Somewhere between Fort Arltrees and Seawatch, El Oleonda, January 623

Tristan stopped his horse and dismounted, immediately followed by most of his guards. Others, instead, remained on the saddle, carabine in hand. Even at the border of the main camp, the chasseurs were alert… a healthy habit, since any bush of El Oleonda seemed to hide a Lotii soldier or an angry native warrior. After weeks spent chasing the Lotii patrols, and so close to the territory of the fierce Daca tribe, a soldier could either be careful or dead.
Curiously, Tristan had never met General Hercule François before. When the newly-appointed commander arrived on the island with most of the troops, Tristan was already scouting the hills with the light infantry. He had received new orders and fresh troops, he was appointed commander of the vanguard, but he had never been to the headquarters. Tristan, however, knew General Hercule François by fame. In the high society of Granoleon or Breshaun, he might have been known for his alcoholism, and several hastily covered scandals… but he was also a skilled commander, a cunning soldier, and a hero of the Juniper War. Despite the over elegant uniform, the ruff and the anachronistic porcelain cup, he was still the man who had broken through three lines of Corrish grenadiers during the Willow Ridge Battle… but, for Poseidon’s sake, a field chef was a little too much! As Tristan started to present his report, General François seemed almost more interested to his incoming lunch. It was an arrogant and frustrating move, especially considering that Tristan was just below him in the command chain… but probably it was just a calculated assertion of superiority. Screw that, they were not in a court or in a damned ballroom! He was sure that General François had carefully listened to all he had said- positions, numbers and quality of the enemy troops, location and inclination of El Oleonda tribes, important obstacles and landmarks- and that was the only important thing! Once more, Tristan didn’t regret at all leaving the motherland for the colonies… he could better serve the King far from the halls of Granoleon and their intrigues, and here the risk of smashing a nobleman nose was far lower! ———————— Just a little vignette, with a little bluecoat figbarf and some terrain. For the campaign purposes: this build links the vanguard operations with the advance of the main column, and provides our headquarters with the most recent intelligence. The rivalry between the commanders (@Ross Fisher, I hope everything was in line with your character) is just for story reasons, and will have no impact on our military operations!