“All is well to the front,” the man reported. “The sergeant thought that perhaps I had better ride with you, seeing as I’m no warrior.”
Relam recognized the informer and gestured for him to take a position between the fifth and sixth squads as well.
“The sergeant is probably right to suggest that,” he said generously. “You’ll be safer here with us in any event.”
The informer nodded gratefully. “The camp is a half day’s ride southwest. If we follow the road for two more hours, we’ll be level with it. Then we’ll have to turn west and ride about three hours to reach it.”
Relam nodded thoughtfully. “Then we’ll stop an hour short of their camp for the night and send scouts in to check things out. That should give them enough time to get there and back before dark.”
“Barely,” Oreius put in. “Night falls faster in the forest.”
“True,” Relam agreed. “So we better get moving again.” He looked up the column and caught the eye of the first sergeant, following with a short signal. The sergeant saluted, then called the order to move out once more.
Now that he knew how close the enemy camp was, Relam spent his time scanning the trees to either side constantly. The trees stared silently back, with no sign of any bandits lurking in the shadows, nor any sign that the forest concealed any living thing.
About an hour after lunch, the column halted abruptly and a rider came galloping back to Relam’s position. “Sir!” he called. “Sergeant’s found something ahead.”
“Defensive formation,” Relam called as he urged Buck out of the column. “At least until we know what’s going on.”
Oreius followed Relam and the soldier to the head of the column, where the sergeant of squadron one was waiting, gazing down the road ahead. “Well, at least we know the bandits are still active,” he said by way of greeting.
Relam followed the officer’s gaze and his stomach lurched. With a sick feeling, he urged Buck forward a few more paces for a better view.
Along the road ahead were scattered a dozen bodies, most of them human. Two horses were among the slain as well, military mounts by the look of them. Relam also identified two dead soldiers, presumably guards, nearby. The rest were garbed brightly in finer cloth. The traders who the caravan had no doubt belonged to.
“They must have captured the wagons,” Oreius observed dispassionately. “But there was no sense in leaving the traders alive.”
“Or maybe these are just the ones who resisted,” Relam replied, tearing his gaze from the slain. “Remember, they took our informer prisoner.”
“Tracks!” a soldier announced. “Leading south of west into the forest. Those wagons carved quite a track through the undergrowth.”
“Do we follow?” the sergeant asked, glancing at Relam.
The prince considered this for a moment. Here was a clear trail, one that presumably led straight back to the enemy camp. But they already knew where the camp was located . . .
“No,” he decided. “We carry on as we are. If they expect any pursuit, it will be along the trail they left. They won’t be watching for us to approach from the route that we planned.”
Relam glanced at Oreius in time to catch a quick nod of approval, then turned back to the sergeant. “Let’s get moving again,” he said crisply. “We don’t have time to waste.”
The sergeant nodded and started off again, while Relam and Oreius returned to their positions. “Move out!” Relam called as they rode. “Original formation!”
The informer looked up curiously as Relam and Oreius returned. “What did you find?” he asked.
“Another raid,” Relam replied grimly. “You’ll see what’s left in a moment.”
The trader blanched and looked away. As the column started forward, he was nearly run over by the sixth squad before he set his horse in motion.
They rode through the scene of the massacre quickly. The bodies had been moved to the sides of the road by the first rank, but there was no time to bury them. Maybe on the way back, Relam thought, once the bandits had been wiped out.
They kept riding, forging further and further into the Midwood until the trader tugged on Relam’s sleeve to get his attention.
“This is it,” he announced. “This is where we need to turn west.”
With a thrill of excitement, Relam called for the column to halt and redirected them to the right, into the forest. The ranks closed up even further and the first squad led on, off of the road and into the unknown.
Without the benefit of the open road, the going was slower. The riders were forced to constantly weave around obstacles, be it trees, bushes, or fallen logs. The men were tense and quiet, their horses equally so. The jingle of harnesses and equipment seemed unnaturally loud in the stillness of the forest.
They forded two small streams, flowing along sluggishly. Relam checked both banks, but found no footprints, nothing to indicate that people had passed by before his own party of warriors. His findings reassured him somewhat. He had been worried that perhaps they would stumble on bandits headed out for another raid. But it appeared this area of the forest at least was not frequently traveled.
The cavalry moved on through the trees, moving as stealthily as possible, every soldier alert for the first sign or sound of danger. But minutes continued to creep by with no alarm and no ambush, until finally Relam judged that they were close enough to the enemy base to make camp for the night.
“Halt,” he called quietly to the nearest sergeants. “Gather the sergeants here.”
The sergeants of five and six murmured acknowledgement, then relayed the orders. In moments, all ten sergeants were gathered around Relam, Oreius, and the trader.
“We’ll camp here,” Relam told them. “Send
