Erik didn’t need him to tell him that. He could see the column of smoke rising to the west. He had seen the smoke as the city of Khaipur had burned, from a distance of over a hundred miles, a column of black smoke that had risen thousands of feet into the air until it had flattened out like a grey umbrella. The wind had blown the scent of smoke to them for days, and a fine soot fell for hundreds of miles. Erik had no doubt that when Krondor fell she would meet the same fate.
Erik gave orders, and the men hurried to obey. He detailed half his company, the heavy lancers, to follow behind the civilians, supported by a squad of bowmen who had wandered into Erik’s area after being cut off from their own command. The light cavalry and horse-bowmen Erik took to ride to Greylock’s position.
As he had feared, Erik had gone no more than a mile when he encountered the first sign of raider activity. Two wagons burned, and the ground around them was littered with the dead. Several women were stripped and obviously had been raped before being killed, and not one pair of decent boots or trinket of any possible worth was left behind.
Erik inspected the wagons and noticed a grain trail leading away from one. ‘They’re hungry,’ he said to Sergeant Harper.
‘Shall we hunt them down, Captain?’
Erik said, ‘No. I’d love to, but we need to support Greylock. If they reach the foothills to the north they’ll turn eastward, and we’ll encounter the swine soon enough.’
Harper said, ‘Yes, sir.’
They rode as fast as they could, permitting the horses rest when absolutely necessary, as Erik was determined to reach Greylock by sundown if at all possible. He knew some of the horses would be lame by the end of the ride, but he also knew that if the plans for the defense of the Kingdom were to be realized, they couldn’t allow the enemy to quickly overrun the first positions of resistance.
Krondor was going to fall, and it had only three days. Erik surmised that the Emerald Queen and her magicians were desperate to get ashore. That meant stores were scarce. The use of magic to blow up the defenses of the outer harbor stunned Erik. The only time the Emerald Queen’s Pantathians had resorted to magic was the light bridge across the river Vedra, and Pug had destroyed that, causing thousands of injuries and death. Erik had heard the report from a messenger from William with disbelief, but the fires on the docks proved the enemy was in Krondor.
As they rode, Erik wondered how Roo was faring. Had he gotten safely to his estates?
Roo sat heavily on the chair, holding a mug of cold water freshly drawn from the well. He said, ‘Thank you, Helen.’
Helen Jacoby and the children were waiting in the anteroom of the estate house. Roo had just ridden up, after a desperate night of avoiding raiders, fighting, and keeping his wagons together. He had come to his estates the day before and, finding things peaceful, had returned down the road to join Luis in seeing the wagons safely home. The frequency with which he sighted invading soldiers, a full day’s ride east of the city, told him more than he wanted to know about the battle for Krondor. He had seen firsthand the sacking of a city by the Emerald Queen and had no desire to repeat that experience.
Three additional wagons had been sent ahead two days before, and now servants were busily filling them with household possessions for the journey eastward. Given the rapidity of the enemy’s advance, Roo was going to order them gone at sunrise, ignoring whatever was left behind. He now decided the entire train of wagons was going straight to Darkmoor, rather than stop at Ravensburg. He’d halt long enough to offer Erik’s mother and Nathan, and perhaps Milo, Rosalyn, and her family, the opportunity to come along. He owed Erik that much, at least. But he wouldn’t stop. The enemy was moving much too fast, and Krondor hadn’t held as he had hoped it would.
One more day, he thought as he drank deeply of the cool, fresh water. If the invaders had been delayed one more day, he’d be free of worry. He also knew he would have to ride out this evening to the Esterbrook estates and insist that Sylvia and her father leave at once. They would have no way to know the enemy was as close as it was. He could provide quarters for them in his inns in Darkmoor and Malac’s Cross without Karli becoming too suspicious, he thought; after all, half the population of Krondor was on the road eastward.
Finishing his water, he set it down and asked, ‘Where’s Karli?’
‘She’s upstairs with your cousin Duncan.’
Roo smiled. ‘I’ve been wondering where he’s been.’ He stood up. ‘I’d best go see what they’re doing.’
Helen looked concerned. ‘He said something about helping her move some things.’
Roo looked at her. ‘We still have plenty of time to get out of here. Stop worrying.’
She smiled and said, ‘I’ll try.’
Roo went upstairs and found them in Roo and Karli’s bedroom. Duncan was lifting a wooden box filled with Karli’s best clothing.
‘I have been looking for you for two days!’ said Roo to his cousin.