed. When he looked farther in to see where the gorge ended, it curved so sharply between the mountains that he couldn't see its end.
Rafin looked at Mount Svartr on the western side of Nordmar Gorge. Even if he were a barbarian, he didn't think he would cross a mountain so high it had eternal snow on top to come to Orpul. Coming through the gorge between the mountains was only natural.
In the gorge, the soldiers spread out as widely as they could and began searching for any trace of people. Searching every nook and cranny of the vast gorge with a fine-toothed comb was impossible. They searched as much as they could.
Wherever their feet took them, the soldiers looked under trees, among the weeds, and near piles of stones for any trace of a fire.
The search went on until the sun was high overhead. No one had yet found any trace of people.
Simas ordered the soldiers to eat lunch. Each of them took reindeer jerky and cheese out of the leather pouches they had brought and ate.
Rewad went over to where Rafin was. The two sat side by side on the ground, eating.
Rewad spoke.
"Can we even find any trace of the barbarians in a place this big?"
"There's bound to be some. Look over there. They'd never cross a mountain that high to come to Orpul."
Rafin pointed at Mount Svartr. He was looking at the distant mountain, and far off he saw something moving.
"Rewad, look over there. Isn't something moving?"
"You're right. It's brown. Doesn't look like a barbarian."
The brown animal raised its head. It was very far from where the soldiers were, but if you looked closely, you could see it.
Rewad went on.
"That animal must be a smilodon. It only looks small from here. Its real size is bigger than a tiger. I finally get to see a smilodon I'd only ever heard about, even if it's from far away."
It was also the first time Rafin had seen a smilodon. He could see something long and white on the smilodon's head.
"Those must be its fangs. They look about as long as a man's forearm. A smilodon's so big, if you hunted one you'd get a lot of meat."
The soldiers around Rafin and Rewad were also watching the smilodon in the distance.
"There's plenty of other meat to eat, so why eat smilodon of all things? Not me."
The smilodon ran up the mountain. Rafin kept his eyes fixed on the smilodon in the distance.
The smilodon ran deep into the mountains until it was too small to see. And then he saw a structure made of wood.
It was so far away that it would never have been seen without looking closely, but it was clearly a wooden structure made by people.