Forged in Frost

Surprise Attack

The next day is much the same, but with more caution, as they enter deeper into enemy territory. Caius leads them closer and closer to the mountains, toward the wide pass cutting between. The trees thin out until very few are left to cover them. Caius calls for a halt in the late afternoon, too early for camp.

Something isn't right. He's glancing around constantly as if anticipating an attack, seeming hesitant. Evelyn knows she should limit any conversation with him, but she can't help her curiosity. She pretends to be taking out food from the saddlebag of the horse next to him, until he comes around to his horse, brushing its neck.

"What's wrong?" she whispers.

"I know this spot," he says, under his breath, facing his horse. "It's the perfect place for an ambush."

"For them to ambush us?"

"There will be at least forty bandits placed in the crags of that pass, just waiting for passersby. Archers, raining arrows down on us. We're fifty strong, but they have the advantage."

"Asher said to take the mountain pass," Evelyn hisses.

"I know." He sighs heavily. "But we could all die going in there. I have a theory Esterden is working with the bandits, which is their reason for pushing for war so strongly. That would mean devastation for Lockmire."

"Don't we have more troops?"

"There's no way of knowing how many the bandits have these days. Their hideout has been inside the Peaks of Cinis for more than three decades. It's impenetrable. Any teams sent in to destroy them have never returned."

Fear billows in Evelyn's chest. She struggles not to let it interrupt her rooting around in the saddlebag. She fiddles with a waterskin, uncorking it, corking it again.

"What are you going to do?" Evelyn asks him.

"My responsibility is to these men, not just to Asher," Caius says. He steps forward, raising his voice to address them: "Soldiers, we're moving. Stay close. Stay in the trees. Shields up, high on your back. Be sure every helmet is on. Archers, follow my lead. Do not fire unless I command it. The rest, shields up until I give the order."

The men move in at once, sensing the urgency in his tone. Evelyn slips on the steel helmet over her hair, looping her braid down the back of her armour to keep it secure and hidden. No need to draw attention.

"Quietly," Caius says, then gestures for them to follow.

Silent as a shadow, the troops follow him through the sporadic clusters of trees, winding around from the pass to take a circuitous path up through the foothills instead. Slowly, the terrain steepens, the woods disappear altogether, leaving them to hop skinny brooks and through tall mountain grasses and shrubs. Up, up, angling toward the pass from a higher vantage point as the sun sets. Looking down the steep edge in the dying light, Evelyn realizes how lost they would be if enemies were hiding up here while they moved through that pass. Every one of them would be visible, while the enemies remained safely hidden.

She spots it at the same time as several others. Quiet murmurs move through the group. Caius hushes them. Not just a few enemies placed strategically in the pass, but a whole camp, lit with torches. Deep in the mouth of the pass, they've erected a thick wooden wall, complete with gates and sentries atop. Ten pale tents dot the foliage, with paths between, glowing with torchlight and fading into the natural mountainside.

"At least seventy," Caius whispers. "We'll need the element of surprise."

"You want to attack them?" Alec questions, nearby.

"No, we'll leave them to plan out their attack on us," Caius says sardonically.

"But they're not Esterden soldiers. They're just bandits. That's not our problem," Timothy points out.