that’s easy to recognize if you’ve dealt with it before.”
“I haven’t.”
“Consult the other students. One of them might have some experience with it. If not, some of your officers might be able to tell you.”
Will grimaced. “I’d rather know before the officers meeting. They already think I’m too inexperienced for the job.”
“No one knows everything,” argued his old teacher. “Besides, I didn’t necessarily mean the senior officers. Ask among the lieutenants and captains. There’s a lot more of them, and rank doesn’t necessarily automatically confer greater knowledge or experience. Hell, if they don’t know, ask the sergeants. That’s where you’ll find the most experience in any army.”
He got to his feet, a new purpose driving him forward. “I’ll do that. Thanks.” He left the tent with motivation in his steps.
Chapter 26
He got answers quicker than he anticipated, as it turned out that Emory Tallowen’s family owned several mines. His response was quick and confident. “Blasting powder. Once you’ve smelled it, you can’t forget it. We use it in the mines sometimes, though it’s expensive in Terabinia.”
“If it’s expensive, couldn’t you use spell-bombs instead?” asked Will.
The young nobleman shrugged. “I don’t know, but if that was cheaper, I’m sure Father would use those instead. We buy most of our blasting powder from Trendham, which is probably where the Darrowans got it as well.”
“Couldn’t they just make it?” Will had never examined the recipes for the powder so he had no idea how much it cost to make.
Emory shook his head. “A small amount, but they don’t have the sulfur in Darrow. Neither do we. That’s why everyone buys it from Trendham. They have all the raw materials.” He scratched his chin. “Even so, they spent a lot on that trap. The amount of powder it took to do that—it boggles the mind.”
“Twice as much if they did the same thing on the other road,” observed Will.
Emory frowned. “I doubt it. I can’t imagine even the Patriarch would be willing to spend that much on something that might not be used. I bet they knew we were coming this way.”
But no one knew the route I’d chosen, thought Will quietly. I didn’t tell anyone until the day before we reached the fork. They must have found out right then if they were going to reposition it, or there wouldn’t have been time. He chewed his lip, trying to make sense of things. Could there be a spy among one of the staffers to the senior commanders? Or even more unthinkable, could one of the senior officers be a spy?
He patted Emory’s shoulder. “Thanks for the information.”
“Anything else you need?”
Will thought about the six sorcerers who’d died, in addition to the three who were wounded, then said, “Keep me updated on the sorcerers who were wounded and send in Lieutenant Renly when you step out.”
Emory left, and Renly appeared a moment later. “You needed me, sir?”
“I need four scouts sent along the road we didn’t take.”
“It could take considerable time for them to backtrack, then follow the other road and return the same way again,” cautioned the lieutenant.
Will shook his head. “No, send them forward along with the scouts were we sending anyway. “Have them go almost to Klendon then head back up along the other road. They don’t necessarily need to return by dawn with the others, so it’s all right if they take an additional half day or more to get back.”
“What are they looking for? Do you think the enemy has hidden a force to come at us from behind when we reach Klendon?”
“No. We had scouts through there just a few days ago. I want them to look for signs of digging. Places where the Darrowans may have removed explosive caches like the ones that caught us today.”
“Very well, sir.” Renly started to turn, but Will stopped him.
“This is between us, lieutenant,” Will commanded. “These four scouts are to report to me alone and they aren’t to tell anyone else of the alteration to their orders. Understood?”
A flash of puzzlement crossed Renly’s face, but he hid it quickly, then saluted. “Yes, sir.”
***
The senior officers’ meeting started with a somber air that was soon replaced with tension once Field Marshal Lustral began making his thoughts known. “We haven’t even seen the enemy yet and we’ve already had one division decimated.”
Will ground his teeth. Technically the duke’s statement was true. While the Terabinian army as a whole was still relatively fine, First Division had effectively lost one-tenth of its fighting capacity.