Elfsorrow

'Not yet, anyway,' said Ilkar.

Hirad shrugged and rubbed at his unshaven chin, then at his legs. 'Glad we're out of the forest for a bit,' he said. 'What about you, Darrick?'

The Lysternan general looked around with pursed lips. 'I was loving it,' he said. 'Nothing I enjoy more than being eaten from the inside.'

Hirad laughed, knowing the Al-Arynaar would look round. 'It's that pasty pampered cavalryman flesh of yours. I told you years ago you should have joined us.'

'And then I'd have had to put up with boils and bites. How are yours, by the way?'

'Very well, thanks,' said Hirad.

'There's a serious point to be made here,' said The Unknown in that voice none could ignore. 'We've got a couple of days of relative calm now. We should use it. Mages should get as much sleep as possible, and the rest of us should look after ourselves as well as we can. Only ask for a spell if you're getting sick. Agreed?'

Hirad looked over at Aeb, who occupied the back of the boat with them. The Protector had attracted no special interest from the Al-Arynaar. And that in itself was telling about how self-centred the temple defenders were. Someone of Aeb's size and appearance got attention everywhere.

'How's the face, Aeb?'

The mask turned towards him, the eyes fixing him neutrally. 'I am not inconvenienced.'

'Good. So does that mean you're clear of sores and bites or that they're under control?'

'I am not inconvenienced.'

'Leave it, Hirad,' said The Unknown. 'It is Aeb's business and he will seek assistance should he need it. That's all you need to know.'

'Whatever you say.' Hirad was already bored despite the fact they'd only been on the boat a short time. 'Hey, Thraun, you all right?'

The shapechanger had been silent since climbing the tree for the crossing of the River Ix. Hirad had watched him from time to time and there was no doubting his love of the rainforest. Thraun listened intently to the sounds and took pleasure in the creatures they encountered. He'd been the only one not surprised by the ClawBound communication and Hirad suspected he understood it.

What went on in that mind of his none of them could fathom. Darrick, who had taken on his blade training, had elicited almost nothing from him, and The Unknown, whom Thraun often shadowed closer than a Protector, couldn't persuade him to talk. Despite his silence, however, his fighting instincts were clearly there and Hirad had total confidence in his ability to do the right thing. Something he didn't yet have in Ren.

Thraun looked over and shrugged. His body was almost free of bites. Either the drink Rebraal made them worked particularly well for him or his skin retained its lupine toughness. Seeing he wasn't going to get anything more, Hirad turned his attention to Ilkar, a smile returning to his face.

'Hey, Ilks, your girlfriend all right, is she?'

He saw Ren stiffen where she sat in the prow, looking determinedly forward. Ilkar, though, needed no goading.

'Drop it, Hirad,' he warned, his ears pricking and reddening in irritation.

'Just wanted to be sure everything was all right between you two, you know. I'd hate there to be bad feeling.'

'Everything will be fine as long as you keep your nose out of it,' said Ilkar. 'Just leave it alone.'

'You're sure there's nothing I can do to help?'

'Besides throwing yourself over the side?'

'Sorry I spoke,' said Hirad.

'As are we all,' said Erienne. 'Hirad, you can be such a child. You're giving me a headache.'

'Erienne?' asked The Unknown.

'It's all right, thank you.'

The Unknown grabbed the scruff of Hirad's jerkin and pulled him back, putting his mouth close to the barbarian's ear.

'We love your banter, Hirad,' he said, 'but sometimes silence is preferable to your incessant babble. Now is one of those times.'

Hirad shook himself loose, sat back up and looked round, seeing the warning in The Unknown's face. 'Roll on the estuary,' he muttered.

It was two days before Hirad's wish was granted.

Chapter 31

The Shorth Estuary was a confused conjugation of half a dozen channels feeding off the main river flow. The low-lying land had created a wide shallow swamp on the margin of which brackish water filtered into the silt-filled estuary, which was bordered by stunning waterfall-strewn cliffs. Far out beyond the estuary mouth, where the water ran deep, calm and sheltered, would lie the enemy ships.

The Raven had left their boats hidden well upstream and had been brought along the west bank of the Shorth to the edge of the dense rainforest where it merged into the largely open but mangrove-bordered swamp. Past it, the outflow to the estuary was just about visible.

'This isn't going to be easy,' said Hirad.

Darrick concurred. He'd been imagining a wide shallow sand plain washed by tidal waters on which a battle could be organised and won by superior tactics. What he was faced with was his worst nightmare of close-quarters combat on uncertain and possibly deadly terrain. The only saving grace was that he had no horses with him. They would have been a pure encumbrance.

'What do you think, Darrick?' asked The Unknown.

Even though he shouldn't have felt flattered by the question he was, but he'd not exactly been looking forward to answering it. With the Al-Arynaar spread out to cover the likely escape routes of any surviving runners and the fabled TaiGethen yet to make an appearance, The Raven were alone in the field and they were peerless tacticians.

'The question is, what are the enemy thinking?' said Darrick.

'Is it?' asked Denser. But The Unknown was already nodding, giving Darrick the confidence to carry on.

'We're making dangerous assumptions at the moment. Which is fine if the enemy either aren't here or not expecting anyone. But not helpful at all if there are either more of them than we think, or they've been contacted and are already dug in and prepared.

'Now we're able to see the terrain we have to deal with we can ask the questions that need asking. What we know is that the enemy have, or had, mage support. Should we assume they have contacted the reserve and, if so, at what point? And then, what information could they have passed on and what is the likely response of the reserve?'

'Right, assume this, then,' said The Unknown. 'They know the number of runners. They know how near they are and how fast they are. They also know the hunters are close behind and that they have to establish a safe perimeter beyond the open ground of the estuary itself. Any suggestions?'

'Narrowest defensible point,' said Hirad. 'But where open space for the runners to cross is limited or at least covered by archer and mage fire.'

'Correct,' said Darrick. 'See where the outflow begins between the cliff edges?' He pointed to an area perhaps three hundred yards across. 'It's the most secure but it's broken by the outflow and the larger channels. It can't be completely spanned and any force would have to fragment to hold it.'

'So why would they set their line there?' asked Erienne.

'Because if they come any further forward, the forest takes over and they can be outflanked far more easily. They need the cliff edges to secure their flanks. And because there can't possibly be enough of them to hold a longer line. And to defend further seawards is pointless. The defenders will have their view of the swamp and forest edge disabled because there'll be no flank view. And the flanks are where our runners are most likely to break cover.

'There's something else.' Darrick smiled. 'They might know a few TaiGethen are coming but there's no way they can be aware that fifty swords and a few mages have come downstream. No way.'

'So what?' said Denser, looking around at the huge arc of forest that ten times fifty couldn't hope to cover effectively.

'So it gives me an idea.'

It was not long before the Al-Arynaar reported back that enemy forces were in place bordering the swamp area, so dispelling the vague anxiety that the runners had already been and gone. Without confirmation from TaiGethen or ClawBound about the position of any of the hunted, The Raven had to assume they could appear at any time.