Typhus sighed upon seeing the miserable state of the Excellent Eight.
Fortunately, he was not like any other legatus, who would either not stand the thought of seeing demi-humans in their sight or outright berate them for their failures. No, he sat there, watching Talia changing the bandages on Isabella's hands on one end, then eying Weizenegger and Huracan. Everyone sat with wooden stools, including Typhus himself, gathered at the roundtable within the command tent itself.
"I always hate that look." The bearded legatus muttered, otherwise visibly stonefaced.
Alice and Alexandria were clearly absent, but otherwise under close supervision. Nonetheless, the legatus silently inhaled, then said.
"Ladies and gentlemen," He began, resting his praying hands together on the table. "You have boldly gone where no other man has gone before. Normally, failure is not tolerate, but that is only for good soldiers. I am not looking for good soldiers. I ran out of them a long ago."
He paused, observing their reactions, their heads collectively swivelled towards him with particular stares.
"No, I am looking for great soldiers. And you, the Excellent Eight, have proven to me that you are more than that. Of course, the simple fact is that you have all been soundly beaten."
"Ja, mein Heer." Weizenegger mumbled.
"However, while you have clearly engaged the enemy against my orders, as well as compromising your secrecy, you have gathered key breakthroughs, which I cannot express my gratitude any further." He said, neither happily nor angrily; however, he paused again, observing everyone's reactions once more, only to realise. "Before I delve into that matter, I must also express my sincerest apologies for one of your members. I believe her name was Sousa."
The Volralden and Siren tranquilly nodded, but Huracan particularly closed her eyes upon looking down to the table.
"It was my fault, sire." Isabella said, her left hand clenching tightly momentarily from the stinging pain beneath her gauzes. "I entrusted her. We agreed to rendezvous at a certain point, but I...I abandoned her f-"
"I am not interested in faults, Isabella." Typhus said sternly. "On the contrary, I am worried about whether or not you managed to map your way around."
"Yes, I have." The Draconian stuttered, her right hand reaching down and revealing her black leather codex. "But for Sousa? I don't know, sire. She can be anywhere at this point."
"Ja, wir können sie nirgendwo finden." Weizenegger said calmly. "Sie war nicht an unserem Treffpunkt oder im Lager."
"Was ist mit ihrem Duft?" Typhus asked. "Surely, she had to have left a trail somewhere."
"Ich habe ih..." The Volralden said, but stopped abruptly before huffing inward and spoke again. "Her trail gone cold about five leagues northwest about..."
Leaning forward, Weizenegger's right finger tapped on the map, which was currently being drawn by Talia and two human legionnaires. "Hier."
"Five leagues?" Typhus parroted and stood. "That's not far from here. What's in that area?"
"Nichts ausser...rugged woodlands."
"Which is a valley." Huracan chirped.
"Ja, these are very big hills." The Volralden said, her finger hovering over the two hills, the other a work in progress at the moment. "From your location, it appears to be like a short, shallow hill, but it's deceptively long on the other side. As you can see, the other hill is equally grosser."
"Hmm..." He hummed, merely belying an unsettled thought. "These hills ... it makes the sacred Arnus Hill look like a zit."
"Little of these woods are habitable." Talia added. "No roads, no bridges, and no settlements. There's not even a single beast to be heard or found anywhere except the occasional spiders, beetles, and butterflies."
"Except..." Huracan chirped again, but looked away from Typhus; however, he noticed her injection and turned towards her. So, she sighed and turned around reluctantly, where she said. "Alex and Alice have found a dam directly eastward, including its respective river."
Eying the incomplete map, Typhus' attention raced across the other side, seeing the mismatched outline of the river coming together. "That's a mile long crossing." He murmured.
"Ja, Alice was very particular about its dimensions." Weizenegger curtly nodded. "Unfortunately, we have no data on the depth, current, or fauna. All of that information is locked away with Alex. Until she recovers, I believe any river crossing is out of the question."
"Mmm." He hummed sharply and said. "Then what about this dam?"
Nobody said anything, but Weizenegger snatched Alice's grey leather codex across the table and plopped it before Typhus.
"Indoor watermills?" Typhus muttered loudly, having scooped and read the book.
"That's what she speculated. As far as what we discerned however, this dam is no fortress or forge."
"Indeed, but the engineering is beyond amazing." He thought, eying the long shallow curving shape of the twenty storey tall dam. "It must've taken at least 50 t-"
Before Typhus could finish, a legionary hurriedly brushed the entryway drapes aside, visibly panting. With everyone instantly drawn towards him, there was no immediately response. Nonetheless, Typhus asked. "Calm yourself, legionary. What is the meaning of your urgency?"
"My lord, it's...it's the men." The dark blond Caucasian legionary said. "Our entire southern area is completely deserted."
Typhus withheld every urge to not express his shock, but he was already approaching the young man anyway.
"Desertion?" Typhus repeated.
"Yes, my lord."
"What makes you think so?"
"It's their armour, weapons, and cots. They've remained completely undisturbed."
"Like they..." Typhus chose his words carefully with a brief pause and asked. "Like they...vaporised?"
"Yes, my lord."
The bearded legatus' eyes wandered leftward for a few seconds, then to the right downward direction, before he finally reverted to him and said. "Who's your Centurion? And his Primus Pilus?"
"Saren Justus."
"Saren? That's not like him."
"He's also missing alongside Vakarian Arterius."
"Vakarian?"
"Yes, my lord."
Then, Typhus realised. "Quickly, make haste! We're under attack!"