“Oh…”

Claude couldn’t hold back a hollow laugh, realizing that reasoning with Ghislain was, once again, futile. He’d expected as much.

So, what now?

Ghislain answered his question directly.

“Well, we know there’s no point in more talk. Let’s get things moving.”

Claude sighed, pointing to various locations on the map.

“Yes, yes. I figured as much. As you predicted, the nearby tribes have mobilized, converging along the route of our movements. They’re sending scouts to track us, but they’re so sloppy that we spot them every time. Stupid brutes.”

Each day, Claude sent out scouts to survey the surrounding …