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There were no nobles a them

Trull joined the warrior he had chosen as his captain Ahlrada Ahn had trained alongside Trull, specializing in the Merude cutlass as his preferred weapon He was left-handed, rare a the Edur, yet used his other hand to wield a short, wide-bladed knife for close fighting The bell-hilt of his cutlass sprouted a profusion of quillons designed to trap opposing sword-blades and spear-shafts, and his ceaseless exercises concentrating on that tactic had made his left wrist almost twice the bulk of its opposite Trull had seen more than one of his practice spears snap at a shoulder-wrenching twist from Ahlrada’s sword-arm

The warrior also hated hih now, he amended, Ahlrada had probably found a new reason

‘Captain’

The dark eyes would not meet his They never did Ahlrada’s skin was darker than any other Edur Trull had seen There were colourless streaks in his long, unbound hair Shadoraiths sware detail unique to the warrior ‘Leader,’ he replied

‘Infor out Minimum kits – we need to travel quickly’

‘Already done We aiting for you’

Trull walked over to his own gear, shouldered the small leather pack, then selected four spears from his cache Whatever was left behind would be collected by the Letherii slaves and carried with the main body as it made its cautious way south in the wake of Trull’s company and Hanradi’s forces

When he turned, he saw that the company were on their feet, all eyes fixed on hie Once through the pass, each squad sends out a point and e Thus, you eant spoke ‘Leader, if we leave the trail we are slowed’

‘Then we had best get eant persisted, ‘ill lose speed-’

‘I do not trust the trail beyond the pass, Canarth Now, ive reasons The coeant expected to voice public challenge This was not beginning well

One squad in the lead, followed by Trull, then the re up the rear, the company set out for the pass at a steady run They quickly left the cah an avenue provided the’s forces

Trull found pleasure, and relief, in the pace they set The mind could vanish in the steady rhythrowing round the closer they approached the summit, while overhead the sun cli they halted on the south end of the pass Trull was pleased to see that none of his warriors was short of breath, instead drawing long, deep lungfuls to slow their hearts The exertion and the heat left them, one and all, sheathed in sweat They drank a little water, then ate a small meal of dried salmon and thin bread wrapped round pine nut paste

Rested and fed, the warriors formed up into their squads, then, without another word, headed into the sparse forest to either side of the trail

Trull elected to accompany the squad led by Canarth They headed into the forest on the trail’s west side, then began the slow, silent descent, staying thirty or so paces from the main path Another squad was further west, fifteen paces distant, whilst the third trailed midway between them and thirty paces back An identical pattern had been foreant Canarthahead until he was alesture hi him as if he was not there

Then, halfway down the slope, the point halted and crouched low, one hand reaching back to stop Canarth

Trull and the others also ceasedthe descent, an arht beyond fifteen paces There was little undergrowth, but the slope was uneven and treacherous with lance to his right showed the nearest warrior of the flanking squad a half-dozen paces further down, but now also halted, one hand raised, his gaze fixed on Trull

Ahead, the point hispering to Canarth After a eant reversed direction and made his way cautiously back to where Trull and the others waited

‘There is a scout on the edge of thewith the Letherii arht on the trail itself, maybe seventy-five or more paces’