The sound of gunfire echoed through the forest. Sharp, insisting, frightening. Death had come to claim the souls of mortal men on this otherwise so serene spring day.
Gunfire was not that uncommon in the region. Many hunters and noblemen were often in the forest seeking to down deer or wild boars, but now the prey was much different. Now, the prey was man and thus the sound of musketfire had a whole different meaning.
Common men stayed inside in these days. The entire region had risen up doing the bidding of their lawful rulers. The time had come to overthrow the hated oppressors and return home to the kingdom they had belonged to since time immemorial.
The conflict had been expected for some tim. Efforts to find a diplomatic solution had failed and now it had come to blows. This region would be at the center of it all. Life had to go on, somehow, but for the most the people met outside would be either regulars or insurgents seeking to aid the invaders by overthrowing the regime.
They had been preparing for it for some time and were ready for this. Many places had already gone up in smoke as stores, warehouses and even farms belonging to the enemy had been put to the torch. Food was already becoming more and more scarce.
The sounds of shooting ceased. Around 20 men dressed in army uniforms lay down while men dressed as common men, hunters, peasents and villagers stood over the bodies taking stock of the situation. Noting the insignia on the officer in charge they cursed.
The word was out in the region that bringing in dead officers would be rewarded extra. This man was only a liutenant. It would be a decent enough bounty for these men, but not as good as they had hoped for. Rumour had it that three counties over a group had actually managed to kill a colonel, but it hadn't been confirmed yet.
Taking the jacket from the corpse of the officer the men quickly looted the rest of the men for all food, munitions and rifles. One by one they disappeared back into the forest in order to prepare for their next ambush.