straight ahead, seeing something then so simple and basic that the biggest surprise of the revelation was that he had not recognized it before, and that Merwan Ma apparently had not. He unfolded himself and rushed from his tent, past the guards, and into the tent of Merwan Ma, where he found the man sitting and staring blankly, hopelessly.
"Tell me of Transcendence," the mystic implored him.
Brynn used every trick that she or her leaders could think of. They inter-cepted flashing signals and sent some of their own along the line, and man-aged to turn the dogged pursuit off course several times.
On one such occasion, apparently running free up along the north road that connected Dharyan with Dahdah Oasis, the ranger made the decision to continue north, into the foothills of the Belt-and-Buckle, reasoning that her warriors would find more rest there, more supplies for them and their horses. Also, the thinking went, if the Chezru Chieftain came out to find them, he'd have a harder time spotting their encampment along the craggy rocks and canyons of the steep foothills.
And so they shook off the pursuit of Shauntil and Yatol Bardoh for several weeks, as the summer of God's Year 844, Abellican Reckoning, turned to autumn, marking the second anniversary of Brynn's rise as the leader of the To-gai-ru rebels.
"It has been a good two years," Brynn said to Pagonel and some others one night about the campfire. ?We have struck hard into Behren, harder than any of us might have hoped."
"It was a good first year and a half," one of the leaders, the ever-grumbling Tanalk Grenk, replied. ?Now we hide, while the Wraps tighten the noose about our necks."
There was little Brynn could say in the way of argument. They had won a couple of minor skirmishes that summer, mostly over supply caravans, but the victories had been few and far between, and always with the knowledge that Yatol Bardoh and Shauntil and their legions were not far behind.
"We must strike again, and hard!" the man went on, rising and brushing off his worn breeches. He paced about the fire, staring into the hard eyes of his seasoned warrior companions. ?Let us find again the glory of battle! Let Behren tremble beneath the thunder of our charge!"
"Where?" Brynn asked, stealing a bit of his bluster, and quieting the murmurs of excited agreement that had begun. She too rose and paced about. ?To take a city would delay us longer than our pursuers allow. And to turn and fight the pursuing force would be folly."
"Then let us turn for To-gai," another man offered. ?Let the Behrenese chase us about the land we know, and that they do not!"
The murmurs began anew, and Brynn closed her eyes, for this was ex-actly what she had been fearing as the war had ground to a halt. She and Pagonel had been over this time and time again, and in considering the re-turn to Behren, they had always come to the same grim conclusion: that such a turn would mark the end of the campaign. For in To-gai, their war-riors would find other pressing duties, and with the pressure off the Chezru Chieftain to come to resolution, attrition would weigh against them, and not for them. With the army running about To-gai and not Behren, the Behrenese would have no reason to seek peace.
Little was settled that night at the campfire, and a frustrated and trou-bled Brynn went back to her tent. She had only begun her typically fitful sleep when a call awakened her. She rushed out to join several others, Pagonel among them, as they stood on a nearby ridge, staring to the south, where the fires of a huge encampment could be seen.
"And so the chase begins anew," one man muttered, and walked away.
"Douan has found us," Pagonel remarked.
"Is there any way to hide from his spirit eyes?" Brynn asked.
The mystic turned to her and shook his head. ?We can prevent posses-sion, likely, but out of body, he is swift, and he can fly high to gain proper vantage points. Even if we lit no fires at all, not even those concealed in deep fire pits or in the shadows of overhangs and caves, he would find us."
"Send the scouts out far and wide," Brynn instructed. ?Let us turn no\y to the west, and use our speed to outdistance our pursuit." ?Back to To-gai?" ?So it would seem."
"And you believe that her efforts will falter once back in her homeland?" Merwan