hidden down there.
Turning west, he followed it for several hundred yards until he could see the land was smoothing out. He guessed that the enemy must enter the deep ravine from there. With two hours gone and dawn rapidly approaching, Will knew the army would begin to march soon, so he turned and began running back.
The light made it safer to run, but the rough terrain made it tiring, even without his mail. He began drawing turyn in and focusing it in his legs and lungs until his fatigue vanished. Once the land smoothed out it was easier, but as the army came into sight he could see they were already forming up to march.
“I told you one hour, Cartwright!” snapped Sir Kyle when Will was brought before him. “The others were back two hours ago. I’d given you up as a deserter.”
“I found them,” said Will, still struggling to catch his breath. He did his best to describe what he had seen.
Sergeant Eckels from Company B’s Third Platoon stood close by. “A man will say anything to avoid a whipping.”
“I’ll still be whipped if they aren’t there,” argued Will.
“If they’ve got units behind us and a solid force at the top of the pass, we’ll be hard put to survive,” said Lieutenant Latimer.
“Which is why we scouted the area so thoroughly,” growled Sir Kyle. “And they found nothing.” He glared at Will. “Have you had any training as a scout?”
“No, sir,” he admitted.
The knight captain’s face was pensive, but after a minute he gave his orders, “Stop the march. Send runners to Lord Fulstrom and the other captains.” That done, he glanced at Will. “Return to your squad.”
Will did as he was told, donning his armor and waiting with the others while Lord Fulstrom and his knights decided on their course of action. Corporal Taylor watched him the entire time with eyes that seemed as though they would burn a hole through his armor. Tiny didn’t ask him any questions, but Dave was far from reticent.
“What the hell did you do now? The entire camp is on standby. Why aren’t we marching yet?” asked the ex-thief.
Will shrugged. “I saw some lights last night and Sir Kyle sent me out scouting afterward.”
The horns sounded then and they had to fall in line. Three companies were sent directly south, while Company B and the other three were ordered to move a full mile west before also heading south. They remained in a standard marching formation until the shift south, at which time they were shifted into a combat line three ranks deep.
After a mile and a half, they reached the sloping entrance to the ravine that Will had found that morning. Companies A and C stood to the left and right respectively, their lines angling forward, while Company B took the center. When they within a hundred yards of the place where the walls of the ravine began to rise up, the officers called a halt and they began to wait.
Half an hour passed, and thick clouds of smoke appeared in the distance, coming from the ravine ahead of them. Horns blared, and the sounds of men shouting followed soon after, and then Will caught sight of the Darrowans emerging from the ravine. The enemy formation was anything but orderly, but the mob of soldiers began to form a line once they spotted the Terabinian troops waiting for them.
“Forward march double-time!” yelled Sir Kyle from behind, and the sergeants repeated his order. Company B began moving forward.
Will glanced at Tiny, who was on his right, and the big man nodded at him. “Keep your head down,” said the big man, his lips tight.
The Darrowans were already in rough line when they finally made contact. Shouts went up, and the clash of spears against shields filled Will’s ears. Something struck the top of his helm, and then his shield was nearly torn from his grasp as a more forceful blow struck it as well. A spear tip came through the gap as Will’s shield shifted. It struck the right side of his belly, almost knocking the wind from him, but it didn’t have enough power behind it to pierce his mail.
The enemy was getting the worst of it, and they might have broken, but their soldiers were desperate. They had nowhere to run. Companies A and C closed on the enemy flanks, and the Darrowan soldiers began to die in greater numbers.
As the enemy started to panic, they surged forward, threatening to