“The forest will end soon,” Marshal Berman declared. “I want the Aritor troops to set up a perimeter for the rest of the army.”
“You intend to halt the advance early in the day?” questioned Lord Marshal Stanton.
“I do,” nodded Marshal Berman. “When we exit this forest, our forces will spread out in a wide line. We cannot afford to have troops leagues behind us. We also cannot afford for the enemy to flank us. We will make camp here until all of the clans have congregated.”
“The Lords’ Council assured me that the Aritor clan would lead the charge,” asserted Lord Faliman. “Are you suggesting that my troops will merely be part of the line?”
“I think that is best,” sighed Marshal Berman, “but I serve at the pleasure of the Emperor and the Lords’ Council. If the Lords’ Council has promised you the vanguard, I will yield to their decision, but the rest of the clans will line up as I command. Lord Marshal, if you would direct the clans as they arrive so that our camps stretch out evenly to the left and right of our current position, I would be most grateful.”
“As you command, Marshal Berman,” saluted the Lord Marshal.
“I am going to take a short ride in each direction to view the lay of the land,” declared Marshal Berman.
The Balomar marshal turned and rode out of the forest.
“Uppity for a marshal, isn’t he?” remarked Lord Faliman.
“He is,” agreed Lord Marshal Stanton, “but I hear he has good reason to be. His leadership in the prior battles has been admirable.”
“And he has been a favorite of Emperor Marak’s since the battle at the Balomar estate before all of this invasion nonsense started,” replied Lord Faliman, “but I still think you would have been a far better choice to lead this invasion.”
“I am pleased by your words, Lord Faliman,” smiled Stanton, “and I must admit that it grates at me to take orders from a simple marshal, but I can find no fault with Berman’s reasoning nor his orders so far.”
“Then you think this delay is necessary?” asked Lord Faliman.
“I do,” nodded Stanton. “I merely posed the question to Berman to hear his justification. If I may be so bold as to speak frankly?”
“Of course,” nodded the Aritor lord.
“I also think it is unwise for the Aritor clan to be out in front of the line,” Stanton declared. “If the whole line is attacked, our forward position will cause chaos and confusion as we try to retreat into the line. I believe that Marshal Berman was wise to question your request.”
“I doubt that fifty thousand Motangans are going to come out of that ancient temple to attack us,” retorted Lord Faliman. “We are almost as numerous as they are, and we are mounted. More likely they will drop their weapons and run for their lives, and our biggest worry will be tracking them all down.”
“Our prior engagements with the Motangans have not shown any propensity towards cowardice,” countered Lord Marshal Stanton. “I think the Motangans will not only stand and fight, but to win they must use a superior strategy. It is only my opinion.”
“And I value your opinion,” sighed Lord Faliman, “but there are other consideration at play here.”
“Such as?” asked the lord marshal.
“I am the newest member of the Lords’ Council,” replied Lord Faliman. “All of the others were present when Lord Marak was made Emperor of Khadora. As such, they have a much closer bond with our Emperor. I must have some victory of my own to gain the prestige that the other lords have. That is why I requested the vanguard. To abandon it now that the council has acceded to my wishes would be unacceptable.”
“It would smack of cowardice,” agreed Lord Marshal Stanton. “I understand completely. We will make you proud in the coming battle, Lord Faliman. You can depend on us.”
“I know that I can,” smiled the Aritor lord. “Tomorrow will be a glorious day for the Aritor clan.”
Not far away, hidden in the trees of the forest, a black-hooded man smiled inwardly as he stealthily moved away from the congregating armies of Khadora. He ran quietly though the trees for over an hour before coming to a small camp. Sitting around the small camp were twelve other black-hooded men, and they all looked up in anticipation as the runner entered the clearing.
“The attack will be tomorrow,” the spy stated. “Their forces will be arrayed in a long line with only the Aritor clan out in front. Some of them are not expecting much of a fight.”
“Then they will be greatly surprised,” smiled Pakar.
“Have you discovered anything about the Chula and the elves?” the spy asked.
“Indeed,” nodded Pakar. “Look up in the sky to our south.”
The spy moved to get a clear view of the southern sky and saw a dragon circling the summit of the mountains. Although it was at a great distance, he could also detect a man riding atop the dragon.
“That would be the Torak,” Pakar answered the unspoken question, “and he is not circling the pass because he is alone. He is surveying the other half of his army.”
“Are we sure it is the Chula and the elves?” asked the spy.
“It can be nothing else,” declared Pakar. “Both the elves and the Chula are well versed in magic, so none of us are foolish enough to get any closer. You may if you wish, but I am convinced.”
“As am I,” the spy quickly nodded. “I will gladly meet their mages on the field of battle, but I am not foolish enough to attack them single-handedly. Will the dragon see us returning to Vandegar?”
“We will use illusions to hide ourselves,” Pakar shook his head. “The sun is already rising high in the sky, and the heat that bakes the plain will cause shimmering anyway. We will not be detected.”
* * *
The black-clad Sakovan rode his large warbird back along the forest trail until he saw the Sakovan column coming towards him. He halted his choka and silently raised his arm, his hand moving in the air to form a large circle. Without comment, the large column of Sakovans began to spread out and set up camp. HawkShadow sat on his choka and watched silently until Lyra, StarWind, and Temiker reached him.
“Why are we camping here?” asked StarWind. “There is time to make more progress today.”
“We are ahead of schedule,” answered the assassin. “I promised that our detour to the west would not slow us down. Now you know that I was correct. We are but a half-day’s ride to Lake Jabul.”
“I still don’t understand why we came so far to the west,” frowned Lyra. “From the maps we looked at in Meliban, we could have been in Vandegar already.”
“We would also have been seen approaching the ancient temple,” replied HawkShadow. “The forests have not completely recovered in Fakara, but if we follow the Jabul River, we can reach all the way to Lake Jabul using the concealment of the trees.”
“HawkShadow is correct,” interjected Temiker. “The Motangan maps that we looked at in Meliban are poor. While they depicted most natural features of the land, they did not include the changes that the Chula mages have made in their attempts to rejuvenate the land of Fakara.”
“And how did you know this, HawkShadow?” questioned StarWind.
“I am just clever,” grinned the assassin.
“Actually,” Temiker interjected, “I spoke with Angragar. I asked them for the safest approach to Vandegar, and they detailed the route that we should take.”
StarWind shot HawkShadow a piercing glare, and Lyra laughed as the assassin tried to appear innocent of any wrongdoing.
“You could have told me, HawkShadow,” StarWind said accusingly. “Why the mystery surrounding our route?”
“That is my fault,” Temiker said in an attempt to forestall the bickering. “Yltar was not entirely sure how much the forests had grown this far to the west of Angragar, but he thought that following the Jabul River offered the safest route. I asked HawkShadow not to depend upon natural cover for the entire trip.”
“This is not a subject that I wish to waste words on,” declared the Star of Sakova, putting an end to the conversation. “The only question I have regarding our route is what do we do when we reach the south end of Lake Jabul. Surely there will be no cover for our journey around the lake, and we are only five hundred strong.”