Western Wilds.

8th of Amsiel, Second month of Summer.

2139 years since the new gods came.

The earth has been baked hard, and the sun is brutal. Footing is better for the army, but going is slow because of the heat. Net gain of zero. 20 miles of travel is still the average.

All of the wizards, Ivan, and the green man have disappeared. No one has seen them for two days.

15th of Amsiel,

Messages from the front continue to roll in. The scouting force has been falling back, and emptying villages as they go, all in the name of 'The Heretic'. The Things have taken about fifty miles of coast line, and are about fifty miles inland at their most aggressive points. More that a hundred small fishing villages are just gone. In some places glistening egg sacks clutter the beaches. Thinking about it makes me sick. I don't understand why they have stopped the advance, are they waiting for something?

We keep gaining recruits from villages we pass, as well as from the caravans of refugees. The camp followers are making a killing. The Men of Repute have been recruiting, I'm unsure what to think about that.

19th of Amsiel,

Our first real setback was today. Buttercup was flying reconnaissance when he was fired upon by a group of bandits. One wing was damaged during the ensuing fight, and he will be unable to fly for a few weeks. It would be months if it weren't for the clerics. Oh yeah, clerics from all the morons have been showing up along our path. If it weren't for their popularity I would throw the lot of them out. The dwarves are the worst of the lot, worse than the Idiot's people. I've punched out a few.

A strange mixed race man, claiming to follow the old god of 'shadows and hidden places' has joined us, and sought me out specifically. I call him strange because he looks like an albino with almost translucent skin, and slightly oversized eyes. I can tell some of his racial makeup, a mix of elf, human, goblin, and dwarf, but there are several others I can't identify. Like his nose, to big for his face, his eyes are a bright amber, his hands have a slight tuft of fur on them. And while he walks like he has a hump on his back, he is actually almost eight feet tall. Maybe he hails partly from one of the 'dead' races?

20th of Amsiel,

The Idiot appeared before her faithful today at dawn. No one told me until after she left. Probably for the best. Just like her to stir up trouble. I wish Bjorn would show up and speak to his people.

There is an elf who keeps trying to talk to me. It's been weeks. If he keeps it up, I'm going to throw him in the next body of water we come across. Speaking of, we've had to alter course almost due west to find a sufficiently large water source to fill our supplies. Magic bags can only hold so much, after all.

This total march should, at our current speed, take just over thirty days or so. Three and a half, now four, weeks. We are about halfway there.

25th of Amsiel,

The wizards, Ivan, and the green man are back. They brought a ship.

- - -

“So you left without asking for permission, or even telling anyone. Then you just show up out of the blue with a, and let me be clear, A FUCKING FLYING SHIP?!?! And then proceed to tell us that you may have 'borrowed' the ship without permission?” Lord Garnixx the third was just winding up his 'speech' to the assembled idiots when Maxwell walked into the command pavilion. A pavilion that had been set up in the middle of the day, instead of the evening.

“And now, because none of you had any forethought, you just show up? You could have grabbed one of the stones!” Lord Garnixx continued. “What in the hells is wrong with you?”

Ivan stepped forward, “I am what's wrong with them. Sir.”

Lord Garnixx stared at him, “What?”

“I spoke of a thing from my world, and Greeny agreed. An airship.”

“So that's why we have a floating cargo ship tethered in the middle of camp?” Max finally spoke up.

“Sir, Yes Sir!” The green man said, “This way we can ferry troops to the front in small batches to relieve and reinforce the front line unit. Sir!”

“How many will that abomination hold?” Max asked. If we were meant to fly, we would have wings. These other-worlders are crazy!

“We expect a load of three hundred, before we lose some efficiency...sir.” A wizard with a very tall and pointy hat spoke up. “We haven't tested it too much, but we believe we can maintain a speed, under load, of eight knots per hour.”

“That's damn fast.” Lord Garnixx said, “Is it safe?”

“So far it has been.” Pointy hat wizard replied. “Anyway, what truly is safe in this world?”

Max stifled a laugh and Lord Garnixx rolled his eyes. “Very well. Put the Kittens on it before they sneak onboard themselves, and steal it.”

The renegade party saluted, “Sir! Yes Sir!” And bolted for the exit.

Once they were out of earshot, Max and Garnixx burst out laughing.

- - -

26th of Amsiel,

Moving the troops by ship has started. The Kittens are first. It will take some time, but will be faster in the long run. It will take roughly three and a half days for the first round trip. By the time they make it back, we will have marched...seventy miles? Math escapes me. I'm tired.

29th of Amsiel,

More and more refugees every day. The ship has come and gone. The front line, as it were, is stable. Small crawlies are making it to the lines. They are easy to kill, but sneak very well. Every night at least one soldier dies. They haven't had any sort of coordinated attack as of yet. The scouts believe they are hunting for anything still alive to eat or lay eggs in. The troops will probable need some kind of mind healer after things are all over.

34th of Amsiel,

We found a road, and have been following it for the last several days. The refugees are a constant stream. Five days until the front line. We found an 'infected' corpse. Buttercup burned it to a crisp. I'm afraid we will have to resort to slash and burn methods to clear out this infestation. We cannot hope to control such a blaze.

38th of Amsiel,

One more day. The road has been eerily empty, as has the surrounding area. No birds, animals, or even insects. I think the quiet is worse than the noise. Everyone is on edge.

40th of Amsiel,

We have made the front lines. The whole area is forest. Not great for the army. The reinforcements from the kingdoms will be here in half a week. I will be helping the wizards raise a stone wall along a large section to cut off the forest from the plain. It will be a new spell for me.

The Green man said he knew a way to kill off all the foliage in the forest. He claimed he could get it from 'his cave'. I don't know how someone called 'Agent Orange' could do it. I told him no.

41st of Amsiel,

The wall idea is a bust. Too much effort, for too small of a gain. We have low fortifications for the camp at least. Someone is going to need to ask the gods for help, if we are going to have a wall. I sure as hells won't.

42nd of Amsiel,

They came for us today. A roaring mass of legs and jaws. They truly didn't roar, they chittered.

- - -

“Do you hear that?” Captain Garath of the Order of Puppies asked Spike, his worg mount. Spike gave him the side eye, as if to say 'Of course I do, you idiot.' Garath sighed, first he had been promoted to Lieutenant, a rank he didn't want to achieve, but now with the full army here, he was promoted to Captain, and given a full company to command. What did I do to deserve this? Oh, yeah, the crazy man. I just wanted to serve... He snapped out of his contemplation after a moment, and had the signaler blow the warning call.

As the chittering sounds grew louder, the troops clutched their weapons tighter. They would hold the line. For gods and country, they would hold.

Then the things came out of the woods.