Tarrin was up well before the dawn, but he wasn't the only one. Both Jesmind and Kimmie were up at the same time as him, Jesmind because he disturbed her sleep. Kimmie asked him to come upstairs as Jesmind pulled on her shirt and got ready to go wake up Jasana. When he got there, he found her going through the trunk at the foot of his bed, where he'd kept his clothes. She had on a pair of his leather buckskin breeches, which actually fit her rather well, and was rummaging through the chest looking for a shirt. He was surprised that a woman could fit into his breeches, which had been made for a man's hips, but when he took a closer look he realized that they'd been altered somehow. Kimmie said she'd learned a few magic spells, so he figured that she'd used her magic to change the fit to suit her.
"I thought I'd ask before I went any further," she said, glancing at him.
"You're more than welcome to anything that fits. Or anything you can make fit," he added.
"You have a sharp eye," she said with a smile.
"They're my clothes," he countered. "Magic?"
"A cantrip, actually," she told him, pulling out a loose linen shirt that was so worn that it was almost see-through. She held it up critically, then nodded and started pulling it on. "I'll feel strange in this, but I can't run very well in a dress."
"You'll do more than feel strange in that," he said calmly, looking at her bosom rather deliberately. "You'll be trailing along quite a line of appreciative young men."
"I think a vest will fix that," she said with a glance down and a laugh. "You should have thrown it away before it got so thin."
"I don't have to defend my modesty there," he noted, absently Conjuring forth a buckskin vest that matched the breeches, that should fit her rather well.
She pulled it on and buttoned it, then held up her arms and made a quick turn. "Am I defending the virtue of young men now?" she asked winsomely.
"Looks like it to me," he nodded. "Come downstairs, we'll be leaving in just a bit."
Tarrin went downstairs in time to gather up Jasana in his arms. His daughter looked a little sleepy, rubbing her face before holding her arms out to him. "Are we leaving now?" she asked in a slightly disjointed voice.
"In a bit," he told her. "I think it'd be best if we had something to eat first. Want to help me go wake up the others?"
"Umm," she hummed, putting her arm around his neck.
"It'll take too long to cook," Jesmind said fretfully, looking out the kitchen window. "If we want to get to Aldreth before dawn, we'll have to leave in just a little while."
"I'm going to take care of that," he told her. "It's a special case, so it's not cheating. Unless you want to cook for nine inside fifteen minutes."
Jesmind chuckled. "I think I'll let it slide this time," she told him with a wink. "Should I bother getting out the dishes?"
"No," he told her, carrying Jasana out the front door.
Instead of just going to each building, he decided that it would be much easier to call them out. "Alright, people, let's get up!" he shouted very loudly from the porch. "Breakfast is going to be ready in just a bit. Anyone not at the table doesn't eat!"
"I could have done that," Jesmind criticized from the doorway.
"I thought of it first," he told her.
"We can't fit everyone in here."
"I'm going to do it outside," he told her. "Just come out when you're ready."
Tarrin padded off the porch, then set Jasana down. She stood by him as he raised both his arms and reached within, through the Cat, finding the core of power that was the All. He had become so proficient at Conjuring that he could do it almost without thinking anymore, and the speed at which a long table, benches, and a huge meal that would feed twice as many as it was intended to feed appeared was quite impressive.
"Was that what I'm going to learn, papa?" Jasana asked curiously. "I felt something strange, but it didn't feel like what you did before."
"I just used Druidic magic, cub," he told her. "I'm not sure if you can learn that."
"Oh." She looked at the table. "Is all that real?"
"Very real, cub," he nodded as Jesmind and Kimmie came out of the house. "Why don't you find a seat and get some breakfast?"
"Umm," she sounded, then ambled over to the table and crawled up onto a bench. Tarrin watched her, considering. If she felt him use Druidic magic, then she too had more than just a touch of Druidic ability. Maybe enough to use some magic. And since her powers of Sorcery had awakened in her at such an incredibly tender age, maybe that meant that any possible Druidic ability also would manifest early. Either way, he definitely had to talk to Sathon or Triana about that. Sorcery, he could control. He didn't know enough about Druidic power to be able to throttle that in another Druid the way Sarraya or Triana could.
The first of the others to appear was Ariana, floating down from the hayloft in the big barn. She trotted over with a gleaming look in her eyes. "Where do I sit?" she asked immediately. "I'm starving!"
"Wherever, and feel free to eat as much as you want," he told her.
In pairs, the other Were-cats came out of their temporary shelters and sat down to eat as Tarrin, Kimmie, and Jesmind did the same. Jeri was yawning about every other moment, often yawning in the middle of chewing. Singer didn't look entirely awake either. Regardless of that, the eight Were-cats showed the Aeradalla that Were-cats could eat, forcing the winged woman to pile anything onto her plate that she even thought she may want to eat. All of them seemed to forget the simple fact that Tarrin could simply Conjure more, as much as was needed. Instead of thinking about that, they all quickly claimed the majority of the food spread out on the table, and went about the task of eating it in relative silence.
After the meal was nearly over, as only Rahnee, Tarrin, and Thean continued to eat, Jeri yawned again, widely. Kimmie glanced at the youngling and chuckled, putting her chin on her paws and looking at him. "Sleepy, Jeri?" she asked.
He nodded woodenly. "I didn't sleep at all last night," he complained. "Rahnee kept me up, and even after we were done, I still couldn't sleep."
"That's not my fault," Rahnee told him with a nudge.
"I know, it's just that this is all so interesting," he said. "I've never been in an army before. I've never marched off to war before."
"Neither have I," Thean said absently, taking a long drink of water from a flagon. "We usually steer clear of things like this, cub."
"I know the law, Thean," Jeri said defensively. "But I still can't help but get excited at the idea."
"What's so exciting about two groups trying to kill each other?" Singer asked.
"Not that, Singer, the other things."
"What other things?"
"Meeting alot of humans in their land," he told her. "Seeing Centaurs and Were-kin and humans all working together. Going to do something that really matters, even if I have no idea what that is."
Ariana chuckled. "If you have no idea what we're doing, why did you come?" she asked him.
"Triana told me to come, so here I am," he said simply.
"Who is this Triana?"
"My mother," Jesmind answered. "You could more or less think of her as the ruler of the Were-cats. We don't have any organized rulership among us, but Triana is the oldest and strongest of us all. So when she says do something, you do it. It doesn't matter what it is or how stupid it may seem, you do it anyway."
Thean chuckled, and Singer nodded. "Nobody disobeys Triana. We're not that crazy."
"She's your queen, then?"
"That kind of formality is beyond us, my dear," Thean told her patiently. "But if you want to know who the top cat is in our race, you need look no further than Triana."
"We obey her because she'll kill us if we don't," Rahnee told the Aeradalla bluntly. "Were-cats don't take orders well. It takes someone like Triana to get us to gather and work together like this."
"Well, if she's not here, how do you decide who's in charge?"
"If you want to pin that kind of title on someone, look right over there," Thean told her, pointing at Tarrin. "He's the closest thing to leader we have right now."
"Why is that?"
"The same reason we obey Triana," Thean smiled. "Tarrin can thrash anyone sitting at this table. In our society, that makes him the dominant, so we'd obey him if he ordered us to do something."
"Forgive me for saying it, but I don't understand at all," Ariana said with a shake of her head.
"We're very simple people, Ariana," Thean said patiently. "We're part animal, so those animal instincts play a big role in how we behave and relate to others. Strength and power are the keys of dominion in our animal instincts, so that carries over to how we interact with one another socially. The biggest, strongest Were-cat is the dominant, and that makes him or her the leader if we cooperate like we're doing now. We obey because we acknowledge that strength. If two Were-cats were of generally equal strength, they'd probably fight to establish who was the dominant. Like Rahnee and Jesmind there," he said, pointing. "If me and Tarrin weren't here, it would come down to them. Since they're of similar size and age, they'd probably have to fight to determine who was the stronger. The winner would be the dominant, and everyone else would obey her."
"I see you put yourself right behind Tarrin," Ariana said with a grin.
"It's simple truth, Ariana. It's not something we brag about," he said mildly. "I know I'm stronger than everyone here but Tarrin. If he weren't here, I'd be the dominant, so I'd lead."
"You mean that's all there is to it? Whoever's strongest rules? No considering things like intelligence or ability?"
"Not usually," Thean chuckled. "Strength and power are usually much more important than age or wisdom. Though we do consider wisdom to be an aspect of power, it's physical strength that Were-cats consider most."
"That's twisted, Thean."
"That's how we do things, my dear. Since you're not a Were-cat, you don't have to worry about it, now do you?"
She laughed helplessly. "I guess I don't at that," she agreed. "You Were-cats are an unusual breed."
"Thank you," Thean told her with a smile. "We like to stand out."
Ariana glanced at him, then laughed again.
After breakfast, and after Tarrin banished the remnants of the breakfast and furniture he had created, the others gathered near the cart track leading to Aldreth. Nobody carried much more than what they were wearing, which gave the scene an eerie sense that they were doing nothing more than taking a quick trip to the village. The reality was that nobody was coming back here for quite a while. Tarrin paused to look back at the small farm that had been his home, still was his home, would always be his home, and quietly reflected on the changes it had brought to his life. He had found a daughter he didn't know he had, and he had patched things up with Jesmind-more or less. He'd met Kimmie, whose insightful observations of Were-cats and himself had caused him to have serious thoughts about the future. Truth be told, her idea of forming something of a rotational system of mates wasn't that bad of an idea. But what was probably most important of all, the farm, being there even for a few days, it had been good for him. He'd had a chance to rest, to recover, to spend a couple of days without worrying too much about what was coming. It had been something he had needed.
He thrusted a finger into Jasana's nose. "You stay out of it this time," he warned her sharply.
"Yes, papa," she said demurely, putting her paws behind her back.
Reaching out, Tarrin made the connection with the Weave, then drew in its might. His paws limned over with Magelight as he drew in the power of High Sorcery, and he raised them as the first framework of the Ward began to form around the farm. He wove it with flows of Divine, Air, and Mind, the normal elements of a blocking Ward; Divine to grant the Ward its unique powers, Air to form the physical barrier that would prevent people from crossing it, Mind to establish the parameters of who was allowed to cross it and who was not, and only token flows of the other Spheres to allow the Ward to attain a size and power unreachable with standard Sorcery. Had Tarrin used a killing Ward, like the one surrounding Aldreth, it would have been built from nothing but Mind and Divine. Tarrin wove it together with an ease that belied the complexity and difficult process of forming such a large and strong Ward, and then he spun off the seven flows from a nearby strand, pulled them to form a new strand, and then attached it to the core of the Ward. That gave the Ward an endless supply of power, and would render it permanent.
The air around the farm shimmered when the Ward was released and became active, and then it quickly vanished.
"What did you just do, lad?" Thean asked curiously.
"I put a Ward around the farm," he replied. "It will only allow Were-cats to pass. It'll last until either me or Jenna removes it."
Jesmind nodded approvingly; he told her he was going to do that to protect their home while they were gone. "Clever, lad, clever," Thean chuckled. "Jenna is your sister, right?"
Tarrin nodded. "She has magical powers similar to mine. She's the only one other than me who matters that could remove the Ward."
"I've never quite understood Wards," Thean told him as they started towards the village. "They seem very much out of character for the nature of Sorcery."
"We have time," Tarrin told him. "I'll explain them to you."
There wasn't any sense of urgency as the eight Were-cats and the Aeradalla walked to Aldreth, for they had left in plenty of time to get there before dawn. It was almost seemed like something other than what it was, for everyone's spirits were generally high. It didn't seem like they were marching off to war. Jesmind did glance back towards the farm on any number of occasions, but she did seem to be at least a little happy about the idea of travelling. Were-cats liked to wander around sometimes, and the years of staying in one place had probably gotten her to at least partially like the idea of taking a trip. Tarrin watched her, and told himself that he should go out of his way to make his mate happy and entertained. He knew she was going against her will, so he should make that up to her.
The festive mood changed when they passed the treeline and looked out on Aldreth. There were so many Woodkin there! They had camped on the open fields to the north of the village, and there had to be a thousand of them! Most of them were Centaurs, a veritable army of them, all of them already awake and breaking down the frugal camps they had erected for the night, getting ready to move out. There were considerable numbers of humans interspersed with the Centaurs, but Tarrin knew that they were Were-kin in human form. Some of them had erected tents, which were being packed up in preparation to move. The village was just as busy as the camps outside of it, as the villagers scurried about, wives carrying things to their husbands as they checked their gear or saddled horses or helped someone who was leaving prepare for his journey. Standing in the middle of it all were Garyth, Jak, and Sathon, as Garyth shouted commands and suggestions to his villagers as Sathon seemed to advise the portly mayor on what was best to take and what was best to leave behind. To Tarrin's surprise, two more Were-cats stood near to Sathon, and Tarrin recognized one of them as Shayle. The other turned around, and he recognized that grayish-furred, slight Were-cat as Nikki. Triana's other two daughters, who were supposed to be in the area, had really been in the area after all. They had come to the village first, just like everyone else, but for some reason they had stayed there.
Tarrin and the others moved into the village-or at least they would have if Tarrin hadn't suddenly stopped when he crossed the Ward. "Stop!" he barked sharply in Ariana's direction. All of them obeyed him instantly. Tarrin growled in chagrin when he realized that he had forgotten about the Ward, had forgotten that Ariana wasn't human. Had she gone five more steps, she wouldn't have lived to take a sixth. "Ariana, listen to me very carefully," he said with a quiet intensity that got her complete attention. "I want you to back up, straight back, and don't try to turn around until you've taken at least five steps. Don't come any closer to the village than this, and don't try to fly over it."
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"The Ward," Jasana said in observation. "Papa made a Ward."
"It's a killing Ward, Ariana," he told her. "If you touch it, it's going to kill you. I completely forgot that it would affect you. I'm sorry."
"Well, no harm done," she grinned. "I guess I should feel happy you think of me like I'm one of your own." She pointed towards the camp. "I'll go over there and introduce myself. Just come get me when we're ready, alright?"
"Alright. Just be careful."
"I know where it is now, so I'll know where not to go," she told him with a smile and a nod. Then she obediently took five steps backwards, turned, then walked towards the camp.
"That was close," Tarrin blew out his breath.
"Close doesn't matter as much when it ends the right way, lad," Thean told him philosophically.
Tarrin blew out his breath, then he started forward again.
Garyth held out his hand to Tarrin when they reached him and Jak, and Sathon quickly ambled over from where he was talking with one of the village wives, Mari Twostone. Jesmind took Jasana in paw and immediately went over to her sisters, then they withdrew a few steps to greet one another and give Jesmind a chance to show off Jasana to them. "I was about to send a runner for you, Tarrin," Garyth told him as Tarrin took his hand, swallowing it up in his paw. "Are you and your friends ready to move?"
"We're ready, Garyth," he replied. "Are you ready?"
"They'll be ready in just a bit, Sathon told me," Garyth replied. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to stay here, lad, so you make sure to remember everything that happens so you'll have a story to tell me."
"I thought you were going."
"So was I, but Sathon convinced me that I'd serve Aldreth better if I stay behind," he replied. "The Centaurs have agreed to obey my orders, and I'm already talking with the leader of the Centaurs that are going to stay about defense."
"I guess it would be best," Tarrin agreed. "That way there's someone here that's clearly in charge."
"Exactly why I asked him to stay," Sathon told him as he reached the Were-cats. "Mikos is going to command the host to Watch Hill, then the commander of the Rangers that is supposed to meet us there is going to assume command."
"You got a Centaur to agree to take commands from a human?" Rahnee asked with a laugh. "How many times did you have to hit him with the stick?"
"Mikos doesn't know anything about human style fighting, Rahnee, and he knows that," Sathon said cooly. "He's smart enough to know when to follow the orders of another." Sathon ripped a hot gaze across them all. "And that goes for all of you too," he ordered. "You'll obey the human commander, or you can go home."
"I think I can work with the humans," Jeri told Sathon quickly. "Just tell me where to go and what to do, and I'll be fine."
"Why should I obey a human?" Rahnee snorted.
"Because if you don't, you could get a whole bunch of men killed," Sathon said scathingly. "This is war, woman, not two Were-cats fighting over a male. Your actions can kill a great many other people."
"I still don't see why."
"You'll do it because I say you'll do it," Tarrin told her with an icy stare and an emotionless, ominous expression, drawing himself up to his full height and staring down at the smaller Were-cats with a stance that all but emanated his strength and power. "Any Were-cat that wants to argue with me about it can speak up right now."
Rahnee's entire body posture shifted at Tarrin's flat statement. Her shoulders sagged slightly and she looked up at him with a slightly lowered head. That was a stance of submissiveness, a posture that told him that Rahnee would obey. "As you say, Tarrin," Rahnee said with quiet, controlled tones. Rahnee was proud, but she knew better than to challenge him. She was older than him, but his sheer strength was something she could not deny or overcome.
"Do I make myself clear?" he called to the others in a strong voice.
"Quite clear," Thean said with a nod, and the others nodded or lowered their heads in submission to him.
"I think you all will do fine," Sathon said with a nod. "Tarrin understands human warfare, so he'll make sure you all do what you need to do."
"You'll have to excuse me, lad," Garyth told him with a short smile. "I need to go talk to the Centaurs. Jak, you go find Karn and travel with him."
"Karn's going?" Tarrin asked.
"He intends to pay them back for burning down his forge," Garyth chuckled. "Besides, he's a Dal as well, and he knows the language. Having a Dal along may be useful for our side."
"It could," Tarrin agreed.
"I'll go find him, Garyth," Jak said. "See you later, Tarrin."
"See you later," Tarrin said in farewell as Jak trotted off towards the inn.
The Were-cats more or less dispersed at that point, for there was nothing for them to do but wait. Thean and Singer wandered towards the inn, Rahnee and Jeri moved to follow Jak, but Kimmie stayed where she was, deciding that staying with Tarrin and Jesmind and her sisters and daughter was better than anything else. Nikki and Shayle came over with Jesmind after the others broke up, Shayle holding Jasana in her arms. "My goodness, Tarrin, mother wasn't kidding when she said you'd grown," Shayle told him with a smile.
"A long story," he told her. "You two are looking good."
"Thanks," Nikki said with a smile. Nikki seemed a little different somehow, but he couldn't quite pin down what it was. She was a petite Were-cat, about Kimmie's size, with Thean's grayish striped fur and her mother's tawny hair and face. She was wearing what was more or less a standard among Were-cats, a pair of leather breeches and a stout shirt, hers made of brown wool, with loose, flared sleeves. Shayle was tall and willowy, with strangely narrow hips and a flat chest compared to her sisters-traits that set her apart from the rather buxom and voluptuous females of the Were-cat race-but she had a very cute face with a cherubic smile, and her mother's tawny hair and tabby-orange striped fur. Shayle was wearing the same style of clothing that she'd been wearing when he met her nearly a year ago, a pair of buckskin breeches and a simple sleeveless leather haltar-like half-shirt that left her midriff bare. Tarrin liked both of them. Shayle was very mellow, and Nikki had a youthful exuberance about her, just like Jeri, that was almost contagious in those around her. "Have things gone alright for you since you left Shoran's Fork, Tarrin?"
"Well enough," he said. "You're joining us?"
"If you'll have us," Nikki said cautiously.
"We have plenty of room for you, Nikki," Tarrin assured her. "I see you met your niece."
"Jasana? Oh, I've dropped by a couple of times since she was born to look in on her," Shayle said, bouncing Jasana slightly in her arms. "Isn't that right, cub?"
"Umm," Jasana agreed. "Auntie Shayle's come to see me three times."
"You certainly look different, Kimmie," Shayle noted to her.
"It's not easy to run in a dress, Shayle," Kimmie said mildly.
"It certainly looks better on you than those gods-awful dresses you insist on wearing," Shayle grinned.
"There's nothing wrong with wearing a dress," Kimmie said primly.
"Of course not, but good grief, woman, go look at what's the latest fashion!" Shayle told her with a cherubic grin. "If you're going to wear a dress, wear one with style!"
"I like function as a fashion statement, Shayle."
"And it keeps all the males' eyes off you. Advertise, girl! A little cleavage reels them in faster than if you took off your dress and paraded around naked."
"Really?" Kimmie said archly.
"Of course. Even Were-cat males get caught up in the allure of seeing what's being hidden from them. It's a universal male trait, you know."
"You're getting bad in your old age, Shayle," Jesmind laughed.
"You're older than me, sister dear," Shayle said blandly. "If I'm bad, you're worse."
"I never pretended to be anything but bad," Jesmind winked.
Nikki cut them off by approaching Tarrin and boldly grabbing his wrist. She turned his paw palm up, then tugged at the fetlocks growing from the outsides and lower quarters of his lower forearms. "What are these?"
"Fetlocks," Shayle answered. "That means that your size is a matter of age," she reasoned. "What happened to you?"
"Papa was made old by a mean old winged lady," Jasana told her.
"That's the short of it," Tarrin chuckled. "This is what happens when you're attacked by a Succubus," he told them, motioning to his height.
"A Succubus?" Shayle said in surprise. "How did you ever end up facing something like that?"
"Not by choice, believe me," he told her. "I'll tell you about it while we travel."
"I'd like to hear that story," Nikki said eagerly.
"You like to hear any story, little sister," Jesmind teased.
"I can't help it if I like to hear stories," Nikki shrugged.
"You should read, then."
"I do. But there's just something about a story told by a person that makes it better than written on a page. It's just better, somehow."
Jesmind was about to comment, but Sathon's magically augmented voice, booming across the village and the fields, interrupted them. "Alright, let's gather on the road and get ready to move out!" he called. "Those outside the village, remember to circle around to the south, and don't get within a half-longspan of any building!"
"Sounds like it's time to go," Jesmind sighed, taking Jasana from Shayle.
"Time to go," Tarrin mirrored, moving towards the road leading to Watch Hill. He'd only been in Aldreth for a few short days, but the time had completely changed his life. He knew he'd come back, someday. He'd made a promise, and he'd realized that the village and the farm were all the home he had ever known, and the only place where he could go that would feel right to be his home. He would come back to Aldreth, and when he did, he would come back to stay. He didn't know what would happen while he was away from the small village, located about as far from human civilization one could get and still be considered in human lands, but what he did know was that the next time he saw Aldreth, it would be through the eyes of a free male. Unfettered by his quest or the burdens placed upon him, unrestricted by the needs of others. He would come home free, and he would live the rest of his life free.
It was much to look forward to.
Moving at a brisk walk, Tarrin moved at the head of the long column of Centaurs and transformed Were-kin, with the men of Aldreth nestled safely in their center. Tarrin walked along with Jasana riding on his shoulders, Jesmind on one side and Sathon riding on the back of Mikos on the other. They had moved steadily southwest all day, as the other Were-cats ranged ahead to scout the road and kill any solitary or straggling Dal soldiers or messengers. They often brought back their horses, singly or in groups, and they proved their worth on that first day by eliminating nearly half of the garrison of Dal soldiers at Watch Hill without even getting there. Unlike the soldiers that had been at Aldreth, the Watch Hill garrison did patrol the road, did range about to seek out Rangers and farmers turned partisans. What they invariably found that day was a Were-cat looking to separate their heads from their bodies.
The Watch Hill garrison commander had to know that something was wrong by now, Tarrin was sure of it. They were about three longspans out from the village situated at the top of the small hill that gave it its name, and that garrison commander had gone a whole day without a single man sent to patrol the north road coming back. That had to have raised all sorts of warning flags in Watch Hill, a sure sign that something was coming to worry about, but Tarrin really wasn't that concerned. Mikos had sent a pack of Were-wolves ahead, to have them circle around the village and ambush any Dal messenger or soldier riding towards Torrian, but not riding into Watch Hill, in order to keep news of the attack from getting there too soon. That was a wise move in Tarrin's opinion, and that also allowed them to assault Watch Hill at their leisure, without fear of someone escaping to warn Torrian.
That assault was going to be within the hour. It was about three hours after noon, having travelled the distance much faster than he had done so the first time, and that gave them plenty of time to attack the Dals in Watch Hill and make camp afterwards. They were supposed to meet the Rangers in Watch Hill, but so far there had been no sign of them. The Were-cats ranging ahead were only attacking men in Dal uniforms, so there was little chance that they were killing Rangers by accident. If the Rangers weren't there, that was alright. Mikos' Centaurs and the Were-kin were more than sufficient to assault a depleted garrison.
"Still no sign of these humans," Mikos snorted. "And we are within striking distance of the village. What should we do, Sathon?"
Tarrin was surprised that Mikos knew that, for he doubted that any Centaur had travelled so far into human lands. Nearly all of them went to Aldreth.
"Well, let's wait for that Aeradalla to return and tell us what we're facing, and we'll decide after we know," he replied.
"We have enough to take out the garrison if the Rangers don't show up in time," Tarrin said. "I doubt that the garrison is more than fifty men. The Were-cats have killed a good many of them already."
"My reasoning as well," Mikos agreed with another snort, as if it were a crime to agree with a Were-cat. "It would be best to stop here, before any realize we are so close."
"A good idea," Sathon agreed.
"Column, halt!" Mikos boomed in a voice they probably heard in Watch Hill. "Rest!"
Tarrin set down Jasana, who kept hold of his leg for a moment. "I'm hungry," she complained.
"So am I, cub," Tarrin told her. "I think we can find something to eat around here."
"I'll get you something, cub," Jesmind told her, holding her paw out to her. Jasana took it, and Jesmind led her off towards the middle of the column. Tarrin turned and looked up into the sky, and managed to spot Ariana ghosting across the base of a low-lying cloud. The sky was a bit threatening, with a bank of clouds hanging to the north, being pushed down by the Skydancer Mountains. The thunderstorms that could form about that time of year could be savage, but the prime of the storm season was still some rides away. Ariana was carrying a shaeram, so he could contact her. He grabbed hold of his amulet and called her name. "We need to talk to you, Ari," he told her. "Could you land?"
"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.
"That's something I didn't think I'd see," Sathon chuckled. "Where did you learn to handle horses?"
"I was born human, Sathon, and my father spent half his life on horseback," Tarrin said dismissively as Jasana padded up to look at the horse with curious eyes. "I learned how to handle horses when I was Jasana's size." He reached down and picked up his daughter, then set her in the saddle still strapped to the horse's back. "Gently now, cub, and don't scratch him with your claws," Tarrin told her as she giggled and reached forward to put her paws on the animal's fur coat. "Horses are very nervous animals, so you have to be kind and delicate with them."
"I'll be careful, papa," she assured him, patting the horse's back gently.
"I never did like horses," Jesmind said with a snort. "Now I'll have to wash that smell off of her."
"Anyway, to answer your question, Kimmie, the Aeradalla found the human Rangers we're supposed to meet here. They're formed up to attack the village, so she's going to tell them that we're here and we're willing to help."
"I saw a human in a Ranger's uniform not too long ago," Kimmie mused. "I left him alone, I figured he was a scout. I'm sure they knew we were here before Ariana dropped in on them."
"True, but now they know that we'll coordinate with them," the Druid told her. "Go take a break while you can, my dear. We may be moving fast in just a few moments."
"What is this, mama?" Jasana asked. Tarrin turned to look, and saw that she had a sword half drawn from where it had been stowed under the stirrup.
"It's a sword, cub," Tarrin told her sharply. "It's not a toy. Put it back."
"Yes, papa," she said obediently, letting the weapon go. It dropped back into the scabbard on its own.
"Where'd you get the horse?" Tarrin asked Kimmie.
"About a longspan up the road," she replied. "The man riding it seemed to be very nervous for some reason. I think he was a scout sent out by the garrison because we've killed all the other scouts and patrols."
"I figured as much," he grunted. "Those Rangers had better be ready to move soon. The Dals have to know that something is seriously wrong, and they're going to start preparing for a fight."
"Why don't you just go magic them, papa?" Jasana asked innocently.
"Because I don't like to do that, cub," he answered seriously. "There's always a risk I'll hurt an innocent person by accident. I don't use magic like that unless I don't have any other choice."
"Quit yammering on about things you have no business talking about, cub," Jesmind chided her daughter.
"Yes, mama," Jasana sighed.
"There's the winged one," Mikos announced, pointing to the sky. Ariana landed just behind the horse and stepped up to them.
"The leader of the Rangers told me to tell you to come up to the edge of the village, but stay out of sight," she said to Sathon and Mikos. "He'll give us about an hour, because I told him you were a few longspans from the village. We're supposed to charge the village when we hear someone blow on a horn three times. He asked me to make sure whoever you brought with you doesn't kill the villagers," she said pointedly.
"My Centaurs know Dal uniforms," Mikos told her. "I'm sure the Were-kin know too."
"He told me to tell you that the new building at the top of the hill, by the burned building, is the Dal barracks," she continued. "He wants you to attack that building first."
"Then that is what will happen," Mikos said confidently. "Ardo, spread the order, just as the Aeradalla stated it," he called back to one of the Centaur following them. "We attack the new building by the burned ruins at the top of the hill when the signal is given, and we kill only men in Dal uniforms."
"As you order, Mikos," the other Centaur said, thumping his chest before turning and galloping back to the main host.
"Ariana, please go back to the human commander and tell him we'll be ready," Sathon asked politely of the Aeradalla.
"Of course, Sathon," she said with a smile. "I kind of like him," she admitted. "He's a nice man. He even has a nice name."
"And what is it?" Kimmie asked.
"Arren."
Tarrin's ears picked up. "Duke Arren?" he asked quickly. "A tall man with graying black hair and a strong jaw?"
"That's him," Ariana replied. "Do you know him?"
"Yes, I know him, Ari," he replied with a chuckle. "I was turned in his keep in Torrian, so I have good reason to remember him."
Jesmind sighed, then reached up and put her paw on his shoulder. She probably thought that it was a bad memory for him, but truth be told, it wasn't much of a memory at all. The events that had caused his turning had been lost in the mists of his mind. He only remembered that he and Jesmind had fought, and that somewhere during the course of it she had bitten him.
"All things considered, Arren's keep was a good place to have that kind of thing happen. Arren was a kind and considerate man, and his cooperation helped me a great deal. I'm glad he's here. I'll be happy to see him again."
"I'll tell him you're looking forward to seeing him," Ariana said, then she turned and vaulted into the air.
"Alright then, let's get into position," Sathon said crisply, patting Mikos on his back.
"Jesmind, why don't you wait here with Jasana?" Tarrin asked. "I'd like to keep both of you out of harm's way."
"I can take care of myself, Tarrin," she said indignantly.
"I know that," he said smoothly, "but I also don't want to expose Jasana to danger."
"I'll stay with them, Tarrin," Kimmie offered. "Jasana likes me, and that way there will be two here in case something sneaks by you."
Tarrin nodded appreciatively. "Is that alright with you, Jesmind?"
"That's fine," she agreed.
"Come on, little rat," Kimmie grinned at Jasana, taking her paw. "You and me and your mother are going to play for a while."
"Can we go hunting? Can we fish? Can we climb trees and scare the squirrels?" Jasana asked enthusiastically.
"I saw a stream not too far over that way," Kimmie said, pointing north. "I think there might be some fish in it with our names on them."
"That sounds like a good idea," Jesmind agreed with a smile. "We'll be over there, my mate."
"We'll send someone when it's safe," Tarrin told her, taking her paw for a moment, then watching his mate, daughter, and friend pad off into the forest. Tarrin felt much better knowing that Jesmind would have a second pair of eyes helping to protect his cub. And it looked like Kimmie and Jasana knew each other, and that Jasana liked her. That was also a good thing.
"Alright then, let's get ready," Sathon said after the three of them disappeared into the trees.
Woodkin were at home in the forest, and it showed as they quickly and quietly moved up to the edge of the treeline, looking out on the small hill on which the village was situated, and settled in with speed and stealth. Even the large Centaurs had little trouble moving up to that position without so much as breaking a twig on the ground, and their brown or mottled or reddish coats blended in with the forest to give them camoflage. The Were-kin were all in their hybrid forms, and like that it was easy to tell the Were-wolves from the Were-bears from the Were-boars from the Were-foxes from the Were-rats from the Were-lions. They all looked remarkably akin to Wikuni, with their fur and animal heads situated atop humanoid bodies. In that hybrid form, they would enjoy all the Were immunities and gifts, the things the Were-cats enjoyed all the time. While in human form, a Were-kin was as frail and vulnerable as a human. Only in hybrid or animal form did they gain their Were resistances.
The Aldreth villagers with the Woodkin didn't disappoint their sylvan companions. All of the men were experienced hunters, and they set up with their bows near the road, setting up with a quiet efficiency that surprised the Centaurs that set up to either side of them to protect the fragile humans. Bows were strung and arrows checked, then they too settled in and waited for the signal.
Tarrin found himself crouching in the brush right on the edge of the treeline with Thean on one side and a Were-bear on the other. Tarrin didn't know the Were-bear, but it plopped down beside him without so much as batting an eye, then smiled at him and nodded as it crouched down into the brush so its shaggy brown coat would blend into the shadows. Were-bears were pretty easy going creatures, mellow and laid back, and they didn't mind Were-cats all that much. They were one of the few Were-kin that didn't have a bad opinion of the Were-cats.
"Now comes the waiting," Thean whispered. "You know humans, lad. When will they call for us?"
"Whenever Arren thinks we're ready," he replied quietly. "If he said an hour, knowing Arren, it'll be exactly one hour after Ariana left with the message."
"It's a shame we have to do things this way," the Were-bear said with a low rumble and obvious sadness in his voice. "Violence is so wasteful."
"Sometimes you have to oppose the violent with violence," Tarrin told him quietly. "It's all they understand."
"Truly," the Were-bear rumbled in assent.
"Look there," Thean hissed, pointing out towards the village. A pair of Dal soldiers trotted down from the hill on horses, and they were moving towards the Aldreth road. They got to within about fifty spans of the treeline when one of them suddenly jerked backwards, then toppled out of the saddle. The other whirled his horse around, but then he too fell from the saddle and laid still on the road as the horses bolted back towards the village.
"Why did they do that?" the Were-bear asked.
"I think they were afraid the men would spot them," Tarrin replied. "It was probably a good idea."
"How so?"
"They didn't make any sound when they fell. It's going to take the Dals a few moments to realize their scouts were killed."
The Were-bear looked about to say something, but they all heard a thin blast of a horn from a distance away. It blew again, and then a third time. That was the signal.
"Not that it matters now," the Were-bear chuckled. "Let's get this unpleasant business overwith."
"Well said," Tarrin said as a sudden roaring cry erupted from their side of the forest. The Centaurs charged out of their concealed positions with bows in hand, surrounding the villagers who did the same, but were quickly falling behind their four-legged compatriots. Tarrin was the first in their little pod to crash through the treeline and into open ground, but instead of rushing forward, he pulled up and reached out to the Weave. He found his connection with it and drew in the power of High Sorcery, feeling it flow into him. His paws limned over in Magelight as he collected up sufficient magic to perform the spell he intended, and raised his paws as he wove together a rather volatile weave of Fire, Air, and Divine energy, with token flows of the other Spheres to grant the weave the power of High Sorcery. He would need that boost in power to make the spell reach such a great distance. Had he been closer, High Sorcery wouldn't have been necessary, for the spell wasn't actually very powerful.
A ball of pure fire appeared in his paw, replacing the Magelight, and Tarrin pushed his paw in the direction of the village in a throwing motion. The ball of fire streaked from his paw, leaving behind it a fiery trail of smoke and embers, but embers that did not ignite the grass or thatched roofs over which it travelled as it homed in on its target with magically induced accuracy. Tarrin controlled the ball of fire, and caused it to unerringly strike its target.
The ball struck the roof of the new building of chinked logs, the Dal barracks, and it settled into the thatched roof of the building quickly. A nice little fire blossomed up from the thatch, which would allow anyone inside time to flee while managing to cause distraction and confusion among the Dals for a critical moment while the Rangers and the Woodkin closed the distance. Tarrin had considered just incinerating the building, but there may be innocent villagers inside it.
That was the beginning of a short and decidedly one-sided battle. The Dals had been expecting trouble, but the fire in the barracks managed to confuse them for the critical moment that prevented them from organinzing to meet the two disparate forces attacking from the northwest and the east. The first men to draw blood were the villagers of Aldreth, pulling up short on Karn's order, setting up, then loosing a volley of arrows fired from their deadly Sulasian longbows, bows that had a range that outstripped any other bow made. All fifty six of the men firing those bows were expert shots, and a majority of them struck their targets, causing confused and shouting Dal soldiers to collapse to the ground more than two hundred spans away and uphill. That sudden confusion heralded a cascade of screams and shouts of panic as a large number of the hundred or so Dal soldiers pouring out of the burning building withered under a storm of arrows fired from the Rangers on the other side of the hill. The disorganized men dove for cover from the Aldreth arrows, only to find themselves standing open to the Rangers on the other side of the hill. One of their officers managed to gather up the men and take cover between two buildings, protected from the arrows, but they found themselves holding a desperate line against a large number of transformed Were-kin, creatures that simply charged through their upraised pikes, spears, swords, and shields and fell on the men, disrupting their defensive formation. Their weapons could do the Were-kin no harm, and that caused what organization that existed to shatter when a Were-fox killed the officer rallying the troops.
It was over in about ten minutes. The Centaurs and Were-kin devastated their human adversaries, the Were-kin with their ferocity and their invulnerability to the human weapons, and the Centaurs with lightning-fast strikes at a full gallop. They charged around the village, up and down the hill, killing any Dal soldier they caught in the open as they scrambled to flee from their inhuman adversaries. Those men that did manage to flee down the hill away from the mass of Centaurs and Were-kin found themselves hurtling right into the teeth of the Sulasian Rangers, who had set their bows down, drawn their swords, and had vengeance burning in their eyes as they engaged the routed Dal troops. Tarrin didn't bother to rush to the attack, instead walking calmly towards the village and watching the fight, seeing Centaurs mowing down Dals, and to their credit, catching up the terrified villagers and galloping down the hill with them to get them out of harm's way. Tarrin started up the hill when all the Dals left in the village had either been killed or had thrown down their weapons and surrendered, when only the fight between the Rangers and the routed Dal forces still fighting continued. He reached the top of the hill just as the last of the Dals gave up, throwing down their weapons and surrendering to the tight lines of the Sulasian Rangers.
It was an overwhelming victory, but it was not a victory that Tarrin savored. It was but a start to what had to be done, and the greater challenges stood in front of them. Tarrin put out the fire with Sorcery, snuffing it out as if it had never been, then looked down at the body of a Dal soldier who had been felled by an arrow. He felt nothing for the man. Absolutely nothing. In a way, that frightened him, and it frightened him badly. That was how he used to be, and he was afraid of ending up there again. But it was also what was necessary to protect Suld, to protect the Goddess, to protect his daughter. Looking down at that dead body, he realized that he would do absolutely anything, no matter how vile or evil or monstrous, to protect Jasana. Even if he had to be like Mist, he would protect his family.
The world was not worth the life of that little girl.
Tarrin stood at the top of the hill, at the center of Watch Hill, and watched with detached interest as the Sulasian Rangers rounded up the surviving prisoners, then met the lead Centaurs at the northwestern base of the hill. Now they would join, become a true army, and they would go on to liberate Torrian.
They could not be stopped.
It was like a different world.
Tarrin padded along a slight game trail, pushing a branch out of his face absently as he homed in on the sounds of voices. The voices of Jasana, Jesmind, and Kimmie. He had left the village and everyone behind as they began to clean up, not bothering to see Sathon or Mikos or any of the others. After all, he wasn't in command of anything, so there was no reason for him to talk to anyone or tell anyone where he was going. His daughter and mate and friend were more important than finding out how many men had been killed, how many casualties their forces had suffered, or hearing them tell everyone what to do next. That didn't concern him. Arren was there, and Arren was going to be commanding the army. That was all the reason he needed to be able to walk away from them with a clear conscious. Arren was a solid, dependable man, and Tarrin would trust his judgement.
The forest was quiet. Eerily quiet. The fighting had scared away many of the animals, leaving the forest quiet and pristine in a way. The scents and sounds and sights of the human habitation were missing here out in the forest, a place where only children and solitary hunters dared to venture. It made things peaceful. Not a longspan behind him, civilization was cleaning up after a battle between two forces, but out here in the forest, it was as it had been days, months, years, centuries before. All quiet and peaceful, where the wheel of nature turned at its own pace and without interruption.
It was the ideal place for his mate and daughter to hide from the ugliness of war, a good place for the gentle Kimmie to be rather than going against her nature and killing people. Strange to think that two worlds could exist so close to one another.
Tarrin stepped into a very small meadow that was split in half by a small, straight stream. Jesmind was sitting at the bank with Jasana in her lap, as Kimmie laid at the bank with a paw holding steadily over the water. "The trick of it, cub, is to aim high," Kimmie told her, watching the water intently. "The water bends what you're seeing, so you have to aim high to hit the fish." Kimmie's paw plunged into the water, and then recoiled so fast that the water seemed to be ripped open. She had a small fish in her paw, clasped in her fingers.
"I smell papa," Jasana said with sudden excitement, turning in Jesmind's lap. "Papa!" she cried out when she saw him step into the small meadow.
Jesmind nodded to him as he stepped up to them, and Kimmie let the fish drop back into the water and stood up. "I take it it's over?" Jesmind asked.
"What little it was," he replied. "The Dals never had a chance. I came to get you."
"What's the matter, Tarrin?" Jesmind asked in a sober tone. "You seem, upset."
"I guess I am, a little," he sighed, sitting down at the side of the stream with Jesmind. Kimmie sat down in front of him, and Jasana squirmed over onto his lap and started playing with the end of his tail. "I know we have to do this, but I really don't want to do it. I saw them fighting, and it didn't move me in any way. That scares me, Jesmind."
"Why?"
"Because that's how I used to feel," he told her. "I used to not feel anything except the fear. I worked very hard and went through alot to get back to where I am now, and I guess I'm afraid that having to fight in this war is going to put me right back where I was."
"Then don't fight," Kimmie told him simply. "They have enough people for that. What's missing one Were-cat? They'll still have six."
A small lick of fire appeared over his paw, created by the simplest of one-weave spells. " This is why, Kimmie," he sighed. "My magic could possibly turn a battle."
"Listen to you," she laughed.
"He's not joking, Kimmie," Jesmind said seriously. "Mother told me about him. He could burn Torrian to the ground, and nobody could stop him."
"Killing people on that kind of a scale isn't something you take lightly," he sighed. He shivered slightly as the memory of doing just that crossed over his mind, a memory of thousands dying by his magic when he destroyed the arena at Dala Yar Arak. It was still a painful memory, and it always would be. To even consider that he may have another memory of that magnitude sharing space with it in his mind made him very, very nervous. Then he clenched his fist, smothering the small flame within it. "I know what I have to do, and that's that. I don't have much choice," he said in a strong voice. "If I have to fight, then I'll fight."
"Then don't worry about what may come, my mate. Live in the moment," Jesmind said gently, putting her paw on his forearm. She slid her fingers down to his wrist, where the manacle would have been, then clasped his wrist in a gentle grip. "Right now is all that matters. And right now, you don't have to worry about that."
He looked at her, then he couldn't help but smile gratefully. That did make him feel better. "Unfortunately, right now, we do have to go back," he sighed.
"Do we?" Jesmind asked pointedly. "They can find us. I'm certain that when the time comes for us to leave, they'll send someone to come get us."
He looked at her, then he chuckled. "You know, you have a point," he admitted. "They can just come get us, can't they?"
"They can. I think a little time over here would be better for you than going back over there. Why don't you magic us up some lunch, and we'll have a nice quiet picnic?" she asked with a gentle smile.
"Why Jesmind, I'm shocked that you'd allow me to cheat," he smiled.
"You can't follow the rules all the time. It's not very fun," Jesmind winked.
"I'll remember that the next time you ride me about conjuring around the house."
"I'll have an entirely different opinion then," she grinned.
"Fickle female."
"Of course. If I were predictable, what fun would I be?" she challenged.
Tarrin laughed helplessly, then carried out the task she had given him.
He had to admit, she was right. A quiet meal with his mate, daughter, and a good family friend did do wonders for his mood. He found himself not thinking about fighting or war or death at all, concentrating instead on observing Jasana's fishing technique as she practiced after eating a meal of roasted beef and fresh bread. Jasana was too fidgety to be a good fisher, because she was too young to sit still and be patient. She did try, however, but her paws or head invariably began to move, and those movements spooked the fish. The first strike she did attempt missed, but it did manage to get her to drench herself with stream water as her paw slapped the water and caused a huge splash. She looked up at her parents with limp hair, dripping water, then blew a drop of water off the tip of her pert little nose. That made all three of the adults laugh.
"You don't slap the water, cub," Kimmie said with a broad smile. "You have to send your paw in claws first."
"I didn't see you do that."
"You weren't watching me, then," Kimmie accused.
Tarrin was about to say something, but a voice emanating from his amulet cut him short. "Tarrin? Are you there?" Keritanima called through the amulet.
"What was that?" Kimmie asked curiously.
"It's someone I know, using magic to contact me," he told her calmly as he took his amulet in his paw. "I'm here, Kerri. What is it?"
"I need to talk to you," she said deliberately.
"Alright. Give me a little bit."
"I'll be waiting."
"If she needs to talk to you, why didn't she?" Kimmie asked.
"She wants to see me," he said, standing up and looking around. There was a very weak strand coming out of the ground right at the treeline. It would do. "It must be something important, because she wants to see me face to face."
"And how do you do that?"
"It's complicated, Kimmie," he said dismissively. "I'll explain after I'm done. Alright, cub, you stay out of this," he warned, pointing at his daughter. "It's hard enough to do it without having to worry about you getting lost trying to find me."
"I don't like it when you do that, papa," she said fearfully. "It so dark and scary there."
"I won't get lost, cub," he told her gently, kneeling down and tapping her on the end of her nose. "I know my way around there. I just need you and your mother and Kimmie to protect my body while I'm gone. Can you do that for me?"
"Now I'm getting curious," Kimmie said, standing up and swiping at dust on her breeches.
"It's simple, Kimmie," he said, standing up and moving towards the strand. "I learned how to join my consciousness to the Weave, and I can use it to move through the Weave. I'll go see Kerri by sending my mind to see her. But when I do it, I'm not aware of what's going on around me, so I don't like doing it unless I'm in a place that's relatively safe, or I have someone to defend my body while I'm out."
"Astral projection?" she said with a raised eyebrow.
"Projection. That's a good word," Tarrin said. "I just project myself into the Weave, not into that Astral place."
"I've never even read about this," Kimmie said in surprise. "I didn't know that Sorcerers could do that."
"Most can't," he said mildly, sitting down so that the strand moved through his body. "Now do me a favor and hush."
"Alright," she agreed as he closed his eyes and centered himself. It was something that was relatively easy for him to do, so it was a short time between relaxing and centering himself on the Weave, and actually managing to project his consciousness out into the strand.
As always, the strand picked him up and swept him along in the current formed by the power flowing through it. He rode along that current, letting it sweep him into the another strand, then into a Conduit, then into a major Conduit, and then into the Heart. The Heart never failed to awe him, inspire him, humble him, as he stared into the brilliance of the Goddess and marvelled at her, as he floated within the void pierced by the stars of the Sorcerers and the distant lines of the strands of the Weave beyond them. Every time he came, it looked like there were more and more stars, as they began to actually compete with the darkness. But despite their numbers, it was no difficult task for him to assense them as a group, and identify the unique signature that belonged to his sister Keritanima. He went to her star and held his paws to each side of it, feeling its radiance bask him, revelling in the sense of her for that brief moment before using her star to locate her physical presence in relation to the Weave. She was literally but a breath from the Heart, as any physical location on the Tower grounds would be. He rose up into a Conduit and then circuited through the Weave, having to travel a deceptive distance to reach her physical location, since he had to do his travelling through the complex strands that did not follow a logical pattern to those in the physical realm. But that distance was but the blinking of an eye in the Weave, where he could move as fast as he wished to move. He reached her, felt her radiance through the strand, and knew she was there. He could also feel Allia's and Dolanna's presences near to his sister, and that made him even more happy to come see her. Tarrin wove together an Illusion of himself, an image, and then pushed it out into the physical world. Then he pressed himself into that projection.
Tarrin opened his spectral eyes to find himself within one of the many generic bedchambers that existed within the Tower, used by visitors. They all looked the same and were furnished the same, and it could give one a sense of surreal disorientation to go from one of those rooms to another. Keritanima and Dolanna were sitting at a small table, a tea kettle and cups resting upon it, and Allia stood just behind Keritanima.
And sitting facing him, flanked by two of her daughters, was Shiika.
Tarrin was a bit startled to see them there, but he recovered himself quickly. Shiika could keep a secret.
"I think I see why you called me here," he told his sisters evenly.
"Hello, Tarrin," Shiika grinned. She was as lovely-and as dangerous-as he remembered her to be.
"One of the reasons," Keritanima chuckled. "How are you doing, my brother?"
"I'm alright, Kerri. How are all of you doing?"
"We do well, dear one," Dolanna smiled. "I have missed you."
"I've missed you too, Dolanna," Tarrin replied sincerely. "Are things well with you, deshaida? You look a bit annoyed."
"I guess I am," Allia admitted. "I had another exchange of words with Jula."
"You two should just make peace," Tarrin chuckled. "When did you get here, Shiika?"
"Yesterday," she replied. "Along with about five hundred of my soldiers. The rest are coming up behind us."
"Where are you right now, Tarrin?" Keritanima asked.
"We're in Watch Hill," he replied. "We just took it, and joined up with some of the Rangers. I don't know what's going on right now, because I'm not with the others. But I'd hazard to guess that we're going to make camp and set out for Torrian tomorrow."
"When will you get there?"
"It takes two days to reach Torrian," Dolanna told her. "They will arrive two days from tomorrow. If things go well, the attack will commence the following morning."
"That fits into the plans I've made," Keritanima said, tapping her chin with a finger. "How long will it take you to get here?"
"If I wait for the others, it could take at least ten days after we finish with Torrian. But I can get there in two if I have to."
" Two? How?"
"Sorcery," he replied. "Trust me. If I need to get there, I could be there two days after you call for me." He looked at them. "I'll stay with the army until we either get there or you tell me to come quickly. I get the feeling that they want me here."
"We all want you near, dear one," Dolanna smiled.
"You see, this is why I've always liked you, Dolanna," Tarrin smiled at her. "We have a Druid with us, but they may need my magic to take Torrian."
"A Druid? Who, and why is he there?"
"Not just a Druid, but also a bloody army of Woodkin," Tarrin told them evenly. "Centaurs, mostly, but with a large number of Were-kin to provide some additional power."
"How did they end up-"
"Haley and Sarraya," he interrupted. "They must have pled quite a case, because Fae-da'Nar decided that it can't turn its back on what's happening. So they've assembled an army of sorts, and that army is on the way to Suld. They've agreed to take Torrian because it's important to the defense of Suld, but after that, they're all going to race to Suld as fast as possible."
"And now we have Centaurs and Were-kin," Shiika laughed. "This is starting to turn into a world-wide affair."
"It is a matter that concerns the world, Empress," Dolanna said calmly. "If the Tower falls, the whole world will be changed because of it."
"True enough," Shiika agreed.
"Where is the enemy?"
"That's one of the reasons I needed to see you," Keritanima told him. "Three Ungardt clans attacked the army just outside of the Petal Mountains. They attacked them literally as they came out of the mountain pass, and from what the Aeradalla have reported so far, the Ungardt have the ki'zadun pinned in at the pass mouth. I don't have any reliable reports on what's going on right now, but I can tell you that the battle won't last long, and the Ungardt probably won't survive it. But what it will do is delay that army by at least two days. I'll take those two days, even if I don't like what it costs us to get them."
That was grim news. Every Ungardt army was a clan, and if the army was destroyed, then that meant that an entire Ungardt clan was going to be devastated. Ungardt didn't take orders well, every clan-chief more or less commanding his own people. Some Ungardt clans decided to come to Suld, but some of them obviously decided to attack the ki'zadun before they could get out of Draconia. He didn't agree with that decision, but he had to agree that every day the enemy was delayed was another day they had to prepare for their coming.
"We knew that was going to happen," Tarrin sighed. "Sometimes my mother's people can be very stubborn."
"I'm not too worried about the army now," Shiika told him. "My daughters have been busy getting ready for our cousins to arrive. We'll have all sorts of nasty surprises waiting for them."
"Like what?"
"Like making weapons that can harm Demons," Keritanima replied. "Mainly arrows. We intend to kill as many as possible as far away from the city as we can."
That's part of it, one of the Cambisi sent her thoughts. He looked at her, and realized that it was Anayi. And he was surprised that he could hear her thoughts, since he was actually in Watch Hill. We also made sure that no Demon can teleport itself within a hundred spans of the city walls. That will keep them from appearing inside the city and wreaking havoc, which is what I'll guarantee they'll try to do first.
"My daughters arrived with a very extensive list of preparations to make," Shiika added. "They've nearly finished the list. I'm very proud of them."
We understand how serious this is, mother, the other sent her thoughts. Our own lives and well being depend on holding Suld. It was very effective motivation.
"Yes, facing a total destruction of your life can really spur you," Shiika chuckled. "We're going to be ready for them."
"Any word on if they know we know they're coming?" Tarrin asked.
"Nothing solid yet," Keritanima grunted. "The spy is still hiding too deeply for Jula to find her, but I do think that Jula's keeping her pinned down. I'd rather her be dead, but she's just as neutralized if she can't send any warnings."
"We can help with that, your Majesty," Shiika offered. "Now that my daughters are almost done with the preparations, I can spare one or two of them to scour the Tower for this traitor."
"How will they find her?"
The same way we do this, Anayi sent with a smile. We can hear as well as send thoughts. All we have to do is wander around and listen to the surface thoughts of those around us, and we'll come across your traitor eventually. Thoughts are usually much less constrained than words or body language.
"That is a clever idea," Dolanna said appreciatively. "Would it hamper the work they have yet to do?"
"Not if I only spare one or two," Shiika replied. "Now that I'm here, I'll wander around and see if I can find her myself. My own gifts are much stronger than my daughters'. I can hear much more than they can, even dig a little without giving myself away."
Few can hide secrets from our mother, Anayi said proudly.
"You can hear thoughts?" Keritanima said nervously.
"We're very discreet, your Majesty," Shiika grinned. "Unless, of course, what we hear impacts our negotiations, of course. I'm sure you'll find that out the next time we sit down to work out a trade treaty."
Keritanima glared at the Demoness.
"It's only polite to warn you, after all," Shiika said grandly, leaning back in her chair.
Keritanima's cheek fur ruffled, her version of a blush. "We digress," Dolanna said delicately. "I think that the aid of you and your daughters would be welcome, Empress."
"I'll send Anayi out as soon as we finish up here," Shiika said. "We'll probably have your spy in the bag in three days, depending on how disciplined her mind is."
"Is everyone going to get here before the ki'zadun?" Tarrin asked pointedly, changing the subject.
"I think they will," Keritanima replied. "My furthest troop ship is six days out, so all the Legions will be in place. I have a solid report that the Selani are inside Sulasia, and they'll probably hit the Dals in Jerinhold in about six days, then be here three days afterward. Ungardt longships have been arriving one after another for nearly a ride, and we have a pretty formidable number of Ungardt here. They keep getting drunk and trashing the waterfront," Keritanima laughed. "We need that army to get here just so they stop trashing Suld and start trashing something else." She grinned at him, then got back to business. "If the Ungardt do delay the ki'zadun by two days, that means that it's going to take them about fifteen days to march down from Draconia after reorganizing themselves after the attack. Alot of what they had to do was get out of the mountains. They'll move very fast once they hit open country, because Golblinoids can move fast without mounts, and from what I've seen, most of the humans in the army are mounted. It's a huge army, my brother," Keritanima said soberly. "I never dreamed there were that many Goblinoids in the world, let alone just here in the West."
"How big?"
"I don't have a solid figure, but tens of thousands would be a conservative estimate," she frowned. "It's going to take every fighting man we've got to repel that kind of a force, but we can do it," she said confidently. "We have the advantage, because we'll be defending, and we know what's coming at us. They'll give it a fury of a run, but they're going to come up short."
"May the Goddess make it be so," Dolanna said fervently under her breath.
"Well, add Fae-da'Nar to your list, Kerri," Tarrin told her. "If things go right, they'll march into Suld a couple of days before the army gets there."
"We'll be happy to have them," Keritanima smiled.
"I'm going to have to go," he apologized. "It really upsets Jasana when I do this, and I don't think I want her agitated in her condition. Remember, if you really need me, call me. I can be here in two days at the most."
"We'll do that if it comes down to it, Tarrin," Shiika assured him. "Good luck with Torrian."
Tarrin nodded to her. "Cheer up, sister," Tarrin told Allia with a smile. She was usually quiet when they were discussing things like this, but he felt that she was being just a little too quiet.
"I will cheer up when you are with me again, deshida," she told him calmly.
"I'll feel better too," he smiled. "I have to go. Be well, all of you."
"May the light of the Goddess shine upon you, Tarrin," Dolanna said in farewell.
"Be careful, brother," Keritanima told him with a sober look.
"Good luck," he said, and then he withdrew from his projection and allowed it to dissolve.
To: Title EoF