"I'll be there in a minute," she replied immediately.
"That's a clever little trick," Sathon said appreciatively, looking at the amulet. "A remnant of the Age of Power?"
Tarrin nodded. "It comes in handy," he said.
"Can you make one?" Sathon asked.
Tarrin glanced at him. "I probably could, but I haven't quite had the time to pick apart the magic used to make them yet," he replied. "The only one I have to study is this one, but it has more spells cast into it. They merge together after a while, and it's difficult to tell one from another."
Sathon nodded. "Sorcery degrades over time, even spells meant to be permanent. It's a basic limitation to the art."
"There are very few permanent spells in Sorcery, Sathon," Tarrin told him absently. "Only High Sorcery can be made permanent, and even that isn't easy." He looked around. "You know, I haven't seen Alix since yesterday. Is he with us?"
"I have no idea," Sathon chuckled. "If he turns up, I wouldn't be surprised."
"Sarraya can't be too far from us right now, so maybe he went to go see her," Tarrin replied.
"She is?"
"She's leading a Selani Clan through the Frontier," he told him. "Right now, I'll bet she's close to Minara." Minara was a large town almost due south of Torrian, close to the Shacean border. It was due east of Ultern. Sarraya would lead the Selani out of the Frontier at Minara, then get on the King's Road that ran from Minara to Suld for faster travel.
"Selani? What are Selani doing all the way over here?"
"Helping," Tarrin answered. "I didn't ask them to come, but they insisted. Not that I'm going to tell them to go home."
"You know Selani?" Mikos asked curiously.
"I know alot of people, Mikos. Some of them you wouldn't like. Some of them would get me cast out of Fae-da'Nar if they knew I knew them."
"Like who?" Sathon asked with a grin.
"A Demon," Tarrin replied calmly. "A Demoness, to be precise. She's the one that did this to me," he added, holding out his arms to display his fetlocks, the visible symbol of his unnatural age.
"She attacks you, yet you don't take revenge on her?" Mikos asked in disapproval.
"I took a revenge on her she'll never forget," Tarrin said deliberately. "But it didn't dissuade her in the slightest. She likes me."
"It's dangerous when a Demon likes you, brother," Sathon laughed.
"True, but she also happens to be the new Empress of Yar Arak," he said conversationally. "She's lending the katzh-dashi a few Legions to aid in the defense of Suld. So I'll endure the fact that she likes me."
Sathon gave him a wild look, then he laughed. "Is there anyone not coming to Suld to help?" he asked.
"The Goblinoids, for one," Tarrin said with a slight smile.
"May their blood feed the ground," Mikos spat.
With a flourish of wings, Ariana landed just at the head of the column. She shivered her wings a few times before folding them behind her. "What did you need?" she asked.
"My dear, we need a report on what's ahead," Sathon told her. "What did you see?"
"Well, the village ahead looks to be quiet," she replied. "There are very few villagers moving around. There are some patrols of men wearing those Dal uniforms. There's a pack of wolves blocking the south road, and there's a force of about two hundred humans wearing green uniforms gathered to the north of the village, and they look to be about ready to attack."
"Green uniforms?" Tarrin asked.
Ariana nodded. "They're all carrying bows."
"Those are the Rangers," Tarrin told them. "They usually don't wear uniforms except when they're going to engage in an open battle. They must have had the same idea we did, to eliminate the Watch Hill garrison."
Sathon raised his fingers to his lips and blew out a very loud, shrill whistle. He'd used that whistle to recall the Were-cats scouting ahead. "Do they know we're here, Ariana?"
"I think so," she replied. "You passed one of them hiding in the forest, and he broke off and moved towards the others about ten minutes ago."
"You mean the Were-cats missed a human?" Mikos asked scathingly.
"I think they knew he was there, because that one with blue eyes actively avoided passing close to him," Ariana replied. "Since he's not in a Dal uniform, they probably ignored him."
"Probably," Sathon agreed. "Were-cats' senses are too sharp for them to miss something like that. At least unless the human was downwind."
"I never scented him," Tarrin admitted.
"Alright then. Why don't you pay those human soldiers a visit, my dear?" Sathon asked politely. "Tell them that we're getting set up, and if they would like some help defeating the Dals, just tell us what to do. Just be careful and don't get yourself shot."
"I'll be careful, Sathon," Ariana grinned. "Just give me a pen and some paper, and I'll drop a note to them before I land."
"A good idea," Sathon agreed. Tarrin felt him touch his Druidic ability, and a piece of parchment, writing quill, and inkpot appeared in his hands. "Let me write it, my dear. I don't think you know how to write in Sulasian."
"No, I'm afraid not," Ariana agreed with a chuckle.
Sathon scribbled out the note, then handed it to her from Mikos' back. "We'll wait here until you come back," he told the Aeradalla.
"I'll be back in a bit," she told him, turning, taking two steps, then vaulting into the air with a powerful sweep of her wings.
Tarrin felt a small paw grab him by the tail, so he looked back behind him. He saw Jasana holding onto his tail while gnawing on a large piece of trail bread, held in the other paw. Jesmind had a similar chunk of bread, which she broke in half and offered part of it to him. He nodded his thanks as he bit into it, finding it to be flat and not entirely pleasant tasting. "I saw her take off. What's she up to?" Jesmind asked.
"The Sulasian Rangers are massed up north of Watch Hill," Tarrin told her. "She's going to tell them we'll cooperate with any plan they have."
"When is it going to start?"
"I have no idea."
"I don't think Jasana should be around for something like that, my mate."
"I agree. I think she'll be alright without me for a while, as long as she doesn't get excited."
"That's not easy," Jasana chuckled. "She gets excited without anything helping her."
One by one, the other Were-cats came in from up the road, and one by one Sathon told them why they were waiting, then suggested they go get something to eat or take a short rest before the action started. Kimmie was the last one to come in, leading a riderless horse that was shying and bucking against the reins. Were-cats had a cat smell that wasn't entirely like a housecat when they were in their natural form, and that was close enough to a rock lion or cougar for horses for them to fear it. Only horses that had been approached the right way by a Were-cat showed no fear, to show them that the new, strange smell that was almost like a predator they were bred to fear really wasn't dangerous. Kimmie probably didn't approach the horse properly, so now it rebelled against her, thinking her to be an enemy.
"Why did we stop?" she asked, yanking on the reins. Kimmie wasn't as strong as most Were-cats, but that was a purely relative comparison. She still had inhuman power, and it was enough to snap the horse back down from its half-rear and startle the animal.
Tarrin shook his head and took the reins from her, then put his paw over the horse's muzzle. He held it firmly yet gently, making it inhale his scent, then he stroked the horse on the snouth gently. That made it calm down some, and it calmed down even more when Tarrin let the reins slack slightly and scratched the animal behind the ear. Tarrin was so tall that his eyes were over the horse's, and the horse looked up at him with a strange kind of curiosity. He reached behind its head and stroked the side of its neck, then he turned his back to it deliberately. The horse stepped up behind him, then nudged him slightly on the shoulder with its muzzle.