“Anything I missed?”
“We’ll find out tomorrow or the next day,” Oreius replied, stooping to crawl into his tent. “Now, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll get out of the wet and try to get some sleep.”
And, just like that, Relam was alone, standing in the rain while all around the camp soldiers were drawing lots for sentry duty and crawling into their own tents. Shrugging, the prince bent over and entered his own tent. The space was dry at least, and the air within was slightly warmer than that outside. Even though it was early yet, and the sun just barely sinking below the horizon, Relam was soon asleep.
The following morning, Relam woke to the sound of sergeants rousing their men. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, and his head brushed the roof of the tent. Hastily, he began gathering his gear and rolling his bedroll. This done, he crawled out of the low shelter and stood.
All around, soldiers were eating a hasty breakfast or in various stages of repacking their gear. Tents were being rolled up and stored, and horses led from the picket line and loaded with gear. Relam, realizing that he was a little behind, quickly began breaking down his own tent. Oreius’ tent was already down, sitting in a neat roll next to his other gear.
As Relam finished rolling his own tent, Oreius appeared leading his horse and Buck. “Morning,” the old man said gruffly. “Had breakfast yet?”
“No.”
“Then you’d best get a move on. The rest of the cavalry is nearly ready to go.”
Relam began cramming supplies into his saddlebags as fast as he could. “Thanks for grabbing Buck,” he said, rubbing the horse’s side affectionately. “Have any of the sergeants or sentries reported in this morning?”
“Not yet,” Oreius replied, tying his tent on behind his saddle. “But there were no alarms during the night that I heard. As far as I know, nothing of note happened.”
“That’s good,” Relam muttered, cinching down the last strap and swinging into the saddle. “Any advice for today?”
“Keep them in formation, and keep them quiet,” Oreius said immediately. “We are in hostile territory. Forest is too thick for sweep riders, unfortunately.”
“Should I have the archers ready for battle, in the center of the column?” Relam asked.
“Wouldn’t be a bad idea,” Oreius agreed. “Good instincts, boy. Ah, and here come the sergeants.”
Relam turned and saw five of the sergeants approaching from different directions. “Squad one is ready to move, sir,” the first announced.
“And squad four.”
“Squad three as well.”
“Squad ten is ready.”
“Eight is ready to ride.”
“Excellent,” Relam said, turning to face the officers. “If you have archers, tell them to have their bows ready and put them in the middle of the column. I want all perimeter riders to have their weapons drawn and ready in case of ambush.”
“Yes, sir,” the sergeants chorused.
“Anything I missed?” Relam asked Oreius.
The old warrior pursed his lips. “We may want to ride in the center of the column today, between five and six. That means squad one will take the lead.”
“Good thinking,” Relam agreed. “Squad one, no archers. And have your shields at the ready at all times, just in case. Any questions?”
The sergeants shook their heads.
“Then get your men mounted,” Relam said, turning to greet three other officers who were just arriving. He repeated his instructions for them, then for the sergeants of the last two squads. In minutes, everyone was briefed on the plan for the day and the cavalry was forming on the main road once more, with Relam and Oreius safely ensconced between the fifth and sixth squads.
“Everything is in order,” Oreius observed, twisting in his saddle to check the rear ranks.
Relam nodded and signaled to the sergeant of squad one. The sergeant nodded then brandished his sword overhead and gestured for the column to advance.
The cavalry started off, harnesses jingling, horses snorting and prancing as they sensed their riders’ excitement and anticipation. Relam had to fight to keep Buck moving in the right direction and in formation.
The morning passed uneventfully and pleasantly, weak sunlight filtering through the trees and down onto the road. It was a welcome change from the steady rain of the previous day, and the young prince’s spirits were considerably higher. He was also far more nervous the longer they rode though. The heart of bandit activity was drawing ever closer, and the danger of an ambush was increasing all the time.
Finally, as they halted for lunch, Relam leaned over in the saddle so he could speak to Oreius. “Do you think it might be wiser to leave the road for the time being?”
Oreius contemplated this for a moment. “There are advantages and disadvantages. We won’t be able to move as quickly.”
“But if there’s an ambush it will be along the road,” Relam pointed out.
“Yes, but if we were in the forest and stumbled on a group of bandits it would be much harder to organize our force,” Oreius countered. “Here we have a little bit of space to work with and would be able to retaliate easily.”
“And it would be a very foolish group of bandits to attack a cavalry a hundred strong,” Relam added.
Oreius shrugged. “If they’re all archers, and there really are sixty to seventy of them, then it might just work.”
The prince glared at the old man. “Thank you so much for that,” he said icily.
Oreius met his gaze without flinching. “I am stating the facts, boy, that is all. There is no use in pretending otherwise or ignoring those facts we do not wish to confront.”
Relam scowled and looked away, chewing on a strip of dried beef disconsolately. As he was scanning the forest to the left, a rider came trotting down the column from the ranks up ahead.
“Something the
