Blademaster Rogan held up his hand, "No, Miro. It isn’t for me to say, nor is it for Marshall Sloan. Listen to the truth behind my words. If you take this path, I promise you that the truth will follow."
Miro’s father had been High Lord of Altura. He had led them against this same foe. Somehow, it fit in with the dreams he’d had since he was a child. "I accept," he said.
He would find out the truth.
"Excellent," said Marshal Sloan. "Understand — this isn’t a reward. We’re giving you perhaps the most difficult task of the coming battle. Your task is to hold our flank. When the attack on Ralanast begins, the Black Army is going to surge through here, aiming to cut off our rear. Miro, you must do everything in your power to hold this position. You must hold."
Miro nodded, "I understand."
Marshal Sloan nodded. "You are to serve under Lord Devon’s son, Lord Rorelan."
"Rorelan, he’s here?"
"He’s a changed man, since his father died, but yes, he’s here."
The Marshal and the Blademaster expanded on their plans. Miro listened in growing horror, hiding his feelings behind a blank fa?ade.
It was a pitched effort — they were throwing their best men, their best weapons, into a doomed arena.
Miro knew. He knew it better than anyone.
He would hold.
He had to.
37
The Buchalanti are my most beloved of the many houses. There are no people more free. Perhaps I was raised by Raj Buchalantas in another life.
— Toro Marossa, ‘Explorations’, Page 202, 423 Y.E.
HIGH Enchantress Evora Guinestor hid her impatience as she waited for the men to deploy. The four bladesingers with her chatted quietly amongst themselves, calm and unperturbed as always. Joram, the captain of her guard, sent scouts in all directions. He checked over each man in turn, frowning at one, before he turned to the High Enchantress.
"Ready to move out, High Enchantress."
"Thank you, Captain," her voice was dry, she didn’t care any more whether he would detect it.
They had made camp at the floor of the valley while the men attempted to turn the remnants of the rope bridge into a working version. Forced to wait, Evora had to admit, it was a beautiful valley.
If only she wasn’t seething inside.
Soon, the magic of the Lexicon would fade, and every object that had been enchanted with its runes would fail. Unless she could renew the Lexicon in time, Altura’s lore would fail, most likely when they needed it the most.
The enemy’s Alturan-made weapons would also fail, but the builders would still build, the artificers’ dirigibles would still fly, and the Emperor’s avengers would still fight on.
It would be a massacre.
Every moment lost was a moment further that the thief had to escape. She understood the men felt the need to protect her, especially given what had happened to the Halrana High Animator, but it was taking too much time.
Evora had almost gone from being furious with the girl to investing in her, hoping that at least someone would catch up with the thief. Ella was an enchantress after all — she stood some chance, didn’t she?
She cleared her throat. Against the man who had stolen their most valuable possession from the heart of the Crystal Palace, killing a bladesinger on the way out? Not much of one.
Still, the girl had proven to be remarkably resourceful. Her trackers had confirmed that Ella was on the correct path. A few days behind the path of the thief were the tracks of a young woman and the much harder to find tracks of a smaller woman. One of the Dunfolk, it must be.
Evora had no idea how Ella had managed to get one of the Dunfolk to help her. However the girl had done it, and here she was, making a mockery of Evora’s own efforts to track down the thief.
"The Dunfolk woman is very good, High Enchantress," Joram said. "We almost lost him on the cliff. If it wasn’t for the rope hanging down..."
Evora bridled. Was she that obvious? Had this become some kind of pathetic contest? Then she relaxed her shoulders. The result was the only thing that mattered. The rope had shown just how resourceful Ella could be. If only they’d figured out how she’d crossed the river. The trackers had said it looked like Ella had entered the water, and looking for a hundred paces down the river they hadn’t found an exit point. The Dunfolk woman’s tracks were near-invisible at the best of times.
Enough thinking about them. "The rope bridge, is it done?"
"Yes, High Enchantress."
"Then let us cross in haste."
"Yes, High Enchantress."
Evora sighed. She hoped that whatever happened, Ella would slow the thief down. Even if it meant the girl’s death at his hands. The return of the Lexicon was worth it.
Evora felt guilty at the thought.