Chapter 113: Scouts
The next morning arrived far sooner than Roderic would’ve liked.
By the time he returned to the center of Riverwood, the village was already bustling with activity.
Several of the wagons sent back yesterday had returned during the early morning, ready to be filled once again.
Roderic watched as soldiers carried sacks of grain from one of the nearby barns.
’Good,’ he thought. ’We’re making decent progress.’
If everything continued at this pace, Riverwood would be completely abandoned before nightfall.
Roderic glanced towards the surrounding fields.
Dozens of horses had been gathered together, while cattle and sheep were slowly being herded towards the road.
’It really won’t be long anymore...’
...
Several hours rapidly passed by.
By midday, Riverwood looked nothing like the village from the day before.
Doors stood open, barns were empty and fields that had once been filled with animals now sat abandoned.
Another long line of wagons slowly disappeared down the road towards the Whitemane Estate.
Only one empty wagon remained.
There, soldiers were helping the final few families pack their belongings.
Roderic watched everything from the side of the road.
’Almost done,’ he thought, wiping the sweat from his brow.
He was about to turn away when the sound of approaching hooves entered his ears.
Roderic glanced behind him right away.
One of the scouts he’d sent out yesterday came riding towards the village at full speed.
’Oh shit,’ he thought, eyes narrowing. ’That’s not good.’
His expression immediately became serious.
The scout barely waited for his horse to come to a stop before jumping down.
’’Young lord!’’ he called out.
Roderic quickly walked towards him.
’’What happened?’’ he asked.
’’A group is approaching from Deres territory,’’ the scout reported. ’’Around a dozen knights, along with a carriage and another wagon.’’
Roderic raised an eyebrow.
’’A wagon?’’ he repeated.
The scout nodded firmly.
’’Yes, young lord. It was heavily guarded.’’
For a moment, Roderic remained silent.
Then a smile slowly crept onto his face.
’Already?’ he thought. ’Seems like Aldric really isn’t wasting any time.’
There was only one reason for a heavily guarded wagon to be heading towards the Whitemane Estate right now.
Roderic glanced back towards the scout.
’’How long until they get here?’’
’’A few hours at most,’’ the scout replied without hesitation.
Roderic’s smile widened right away.
’’Good,’’ he said. ’’Very good.’’
A plan quickly formed inside his mind.
After a moment, he glanced back towards the scout once more.
’’Go walk with your horse before it gets a heart attack,’’ he said. ’’You’ve done well reporting this so quickly.’’
The scout nodded firmly.
’’Yes, thank you, young lord!’’
Roderic didn’t linger.
He immediately began gathering everyone.
Within minutes, dozens of soldiers and knights had gathered around him.
Roderic glanced across the group.
’’We have visitors coming,’’ he announced. ’’And I don’t want them knowing what we’re doing here.’’
Several of the men exchanged glances.
Roderic pointed towards the abandoned houses.
’’Close every door and bar the windows. Make this place look exactly like you’d expect from a village preparing for war.’’
He shifted his attention towards the wagons filled with traps.
’’Move those somewhere out of sight and cover them completely. I don’t want a single bear trap or caltrop visible from the road.’’
The soldiers nodded seriously.
But just as they thought the orders were over, Roderic opened his mouth once more.
’’As for the rest of you, get out of your armor.’’
Silence fell over the group.
Confused looks appeared one after another, some turning to each other as if to confirm they’d heard the same thing.
A small grin grew on Roderic’s face.
’’Congratulations on your lucky break,’’ he said. ’’You’ll be villagers for the next few hours.’’
Slowly, things started to click.
But even then, a few soldiers still had no idea what he was planning.
’’I want a few of you walking around normally when they pass,’’ Roderic continued. ’’Carry some tools, move some sacks around, whatever. Just don’t make it obvious.’’
Understanding finally appeared on everyone’s faces.
Just then, Roderic clapped his hands together.
’’Well, what are you waiting for? Get moving!’’
The group immediately scattered.
...
A few hours later, Roderic stood behind the barricaded window of an abandoned house.
His plan had worked surprisingly well.
The wagons filled with traps had been hidden away, the knights and their horses were nowhere to be seen, and only a handful of disguised soldiers remained outside.
’Let’s hope they don’t notice anything strange...’
Just then, movement appeared further down the road.
His eyes instantly sharpened.
’There they are.’
The first knights soon came into view.
Roderic counted twelve in total, exactly as the scout had reported.
Behind them followed a covered wagon and a luxurious carriage.
’Interesting,’ he thought. ’Seems like they are determined to get Margaret back today.’
That meant only one thing.
Baron Deres’s army would be on the move within a day or two and would reach them in another two to three days after that.
Roderic quickly pushed those thoughts aside.
Now was not the time for that.
There was no point getting ahead of himself.
For now, he simply had to make sure their little performance worked.
CLATTER! CLATTER!
The knights on horseback entered Riverwood without slowing down.
Several glanced towards the barricaded houses, while others briefly inspected the few ’villagers’ still wandering around.
Roderic remained hidden, watching through a narrow gap in the window.
CLATTER! CLATTER! CLATTER!
One by one, the knights passed by.
Then came the wagon and carriage.
Roderic’s eyes briefly narrowed as they rolled past, but he didn’t move from his position.
Finally, a smaller group of knights followed behind.
Seconds ticked by painfully slowly.
But before long, the entire group had passed through Riverwood and continued towards the Whitemane Estate.
A wide, satisfied smile appeared on Roderic’s face as he pushed open the door.
’’Seems like they fucking bought it,’’ he chuckled.
Now, there was nothing left to do but wait.
If everything went according to plan, they would pass through Riverwood again within a few hours.
Only this time, his stepmother would be sitting inside that carriage.