James heard him or not is hard to tell, he’s slumped over in his saddle and is making no indication that he’s even alive let alone heard him.
Looking around quickly, he realizes Aleya is no longer with them. They must’ve been separated when going through the lines. “Aleya!” he yells but her name is lost in the roar of the storm.
Getting them moving, he just hopes she remembers to meet them at the inn like James had suggested. At the time he thought it was odd that he suggested that, he never did that before. Maybe he had already known what he was going to do when he said it.
The storm begins to subside and he picks up their speed as the ground before them becomes more distinct. Off to their right, the wall of the fortress is a dim shadow in the still swirling dust storm. Shapes can be seen moving around the area and he kicks his horse into a faster gallop in order to clear the area before the storm completely dies. Once he finds the north road on the far side of Kern, he breaks into a fast gallop and quickly puts it behind them.
When the storm had begun in earnest, Aleya had been nervous. Never has such a storm developed so quickly. Glancing to James, she just wonders what kind of man he is, that he can control even the winds.
Following Jiron as he heads along their lines, she’s thankful that he told her to cover her face with the cloth. The continuous peppering by the sand and rocks had begun to sting terribly.
As the storm rages in intensity, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep Jiron in sight. She finally has to ride with her horse just scant inches behind his to keep from losing him in the storm.
Then suddenly, they’re among the troops from Kern. Her horse is struck by a pike and she’s thrown to the ground, landing among the troops. Only the severity of the storm allows her to not be readily noticed by them. Getting up, all she can see around her are the indistinct forms of the soldiers. Jiron and James are nowhere to be seen.
Cries and shouts from the men around her are blown upon the wind, their meanings lost. Realizing she’s got to get out of there, she begins forcing her way through the lines.
A soldier suddenly appears before her, an officer by his uniform. “Back in line soldier!” he yells at her. The cloth over her face hides her features so well, he believes she’s one of his own troops. As she comes to within a foot of the officer, she acts like she’s stumbled. When he comes to help her, she lashes out with her shoulder and knocks him off balance and into the surrounding men.
Crying out, the officer stumbles backward as she races past. Behind her, the officer as well as his shouting, soon disappears in the roar of the storm. Moving quickly, she makes her way through the now disorganized lines. The storm has certainly reduced the moral of the troops, she can hear words of fear and dread coming from those she’s making her way through.
Suddenly, one young soldier grabs her and cries, “What’s happening?” Fear evident in the young man’s voice. Hating to do it to someone as terrified as him, she quickly disengages herself from his grip and shoves him backward away from her.
Moving past another soldier, she finds herself in the space between the footmen and the bowmen. It’s at this time the storm begins to subside and the visibility gradually improves.
“You!” a shout breaks through the storm behind her. She turns around and another officer stands staring straight at her. Fear at being found out immobilizes her as she stares into his eyes.
The officer then points to the squad of bowmen behind her and orders, “Get back in line!”
The bow on her back must make him believe she’s one of his troops. With the visibility improving, there’s little chance of her succeeding in bulling her way through the archers as she had with the footmen. So she moves and takes position in line with the other archers, praying that she will not be found out.
Glancing around, she finds that she’s in the fore of a squad of twenty archers, one of ten such squads positioned behind the footmen to offer support should that become necessary. As the storm subsides, she looks around for Jiron and James but they’re nowhere to be found. They must’ve made it through!
From before them, a horn sounds and the officer in charge of their squad hollers, “Ready bows!”
The other archers remove their bows from behind their backs and put arrows to string as they await the command to aim. Aleya follows suit. Standing there with her sole remaining arrow to string she tries to discover what’s happening.
From the south the forces of the Empire approach their lines, stopping a hundred yards away. Leaders from both sides ride out, meeting for a parley in the middle. Whatever is said between them, she’s much too far away to be able to hear. But she has a fairly good idea what they’re talking about.
“We’re in for it now,” she hears one man next to her mumble.
The leaders stay out there for a good ten minutes before each turns about and heads back to their lines. When the Cardri general reaches the fore of his men, he stops and turns back around to face the Empire.
“What’s going on?” one archer asks.
“Quiet!” yells their officer as he glares back to them to search for the one who spoke. When they all remain quiet, he turns his attention back to the front.
The two lines face off with each other, neither one doing anything to provoke the other. Unable to get a good view of what’s exactly going on due to the foot soldiers in her way, she waits silently and tries to figure a way out of there.
From ahead of her, the foot soldiers begin muttering and some even gasp. Through the gaps between them, she sees the lines of the Empire’s forces opening up and a large man in dark armor emerges from between them. Riding forward, he moves toward the Cardri lines. The Cardri general and his retinue begin moving to meet him in the middle.
The sight of the man in armor sends a shiver coursing through her, though she can’t really explain why. Just looking at him causes her anxiety to increase.
When the two parties meet, the brief glimpses she’s able to see through the lines ahead of her show both sides are arguing with the other. From what she’s able to see, it looks like the man in armor wishes to move his forces into Cardri territory but the Cardri general is denying his request. There can be only one reason the man in armor wishes entry into Cardri. James!
The two sides argue for several more minutes before the man in armor turns and moves back to his side. A sigh of relief seems to ripple through the ranks of the Cardri soldiers. Aleya, too, is relieved that conflict may be averted.
When the man in armor returns to his side, Empire horns begin sounding and their forces begin to withdraw.
The Cardri general resumes his place at the fore of his men as he watches the Empire’s withdrawal. Once their forces have withdrawn a sufficient distance, the order is given for the Cardri forces to stand down.
Aleya replaces her arrow in her quiver and slings her bow across her back. Her worry is no longer about the imminent attack from the Empire, but how to extricate herself from the Cardri forces. If found out, it could be just as bad for her here.
“Form up!” the officer in charge of her squad yells. She comes to attention when she realizes everyone else has. Similar commands resonate up and down the lines as the various officers prepare their squads for the return march to Kern.
“Left face!” her officer yells again. A little slower than the rest, she turns to her left and waits with the others for their turn to march. Once the squad before them begins to move, her officer yells, “Forward, march!” Half of the Cardri troops remain behind in case the Empire’s forces try anything.
Her squad begins marching their way back to the large fortress sitting just south of them. She maintains her spot in the ranks as they march ever closer to the gates of Kern. Wanting nothing more than to break ranks and get out of there, there’s no way she could do so without being uncovered.
The squads marching ahead of her, one by one, make their way through the gates into the formidable fortress which guards the southern border between Cardri and the Empire. When at last it’s her squad’s turn to enter, she almost bolts out of line in panic, but her courage holds steady and she marches through the gates.
They pass through the long entry tunnel through the walls. In the ceiling above are many murder holes where defenders could drop stones or burning oil down on any attackers caught within. The other side of the entry tunnel opens onto a large courtyard where the other squads are getting into formation.
Her squad is brought to stand in a similar position as they had back at the battle lines. Once all the squads have entered and formed ranks, the command is given to fall out but to remain close in the event the Empire’s
