Into the fire

"Darai Vail and Arylin and Alor Flandrena yet shadow, but there is more to report: glad tidings."

"Glad tidings?" asked Silverleaf.

"Aye, for no more than two leagues hence, allies come along this side of the Ironwater: King Loden of Riamon and DelfLord Bekki of Mineholt North bring their forces to join with ours: nine hundred Drimma and some two thousand men."

"Hai!" called King Blaine. "Most welcome will they be."

"On this side of the river, you say?" asked Lugar of Trellinath.

Elon turned to the marshal, elderly yet hale. "They crossed at Rhondor to harass the foe and turn their attention away, hoping to give King Blaine's army a chance to cross over."

"Ha!" barked Kapitan Dolf. "Good it is that they did not, for as we have heard thirty thousand are the enemy, and fallen soon would have been the Riamoners and der Zwergs."

DelfLord Volki snorted, then muttered to Ry

Ry

"There they are," hissed Li

Tipperton raised up to peer over the stony prominence. In the gorge below marched the Fists of Rakka, heading easterly.

Tip glanced at his sketch of the area, a sketch made long past at the map table of Coron Ruar, for when it was drawn, Tipperton did not know whence the war would take him, and so he had lightly traced all he could. Yet much detail was missing, and only the broadest outlines indicated what lay ahead.

"The only thing east is H?l's Crucible," he murmured. "But given what we have heard of that place, surely they couldn't be heading there."

"Perhaps they have no choice, now that the High King is on this side of the river," replied Li

"Perhaps not," said Tipperton, folding his sketches back into their waterproof wrapping. "Do you see any sign of Nix and Farly and Dinly? We will need send word back."

Li

And so they watched and waited, and some candlemarks later, they slipped back downslope and retrieved their ponies and rode eastward after the marchers as the day waned.

In the night nigh the bridgehead the cries and moaning among the wounded Fists of Rakka dwindled and dwindled to finally cease altogether, and Dwarves came back into camp and cleaned their knives of blood.

And still a cold wind blew from Garia and across the legion and host.

Chapter 37

"Oh my," hissed Tipperton in the dawn. "Look ahead." "Adon," breathed Li

"Lord, but what must it smell like in the bottom below when the wind doesn't blow down from those mountains afar," said Li

"Bloody awful, if you ask me," said Tip. "Ryn says the vapors are deadly when the air in the basin is still."

"Oh my, but I would hate to have that reek in my nostrils if I were to die."

"Well then, let's take a pledge to remain out of H?l's Crucible," said Tip, gri

They watched and waited for the Fists of Rakka to break camp, yet the black-robed men stayed put. And the day grew on toward the noontide, yet little below changed.

But then Li

Tipperton peered westerly where Li

"Then who?" asked Li

"I think it may be the Southerlings-Hyrinians and Kis-tanians and Chabbains."

"How can you know?"

"I saw such in Valon, when Beau and Phais and Loric and I crossed that wide land. Too, I think the flag they bear is Modru's own."

Steadily the long column neared, and at last Tipperton could clearly see the standard they bore as it blew in the wind: it was a ring of fire on black.

"It is Modru's ba

Tipperton turned, and slipping uphill from rock to rock came "Nix!" sissed Li

The buccan was clearly heading for their position. And now hoving into view behind Nix came Dinly… and then after him came Farly.

Nix flopped down next to Li

Li

"Seen? By whom?"

"Well, not exactly you, Li

"Vail?" said Tipperton, looking about. "Where?"

Nix pointed westerly. "On the back side of yon hill, with Alor Flandrena and Dara Arylin. Their own horses are among the crags below."

Tipperton looked long and at last saw the concealed horses.

"They have been tracking the army you see coming yon, and have asked us to bear the word back to King Blaine," said Nix.

"All of us?" asked Tipperton.

Nix shook his head. "I told her that we were trailing the Fists of Rakka, and that we would continue to do so. Besides, Ryn assigned Dinly to be the courier of news."

"Moreover," said Farly, "if the Fists hie in a direction elsewhere from the army the Elves are tracking, well then, someone needs to follow, and that is our task."

Tipperton nodded.

"Should I go now?" asked Dinly.

Tipperton shook his head. "Not yet, Dinly. Let's see what happens when these lackeys of Modru come together."

And so they waited as the multitude neared, closer and closer, until from below came the flat call of a ram's horn, to be answered by a horn from within the approaching ranks.

And still the long columns came on.

Moments passed and moments more, and of a sudden Tipperton groaned.

"What is it?" asked Li

"See riding in the fore ranks?" said Tipperton.

"See what?" asked Nix.

"That man, the one on the dark horse."

"The one carrying a ragged bundle?" asked Farly.

"It is no bundle," said Tipperton, "but the corpse of his daughter instead."

Li

"-His daughter," repeated Tipperton. "It is Mad Lord Tain, a Daelsman, a surrogate of Modru."

Tipperton turned to Dinly. "This news must reach King Blaine. For if Lord Tain is here, then so is the presence of Modru." As Dinly's eyes widened in understanding, an ephemeral thought flitted through Tipperton's mind, but ere he could capture it, it was gone. Nevertheless he said, "Something most foul is afoot, and I would have the King beware." Now Tipperton looked at Farly. "This news is too important for one alone to bear it."