Even if the garrisons all fell, the forces holding them could continue to retreat into Brosengae, fighting holding actions all the way. Their supply lines would grow ever shorter, while those of the attacking army would extend farther as they fought for every foot of enemy ground.
Despite that, Michael had attempted to advance along that route repeatedly over the years. Each time, he had been forced to turn back.
It took the entire strength of the Army of Anuire to assault the garrisons along the border, while only a portion of Arwyn’s troops were needed to hold them.
Each time they had advanced, Arwyn had forced them to turn back by employing the same tactics-as Michael attacked the garrisons south of the Seamist Mountains with his full strength, Arwyn detailed the troops of Taeghas and Brosengae to hold them, meanwhile using his own Army of Boeruine, augmented by troops of Talinie and goblin battalions from Thurazor, to advance along forest trails he knew well to attack western Alamie.
The situation had seemed virtually insurmountable, no matter how Aedan looked at it. Attack Arwyn in the south, and he would send the troops of Boeruine and Talinie to attack the empire in the north.
Counter the attacks in the north, and the troops of Brosengae and Taeghas would attack in the south, advancing into Avanil. Back and forth it went for years, with a steadily mounting body count, and nothing was resolved. There was only one possible alternative, ut it was dangerous.
If they could find a route through the Shadow World into the coastal region of Boeruine, then they could bring the war to Arwyn’s doorstep.
However, finding portals into the Shadow World was easier in regions like Thurazor, Tuarhievel, or the SpiderfeR, where confluences of ley lines occurred. These fines of force that ran beneath the earth were what enabled halflings to open portals to the Shadow World.
Somehow, the halflings tapped into the energy that flowed through these
“underground conduits” and used it to break down the barriers between the world of daylight and the world of shadow. No one knew for certain exactly how they did it. Aedan had seen Futhark create these portals many times, but watching it gave him no clue. It seemed to work like magic. And there was a limit to how much Futhark would explain.
He had explained, however, that portals into the Shadow World could be created more reliably at or near points of ley line confluence than elsewhere, and exiting the world between the worlds in similar regions, such as Markazor, the Sielwode, or the Erebannien, was likewise more easily accomplished. In a region like Boenjine, however, where ley lines did not meet, exiting the Shadow World would be more difficult and unpredictable.
They could enter the Shadow World through a portal created just within the borders of the Spiderfell, the nearest point of ley line confluence, and then march through the Shadow World in a northwesterly direction until they reached the region that corresponded spatially with Boeruine.
But with no confluence of ley lines in Boeruine, there was no sure way of predicting exactly where they would come out.
Sending halfling scouts through an exit portal first would not address the problem, since if the ley line on the other side was weak-in other words, too far away from the point at which they intended to leave the Shadow World-the area in which the scouts came out might not be accessible again.
“I don’t understand,” Michael had said when he and Aedan had discussed the plan with Futhark.
“Do you mean the scouts would be unable to return, or that we would not be able to follow them out?”
“No, we could send scouts through,” Futhark had explained, “and they could come back and report to us what they had found beyond the portal, but the portal would not necessarily open out onto the same place twice.
It is conceivable, even probable, that we could come out in a different location altogether, and accidentally wind up surrounded by the forces of the enemy.”
That was not exactly an encouraging thought.
Nevertheless, Michael had decided to attempt it.
They had gone in near the Spiderfell, which was risky in itself, as it was the domain of one of the more powerful awnsheghlien. It was said that the Spider could see through the eyes of all the arachnids in his domain and thus knew everything that went on within the Spiderfefl. If this were true, and Aedan had no idea if it were, the Spider had thus far refrained from taking on the entire Army of Anuire.
However, he could decide to send his creatures against the emperor’s forces, and Aedan did not relish the thought of being attacked by millions of poisonous arachnids. The very thought made him shudder with disgust and fear. Nor were lethal spiders the only danger in the Spiderfell.
The awnsheghlien had the ability, empowered by bloodtheft, to create other creatures like themselves, less powerful, but still quite dangerous. And awnsheghhen also had human and demihuman troops at their command, some of which the emperor’s forces had engaged on previous occasions. It was bad enough to have to face the combat-seasoned forces of Lord Arwyn without also having to do battle with gnolls, monsters, and human predators along the way Regardless, Michael had decided that the attempt was worth the risk. Futhark and his halfling scouts were highly dubious, but they agreed to try. They had taken on ample provisions
