enough that he could make out the details of their armour. Taking hold of the glass’s tripod, he tracked the device across the ranks of the Stahlhast, making careful note of the banners he saw.
“I count six different Skeld,” he said, pausing the glass in surprise as it alighted on a familiar sigil, a hawk, wings spread wide. “All told, over thirty thousand strong, I’d say. The Ostra amongst them,” he added to Luralyn.
Together with Ahm Lin, the three of them had climbed the tall tower rising from the centre of the city to view the Stahlhast’s arrival. The spyglass, a giant tubular contrivance far larger than any Vaelin had seen before, sat atop a brass tripod in the centre of a bare platform covered by a tiled roof but open on all sides. As a result, a constant northerly wind swept through the chamber, buffeting those inside and forcing them to converse in raised voices.
“I was expecting the horde entire,” Sho Tsai said.
“This is just the vanguard,” Luralyn told him, her braids whipping in the wind. “They will scout the surrounding country, kill any patrols you send beyond the walls, watch for reinforcements from the south. You can expect the full army within a day or so.”
Vaelin raised a questioning eyebrow at Ahm Lin. The mason, still feeling the effects of the climb, rubbed at the ache in his back as he spoke. “I’m not sure,” he said.
“Sure of what?” Sho Tsai enquired, his face intent. Ahm Lin’s success in guiding them to Sherin’s location had apparently convinced the general of the usefulness of the man’s gift.
“The song speaks of imminent battle,” Ahm Lin said. “And deceit. There is more at work here than just the scouting of an advance guard.”
Vaelin stepped aside as the mason moved to press his eye to the glass, grunting softly. “Can’t see them, but I also sense at least one Gifted soul amongst this lot.”
“Deceit,” Luralyn repeated. “It could be Sehga. Deception is her art. But she needs to be in close contact with a victim for it to work. She can’t just cast it out like a torrent.”
“Then who?” Vaelin asked.
“Someone I’ve yet to meet.” Luralyn gave a helpless shrug. “If they are going to attack, it’ll be tonight. My people will battle in open country in daylight, but they always attack a stronghold under cover of darkness. Also, they won’t attack in one place. You should expect at least three separate assaults, probably launched at the same time.”
Sho Tsai moved to the edge of the platform, brows furrowed as he surveyed the city below. “We double the strength of the regiments on the outer wall,” he said. “Master mason, you will patrol the battlements under guard to gauge the point of attack.”
“Whatever their stratagem they’ll still need to scale the walls,” Vaelin pointed out. “Cavalry can’t charge a stone barrier twenty feet high. And they no longer have Varij’s gift to crumble them.”
“They’ll have grapples and ropes,” Luralyn replied. “Ladders too most likely.”
“Ropes burn, so do ladders,” Vaelin said, meeting her gaze. “So do people.”
She gave a sober nod. “I’ll warn the twins to be ready.”
“What of your own abilities?” Sho Tsai asked. “I’m given to understand you can see the future.”
“I see what the True Dream chooses to show me, and it shows me both past and future. But it has always been capricious. I have tried to summon it every night since we came here, but all I see are fragments, usually chaotic and meaningless. It’s as if the future is in flux somehow. That could be a good thing. If the outcome of the battle is uncertain, then at least we have hope.”
“Prophecy is all too often a liar,” Vaelin said. “It lies to the prophet as much as the believer.”
“I’ll keep trying,” Luralyn promised the general.
He nodded and started for the stairs. “Lord Vaelin, muster your scum and guard our allies close.”
“Skulls,” Vaelin said, the hardness of his tone causing the general to pause. “Not scum.”
“What?” Sho Tsai asked.
“They’ve taken to calling themselves the Skulls,” Vaelin explained. “Considering themselves already dead men. Soldiers do like their names, and that is what they are now. Soldiers. And I’d thank their general to refer to them as such.”
Sho Tsai locked eyes with him for a moment, perhaps perceiving some form of challenge, but then grunted and began to descend the tower. “As long as they fight, I’ll call them whatever name they wish.”