It was not until two minutes were left in their count that Bill showed his face at the campfire, a fact that sent a sense of relief through Jim and Carlos. That is, until they noticed the watchful grip the man had on the pommel of his longsword in its sheath as he leaned in close to whisper to them.

“We might have a situation on our hands. Several campfires, which I know had men sleeping and eating at them, are deserted. Could be nothing, but best we be cautious.”

Jim sucked in his breath as numerous possibilities, each one more worrisome than the last, shot through his head on hearing Bill’s words. “I don’t suppose they all went to take a leak together, or joined the watchmen’s rounds for the night, did they?”

“Not that I was able to find.” Bill shook his head in response. “If they had to take care of business in the woods, they would have checked in with myself or the night sentries. They also wouldn’t have gone as one big group. They know better than to leave the camp without leaving someone who can tell myself or Lady Elena.”

“Deserters, then? Or foul play?”

“Both possibilities,” Bill agreed. “but these men are devoted. And, most of all, they were exhausted. No, if they were to desert, they would do it after some sleep, and they would make sure to do it when I wasn’t making the usual rounds. Foul play though…”

“Well, either way it would probably be best to wake Elena, tell her what’s going on and see what she thinks.” Jim concluded.

“Indeed.” Bill shook his head, clearly reluctant to disrupt her sleep but unable to find any other option. “I’ll give her a shake so we can start working on a plan.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

At the edge of the campfire, so close to the shadows she was only half-visible, Ellie heard it all. That soldiers were missing, and that the heroes didn’t know why. In all fairness, she didn’t know why either. It probably wasn’t her big bro, as Ellie couldn’t think of any reason he would do that without telling her (or without being noticed, either). It certainly wasn’t her, and Mr. Mavier seemed intent on resting his soldiers before getting into another fight. At least, a fight that he was unsure about the enemy’s strength. That was, after all, one of the reasons the two of them had snuck into the hero’s camp to begin with.

So that left Ellie with a choice. Find Galler, or stick around the campfire to learn more.

She stared back to the heroes, who were deep in conversation with the armored guy who had delivered the news. Decisions, decisions. A small hand silently tossed the bag of broken glass up and down as her mind worked to make a decision she could be happy with.

And then, Ellie’s decision was made for her as the soldier, who’s name apparently was Bill (what a stupid name), stepped away to the campfire saying something about ‘waking the lady’. Her eyes flickered back and forth between the remaining two men, who were so engrossed in conversation between each other that they paid her no mind.

Her eyes flicked towards the cooking pot, set near enough to the campfire that the stew within could retain warmth. It was near the campfire, but most importantly it was near her side of the campfire.

Ellie smirked, and then with one swift movement her hands slipped forwards, she loosened the mouth of her bag, and dumped the bag of shards into the half-full pot of thick stew. A few shakes were all it took to empty the bag, and a few stirs with the ladle inside of the pot was enough to mix and obscure the small, clear fragments within the delicious-smelling food. With her vengeful act of the day done, Ellie slipped away from the campfire with none the wiser in order to follow her own common sense in completing a singular task: find Galler.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Elena hid her enormous yawn with her hand as she slid out of her one-man tent, her armor already halfway on. Bill busied around her with the straps; putting armor on was best done with help. And a full night of sleep, but she'd done more with less.

“So a bunch of those guys you rounded up just up and disappeared? Like into thin air?” She questioned.

Bill nodded with a serious look in his eyes as he strapped her breastplate on. “Yes ma’am. We suspect it could be foul play. Even if it isn’t, I’d rather be safe than sorry, with the demons about and all.”

“Fair point, Bill.” Elena gestured to Carlos as she neared the fire. “Carlos, you and I will check the campfires and the perimeter. We’ll need to keep an eye out for hidden bodies, suspicious rodents, and we’ll check to see if any of the sentries are missing. Jim, you and Bill will be our anchor. While we check the campsite, you two stay here in the central fire. If any of the men decide to report in, this is where they’ll go to do it. If anything goes wrong, shout for assistance. We’ll do the same on our end.”

Jim and Carlos blinked in surprise at the brisk series of commands Elena ordered out, all her outward signs of exhaustion suddenly hidden. Then they snapped to follow her commands. It was a tremendous relief that the much more experienced hero had seemed to take their odd situation in stride.

“Well then, I wish you luck, Jim, and you as well, Bill.” Elena said with a firm tone as Bill buckled the last piece of her plate armor on. “Oh and Bill,” she said, half-turning around to look him in the eye. “Make sure to have a proper sit-down. I know you’ve been running too and fro across camp all night making sure the men were settling down alright.”

“Yes ma’am.” Bill preformed a half-bow towards her retreating figure, only sitting down at the campfire when Elena’s armored figure disappeared into the shadows.

Then, the campfire was silent once more, save for the clattering of a wooden ladle on the side of a pot as Bill filled his bowl with stew.