"Stand firm!" the Guard Commander shouted impatiently, "It's the most tense moment now. Those Southern knights could attack at any time, we cannot afford to relax even a bit!"
"Yes, sir!" The guards silently groaned in their hearts, having no choice but to answer loudly, or else they'd face punishment.
After a while, the Guard Commander finished his delicious frog soup and remarked curiously, "Today indeed seems odd, first it's the ever-changing weather, and we should have received messages by now from the river sentry and scouts, but we haven't heard anything yet."
"Hasn't the Count been out on his winter hunt a bit too long?" a guard asked in passing.
"Winter hunt? What do you lowly folks know? It's normal for such hunts to last two or three days," the Guard Commander said disdainfully, "Don't speculate about the Count's actions with your ignorant guesses. Do you have a death wish?"
The guards fell silent.
