It became clear why the garrison’s troops were exhausted. Over the course of the day, monsters approached in large groups 4 separate times. Cerris, Viren and I took turns leading detachments out to deal with them, and to my chagrin the creatures seemed rather skittish – once we had thinned their numbers slightly, they retreated, as if daring us to follow them.

  At present, Ilex and I were looking out to the west from one of the garrison’s watchtowers. Viren had just led the least exhausted squires out to hunt down a small group of monsters that had cautiously strayed towards the border.

  “Is this behavior normal?”

  She shook her head. “No, not at all. If I were to describe it, they’re… far too energetic. And as you’ve seen, they tend to run away once the tide of battle shifts. Neither of these behaviors were common in the past. They behaved as if they were desperate to cross the border, but now they seem more curious than anything.”

  Well, it’s not all bad news. “At least this means the pressure should let up a little, since we seem to be able to scare them off with smaller groups of men.”

  “That’s true, Lady Frost. It seems half the usual detachment is enough right now. We should be able to send men north without putting ourselves at risk, and the garrison personnel might finally be able to get some rest.”

  I nodded. “Once everyone is rested, though, I plan to lead a full detachment out to get a sense for things.”

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  “Is that wise at this juncture? We’ve no idea how they will behave if we pressure them like that.”

  That much was true. “I won’t pretend it’s wise, Dame, but we can’t exactly just sit here and hold them off until winter. And if we wait, the weather might worsen enough to prevent us from venturing out.”

  This year may have been warmer than usual, but it was still the middle of spring. We could expect snow at least a few times before summer’s arrival, and when it snowed in this part of the kingdom, it tended to snow very heavily.

  Ilex did not seem convinced. “Please forgive me for being rude, but is it necessary to hurry? While it’s been some time since my last Hunt, we don’t do them like this. We wait until after the last snow, so the men don’t have to deal with the cold, and then push out before the creatures become fully active.”

  Was it necessary? For many reasons, yes. “I don’t doubt your experience, Dame Ilex. But these circumstances are different. I’m concerned that if we wait, the monsters’ level of activity may increase beyond the point we can handle as it grows warmer.”

  She patted me on the shoulder. “I can see your logic. If you’re certain this is what you want to do, I’ll support it. Please promise me that you’ll retreat if the situation escalates, at least? I don’t want to have to send one of those letters to your mother, of all people.”

  She meant well, but I was still irritated by this. “If you have any letters for the duchess, you can send them with me when I return home after the Hunt is over.”

  Ilex sighed.

  “But yes, Dame Ilex. I promise. I know we can’t end something like this in a single excursion, and I don’t intend to try. I’m planning a test run to get a sense of what we’re really dealing with. Depending on how it goes, we may need to request reinforcements from inland, or we may be able to draw things to a close in a matter of weeks. Right now, we simply have no way of knowing.”

  I made a mental note to send word to Helian and update her on the situation. No letters from her had arrived yet, but it was natural for less-urgent letters to travel slowly.