The thought made him shudder, despite the protection Mage had promised. He did not trust the old man. He did not trust anyone.
A few soldiers emerged from a rugged inn, their laughter filling the night sky. The sounds of the army crowded in around him. Soldiers everywhere. From around the corner came a stampede of horsemen, and Exeres had to jerk to the side to clear the way before getting trampled. The hooves splattered him with dripping mud, and he swore under his breath. With all his sins, a few choice words were hardly worth considering now.
After shaking off his hands, he wiped his mouth and pressed through Castun, walking to the center of town. The crowds grew thicker there, soldiers pressing close to the command pavilions. Some soldiers stood talking in a small cluster, their voices loud enough for Exeres to hear.
“I don’t know how many, but Kaltonen said he heard the entire regimental army of knights. I swear by Achrolese, it’s true! Could be a thousand knights riding hard. Kaltonen said you could see the dust in the plains in the daylight. I got here just before dusk so I couldn’t see it myself.”
Another soldier scratched his thin spiky hair. “Ban, that’s a lot of soldiers. Even a thousand. I don’t think we number four thousand. That’s four to one, though. Better odds than we usually have.”
Exeres stopped and tugged off his boot, trying to find a pebble that wasn’t there.
“What’s Ballinaire going to do?” someone else asked. “Draw back in the woods?”
“No. He wants to fight them.”
“What! Even with our numbers, those are tight odds.”
“Don’t you remember, you daft? The Kiran Thall have some special poison now. I heard it goes through metal like knifing cheese. They went off riding already, some going east and some going west.”
A soldier cursed. “No cavalry left? Who’s going to be our eyes and ears? They gonna flank the knights?”
“Who knows? I was here earlier and saw them ride out. About twenty companies in all. Left a few behind to watch our backs. You done yet, Zerite? Get moving!”
Exeres hopped while he tugged on his boot and left the men behind and moved on.
“Banned priest was listening to us,” one of them muttered. “Don’t care he’s a Zerite. I don’t trust ‘em.”
Exeres walked quickly, his heart pounding, praying that they would not take too much interest in him. He made it to a shed and slipped around the corner, breathing fast. The madness of what he was doing settled in. Walking through the Bandit army as if he had a right to be there was foolish enough. But seeking out Miestri’s tent, determining if she had Ticastasy, and then summoning Mage was all a bit heavy-handed to his sensibilities.
—So the knights have arrived to defend Dos-Aralon. They arrived faster than we expected. Excellent—
“Stop talking in my head!” Exeres whispered, though no one stood near him.
—Deliver our message, and I will. Find Miestri. Quickly—
Seething with his own impotence, Exeres shoved away from the wall, came around the other side of the shack and tried joining the main street, but throngs of soldiers blocked the way. A voice rose over the others—a speech of some importance. Probably one of the leaders of the Rebellion. Torches sputtered and illuminated the thickening crowds. The soldiers converged on the main square of Castun.
“We march against Dos-Aralon! We rise from the woods to proudly storm the plains. Let them bring down Amberdian and Sypher. We will crush them! The loot you have taken from Castun is just a taste. A small, frail taste of what you will earn when we’ve breached the walls of Dos-Aralon itself. There will be a new king and new dukes on that day. There will be wine and ale in the gutters, bread enough for even the dogs! On that day, we will be the rulers. Your patience will be rewarded after these many long years. Our scouts say that our old enemies of Owen Draw stand before us.”
Gasps of dismay and worried looks were exchanged in the crowds. Exeres lingered, then saw a split through the crowd. Lord Ballinaire himself addressed the soldiers. He had heard about the man’s snowy hair and beard.
“How fitting it is that they should be the first to fall. And they will. Like wheat to our scythes. They block the road to Dos-Aralon. Then we must trample them into the stones. Do not fear sharpness of their steel. Have you not heard what our Kiran Thall are doing now? Then see it!”
Several soldiers stood high on carts and upended huge bags. The sound of clattering metal thundered in the night sky. Broken, warped, and twisted pieces of armor emptied into the streets. The vine and ivy sigils were marred by decay. A deadly smell wafted in the air. Murder and blood. Exeres recoiled.
A cheer went up among the Bandit soldiers. A raging torrent of yells, whistles, and throaty screams.