Of course, the current message traffic was enough to keep even the two of them busy for several hours a day, chan Geraith reflected.
“Just give me the highlights for now, then.”
“Yes, Sir. I don’t think there’s anything really critical at the moment. Tymar will have the complete movement report for Regiment-Captain chan Isail and Regiment-Captain chan Kymo shortly, but Brigade-Captain chan Bykahlar’s brigade should be detraining at the Resym railhead by sometime tomorrow afternoon, our time. Everything else is pretty much where it was with last night’s situation report.”
Chan Geraith nodded. No surprises there, thank the gods! In fact, chan Bykahlar was a bit ahead of where he’d expected him to be, based on the 3rd Infantry Brigade’s last reports. He and his people were still a long slog behind 3rd Dragoons’ spearhead, but they’d made up time. Whether or not they’d keep on making it up once they reached the end of the rails would be another matter, of course.
“That’s good to know,” he said after a moment. “And what have we heard this morning from Battalion-Captain chan Yahndar?”
“Company-Captain chan Mahsdyr’s lead platoon’s reached Tesmahn, Sir.” The Voice looked around at the icy snowscape, his expression a bit sour. “According to Company-Captain chan Mahsdyr, it’s unseasonably warm. He says it’s a good thing they’re having thunderstorms to cool things off a bit.”
Chan Geraith hid a smile behind his mustache. A certain irreverence was required for a successful dragoon officer, and young chan Mahsdyr had it in ample quantities. The division-captain never doubted that he’d included that weather report-and commentary-with malice aforethought.
“Well, maybe the thunderstorms will help keep the dragon problem down, as well,” he observed, the temptation to smile fading.
“The Company-Captain says they haven’t seen any sign of Arcanans on the ground yet, Sir. And his Plotters and Distance Viewers haven’t spotted any in the air, either.”
Chan Geraith pursed his lips thoughtfully at that.
He was glad chan Mahsdyr hadn’t seen any evidence of an Arcanan ground presence, but he hadn’t really been too worried about that in the first place. Given the way Gold Company’s Distance Viewers and Plotters had been reinforced, they were almost bound to detect any ground threat well before it came into visual range. According to the prisoner interrogation reports being passed down-chain in a steady stream, the Arcanans had spells which were considerably superior to binoculars, but they had no equivalent of Plotters or of the Distance Viewers’ ability (depending on the strength of their Talent) to See far beyond normal visual range. Unfortunately, he didn’t know what “visual range” might be for someone mounted on a dragon and several thousand feet in the air. He suspected it was probably greater than any but the most powerful of Distance Viewers could match, and on the broad, level plains between Tesmahn and the Nairsom-Thermyn portal, his advancing patrol would stand out like bugs crawling across a tabletop if happened to fly over them. So the fact that chan Mahsdyr hadn’t spotted any Arcanans yet didn’t guarantee the Arcanans hadn’t spotted him.
Well, we’ll just have to go on hoping they haven’t and operating on the worst-case assumption that they have…or will sometime very soon now, at any rate, he thought.
“I’ll want to pass a formal message down-chain to Battalion-Captain chan Yahndar and the Company-Captain after breakfast,” he said out loud, and chan Korthal nodded, making a mental note to remind his superior in the extremely unlikely event that chan Geraith forgot.
“In the meantime,” the division-captain went on, “I assume Master Yanusa-Mahrdissa’s been his usual efficient self and updated our vehicle availability numbers?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“In that case, if you’ll step into my office,” chan Geraith twitched his head in the direction of t his headquarters Mule, “we’ll just get out of the cold and enjoy a mug of hot tea while you bring me up to date on that.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
March 17
“Sir, I’m thinking you’d best hear this.”
Grithair chan Mahsdyr looked up at Senior-Armsman chan Golar from the sustaining (but not very appetizing) ration can of lima beans and yellow corn. Under normal circumstances, he would have been pleased by any excuse to divert his attention from its overcooked contents, but chan Golar’s expression wasn’t that of a man who’d come to exchange idle pleasantries.
“Hear what, Tersak?” the company-captain said, mess kit fork still in hand. He swallowed and pointed the fork at the young junior-armsman at the senior-armsman’s heels. “Should I assume I won’t like whatever chan Ynclair has to tell me?”
“Probably not, Sir,” chan Golar replied.
“In that case, Ignathar, you might as well get started.” He stuck the fork into the can and set it aside. “Whatever it is, at least it’ll distract me from lunch!”
Chan Ynclair smiled at the company-captain’s tone, but his eyes were serious.
“Tairkyn got close enough to the portal for a good Plot, Sir,” he said, and chan Mahsdyr’s lips tightened.
“And when he did, he found something, right?”
“Right, I’m afraid, Sir.”
“And did you get close enough to See what he’d Plotted?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Well, don’t make me pull it out of you one ‘Yes, Sir,’ at a time?” chan Mahsdyr said a bit tartly.
“Sorry, Sir. We didn’t See anything on this side of the portal, so we crossed the threshold to take a look at Fort Rensar. Once we were over the threshold, Tairkyn got a good Plot and told me he’d picked up forty or fifty men, a couple of dozen of those unicorn things of theirs, and something he’d never Plotted before, so I took a look. I make it forty-five men, ten of their unicorns, and a coop full of what I guess are those ‘hummers’ you’ve had us looking for. Well, ‘a coop full’ is probably a bit of an overstatement. There’re only six of them.”
“Wonderful.” Chan Mahsdyr sat back on the rock he was using as a chair and gazed sourly for several long, thoughtful moments into the small fire over which he’d heated his unappetizing meal. Chan Golar and chan Ynclair stood waiting patiently until he looked back up at them once more.
“Are they parked in Fort Rensar?” he asked.
“Not exactly, Sir. Looks like the fort burned to the ground when the Arcanans came through. These boys’re camped out on the hill behind it.”
“Camped out this time of year?” Chan Mahsdyr smiled nastily. “They’re actually under canvas?”
“Yes, Sir, they are. And they don’t seem too happy about it, either.”
“Can’t blame them for that, Sir,” chan Golar put in. Chan Mahsdyr glanced at him, and the senior-armsman’s expression was sour. “Not ’s bad as it was crossing Naisom, Sir, but I still wouldn’t half like spending the winter under canvas in these parts. Unless these bastards have some kind of magic windproof tent!”
“That they don’t, Senior-Armsman,” chan Ynclair said. “They do have some of those glowing rocks they use instead of fires, but these are some very unhappy troopers, and I don’t think blue’s their natural color.”