Chapter 382: Campsite Ablaze
Brom inspected the ashen logs that had been stacked atop one of several wagons. The wood was fresh, there was still plenty of moisture within. Not ideal. But that wasn’t his problem. His task was to ensure the ashen wood got to the Cairn Tribe. The Adder Tribe’s green mages would take it from there and ensure the timber would be suitable for the siege.
Olivia walked up next to him and glanced at the logs, though she made no real show of studying the cargo. “I take it everything is in order?”
“…Yes, I suppose so,” Brom said. He was reluctant to admit it to the drow captain, but her company of soldiers was quite proficient.
“I never thought a bunch of Undergrowth soldiers would be able to serve as axemen,” Brom said. It was the closest he would come to paying a compliment to these drows.
“And I never thought my men and I would be working with the valley tribes, let alone one as disheveled as you,” Olivia said.
Brom chuckled wryly and stroked his scraggly beard. Perhaps there was more fire in these soft-bellied Undergrowthers than he thought.
“I’ve always bent my focus and will towards the way of steel,” Brom patted the hefty hammer hanging on his back. “I never really had the time to care about pointless matters like appearances.” He stared pointedly at Olivia’s short and combed hair, “Clearly, we differ in that regard.”
“I’d wager we differ in many regards, human.”
“Mm,” Brom smiled, though there was no mirth in his eyes. “The logs seem healthy, no sign of rot. If your men keep cutting the trees at this rate we’ll have another six shipments finished by the end of the week.”