andloosed7
by the commander of his heavy cavalry, rode up to the ridge, seized by the legions a half hour earlier."If you want the next ridge, my boys can get there a lot faster than the turtles got here."
Gavin stood silent a moment, looking south down the slope. The trampled grass was the only sign of enemies. He shook his head.
"Council, my tent, after dinner."
In the tent, servants passed goblets of wine to the commanders of the two legions, the two cavalry commanders, Kyro. When all had been served, the commander spoke.
"Two hours back, Ivor offered to ride over to the next ridge and take it. Might be he could. Might be we'd be fighting the rest of the campaign without him and his boys. Some of you think I'm taking things too slow. I've seen one of Harald's battles—one too many—my left arm still aches when it's cold. Studied the others. There's a lot to be said for being careful."
Ivor looked up, surprised. "I thought the Valeslord was on the far side of the mountains keeping Artos awake. Wasn't that half the point of moving so early, before the pass is open?"
"The pass is closed, but that's not to say which side he's on. The wife of the Karl's king, Harald's ally, was brought to bed a few weeks back. He might have stayed the winter to welcome it. I wouldn't spend winter in the mountains if I had a choice.
"I hope he's Artos's problem. Anyone hear what Artos said when he got the news, last time we crossed south?"
Kyro nodded, hesitated, spoke.
"He said Harald was a sorcerer. His special trick is making armies disappear."
"Not this one. We're all the army His Highness has, pretty near, and I plan to bring it back to him. Hope to bring news we hold the Karls' border holds, but I'm not