in the face of these more enthusiastic soldiers. Again, progress had slowed as there was not a usable foot trail when they retreated. The roads were torn up, trees were fallen, and traps were set. The wild game was driven south ahead of the retreat and Tusul’s miraculous potion was applied to every watering hole they could find.
Word was that dysentery was rife among the camps. Some days, there was so much sickness that there was no advancement. Unfortunately, this boon lasted only as long as it took them to discover that the water carried the illness. For a time, they knew not what to do about the plague. Unfortunately, they discovered that the effect was limited, or not present at all, if only water from fresh flowing streams was consumed. Balinor then set to stopping up every source of fresh water that could be found. The advance had slowed to a crawl as they had been forced to scrounge for these caches of liquid gold. The latest word was that they were having to transport their entire water supply from known safe sources. The advance had picked up again until one brave volunteer, from among Balinor’s ranks, had infiltrated through the lines and had been dosing the storage barrels of water.
***
Em’risi paced back and forth while intently watching the patterns of colors that emanated from each of the men arranged before her. Nervousness was the predominant emotion with subtle hues associated with fear. These men were all Gifted. Many of them probably didn’t yet know this fact. She guessed that the ones with the greatest shades of fear probably knew and were afraid that they had been singled out. They had been singled out for being Gifted, but not for the reasons that they feared. However, there was one that didn’t seem afraid. His hawkish black eyes were criticizing her as much as she was examining the rest of them. When she stopped in front of him, he suddenly looked confused and dropped his eyes. She smiled as his agitated lights retracted around him, shying away from touching any of the other’s colors, a telepath. Emeck had explained enough that she had been able to sense the probe and had not even had to work at blocking it. As brief as it was, she had no doubt as to the probe’s existence or origin.
Em’risi glanced at her bodyguard and at the surly Redzyn. She had discussed what she knew of Alvin’s abilities and after some experimentation, he had been able to expand his abilities from simply correcting the path of his arrows or throwing blades, to being able to move small objects. He had even shown some skill in unlocking some simple locks.
“Men, you probably are wondering why you are here.” Em’risi paused as she watched nervousness, apprehension, and worry flare. “Each of you is Gifted.” A hand cautiously was held up by one of the braver men as apprehension flared stronger in half the group, equal parts of the ones that she figured knew and the ones that didn’t know.
“With all respect, I don’t know what rumors you heard, but you can’t know the truth of them. There are just rumors about humans having Gifts. We aren’t elves or anything.” The skittish looking young man who had raised his hand inquired hesitantly when Em’risi directed her gaze towards him. In response, she nodded towards Alvin who flung a small rock at the man’s chest. She watched without blinking as he caught the rock before spinning in a blur and hurling it back at Alvin. She glanced over to see the rock hovering a few inches away from his face before it dropped to the ground.
“Ask this one.” Em’risi stopped and gave the black eyed telepath a pointed look.
“I don’t understand…” Em’risi almost looked disappointed as he shrank back.
“All right… I will explain it for you. I am Gifted.” Em’risi was disappointed when all the men in the line flinched and involuntarily stepped back. Even the ones she suspected knew of their Gifts. She also saw Redzyn’s expression darken. It had been a point of contention between them. He felt that she should keep that fact secret, as if it was something to be ashamed of. He feared that the men would abandon her if they knew what she was. She contended that her men couldn’t trust her if she kept it secret from the very men she proposed to train in the use of their Gifts.