That assault was going to be within the hour. It was about three hours after noon, having travelled the distance much faster than he had done so the first time, and that gave them plenty of time to attack the Dals in Watch Hill and make camp afterwards. They were supposed to meet the Rangers in Watch Hill, but so far there had been no sign of them. The Were-cats ranging ahead were only attacking men in Dal uniforms, so there was little chance that they were killing Rangers by accident. If the Rangers weren't there, that was alright. Mikos' Centaurs and the Were-kin were more than sufficient to assault a depleted garrison.

"Still no sign of these humans," Mikos snorted. "And we are within striking distance of the village. What should we do, Sathon?"

Tarrin was surprised that Mikos knew that, for he doubted that any Centaur had travelled so far into human lands. Nearly all of them went to Aldreth.

"Well, let's wait for that Aeradalla to return and tell us what we're facing, and we'll decide after we know," he replied.

"We have enough to take out the garrison if the Rangers don't show up in time," Tarrin said. "I doubt that the garrison is more than fifty men. The Were-cats have killed a good many of them already."

"My reasoning as well," Mikos agreed with another snort, as if it were a crime to agree with a Were-cat. "It would be best to stop here, before any realize we are so close."

"A good idea," Sathon agreed.

"Column, halt!" Mikos boomed in a voice they probably heard in Watch Hill. "Rest!"

Tarrin set down Jasana, who kept hold of his leg for a moment. "I'm hungry," she complained.

"So am I, cub," Tarrin told her. "I think we can find something to eat around here."

"I'll get you something, cub," Jesmind told her, holding her paw out to her. Jasana took it, and Jesmind led her off towards the middle of the column. Tarrin turned and looked up into the sky, and managed to spot Ariana ghosting across the base of a low-lying cloud. The sky was a bit threatening, with a bank of clouds hanging to the north, being pushed down by the Skydancer Mountains. The thunderstorms that could form about that time of year could be savage, but the prime of the storm season was still some rides away. Ariana was carrying a shaeram, so he could contact her. He grabbed hold of his amulet and called her name. "We need to talk to you, Ari," he told her. "Could you land?"

"I'll be there in a minute," she replied immediately.

"That's a clever little trick," Sathon said appreciatively, looking at the amulet. "A remnant of the Age of Power?"

Tarrin nodded. "It comes in handy," he said.

"Can you make one?" Sathon asked.

Tarrin glanced at him. "I probably could, but I haven't quite had the time to pick apart the magic used to make them yet," he replied. "The only one I have to study is this one, but it has more spells cast into it. They merge together after a while, and it's difficult to tell one from another."

Sathon nodded. "Sorcery degrades over time, even spells meant to be permanent. It's a basic limitation to the art."

"There are very few permanent spells in Sorcery, Sathon," Tarrin told him absently. "Only High Sorcery can be made permanent, and even that isn't easy." He looked around. "You know, I haven't seen Alix since yesterday. Is he with us?"

"I have no idea," Sathon chuckled. "If he turns up, I wouldn't be surprised."

"Sarraya can't be too far from us right now, so maybe he went to go see her," Tarrin replied.

"She is?"

"She's leading a Selani Clan through the Frontier," he told him. "Right now, I'll bet she's close to Minara." Minara was a large town almost due south of Torrian, close to the Shacean border. It was due east of Ultern. Sarraya would lead the Selani out of the Frontier at Minara, then get on the King's Road that ran from Minara to Suld for faster travel.

"Selani? What are Selani doing all the way over here?"

"Helping," Tarrin answered. "I didn't ask them to come, but they insisted. Not that I'm going to tell them to go home."

"You know Selani?" Mikos asked curiously.

"I know alot of people, Mikos. Some of them you wouldn't like. Some of them would get me cast out of Fae-da'Nar if they knew I knew them."

"Like who?" Sathon asked with a grin.

"A Demon," Tarrin replied calmly. "A Demoness, to be precise. She's the one that did this to me," he added, holding out his arms to display his fetlocks, the visible symbol of his unnatural age.

"She attacks you, yet you don't take revenge on her?" Mikos asked in disapproval.

"I took a revenge on her she'll never forget," Tarrin said deliberately. "But it didn't dissuade her in the slightest. She likes me."

"It's dangerous when a Demon likes you, brother," Sathon laughed.

"True, but she also happens to be the new Empress of Yar Arak," he said conversationally. "She's lending the katzh-dashi a few Legions to aid in the defense of Suld. So I'll endure the fact that she likes me."

Sathon gave him a wild look, then he laughed. "Is there anyone not coming to Suld to help?" he asked.

"The Goblinoids, for one," Tarrin said with a slight smile.

"May their blood feed the ground," Mikos spat.

With a flourish of wings, Ariana landed just at the head of the column. She shivered her wings a few times before folding them behind her. "What did you need?" she asked.

"My dear, we need a report on what's ahead," Sathon told her. "What did you see?"

"Well, the village ahead looks to be quiet," she replied. "There are very few villagers moving around. There are some patrols of men wearing those Dal uniforms. There's a pack of wolves blocking the south road, and there's a force of about two hundred humans wearing green uniforms gathered to the north of the village, and they look to be about ready to attack."

"Green uniforms?" Tarrin asked.

Ariana nodded. "They're all carrying bows."

"Those are the Rangers," Tarrin told them. "They usually don't wear uniforms except when they're going to engage in an open battle. They must have had the same idea we did, to eliminate the Watch Hill garrison."

Sathon raised his fingers to his lips and blew out a very loud, shrill whistle. He'd used that whistle to recall the Were-cats scouting ahead. "Do they know we're here, Ariana?"

"I think so," she replied. "You passed one of them hiding in the forest, and he broke off and moved towards the others about ten minutes ago."

"You mean the Were-cats missed a human?" Mikos asked scathingly.

"I think they knew he was there, because that one with blue eyes actively avoided passing close to him," Ariana replied. "Since he's not in a Dal uniform, they probably ignored him."

"Probably," Sathon agreed. "Were-cats' senses are too sharp for them to miss something like that. At least unless the human was downwind."

"I never scented him," Tarrin admitted.

"Alright then. Why don't you pay those human soldiers a visit, my dear?" Sathon asked politely. "Tell them that we're getting set up, and if they would like some help defeating the Dals, just tell us what to do. Just be careful and don't get yourself shot."

"I'll be careful, Sathon," Ariana grinned. "Just give me a pen and some paper, and I'll drop a note to them before I land."

"A good idea," Sathon agreed. Tarrin felt him touch his Druidic ability, and a piece of parchment, writing quill, and inkpot appeared in his hands. "Let me write it, my dear. I don't think you know how to write in Sulasian."

"No, I'm afraid not," Ariana agreed with a chuckle.

Sathon scribbled out the note, then handed it to her from Mikos' back. "We'll wait here until you come back," he told the Aeradalla.

"I'll be back in a bit," she told him, turning, taking two steps, then vaulting into the air with a powerful sweep of her wings.