The Veneer of Injustice

Part 11

Earth Moon 19, 1527 C.Q

My brow furrowed, I surveyed the map on which Maps had carefully drawn my battle strategy and the positions of the border sentinels and to which I had added notes based on the reports that I had received on the movements of the third prong. From all the reports I had received from the head of the sentinels, from Serra, and from Maps, the enemy, who numbered around fifty troops, seemed to be stealthily but quickly traveling towards the Central Valley of Akhdaren, the wide rolling plain in the center of Emerstones' territory where much of the princedom's people, agriculture, manufacturing, and water were concentrated. A conquest of this area would almost completely destroy the crown's strength. That reasoning seemed to be why Dacian had not sent a fourth prong – focusing his special forces on conquering the valley with one force was efficient, without potentially pointless redundancy. Dacian also seemed to be estimating that one detachment of special forces, if even detected, would make me paranoiacally waste time and resources searching for others. The invasion itself was proof that he thought me weaker and less militarily adept than my predecessors.

I assessed again the notes that I had added to the map. With a finger I traced the path that the enemy special forces were reportedly taking. My squadron were ten miles to the south and four miles to the west of them – we had not yet caught up over the last three days of hard pursuit because of the distance involved and the steepness of the terrain. Also, though I had correctly guessed that they would be heading to Akhdaren, I had not guessed the route, for there were easier paths than the one the enemy was taking.

My eyes widened as I noticed what lay in the path outlined by my finger: the western village of Harbhar.

There were no troops there, save a small detachment of a few guards.

Dacian's methods of conquest, like those of his father, indicated that these special forces would surely attack the village.

And we were thirty miles away, while the enemy, based on the reports and the path I had projected, was probably only twenty miles away.

I scowled as I rolled up the map. Harbhar was not one of the three villages against which the enemy had perpetrated a massacre in the last invasion, but I should have anticipated this path!

Rising to my feet, I turned towards the squadron, who had been waiting by their horses for the last ten minutes. Though we had been eating and sleeping mostly while riding, we took a brief stop every six hours to handle our personal needs and rest the horses. In this stop, I had decided to take a few minutes to double-check our strategy.

Though they hid their apprehension well, from their faces I knew that the squadron members were worried at the sight of my scowl.

"We will change directions and travel towards the village of Harbhar. According to the reports and my research of Dacian's predilections, these special forces are surely headed to Akhdaren via Harbhar," I said.

The squadron members' eyes widened as well, and they exchanged now openly fearful looks.

"We will ride even harder. Lucetta, at five miles from Harbhar, give me a light-based image of the area. I will attempt to teleport us closer if possible," I continued as I mounted my horse and stowed the map. Not sparing a moment, I oriented myself ten degrees south of east and urged Akh into a canter.

The squadron members closely followed me.

We continued at a canter, the fastest speed we could manage in these steep mountains, for four hours. We ate on horseback, but none of us slept, tense as we were about what would happen if we did not reach in time.

Amid the grueling ride, I contacted Maps and Huron, both of whom seemed horrorstruck by my projection. Huron hastily informed his forces that they were to correct their course – they, like my own squadron, had been heading in a more northeastern direction, towards the easier paths out of the mountains. However, they would reach Harbhar after my squadron, for they were forty-five miles to the northwest of the village. Maps, for her part, informed me that, since the enemy's complete entrance into the pass yesterday, Kiersten's divisions were successfully barraging the enemy with arrows, javelins, and spears tipped with enchanted fire. They ended their assaults after random intervals and at random times only to launch small sallies that harried the enemy's troops and kept them from sleeping. The soldiers did this all without being seen, which increased the confusion and stress inside the enemy's camps, according to surveillance. To the north, Arras was successfully keeping up his multi-column assault. Despite some difficulties in coordinating movements, each column was attacking and withdrawing at different times, which kept the enemy's forces in constant chaos.