"My lord." Ola took off the crooked goggles, revealing a pair of bloodshot eyes. "To the east, fifty kilometers away, at the edge of Black Pine Forest, there's an army."
The unease Veylin had felt when Ola suddenly returned with news rapidly deepened.
East? That was the direction of Linburg Province. Could it be a convoy bringing Hector supplies?
"Did you make out their banner? How many are there?"
Ola took a deep breath, drawing the cold air deep into the lungs, and steadied a little.
"I couldn't make out the banner. It was too dark. But I saw firelight-campfires covering the hills, lighting up the snowfields to the east." Ola held out a short, thick finger. "They weren't enforcing any light discipline. Even their hidden sentries were posted haphazardly, as if they were camping in their own backyard."
"There are a lot of them, and their camp covers a huge area." Ola's expression was grave, the voice low. "By my estimate, twenty or thirty thousand."
"Twenty or thirty thousand..." Veylin sucked in a sharp breath.
"And there's something off about them." Ola frowned, struggling to find the right words. "They looked lax, some warming themselves by the fires, others feeding horses, but I had this feeling... like a pack of wolves dozing outside their den after a full meal. They weren't baring their teeth, and they looked lazy, but you knew anyone who dared approach would be torn apart. That was definitely an elite force that had tasted blood."
Veylin turned, his black coat snapping in the cold wind. He motioned for Ola to follow, and they hurried down from the Ice Wall toward the command post.
"What about their flag?"
"Red velvet with gold trim, and a red Blood-Weeping Bell in full bloom at the center."
Veylin's steps