They broke camp in near-total darkness, moving with the hushed urgency of a company that understood, without needing to say it aloud, that surprise was the only advantage they'd been able to manufacture for themselves. Luna walked near the center of the column as she'd promised, sword at her hip, the ancient creature's silent, massive presence pacing somewhere in the black trees alongside them.
"How far to the Shrine," she asked Garrick quietly, the two of them near the front of the group while the others fell into a loose, watchful formation behind.
"Six hours, if the terrain holds," Garrick said. "We'll arrive well before Marrow's forces expect us, assuming his scouts haven't already adjusted for the possibility."
"Assume they have," Luna said. "It's what I'd do, in his position."
Ga
