If the Elven King weren't already dead.
If he was, it would be a disaster for the Allies. Kellen could not imagine the Elven Council acting with quick decision, and Ashaniel wasn't here. He didn't know if Redhelwar would act at all without orders, nor could he imagine the Elven Lands divided by civil war.
The Wild Magic will not let that happen, he thought to himself, and even he was not sure whether that thought was a certainty or a prayer.
* * * * *
THE last time Kellen had come this way, he had not approached the caverns themselves. Umerchiel, who knew this area well, led the army off the War Road through the high road leading between Sentarshadeen and Ondoladeshiron was not really as wide or as flat as some of the larger avenues in Armethalieh, it counted as a main thoroughfare in Elven terms in the direction of the caverns.
Before they reached the caves, they came to the Angarussa.
Even at the height of the Great Drought, the fiver had still run strongly, and with the torrential rains it had once more become one of the greatest rivers of the Elven Lands. But the cold that had followed the rains had been long and bitter, and the river that Kellen now saw was completely concealed beneath a thick shield of ice.
He called for Artenel.
"It would be good to know if the ice will bear our weight," he said to the Elven Artificer.
Artenel nodded, and rode out onto the middle of the river. There he dismounted, and peered down into the ice. Next he took a slender metal rod from his horse's pack and knelt upon the ice, tapping at it gently and listening intently. After a few moments he rode back.
"The ice is quite thick," he reported. "The army may cross safely. But not all at once, and not all in one place. It is my recommendation that you choose several crossing-places."
Kellen nodded.
He prepared to give the order for the first units to cross, and stopped.
This was where he'd seen the Tainted starflowers, the first time he'd been here.
"Get the maps of the caverns."
PART of him seethed with impatience at wasting precious time he was almost entirely sure that there was nothing at Halacira besides the jewel-mines Jermayan had once described to him. But another part had learned hard lessons in too many battles. Those starflowers had to have been a warning.
And for once, going into a cave, they had complete and accurate maps. The Elves had been working the caves at Halacira for centuries.
"Churashil, Thenalakti, Arvaruth, Farathirian, Merioniach I want you to cross first. Take your troops and ride ahead to these secondary entrances that I see marked on this map. Guard them closely. I wish nothing to escape from these caverns. If you see any sign of movement, sound your horn, but no one is to leave his position. I will leave a reserve force outside the main entrance that will come to your aid."
Although how quickly such a force could reach the trouble spot, when the entrances his sub-commanders must guard were scattered over several miles, was a troubling question.
"If it is possible, and seems good to you, block the entrances that you find."
"Yes, komentai'i," Churashil said. The others nodded.
The Knights began to move off. By the time the rest of the army was across and in position near the Main Entrance, the five groups guarding the entrances should be in position.
He turned to his Wildmages.
"Wirance, Kerleu, you must go to the others and tell them I need enough Coldfire to crown at least two hundred Knights. I would also like some of you to follow us into the caverns and cast Coldfire on the walls as we go."
Wirance regarded him, eyebrows raised. "Expecting trouble, are you?"
Kellen smiled without humor. "No. I'm just planning for it."
He wished and not for the first time since he'd left Ysterialpoerin that Vestakia were here. Not simply because he missed her company, but because right now she would have been incredibly useful to have around.
He didn't know that he was facing trouble across the river. In fact, it was likelier than not that he wasn't, and he was wasting precious time here when he could have been doing a quick reconnoiter of the caverns and heading quickly on to Sentarshadeen.
But he couldn't he wouldn't let his impatience cost lives. His information from Rochinuviel was already more than a sennight old. Whatever would happen in Sentarshadeen might have already happened. It was beyond his control. This wasn't.
He owed all those who had already died, and those who trusted him now, his very best efforts.
And part of him a very tiny part, all things considered felt a spark of pride. Even a moonturn ago he would not have had the experience and, yes, the wisdom to organize something like this. To think three and four steps ahead of the enemy even an enemy he wasn't quite sure was there.
Why, he might even be able to beat Idalia at xaique now.
* * * * *
IT was a couple of hours past noon by the time the sledges crossed, the last elements of the army. By then the surface of the ice was starting to show signs of strain, though Artenel assured Kellen it would hold.
He waited on the far bank, watching as the slow heavy sledges made their way, one by one, across the surface of the frozen river.
"Fun, isn't it?" Shalkan asked.
"In a weird way," Kellen answered honestly. "It would be a lot more fun if there were no possibility that anyone could get hurt."
"I suppose that's why the Elves have Flower Wars," the unicorn said thoughtfully.
"I don't suppose you could go on to Sentarshadeen and see what's going on there?" Kellen said hopefully.
Shalkan snorted rudely. "And leave you here to fend for yourself? You'd probably get lost in the caverns and never come out. Though I understand they're worth an extended look."
"Yeah, well, it's not like I have time for sightseeing," Kellen grumbled. "I just wish I could be everywhere at once."
"That, unfortunately, is beyond even the power of a Knight-Mage," Shalkan said repressively. "Though you might manage something close to it if you Bonded to a dragon."
"No thanks," Kellen said briefly. Leaving aside the fact that there weren't any dragons either available or willing, the idea of shortening the lifespan of an immortal creature to a few brief decades would make him feel horribly guilty. It seemed utterly unfair. At least with Jermayan, Ancaladar would have centuries.
"It's time to go," Shalkan said.
"Wish me luck," Kellen said.
"Good hunting," the unicorn replied.
* * * * *
FIRARETH quickly passed the ox-drawn sledges as Kellen rode up to the head of the line. Pale nimbuses of Coldfire shimmered around the heads of many that he passed, testament to the Wildmages' tireless labors. Around him, units reorganized into marching order as the remains of the column reformed, several groups dropping back to guard the vulnerable supply-carts. Just because they hadn't been attacked yet didn't mean they weren't going to be. Both unicorns and scouts from Sentarshadeen should be patrolling the woods this far east, but by now Kellen took nothing for granted.
Another hour's march brought them in sight of the cavern's mouth.