“I’ll be the first to tell him to sod off if you actually do help us. Not betting my braid on it.”
If Arlind had more threats to say, it was cut short by the arrival of Kinet and several heavily-armored soldiers. Unlike the majority of the forces behind him, these men wore custom-fitted suits of metal plates and had poles attached to their saddles that bore the blue-and-white standard of Lantonne flapping high over their heads.
“I’m not waiting out here all day,” snapped the lead soldier, flipping up his visor to reveal that he was far older than Therec. In fact, he was old enough that Therec was a little surprised to find him still leading soldiers. “I was told the golems would do our job for us, so if you people want to get a closer look, I want it done with. If I have my way, I’ll be back in the barracks before the sun sets.”
“We do not intend to engage,” Kinet assured the man, giving Therec a firm look that he took as a request to not make the man a liar. “A quick ride out and back. Nothing more. We are scouting the enemy forces.”
The soldier—commander, Therec thought he overheard from the soldiers behind them—nodded grimly and made a sweeping wave with his arm. As he did, the entire company lurched into motion as one, with only Therec and the two magisters faltering a moment before catching up.
The ride across the plains was a pleasant enough trip. It had been several years since Therec had ridden a horse, he realized with a bit of thought back over the time since he had earned the title of “preserver” among his people. From that time, he had been taken where he needed to go on wagons and other conveyances. Taking himself where he wished to go was a nice change.
About ten minutes out from the city, Therec’s opinion began to sour as the high sun cooked the plains. Dry grass crunched under the feet of horses and men alike, creating a cacophony of small crackling noises that was just different enough from the more familiar sound of snow or ice that Therec found it immediately irritating. He would have killed for a snowstorm or even a cold breeze.
Therec finally gave up on being open for the sake of the people he was visiting and pulled his hood up, hoping to spare his shaved scalp from further burns. Once again, he dearly wished he had been assigned to a diplomatic mission much farther north, or at least higher up in the mountains.
Soon, the sounds of the golems pounding away at the undead army overshadowed any other noise Therec could make out. All he could make out in the distance, aside from the old village ahead of them, were the heads and shoulders of the four massive animated statues. There was no sign of the undead.
“Are they in a valley?” Therec asked aloud, not really caring who answered.
Despite her obvious dislike of Therec, Arlind was swift to answer. “Big open pit mine. They pushed the undead in there so they can’t get away easily. Damned shame to do that to a mine, if you ask me. We figure if that doesn’t work out, we can always collapse the walls of the quarry on them. With the tunnels sealed, that shouldn’t be too risky.”
Therec turned on his saddle to look at the dwarven woman. “Tunnels? I thought you said it was open.”
“It is,” she explained, though she did not look directly at him. “The mine got deep enough that it was too damned slow to cart everything up and down. They used a dry underground river to make a tunnel straight back to the city. We closed it up before letting the undead in there. Just to be safe, there are a few hundred soldiers inside the tunnel, about halfway between the mine and Lantonne, ready to slow them down.”
Looking down at the dry ground around them, Therec was a little taken aback by the idea that there was a large passage far under their feet. It was a tactical risk to even have such a tunnel, but he could see the sense in using a natural structure in that manner. Left to his own choices, he would have
If Arlind had more threats to say, it was cut short by the arrival of Kinet and several heavily-armored soldiers. Unlike the majority of the forces behind him, these men wore custom-fitted suits of metal plates and had poles attached to their saddles that bore the blue-and-white standard of Lantonne flapping high over their heads.
“I’m not waiting out here all day,” snapped the lead soldier, flipping up his visor to reveal that he was far older than Therec. In fact, he was old enough that Therec was a little surprised to find him still leading soldiers. “I was told the golems would do our job for us, so if you people want to get a closer look, I want it done with. If I have my way, I’ll be back in the barracks before the sun sets.”
“We do not intend to engage,” Kinet assured the man, giving Therec a firm look that he took as a request to not make the man a liar. “A quick ride out and back. Nothing more. We are scouting the enemy forces.”
The soldier—commander, Therec thought he overheard from the soldiers behind them—nodded grimly and made a sweeping wave with his arm. As he did, the entire company lurched into motion as one, with only Therec and the two magisters faltering a moment before catching up.
The ride across the plains was a pleasant enough trip. It had been several years since Therec had ridden a horse, he realized with a bit of thought back over the time since he had earned the title of “preserver” among his people. From that time, he had been taken where he needed to go on wagons and other conveyances. Taking himself where he wished to go was a nice change.
About ten minutes out from the city, Therec’s opinion began to sour as the high sun cooked the plains. Dry grass crunched under the feet of horses and men alike, creating a cacophony of small crackling noises that was just different enough from the more familiar sound of snow or ice that Therec found it immediately irritating. He would have killed for a snowstorm or even a cold breeze.
Therec finally gave up on being open for the sake of the people he was visiting and pulled his hood up, hoping to spare his shaved scalp from further burns. Once again, he dearly wished he had been assigned to a diplomatic mission much farther north, or at least higher up in the mountains.
Soon, the sounds of the golems pounding away at the undead army overshadowed any other noise Therec could make out. All he could make out in the distance, aside from the old village ahead of them, were the heads and shoulders of the four massive animated statues. There was no sign of the undead.
“Are they in a valley?” Therec asked aloud, not really caring who answered.
Despite her obvious dislike of Therec, Arlind was swift to answer. “Big open pit mine. They pushed the undead in there so they can’t get away easily. Damned shame to do that to a mine, if you ask me. We figure if that doesn’t work out, we can always collapse the walls of the quarry on them. With the tunnels sealed, that shouldn’t be too risky.”
Therec turned on his saddle to look at the dwarven woman. “Tunnels? I thought you said it was open.”
“It is,” she explained, though she did not look directly at him. “The mine got deep enough that it was too damned slow to cart everything up and down. They used a dry underground river to make a tunnel straight back to the city. We closed it up before letting the undead in there. Just to be safe, there are a few hundred soldiers inside the tunnel, about halfway between the mine and Lantonne, ready to slow them down.”
Looking down at the dry ground around them, Therec was a little taken aback by the idea that there was a large passage far under their feet. It was a tactical risk to even have such a tunnel, but he could see the sense in using a natural structure in that manner. Left to his own choices, he would have
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