"You'll lead the lot, Hugues. I shall remain to assure our path is clear, and lead the rest of the regiment once some time has passed."

And so, with orders given, Hugues set off on his duty, to take the town of Largo.

==== SARGENTO MAYOR HUGUES =====

You are Hugues Regnard, a former mercenary who, after having retired from his business to the service of the old Viscount of Portblanc, was now called to war by his son as the staff officer of his armies. Tasked by him to lead a vanguard force of cavalry to take the city of Largo, you attached yourself to the 1st Troop of Knights, that you may better lead the battle.

You set off northwards along the road, the storming of hooves at your back as hundreds of horsemen continued their gallop, just fast enough that their mounts would not be exhausted by the time they arrived there.

Although you had hoped to reach them in a single day, however, the weather was not at your side. Heavy rains borne from the sea fell down upon you on your first day, muddying the roads ahead. Even worse, your knights, whom your liege had elected to take, could easily sink in these flooded roads. You had no choice but to gallop among sturdied ground, closer to trees that might have soaked up the water before it turned the ground soft, costing you precious time and forcing you to camp but a dozen kilometers south of your target.

Forced to spend the night in a poor joke of an encampment, you lamented the weather of this region. The odious rains of the coasts along the Meringian Sea were well known to the well-traveled. You only felt thankful that such pours paled in comparison to those in the eastern side of the peninsula. Come next day, you continued on your journey, ready to finally reach the city and accomplish your task, that you may perhaps spend the next night on a proper cot instead of a wet clearing.

When you arrived the city early in the morning, however, things did not seem to be as easy as you hoped. The gates of Largo stood closed, and even from a distance, you could see the men filling the wooden gatehouse, no doubt armed to the teeth. You can only surmirse they were able to spot the fires from your camp, or that perhaps a peasant or scout had spotted your incoming vanguard, and warned them beforehand. Nonetheless, you had lost the element of surprise, and this battle would be all the harder for it.

Still, yours is not a bad position. If the men have not even bothered to dig up trenches and set up outside, they've either not the numbers for it, or their leader is one of little competence. You choose to presume the former.

"Major?" says the captain of the unit you had attached yourself to, Hidalgo Bartolomé.

"Aye, Captain. We've got a breach to make."